May 2012

Moving along at a steady clip so far, the 7-story mixed-use building planned for 4724 California Ave S.W. (the old Petco building), has its first Department of Planning and Development early design review coming up on May 24.

In advance of that meeting, an early design guidance package has been released by developers Urban Evolution out of Seattle and The Wolff Company of Arizona (originally Spokane). Weber Thompson Architects will design the building.

The preferred design from the early guidance packet is available for download at the top of the story.

Rob O’dea, a spokesman for the project, said the designs are in their infancy, and therefore not indicative of what the final building design will look like. The first round of schematics, he said, is more about finding out the preferred massing of the building in general terms. In other words, the design seen up top does not mean the 4724 project will be single-tone, khaki, windowless box.

The fences are coming down at Crown Hill Park! After years of planning and $1.2 million in funding, the park located at 9089 Holman Rd N.W. is finally complete.

On Saturday, Seattle Parks and Recreation will finally take down the temporary fences to welcome the neighborhood to a park with a new skate park, green space, baseball diamond, play features, and more.

The space along Holman Road was first identified in Groundswell NW's 1996 Ballard / Crown Hill Open Space Inventory but it wasn't until 2005 that Seattle Parks and Recreation announced its renovation project for the park at the corner of Holman Road and 13th Avenue N.W.

Yet those plane were halted when Seattle Public Schools, which owned the land next to the old Crown Hill Elementary, decided to sell it all.

Small Faces Child Development Center purchased the former school building and Seattle Parks bought the property with funding from the 2000 ProParks Levy.

Construction was funded by the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy and started last August.

press release
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this atrocious act of negligence.

On Saturday, May 12, an emaciated dog was found in the 9400 block of 26th Avenue Southwest. The badly emaciated dog was immediately rushed to a veterinary clinic but did not survive.

Details of where the dog had been for the last 30 days are unknown. If you recognize the dog and have seen him or know where he has been over the past several weeks please call Seattle Animal Shelter Enforcement Supervisor Ann Graves at (206)386-4288. The case number is 5319. Any information about the dog’s whereabouts is vital to helping determine the circumstances around the dog’s condition.

“To intentionally starve an animal that relies solely on you for its care is a truly heinous act,” said Dan Paul, Washington state director for The Humane Society of the United States.

“Americans have no tolerance for this type of abuse against the creatures who share our world.”

press release
An interim meeting of the Washington State House of Representatives Higher Education Committee will be held on the campus of South Seattle Community College Monday, May 21, from 1 - 4:30 pm. The 17-member committee, chaired by Representative Larry Seaquist, will conduct a work session focused on transitions to higher education, and higher education/industry partnerships. Panelists include Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Jill Wakefield and South President Gary Oertli.

A draft agenda is below. The meeting is open to the public.

The Higher Education Committee meeting continues a month-long series of campus visits by candidates and incumbents. Speaking at South during Civics Week May 7-11 were Washington Secretary of State candidates Greg Nickels and Kathleen Drew; and Dr. Bobby Virk, candidate for 11th District House of Representatives. U.S. Senator Patty Murray led a student rally on campus May 11 to draw attention to the potential federal student loan interest rate increase.

Press release:

Seattle City Light is letting its customers in the South Beacon Hill and Tukwila area know about a project beginning this summer.

Seattle City Light will start preliminary work on power lines just east of I-5 near exits 157 and 158.

The majority of the work will take place beginning in the spring of 2013, although there will be some work starting this year.

Areas affected include South Beacon Hill and part of Tukwila on both the east and west sides of I-5 near City Light’s Right-of-Way.

Specifically, the utility will begin work to replace the wooden “H-Frame” poles that carry transmission lines from the Creston-Nelson substation to the Duwamish substation. The poles are more than fifty years old.

The utility is taking the opportunity to increase power capacity and up-grade distribution lines to meet the increasing demand in the southern part of the utility’s service territory. The work is designed to increase reliability for customers and to meet anticipated economic development needs in this fast-developing area.

Open House & Briefing
Wednesday, May 23, 6 - 7:30 pm

press release

The eastbound off-ramp at Fourth Avenue S has been closed since mid-April, when eastbound traffic was temporarily shifted onto the new viaduct structure in order to make room for repairs and repaving of the bridge deck on the old structure. It had previously been reported that the Fourth Avenue off-ramp would reopen next week (May 22 or 23), however, this has now been delayed. SDOT now expects the Fourth Avenue off-ramp to be open for the morning commute on Wednesday, May 30, at which point the eastbound off-ramp at First Avenue S will close. It is expected the First Avenue S off-ramp will then remain closed for about four weeks.

Looking ahead, all westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct from I-5 to SR 99 will be closed from 6 p.m. Saturday, June 9 until 5 a.m. Monday, June 11.

Other Upcoming Project Roadway Closures:

Monday, May 21 – Tuesday, May 22

It's time for Summer Streets again on Sunday May 20 on Alki. This is the 5th Annual Summer Streets event , organized by Seattle’s Department of Transportation. Events start at 11 am and will happen till 5pm but before all the music and activities the West Seattle High School PTSA will put on the West Seattle 5k walk/run starting at 8 am. Alki Ave S.W from 63rd to 58th will be closed during the main event so pedestrians and vendors can take over the streets.

Here's the schedule:

Summer Streets events start at 11 a.m.:

• Race in Waste Management’s recycling relays
• Learn about SPU’s Puget Sound Starts Here storm drain markers
• Experience the “Art Demo Block” brought to us by Alki Art Fair, including watercolors with Barbara Bennedsen; button making, origami and paper arts, painting and drawing, mobiles and nature crafts with Theresa Anderson and Young at Art staff
• Build your own community out of newspapers!
• Check out the artists and musical performances at Alki Arts gallery (see schedule below)

Police officers put their lives on the line every day and some have made the ultimate sacrifice for the community. They will be remembered and honored today at the 2012 Seattle Police Memorial Remembrance at 1:00 pm at Forest Lawn Cemetery in West Seattle at at 6701 30th Avenue Southwest

Part of National Police Week, this is the fourth annual observation and will take place at a designated site provided by Dignity Memorial/Forest Lawn of Seattle.

A future memorial will be constructed with the names of all fallen Seattle Police officers inscribed on it.

The ceremony will last approximately 30-40 minutes, with the Seattle Police Honor Guard, the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums, and several speakers.

By Cassandra Baker, Intern

10:23 p.m. on May 11th. 70th block of Dibble Ave N

Seattle police responded to multiple burglaries in the same neighborhood on the night of May 11th. The victim at the above address said that he arrived home and realized that his back door had been broken open. He heard a noise upstairs, so he went across the street and called 911. The victim said that the burglar had ransacked bedrooms on the main floor and upstairs. An iMac computer was taken, but several other electronics, including laptops, an iPad, and a television, were left lying in plain view throughout the house. A medicine cabinet had been left open, but the victim was not sure whether anything had been taken. Police believe the victim may have scared the suspect away in the middle of the burglary. No suspects were found in the area, although the suspect in a nearby incident was seen heading east on NW 75th St earlier that night, and the responding officer believed the burglaries were related.

4:45 p.m. on May 10th. 70th block of 28th Ave NW

After a disappointing playoff loss to Issaquah on Tuesday and an exciting win against Skyline on Wednesday, the Ballard High School softball team had one more chance to advance to the state championships.

In a 3 p.m. matchup against Inglemoor, the Beavers were pressured to win but so was Issaquah.

After two scoreless innings, Inglemoor got on the scoreboard first scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Inglemoor would score seven more runs over the course of the next three innings and Ballard struggled, making four errors and allowing Inglemoor to score nine runs off of only five hits.

Ballard got three hits including two doubles but only managed to get one run across the plate in the top of the seventh inning.

Ballard lost nine to 1.