July 2013

Two District 7 Little League baseball tournaments are closing in on championship games for Saturday, while two others are just getting underway.

West Seattle has already earned its way into this weekend's championship in both the Majors age 11-12 tournament and the age 9-10 tournament and must be defeated twice to be eliminated.

West Seattle plays the winner of the 6 p.m. Friday game between PacWest and Renton in the Majors action at Bar-S Fields in West Seattle.

The age 9-10 West Seattle squad awaits the winner of Friday's 6 p.m. game between South Highline National and PacWest.

Both championships are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Bar-S followed by any if-necessary games at 1 p.m. Saturday.

PacWest opened the 9-10 tournament with a 1-0 win over South Highline American before falling to South Highline National, 18-6. West Seattle then defeated National, 9-8, in Wednesday's winner's bracket final.
In the loser's bracket, Renton ousted American, 13-3, on Monday and PacWest beat Rainier District, 9-3, on Tuesday. PacWest was a 12-9 winner over Renton on Thursday.

Press release:

Fourth of July weekend is full of hustle and bustle, but maybe you’d just like a walk in the park? Ahh, shady trails, quiet conversation and a babbling brook sound pretty nice after the “rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air.”

For our Walk-n-Talk this weekend, on Sunday July 7, we’ll begin at the SeaTac Community Center and head westward over to North SeaTac Park for a stroll on the trails. The park route provides a great study of native tree species.

We’ll complete our loop walk, return to the Community Center, then wander the paths of the adjacent Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden. The garden is currently full of lush green and summer bloom, including daylilies, clematis, roses, waterlilies.

Date: Sunday July 7, 2013

Time: Meet at 2:00 p.m. Start walking at 2:15 p.m.

Location: SeaTac Community Center front entry door. 13735 24th Ave S., SeaTac WA
(Please note that our meet-up location and route will be different than for our walk last October.)

Parking: There is plenty of parking, split between two lots at the Community Center.

Burien lawmakers unanimously approved July 1 development of an off-leash dog park at Lakeview Park near Highline Medical Center.

The park, located at 422 S. 160th St., formerly housed an elementary school. The building has been torn down.

Deputy Mayor Lucy Krakowiak said placing the dog park there provides a “unique opportunity.” It will increase public safety in the neighborhood while providing a public off-leash area for dog owners.

Councilmember Jack Block Jr. said the park is an “outstanding site.” With a park picked, it will be easier for B-Town DOG, a non-profit group that will help run the facility, to raise funds for it, Block noted.

Parks operations manager Steve Roemer said the 1.5-acre park will have separate areas for small dogs and large dogs.

The parks department had originally suggested Hazel Valley or Salmon Creek parks in north Burien. But Lawmakers were concerned about the impacts to neighbors.

City Manager Mike Martin said the willingness of Highline Public Schools officials to allow a dog park on district-owned land signals a new era of cooperation between the city and the district.

By Clay Eals

What do you do when the house you live in turns 100? Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and his wife, Sharon, have a ready answer: Throw a community celebration and make it a fundraiser for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

To be held Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18, 2013, the event is called “If These Walls Could Talk: The Centennial of Hizzoner’s Home.” It will take place at the Nickels home in the Admiral neighborhood of West Seattle.
Sponsoring the two-tiered event is the 29-year-old Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which also will be the beneficiary.

From 3 to 5 p.m., the public will be able to tour the home, see display panels and video about the history of the home and its neighborhood, enjoy refreshments and period music and meet Greg and Sharon Nickels. Walk-up admission will be $15, with a discounted $10 admission for historical-society members.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Both West Seattle teams are riding high after winning their first two games in their respective Little League baseball all-star tournaments.

After opening with a 13-12 win over Renton the West Seattle Majors team shut down PacWest, 17-0, in Wednesday's winner's bracket final.

The Westsiders will now play Friday's PacWest vs. Renton winner for the championship starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at West Seattle's Bar-S Fields. West Seattle needs to be defeated twice not to advance into upcoming state action and any second game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday.

West Seattle's age 9-10 all-stars will also play at 10 a.m. Saturday needing to be defeated twice, with any second game also starting at 1 p.m. at Bar-S.

West Seattle opened the tournament by clobbering Renton, 19-6, before edging South Highline National, 9-8, in the 9-10 winner's bracket final.

That squad is awaiting the winner of a 6 p.m. Friday game between PacWest and South Highline National.
Two more tournaments open at PacWest Saturday with West Seattle teams playing in both opening games.

North Lake Unions dry dock burst into flames just shy of Seattle's fireworks display Thursday. It is believed stray fireworks are to blame for the damage of fourteen boats. Officials estimate damage around $1.5 million dollars. The blaze was contained with a rapid response by Seattle Fire Department and the fireworks show continued on schedule.

"All I wanted was some change"

June 30, 8:12 p.m., 14th Ave and NW Market St -- Strange things can happen when you refuse a man some change.

Police responded to a fight call where the suspect, extremely intoxicated, was yelling at a man inside a truck, described as an "orange dump truck." The suspect was described as a white male wearing a baseball cap and blue jeans with no shirt.

The man in the truck had first seen the suspect walking in and out of traffic and had yelled at and asked him to stop. Perhaps down on the dumps, the suspect came over to the truck and asked the victim for some change. The victim said no, and the suspect then proceeded to start punching the victim through the partially opened window. With the suspect hitting the window, the victim was afraid it would get broken, and so rolled it down.

Trying to fend off the suspect with one hand and holding his phone in the other hand, the victim called police. The suspect tried to snatch the victim's phone and, after a brief tug of war, it fell to the ground. The suspect also tried to grab the victim's laptop, but did not succeed.

The mild temperatures (not always a reliable thing) on the 4th of July meant West Seattle and White Center residents were out in numbers to watch the bigger shows and of course, despite the ban in the City of Seattle, light them off by the thousands in neighborhood displays.

One home on 37th SW had a gutter fire when apparently an errant firework came down still hot, but no damage was found. There was a gang activity call out on Alki near 57th SW but it was quickly dealt with.

People came in throngs to Alki Beach and crowded along the Admiral Way viewpoint to fire off fountains and see the big show over Lake Union. People watching there could see the thick plumes of smoke from the marina fire at the north end of Lake Union that claimed 14 boats.

In and around White Center fireworks stands stayed open late selling even as the gunpowder smoke hung in the air all around them. Spent shells of fountains and other "safe and sane" consumer grade fireworks displays littered roadways and open areas of parking lots as impromptu shows were set up and set off.

UPDATE
Because the Seattle Police Department will be holding a second media briefing on the officer-involved shooting that took place on Capitol Hill on Friday, the original Safe Communities update visit to the SW Precinct will be rescheduled.

Original Post
Mayor Mike McGinn, Captain Joe Kessler and the Seattle Police Department will hold a press conference Friday afternoon at the Southwest Precinct to provide an update on public safety and Safe Communities, a public outreach effort under SPD 20/20: A Vision for the Future.

The Mayor made an appearance in September at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, to introduce the program and begin the process of collecting community input.

By Simone Alicea

Southwest District Council discusses property projects
By Simone Alicea

Tweet: SPS and City Light talk about building projects in West Seattle at SWDC meeting Wednesday. New schools and possible parks on the agenda.

Seattle Public Schools and Seattle City Light spoke at the Southwest District Council meeting Wednesday about ongoing and possible building projects throughout West Seattle.

Joe Wolf, SPS’s K-12 planning coordinator, updated the council on three school building projects in the area, namely the remodeling of Arbor Heights Elementary, the reopening of Fairmount Park Elementary and the work on the Genesee Hill building as a new home for Schmitz Park Elementary.

Arbor Heights and Schmitz Park are set to open in 2016 with either 490 or 660 seats, and current Arbor Heights students would be housed at Boren School for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 years. Fairmount Park is projected to open in 2014 with 500 seats. All three schools are K-5.