March 2014

By Gwen Davis

Detective Kevin Nelson, an officer with the Seattle Police Department (SPD), knew since he was nine-years-old that he wanted to be a cop.

However, before this decision, Nelson never considered this career path at all.

It was on one fateful day, when Nelson was in elementary school, a couple African American police officers took Nelson and a couple of his friends, who were also African American, out of the classroom for a day, to tell them what being a police officer was all about.

Nelson was mesmerized.

“I was like, ‘that’s an option?’” Nelson said at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting last Tues. “From that point on, I knew I wanted to be a police officer.”

Cops needed
The meeting, which attracted about 20 people, mainly focused on recruiting new cops.
The SPD is looking to hire 85 new people.

With the recovering economy, many cops are retiring. The SPD urgently needs to fill those vacancies.
It takes a year and a half to become a police officer. Candidates need to go through an academy, training and lots of testing.

White Center- A 17 year old Burien teen was shot and killed last night in White Center.

Police responded to the North Highline Fire Station in the 1200 block of SW 112th last night just after 10pm to a report of a teen shot in the back. When police arrived they learned that the victim and 3 others had been getting gas at a station near SW Roxbury and 15 Ave SW when they exchanged words with a group at a nearby bus stop.

As the group drove by the men near the bus stop one of the men opened fire, striking the vehicle and hitting the victim, who was seated in the rear passenger seat. The driver of the vehicle drove to the fire station to seek aid for the injured teen.

The victim, a Burien resident, was transported to Harborview Hospital where he died from his injuries. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6’, and was last seen wearing a gray hoodie.

If you have information about this crime please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or you may remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 222-TIPS (8477)

The Department of Planning and Development has released an update for development in the Northwest area of Seattle. There are six new land use applications; some include subdivisions, another is to turn a church into a private school, and one for a four-story structure containing 85 units.

Comments can be made through 04/02/2014

Information provided by the DPD

7016 15th Ave N.W.: Land Use Application to allow a 4-story structure containing 85 residential units above 3,000 sq. ft. of commercial and 7 live-work units. Parking for 48 vehicles to be provided below grade. Existing structures to be demolished.

The following approvals are required:

Design Review

SEPA Environmental Determination (This project is subject to the Optional DNS Process (WAC 197-11-355) and Early DNS Process (SMC 25.05.355).

A plan to subdivide and develop a plot of land on 24th S.W. led to a neighborhood protest over concerns related to flooding and potential damage to the salmon watershed.

A public meeting, which the land owner and neighbors have said they will both attend is set for tonight, March 20 at 7pm at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center at 4408 Delridge Way S.W.

Listed with DPD as Project Number 3013981 the proposed subdivision on which owner Nick Antonie has said he would like to see six houses built, is in a zone labeled as flood prone, as a riparian corridor (meaning is it near in this case Longfellow Creek) and while it is regarded as single family, it's also a salmon watershed.

DPD describes the land use application this way:

UPDATE 10:30 pm March 21

At about 3:40 P.M. on March 21st, King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes detectives arrested an 18 year old Seatac man in connection with the shooting death of a 17 year old in White Center on March 19, 2014.

The detectives are not seeking any other suspects; however, they are encouraging additional witnesses of the shooting to come forward and contact the King County Sheriff’s Office by calling (206) 296-3311.

KCSO Case # 14-069328
Original post March 19
A 17 year old male was shot near 15th and Roxbury around 10pm. The victim was in a vehicle in the Bartells Drugs parking lot when we shot by an unknown assailant. He was the passenger and the driver took him to the North Highline Fire. Dept. on 112th S.W. He was rushed to the hospital but died later.

According to the King County Sheriff:

Mark your calendars to hear an evening of music performed by WSCO’s Debut and Intermediate Orchestras on Tuesday, April 8. This evening will also include a surprise guest conductor, the Fall auction winner of “Be A Guest Conductor”, directing the Intermediate Orchestra.

The public is invited and donations of any amount are welcomed and appreciated.

For information about The West Seattle Community Orchestras, visit www.WSCOrchestras.org
Or email info@WSCOrchestras.org
The evening program includes:

Debut Orchestra

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Finale; Rhythm Ride; Viva La Vida – Coldplay; Russian Choral and Overture; and Jazzy Little Brown Jug, all arrangements for beginning orchestra

Intermediate Orchestra

Warrior Legacy – Newbold; “Wachet Auf” (Sleepers Wake) – Bach; “Emperor Waltzes” selected waltzes – Strauss; The Barber of Seville Overture – Rossini – arrangement by Meyer; Symphony No. 25, Mvts. 1 and 4 - Mozart

Seattle Lutheran High School Robotic Team Alliance took 2nd place at statewide robotics competition in Mount Vernon last weekend.

They joined forces in the final competitions with Anacortes High School and Newport High School and returned home with two trophies: The Innovation and Control Award for their robotic controls and 2nd Place overall.

Team SeaBot will compete at Shorewood High School this coming weekend.

Seattle Lutheran High School Robotics Team, in its 11th year, is one of the older continually active teams in the state – Team SeaBot – spends their spare time building and programming their robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition open to any high school aged team in the world. Beginning in January each year, they are led by SLHS teacher, Mr. Jeff Norton, and a cadre of dedicated volunteers who help the students with the marketing, programming, and building teams and the human players who control the robot during competition. 

Team SeaBot has enjoyed success at past competitions, earning playoff seats at many competitions.

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

A colleague with teenagers in the house asked me recently how to save money on groceries and still eat healthy. Below is a list of ideas for feeding a large family without spending a fortune or compromising health. You don’t have to give up money or flavor to eat well, healthy and low-salt.

1. Shop the food sales. Look for sale flyers, which usually appear in your local paper on Wednesdays. Or visit your favorite grocery store’s website and sign up to get email notices of specials.
2. Buy food in season.
3. Use frozen vegetables. They’re often a better buy and higher in nutritional value since they are picked at the height of the season. All those good vitamins are locked in during freezing.
4. Find a fruit market in your area. They often have better prices on local produce.

The concert industry has taken a giant step forward with a new streaming radio station that provides a platform where musicians can share their music.

DeliRadio is a three-year-old startup based in Emeryville, Calif. They went live in September of 2011 and now they have over 13,000 bands from all over the world active in their system.

Local venues like the High Dive, Sunset Tavern, Nectar Lounge and Tractor Tavern have adopted DeliRadio, donning their own streaming stations online.

So how does it work? Participating bands that play at the venue appear in the audio stream. At no charge, musicians submit tracks or entire albums to the station for listeners to hear. Some artists upload entire collections. The stations also post their entire music line up for the month. By starting a free account, listeners can save tracks and musicians they like. Moreover, listeners also get updates for when their favorite musicians are playing at local venues.

Burien- King County Sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help identifying a man who robbed a Walgreens in Burien last week.

On Sunday, March 9th around 3:00 in the morning deputies responded to a robbery at the Walgreens in the 14600 block of Ambaum blvd SW. Employees told police that the suspect entered the store and went to the pharmacy counter.

At the counter the suspect demanded “oxy” from an employee. The employee told the suspect that the Oxycodone was in a time delayed safe. The suspect told the employee to retrieve the oxy from the safe and not to touch anything.

The suspect waited for the safe to release the pills then fled with the pills out the front door. The employee reported the robbery to the manager who ran out the front door and saw the suspect get into a newer, black sedan. The vehicle had a license plate starting with “AHH” or similar letters.

The suspect is described as a white male, in his 20’s, approximately 5’11”, thin build, with brown hair and was last seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt.