September 2013

Information from King County

King County’s contractor has cleared the structures from the Murray CSO Control Facility project site. Crews are now backfilling the foundations with soil and installing plastic along the site’s eastern slope to maintain the site’s stability. The site will then be seeded with grass to reduce runoff and dust prior to the start of facility construction later this year. The contractor expects to complete the major remaining work by Friday.

Parking on the east side of Beach Drive Southwest is expected to be restored for the weekend. Project fencing will be returned to the edge of the site, reopening the sidewalk on the east side of the roadway to pedestrians and bicyclists. Street and sidewalk cleaning activities could create temporary access issues to these areas, and could extend into early next week.

Next Steps

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced his proposed 2014 budget on Sept. 23. None of it is set in stone until city council has a chance to evaluate, but the budget, coming in at $4.4 billion, has some highlights that should have specific impacts here in West Seattle.

Policing and public safety
- Continue crime prevention coordinator funding for Mark Solomon who works for West Seattle communities, setting up block watches among other duties ($63,663)
- Train additional officers on CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) to assist the Dept. of Neighborhoods evaluations and site visits
- Increase Southwest Precinct’s budget from $15 million in 2013 to $16.4 million in 2014. According to the budget, that will include one more full time employee (likely a patrol officer)

Teddy, a purebred Havanese, is four years old and belongs to Amy Thorsen. She got him from a breeder in South Dakota because local breeders were asking for a much higher price. She picked him at the airport. "My daughter and I went to the airport to pick him up. He was in a crate and he was whimpering and my husband Sid was traveling on business that week and he was the one who reassured me that he had had a dog for 17 years and knew all about dogs."

Thorsen said that Teddy is very adventurous and playful and is never allowed to go roam around on his own. "But one night we left the gate open," she said, "it was dark and we realized he was missing. My husband ran out the front and I ran out the back and we both discovered that he had gone all the way around the block and ended up at the front door. But of course that's the last place we looked for him. So I was just happy he found his way home and was patiently waiting for us to discover him."

Teddy is all dog, no doubt, delighting in socks and underwear and "he shreds any tissue he can get," Thorsen said.

Compiled By Shara Wallace

Sea-Tac shooting
Police are searching for a shooter who opened fire at a car early Thursday morning in the 16700 block of 31st Avenue South in Sea-Tac. The two men inside the car were wounded and crashed into several other cars in a parking lot. After the shooting and crash, one of the men fled the scene to a nearby bank where he collapsed. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The other man checked himself into near-by Highline Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound.
It is not yet known if the shooting was random or the people in the car were specifically targeted police said.

Car break-ins, vandalism, prowlers and theft
2000 blk S. 154th St., 13000 blk 4th Ave. S., 100 blk S.W. 148th St., 15600 blk 1st Ave.,
15000 blk 4th Ave. S., 13000 blk 12th S.W., 1000 blk S.W. 128th St., 1000 blk S.W.
116th St., 11200 blk 16th Ave. S.W., 1000 blk S.W. 124th St., 13200 blk Occidental Ave.,
13700 blk 12th Ave. S.W., 12000 blk 8th Ave. S., 17600 blk 1st Ave. S., 15400 blk Des
Moines Memorial Dr.

By Simone Alicea

My mother often tells me that if I ever put her in a nursing home, her ghost will haunt me for the rest of my days. It was this threat I had in mind when my editor asked me to write a piece on food in retirement homes.

However, I was surprised to find that food preparation and service in retirement facilities is highly regulated and often high-quality.

“I was amazed at what I received,” said Paula Mezger, 64. Mezger, a former nurse, has been a resident at Burien Nursing and Rehabilitation since May, and says she likes that the food is well seasoned and that they serve decent coffee.

“They try hard not to give me stuff I don’t like,” Mezger said. “It was very unexpected.”

Long-term care facilities and their kitchens come in all shapes and sizes. The largest of these are what are known as Continuing Care Retirement Communities. CCRCs offer seniors a range of living options from independent living apartments to full-time skilled nursing. Other facilities, such as Burien Nursing and Rehabilitation, may focus on one or more of these options.

By Peggy Sturdivant

I cannot explain why I have always wanted to take advantage of Seattle’s participation in the international event whereby parking spaces can be turned into popup parks every year on the third Friday of September. Mine was going to have a strictly literary theme but in the week beforehand I found myself particularly susceptible to people announcing, “I’ve got a column for you.” The column idea was often in the form of a problem to be solved.

Inspired by a very sad tale involving stolen lettuce starts I decided to add an “Ask Peggy” booth to the Ballard Writers park I’d applied to install on 32nd Avenue NW in front The Scoop at Walter’s. My vision was a street version of KING 5’s “Get Jesse” but my husband could only see Peanut’s Lucy in me, and he was the one with the power tools the night beforehand.

By Bob Sims

Vincent Thompson is sitting alone, weary, in the corner of the dressing room. His arms are draped over his knees and beads of sweat are dripping off his brow. He has a look of quiet solitude, eyes staring ahead.
Thompson's work day is over. He has endured his first loss as a professional heavyweight fighter.

It took Charles Martin of St. Louis, Mo., a worthy, undefeated opponent and a southpaw like himself, to beat him.

Martin, who is 6-foot-5 and has a wide 82-inch reach, overpowered Thompson with a punishing jab and jarring left hand to win the six-round bout on a unanimous decision Saturday at Skookum Events Center in Shelton.

"He couldn't get to me," said Martin, who forced the action from the start. "He's got good defense on the inside. He had heart to stand in there."

It was an explosive straight left hand by Martin in the first round that dropped Thompson for the first time in his career, and it was the first time Thompson (13-1, 2 KOs) had ever faced another southpaw in a pro bout.

Yoga Gypsies of Des Moines is offering three International Adventures for 2014 including a sailing trip to Belize in March, a Discovery of Morocco in June and a Trek through Thailand in November.

Yoga teacher Dawn Jex recently moved to Des Moines and brought her love for yoga, travel and adventure along with her. Her company exists to inspire and educate others to live simply, breathe deeply and travel lightly.

Jex has practiced yoga in Tulum, Mexico, taught yoga in Costa Rica and is currently planning a sailing trip to Croatia in September. Jex is a 200 level RYT meaning she has at least 200 hours of training, earning her a teaching certificate.

Yoga Gypsies also features stand up paddleboard yoga. Yoga on a board, on the water! This type of yoga is a great way to move yoga into nature and is a fun activity to do with your friends and family. The company can accommodate up to 5 students in each class.

“Yoga doesn't have to be all serious,” Jex said. “It's okay to laugh and have fun too.” she grinned.

Meeting announcement from the West Seattle Block Watch Captains' Network (meetings are open to everyone):

Have you created your Safety Profile for Smart911?

The city of Seattle now has Smart911 and it will soon be implemented throughout the rest of King County. Come see how Smart911 can benefit you in a crisis!

Our guest this month is Kayreen Lum, the Program Coordinator for King County E911.

She’ll explain how Smart911 works, show us what Smart911 provides to dispatchers versus what they get without Smart911, and discuss how to take advantage of this new supplemental data service.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013, 6:30-8 PM

SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot)

6:00-6:30 Arrive early for light snacks, socializing and networking with each other while we set up the room. We’ll bring pictures from the Summer Social!

6:30-7:00 Introductions, announcements, concerns, sharing ideas.

An apparent suicide attempt took place in Ballard earlier this morning.

At about 8:30 this morning, multiple medic responses, 14 per rule, arrived at the scene. According to scanner chatter, two people were breathing but unresponsive and "may have tried to commit suicide."

The daughter of the two parents was there and said both patients have Do Not Resuscitates.

While some medics were released, a unit called for cops and coroner (C&C).

Update: The address of the location was in the original story. It has been taken out. In addition, some wording has been changed to make the report more impartial.

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