May 2015

from the Seattle Police Blotter
by Detective Patrick Michaud

Seattle Police and King County Deputies arrested a man Sunday who fled following a 4 AM stabbing in the South Delridge neighborhood.

An employee of a restaurant in the 2500 block of SW Barton St. was attacked and stabbed twice, once in the chest and once in the head, before the 23-year-old suspect fled on foot.
A Seattle K-9 officer tracked the suspect toward an area in unincorporated King County and called King County Deputies for assistance. Deputy Cueva found the suspect at 25 Ave. SW and SW 100th St. where he was taken into custody without incident.

The employee suffered non-life threatening injuries and was treated and released at the scene. Officers located a four-inch folding blade knife at the scene.

Officers have booked the suspect into King County Jail for investigation of Assault.

The world famous Seattle Seafair Pirates gathered at Don Armeni Park on May 9 to pose for their annual photo session and shared that this year, the Pirate's Landing is going to be a bit bigger and and longer. Photographer Sasha Juric shot photos of around 30 scalawags led by new Captain Kurt Folsom who is succeeding Marvin Davis.

The landing will be June 27 and while they are "still working on our plans" they said this time the event would be larger and last longer than in previous years. "It's a renaissance," said pirate Daniel Sullivan.

The landing usually happens around low tide often near midday (the official approximate time will be announced later) and features live music, vendors, food and a virtual army of kids dressed up like pirates.

Also usually in attendance are Sefair Royalty, and public officials, but the Pirates press release is not yet out to confirm details.

Today was just about photos with everyone in fine form as they teased each other mercilessly.

by Bob Sims

Texas Rangers rookie relief pitcher Keone Kela, a Chief Sealth all-stater and Metro League co-MVP his senior year in 2011, has made quite a splash in the big leagues this season.

Kela, 22, recorded his first two major league wins in the span of three days, one against the Oakland A's, an 8-7 verdict on May 2, and the other on May 4, a 2-1 win over the resurgent American League West-leading Houston Astros.

He pitched scoreless ball in the eighth inning of both games.
In his pitching debut April 7 against Oakland at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, Kela came on in the seventh inning to protect a two-run lead. The first two batters got on, and the bases eventually would get loaded with one out.

During that crisis, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, brother of baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, came out to calm his young pitcher.

"Mike came out there and said, 'you have other pitches, right'?" Kela told the Dallas Morning News. "I was like 'yeah.' So, I did (pitch them). Experience is a great teacher. This is something to put in my memory bank."

information from SDOT

The eastbound curb lane of the West Seattle Bridge will be closed through Thursday, May 14 during off-peak traffic hours for utility work.

The schedule will be:

Friday to Sunday, May 8th to May 10th -- 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Monday to Thursday, May 11th to May 14th -- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Thursday, May 7
Baseball
West Seattle 15, Franklin 1
The Wildcats opened Metro League playoff action with a lopsided win Thursday over Franklin, advancing them to a second loser-out game against Roosevelt on Friday.
Nathan Hale 5, Chief Sealth 1
The Seahawks' season ended with Thursday's Metro League playoff loss.

Fastpitch
Metro Tiebreaker
West Seattle claimed a No. 1 seed into the Metro League tournament with a 2-0 tiebreaker victory over Ballard and a 2-1 win over Bainbridge at Rainier Beach on Thursday.
The Wilcats advance to play Blanchet or Chief Sealth at 7 p.m. Monday at the Southwest Athletic Complex lower field.
Blanchet 13, Highline 10
The Pirates lost a non-league slugfest to Blanchet on Thursday.
Kentridge 18, Mt. Rainier 1
Kentridge battered the Rams as the South Puget Sound League season ended Thursday.

Wednesday, May 6
Fastpitch
Kennedy 10, Hazen 0
Kennedy put the wraps on the Seamount League title with Wednesday's win, improving to 13-0 in league action ahead of Hazen's 11-2 mark with one game to go.

The controversial drilling platform the Polar Pioneer and associated ships that are part of Shell Oil's Arctic drilling fleet are due to arrive at Terminal 5 in Seattle soon regardless of planned protests and government efforts to delay it.

The city of Seattle's finding that Shell and Foss Maritime would need a new permit to host means little since the city is blocked from action for 90 days during the appeal. Hence the fleet and drilling rig are coming to Seattle.

A demonstration led by Shellno.org and others was held a few weeks ago to dispute the claims of supporters that that Shell's drilling efforts could result in an environmental disaster.
They contend that the 400 or more jobs that Shell and Foss claim will result from the moorage is an inaccurate number.

Port of Seattle commissioners will discuss the matter at a meeting Tuesday.

The Shell fleet is moored in Port Angeles and will stop in Everett for refueling before moving to Seattle sometime in the next week.

A citywide emergency preparedness communications drill on May 9 will feature two primary West Seattle locations. Ercolini Park (SW Alaska St & 48th Ave SW) and Hiawatha Playfield (SW Lander St & California Ave SW) near the south baseball diamond) where people can participate in two ways.
Be a "citizen actor" who visits the hub as a person in need. The organizers will provide scripts for the purpose or you can volunteer to get on the job training and learn how neighbors can help each other in the event of a disaster.

During the event which runs from 5pm to 10pm neighborhood emergency preparedness groups across the city, assisted by amateur radio emergency communications teams will test their skills in an exercise based on a major subduction zone earthquake on a scale similar to the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, with ongoing aftershocks and continue as a storm gathers.

The West Seattle Communications hubs are located at the following addresses:

• Alki Communication Hub – Alki Community Center – SW Stevens St & 59th Ave SW
• Admiral Communications Hub –Hiawatha Playfield – SW Lander St & California Ave SW

Information provided by Woodland Park Zoo.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington today denied a second request for an injunction preventing Woodland Park Zoo from transporting Bamboo and Chai to the Oklahoma City Zoo. The District Court emphasized the evidence indicating that Bamboo and Chai remained in good health during and after the trip to San Diego and the zoo’s planning and preparation for the continuation of the transport to Oklahoma City. Following is a statement released by Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen:

“We are grateful for today’s decision which allows Woodland Park Zoo to move forward with our plans to move Chai and Bamboo to Oklahoma City Zoo to join their new family herd.

“Focusing on the welfare of our elephants remains our top priority. While we respect the diversity of views that have been expressed, we firmly believe that it is important for us to continue with our plans to move them so they can begin integration with their new multi-generational family. We are hopeful that the move can be completed next week before the summer heat.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray today named Jessica Finn Coven to serve as director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) and Kathy Nyland to serve as director of the Department of Neighborhoods (DON). Bernie Matsuno, who has served as director of DON since 2011, will be stepping down effective June 2.

Finn Coven comes to OSE after serving as Washington Director of Climate Solutions since 2011. Previously she worked at the U.S. Climate Action Network and Greenpeace. She serves on the board of directors of Washington Conservation Voters and Puget Sound Sage.

“Jessica brings deep connections to Seattle’s environmental community,” said Murray. “Her commitment to environmental justice will lend strength to Seattle’s new Equity and Environment Initiative. The benefits of progressive environmental policy must reach all our diverse communities more equitably, including low-income families, immigrants and people of color.”

information from Seattle Fire Dept.

Seattle Fire Investigators determined a fire at a West Seattle auto repair shop was accidental, caused by overheated electrical wiring inside an office. The damage estimate is $70,000.

At 9:49 p.m. Dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call reporting flames inside an auto repair shop. When Engine Company 11 arrived they found flames shooting through the roof and through the side windows of the garage located in the 8800 block of Delridge Way SW.

After launching an interior attack, firefighters were able to knock down the flames within 10 minutes. It took 20 minutes to completely extinguish the fire.

One car parked inside the repair shop was destroyed.

The building was unoccupied when the fire started. There were no injuries.