July 2018

Dozens of  entries with the usual mix of drill teams, marching bands, politicians, businesses and floats from around the region made the trek down California Ave for the 2018 edition of the West Seattle Grand Parade July 21.

For the first time the celebration including the West Seattle "Pawrade" with more than 75 entries.. all canine in an array of costumes. Some opted for painted fur, some just went with the minimal dog scarf issued to all entrants. But it was a sight to see. And not a single dog fight.

The West Seattle High School Wildcats have a new football coach in Jeffery Scott, whose story and football philosophy will be covered in another story.

But he's facing a problem for the team.

He needs more to field the team to play positions on both offense and defense. The coach said "I'm just looking for players to come out and give us a chance because our numbers are low it’s a safety thing.

"We currently have 28 players. We are projecting like 8 more freshmen. I believe we should have around 40 players going into the season."

The $3.1 million dollar ball field improvement project at Steve Cox Memorial Park is well underway with earth moving equipment having taken off the surface soils and a stair case to the south already installed.The  goal of the project is to improve the conditions and expand the playability of the ballfields currently referred to as Fields #2 and #3, adjacent to and outside of Mel Olsen stadium.

The project will construct a multi-use synthetic turf athletic field with LED lights and a ten-foot-wide paved walking path around the field perimeter. The field in-fill will be a rubber turf material coated with a colorant and encapsulated with a polyurethane coating. This material was selected to help reduce on-fieldctemperatures and the overall environmental impact of the in-fill.

By Lisa Herbold

District 1 Seattle City Councilmember

Last month the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) released the Comprehensive Plan Urban Village Indicators Monitoring Report.  Adopted in 2016, Seattle 2035 is Seattle’s current 20-year Compressive plan.  This report is the first in a series of monitoring reports tracking the growth of Seattle through 2035.  This monitoring is an important part of maintaining the transparency and effectiveness of the Comprehensive Plan. The report is broken into 3 sections; Housing and Employment Growth, Affordability and Livability.

Housing and Employment Growth 

According to an eye witness, an argument between two black males in the late 20's or early 30's near 17th SW and SW Cambridge Street escalated until one of them stabbed the other. 

The witness a man out walking his dogs on Delridge Way SW saw and heard the argument. "They were fighting and one of them pulled out a five inch blade and stabbed the other one," he said. The suspect fled on foot southbound on Delridge Way SW. The witness said the apartment building nearby is a scene of frequent fights and police activity. 

The victim was found lying on his back by the rocks not apparently breathing.

Emergency responders and Seattle Police arrived quickly and began resusciation efforts, transported him to a gurney and then to a waiting ambulance but it was obvious he had died. 

King County Guardian One helicopter was called into service to seek the suspect but he remains at large.

Seattle Police Detectives are conducting an investigation.

in part of the run up to the weekend for Jubilee Days in White Center the Unofficial Mayor of White Center was named Friday July 20.

Winning the online election in a battle against Floyd the Dog the winner was formerly Unofficial Official Vice Mayor of White Center, Christine "Ginger Menace" Spencer. On a more serious note she did manage to raise more than $1800 for charity in her campaign.

On the Jubilee Days website her campaign information said:

info from Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods

In June the Seattle City Council adopted legislation sponsored by District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold to simplify enforcement of existing law prohibiting excessive vehicle exhaust noise. That law takes effect July 22. The new law applies citywide, on city streets. Although the legislation mentioned “highways,” in the Seattle Municipal Code section for noise enforcement, this just means any city road. The new law makes it easier to issue tickets by changing the standard to a sound that "can be clearly heard by a person of normal hearing at least 75 feet away from the vehicle," eliminating the need for the use of equipment to prove it.