West Seattle

A man called police from a payphone to report he had been robbed at gunpoint on 14th Ave s.w. Officers arrived at the scene and the caller, who appeared “extremely intoxicated,” stumbled over to their squad car. He stated the while riding Metro Bus #132 he was attacked by a 5’10” black male weighing in at 200 pounds and sporting a black coat and blue jeans. As the story went, the caller saw the suspect push a female and her two children on the bus, so he stepped in to save the day. He said the suspect punched him in his chest and leg and then stole $100 in “$80 bills” from his wallet. Officers checked his wallet, which still had cash inside. Next, the story changed a bit and the suspect attacked him on the sidewalk (instead of the bus), then fled in a black Cadillac. There was never any mention of a gun. Police contacted the driver of Metro Bus #132 and he/she said there was no disturbance on the bus.

About 25 people from the Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council met for their 2nd general meeting on Oct. 21 to discuss crime prevention, emergency preparedness and the future of the vacant Genesee Hill School property.

First to the podium at the West Side Presbyterian Church was Benjamin Kinlow, crime prevention coordinator for the Seattle Police Department.

“I encourage each of you to think about safety as your responsibility,” Kinlow said in reference to neighborhood crime prevention. “One thing that you can do about safety is start in your own home. We encourage everyone to take a look at their home to make sure its secure and make sure you don’t let your guard down because there are burglaries happening every single day.”

Kinlow said the best approach for reducing burglaries and car prowls is to set up a block watch program, whether it be formal or informal. He encouraged Genesee Schmitz neighbors to share phone numbers and emails and become Facebook friends – any steps that can be taken to keep each other informed of suspicious activity on their blocks.

A special community meeting has been called for Nov. 1 to get public input on the potential of a stormwater management facility or CSO proposed for the south parking lot at Lincoln Park.

CSOs are discharges of untreated stormwater and sewage during heavy rains that can exceed the capacity of the sewer system in areas where stormwater and wastewater flows are combined.

King County’s goal is to reduce the number of CSOs each year from the Barton and Murray Pump Stations to no more than one untreated discharge per year on average at each station to meet state regulations.

The King County Department of Natural Resources and Park/ Wastewater Treatment Division has held a series of meeting since 2007 to develop a plan to control combined sewer overflows in Puget Sound.

The Murray Community Advisory Group, or CAG, has recommended a water storage tank under the Lincoln Park south parking lot. The West Seattle Herald previously reported on the opposition to the location of the project near Lowman Park.

Southwest Precinct Commander Capt. Steve Paulsen will have several changes to his command positions taking place in early November, the Capt. said.

Lt. Norm James, SW Precinct’s current Operations Lieutenant, will be transferred to the West Precinct to work with Capt. Kessler, who was moved to the West Precinct in October.

“We will miss Norm greatly, but this is also a great opportunity for him as well as the men and women who work downtown,” Capt. Paulsen said.

Lt. James will be replaced by Lt. Pierre Davis.

“Lt. Davis is an experienced commander who is coming from the Traffic Section,” Capt. Paulsen said. “We are excited to have Pierre at the SW Precinct as my second in command.”

The precinct will also shuffle its three watch commander positions, separated into morning, day and night shifts, according to Capt. Paulsen.

Lt. Ron Rasmussen, currently the Southwest Precinct second (afternoon) watch commander, will replace Lt. Von Levandowski as first (morning) watch commander.

Lt. Ron Smith, currently Southwest Precinct third (night) watch commander, will move to the second watch.

Kate O'Hara got her dog Pachuco two years ago as a gift and he's a great example of a gift that keeps on giving. More on that to come.

Pachuco is a English Bull Terrier (or Hinks Terrier) and as a breed he's recognizable for being in the movie Patton, as 'Spuds MacKenzie' a character in a series of beer commercials from the 80's and more recently as the "Target Dog" used in print, display and on television.

His name refers to "Zoot Suiters" of the 1940's in Los Angeles. "They wore the big suits, and were fancy men," said O'Hara," we gave him that name because two years ago on Christmas Eve when it was snowing he wouldn't go out into the snow, so we had to carry him out to go to the bathroom for about a week."

He eats Arcana dry dog food purchased at Pet Elements (just south of the Morgan Junction) and if there's a treat he likes, "It's bacon," said O'Hara.

Hard to say exactly what happened here, but it may be a case of burglars being burglarized. Officers responded to a burglary in progress at a home on 21st Ave s.w. last week. Someone had seen a white male in his mid 20s lurking around the house and going into the bushes, and then called police. When officers arrived the suspect was gone, but they found two toolboxes and two antique lamps in the back yard and a broken window on the back door. Here is where it gets interesting … the house has been abandoned and overgrown with blackberry bushes and other vegetation. When they entered the house, officers found evidence of squatters (sleeping bags, clothing and camping equipment) and “an abundance of expensive tools, machinery and valuable antiques.” Officers put the toolboxes and lamps back in the house and were unsuccessful in finding a property manager to contact.

The new Jonny Bostons Sandwich Shop at 4151 California Avenue s.w. that the West Seattle Herald told you about first in August is finally nearing completion with the opening expected now the first week of November.

Owner Dan Atherton was on site Monday, Oct. 18 and explained that permitting issues had delayed the project by about a month. The exterior painting is done in a bright green, "to give you a bit of the Boston feel" Atherton explained, and Glenn Case has done the window signage painting. "We just need to finish the plumbing, get the gas up to code and we're going to start sheet rocking and painting and we plan to have that done by probably Monday or Tuesday.

Atherton is installing a very high level of insulation in the walls and ceiling, "There was none in here before," he offered, "because in the summer I want this to be a cool place to walk into."

The location was formerly occupied by Authentic Home.

The 562 square foot space is being redesigned by Eric Koch Partners Architectural Design from Redmond.

West Seattle Family Zone presents The Pesky Peanut Book Discussion

Local author and mom, Katie Corl, has just published her book titled The Pesky Peanut, a beautifully illustrated children's story of her son's peanut allergy. The story is informative and entertaining for elementary age children.

Please join us in hearing Katie's story and learn how The Pesky Peanut can be a tool to educate parents and children about food allergies.

Monday,Oct 25 6:30-8:00pm
Holy Rosary School Hall
4152 42nd Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116
Public Welcome
Admissions Free

West Seattle Family Zone website connects the West Seattle community with family resources. Visit us at http://westseattlefamilyzone.comTake Off Pounds Sensibly
Guadaloupe Church-Pastoral Care Center
7000 35th Ave. S.W.
Every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. TOPS is an encouraging weight loss support group with weigh-ins every Tuesday. For information contact Peg at 206-932-2621.

Host for Chinese Teacher Urgently Needed!

Toxic PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic, raw sewage, pesticides, oil … and the list goes on for contaminants found in the Duwamish River, declared a Superfund Site in 2001 and considered one of the most contaminated sites in the country.

Sustainable West Seattle, a nonprofit organization “that educates and advocates for urban sustainability in our local community”, will host a community forum on Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the past, present and future of the Duwamish River.

The forum will be held at Camp Long (5200 35th Ave s.w.) and a long list of individuals involved in the river’s cleanup efforts will speak.

Speakers include Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Lori Cohen from the Environmental Protection Agency, Bob Warren from Washington State Dept. of Ecology, BJ Cummings of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Heather Trim from People for Puget Sound, Chair of the Duwamish Tribe Cecile Hansen and Genevieve Aguilar from Puget Sound Sage.

Dec. 1 is the deadline for Mayor Mike McGinn’s 2011 to 2012 proposed budget to be finalized and West Seattle hosted one of three public hearings before the deadline on Oct. 13 in the Jerry Brockey Student Center at SSCC.

Roughly 200 people showed up for the hearing, many sporting signs, t-shirts or orange scarves signifying a multitude of causes they intended to support in the face of budget cuts due to a $67 million shortfall in the city’s General Fund.

The Mayor’s proposed budget totals $3.9 billion, including the City’s $888 million General Fund that falls $67 million short of last year.

Jean Godden, chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, opened the hearing at 5:30 p.m. and one by one, citizens walked up to the microphone to speak out for protection of many different services. Over 70 people spoke at the meeting.

Orange scarves were the most common accessory of the evening, worn by those representing and supporting the Seattle Human Services Coalition.

Nicole Macri of the Seattle-King Coalition on Homelessness spoke on behalf of SHSC.