White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Something new is on its way to White Center – the “Mini Swap Meet,” starting tomorrow (Saturday, June 1st). That link takes you to a bare-bones Facebook page for starters, but we asked for more details, and received this from manager Lynch:

IWe are located at 9800 14th Ave SW Seattle (corner of 14th Ave SW and SW 98th St). We strive to be “Seattle’s Affordable Urban Marketplace.”

Our opening was planned to be later (we just got access to the property) but the weather is nice this weekend, so we are doing a soft opening,

This is not your traditional swap meet. Designed for anyone and everyone to sell their goods and foods (stands/trucks) any and every day.

We have daily rates starting at $15 with weekly, and monthly rates available. We came up with a strategy to manage low overhead in order to keep our rates affordable.

Benefits for those considering garage sales:
– less advertising and signs
– traffic from other sellers
– people don’t come to your house
– convenient in-city location

Craigslisters and Ebayers:
– get it all done in a day in one place

We combine technology with a physical presence:
– Encourage sellers to post items to Craigslist (they can search “Mini Swap Meet”) and our Facebook page.

We hope they follow our suggestion of posting some items for free. If you don’t want to donate and no time to sell? Want some pizza or beer money? Sell your load of stuff to one of our vendors.

Community support:

– We have spaces available at no charge for non-profits, schools, and churches/temples. We understand how hard it is to organize an event.

For example, Mrs. Teacher’s 5th grade class can have a camp fundraiser. Instead of asking for donations (aka pulling teeth) or child labor (car washes), students can ask “hey got any stuff in your house you don’t need?”.

Lynch says you can call 206-905-9828 if you want to know more – or check it out in person starting tomorrow: “We’re looking for vendors!”

Next Thursday, two big topics are on the agenda for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s meeting. From NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council – Monthly meeting
Thursday, June 6, 7 pm – North Highline Fire Station, 1243 SW 112th

Please join us on Thursday, June 6 when we will be hosting Bill Ptacek, Director of the King County Library System (KCLS), who will provide updates and answer questions regarding the status of the White Center and Boulevard Park Libraries.

In 2004 the voters of North Highline, along with all voters in King County served by the King County Library System, passed a Capital Bond Levy to rebuild, expand, and improve aging libraries. We have been paying on this bond levy since its passage and work has been completed on most of the libraries throughout the county, but the promises made to the voters of North Highline and North Burien, which included a new 10,000 square foot White Center Library at its current location, and capital improvements to the Boulevard Park Library, have yet to be fulfilled. There are many questions surrounding the most recent decisions by the KCLS Board regarding moving and building a new White Center Library on 107th. We also have not heard any plans for the promised improvements to the Boulevard Park Library. This is a good time to find out how and when our precious tax dollars will be used and invested in OUR community.

We are also pleased to have DeAnna Martin, King County Dept of Transportation, Community Relations Planner who will provide information about proposed drastic cuts to Metro Service, many of which will impact North Highline.

“Without additional revenue, Metro will have to reduce up to 17 percent of bus service. A reduction of this magnitude would be felt by all riders, employers, and drivers in the region. An estimated seven out of 10 riders would lose some or all service and might have to go farther to get to the bus, take a longer trip, or transfer more. Riders throughout the system might have to crowd onto packed buses or wait at the curb while full buses pass by. A reduction of this size would add 23,000 trips every day to our freeways and arterials – or the equivalent of one lane of traffic on the I-90 Bridge during an average weekday.”

Please join us for this important community discussion – See you there! NHUAC will not be holding July and August meetings – Meetings will resume September 5.

Our apologies for tech trouble that took a while to fix – first the site was offline entirely, and then it came back – but we needed to get some more tinkering done before we could add anything new (that’s why it was stuck on Memorial Day information until now). All’s well thanks to some expert assistance; stand by for news, and thanks also to everyone who contacted us to be sure we knew there was a problem – website woes don’t always trigger alarms, and might strike when the site owner isn’t looking.

Some notes for the holiday:

TRANSPORTATION: Metro is on a Sunday schedule, as are Sound Transit buses.

SCHOOLS: Highline Public Schools are closed.

LIBRARIES: The King County Library System is closed.

GOVERNMENT OFFICES are closed.

NO MAIL, NO BANKS … though on occasion we hear of a bank branch open on a holiday, so if you find one, let us know!

EVERGREEN AQUATIC CENTER is closed this morning, but open for a special public swim noon-2 pm and then for lessons at 4:30 pm.

Highline Public Schools superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield decided she wasn’t going to wait for the state to fund all-day kindergarten for all – the district was just going to go ahead and do it, no matter what. Here’s the announcement, on the HPS website.

9:46 AM: Traffic alert: A car hit a tree in the 15th/Roxbury vicinity and eastbound Roxbury is blocked for a while. Two people were taken to the hospital, according to deputies on the scene. Buses are being routed off Roxbury in the area.

10:31 AM: Metro says buses have returned to their regular routes, which indicates the scene has been cleared.

Tuesday morning, a WCN reader who just wants to be identified as a “concerned citizen, White Center/Top Hat area” spotted a suspected case of casing:

I believe I caught someone casing my home (Tuesday) morning. I backed out of my driveway around 7 am and saw a clean but older white Chevrolet 2 door pickup truck creeping slow with his lights off behind me a few houses. Ours is not a through street so the truck should have been coming up behind me. Turned the corner but the guy never showed so I went around the block and saw him walking down my front door steps back to his truck. I pulled up next to his driver side window and rolled down my passenger window, he avoided eye contact until I honked my horn. I asked what he was doing and he said his “job,” so I asked what his job was and he said he worked for “the city.” I asked why he wasn’t driving a city truck and he said it was one. I backed up and took a pic of his license plate B89—H. Then he started driving, so I followed him out of the neighborhood and he didn’t stop at a single other house. I confirmed with the non-emergency report operator that this is not a city vehicle and she put me in touch with the sheriff.

Just a reminder, if you leave your house in the morning and someone suspicious also sees you leaving it doesn’t hurt to go around the block and double check that they have continued on down the road.

Police say time and time again, alert citizens are their best weapon against crime.

An update from King County on the Hicklin Lake floating-islands project – which now is described as including two “floating islands” to be installed within the next few months. The big news in this update is that the contract has been awarded:

King County is moving forward with its innovative plan supported by the local community for cleaning up Hicklin Lake by using vegetated floating islands to improve water quality.

Seattle-based Herrera Environmental, representing the international firm Biomatrix Water, will design and install two 600-square-foot floating islands early this summer in Hicklin Lake, which is located in Lakewood Park in the White Center community.

Covered with native wetland vegetation, the islands are designed so that the plants’ roots extend below the waterline. The roots and accompanying biofilm take up excess nutrients from the water column – one of the main causes of the ongoing algae blooms that bedevil the small lake’s water quality.

The project is being managed by the Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and was made possible through a combination of surface water funds and a $50,000 grant from the Washington Department of Ecology.

Hicklin Lake water quality has been a concern for years, with a history of harmful algae blooms that have posed potential health threats to people, pets and wildlife.

The plan for installing the floating islands isn’t the only step King County has taken to improve water quality in Hicklin Lake. Staff from WLRD have been tracking down and eliminating illegal and inadvertent sewer connections that discharge pollutants into the stormwater system that flows into the small lake, as well as updating and improving the stormwater infrastructure that serves the area.

The county says installation is likely to happen in July.

Thanks to Gill Loring for photos and news about a weekend event to beautify North Shorewood Park – organized by King County Parks and featuring Seattle Works volunteers as well as Friends of NSP:

We had a great time. The weather was perfect for working. Cleaned out around trees planted last year, added a few more and barked them to help keep down the weeds.

Cleared out along the trails and picked up trash. Several kids from the neighborhood showed up to use the basketball hoop and found it “busy” with a truck parked under it.

A wonderful thing happened – they volunteered to help, pulled on some Seattle Works tees and dug right in. According to Mark from KC Parks, they wanted to know if they could come back (Sunday) and help some more! Nope, just a one-day event.

Just reported:

Sunday, May 19 – my neighbor’s small black Pomeranian (uncut hair) missing from outside Bartell Drugs at 15th & Roxbury at approx. 5:23p.

Last seen on #128 bus heading east on Roxbury. Owner is devastated!! Will post picture soon. Please contact 206.992.1692 if you have any information.

The Bike To Work Day party is just wrapping up in downtown White Center – bet you recognize the renowned crew there to provide encouragement, incentives, and treats! Here’s a wider shot of the setup:

For downtown (and vicinity) events on the pm-commute side of Bike To Work Day, check this page on the Cascade Bike Club‘s website.

Big sale tomorrow at Greenbridge! The official announcement:

White Center Kiwanis Rummage Sale (or garage sale whichever you prefer)

Saturday, May 18

Greenbridge Plaza (near DubSea Coffee)

9800 8th Avenue SW

9:00 am to 4:00 pm

You will be assisting our efforts in supporting local non-profits who focus on families & youth; West Side Baby, White Center Food Bank and the Southwest Boys & Girls Club.

–

Caffé Delia‘s Facebook post says it all. Big party Friday morning in downtown White Center in honor of Bike to Work Day?

All you need to do is bike to your fricking job on one day. And that day is tomorrow.

Get those Bikes out! Tomorrow is Cascade Bicycle Club F5 Bike to Work Day.

Rat City is having an early morning party. 6-9am. We’ll be set up right in front of our shop at 9622A 16th Ave SW.

Free Ice Cream by Full Tilt Ice Cream
Free Pizza by Proletariat Pizza
Free breakfast sammies by Zippy’s Giant Burgers
Free bike repair tips, thoughts and bike-powered smoothies by Aaron’s Bicycle Repair
Free cameo appearance by King County Sheriff’s Office Storefront Deputy BJ Myers. (He will be punishing non-cycling freeloaders
Discounts and passes to Center Studio
Oh, and free coffee by us.

And, while you’re down here love, ride a few blocks to the always awesome Dubsea Coffee and mooch free coffee and stuff off them too.

This is the greatest thing that can happen at 6 am in the morning on a friday. Besides maybe a huge snowstorm that makes it so you can’t go to work at all.

Just out of the inbox:

May 25 roller derby rematch: Derby Liberation Front vs. Jet City’s Pink Pistols

Join your favorite roller derby revolutionaries for an evening of rink riots and pistol whips as Rat City’s Derby Liberation Front (DLF) battles its neighbors to the north, the Pink Pistols of Jet City Rollergirls on Saturday, May 25th. The last time this rivalry met on the track in 2012 it came down to an epic final jam with DLF chalking up a win and the Pistols pleading for more. Well, they got what they asked for – another chance to see if the revolution can hold its ground when the Pistols come to town. First whistle is at 6:20 – don’t miss a second of this bitter rematch!

Who? Rat City Rollergirls, Derby Liberation Front vs. Jet City Rollergirls, Pink Pistols
What? Roller derby
When? Satruday, May 25th @ 6 PM
Where? Southgate Roller Rink in White Center: 9646 17th AVe SW
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/364685

Some slow going this morning on the hill to and from the Myers Way/1st Avenue South ramp for Highway 509: A semi-truck with trailer wound up on its side – no way to get a close-up photo, but it’s in the backdrop of what you see above. Nobody hurt, we’re told, and traffic was being directed around it while a tow truck got ready to right it.

Again this year, local nonprofits are participating in today’s GiveBIG one-day donation drive coordinated by the Seattle Foundation. The money you give to any or all of the participating nonprofits helps them be eligible for a “stretch pool” of partial matching funds, to be distributed proportionately depending on how much each participating nonprofit raises during GiveBIG, by 11:59 pm tonight. The BIG catch: You **must** donate through the special pages that participants have on the foundation’s website, NOT via theirs own websites. So again this year, we made a list of all those special pages for participating West Seattle, White Center, and South Park-based or -founded nonprofits (and a couple parent organizations) – see that list here; below, we’ve broken it down further to a White Center-relevant list. The special links take you to pages on the Seattle Foundation website with background information and links to the organizations’ own sites, as well as the donation links to use for this one-day event. (P.S. Please let us know if we missed a WC-based organization – thanks!)

HIGHLINE SCHOOLS FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE – go here

KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM FOUNDATION – go here

SOUTHWEST YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES – go here

TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION – go here

THE SALVATION ARMY – KING COUNTY – go here

WESTSIDE BABY – go here

WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION – go here

WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK – go here **Note, again this year, WCFB has added events on GiveBIG day, including a portion of proceeds donated this morning if you have breakfast at Meander’s Kitchen, and tonight if you dine at Proletariat Pizza, Zippy’s Giant Burgers, or Company in WC. Caffé Delia (WSB sponsor) and Dubsea Coffee also will have “donation stations” set up in the morning.**

YES FOUNDATION OF WHITE CENTER – go here

YWCA OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY – go here

The White Center Chamber of Commerce and White Center Community Development Association are teaming up for a Power Lunch and Power Mixer today – two times, two locations, so that businesses can make it no matter what their schedule. At noon, they’ll be at Chemo’s (xx); at 7 pm, they’ll be at TT’s Soul Kitchen (xx). Topics will include business-district lighting and the push to make sure White Center doesn’t lose its Storefront Deputy. Speaking of which – have you signed the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s online petition yet? (It was first reported here, on Monday.)

4:25 PM: Thanks to the tipsters who let us know about a tree down on Ambaum around SW 116th. We’re en route to check it out. Not sure yet how much it’s affecting traffic. Updates to come.

4:57 PM UPDATE: The tree is down in the southbound lanes just south of SW 116th. When we were there a short time ago, people were being diverted around that area. In our photo above, that’s the tree to the left of the view – you can’t see the trunk, just the big leafy top.

Want to help convince county leaders to keep the White Center Storefront Deputy position in the King County Sheriff’s Office budget? At the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s recent public-safety forum (WCN coverage here), Sheriff John Urquhart warned that, while he supports continuing to fund the position, budget pressure could mean trouble – so he urged citizens to voice their support to leaders including County Executive Dow Constantine and County Councilmember Joe McDermott. And they in fact are the leaders to whom NHUAC’s petition on change.org is directed. You can sign it here.

Just north of White Center, it’s the 9th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – which your co-publishers here coordinate/present on behalf of partner site West Seattle Blog. 280 sales are on the WSCGSD map this year. You are cordially invited to check them out between 9 am and 3 pm – find the online, printable, and mobile versions of the map on this WSB page.