White Center Now: The blog about White Center

We don’t usually get early warning when the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One heads this way, but this time we do! Next Thursday afternoon (March 13), you just might notice it over Greenbridge/south White Center. White Center Heights Elementary PTA president David Sonsteng sent early warning of the plan for a visit at the school. Kindergarteners are “working on their community-helpers module in class,” he explains, so Thursday, 1:25 pm-2:25 pm, they will “get to meet some of these community helpers.” In addition to Guardian One, they’re scheduled to meet KCSO Deputy BJ Myers (who’s based out of the downtown WC storefront office), a fire engine from the North Highline Fire District, and an ambulance from AMR. We’ll remind you again that day, but if you might be anywhere near the area, store away the info. (The school is at 10015 6th SW.)

A memorial and reception are planned in White Center on March 15th for Robert “Bob” McCoy, who died this week at age 81:

Robert “Bob” McCoy passed away March 3, 2014, with his family by his side.

Bob was a resident of West Seattle for 50-plus years. He started his career at Forest Lawn Funeral Home in 1964 and retired in 1998. He was a member of the White Center Eagles.

Bob was born February 2, 1933, in Seattle, to Harold and Jessie McCoy. He was raised in Kent and attended Kent Meridian High School. He is survived by his wife Ilene of 60 years, daughter Debra and her husband Joe Ruskamp, daughter Linda and her husband Michael McGee, daughter Barbara, son John, and daughter Pam and her husband Cary Hood, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and his brother Jack McCoy of Vancouver, Washington. He was preceded in death by his sister Helen and his brother Phillip.

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15th, 1:00 pm at Yarington’s/White Center Funeral Home, 10708 16th Ave SW. Reception follows, 2:30-4:30 pm at the White Center Eagles, 10452 15th Ave SW.

(Crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog)

(Looks like the early-morning outage map, but this is the NEW one)
If you were up for the two-hour power outage in the middle of the night – because the footprint is just about the same. About 2,000 homes and businesses are without power right now, according to the City Light map, in White Center as well as parts of West Seattle and South Park. City Light explains:

A large tree fell into wires near Highland Park Way SW and SW Othello Street. It broke several of the tie wires that keep the power lines attached to the insulators on the poles.

Crews are working to reroute power around the damage. This will bring about 75 percent of the affected customers back into service in the next 60-90 minutes.

Crews will then remove the tree and re-hang the wires in order to restore service to the remaining customers. We estimate being able to get that done about 5 p.m.

We’ve heard some are getting power back already, as we publish this.

On this stormy night, more than 2,000 homes and businesses are without power in White Center, South Park, and eastern West Seattle. City Light‘s map shows the extent but does not mention a specific cause yet, saying only as of right now, “investigating.”

5:13 AM UPDATE: SCL now says a tree is to blame for the outage.

6:06 AM UPDATE: The map now shows everyone’s back on (please let us know if you’re not!).

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has two hot topics on the March agenda, this Thursday, March 6th, 7 pm at the North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 12th:

Wondering where your property tax dollars go – have questions about why your home value may have decreased, but taxes increased – curious about pending levies and how they may impact your tax bill – then plan on joining us and have your questions answered by King County Tax Assessor, Lloyd Hara.

We are also pleased to have Kari Boiter, who is active in the largest national medical marijuana advocacy group, “Americans for Safe Access”. Ms. Boiter is working with lawmakers to help them understand the concerns of medical marijuana patients, and how the new bills before the Washington State legislators may impact access for patients.

COMMUNITY MATTERS * BE INFORMED * BE INVOLVED * BE HEARD

And here’s the agenda:

7:00 pm Call to Order – Flag Salute – Roll Call –
Approval of Agenda – Approval of Minutes

7:05 pm Public Announcements
7:10 pm Public Comment
3 minutes for Individuals
5 minutes for Groups

7:20 pm Deputy B.J. Myers – White Center Storefront
7:30 pm Lloyd Hara, King County Tax Assessor
7:50 pm Kari Boiter, Americans for Safe Access
8:10 pm Committee Reports
8:15 pm New/Old Business
• April Forum
• May Mtg
• June Mtg

Saturday, they were making art; soon enough, they’ll be making decisions. Youth of all ages were part of this year’s White Center Community Summit, spanning four hours at Mount View Elementary School, presented by the White Center Community Development Association. We stopped in for a while during the second hour, peeking in on the first of two runs each for workshops that focused on topics including transportation…

… connecting with community agencies/partners …

… and the perennial hot topic, annexation:

As noted in our earlier report, this was a lively discussion; those in the room included community leaders with varying views, and the hotly fought campaign over Burien’s annexation proposal two years ago was brought up repeatedly. A King County representative (Karen Freeman from the County Executive’s Office) led the discussion, not espousing a particular annexer – the area remains potentially annexable by Burien or Seattle – but saying “it’s time to make a decision” because the county just can’t keep supporting an urban area; the state experts urban areas will become part of cities, either creating their own (which isn’t considered financially feasible for White Center) or becoming part of another. Freeman invited those interested in the topic, seeking accurate information, to contact her – here’s her listing in the county directory.

Other workshop topics, according to the handout made available at the door: Housing help for those “underwater” or facing foreclosure; bilingual/biliterate education in Highline Public Schools; drug prevention/intervention; White Center “asset-mapping.”

A much-anticipated part of each White Center Community Summit is the “I (heart) White Center” T-shirt, this time in Seahawks colors:

Everyone who registered for the summit got a T-shirt. The event also included a resource fair, featuring informational tables from a wide range of regional agencies and organizations – including some recruiting for jobs – and lunch.

(Photo by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
8:12 AM: 10 am-2 pm today, Mount View Elementary is the place for this year’s White Center Community Summit, presented by the White Center Community Development Association. It includes workshops that each will be presented twice, at 11 am and 1 pm; here’s the list, as published on the WCCDA Facebook page earlier in the week:

Annexation: White Center’s Future
Presented by King County

Asset Mapping: Economy and Opportunity in White Center
Presented by Sokha Dahn

Transportation: Here to There: Getting to, from, and around White Center
Presented by SDOT

Housing: How did we live and How are we living now?
Presented by Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County

ELL in Schools: Being Bilingual and Biliterate in White Center
Presented by Highline School District

Health and Wellness: Drug-free in WC
Presented by Navos

Community-Based Organizations: Collaborative Calendaring/Building Partnerships
Presented by KCHA and WCCDA

There’s also a resource fair beginning at 11 am. The school is at 10811 12th SW.

12:27 PM: Added a photo from the first workshop on annexation, with those in attendance including members of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and other community leaders. “It’s time to make a decision” about annexing to SOMEONE, said the county rep leading the session. You have a chance to catch the second round of this discussion at 1 pm in the library at Mount View. We’ll add more notes and photos later – the resource fair also continues at 1 pm (it’s lunch-break time right now).

The first meeting was in White Center, and now the second big meeting about the in-the-works safety project for SW Roxbury is happening on the West Seattle side of the street – tonight, 6 pm, at Roxhill Elementary School. More details here, including the Seattle Department of Transportation‘s recap on what happened during the Greenbridge meeting earlier this month.

Need help affording home repairs? This might be for you:

Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County is providing home repairs to a limited number of White Center residents through its White Center Home Repair Program, a partnership with the White Center Community Development Association. To inform homeowners about the program and eligibility requirements for receiving home repair assistance, Habitat staff are hosting an informational meeting on Wednesday, February 26 at the Greenbridge YWCA, 9720 8th Ave SW.

Habitat Seattle-King County aims to provide White Center homeowners with a variety of exterior repair services, such as replacing broken windows, rebuilding porches or stair cases, painting to protect the home’s siding, roof repairs, and more. Blow-in attic insulation or other weatherization work may also be considered. Homeowners are selected to receive home repair assistance based off their need and willingness to partner with Habitat. The home in need of repairs must be their primary residence.

Those interested in the program are required to attend an information meeting. Please contact Donna Adair at dadair@habitatskc.org or (206) 855-5214 to register for the meeting.

Wednesday’s meeting starts at 6 pm.

This Wednesday is the third and final signup session this season for Southwest Little League: Steve Cox Memorial Park on Wednesday, February 26th, from 5 pm to 7 pm. From SWLL:

Little League Baseball is open to all children between the ages of 4 and 16 who reside or go to school in our boundary area, which is between Juneau Street SW and Sw 128th street and 35th Ave SW and 1st Avenue S, including the Arbor Heights area. Parents should check the boundary map on our website as well as review the eligibility requirements, which have changed for the 2014 season. Along with residents in the boundary area, children who go to school in the boundary area but reside in another Little League district are eligible to play for the league in which their school resides. For more complete information, please visit our website at southwestlittleleague.org

Two weeks from tomorrow – the afternoon of Sunday, March 9th – the 34th (Legislative) District Democrats’ caucuses will happen at the Evergreen campus in White Center. Here’s the official call to caucus; as it mentions, “This is truly the first step in the journey toward the all important 2016 election.” Specific tasks to be accomplished including electing delegates and alternates to the June 21st statewide Democratic convention, registering voters, collecting resolutions and platform issues for the countywide convention in April, and a food drive. The link above explains how to participate; watch the 34th District Democrats’ website for updates.

P.S. The 34th DDs’ big annual summertime fundraiser will be in White Center this year too – it was announced at the group’s February meeting (here’s coverage on our partner site West Seattle Blog) that the annual Garden Party will move to the TAF Bethaday Community Space at Lakewood Park, after years of being held in West Seattle.

(7:07 am screengrab of City Light map showing where the outage is affecting homes/businesses)
Seattle City Light has more than 7,000 homes/businesses out of power this morning, mostly to the east and south of here, hitting Burien especially hard. It’s blaming a tree for falling on power lines and expects to have power back before the morning’s over.

We got a few questions about a sizable King County Sheriff’s Office presence around 2nd/108th this morning, and checked with KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West. She says it was related to a warrant for a suspected “illegal wrecking yard.” No major findings to report in the investigation so far.

The Olson/1st Ave. hill to/from Highway 509 at the east end of SW Roxbury is open again after an hour-plus shutdown following a one-car crash.

(First two photos courtesy Jason)
According to monitored radio communications, three people were taken to the hospital.

The red Lexus went off the road, and rescuers had to cut its top off. The crash was reported at about 6 am and they finished pulling the car out around 7:30.

(Photo by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
This crash comes less than a week after SDOT officially launched the SW Roxbury safety project with a meeting at Greenbridge. We don’t know the victims’ conditions.

A project to make SW Roxbury safer is finally becoming reality, after White Center and West Seattle community leaders, including the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and (just over the city-limit line, Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council), joined forces to campaign for it. Seattle Department of Transportation is coming to Greenbridge tonight for the first of two meetings, and you’re invited to come speak out – help shape the project! 6:30 pm at Jim Wiley Community Center, 9800 8th SW.

In case you couldn’t make it, we recorded video of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting last Thursday. Here’s what you’ll see:

*Discussion of litter problems by Marcia Wollam and Dick Thurnau

*(14 minutes in) King County Sheriff’s Deputy BJ Myers‘ briefing. Highlights:

*He says that auto theft has continued to be “high”; he said it’s vital to report the theft as soon as possible but that won’t help if you don’t know your license-plate number – that information not only helps them watch for the plate, but also tells them something very specific about the car, from the state-licensing system. If you don’t think you can remember it, take a cameraphone picture and save it so you can refer to it if you have to.

*He also mentioned a warrant and arrest related to mail theft that led to the recovery of “bags and bags and bags of stolen property.” He said it sent the message “mail theft is something we will kick in a door for.”

*He also mentioned multiple incidents while people were filling up their cars at Roxbury Safeway and called it “alarming” – anywhere you’re filling up, keep an eye on your car, because brazen criminals might come right up to it.

*Sustainable Seattle‘s Hannah Kett spoke about the “Greening the Grounds” project at Holy Family Parish and School, with raingardens and a food garden in the works. They’re seeking “Greening Committee” members, greenblocks@sustainableseattle.org

*Weed Warriors – Grace Stiller from this nonprofit spoke about the noxious weeds that everyone should watch out for – for example, pretty as scotch-broom flowers are, their seeds are viable for 45 years!

*Board discussion of Seattle’s annexation intent for two areas of South Park, and the city’s stated intent to “discuss” the possibility of a North Highline annexation vote in the future

Coming up at future meetings: King County Assessor Lloyd Hara in March, when NHUAC also will (UPDATED – see comments) hear the latest on marijuana laws.

Following up on our report last week – the Seattle City Council approved the resolution a committee had OK’d last week, seeking to annex two unincorporated areas in South Park, known as the “Sliver by the River” and the “Duwamish Triangle.” They’ll take it to the Boundary Review Board, seeking the go-ahead to put the proposal on a ballot for voter consideration in those areas. The resolution – which you can see here – also says “the City Council and Mayor intend to continue discussions with King County regarding the City’s potential future annexation by election of the North Highline Potential Annexation Area, known as Area Y…” That’s the only mention of Area Y in this resolution, which does not trigger any action regarding North Highline, as clarified in Seattle Council discussion last week. We’ll add video of today’s meeting when it’s available on the Seattle Channel website.

1:05 PM: Just added the top photo (that’s Councilmember Larry Phillips at left), courtesy of the KCE staff – and here’s the full-speech text.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 11:34 AM: Here’s the State of the County speech as it unfolded via Twitter over the past hour and a half. If you don’t see the tweets and photos initially, you might have to refresh your screen once or twice:

Tweets about “#KCSOTC”

This afternoon, the King County Council is back in its HQ at the County Courthouse downtown, for the regular 1:30 pm meeting, which includes votes on whether to send the Transportation Benefit District measure – license-tab fee/sales-tax increase for buses and roads – to the ballot, as well as the Metro cuts that might kick in starting in June if funding isn’t found via a ballot measure or the Legislature.

ADDED 3:06 PM: Video of the SOTC speech, provided by King County TV:

Snow’s over – except for possibly a flurry – and the meltdown’s on. Thanks to those who sent photos; we’ll be adding a few more. Also, we discovered King County has more traffic cameras in White Center than we knew about – all showing main roads are bare and wet, but see for yourself here.

(Live traffic cam from 16th/107th)
7:32 PM: It’s been an hour and a half now since snow moved into the south end of the metro area – and there’s no sign it’s stopping any time soon. The National Weather Service does NOT have any warnings in effect for the general area, since they don’t expect it to total more than an inch; at WCN/WSB headquarters on the south end of West Seattle, we’re up to about 3/4″. Drive carefully if you have to go out – here’s hoping you don’t! If any incidents to report or photos to share, you’ll find us at whitecenternow@gmail.com. Thanks!

2:50 AM: Snow’s stopped. Thanks to the person who texted a photo from 16th/Roxbury!