July 2012

Suite Arrangements furniture consignment in the West Seattle Junction is relocating in late July to the West Seattle Produce building at 4722 SW Fauntleroy, the two companies announced today. WSP will locate its produce, wines and specialty foods business into the warehouse portion of the building, which has been underutilized. SA will move its fine furnishings business into the primary showroom.

According to the company owners, the plan has been developing and evolving for over six months. "We've been looking for ways to attract more of our market to the East side of Fauntleroy," said Bruce McPhereson of WSP. "And, we've been seeking a high-visibility commercial space with dedicated parking close to the Junction," said Geoff Abdian of SA. "And we're both excited about sharing the same building because we share a primary market for our goods and services."

Seattle Department of Transportation has announced a schedule of updates for the Spokane Street Viaduct construction project.

No Weekend Closures July 14-15

There will be no new closures associated with the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project this coming weekend, July 14-15. There will be some nighttime closures on Thursday and Friday of next week when the northbound off-ramp from I-5 to the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed both nights and traffic on the viaduct will be down to one lane in each direction. More details are below.

Thursday, July 12 – Friday, July 13

· First Avenue S will be closed at S Spokane Street to north and southbound traffic both nights. On Thursday evening the closure will begin at 10 p.m., while on Friday evening the southbound closure will begin an hour later at 11 p.m. (in order to accommodate traffic leaving the Mariners game). In both cases, the roadway will reopen to traffic at 5 a.m. the following morning.

Press Release:

The City of Normandy Park is currently seeking volunteers for pro and con committees to prepare statements on the proposed Levy Lid Lift that will be included in the King County Local Voters Pamphlet for a November 2012 vote.

At the June 12, 2012 City Council meeting the Normandy Park Council members voted 6-1 to send the Levy Lid Lift to the voters this November, 2012, under Resolution 853.

Each Committee’s statement must be no more than 200 words in length and must be submitted to King County Elections no later than 4:30 PM on August 15. Any rebuttal statements are due by August 17. There is a limit of three members per committee, but committees may seek advice of any person or persons.

Committee member appointments will be made during a special meeting of the Normandy Park Council on August 2, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Persons interested in applying for one of the committee positions should submit their name, contact information and a brief statement as to why they would like to serve on one of the committees.

Update for July 25
Sothany Sok's arraignment for allegedly ramming four Seattle Police cars in West Seattle on July 8 has been postponed until August 8 so he can undergo a mental evaluation, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

A King County judge ordered the evaluation earlier today (July 25) to determine if Sok, 37, is competent to stand trial.

He is charged with four counts of second degree assault and one count of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. He remains in jail on $100,000 bail.

Original post on July 12
37-year-old Sothany Sok of West Seattle allegedly started off his Sunday morning intent on prodding police into a high-speed chase and, after ramming four SPD cruisers and causing an estimated $15,000 in damages, King County Prosecutors have charged him with four counts of second degree assault and one charge of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle.

Charges were filed on July 11 and Sok is currently being held on $100,000 bail. His arraignment on those charges is set for July 25, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The skatespot meant to be installed at Roxhill Park is going through some changes as a result of bid problems. Grindline Skateparks, the West Seattle based company had the highest bid but since the other bidders were deemed "unresponsive" they were disqualified. Now, the process is going back for another round of bids. Kelly Davidson of Seattle Parks shared this information:

"The Roxhill project is being re-bid. The only qualified bid was $29K over the estimate, leaving us with a very low contingency. I expect the project to Re-bid on July 25th and this will push construction out to start in late August or early September. "

Original post July 12
The process is moving right along this week as Seattle Parks Roxhill “Skatespot" skateboard plaza got the go-ahead from the city’s Department of Planning and Development to start building after passing an environmental impact review, and the bidding process for builders came to an end on July 11.

Tonight's West Seattle Artwalk will have a different feel about it since the streets of the West Seattle Junction will be closed in preparation for this weekend's Summerfest event, which runs through Sunday.

The work of 36 artists will be on display in businesses that include spots in the Admiral Junction, on Alki and on 35th s.w. To see the complete list please visit the Artwalk website http://wsartwalk.com/

Out in the street in front of Elliott Bay Brew Pub during the setup you can expect to find the Bubbleman, Garry Golightly back to delight children with his fantastic array of bubble making gear starting at 6pm. Also in the street in front of West5 Restaurant you will hear and see the Yada Yada Blues Band. West Seattle Chamber of Commerce President and West5 owner Dave Montoure said, "They play a mix of old-school delta blues and deep south boogie. You'll wanna dance your buns off." You can hear a sample of their music on their MySpace page here.

Twelfth Night Productions will present Anything Goes, August 3 – 19. The age-old tale of Boy-Meets-Girl This zany musical features high energy tap numbers, hilarious physical comedy and highlights one of Cole Porter's magical scores. Anything Goes was recently revived at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre starring Sutton Foster and Joel Grey, and won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

In keeping with Twelfth Night Productions' tradition of giving, this year’s beneficiary is the West Seattle Food Bank, and a portion of the proceeds from Anything Goes will be donated to this organization. Opened in 1981, the West Seattle Food Bank serves 750 - 800 families each week. Working to eliminate hunger in West Seattle so that no one in our community will go to bed hungry, the Food Bank not only provides nutritious food to clients, they also work to eliminate the root causes of hunger by educating clients on nutrition, generating public awareness of hunger in our community and coordinating a range of community services for clients. Hunger is a critical issue in West Seattle for the working poor, single parents, fixed-income seniors and children.

Greenbridge Plaza at 8th Ave. s.w and 99th Ave. s.w. is the scene multi cultural music event July 12. The event will feature live music, food and cultural displays and will run from 4pm to 7pm.

It is a free event and is sponsored by the King County Housing Authority, Neighborhood House, White Center CDA, KCFFI, HKHC, Nia, Quantum Management, Food Bank, SW Boys and Girls Clubs and the White Center Chamber of Commerce.

Cary Griffin, the UW student who ran into six pedestrians with his station wagon in Fremont last December, will be getting 20 months in prison, the Seattle Times reports.

According to documents, Griffin was driving drunk when he hit six people leaving the Nectar Lounge on Dec. 10. Five were sent to Harborview Medical Center, two of which had brain bleeding and were in critical condition at the time of the police officer's report. Nobody was reported to have died.

On the scene, Griffin blew a .189 when the officer gave him a breathalyzer test, well past the legal intoxication limit of .08.

Griffin, 24, pleaded to three counts of vehicular assault and one count of reckless endangerment last May, the Times reports. Early in the case, the attorney noted that Griffin did get out of his car to help the pedestrians.

UPDATE July 25:

Southwest Seattle Police Precinct Captain Steve Paulsen spoke today, July 25, with Mayor Mike McGinn outside the Alki Bathhouse. They said the Southwest Precinct has the city's lowest crime rate, and that West Seattle crime is way down in 2012 over last year.

"In the summertime we generally see an increase in activity citywide of about 20 percent," said McGinn. "On Alki, in summertime in particular, there are obviously more people out. The polices' objective here is to be present and to make sure people are behaving responsibly. We also took a look at High Point (…) It's one of the safest places of West Seattle now (…) This precinct is the lowest crime rate of any precinct in the city. The vast majority of the crimes (here) are property crimes (…) Burglary is down 21 percent (compared to 2011). Car prowl is down nine percent. Auto theft is down 14 percent."

He introduced Southwest Precinct Captain Steve Paulsen.