September 2012

Burien resident Asuan Santos-Valdez, 33, has been arrested for the murder of Orlando Soto at a Tukwila motel on Sept. 1.

At 10:28 p.m. on Sept. 1., Soto was shot and killed in the parking lot of a motel in Tukwila. A single suspect was seen fleeing from the area on foot.

Tukwila detectives collected evidence that led to the identification of Santos-Valdez.

Tukwila police said the evidence indicated Santos-Valdez went into a nearby convenience store where his image was captured on surveillance video. His path to the store was confirmed by the police K9 and other street cameras, according to police.

Department of Corrections Officers recognized Santos-Valdez because he had a DOC warrant for his arrest at the time of the homicide. DOC officers found Santos-Valdez in Seattle on the evening of Sept. 11. He was taken into custody without incident.

Santos-Valdez will be charged with First Degree Murder, according to police officials. They say the motivation for the crime appears to be robbery.

Update for Sept. 25
The early design review packet for the behemoth residential/retail project in the works at 4755 Fauntleroy Way S.W. is now available online in advance of the early design review meeting (open to the public) on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 pm at the West Seattle Senior Center at 4217 S.W. Oregon Street.

Original post on Sept. 13
The block along Fauntleroy Way s.w. that has been the home for car dealerships for decades is finally set to be developed. The proposal is for the construction of five floors of residential containing 370 units over 105,300 sq. ft. of retail space with parking for 570 cars below grade.

4755 Fauntleroy Way s.w. is the address listed but the proposed project extends around the entire block from s.w. Edmunds Street to s.w. Alaska Street, from 40th s.w. to Fauntleroy Way s.w.

The existing buildings would be demolished including the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home, the Shell gas station and the former car dealership. The West Seattle Masonic Lodge and its parking lot would remain.

Another 7 story apartment building is coming, headed to 3078 Avalon Way where development has been seeing a serious uptick recently. The plan is to construct a 7 Story building with underground parking.

The proposal is for 114 residential units and parking for 77 vehicles.

A meeting on the design will be held at the West Seattle Senior Center Sept. 13 4217 SW Oregon St at 6:30pm

This is an EDG or Early Design Guidance meeting. The Design Review Board reviews projects at public meetings at least twice -- at an Early Design Guidance phase and a Recommendation phase. To learn more about the process, download The Community Guide to Design Review.

Caron Architecture, LLC is the designer for the project and in the materials filed with the city they describe the building this way:

October 3 will mark the one-year anniversary West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox was acquitted with her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, of the brutal murder of her British college roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy. Ms. Kercher was stabbed to death Nov. 1, 2007. The trial grabbed both headlines and imaginations worldwide. It transformed those involved into unwilling celebrities trapped in a gruesome ordeal.

The first trial found Knox, Sollecito, and Rudy Guede, guilty. Guede was born in the Ivory Coast, and described by some as a career criminal and drifter. The appeal trial followed, and the murder verdict was overturned for Knox and Sollecito. Guede's guilty verdict stuck, and he remains in prison. DNA experts discredited original findings, and the judge discredited at a least one of the prosecutors' "star witness", a homeless drug addict who recently passed away.

By Calvin Lyons, CEO of Ballard Boys & Girls Club of King County

To the Ballard Boys & Girls Club community:

I am so sorry for any distress that the recent news about Club Director Mark Hendricks transfer to Federal Way has caused you and the people around you. Change is hard enough, but it is not helpful when there are missing details. Thank you for your email and contact. I am reading every word and I appreciate your concern. I apologize that it has taken me a few days.

Sadly, you are hearing primarily misinformation about the Ballard and Federal Way Club Director switch. Rumors and innuendo preempted the transition communications. For example, I had hoped to tell you that we need Mark’s skills to improve another essential part of the Boys & Girls Club of King County organization to ensure the viability of the clubs as a whole. I’m truly sorry that you did not have the benefit of that type of information.

It looks like the Ballard High School volleyball girls are ready to take it to the next level. They just finished off their last non-conference game with yet another 3-0 win, this time in an away game against Arlington High School.

BHS won all three sets in a very close competition with Arlington. In all three, Ballard scored 25, while Arlington scored 21-23-21.

Liza Berg performed another good offensive game with 8 kills, but Kyana Wyld beat her out this time with 11.

Ballard has lost only one game so far, their first one against Lakeside. Seems like our girls took that loss to heart.

The next game will be at home against Inglemoor High School on Sept. 17, 7 p.m.

While the rest of the world was asleep, a Chevron gas station was robbed by two suspects in Crown Hill.

At about 1:45 a.m., the clerk working at the station on the 9000 block of Holman Rd NW was confronted by the two suspects, who took cash and cigarettes and fled on foot, according to the SPD Blotter. They were described as black male in their late teens or early twenties, approximately 5'10" to 6' tall. They were armed with handguns and wore all black clothing. The clerk was not hurt.

A K-9 team responded but were not able to locate the suspects. Robber detectives are following up.

Ballard is about to be home to one of the few (if only) Thai restaurants in Seattle that serve Isan ethnic Thai food.

Co-Owner and Chef of Jhanjay Vegetarian Thai Cuisine (on Ballard Ave), Nanta Jawpliphon, along with her business partners, brothers Pricha and Sutha, will be opening the doors of the new restaurant, Pestle Rock (2305 NW Market), toward the end of September.

Ballardites will know the location of the new Thai spot as the place where Snoose Juction used to be on Market Street. Jawpliphon said the renovations took close to two months and explained that the space is the perfect size. She said she hopes, with the addition of a bar, that the restaurant will appeal to both vegetarians and meat eaters.

Now that the space is almost all ready, Japwpliphon is busy perfecting her recipes and waiting for her brother, Sutha, to arrive from Thailand.

“We are waiting for my brother and his wife to get here so that they can be a part of the opening and so we can get their opinion on everything,” Jawpliphon said.

People for Puget Sound, a steadfast voice for the protection of the Sound and Northwest Straights for over two decades, is calling it quits.

PPS Board President William Derry and Executive Director Tom Bancroft shared the news on Sept. 11.

“People for Puget Sond is at a crucial juncture,” they wrote. “Recent and current economic realities have constrained our ability to raise necessary funds to keep the organization moving forward independently.”

PPS plans to transition their extensive platform of environmental work “to other organizations that embrace our commitment to Puget Sound,” including the Washington Environmental Council and EarthCorps.

“Both of these venerable organizations are passionate about stopping the flow of polluted runoff into the Sound, restoring critical habitat, protecting shorelines, and preserving Puget Sound for generations to come,” Derry and Bancroft wrote. “We are confident that they will be able to efficiently and effectively carry our mission forward.”

The southbound outside lane will be closed today on the Ballard Bridge as the Seattle Department of Transportation crew continues work on the lighting replacement project.

The closure will start at 9:30 a.m. and will reopen no later than 2:30 p.m., SDOT says.

They are removing the last pole for the upgrade (!), meaning that they do not plan further lane closures until next Wednesday, Sept. 19, when they plan to pour concrete for the new pole bases.

As usual, watch out for when the bridge goes up, as it can cause significant delays.