June 2011

Copper wire thieves are now looking skyward for their quarry, scaling power lines in King County and City of Seattle to cut out the coveted wires and scrap them for money, according to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. John Urquhart.

Power outages can occur if critical wiring is cut during the high-risk theft.

“The cost is more than financial, as these outages impact customer service and safety,” Sue Anderson, vice president and general manager of CenturyLink in Seattle said in a KCSO press release.

“Hospitals, schools and public safety organizations are all affected as well as residential and business customers. We urge the public to call law enforcement if they see suspicious activity,” Anderson added.

For Burien, KCSO reports 150 feet of cable were cut down near S. 128th and 12th Ave S. on June 2.

In SeaTac, KCSO reports 250 feet of cable cut down from poles in the 3200 block of S. 162nd St on May 2. In that instance 330 telephone customer’s service was affected.

Sgt. Urquhart asks that the public keep an eye out for suspicious pole climbers.

On June 11, Holy Rosary’s Lanigan Gym played host to nearly 200 attending a dinner, live & silent auctions and sock hop to support Family Promise of Seattle, based in West Seattle. Over 100 auction items were donated, including "Lunch with City Councilmember Jean Godden and a game of Scrabble", Seahawks tickets, Sounders suite with parking, Inn at the Market, Antonio Fernandez, a beat box vocalist, and one-sixteenth of a cow.

Thousands were raised, including a $3000 donation from Calvary Lutheran. This homeless sheltering program emphasizes keeping families together as they receive help to reestablish their lives.

Family Promise is known nationally as the Interfaith Hospitality Network. According to its website, the mission of Family Promise of Seattle is to mobilize local faith groups and other community resources to provide, with compassionate care, temporary housing, meals and case management for newly homeless families as they seek stable housing. They help newly homeless children and their families by getting them off the streets and into a stable, supportive environment that moves them toward self-sufficiency.

It’s no secret to his friends that Seattle author David Volk is a cheapskate. He loves a good deal. He loves it so much he wrote a book full of his tips and ideas for finding the frugal deals around the Emerald City. The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle is over-flowing with great ideas from cheap eats to inexpensive treats.

As part of Seattle Channel's Cheap Bastard’s Guide Series on CityStream, David shares some of his summer favorites for family fun that won’t have you shelling out the big bucks.

Visit www.seattlechannel.org to watch past episodes of the Cheap Bastard’s Guide Series.

The final show if the CityStream season will air on Thursday, June 9 at 7 p.m. on Cable 21, The Seattle Channel.

While most kids are excited for summer vacation, others may be wondering where they’re going to get lunch. With high numbers of students on free lunch programs, CityStream will tell you what the school district and the City are doing to make sure all kids have plenty to eat this summer. Plus, what you can do to help out.

Then, CityStream will explore even more free, family fun ideas that’ll get you up close and personal with the creatures and critters of Puget Sound.

Ballard author B.J. Neblett can finally hold on to the physical pages of his debut novel after releasing the electronic version months ago. On December 12, Brighton Publishing released Neblett's novel, Elysian Dreams, in paperback format, just in time for the holidays.

Neblett decribed his book as a real page turner with all the drama and excitement of the Prohibition era – gangsters, romance, adventure, and the key to it all... time travel.

Elysian Dreams weaves its journey through time from the 1920's through the 1980's, binding history professor Collin Crowly, college student Angelina and the slightly nerdy high school student Marsha together in a profound way.

Main character Crowly's mysterious family mansion Casa di Tempo becomes their magical portal to the past, eclipsing space and time as the trio desperately seek their rightful place in the world.

Elysian Dream is available in paperback and e-book from Amazon.com

Original article from June, 2011:

By David Rosen

The old Huling Brothers Auto Dealership, which was briefly occupied by Gee Automotive in West Seattle is now being torn down for the new development of a Les Schwab Tire Center. The demolition began sometime last week according to Bill Pavao of Fisher and Sons Incorporated who is the Superintendent overseeing the project.

Bill Pavao said “ Fisher and Sons was hired by Les Schwab as a general contractor for the job, were not self performing a whole lot of the work ourselves, a majority of the work is sub-contracted out. The shell of the building will stay pretty much as is structurally, some of the windows are being filled in and there will be some new windows and a new storefront that will be put in. Inside there will be a new showroom, offices, service area, hoists, drainage system, and an employee lounge. There will be about 15-20 sub-contractors that will come in to complete their part of the job such as installing new floors, walls, ceilings, as well as painting. When we get done this old building will look like a brand new nice and clean store for Les Schwab.”

Press release:

Alert neighbor checks twitter, finds stolen car

Posted by Sgt. Sean Whitcomb

Arbor Heights resident Margaret Lanphier had noticed a car parked across the street in a church parking strip for a couple of days. As her neighborhood has had trouble with abandoned vehicles parked there before, she decided it couldn’t hurt to just check the plate numbers against SPD’s “Get Your Car Back” twitter feed, which she subscribes to. Sure enough, the license plate number showed up on the feed, and Lanphier called 9-1-1.

SPD then contacted the owner, a Capitol Hill resident, who came to reclaim the car. Says Lanphier, “I talked to the owner when she came to pick it up. She was shuddering about all the used syringes and ash all over the car but it had just been driven for a joy ride and ran out of gas! So, she got some gas for it and drove it home.”

Veraci Pizza, the Seattle mobile brick oven pizzeria that got its start at the Ballard Market, made its international TV debut last week on The Cooking Channel in Canada. Featured in The Cooking Channel's Eat St., the episode will air in the U.S. on June 14.

"It's pretty cool to get international exposure," co-owner Errin Byrd said, adding that since it aired in Canada last week, they've already been receiving franchise inquiries.

"I'm a little bit nervous because we're already so busy but it's very humbling," Byrd said.

Co-owners Errin Byrd and Marshall Jet were first contacted for the promo of the Eat St. series, which has been a year and a half in the making.

Hosted by comedian James Cunningham, Eat St. is a celebration of North America's tastiest, messiest and most irresistible street food.

The segment featuring Veraci was filmed last August.

"It took a long time and we didn't know if we would get chosen," Byrd said.

Veraci is the only Ballard vendor that made the cut and one of three Seattle vendors that are featured.

Editor's note: The West Seattle Herald has been covering news here for nearly a century. Robinson Newspapers (which publishes the West Seattle Herald) have a massive news archive of Herald coverage dating back to 1928. What follows are crime reports and public safety issues from 1933. Although reporters’ names were not included with stories at that time, their original words remain intact. As more historical crime reports are compiled there will be more installments of West Seattle All Time Crimes.

January 30, 1933
Thieves stock up on Coffee, Tobacco

Somewhere about Seattle are thieves who for a few weeks will indulge themselves in plentiful quantities of coffee and tobacco – not to mention cheese and cured meats.

They broke into Reeder’s grocery, 2202 Alki Ave., last Wednesday night, springing the front door with a crowbar.

The robbers took a considerable quantity of cigars and cigarettes and much coffee. They also took a “wheel” of cheese and cleaned out the cured meats in the refrigerator. An electric clock struck their fancy and that went too.

The Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce announced that it will be honoring Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, a retired five-time NASA astronaut, as the Grand Marshal of the 61st annual Greenwood Seafair Parade.

Celebrating this year's theme of "Greenwood Takes Flight, the Greenwood Seafair Parade will take place from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Bonnie Dunbar as our Grand Marshal this year,” said Parade Director Ann Woodward in a press release. “She is a real American hero and can inspire our community to let their imaginations take off and see that you can aim for the sky and go as far as you want.”

A native of Washington State and an engineering alumna from the University of Washington, Dunbar said it's "an honor to be a part of this great community event.”

"I am thrilled to be a part of this historic parade and to help Greenwood take flight. I am also proud to help inspire the education of our youth and the exploration of both air and space,” said Dunbar, who is currently the Executive Director of Wings Over Washington, an affiliate organization of The Museum of Flight.

On June 15, locals will have a chance to speak with City Council candidates face-to-face in a speed-networking setting in Gas Works Park.

Presented by the Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood and Wallingford Chambers of Commerce along with the North Seattle Industrial Association & Aurora Merchants Association, "Politics Not As Usual", will allow Seattle residents to learn more about these candidates to make an informed vote later this year.

All the politicians present are in positions that are up for elections in 2011 and the meeting will combine presentation and discussion formats. Candidates will have less than 1 minute to introduce themselves and answer a very North-end question before candidates have an opportunity to chat face-to-face.

The Fremont Chamber is in the process of finalizing scheduling but as of Tuesday, June 7, the participating City Council candidates are:

- Jean Godden, Chair Finance & Budget; and Budget Committee
- Bruce A. Harrell, Chair Energy, Technology & Civil Rights Committees
- Tom Rasmussen, Chair Transportation; and Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall Replacement Project
- Tim Burgess, Chair Public Safety & Education Committee