September 2013

After the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development approved the permit for developers to proceed with their plan to put three houses in the Benchview neighborhood of West Seattle, it drew the ire of the Benchview Neighborhood Association, who said they would file suit again in the matter. It also drew this letter addressed to Director Diane Sugimura from Dan Dennehy, Benchview resident who shared it with the West Seattle Herald.

Ms. Sugimura-

Really? Just like before, in the dead of night. Friday before Labor Day weekend you drop this bomb. Clearly you are ashamed of this action, enough that you hold your nose and try to slide by when you feel no one is looking. Well it is not going to work. We intend to file a second LUPA. The leash comes off the fundraising efforts and the press will be out in force. The Mayor is a goner in West Seattle.

How can you argue that the LBA was not issued in error? That is precisely what the Judge ruled.

Seattle Police got reports of a man with a loaded crossbow in a disturbance at Westwood Village on Aug. 31.

Around 5pm they encountered the suspect. Faced by rifle officers he was convinced by police to place the weapon down and surrender. In his possession were two arrows, one a plain metal tip and the other a razor steel hunting tip. An investigation into his circumstances showed that the suspect was suffering from mental health issues. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for an involuntary commitment.

The suspect, 47 years of age was verbally hostile and had to be placed in 4- point restraints to control him according to police.

UPDATE: 11:19 am
Police have apprehended a man they were seeking in Arbor Heights, who reportedly was armed. The witness who made the call has made a positive identification of the suspect. The suspect was described as bald and wearing a long gray shirt. The suspect apparently removed his shirt and dropped it on 35th SW. Some property was also dropped near Arbor Heights Elementary School, indicating this was likely a burglary. Another suspect was seen as well but no description was immediately available. They were seen in at least two backyards, appeared to have possibly entered one home through an unlocked back door (no sign of forced entry) but no theft has yet been reported. The second suspect was not apprehended.

Original Post
Seattle Police are pursuing a man who is possibly armed in the Arbor Heights neighborhood. He was seen, according to scanner calls near 102nd SW and 37th Ave. SW. No further word on this matter as yet. We will update this report.

By Clay Eals
A dozen years later, Dean Keppler reels at the memory. His eyes well up. His voice chokes as he talks haltingly, reverently and, in the end, almost dazedly in trying to describe the indescribable.
“It all just happened,” he says, over and over, through tears.

Keppler is standing in the second-floor workroom of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum. He combs through hundreds of an estimated 1,000 brown- paper sandwich bags on which people from all over West Seattle and beyond inscribed messages of sadness, anger, fear and hope.

The trigger for these emotional expressions, of course, was the terrorist attack on Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001, that came to be known as 9/11. The inscribers were countless men, women and children who for five days following the tragedy gathered beneath the Statue of Liberty replica on Alki Beach.
And the catalyst for the heartfelt messages was Keppler.

Keppler will be among four who will speak briefly at a 9/11 memorial event, “The Earth Cried Out,” at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013, at Alki Arts, 2820 Alki Ave. S.W., just two blocks west of the Statue of Liberty replica.

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

No, don’t get me wrong. I am not going to write about my own leg. This time it is my daughter’s leg that she recently shattered bigtime. You do remember my reminiscing in my column from the position of one leg elevated. I was not excited about the statement, “Everything happens for a reason.” But maybe that isn’t such an impossible statement after all. There is much to be learned from such a bone shattering experience.

One’s hum-drum life becomes filled with changing the everyday routine to include lying with leg elevated and learning how to move about on a scooter or even in a wheelchair. People that you hadn’t contacted for a very long time loom larger in the address book that you now have time to look through with a virtual magnifying glass.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169
Our Division Sale starts Thursday, September 5th and everything in the store is half-price!  You won't want to miss this event because it's one weekend only and ends on the 8th.  This is store-wide and includes what's remaining from out Antiques, Vintage and Collectibles Event.  This is a great way to score some treasures while helping us support cancer cure research.  September is Ovarian and Prostrate Cancer Awareness Month.  The all volunteer run, non profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Follow our blog at www.discoveryshopwestseattle.org and LIKE us on Facebook

GriefShare Support Group
Grace Church
10323 28th Ave. S.W.
Saturdays, starting Sept. 7th for 13 weeks, 10 a.m.—noon. This international grief recovery support group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one to death. You can start at anytime and it doesn’t matter how long ago the death occurred. There is a one time cost of $15 for a journal. Contact: Barb at 206-932-7459 or Grace Church 206-937-8400.

By Kyra-lin Hom

Greetings from the Mile High City! I am currently hailing from the Denver, Colorado area. My boyfriend and I are taking a weeklong pit stop here to visit his family before moving onto Chicago. All the way up here it is warm, dry and beautiful. It doesn't quite have Seattle's glorious greenery, but the the surrounding desert-like mountains are a sight all their own.

While killing time mid-transit from downtown Denver to Boulder, a few very pointed online comments in response to last weeks' column on I-522 sprang to my attention. It was made apparent to me that I was not as clear as I could have been. The issues raised by “Tom” were absolutely valid, and I'm incredibly grateful for the civility of the threads his posts spawned. Tom can't have been the only person I unintentionally misled so please accept my apology and allow me to clarify.

The Nickelsville homeless encampment just off West Marginal Way SW in West Seattle saw its final day Sept. 1 as ordered by the City of Seattle and while it went slower than those in charge would have liked, it was mostly a smooth affair with little drama. The encampment has been on the site for the past two years.

Some of the structures on the site, essentially one room buildings with doors, wont be moved out until Tuesday when gear can come in and load them up. There is an agreement with the city to spend the next three days (until Sept. 4) to spend those days cleaning up the site. Four people will remain on the site to keep an eye on what remains until it is all removed.

Peggy Hotes, liason between the camp and their fiscal sponsor, said, "The people who have kept up on things weren't really surprised, there was a little tension at the end because we said if we don't have places for people to go we will stand our ground but we know now where almost everyone is going."

The former "Nickelodeons" as they were referred to, will go to:

Update 2 for Sept. 3
Seattle teachers voted to accept a new contract with Seattle Public Schools on the evening of Sept. 3, avoiding a possible strike and ensuring school starts on time tomorrow, Sept. 4.

SPS Superintendent José Banda released the following statement:

"I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work and dedication in negotiating this agreement. I appreciate each and every one of our staff members, whose work contributes to the academic success of our students. All of us at Seattle Public Schools look forward to welcoming our students and families to a new school year tomorrow."

Update for Sept. 3
Seattle Public Schools has announced a tentative two-year labor agreement between the Seattle Education Association (SEA) teachers' union and SPS has been reached and that SEA members will vote on the agreement around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

If approved, school will start on time: Wednesday, Sept. 4.

SPS will issue an announcement to families and media as soon as the SEA vote is available after 5 p.m.

Original post on Sept. 1