White Center Now: The blog about White Center

This house is located at the intersection of Delridge and 16th Avenue SW.  The house burnt down in December of 2007.   Sometime thereafter, some vagrants started using the basement as their home and so the owner boarded up the windows.  Word is that the house was to be torn down and a mixed use residential-commercial project was to take its place.   Nothing good has happened since.

As you can see from the attached pictures the place is a complete nuisance.  No steps have been taken to mitigate the damage caused by the fire and the subsequent abandonment.  The grass and weeds are overgrown.  The charred appliances and furniture are still lying outside where they were dumped by the fire department.  And the place is conspicuous to just about everyone visiting the White Center commercial area.  Clearly, the owner does not care what kind of a nuisance this creates for the community.  Anybody got some ideas on how to get this negligent owner to clean up his mess?

Listening to the scanner – sheriff’s deputies are responding to a reported shooting (only a hand wound reported at this point) in the 10200 block of 16th SW (map). May not be able to get further details till morning, but in case you’re nearby and seeing/hearing the activity, thought we would mention it. By the way, this month’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting is 6 pm Thursday, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map).

Just in from King County Sheriff Sue Rahr (left) – plans for a series of town-hall-style meetings to talk about how the county budget crisis will affect public safety. She and other county leaders including Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Bruce Hilyer, and King County District Court Chief Presiding Judge Barbara Linde will be in White Center for one of these meetings at 7 pm October 29, Steve Cox Memorial Park. The announcement says, “Because of an estimated $90 million county budget shortfall, the King County Executive has directed the criminal justice system to take an “across-the-board” budget cut of 11.4% for 2009. These cuts threaten the quality of justice in King County and put the public’s health and safety at risk. Your criminal justice elected officials are hosting a series of town meetings to discuss the issue. It’s critical that your voice is heard.” (Before White Center Now launched in August, we covered an early-warning briefing by Sheriff Rahr in SeaTac on June 21st; see that report, which includes video, here.)

No major headlines from tonight’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, but we’ve got a few toplines for you anyway: Read the rest of this entry »

6 pm tonight, it’s the monthly meeting of the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition – it’s a one-stop shop to get the latest on what’s happening with crime, safety, and related concerns around the area, plus a good chance to ask any questions you might have about something in your neighborhood, since local law enforcers and community advocates are on hand too. It’s at St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map).

Just in. Someone stole the Village Green sign from the corner of Roxbury Ave. SW and 26th Ave. SW (Safeway block). The sign chained to the tree and whoever took it SAWED off the leg and Stole the sign.

If anyone sees a sign around – probably lying on the side of the road somewhere…or being reused as a ‘newly made over’ sign- please contact Vera at Village Green. These signs are not cheap and for a small business owner it’s quite a hit (speaking from experience). Someone also had to have seen this event take place…sawing wood takes a minute or two… Contact for Vera at Village Green Perennial Nursery
10223 26th Ave SW
Seattle Wa. 98146
206-767-7735

Anyone seeing the sign or the person(s) who took it, please call!

Lots going on this week and three to remind you about for starters: The North Highline Fire District commissioners’ regular bimonthly meeting is 8 am tomorrow at district HQ; then at 8 Wednesday morning, it’s the special meeting with Seattle reps re: annexation issues, as announced at the last NHFD commissioners’ meeting. Thursday night, the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting starts at 6 at St. James Place – tons of important info at these meetings every month, and free dinner too. See you there!

A customer walks into Cafe Rozella and before I have chance to say anything he blurts out, “so, how many times have you been robbed?”  I stuttered, “What?”  He replied, “This is such a dangerous neighborhood, you must be robbed all the time.”  I got his order and looked him over:  silk pants, expensive sport shirt, Italian loafers — looked like a salesman.  “None,” I replied.

Ruminating for a minute, I said, “actually this is a very safe neighborhood.  Crime statistics show this is much safer than most other urban Seattle neighborhoods.”  Yeah, but you have so many creeps around here… blah, blah, blah… he stammered on.

“Where do you live?” I asked him.  “White Center,” he said with a laugh.  When he saw that I wasn’t in on his joke, he mentioned the very same neighborhood that I live in.   Now, I could clue this fool in, but I knew that he had a bagful of prejudices and preconceptions that no amount of small conversation would alter.

I thought about all the Rozella regulars who make this their second home:  tradespeople, programmers, biotech scientists, teachers, counselors, government workers, students, writers and artists.  Does this guy have a clue about the richness and diversity in this community?  I’ll admit that, as with any urban neighborhood, there are a fair number of street alcoholics who wander around like extras in the Blade-Runner movie.  But what of all the families walking to buy groceries at the Asian and Latin American markets?  Are they invisible?  Only to those too blind to see.

My dad was a mechanic and hence I relate well to people who do the complex jobs known as the trades.  God has a special place for the grace of those who work with their hands.  I love these people and they represent the best of our community.  And what of the artists who struggle to fulfill a vision — that takes courage.

All this went through my mind from that small exchange.  And the guy didn’t even leave a tip.

That photo’s just in from the FBI – from the White Center WaMu robbery reported here on White Center Now yesterday. And here’s some additional information from Seattle FBI spokesperson Robbie Burroughs, who says the same man is suspected in other robberies:

He uses a note and has not displayed or threatened a weapon. Yesterday he was described as being 5’6″ with a round face, wide eyes and a thin mustache. He was wearing a black shirt with vertical white stripes and a black brimmed hat.

Click here to see the flyer put out earlier this summer for two Burien robberies believed to be the work of the same robber. Meantime, here’s the second photo from yesterday’s heist:

If you have any idea where this man is, call 911.

Thanks to Paul for the tip, which we subsequently confirmed with the King County Sheriff’s Office: The White Center Washington Mutual branch was robbed this morning. KCSO’s Sgt. John Urquhart says it happened around 9:40 am today, and the robber got away “on foot” – he was described only as a black man, 35 to 45 years old, and “handsome.”

Last night, our first report brought you the biggest news from the monthly White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, held at St. James Place (photo above) — King County Parks’ new graffiti-fighting proposal (read about it here). But that was only part of what was discussed at an information-packed meeting. A special presentation on best practices for calling 911 will be featured in our third report later today, but right now – here’s the newest information on crime/safety concerns in the area: Read the rest of this entry »

Just back from the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety meeting, with lots of information that we will break into at least three reports. First one — King County Parks’ draft proposal for dealing with graffiti, in the wake of the latest wave of tagging vandalism at White Center-area parks. The county Parks Department‘s Evergreen District manager Sam Whitman presented the four-point plan: #1, parks staff will try to remove or cover up graffiti “as soon as it appears,” with county painters following up to restore the original color scheme. #2, community members need to report graffiti-vandalism damage as soon as possible by calling Whitman (his number’s at the end of this post), and by helping clean up/cover up graffiti IF parks staff can’t get to it soon enough. #3, extra support for graffiti removal from Community Service officer Vary Jackson and Department of Corrections crews. #4, proactive work to develop and maintain murals in the parks, as a way of discouraging tagging vandalism. Whitman says the goal here is to remove/cover graffiti within 24-38 hours, and adds that the county has hired “seasonal” painting help to support the effort; to report park graffiti, call him at 206/296-0572. More from the Community Safety meeting in separate reports later tonight.

JAIL-SITES FIGHT: The Highland Park Action Committee, the community group leading the fight against two potential city-jail sites in West Seattle — including the Myers Way site close to White Center — has its next meeting tonight, 7 pm, at 1116 SW Holden (map).

HELP MAKE YOUR COMMUNITY SAFER: The monthly White Center/South Delridge Community Safety meeting is at 6 pm Thursday, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map). (Free dinner!)

ANNEXATION OPEN HOUSE: Burien is starting a series of
“informational open houses” about its proposed North Highline Annexation Area (which includes part of White Center), and the first one is Thursday night in Boulevard Park (still waiting for word on the first one closer to White Center, so if you’ve got burning questions, you might as well go to this one), 6:30-8 pm @ Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church (1822 South 128th; map).

In a growing and changing area like White Center that’s working to overcome outsiders’ inaccurate perceptions – it helps to have the facts. Here’s a good resource to look up the facts about crime and safety in your neighborhood — the King County Sheriff’s Office Crime Stats online search. You can search by area and date; here are the numbers you need to search by area – K1 is the patrol area from Roxbury to 112th, K2 covers 112th to 116th, N1 is 116th southward. Maps are included, so you can see if you’ve found the one covering your neighborhood.

I just posted this bulletin on West Seattle Blog, and wanted to share it with White Center Now readers since the story had been posted here too: The stolen pugs turned up today at the Kent Animal Shelter. Read the details at WSB.

Ricardo posted about the missing pugs below, and we reported on it at West Seattle Blog, where we now have an update: A witness called police with information indicating the dogs definitely were stolen. Here’s the latest. Call Seattle Police with tips.