White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

(WCN photo from April 2021 crash scene)

A South Delridge woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide in the April 2021 crash (WCN coverage here) that killed an Arbor Heights couple in North Burien. Court documents say Irene Plancarte-Bustos, now 28, was driving drunk, going over 60 mph, with her 3-yeqr-old son in her car, when she slammed into the car carrying 35-year-old Lauren Dupuis-Perez and 38-year-old Kamel Dupuis-Perez. The impact pushed their car into the path of a pickup truck whose driver couldn’t stop before also hitting it, and orphaned the Dupuis-Perezes’ two children. After the crash on the Ambaum Boulevard “S” curve, Plancarte-Bustos drove north a short distance to the Rainbow Mini-Mart, where officers found her. She’s been in jail ever since. In the agreement, in addition to the vehicular-homicide pleas, she pleaded guilty to one gross-misdemeanor count of hit-and-run, while two felony hit-run counts were dropped. She has no record and as part of the plea bargain, prosecutors are recommending the low end of the standard sentencing range, 8 1/2 years plus an extra year for the “enhancement” of having a child in the car. The final sentencing decision will be up to King County Superior Court Judge Averil Rothrock on July 14th. Family and friends have created this website as a tribute to the victims, their work, and their legacy.

Just announced by the King County Library System:

Open hours will increase at more libraries in July. Most of our other locations expanded hours in May and June. Learn how, when, and where hours will change next.

How are open hours changing?
Most libraries will be open 6 to 7 days per week. After all new hours go into effect, 18 of our 49 libraries across the system will be open 7 days a week.

The days of the week that libraries are open and closed will change at some locations.

Some libraries will open earlier or stay open later.

When and where are open hours changing?
Click on a library name to visit the location page and preview new hours. Locations marked with an asterisk will be open 7 days a week. (Editor’s note: We’re just including local and nearby libraries – the actual list is longer)

July 9
Boulevard Park (adding 12 hours per week)
Burien* (adding 12 hours per week)
Greenbridge (adding 4 hours per week)
White Center (adding 5 hours per week)

Feedback
Share your comments, questions, and suggestions. Fill out a comment form in libraries or online.

One week ago tonight, 64-year-old North Highline resident Dory Larsen was killed in Burien when a man driving a stolen car ran a red light and hit her. The driver who killed her, 25-year-old Mohamed Tayib, is now charged with three felonies – vehicular homicide, hit and run, and reckless driving. Charging documents say a Burien Police officer was trying to pull Tayib over when he ran the red light and hit Ms. Larsen’s car; Tayib caught the officer’s attention with screeching tires and running a red light at 4th Avenue South and 128th, continuing eastward. The officer activated his lights and, prosecutors say, was behind Tayib when he ran the 1st/128th light, his stolen Subaru Outback smashing into Ms. Larsen’s Ford Fiesta as she drove northbound on 128th. A third car was hit before Tayib pulled into a nearby gas station, where he and another man got out of the car and tried to walk away; a bystander stopped them until the officer caught up. Dispatch subsequently confirmed the Subaru had been stolen in Seattle the day before. Ms. Larsen died at the scene; no one else was seriously hurt. Tayib was booked into jail and remains there, bail set at half a million dollars. Earlier this year, he served time for a five-count conviction including residential burglary and two counts of car prowling; the charging documents say his record also includes assault, theft, hit-and-run, DUI, and speeding

A museum in Burien is inviting you to tell your story! Here’s the announcement:

Everybody has a story to tell.

South King County residents now have an outlet to share their unique stories with their community.

Their outlet is “7 Stories,” a monthly night of storytelling at the Highline Heritage Museum, 819 SW 152nd St., in Burien.

The concept is simple: Seven storytellers tell seven different stories in seven minutes each. Each evening has an overall theme, loosely interpreted.

The programs are introduced by the hosts for the evening who share a biography of each storyteller

From crass to delicate, told by wallflowers or clowns, these real stories are mesmerizing, raw, powerful or humorous. Don’t think fables, ghost or children’s stories. This is not a theatrical performance but true stories from friends, acquaintances or a community member you have never met. Storytellers are encouraged to use the language they feel most comfortable with. Stories are memorized and told from the heart. The event is livestreamed and later put on YouTube.

Storytellers are picked in advance. To apply, go to http://burienculturehub.com/7stories.

The mission of 7 Stories is to build community, strengthen our understanding and appreciation of our rich diversity and celebrate it, through the telling of our stories.

Organizers are seeking storytellers for the next event on Friday, November 19. The theme is “Plan B.”

We all had to have a plan B during Covid! Or maybe we didn’t. Or maybe our plan B was only developed when Plan A went sideways. Maybe on that vacation you wished you had a Plan B. You get the idea.

Upcoming themes include, “If Only I’d Listened,” December 17; “How Did I Get Here,” January 28; “My First Crush,” February 25 and “When I was a Kid,” March 25.

The concept for 7 Stories was imported down by Sybil Davis, who moved from Juneau to Burien in 2010. In Juneau, Sybil attended similar events, where they were called “Mudrooms,” to evoke people swapping stories on their front stoops.

Sybil felt the South King County and West Seattle area was ripe for a community building program that explores and shares the stories of its residents.

The Highline Heritage Museum, Burien Arts Association and Burien Culture Hub enthusiastically signed on as sponsors.

From the WCN inbox:

Burien Elks Lodge is opening its doors to the public for a membership drive. This event will be held on Saturday, May 1st, doors open at 7:00 pm. Cost is $15 per person or $25 per couple; there will be live music by Soulstice, light hors d’oeuvres served, and beverages available for cash-only purchase. This event is open to the public and members with proper Covid protocol.

The Burien Elks Lodge is one of nearly 2,000 nationwide lodges that are part of the BPO Elks of the USA. B.P.O.Elks is a fraternal order with over a million members and a 151-year history of charitable giving, including millions in scholarships, an inspiration to youth, a friend to veterans, and more. The Burien Lodge alone has given over $2.5 million back to the community in charitable giving.

This event will allow both our current members to bring in non-members, and those in our community who have no associated
connection with the lodge, to come in and view the lodge, meet members, and hear about all the wonderful things that come from being an Elks member.

Tickets are available online. The lodge is at 14006 1st Avenue South.

If you noticed the KCSO response that closed Ambaum south of White Center earlier tonight, here’s what that was about: Deputies are searching for two robbers who held up a mini-mart at Ambaum/126th and then another store on 14th Avenue South near South Park. Not too many descriptive details so far – KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Tim Meyer tells WCN the robbers are described as two Black men in their 20s, one wearing a white hoodie, one in a black hoodie. They were last seen on foot but probably in a vehicle to get between those two scenes; no description of that yet. Deputies have been using K-9s in the search, and Guardian One briefly joined in the Burien search until the weather got bad.

7:06 PM: Got a few questions about helicopters just south of White Center. The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting in North Burien, 2nd SW and SW 120th [map]. KCSO says a 27-year-old man was “shot in the face” and was taken to Harborview in serious condition. No other info yet.

11:35 PM: Update from KCSO: “Deputies were able to determine actual shooting took place in the Top Hat area of unincorporated King County and the victim fled to a house in Burien. This entire incident was over a vehicle. The suspect is still outstanding.”

If you’re headed southbound, an FYI from KCSO:

The photo and update are via Twitter: “Collision investigation in Burien near S 128/ SB on-ramp 509. Suspect vehicle fleeing a shoplift struck a truck at a high rate of speed. Police were not involved prior to the collision. Suspect vehicle passenger critical injuries. EB S 128 will be closed while MARR investigates.”

Today is the final day of cookie sales for Girl Scouts in our area – and if you’re going to be in Burien, you can support a special troop of girls whose families have been finding shelter at Mary’s Place:

On Sunday, March 17 from 12 pm to 2 pm, the girls will be selling cookies at
Walgreens at 14656 Ambaum Blvd SW in Burien,

We just found out about this from a troop leader in West Seattle. Read more here.

ORIGINAL 6:27 PM REPORT: A reader asked us about all the sirens they could hear from White Center and we subsequently found out a 2-alarm apartment fire is burning in North Burien, at Ambaum and 122nd. Even Seattle Fire has sent units for “mutual aid.” No other info so far but avoid the area!

ADDED LATE TUESDAY NIGHT: Regional media report one death in the fire. It was started by “smoking material” and considered accidental, according to investigators. 25 survivors are getting help from the Red Cross.

UPDATE: Ahsan has been found.

EARLIER:

Read the rest of this entry »

Highline Public Schools invites you to this event tonight:

The whole community is warmly invited to a fun, family friendly, community-wide event – the Indigenous Peoples Celebration at the Highline Performing Arts Center. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending the celebration happening Wednesday, October 12th from 6:00 -7:30 PM at the Highline Performing Arts Center at 401 S 152nd St in Burien. Dinner will be served from 5 – 6 PM in the Highline High School Cafeteria at 225 South 152nd Street in Burien. The Highline Indigenous Peoples Celebration is designed to inspire, celebrate, engage, and empower the American Indian/Alaska Native community in Highline and welcome for all to attend.

If you have any questions please direct them to Native Education Program Manager Sara Marie Ortiz at 206.631.3162 or sara.ortiz@highlineschools.org. We hope to see you at the event!

Though this happened in North Burien, just outside our coverage area, we’ve had some questions about it this morning, so we’re publishing the King County Sheriff’s Office news release:

At around 12:13 am (today), King County Sheriff 911 communications received reports of the sounds of gunfire in the area of SW 116 St and Ambaum Blvd SW, in Burien. Very shortly thereafter, they received updates that a man had been shot in the chest and was lying in a parking lot of an apartment complex in that same area.

Deputies from Burien arrived in the area within minutes and found the victim, later learned to be 17-year-old male, lying near an apartment complex in the 11400 block of 16th Ave SW. The victim had a single gunshot wound to his chest. Deputies as well as medics from North Highline Fire and King County Medic-1 provided aid to the victim at the scene before he was rushed to Harborview Medical center for emergency surgery.

Because of the nature of his injuries, Deputies were only able to get a very limited description of the suspects from the victim. At the time, they were described as two Hispanic males wearing dark clothing. It is believed that they fled on foot and then possibly in a silver or gray 2000s-era sedan. A K-9 track was attempted but no suspects were located.


At auction, the two Burien Haggen grocery stores on 1st Avenue South that used to be Albertsons … have just been acquired by Albertsons. That’s according to UFCW Local 21. No timeline information yet but we’ll be checking back.

While the weekend windstorm inconvenienced many, cutting the power for hours, one nearby family suffered an unimaginably heartbreaking permanent loss: A falling branch killed a 10-year-old girl, a student at Burien’s Cedarhurst Elementary, while she was at a friend’s house in Federal Way. A reader asked if we would share the link to an online fund set up to help Samara‘s family cope with their loss – here’s the link.

(Above, the White Center/Top Hat section of the outage)

2:08 AM: Thanks to Alisha for the tip: The Seattle City Light map confirms a big power outage – in two distinct areas, primarily east White Center, Top Hat, and north/northwest Burien. More than 3,500 customers (homes and businesses) are affected. No word yet what caused it; it started around 1:45 am. We’ll update when we find out more.

2:46 AM: Most of the Burien customers have their power back, according to SCL. Still no word on the cause.

4:36 AM: The cause is now listed on SCL’s site as “tree.” No elaboration. And the number of customers out of power is down to just under 700.

UPDATE: Here’s the final word from City Light (with whom we’ll follow up on Monday to find out about WHERE the tree went into the lines):

Two felony charges are now filed against the driver found hiding after crashing his car on Ambaum just south of White Center early last Friday, killing his passenger. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 24-year-old Thuan A. Phan of Kent with vehicular homicide and hit-and-run. Charging documents say Phan was driving the “recently purchased” 2013 BMW southbound on Ambaum at high speed when he lost control at the “S” curves around 119th and slammed into the jersey barrier. 26-year-old Benjamin J. Smith was wearing his seat belt in the front passenger seat but suffered deadly head injuries because of how the car hit the concrete barrier. Nearby residents told deputies that they saw a man climb out of the car after the crash and run away screaming; the Guardian One helicopter spotted him hiding under a pickup truck at a home a few blocks away, his only injuries described as scratches on his legs and neck abrasions. He claimed he had been in the passenger seat and also said he remembered leaving a club; a deputy noticed he smelled like “intoxicants.” Prosecutors asked that Phan’s bail remain at a quarter-million dollars because he had left the crash scene and was reportedly trying to get friends and family to come pick him up.

Bail has been set at $250,000 for the 24-year-old Kent man arrested in connection with the deadly crash at SW 119th and Ambaum early last Friday. Probable-cause documents say he was driving “at three times the posted speed” and “admitted (he had been) drinking.” The passenger in his car, 26-year-old Benjamin J. Smith, was dead at the scene from what the documents describe as a severe head injury. The suspect, who could be charged with vehicular homicide, ran from the scene and was found – with the help of Guardian One, as shown in our Friday coverage – hiding under a vehicle in a nearby driveway. He’s scheduled to return to court tomorrow afternoon, unless prosecutors file charges by then, in which case his next appearance would be for arraignment.

(KCSO photo)

3:29 AM: The King County Sheriff’s Office says Ambaum is closed from 116th to 120th because of a crash at 119th that killed a man. According to KCSO, the man was a passenger in a car that investigators believe “failed to negotiate a turn” before crashing into a jersey barrier, possibly at high speed. The driver fled the scene but was caught with the help of the Guardian 1 helicopter. No word yet how long the road will be closed.

4:25 AM: Here’s the video released by KCSO Air Support, showing how the search ended:

No update on Ambaum’s status; please comment if you find it reopened, as we won’t be able to check for a few hours.

10 AM: Ambaum reopened about an hour ago, KCSO says.

As announced back in December, the Burien Albertsons grocery stores are being converted to the Haggen brand. And we’ve just received information on the timetable for the conversion of the store that’s closest to White Center – 12725 First Ave. S. – as announced by the company:

6:00 pm, Sunday, March 8 – Burien Albertsons store closes
12:01 am, Monday, March 9- Haggen takes ownership of the store
4:00 pm*, Tuesday, March 10 – Burien store reopens as Haggen (*Opening time is tentative)

The conversion of the southernmost Burien Albertsons, at Five Corners, is expected to happen in late May.