September 2011

Update for Sept. 30

In the arraignment of six men charged in connection with the July 23 Kent car show shooting, all six pleaded not guilty.

All six are members of the Playboy-Surenos street gang, according to prosecutors.

From King County:
Defendants Nicholas Moreno, 21, Ignacio Vasquez-Trevino, 19, and Martin McSmith, 21, are each charged with three counts of Assault First Degree with a Firearm Enhancement. James Lopez, Jr., 17, is charged as an adult with one count of Drive-By Shooting. Defendants Shea Auble, 21, and Patrick Auble, 30, are each charged with one count of Rendering Criminal Assistance First Degree.

All six men will have a case setting hearing on Oct. 12 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent to decide when they go to trial.

Update for Sept. 17
After announcing the arrest of four suspects in the July Kent car show shooting on Sept. 15, Kent Police report the apprehension of two more men later that same day.

From the Kent Police Department:

Stockbox Grocers, a prototype miniature market opened in West Seattle Monday Sept. 12 to provide an oasis of needed grocery items to the Delridge neighborhood, an area identified as a "food desert" meaning the residents there have no easy access to healthy and affordable food within walking or biking distance of their home. The store solves that problem handily. It's right in an apartment complex parking lot.

As expected, election races for SeaTac City Council positions and the city's elected-mayor proposition are heated.

During public comments at the Sept. 13 city council meeting, former candidate Othman Heibe accused Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher of violating the state code of ethics by using public resources to support a candidate or proposition.

Heibe said an email was sent to SeaTac Councilwoman Mia Gregerson and King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, a SeaTac resident, accusing Gregerson and Patterson of using Heibe as a "pawn." The email indicated it was sent by SeaTac Citizens for Truth.

The email indicated that a copy was sent to state Republican Party chairman Kirby Wilbur. However, Wilbur told the Times/News that he does not recall receiving it.

The email's subject line was "SeaTac Sets the Battleground for the Republican and Democratic Parties." Wilbur noted that the state Republican Party does not plan to put many resources into the SeaTac area.

He added Democratic Party legislators are firmly entrenched in the 33rd District, which serves SeaTac.

SeaTac City Council positions are nonpartisan.

Burien lawmakers are still talking, not voting on White Center annexation.

A special meeting is being held Monday, Sept. 19 to talk about annexation some more. At the Sept. 26 regular meeting, the council is asking for more public comment.

"There are too many questions about in the air," Councilman Jack Block declared at the Sept. 12 council meeting. "Making a commitment is premature."

Councilman Gerald Robison, a north Burien resident, was the only lawmaker on Sept. 12 to urge quick action on annexation.

"We have a saying in real estate, 'If you sleep on it, you'll never sleep in it,'" Robison, a real estate attorney noted.

"We are not buying a home, we are talking about a community," Block replied. "We need a managed approach."

Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak asked staff for more information on the actual financial costs of north Burien versus the costs that had been projected before annexation.

After hearing reports on financial impacts and crime, the council concentrated Sept. 12 on the impact of annexation on special districts.

press release:
The contractor working to widen the Spokane Street Viaduct will close First Avenue S at S Spokane Street overnight for up to four consecutive weeks, beginning September 19. The closures will be on weeknights with the possibility of weekend work in October (updates to follow). Work begins at 9 p.m. each night, except on event nights when it will start at 11 p.m. The roadway reopens in each instance at 5 a.m. the next morning.

These closures are needed to strip decks, patch and finish the ramp barrier, erect support structures and prepare First Avenue S for paving in advance of the Alaska Way Viaduct closure happening in late October.

Also, as a reminder, southbound East Marginal Way to the westbound Spokane Street turn lane will be closed tonight and Friday night from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day.

See www.seattle.gov/spokane for more details on this project.

In October 1981, the Phinney Neighborhood Center and the Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op opened their doors in a recently closed elementary school building. Today, 30 years later, both the Center and the preschool are integral to the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhood. Many residents couldn’t imagine the neighborhood without them.

The Phinney Neighborhood Center is now home to a wide variety of events and activities for infants through seniors – everything from childcare to music and dance classes to a tool lending library to an art gallery to a farmers market to bridge and book clubs and lots, lots more.

On Oct. 1 and 2, the Center is celebrating those 30 years. It will be a weekend of celebration for both the Center and the preschool with activities for both young and old:

Ridge Romp – Saturday, Oct 1, at 10:30 a.m.

Chris Foster, Intern

The Ballard men’s tennis team edged out Inglemoor 4 to 3 on Tuesday, scoring three of the singles points and one of the doubles points.

Kensei Kawamura beat Zach Church 6-3, 6-0. Evan Lund took down Nick Pawley 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and Nelson Cooper defeated Thomas Landcaster 6-2, 60.

Dane Lindell and Alec Wilsdon beat Peter Von Eberstein and Jeffrey Chin 6-3, 6-4 to win the match for Ballard.

Cross-Country

The men’s cross-country team finished strong again, placing second on Wednesday against Eastlake and Woodinville at Beaver Lake Park, with a score of 28.

Alex Bowns won again, finishing with a time of 16:19, 44 seconds faster than the second-place runner. Michael Vitz-Wong and Victor Bailly also ran well, with Vitz-Wong coming in third at 17:05, and Bailly finishing fifth with a time of 17:24.

For the women’s team, Alyson Fromm and Anna Mirenzi posted good times, as the team placed third. Fromm finished seventh and Mirenzi was right behind her at eighth.

Today’s Games:

Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Eastlake @ Eastlake Tennis Courts, 3:45pm

A new program called "We are Family Community Lecture Series" begins Monday, Oct. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at the Admiral Congregational United Church of Christ, 4320 SW Hill Street, just off California Ave. SW. The monthly series, a shared effort between the church and its renter, A Child Becomes...Daycare, will address parent/child issues including positive discipline, bullying, nutrition, learning, and family legal planning.

Most lectures will be held on the first Monday of the month, and will carry a nominal fee of five dollars. Parents, grandparents, educators, and anyone with ties to young people are encouraged to attend. Next March, a fair will be held to share information about summer youth camps and activities.

Michelle Neal, or Shelley has been the director and pre-K teacher of A Child Becomes...Preschool for 20 years. She is a graduate of Seattle Prep High School, Matteo Ricci College and Seattle University, and is Head Cross Country Coach at West Seattle High School. She competes competitively for Brooks Sports.

On Thursday, September 15, dozens of bicyclists and alternative transportation activists came together in the U-District across from the place where bike messenger Robert Townsend was struck by a car last week to call for safer roadways.

A white 'ghost bike' now marks the spot where Townsend, a 23-year-old bike messenger, was struck by a car on September 10 and died from the collision-related injuries.

Townsend is the third bicycle fatality in the city of Seattle since July, following the deaths of Brian Fairbother and Mike Wang.

Four additional bicycle fatalities have occurred in nearby cities since July.

It's been a a devastating couple weeks on Washington streets and people are saying, "Enough is enough".

Cascade Bicycle Club hosted a press conference on Thursday morning to hear from community leaders, address the issues, and call for safer roadways.

Leaders such as City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, M.J. Kelly from Cascade Bicycle Club, and Lisa Quinn from Feet First called for safer shared roads through enforcement, infrastructure and, most importantly, conduct.

Marcellus Turner, Seattle Public Library's new City Librarian, paid a visit to the Ballard branch on Thursday to meet the staff and get a feel for the branch.

Turner said he spends half a day at every library branch for an opportunity to meet the staff and see how the branches are doing.

"During the interview process, you don't really get to meet all the 640 people that work for the library system, so this gives me a chance to visit with them," he said. "I'm learning that our staff is very dedicated and loves this library like the people do."

Sitting inconspicuously at a table reading "Even Silence Ends" by Ingrid Betancourt, Turner said he had been approached by several library visitors in addition to the staff.

"From the fact that four people came up to talk to me, I learned that people really know their library system," he said.

Learn more about SPL's lead librarian, here.