White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Thanks for the tip. The Guardian One helicopter has been over White Center for a while this morning. We asked the King County Sheriff’s Office why. Reply: “This looks to be a violation of a court order in progress. Our Guardian One was helping to locate the known individual who violated that court order.” That’s it for info so far.

Just out of the WCN inbox:

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced today the launch of the Economic Alliance Program, a collaborative effort between the Department of Local Services and community organizations in unincorporated King County. This new program will further help businesses and individuals recover and thrive as the region continues to emerge from the economic slowdown of the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The launch of the Economic Alliance Program is a critical step forward in our commitment to promote an equitable recovery for everyone in King County,” said Executive Constantine. “Partnering closely with community organizations throughout unincorporated King County will ensure the needs of businesses and individuals disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are better met and supported.”

The $5.25 million program, which was recommended by Executive Constantine and approved by the King County Council, was developed to address concerns voiced by unincorporated area business leaders and residents that local small businesses needed urgent help, particularly those owned by members of the BIPOC community, women, LGBTQ+, veterans, immigrants/refugees, low-income, limited-English speaking, and those living with disability who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

The Economic Alliance Program will focus on three main areas:

Career Connector: Low-barrier, highly supported workforce development and entrepreneurial training, living-wage career education, subsidized internships, and job placement for workers impacted by COVID-19.

Businesses Builder: Providing technical assistance for small businesses, including accounting, legal support, business planning, and more.

Community Innovator: Offer small business “incubation” resources, including networking opportunities, mentoring resources, and skills-based learning in disproportionately impacted areas of White Center/North Highline and Skyway/West Hill.
This month, Local Services turned to the community to help implement the program and its three elements by contracting with United for a Community Led Economy, a partnership co-founded by representatives of three groups that are embedded in the communities of their respective areas – the White Center Community Development Association, Skyway Coalition, and Comunidad Latina de Vashon.

The Economic Alliance programming that United for a Community Led Economy will foster in the coming months is designed specially to meet the needs and recognize the challenges of businesses and residents in unincorporated King County.

Local Services serves as the local government for residents and businesses in unincorporated King County, including areas such as Skyway, White Center, Vashon Island, East Federal Way, the Snoqualmie Valley, Fall City, Greater Maple Valley, and the Bear Creek/Sammamish areas.

To learn more about the Economic Alliance, visit www.publicinput.com/ukcalliance.

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Deep dives into two important agencies/programs – the King County Sheriff’s Office and LEAD – comprised most of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s first meeting of 2023, online last Thursday. The meeting was focused on “the health of North Highline,” as NHUAC’s Liz Giba put it. It began with guests from KCSO.

UNDERSHERIFF JESSE ANDERSON: He began by acknowledging the Memphis murder of Tyre Nichols. “There are so many things I could say about the officers who were involved, but none of it is good.” He called Mr. Nichols’s death “a preventable loss of life.” He also insisted that KCSO’s culture “is nothing like” what happened in Memphis. “There’s definitely a cultural problem in that agency that we don’t have.” He said even the name of the team – now disbanded – that the officers were part of, SCORPION, was shocking and unbelievable. He then segued into the importance of thoroughly screening KCSO applicants, “even if that means we carry large numbers of vacancies for quite some time … We must be very diligent.”

On to the state of KCSO: “We’ve made significant steps forward, especially last year, with hiring more people, setting up a recruiting plan … We are really leading the way in our area for numbers of hires.” There are currently 112 vacancies. He said some new reruits are due out of the academy in spring. The vacancies are spread throughout the department: “We’re all sharing in the pain.” Training efforts are a challenge with 750 “commissioned people,” but KCSO is looking for opportunities wherever they can be found – de-escalation, active-bystander training (teaching officers that if their partners are “crossing a line … they have a duty to intervene to stop that”), and more.

Giba asked where recruitment efforts are focused – geographically, for example. “We go everywhere we can,” replied Anderson. “We’re all over looking for those opportunities for recruitment.” An attendee asked if deputies could be shown and named online; the reply was that some departments have had an issue with ID theft when trying that. For now, if you’re looking to contact a specific deputy, call your nearest precinct.

Anderson also said they’re working to form the Community Advisory Board that new Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall announced, and said they’ve had a good number of applicants so far. “We’re looking forward to this,” he said of the future group.

Other attendee questions included Block Watch activity and concerns about gunfire activity suspected to be involved with a hookah lounge. An adjacent business owner wanted to know, “Is there anything going on with that establishment … that’s going to make the situation any safer?” Deputy Bill Kennamer said, “Yes,” and mentioned permitting and other investigations under way. “It is number one on my list of things and I’ve been working to get the place legally shut down … if they can’t control their business and the people surrounding their business … then it becomes a nuisance business.” The nearby business owner said that he’s worried on Friday and Saturday nights that “bullets are going to come through the wall.” Local Services director John Taylor affirmed that they’re working on a variety of fronts. Various discussion of potential logistics ensued. The business owner concluded, “It’s very reassuring to hear (this is) very much on the radar.”

Another attendee brought up fireworks, which became illegal in unincorporated King County as of last year. He said his neighborhood becomes “World War III” around the 4th of July. What’s the plan to deter it? he asked. Taylor fielded the question. He agreed it’s a serious problem – “it isn’t just lighthearted fun” – with the deadly fire just a few years ago. Last year they just did warnings, he recapped, but they’ve set up a system for reporting violations; last year they got more than 700 complaints. They sent letters to them all this past year, with warnings. They had about as third that many complaints on New Year’s Eve. If they get a complaint again this year for somebody who got a warning this year, they’ll face a penalty. “Anyone who sets off fireworks is going to get contacted by us,” Taylor promised. Deputy Kennamer pointed out that the retail outlets are already gone, so that means far less availability.

The next KCSO guest was Major Mark Konoske, local precinct commander. He talked about oversight – reporting misconduct and how it’s investigated, with an independent agency getting involved. Giba then asked how he’s dealing with the new role. Lots of calls for service, and it gives them a sense of purpose – “very fulfilling,” he said. He had previous experience in the precinct, two, including as a sergeant, and then briefly as an interim chief of Burien Police. He also introduced Community Service Officer Nate Hammock, who’s been a CSO since August. “What I do is provide non-law enforcement services to the community … (as a) relief to deputies … I’m not a law-enforcement officer,” but he can certainly handle questions about law enforcement. Don’t call him if there’s an emergency. “What we do is respond to, most commonly, found property … I’ve returned a lot of stuff recently. ” He can also check residences by request when people go out of town, give presentations on safety to schools and churches, and drive around to serve as a deterrent. He recently helped White Center Heights Elementary improve crosswalk visibility. “I’m just trying to be proactive.” CSO’s also plan and attend community events (“Shop With a Cop” was one example he gave).

LEAD: Project manager Aaron Burkhalter for North Highline and Burien headed up a big delegation at the meeting. He said the program’s now more than a decade old, having started in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, as a better way of dealing with people “cycling over and over again” into and out of the jail system. They help clients with a variety of services and resources. “What are their long-term goals?” is one question with which they deal with clients. “The program has expanded internationally” and now operates in all of Seattle’s precincts. They often get referrals from law-enforcement officers like Deputy Kennamer. LEAD is “pre-arrest diversion” but ideally they will be able to work with people long before it gets to the arrest stage.

A year and a half has now passed since LEAD started working in White Center. Burkhalter said they currently are working actively with 3 people and are trying to establish relationships with more than 20 others. He said LEAD has a “secret sauce” in getting people to sit down together – from social workers to law-enforcement officers to prosecutors – to talk about the clients. “The people we work with have legal involvement,” maybe cases, maybe warrants, maybe regular law-enforcement contact. Asked by Giba about whether LEAD represents clients in court, Burkhalter said no, but LEAD does have a legal team that “jumps in” on occasion with a complicated case, and case managers can provide support and clarity when the court matter relates to the work they’re doing with a client.

Burkhalter also clarified that LEAD is “not a homelessness program … it’s a public-safety program,” though housing is of course an issue for many of their clients, “and that’s why the case-management piece of this is so critical.”

Next to speak was Aleczandria Jamerson, a program manager in the area. She spoke of their work establishing trust and building relationships with clients and other community members. She stressed that they’re working with people who are suffering – yes, their actions have effects on the community, but it’s important to understand where their clients are coming from – “the various traumas they’re dealing with on a daily basis can really affect their progress.”

It was also explained that “this is taxpayer-funded work.”

Case manager Khalil Butler introduced himself. “I’m out there with my feet on the ground three to five days a week.”
Senior case manager Reese followed, the senior case manager for Community Passageways through LEAD, joining the agency about a month and a half ago. Shanisse, also a relatively new arrival via Community Passageways, is focusing on the Recovery Navigator Program. Giba asked what percentage of the people they deal within in White Center “have a drug problem.’ Answer: “100 percent … that often presents with co-occurring things like mental and behavioral crises that they’re going through at one time.” Is decriminalizing drugs a healthy approach? Giba asked. Aleczandria said they come from a “harm reduction” approach. She says that many of them had a life event that triggered this – they did not start with drug addiction, they had, perhaps a mental health crisis, and now substances help them cope with what their living situations are. So decriminalizing drugs is a complicated issue. “If we begin to address what their basic needs are, then maybe we can begin to prevent … worse behaviors. … In an ideal world we’ll talk about deflection rather than diversion.” That means getting to the root of the problem rather than just treating “the symptoms.” Butler said that “positive change isn’t something you can force on people ,.. they have to want to.” And meeting their needs first is a more successful approach. “I would challenge anybody in this room to sleep for one night on the concrete in 25-degree weather sober.” One attendee asked how they connect, because he’s seen people suffering on the street and is at a loss to figure out what to do. They get referrals, Aleczandria said, but they also are out in White Center all the time. They might offer a sandwich to make a connection and explain themselves, offer their card, so the people they meet can reach out when they’re ready. She also noted that some people refuse shelter because they’ve had horrible experiences at shelters, which aren’t always safe. The LEAD people build relationships and do a “warm handoff” when the people they’re dealing with are ready. They also know that “today may look very different from tomorrow” for people in need. They “chip away” at the barriers keeping people from moving into something better – ID, a phone, etc.

NORTH HIGHLINE CRIME UPDATES: Deputy Kennamer said Part 1 crimes are at the lowest they’ve been in January in several years (*47). There’ve been two homicides in recent weeks, and a shooting the previous night, One homicide was a stabbing – we don’t know where it started but the victim got onto a bus in Greenbridge, took the bus to St. Anthony’s, they transferred him to Harborview and he died there. They think he might have been living in an encampment near Westcrest Park. Then there was a domestic violence stabbing in the 400 block of SW 110th – the suspect was arrested and booked that night. The most recent shooting victim – Wednesday night on 8th Place – is expected to live, but it’s an open/active case, so the deputy didn’t have additional information. NHUSC’s Barbara Dpbkin noted an increase in graffiti vandalism; Kennamer said there’s definitely an uptick in “Latino gang graffiti.” The county does not have a law requiring property owners to clean it up.

NHUAC BOARD NEEDS MEMBERS: Want to get involved? Contact NHUAC!

NEXT MEETING: NHUAC meets most first Thursdays, 7 pm, online until they find an in-person meeting place again.

Application time if you’re interested in involvement with the county’s “participatory budgeting” process!

After a successful first round last year, Local Services is again using this innovative approach to community-driven public funding in the county’s urban unincorporated areas.

Community members who live, work, go to school, or worship in the areas listed below are encouraged to apply to serve on the new steering committee, which will meet virtually to help guide the process of nominating and choosing projects for King County to carry out in each area. Applications are open through Tuesday, February 21.

Eligible areas: East Federal Way, East Renton, Fairwood, Skyway, White Center/North Highline

Find the application link on the right side of this page, where you’ll also find reports on the results from last year’s round.

(WCN file photo)

Announced via social media, Tim’s Tavern – formerly an iconic North Seattle hot spot for live music – is taking over the Drunky Two Shoe BBQ spot in downtown White Center:

After almost 2 years of searching for a new location, local music champion and legendary live music dive bar Tim’s Tavern will be moving to White Center and setting up shop at 9655 16th Ave. SW, formerly Drunky’s BBQ.

“The wait is over for Tim’s and we couldn’t be happier with this new space and neighborhood. It’s finally time to rock again!” says co-owner and music curator Matthew “Matto” O’Toole.

The new location will be family- and dog-friendly and will feature live music 7 days a week on their covered/heated outdoor patio stage. Inside you’ll find a small arcade, full dining area, and bar.

Co-owner and Chef Mason Reed has spent the last few years preparing meals backstage as a personal chef for many of music’s major artists that have passed through Oregon and Washington. Reed says, “The food menu will consist of Pacific Northwest pub fare with plenty of plant-based and gluten-free options. We are excited, honored, and proud to be a part of the White Center neighborhood.”

The Tim’s team is planning on a soft opening for the end of March, with a week-long grand-opening celebration planned for early April. Please keep an eye on Timslivemusic.com for further announcements.

Tim’s Tavern closed in Greenwood a year and a half ago – read the backstory here. It’s been six years since Drunky’s took over the site, which previously had been DK Café.

ADDED MONDAY: A commenter asked about the Drunky’s closure. A note on the door says January 31st was their last day.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

The first declared candidate for King County Council District 8 is currently on the Seattle City Council; now we have a second candidate, who’s currently on the Burien City Council. We’re frequently checking the state list of people registering election campaigns, and this afternoon it had an addition: Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon, registering a campaign for the County Council seat that Joe McDermott is leaving after a decade-plus. Burien’s mayor is chosen by fellow councilmembers; Aragon has held the title since last year, and has been on the council since 2020. Two years before that, she ran for 34th District State Senator, finishing fourth in a primary field of 11. The City of Burien website describes Aragon as “a registered nurse and attorney (who) worked in Olympia for over a decade to advocate for affordable and accessible health care, protecting public health, workplace safety, and ensuring differing opinions are included when developing public policy.” She currently is executive director of the Washington Center for Nursing (Burien city councilmembers serve part time). The field for the County Council race won’t be final until the official filing week in mid-May; the August 1st primary will send the top two finishers to the November primary.

(Also published at partner site West Seattle Blog)

(WCN/WSB photo by Patrick Sand)

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

After five years as one of the Seattle City Council‘s two at-large members, North Delridge resident Teresa Mosqueda says she feels a “pull” toward a different role in local government – that of King County Councilmember.

Mosqueda announced this morning that she is campaigning for the seat that District 8 County Councilmember Joe McDermott is leaving after more than a decade. The newly remapped district stretches from downtown Seattle to Burien, also including West Seattle, White Center, and Vashon and Maury Islands, among other neighborhoods (see the map here).

Mosqueda talked with us in West Seattle just before her announcement. She says she will continue with her City Council job – which isn’t up for a vote again until 2025 – while campaigning for County Council. (If she wins the new job, the remaining city councilmembers would have to appoint someone to fill the rest of her term.) Though the County Council represents three times as many people as the City Council, it toils in less of a spotlight, generally with far less pressure and scrutiny. Mosqueda wouldn’t mind: “Everyone asks, aren’t you going to be bored? I say, no!”

She says what’s “pulling” her toward the County Council are two issues in particular – health and housing. County government has “more purview over public health and behavioral health.” On the latter, she’s supportive of the behavioral-health levy the County Council just voted to send to voters in April. And she sees even more areas of the county in need of workforce housing, especially Vashon and Burien. She wants to work with the state legislators who have housing in the spotlight this session. The county also runs the major transit system – Metro – and “working families need round-the-clock transit – we need to reimagine that.”

Those working families, Mosqueda continues, also need more access to child care and other support. She expresses admiration for the county’s voter-approved Best Starts for Kids program. She sees possibilities for “building on the work we’ve done in Seattle,’ recalling a tour of the West Seattle Junction four years ago, when a small-business owner told her more child care and housing would help their workers.

Beyond West Seattle, she mentions other parts of the city that are part of County Council District 8: “I have served these communities and know them.” But she says she’s no stranger to the non-Seattle areas of the district – her family gets health care in Burien, for example, and visits that community’s Seahurst Park. Her heart, however, is in the North Delridge neighborhood where she lives with her husband and their 3-year-old daughter – “this is the kind of walkable, livable neighborhood I want everybody to have.”

Mosqueda also observes that serving District 8 would be about serving a diverse population, with an increasing number of people of color as well as immigrants and refugees. Representation matters, she declares, noting she was shocked to learn that of the more than 130 people serving on county councils in the state of Washington right now, only three are people of color. During and before her city work, she says she has fought for those who aren’t (yet) at the table.

Veering off the issues she cites as those about which she’s most excited, we ask about others – public safety, for one. She first mentions work that the county has done on diversion, and touches on community-safety work aside from law enforcement, though she also mentions respect for the King County Sheriff’s Office and Burien Police Chief Ted Boe, “who’s gotten a lot of praise for working on restorative justice.”

In the nuts and bolts of governing, we also ask what she’s learned as the City Council’s budget chair. “It’s been my goal to really change the culture of how we approach budgeting,” and Mosqueda feels she and her colleagues accomplished that through increased scrutiny including “deep analysis.” She also mentions looking further into the future, taking a closer look at a six-year projection that she says had previously been buried in the information councilmembers would get and mostly ignored.

Might she try to do something like the JumpStart tax on a county level? No specific proposals planned but she is interested in legislative action giving local governments more flexibility.

Regarding a District 8 topic that hasn’t been discussed much lately but remains unresolved – North Highline annexation – Mosqueda says she wants to talk with residents about their needs, “hear from folks what they want to see, whether it’s self-determination or annexation or …” Bottom line, she thinks job 1 is to find out if people feel they’re being appropriately served by the county.

She plans to start conversations with potential constituents immediately and already has meetings planned tomorrow in Burien; she expects to “front-load” her City Council responsibilities during the week whenever she can so she can be out campaigning Fridays through Sundays. She thinks she can win people over by showing up on doorsteps and promising to make change on their behalf. “If folks are excited about a workhorse, a listener, someone who takes action …” then, Mosqueda says, she’s their candidate.

WHAT’S NEXT: Mosqueda is the first announced candidate in this race. The field won’t be final until the official filing week in mid-May. Voting for the August 1st primary will start in July.

11:20 PM: Police and medics have responded to an apartment complex in the 9700 block of 8th Place SW in Greenbridge. We have few details aside that they’re seeking three shooting suspects. We’ll add anything more we find out.

12:06 PM THURSDAY: We followed up with KCSO. They say the 911 call came in around 11 pm: “Deputies arrived and located a male adult victim with gunshot injuries and was transported to Harborview Medical Center. It was reported there were possibly two suspects involved in this incident. Deputies conducted a search of the area along with K-9 but were unable to locate any suspects. This case is open and active, and no additional updates are available at this time.”

Just announced for Thursday (February 2nd):

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where? North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When? Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 7 pm

The death of Tyre Nichols, the young father who died as the result of a traffic stop in Memphis, is heartbreaking and points to the importance of police knowing the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.

Deputy Bill Kennamer of the King County Sheriff’s Office is a regular participant in NHUAC meetings because he is an important member of the North Highline community. This month we are going to expand the public safety discussion. Deputy Bill will be joined by:

Undersheriff Jesse Anderson
Precinct 4 Commander Major Mark Konoske
Community Service Officer Nate Hammock

For the past 4 years, KCSO has supported the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) a/k/a “Let Everyone Advance with Dignity” program in North Highline. At a 2019 NHUAC meeting, then-Major Anderson said: “The bottom line is, we want people to turn their lives around.… It’s a great tool, like many other resources we bring in.”

To update us on LEAD’s work, we will also be joined by Reese Abram and Tanisha Davis-Doss of King County LEAD and Aaron Burkhalter, LEAD Program Manager with the Public Defenders Association.

Knowledge is power: Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.

February 2, 2023 at 7 pm – Invite Your Neighbors!

Join Zoom Meeting:
us02web.zoom.us/j/81763250231?pwd=b250di9SNFRaU0xhOXBXTVZndm1Edz09

Meeting ID: 817 6325 0231
Passcode: NHUAC2023 (Case Sensitive)

Unable to join via Zoom? Please call 253-215-8782

Meeting ID: 817 6325 0231
Passcode: 155949808

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating another robbery at the 76 station/mini-mart at 2851 SW Roxbury. As announced in a bulletin a short time ago over the Seattle Police airwaves as an FYI, five armed people robbed the station, then left in a blue sedan, last seen heading eastbound – that’s all the information we have so far.

(October 7th photo by reader Mel)

Three and a half months after the discovery of a 16-year-old girl’s body along Highway 509 east of White Center, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has released results of her autopsy. The most recent media-information list released by the KCME says Keyaleas Brewer died of “asphyxia due to strangulation” and ruled her death a homicide. When we last checked with the King County Sheriff’s Office a few weeks ago, they repeated only that it remained an “open and active case.” Back in October, as reported here, they asked for video from anyone driving on southbound 509 between the 1st Avenue South Bridge and South 112th between 5 am and 7 am on Friday, October 7th – the morning Ms. Brewer was found dead – and welcomed anonymous tips via p3tips,com or info via email at mcutips@kingcounty.gov – refer to case #C22033455.

(WCN photo, Councilmember McDermott at White Center event in October)

King County Council District 8 Councilmember Joe McDermott has announced he’s not running for reelection. McDermott lives in West Seattle but represents a district that includes White Center, Vashon and Maury Islands, and part of Seattle on the east side of the Duwamish River (the County Council also has recently remapped districts). McDermott served in the State Senate and State House before moving to the County Council 12 years ago, shortly after Dow Constantine became County Executive. He was the first openly gay person to serve on the County Council. He is also a current member of the Sound Transit Board. Councilmember McDermott’s announcement does not specify what he plans to do next:

I look forward to pursuing other professional opportunities yet to be identified once I leave office while always remaining involved in the issues I am passionate about. … I am grateful for the opportunity to work for our communities. I look forward to continuing doing so as a private citizen.

You can read the full announcement, including his list of accomplishments (one of which is the fireworks ban in unincorporated King County), here. State files show that no far no one else has registered a campaign for District 8, but the official filing week is still four months away.

Set your calendar for a night at Roxbury Lanes (2823 SW Roxbury) on Friday (January 20th) to help White Center Pride raise money for this year’s street festival:

White Center Pride Bowling Fundraiser with Adra Boo
Roxbury Lanes
Friday January 20, 2023
6:30 pm

Lace up your bowling shoes and show your pride Friday, January 20th at Roxbury Lanes in White Center! Join White Center Pride for a night of fun and fundraising hosted by singer extraordinaire, Adra Boo.

This special happy hour will have games and entertainment, a bowling fundraiser, and the opportunity to meet other members of the community. It is also a chance to show your support for the White Center Pride Street Festival as we work to raise funds for this wonderful event. All ages are welcome!

White Center Pride has announced June 3rd as the date for this year’s festival.

More than a year after we first reported the plan for Que Chevere to open in the former Taradise Café space at 9808 16th SW, it has quietly opened. We noticed the “OPEN” sign last night and went back today for a closer look.

We’re told they opened in late December. When we talked with proprietor Felipe Maqueda in 2021, he was planning on Latin American cuisine, and the menu reflects that, including Mexican favorites – see it here, here, and here.

Que Chevere is open for lunch, dinner, and/or drinks Mondays through Saturdays.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

After two years as chair of our area’s biggest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, Carla Rogers watched tonight as her successor was elected.

Graham Murphy (right) is now the 34th DDs’ chair, winning the only contested seat of the night; David Toledo also ran for the spot. Murphy promised to lead the group forward as it prepares for two key election years – with an open City Council seat this year, and a presidential race next year.

Others elected at tonight’s online meeting:

1st Vice Chair – Rachel Glass
2nd Vice Chair – Jordan Crawley
State Party Representative – Chris Porter
State Party Representative – Roxanne Thayer
King County Central Committee Representative Bunny Hatcher, Leah Griffin (alternate)
King County Central Committee Representative – Ted Barker, Preston Anderson (alternate)
Treasurer – Julie Whitaker
Secretary – Steve Butts

ENDORSEMENTS: The 34th DDs voted to support passage of Seattle Initiative 135, the “social housing” measure that is the only thing on Seattle ballots for the February 14th special election. (White Center/North Highline have nothing this time around.)

Also endorsed: Longtime 34th DDs member Chris Porter, in his bid for re-election as a King Conservation District supervisor. This is an entirely different election that’ll be held online, with three weeks of voting starting January 24th.

APRIL ELECTION? While votes were counted in the chair contest, the group heard from two elected officials – King County Executive Dow Constantine and County Councilmember Joe McDermott – who both mentioned the behavioral-health levy that’s expected to go to King County voters in April.

The 34th District Democrats meet second Wednesdays of most months – watch for updates at 34dems.org.

Southwest Little League is registering players for 2023 – and it’s not just baseball this year – they’ve added a new girls’ softball division to SWLL. You can register online right now, or if you and the player(s) in your household would rather sign up in personm the annual chance to do that is coming up February 11th, noon-3 pm at the Little Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd).

Find out more on the SWLL website.

Family and friends will gather for a funeral mass this Friday and a celebration of life in March to honor Harold Foster. Here’s the remembrance they’re sharing with his community:

Harold Dale Foster, 96, passed away peacefully at home on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022, in White Center. He was born on February 26, 1926 in Spearfish, South Dakota to Ralph Bay Foster and Gertrude G. (Willsie) Foster.

Harold was preceded in death by his wife of 66 1/2 years, Lorraine C. (Garceau) Foster, his son Michael Dale Foster, his parents Ralph and Gertrude Foster, and all of his siblings, including his brothers Ray Foster, Everett Foster, and Wesley Foster, and his sisters Fae E. Rainey and Lola Mae Foster, as well as many extended family relatives and very dear friends.

Harold is survived by his son Jeffrey J. Foster and his daughter Sue Foster; his grandchildren Kara (Adam) Peters, Amanda Foster, Matthew Lambertsen, and Mark Lambertsen; great-granddaughter Sloan P. Kilpatrick-Foster and great-grandson Oliver Dale Peters, as well as his nephew Wayne (Kathy) Rainey and Loraine (Rainey) McRae and many special distant relatives and very close friends.

Harold had a nomadic childhood due to poverty since his father Ralph Foster was always looking for work. He told stories of moving many times and having very little to eat while growing up, including working for a neighbor and getting paid with a sack of potatoes to help feed his family when he was a teenager. His Father died in 1942, a few days after having surgery for a ruptured ulcer, when Harold was 16 years old. He moved back to Seattle, where his mother Gertrude Foster was staying with his older sister Fae E. Rainey. Eventually, Harold bought a house with his mother near South Seattle Community College. Gertrude Foster was working as a Nurse, and he started working at the Boeing Company in 1943. He left the Boeing Company briefly to serve his country in the Navy from 1944 – 1946.

In 1948, Harold was back working at the Boeing Company and he met his future wife Lorraine Garceau through her sister Aurora Garceau. Harold and Lorraine had a double wedding with Lorraine’s sister Muriel and Keith (Bud) Pearson on September 15, 1950, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle. They had three children, Michael Dale, Jeffrey John, and Suzette Marie. They purchased their home in 1961 and Harold would go on to live there for 61 years with many family gatherings and Harold’s last birthday open house on February 26th, 2020.

Harold and Lorraine were parishioners at Holy Family Catholic Church for almost 70 years and had their children attend Holy Family school as well as their granddaughter Kara and many other cousins. Harold was also a longtime Aerie member of the White Center Eagles since the 1950s, where Harold and his wife would dance around the supporting pole in the middle of the dance floor at the old Eagles building. In later years, he would go to the new Eagles building to meet his “Cooney” friends (as Lorraine would say) for a drink at 4pm and he enjoyed Sunday morning breakfasts with his Eagle buddies.

Harold and Lorraine went on to purchase camping membership at Lake Trask Timber Trails near Shelton in 1975 with many other Sears and Boeing families. Camping was a great getaway from the city at their summer retreat. They made many friends over the years there who became like extended family and Harold always had a joke or two to share with everyone as well as a helping hand.

And that’s his story and he is sticking to it. Please smile to yourself when you remember him.

His funeral mass will be held on Friday, January 13th, 2023 at Noon at Holy Family Catholic Church in White Center, located at 9622 20th Ave SW. His burial will follow at 2 pm at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery, 350 Monroe Ave NE, Renton. No reception following.

His Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 25th, 2023 from 2 pm to 4 pm at the White Center Eagles, 10452 15th Ave SW.
The Foster Family is looking forward to celebrating this wonderful man’s life with everyone.

In lieu of gifts, please donate to Northwest Kidney Centers, PO Box 3035, Seattle, Washington 98114.

(We publish obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to whitecenternow@gmail.com)

From the office of County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a proposal that would affect White Center and vicinity if passed:

King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles on Thursday introduced legislation to require businesses in unincorporated King County to accept cash. The measure is meant to ensure everyone has access to the economy, especially people who don’t or can’t access bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial instruments.

“When I am out and about, I am finding that more and more businesses are only accepting payment by credit cards or smart phones rather than cash,” Kohl-Welles said. “I believe the trend in this direction is highly problematic as it will prevent many people in our community who do not have bank accounts from participating in the economy. And this isn’t just a novel problem – it has the capacity to further hurt our most marginalized communities from accessing the goods and services they need to survive.”

During and even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses in the Seattle area and beyond began shifting to cashless operation, leaving people who rely on cash with fewer options to purchase goods and services. Research, however, shows that cashless businesses most impact communities of color, seniors, people with disabilities, undocumented residents, refugee and immigrant and communities and low-income communities.

At least 2.1% of Washington residents are unbanked, meaning they don’t have bank accounts, credit cards, or other typical financial services, according to the 2021 FDIC Household Survey. Five-year estimates put that number even higher – at 3.1%. More than 17% of residents are underbanked, meaning they might have a bank account but often rely on alternative financial services, such as money orders, check-cashing services and payday loans.

If applied to King County, these figures mean approximately 67,000 people could be unbanked and more than 380,000 people could be underbanked.

It’s unclear how many – if any – businesses in unincorporated King County have gone cashless, but Kohl-Welles intends the proposal as a tool to anticipate a future issue as this trend continues.

“While it is true that this legislation will only pertain to unincorporated King County, I believe that King County is a trend- and example-setter,” Kohl-Welles said. “I am confident that if this ordinance is approved, we will bring attention on this burgeoning issue to a much wider audience.”

Of those who still use cash for most purchases, the largest shares are people of color and those with the lowest incomes, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

A shift to more cashless businesses would leave these people with fewer and fewer options to make purchases, including for food and essential services.

The legislation would require businesses in unincorporated King County to accept cash for most retail transactions, and to not charge higher prices than for another form of payment. It would allow for retailers to only accept up to $250 in cash payment for single transactions larger than that amount. It would allow for civil actions to be brought by someone whose cash payment was refused.

“Tens of thousands of King County residents are unbanked, especially low-income seniors,” said Katie Wilson, general secretary of the Transit Riders Union. “Already they’re locked out of so much in our high-cost region just because they can’t afford high rents or expensive meals. At the very least, everyone deserves to be able to buy the things they can afford. That’s why TRU supports this important legislation, to make sure that people don’t walk into a store and find out that their cash doesn’t count.”

The proposal (ordinance number 2023-0027) will be referred to the Local Services committee.

13 years after its much-awaited opening in Greenbridge, Dubsea Coffee has new ownership. Founder Sibelle Nguyen made the announcement on social media, saying she has “passed the reins of Dubsea to Carrie and Erin Wilkins.” The couple, with a wide range of career and personal experiences, say in the announcement that they “had discussed running a coffee shop for some years.” They recognized Dubsea’s status as a community hub and promise to continue to grow it in that role. In her parting words, Sibelle expresses confidence that will happen, and adds, “Dubsea, both as a space and an intention, has shown me that it is more than possible for people of all walks of life to be together in kindness, sweet joy, creativity, and connection … in other words, a truly loving community.” She also offers words of gratitude to staff, artists, and customers.

Quick reminder – while the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets on first Thursdays most months, it’s not having a January meeting, so this Thursday’s calendar is clear. Next NHUAC meeting will be 7 pm Thursday, February 2nd, online – watch for the preview when it gets closer.