November 2012

As the West Seattle Herald reported on Nov. 2 The City of Seattle is implementing a program to help curb dangerous speeding in school zones, reduce collisions and enhance the safety of children and pedestrians.

Captain Richard Belshay and Mayor Mike McGinn spoke to the media on Nov. 28 about the traffic cameras.

The pilot program will utilize ticket revenue for additional safety improvements near schools such as sidewalks, curb bulbs, and other traffic safety tools and increase safety by reducing speeding.

According to SPD the number of speeding motorists in these school zones has been higher than anticipated and the City is extending the warning period by two weeks before issuing actual citations.

Update on Dec. 7
Police are still searching for a man who attacked a West Seattle convenience store clerk in November with a ukulele, and are hoping surveillance footage of the criminal might lead to a break in tracking him down.

From SPD:

As you may recall, a ukulele-wielding shoplifter attacked a West Seattle convenience store employee on November 28th after the employee confronted the man about his attempts to shoplift a six-pack of beer.

Store surveillance cameras captured images of the suspect walking through the store, ukulele in hand, but detectives are still looking for the man.

Detectives don’t have much information about the suspect yet, but believe he is between 20 and 30 years old.

If you recognize him, please contact the Robbery Unit at (206) 684-5540.

Original post on Nov. 28

Twice a year the potters at the Moshier Art Center sell their handmade wares.

Luckily for discriminating holiday shoppers, one of those times is this Saturday, Dec. 1. The potters will be selling their wares at the art center, located at 430 S. 156th St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hundreds of items such as mugs, bowls, serving dishes, casseroles, garden art, jewelry and planters will be for sale.

For more information, visit MoshierArtCenter.org or call 206-988-3700.

Highline Public Schools press release:

Highline Public Schools has refinanced a portion of the district’s outstanding capital bonds, taking advantage of a 40-year low in interest rates.

By reducing the interest rate from 5.23 percent to 2.43 percent, this transaction will save taxpayers over $6.6 million over the next thirteen years.

Combined with two other refinancing transactions over the past year, the district has reduced interest costs by nearly $12 million.

“We are grateful for the generous support of our Highline voters who approved capital bonds that ensure our students and staff have safe schools in which to work and learn,” said Superintendent Susan Enfield. “Refinancing at this time allowed us to demonstrate that Highline Public Schools is a responsible steward of the funds that our voters entrust to us.”

Taxpayers benefit directly from these savings. Refinancing bonds is similar to refinancing a home mortgage. Locking in a lower interest rate reduces the overall cost of paying back the bonds, and the savings stays in the pockets of property owners.

Highline Community College press release:

The Highline Community College Library Exhibit and Art Gallery is pleased to announce the arrival of the collection, “Indonesian Cultural Arts from Tanah Air Kita—Our Homeland, Our Land and Water.” This collection will feature traditional Indonesian pieces and crafts such as Batik, woven and dyed textiles, ornamental arts and theatrical crafts.

The exhibit comes to Highline through the efforts of 10 visiting Indonesian faculty members with the Community College Faculty and Administrator Program for Indonesia (CCFA). The CCFA professional development program allows instructors and administrators from Indonesia’s technical colleges to witness how community-based institutions of higher education in the United States deliver quality technical and professional education to vital sectors of society. The faculty arrived at HCC this summer and will stay until mid-December.

(Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to Burien City Attorney Craig Knutson with a copy to the Highline Times.)

Dear Mr. Knutson,

Despite a 2-1 rejection by the citizens of North Highline, I am concerned that the issue of annexation is not settled. The voters spoke loud and clear. After the overwhelming results of the vote, I am surprised that anyone is opposed to Burien's immediate withdrawal from annexation. This is unfortunate because as long as this issue remains on the table, our community will remain divided.

The following questions will help clarify my concerns.
1. As I understand, a city can pursue annexation of an unincorporated area several ways:
a. A vote by the residents of the proposed annexed area;
b. A petition by either a super majority of the residents, or property owners of a proposed annexation area and approval by the annexing city's Council;
c. Or an Interlocal agreement between the annexing city and either the unincorporated area's county, or the local fire district serving the area.

UPDATE: A photo has been provided of Don Farquharson, which can be seen above, courtesy of Quest Church.

Pastor Eugene Cho dedicated a blog post to Farquharson on Saturday, Nov. 24. In it, he both mourns Farquharson's death and spends time to tell people to recognize that homeless people are people, too.

"It’s sad when a person passes away and hardly anyone notices and when done so, it’s without a name and the simple description as a 'transient.' This is my simply attempt to humanize and give dignity to a person that so many loved and respected. Yes, he was homeless ... but he was more than 'a transient.'"

Cho also published a letter sent out to volunteers written by Jill Vance (who also appears in the original story below), director of the church's advocacy center. Vance had known Farquharson as a regular at the Bridge Care Center.

King County has made it clear over the last 10 years that they are not in a position to provide services to urban areas, and slowly but surely services have been cut to the North Highline community. Abandoned buildings sit derelict, covered in graffiti. Neighborhood parks get bare bones maintenance and playground equipment sits rusting.

Residential streets go unmaintained, and this winter we will see how well we fare with virtually no snow or storm response. Our fire department is facing critical financial challenges. There is a lack of business development and a cohesive plan for the overall growth of this community. We watch people struggling on our streets. We watch people openly drinking and dealing drugs. We have no ability to thwart the escalating crime and poverty. Policing levels are dictated by budgets, not the needs of the community. We lack influence in state and county government.

Update 7 for Dec. 5
Charges of second degree assault and felony hit and run were filed against 37-year-old West Seattle resident Amy Lynn O'Brien on Dec. 4, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

She is accused of running into two Chief Sealth International High School students near the school on Nov. 28. More details on the incident can be found here.

O'Brien's bail was set at $250,000 last week, but she was released from custody on Dec. 4 on "personal recognizance."

Arraignment is set for Dec. 17, 8:30 a.m., at the King County Courthouse.

Update for Nov. 30
Suspect in hit-and-run that sent two teens to hospital turns herself in; Bail set at $250,000

From the King County Prosecutor’s Office (in italics):

Update, April 11

So, where the heck is Four Freedoms Liquor, the wonderful sounding, small, patriotic distiller that was supposed to come to Ballard?

We reported on it back in November (scroll down to see original post) and still the distiller seems little closer to opening, despite their best intentions.

Well, welcome to the world of distillery permitting. Lexi of Four Freedoms posted a very insightful, lengthy and rather aggravating explanation on their Facebook page.

Read the whole post below:

There have been a lot of questions about what's going on and why we're still not open, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thoroughly explain how the federal permit process works and what's going on with our application.