White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Got a tip on this a few days ago but couldn’t confirm it till tonight: According to signage posted on its door, White Center’s Blockbuster is closing. Saturday is its last day of rentals; Sunday it’ll be closed; Monday, it’ll reopen for liquidation. That’s the same pattern followed by the two stores in West Seattle that closed a little more than a year ago. The sign on the White Center store’s door says that once it’s closed, the nearest Blockbuster will be in Kent.

(Photo by Lena Eivy)
You’ve heard about the beautiful glass apples that West Seattle’s Avalon Glassworks sells as a fundraiser for White Center Food Bank – now, WCFB sends word the ongoing benefit has achieved another milestone:

In May 2011, Avalon Glassworks’ Feed the Core apple series hit the $10,000 donation mark for White Center Food Bank – an achievement and goal that many artists might never be able to accomplish. Now, less than two years later they hit the $15,000 mark with apple #375 just last week. Luckily, photographer Lena Eivy was on hand to snap a shot, as she was already at Avalon in the middle of another event benefiting the food bank, Headshots at the Hot Shop.

The premise of the project is simple. Each apple is $80; half of that covers Avalon’s production expenses and the other half goes directly to White Center Food Bank, providing approximately 200 pounds of food, translating to 75,000 pounds of food generated by the project.

Shannon Felix, Avalon’s co-owner, says, “We get a lot of acknowledgement from White Center Food Bank. The director, Richard Jump, is always so graciously appreciative. It lets us know that we are really making a difference.” Headshot’s photographer Lena Eivy, who snapped the landmark shot, said, “I believe strongly in the benefits of helping everyone in a group to be successful in order to strengthen the group as a whole. The White Center Food Bank makes our community strong by helping those who need it most.” Headshots garnered another $420 for White Center Food Bank that day.

Avalon Glassworks has created for White Center Food Bank an extended community that draws together fellow professionals and art lovers to create something truly magical.

Avalon Glassworks is in West Seattle’s Luna Park business district, on Avalon Way just south of the West Seattle Bridge, and its owners just celebrated their 10th anniversary of running the business.

As we first reported here and here), a serial robber has been at work in the White Center area – and further north, with last Wednesday’s holdup at the 30th/Roxbury 76 station. Today, the King County Sheriff’s Office released surveillance photos, with this information:

SUSPECT DESCRIPTION:

*Black, 35- 40 years of age, 5’11” – 6’0”, medium build
*Had darker black patch of skin under left eye
*Long, narrow face, Deep voice

The above-pictured suspect robbed four mini marts between January 11 and February 1, 2013.

His MO is to display a black semi-automatic handgun, possibly a Glock, and demand cash from the register. If you have information regarding the possible identity of the suspect, please contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.

We are checking with KCSO to see if the photos are available in any higher resolution/size.

P.S. Remember that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council’s Public Safety Forum – including an update on local crime trends, certainly including this case – is just two days away, Thursday at 7 pm at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenbridge (9800 8th SW).

Just received this:

2 red retrievers came up to our gate at 1815 SW 112th. We put them in the fully fenced yard. One adult, one puppy about 8-10 months. Kristine 206-930-9062

Starting about five minutes into that county-provided YouTube clip, you can see County Executive Dow Constantine‘s State of the County address in its entirety. Or – read the text here. Many key points, from protecting parks to fighting gun violence, but unless it was ad-libbed, no specific mention of this area’s future, post-annexation-vote defeat.

In the heart of downtown White Center, Joe is playing guitar – in honor of a brand-new music store, run by his son:

Inside, behind the counter, here’s Joe’s son Brian, who just opened Rat City Records and Relics today at 9632 16th SW and is having a grand-opening celebration till 9 tonight. As noted in our original report two weeks ago, the relics include music memorabilia and old guitars:

You can find RCRR on Facebook, here.

In honor of International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day – yes, really! – the Full Tilt Ice Cream flagship store in downtown White Center offered free waffles to go with ice cream purchased this morning. Above, we photographed Octavia and Ophelia enjoying theirs shortly after Full Tilt’s early opening for the occasion. (Syrup? Who needs it when you have ICE CREAM!)

Earlier this week, we reported on Wednesday night’s holdup at the 30th/Roxbury 76 station, believed to be the work of a man who had robbed at least two other area businesses. Late last night, according to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Patrick McCurdy, a robber believed to be “the same suspect” struck again, this time at Rainbow Mini-Mart, SW 116th and 16th SW (map) – disguised by a hood and bandana, armed with a semi-automatic handgun. No other details so far; we’ll continue to follow up with KCSO.

P.S. As reported here earlier this week, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s public-safety forum is coming up this Thursday, 7 pm at the Boys and Girls Club’s Joe Thomas Room at Greenbridge (9800 8th SW), and this is likely to be part of the briefing by KCSO reps, just one of the scheduled agenda items – details on the NHUAC website.

Crime trends, crime prevention, and more – all in one place, one night, at the next North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Public Safety Forum, one week from tonight – 7 pm Thursday, February 7th. New location – here’s the full announcement:

Please plan on joining us for a Public Safety Forum on Thursday, Feb 7 at 7 pm at the Boys & Girls Club, 9800 8th Ave. SW in the Joe Thomas Room (behind the Greenbridge Library)

We are pleased to be hosting:
Sgt. Henry McLauchan of the King County Sheriff’s Dept. who will give a special presentation on the “Broken Windows Theory” and discuss how graffiti and other types of vandalism impact our community, as well as steps we can take to prevent and offset these problems.

Meet our new Liquor Control Enforcement Officer Lt. Tim Thompson who will provide updates regarding the states new marijuana legislation, as well as information regarding private liquor sales and distribution since the passage of 1-1183.

Chris Cody, owner of Herban Legends Collective in White Center, will fill us in on how citizens can get involved in the marijuana legislative process.

Nicki Maraulja, Crime Prevention Community Service Officer, will provide information to help you get started on forming a Block Watch – the effective program based on the principle that neighbors working together are the first and best line of defense against crime.

White Center Storefront Deputy BJ Myers will provide updates on crime trends in the North Highline area and take questions regarding neighborhood concerns.

All are welcome.

Raffle items and light snacks provided.

3:01 AM: King County Sheriff’s Office deputies converged on the 30th/Roxbury 76 station Wednesday night, investigating a reported armed robbery. This area has had other robberies lately, on the Seattle side of the boundary – at the 35th/Roxbury strip mall, a beverage/tobacco shop was held up a week and a half ago, and at nearby Roxhill Park, two recent armed robberies were reported – with middle-schoolers the victims.

UPDATE: KCSO Sgt. Patrick McCurdy says this might be linked to other robberies in the county: They believe the same robber hit the Texaco and Zip Mart (in White Center) “within the last week to week and a half.” They think he got away in a car but don’t have a description of it yet. The robber is described as a black man in his late 30s to early 40s, medium build, 5’10”, 190 pounds, and Sgt. McCurdy adds, “In all of the circumstances, the suspect had his face covered, probably with a bandana. One of the robberies occurred in the early morning hours (around 4:00 am or so), and the other two occurred close to 10:00 PM. In all robberies, the suspect displayed a small black semi-automatic handgun.”

While following up on an incident reported in the latest WSBeat police-report roundup on partner site West Seattle Blog, we confirmed that a dog found in the Myers Way “woods” with its owner, just southeast of White Center, is the same one sought in connection with a much-reported attack in Shorewood. That attack injured a dog and its owner, as first reported on the Shorewood on the Sound Facebook group page. The man found with the dog off Myers Way is in jail because of warrants, as noted in the WSBeat report; King County spokesperson Cameron Satterfield told us that the dog is in the county facility in Kent and will remain there while its owner works through his legal problems – Seattle Animal Shelter took the dog from the Myers Way scene on Saturday, and then turned it over to the county. The owner has been cited, Satterfield says, including a “removal order” served to him in jail – if he reclaims the dog, it cannot be kept anywhere in King County.

An anonymous White Center Now reader shared this:

Here’s an email I sent to KC Metro Transit:
—
Last year, Route 128 ran on the incorrect Snow Route. It traveled along SW Roxbury St. and 4th Ave SW, avoiding the correct Snow Route along 8th Ave SW and SW 108th St.

This stranded some thousands of people for two days in a row. Those affected included the Boys & Girls Club and community center, King County Library, Nia Apartments senior housing, Greenwood development residents, a large elementary school, a county public health facility, White Center Food Bank, and all residents and businesses in this area.

1) Why did this happen?
2) What will happen this time around?

Thank you for your attention to this problem.

Forecasters say the chances of snow this winter are dimming – but that won’t make the reported problem go away. We’ll let you know what we hear about followup.

5:37 PM: Huge fire callout from multiple departments – North Highline and Seattle, SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, the port – because of an apartment fire in the 12300 block of Ambaum. Traffic is getting through but very slowly so we suggest avoiding the area.

7:35 PM: No injuries reported, and no cause announced so far. The building is actually at 1224 124th, a 24-unit structure that’s almost half a century old, according to county records.

11:11 PM: KIRO TV reports a baseboard-heater problem is blamed for starting the fire.

Pacwest Softball season is under way, and local signups run through Feb. 9. Here’s info on the next three registration sessions:

Teams are available for children ages 4-18.

What to bring:

Please bring 3 proofs of residency and a copy of your child’s birth certificate.

Signups will be at the following places:

Jan 29th, 6 pm – 8 pm
Highline Christian Church
14859 1st Avenue South, Burien,

Feb 2nd, 10 am – 2 pm
Tukwila Community Center
12424 42nd Avenue South, Tukwila

Feb 9th, 10 am – 2 pm
Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church
1822 South 128th St. Burien

For more information, please contact Kimberly Felix @ crashcat71@hotmail.com

Here’s the story behind the car on the left, which crashed into the pole outside the White Center Taco Time about an hour ago: Seattle Police started trying to stop the driver in West Seattle after detecting that the car was stolen, according to what they told us at the scene. The car didn’t come to a stop until it crashed into the pole at 16th and 102nd. There was scanner talk of at least one other person fleeing the vehicle and being sought; we saw police making one arrest at the crash scene. No word of injuries. This was causing traffic trouble on southbound 16th, but northbound traffic was being allowed through.

The North Highline Fire District’s Board of Commissioners wants to make sure the community hears about this letter of appreciation for its IAFF Local 1810 firefighters – so they have shared a copy for publication. If you can’t read it in the Scribd format below – you can open it here as a PDF.

If you’re heading south today, consider lunch and/or dinner at the Empty Bowls benefit in Burien, helping food banks including White Center FB – full details here!

51 people in White Center were among more than 2,700 counted early this morning by hundreds of volunteers around King County for the annual One Night Count of homeless people. The countywide tally is five percent more than a year earlier, according to a news release:

2,736 men, women and children had no shelter in King County last night, a small increase over those found without shelter last year. Last year, volunteers found 2,594 people surviving outside without shelter.

Teams of volunteers with trained leaders are dispatched from ten locations throughout the county to count every person they see outside overnight on one night in January. Approximately 800 volunteers counted people trying to survive in cars, tents, all night buses, hospital emergency rooms, or curled up in blankets under bridges or in doorways.

The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, an independent coalition of organizations and individuals that works on homelessness issues in our region, organizes the count, now in its 33rd year.

A breakdown of how many people were found in what circumstances – cars, doorways, etc. – is in the second half of this document, and that includes the 51 people reported in WC as being without shelter when volunteers saw them early today.

While out covering the White Center Art Walk last Saturday night, we noticed a sign is up in the window of the former VN Market, touting Luso Food and Wine‘s new location – it’s moving a few blocks northwest, to the heart of downtown WC, at 9614 16th SW. The announcement on Facebook says the store is scheduled to open on February 15th, with a grand-opening celebration on March 2nd. It’s been a year and four months since Luso opened in its first location on 15th SW.

(Seattle Derby Brats in action; photo by Frank Blau)
Big event coming up this weekend at Southgate Roller Rink! Manya shares the news on behalf of the Seattle Derby Brats:

On January 26th, at 5 pm, the Portland Rosebuds and the Seattle Derby Brats Galaxy Girls will bout at Southgate Roller Rink in White Center. They are two of the best junior roller-derby teams in the country, and they are also ranked #1 and #3 in the world.

The Seattle Derby Brats were started by a Rat City Rollergirl at Pathfinder School in West Seattle. The ‘brats’ now number 103 girls, ages 8 to 18, drawn from all areas of the Northwest.

The Galaxy Girls evolved as the competitive travel team that bouts other teams in the state and country. If you would like to read more on this sport, there’s a video at seattlederbybrats.com, the second part shows some of the girls in an actual bout.

If you enjoy great action and athleticism, come join us at Southgate Skate Center on Saturday night!

Southgate is at 9646 17th SW.