White Center Now: The blog about White Center

From a martini-themed plate to a cuddly plush octopus …

… gift ideas for all ages can be found at the White Center Library Guild‘s Holiday Bazaar and Book Sale, in its first of two days at the library 1409 SW 107th) until 4 pm. Lots of holiday stuff too:

If you don’t get to the library today, the bazaar’s second day will be on Sunday (the library’s closed Saturday), 11 am-3 pm. Proceeds help library programs.

A 45-year-old woman is charged with reckless burning in the September 28th fire outside Smoke Town in downtown White Center. Documents filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office allege Evie M. Hell is the person shown in security images (including the one above) as burning cardboard grew into a fire that damaged the front of the shop. When the images were circulated, at least one King County Sheriff’s Deputy recognized Hell, saying he had seen her earlier in the evening wearing the same clothes as shown in the images. The images show the person walking away as the fire continued to grow; bystanders kept it from raging out of control before firefighters arrived. According to the charging documents, Hell has an extensive criminal history; jail records show that she spent nine days in jail in February and four weeks in jail in July and August, both in connection with burglary charges. There was already a warrant for her arrest at the time of the fire; she was arrested in late October and charged with the Smoke Town fire days later. She remains in the Regional Justice Center in lieu of $40,000 bail.

2:29 PM: Deputies and medics are responding to the 9900 block of 15th SW to investigate a shooting, They’ve found one person who has at least two gunshot wounds, A “gold sedan” might be involved. 15th SW is being blocked off. More to come.

2:56 PM: The victim was reported to be conscious. Our crew at the scene says it appears to the shooting happened right outside Hung Long Market.

The response, meantime, has led to reroute advisories for Metro Route 120.

3:29 PM: Southbound 15th has reopened.

3:48 PM: And now northbound too. As for additional information about the shooting circumstances, deputies and detectives at the scene would not comment, so we have questions out to the department’s media-relations office.

5:52 PM: KCSO will tell us only that the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening, and that no one is in custody.

Time to start holiday-season shopping! Next Friday and Sunday (November 18 and 20), the White Center Library Guild can help – with the Holiday Bazaar and Book Sale:

The library is at 1409 SW 107th.

After the first round of King County general-election results, here’s where local races/measures of note stand:

HIGHLINE SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSITION 1 (bonds for school projects including Evergreen HS rebuild)
Approve 66%
Reject 34%

34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATE
Joe Nguyen* (D) 85%
John Potter (R) 15%

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 1
Emily Alvarado (D) 69%
Leah Griffin (D) 30%

34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (D) 82%
Andrew Pilloud (R) 18%

KING COUNTY CHARTER AMENDMENT 1 (county election-date change)
Yes 69%
No 31%

KING COUNTY PROPOSITION 1 (Conservation Futures levy)
Approve 68%
Reject 32%

The second King County ballot count is expected around 4 pm today (Wednesday).

This is (re)opening night for the Lumber Yard Bar at its new location, 9630 16th SW, 16 months after the fire that gutted its original location and neighboring businesses. Posted hours are 4 pm to midnight Mondays-Thursdays, 4 pm-2 am Fridays, 2 pm-2 am Saturdays, and noon-midnight Sundays.

If you haven’t returned your ballot yet, you’re running out of time. You need to either get it into USPS mail ASAP, so that it’s postmarked by Tuesday, or get it into a King County Elections dropbox by 8 pm (sharp!) Tuesday night – White Center has one, outside the library (1409 SW 107th).

One big local issue on the ballot is the Highline Public Schools bond measure, Proposition 1. It would raise half a billion dollars for projects including a new Evergreen High School.

Also big: An open seat in our area’s state legislative delegation. Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring; Emily Alvarado and Leah Griffin are the two finalists for Cody’s seat, 34th Legislative District House Position 1. Here are video interviews we published recently on partner site West Seattle Blog – first video below is Griffin, second is Alvarado:

Griffin and Alvarado also were at last month’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting; here’s our report.

The ballot also includes a King County charter amendment that would change elections, moving County Executive, County Councilmembers, County Assessor, and Elections Director to even-numbered years. Plus there’s a King County levy proposal, the Conservation Futures Levy.

Besides those issues, the ballot includes U.S. House, U.S. Senate, two other 34th Legislative District races, Secretary of State, King County Prosecutor, and 17 judicial positions, only two of which are contested. Two state advisory measures are on the ballot too. Not registered to vote but eligible? You can still do that in person Monday or Tuesday. But if you are already registered and waiting to fill out your ballot, don’t wait any longer!

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Here’s what happened at tonight’s monthly meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, held online:

CRIME STATS/TRENDS: Community Deputy Bill Kennamer spoke of some “pretty ugly crime trends.” Robberies totaled 40 this time last year, 72 so far this year – “an 80 percent increase – definitely a problem.” Weapons violations are up 65 percent. “Simple assaults” (lower level of injury) are up 40 percent – from 162 to 229. Drug offenses are up 110 percent – “we are seeing less and less hypodermic needle action, but an absolute ton of fentanyl smoking going on.” He believe that’s the reason for an increase in overdoses. If you have family or friends who use drugs, get Narcan just in case. “It works. … it keeps people alive.” He said there’s “some good news on the drug front” – a special-emphasis team in the precinct did a raid yesterday that got $5.5 million in drugs off the street. He couldn’t say where but the raid was executed by “precinct-level detectives.” Deputy Kennamer said today’s garage fire was in a garage used as a residence by the adult son of the adjacent homeowner. The resident went to the hospital with smoke inhalation (that’s an update from our earlier coverage). Asked about staffing, Deputy Kennamer said what’s happening now is “a staffing crisis.” They have the openings and the funding, both Kennamer and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott agreed, they just don’t have the people applying and training to fill them.

COUNCILMEMBER McDERMOTT: He’s budget chair this year. The first vote on the proposed “striking amendment” – which will go public tomorrow, with councilmembers’ proposed changes to King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s budget proposal – is planned one week from today. First, per the previous discussion, he wanted to emphasize that King County “has NOT defunded the police.” The alternative programs it has supported/will supported are in addition to law enforcement, not instead of. “We’re doing innovative things, responding to some issues (for alternative public safety),” but not proposing cuts in law enforcement. The proposed two-year budget was almost %16 billion, he said. That includes revenues collected for a specific purpose that must be spent for a specific purpose. Property tax revenue is limited to a 1 percent increase year by year, but “even in a good year” expenses go up more than one percent, so there’s what they call “a structural gap.”

His budget priorities in general include: public safety, law-enforcement oversight, rider experience in transit, firearm safety, promoting helmet use, supporting the White Center Food Bank as it moves to its new location, affordable-housing investments, more money for participatory budgeting, Narcan availability, and more. Public comment can be given in-person or online at next Thursday’s budget meeting; the budget then goes to the full council on November 15th.

In Q&A, clarification was requested on the 1 percent cap. It’s the maximum percentage by which county revenue can go up – so just because your valuation goes up X percent doesn’t mean what you owe will go up that much – it’s a cap on what the county can collect. Why does the county rely so heavily on property taxes? McDermott explained that property and sales taxes are the main sources approved by the Legislature – even cities have more options for raising revenue. Subsequent discussion involved how much revenue was and wasn’t being spent on/in North Highline – there’s no specific breakdown by geography within the county budget, said McDermott. He also reminded everyone that while the county collects property taxes, it’s just the treasurer – only a fraction of what you pay actually goes to King County.

On other topics: Councilmember McDermott had an update on the Subarea Plan; legislation won committee approval in July, and a full-council public hearing will be at 1 pm November 22nd – online or in-person – and you can comment via email too: CouncilCompPlan@kingcounty.gov. He talked about some refinements that are being proposed. NHUAC’s Barbara Dobkin asked about inclusionary zoning and whether it was really right for North Highline – something Seattle’s been doing for several years – and McDermott said it should lead to a greater variety of housing availability. NHUAC’s Liz Giba voiced concern that the Subarea Plan documentation had only recently appeared online but had been otherwise in existence for months. She read some criticism attributed to the White Center Community Development Association saying the process had been inadequate. Giba suggested any decisionmaking be delayed, and more outreach be done. Dobkin also alleged that the WCCDA itself didn’t reach out to all parts of the community. Permitting division head Jim Chan jumped in to say that inclusionary zoning is meant to be anti-displacement, not to lower taxes for some so others pay more. If all housing that was built was market-rate, people will be displaced. Also, he said, the Comprehensive Plan will have an Environmental Impact, and that will cover the Subarea Plan as well. Giba asked the question, is there no chance the Subarea Plan might lead to more tax-exempt housing in North Highline? McDermott said no, he couldn’t say that.

MICROHOUSING DEMONSTRATION: David Neiman Architects won an RFP process for this and plans to submit a permit application within a few weeks; a pre-application meeting already has been held. They’re asking the county how flexible it will be on a variety of standards. They need to justify anything that would deviate from code, Chan says they were told. One deviation they’ll propose: No parking for the units, Chan said. Dobkin voiced concern about more tree loss contributing to warmer temperatures. McDermott reiterated that they authorized one project to be built in a certain area – just one. He also said he’s proposing an update to the Urban Unincorporated Tree Code, as an offshoot of concerns voiced earlier this year about tree removal on lots where homes are being built. The site under consideration is 16th/102nd, Giba noted – 1619 SW 102nd, per the county website.

HOOKAH LOUNGE: A permit application to remedy a violation was submitted last week and will be reviewed, Chan said. Is the building safe? asked Giba. An enforcement person has, Chan said, and he affirmed that all safety concerns were investigated and nothing of note was found.

FORMER TARADISE CAFE: They did a walkthrough with an inspector two weeks ago, Chan said. “They still have some work they need to do with Labor and Industries – electrical – and Health,” he said, adding that the inspector advised them that more permits may be required “if they expand any further,” and electrical work/fire safety issues were discussed.

WHY NO IN-PERSON MEETINGS YET? Dobkin said they just can’t find a space, though they hope to have some sort of gathering in December somewhere.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: White Center Kiwanis is selling nuts again this year – if interested, call Scott at 206-465-9432.

The new Lumber Yard Bar location in downtown White Center hasn’t opened for business yet but it’s hosted community events including the chance for people to get vaccinated against monkeypox, and another opportunity is coming up this Sunday. Public Health – Seattle & King County says the shots will be available free to those eligible (check eligibility here) noon-4 pm Sunday (November 6th). They say limited walk-ups will be available but they’d rather you sign up in advance – just one problem, they haven’t provided the correct registration link yet, and we can’t find it anywhere. As soon as we have it, we’ll add it here, but we wanted to let you know about the announcement for starters. Lumber Yard is at 9630 16th SW. (Update: This is the correct link, even though the eventual landing page says COVID rather than monkeypox.)

3:38 PM: In case you saw the smoke and/or heard the sirens, there’s a big fire response right now at a home near 28th/110th. It was first reported as a garage fire but then grew, and the callout size was increased. Streets are shut down in the area, so stay clear for a while.

4:20 PM: That photo is from someone who was in the area in the early stage of the fire. Our crew is at the scene and tells us it is mostly out now. Nobody was hurt; the fire was confined to the detached garage, firefighters tell us. The initial report, as we heard on the scanner, came in from deputies who were in the area.

5 PM: Here’s the garage, post-fire:

7:16 PM: At tonight’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting, Deputy Bill Kennamer said the garage is used as a residence and the man who lives there was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation.

The White Center Teen Program wants to get the word out about this online – or in-person – career exploration this Thursday!

Virtual Aerospace Job Launch for ages 16 – 24 is coming up on Thursday, November 3rd from 3-4:30 pm.

The Fall Job Launch Program features Pathways to Aerospace including aerospace jobs, employers, and free/low-cost training programs to launch a career in aerospace. Ages 16 – 24 are encouraged to join virtually through Zoom or in person at the White Center Teen Program on Thursday, November 3, 2022 from 3 pm-4:30 pm.

Participating Employers and Programs include SEKISUI Aerospace, Pioneer Industries, AJAC Aerospace Joint Apprenticeships, & Renton Technical College. Partner Agencies include King County Parks White Center Teen Program, Pioneer Human Services, Southwest Youth and family Services, the YWCA, Job Source, and Communities of Opportunity.

In=person viewing party hosted at the White Center Teen Program at Steve Cox Memorial Park at 1321 SW 102nd St. More details are available at joblaunchaerospace.eventbrite.com

If you live, work, study, and/or play in White Center and/or vicinity, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is your community council. The next info-packed meeting is this Thursday – here’s the announcement:

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

Where? North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When? Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 7 pm

Join Zoom Meeting:
us02web.zoom.us/j/83376874452?pwd=Z3JEMUYxQXM3WFN0d1N1aGVtdGZCQT09

Meeting ID: 833 7687 4452
Passcode: NHUAC2022 (Case Sensitive)

Unable to join via Zoom? Please call 253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 833 7687 4452
Passcode: 742851493

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

“Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human-beings.” -Nelson Mandela

King County Department of Public Health recently released its updated City Health Profile Report. The report includes demographics, social and health indicators for 48 King County cities and communities. The report’s data confirms that the North Highline/White Center community struggles with poverty, segregation, and their ramifications. City health profiles – King County

What can be done to improve the health and opportunity in our neighborhood? The job of planning belongs to our King County government. Joe McDermott, our representative on the King County Council, will be joining NHUAC’s November 3rd meeting to update us on a variety of proposals and issues facing the North Highline/White Center community. They include the Proposed North Highline Subarea Plan, King County’s Proposed 2023-2024 Budget, and the White Center Microhousing Demonstration Project, which was approved by the King County Council over 2 years ago. How will these plans and projects improve life in our neighborhood?

We have also asked Jim Chan, King County’s Division Director for Permitting, to provide updates on the Microhousing Demonstration Project, the hookah lounge, and other buildings in the area and the effect of the upcoming budget on hiring in the Department of Permitting.

Our Community Deputy Bill Kennamer will also join us with an update from the Sheriff’s Office.

Knowledge is power.

Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.

November 3, 2022 at 7 pm – Invite Your Neighbors!

Tons of fun about to begin – here’s the announcement:

The White Center Teen Program is thrilled to welcome families back to Steve Cox Memorial Park for our annual Halloween Carnival! This year the festivities return outdoors and families can stroll thru the park to participate in FREE interactive games and other Fall inspired activities. In addition to the Carnival, families and teens are also invited to join us in person or on zoom the week prior to participate in a series of Spooky Town related programs.

This year’s festivities are sponsored by the Teens and Staff of the White Center Teen Program. The WCTP offers free recreational, educational and social enrichment programming to youth ages 12-19 between Tuesday – Saturday from 3-8 pm. WC Teen Program participants are volunteering in person and remotely during the month of October to help create the carnival games, arts and crafts giveaways, and park wide decorations. Teens interested in volunteering can reach out to Peanutt at angeth@kingcounty.gov or 206.482.1910.

OUTDOOR HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL on Saturday, October 30th from 2-5 pm
Families are welcome to walk thru the park to pick up FREE goodie bags to fill with carnival game prizes, DIY arts and crafts projects, official Spooky Town slime, community resources and giveaways, and even pumpkins (while supplies last.) Families can also keep it moving through a “Pumpkin Patch Maze” on the outdoor basketball court, a Dragon Eye hunt on the multipurpose field, the I Spy Spooky Town Adventure in the windows of the Historic White Center Field House, and several step and repeat photo opportunities throughout the park.

FALL FAMILY PROGRAMS at the Log Cabin (1321 SW 102nd) between October 25th – 27th
Programs hosted in person with zoom options available. Follow the full schedule of remote Spooky Town programs here

Highlights to include:

–Fall Arts and Crafts for ages 19 and under hosted by the WCTP Recreation Aides with Special Guest WC Librarian Destinee on Tuesday, October 25th at 6 pm.

–Bilingual Bingo with Vana and Sunny (the Log Cabin Baby Bearded Dragon.) for ages 19 and under on Wednesday, October 26th at 6 pm

–Spooky Town Painting Party with local artist PAZ (all supplies proved) for ages 12-19 on Thursday, October 27th at 6 pm.

Six months after being shut down by Public Health-Seattle & King County for food-code violations, White Center’s popular Crawfish House restaurant reopened today. The restaurant at 9826 16th SW – which previously had a sign up saying that it was remodeling – announced that today’s its grand-reopening day, open until 11 pm, with a number of specials.

Something new in downtown White Center – waffles! Here’s the announcement from Full Tilt Ice Cream, which will host the new endeavor for starters:

Full Tilt Ice Cream today announced Waffle Wizards, a new breakfast and brunch concept. Waffle Wizards is scratch-made waffles and toppings, brought to you by Melisa Nielsen, a longtime Full Tilt employee

“This has been in the works for awhile.” says Mell, creator of Waffle Wizards. “It just seems like a natural extension of ice cream.”

Waffle Wizards will be available October 22nd, inside Full Tilt in White Center. Service will start at 11am until the sell out. Last weekend was the soft opening, and they sold out in under 2 hours.

Waffle Wizards will be converting to a mobile breakfast truck in the coming weeks after getting everything worked out at the Full Tilt storefront.

FT/WW is at 9629 16th SW.

King County Elections will send out general-election ballots later this week. Though you’ve probably heard a lot about local and national Congressional races, you’ll find a lot more on your ballot – including King County Proposition 1, which raises money for land conservation/acquisition by restoring an existing levy to the original rate that’s been reduced by various state actions. Five months after announcing it at White Center Heights Park, County Executive Dow Constantine returned there this morning with other supporters to ask for your “yes” vote. Here’s our video of what they all had to say:

In order, the speakers were:
King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
Paul Winterstein from the Issaquah Alps Trails Club
Executive Constantine, who stressed that the quest to preserve green space is “racing to keep up with population growth, racing to keep up with environmental changes”
Sammamish Mayor & Former DNR wildland firefighter Kali Clark, whose observations about the relevance of land preservation to wildfire prevention were timely for obvious reasons
King County Open Space Equity Cabinet member Sarneshea Evans, who observed that too many KC residents don’t live close to green space
Zazueta Family Farm owner/farmer Guillermo Zazueta, who told the story of starting his organic permaculture farm earlier this year (Constantine had explained that the measure would preserve farmland as well as other types of green space)
King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski, who declared that Prop 1 is “incredibly affordable (and) incredibly meaningful”

As noted when the ballot measure was announced in May, it would add about $2 per month to the taxes of a median-priced King County home. Supporters say tens of thousands of acres of land have been identified for potential acquisition/preservation; we asked what percentage are in urban areas like White Center – here’s the written response from the campaign:

Of the 45,000 acres targeted for acquisition as part of the Land Conservation Initiative, 10% are for urban open space and regional trails.

Since 2016, 30% of LCI acquisition dollars (all sources) have been spent on urban greenspaces and regional trails.

Since 2020, 25% of Conservation Futures funding has been awarded to match waiver projects in opportunity areas (those projects meeting specific criteria for need)

Read a summary and/or the full text of Prop 1, as well as statements for/against, by going here. Once you get your ballot, you’ll have until November 8th to vote and turn it in.

By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for White Center Now

Neighbors heard from state legislature candidates and discussed a major school levy and local safety concerns at last week’s online meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (NHUAC). The meeting was led by NHUAC president Liz Giba and vice president Barbara Dobkin.

First on the agenda was King County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Kennamer, who noted that it was a “busy summer” in White Center and the surrounding area. He said that most criminal statistics were down compared to last year, but that there has been a “lot of armed robberies, spread all over the place” (11, by his count) in recent months. Issues with “static campers” and tents have also generally improved, he said.  However, he also noted that some the statistics are likely down because some residents and business no longer call those in, because they know that currently “those crimes go unpunished.” Kennamer said that due to current restrictions, officers in Seattle and all of unincorporated King County aren’t allowed to directly book people for “quality of life” crimes (like trespassing, graffiti and shoplifting) and nonviolent misdemeanors. Officers in cities like Burien and Seatac can book into the SCORE (South Correctional Entity) jail in Des Moines, but Kennamer said that isn’t an option for him for the county jail until the governor’s emergency orders expire. For example, businesses “don’t call whenever something gets stolen,” he said, “I can write a case report and send it to the prosecutor’s office, but I can’t take that person to jail, which is frustrating.”

Kennamer added that despite the limitations, residents should always call 911 if they see something suspicious. Participants in the meeting brought up some recent examples in which individuals were suspicious and/or threatening in parks and public areas, and Kennamer stressed that even if dispatchers and officers aren’t always able to fully take action, it’s crucial for neighbors to call it in so there’s a record of it. He added that with regard to homeless activity in the area, there was recently a leadership change with the county’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, and this program has been a useful tool. He said that with winter coming soon, it’s important to encourage to encourage homeless individuals to seek out and accept (which they sometimes don’t) options for housing. Kennamer also said that officers have made progress, with the community’s help, as it relates to “drug houses” and properties that have had issues with criminal activity, as well as problematic encampments, but it’s important for the community to keep calling in things that they see.

Next on the meeting agenda was an overview by Vicki Fisher, longtime principal with Highline Public Schools, about Proposition 1: Highline Public Schools Bond which is on the ballot next month. The bond would provide funds to rebuild three aging schools (Evergreen High School and Tyee High School by 2025, and Pacific Middle School by 2027) as well as supporting repairs at schools across the district. Passing the bond will require at least 60% approval from voters, Fisher said, and involves a $518 million price tag but will not increase the tax rate (due in large part to other expiring levies and bonds).

Fisher began by clarifying the difference between levies and bonds: “Levies are for learning (LL), and bonds are for buildings (BB),” she said, adding that levies are asking the community to support things for learning like books, tech, and specialized instruction, while bonds such as Proposition 1 are for capital projects such as replacing schools and providing repairs for buildings.

Fisher said that the three impacted high schools were built in the 1950s and 1960s and are generally very outdated (this was confirmed by several meeting attendees who shared anecdotes about friends and family attending the schools decades ago, and noted that repairs were needed even then). If the bond is approved, Fisher said, the projects will proceed quickly because they are “shovel ready” due architectural design work that was already completed thanks to funding that was approved in 2016. Fisher added that this work is important in order to provide a great high school experience across the entire district, bringing the three schools up to the same standards as the more recently improved Mt. Rainier and Highline schools.

In response to a question about where students at Evergreen would go during construction, Fisher said that because of the large size of the Evergreen campus, students can stay in the existing buildings while construction is completed elsewhere on the property, and then after they move into the new building in 2025, the existing buildings will be demolished and landscape work will be completed. Fisher encouraged voters to visit the Proposition 1 website for more information, and to vote on November 8.

The remainder of the meeting was a forum for State House candidates Leah Griffin and Emily Alvarado, who advanced in the August primary election for the 34th Legislative District “Position 1” seat which is open because State Rep. Eileen Cody is retiring (West Seattle Blog article here) after 27 years. (For “Position 2” in the 34th, Joe Fitzgibbon is the incumbent running for reelection against Andrew Pilloud, while Joe Nguyen is the State Senate incumbent for the 34th, running against John Potter.) The 34th covers all of West Seattle and Vashon Island, White Center, and west Burien.

Griffin and Alvarado (see WSB reports about their campaign announcements here and here) were given time in the meeting to make statements as well as answer questions from meeting attendees. Both candidates are Democrats, and reside in West Seattle area.

In her opening statement, Griffin described her professional background as a librarian and teacher of information literacy (currently at University Prep in northeast Seattle), and her focus on public service particularly in the past 8 years. From her March 2022 campaign announcement:

Griffin is a certificated school librarian who works on sexual assault policy reform at the state and federal levels. After being raped by a man in her neighborhood in 2014 and seeing how broken the system is for survivors, Griffin knew she had to do something to make things better for other survivors. In 2015, she was appointed to the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Task Force in the Washington legislature with the aim of solving the myriad of problems survivors encounter navigating the justice system in Washington State.

As a representative of survivors, Griffin significantly contributed to the passage of HB1068, to test new rape kits, HB1109 to increase trauma informed interviewing techniques for police, HB2530 to track rape kits through the system, SB1539 to prevent child sexual assault, SB5649 to increase the statute of limitations for rape, and HB1109 to fund and test all untested rape kits in Washington, HB2318 to store unreported kits, and amend the legal definition of rape kits, and SB6158 to create model sexual assault protocols for hospitals.

She also helped write and lobby for the Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act with Senator Murray and Representative Jayapal to increase access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in hospitals. Leah connects her work to her community by working with the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Legal Voice, RISE, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest, and the Washington Library Association. She sits on the board of the Sexual Violence Law Center.

Griffin noted that she heard about Eileen Cody’s retirement the day after her bill was signed, and knew that she needed to take the next step.

In Alvarado’s opening statement, she touted her deep experience in the area of affordable housing, as a leader at the City of Seattle Office of Housing, and currently as a a vice president with the housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners.  From her April 2022 campaign announcement:

“For more than a decade, I have worked collaboratively to create affordable housing throughout our region, championing policies and investments that foster inclusive, healthy communities and reduce homelessness. … Everyone deserves quality, affordable housing, education and health care, in a safe, thriving community.”

The announcement also describes Alvarado as “an attorney, coalition-builder and former community organizer” who “has fought for reproductive justice, equitable community development, and economic opportunity.”

Alvarado described herself as a tireless advocate for building stronger communities, while spending her “whole life in public service.” She emphasized her strong performance in the August primaries and her breadth of endorsements.

Liz Giba from NHUAC then asked the candidates how much interaction they had with North Highline prior to the campaign. Alvarado, who lives in West Seattle, said that the oldest of her two children plays Highline soccer, and she spends a lot of quality time in the parks and businesses in and around White Center. Griffin, who lives nearby in Highland Park, said that she walks to the “main strip” in White Center almost every day, and did her student teaching in 2008 at Highline High School and worked at Noble Barton for a time.

Giba then shared some data from the North Highline Health Reporting Area (HRA) showing some of the extreme economic and societal challenges that neighbors face. When ranked against other areas, North Highline was #1 or #2 as it relates to poverty, reliance on food stamps, lack of secondary/advanced education, firearm deaths, lack of insurance, and other factors. Giba asked the candidates for their thoughts on the data, and asked what they would do about it if elected. Griffin said that the statistics definitely underscore historical issues with race in the area, and that “acknowledging that is important, but now what do we do about it?” She recalled that when she taught at Highline, there were actually incentives in place to make the smallest number of photocopies for educational resources, and that she encountered issues with staff support as a librarian in the past (not an issue in her current school, which has lots of resources, but she said “every student in Washington deserves that.” Alvarado said that “the data is terrible and damning, but not surprising, because place-based poverty is all over.” She reiterated that this has been a huge area of focus in her career, and would continue to be so in Olympia. She talked about the necessary blend of having safe housing, economic opportunity access to child care and small-business assistance. She stressed that “this is not about the people here — they’ve just been denied opportunity.”

In response to these comments, Giba drilled a little deeper and said that she heard both candidates saying that we need better programs and more money in North Highline, but that this has been said for years, and she wonders if the problems are more about the local concentration of low-incoming housing. Alvarado agreed that when you have more low-income housing in your community then you’d obviously expect the statistics to reflect that, but that when she thinks about this in the context of surrounding areas and a country that has massive wealth disparity, it’s even more of a testament of deprivation of resources in a community that could be changed. Griffin said one of the things being discussed is the need for more housing, noting that we’re “250,000 units short” to meet housing needs in Washington state, which seems to make the case for increasing density, but it needs to be equitable density (not just in areas that already have the vast majority of low-income housing). Alvarado added that we need more housing choices in all communities,, and in places that have higher rates of poverty we need more strategies to grow generational wealth. She added that in North Highline, home ownership rates are much lower than the King County average, especially for Latinos, and that we need targeted strategies for pathways to owning houses and businesses.

Giba presented some additional data, regarding significant disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes for students in the area (particularly White Center Heights school) compared to other areas in King County. Giba said “even if you put money in neighborhood, if you still have kids struggling at home,” and she asked for the candidates’ input. Alvarado agreed that when you have a lot of students in poverty in a single school, it’s challenging, but noted that “if you give those kids the best teachers and resources then they can be high-quality learners having high-quality experiences.” Griffin said that she agreed with Alvarado that we can invest in schools in a way that gives students what they need, adding that we “have a paramount duty to fund education. Schools without nurses, social workers, librarians, paraprofessionals and testing — those aren’t fully-funded schools.” Griffin added “there’s a lot we can do to look at revenue and upside-down tax structure, and find resources to make sure every school in the state is fully-funded.” Alvarado noted that with regard to schools in which multiple languages are spoken, “that’s an asset, not a deficit, in our world and our economy.”

NHUAC’s Barbara Dobkin noted that North Highline isn’t an area in which “redlining” was a problem; the issue was that people with less economic means “were pushed here, where Section 8 vouchers could be used.” Alvarado mentioned a few barriers to having affordable housing be more equitable across the county:  1) restrictions in family zoning, which are exclusionary,  2) we need more affordable housing resources, or there is scarcity, and we can’t reward  behavior of developers only building affordable house where it’s inexpensive to do so, and 3) displacement must be addressed, with regarding to rising rents. Griffin agreed, and with regard to rent prices, noted that when she purchased a home in Highland Park it was “one of the very last HUD houses; my mortgage here is less than many friends pay in rent” and we need to increase the stock of homes.  Griffin added that it’s important to make sure seniors aren’t displaced, and have a place to scale down.

Dobkin pressed the candidates on some of their comments, saying “I hate to sound jaded, but having lived in community for 20 years, we’ve heard the same things, yet schools have not progressed and things haven’t improved.” She said “millions in grants and money hasn’t helped, and it’s hard to hear same things over again,” and noted that King County representatives have even said in NHUAC meetings that “they build tax-exempt housing here because it’s cheaper.” Alvarado said she appreciated the comment, and said “these are deep, hard and somewhat intractable issues” and the pandemic has only made things harder. She asked what immediate policies the group thought could have an impact on quality of life. Giba said the county is in the process of adopting the North Highline Subarea Plan, which will increase density “even though our current infrastructure is really lacking, like stormwater, sidewalks and parks.”  Griffin said “I hear you, and areas of investment need to happen” and added that it’s crucial to improve aid to small businesses in White Center.  She mentioned last week’s announcement of the City of Seattle’s Storefront Repair Fund involving $2,000 grants to assist businesses with propery repairs (paid for by $2 million in federal funds), and noted that expanding similar programs to White Center is necessary. She mentioned the impact of the numerous fires at White Center businesses, saying “they still haven’t recovered, and I would support that funding to help.” Alvarez added that “North Highline deserves services for quality of life. Government can’t just be about big policies, it has to be about delivering services.”

Giba asked about the overall importance of public safety. Griffin noted that this is something she cares deeply about, as someone who was “personally impacted by a violent crime, but then encountered broken systems that didn’t work.” She said that she toured the Monroe correctional facility a couple of years ago, and encountered inmates laboring for 42 cents an hour, which “broke my heart and changed my mind about the justice system. Now we have a system based on punishment, but if we want to address the issues then we need it to be based on rehab and reform.” Alvardo said that she believes that everyone deserves to be safe in our communities, and we need to address and tackle issues of public safety. She added that “in King County, we don’t have a place to bring people who are in crisis, and we need a good strong real relationship with the police who are doing hard work out there.” She said there’s a need to rebuild the partnership and trust between the community and law enforcement.

In closing, Griffin thanked attendees for coming to the meeting, and said she is running for office “because I believe the stories of people in our community matter.” She added that “I love White Center, this is my home, and I’m grateful to talk to you about improving outcomes for all of us.” Alvarado thanked NHUAC for the opportunity to get together, and said she believes “that everyone should have a strong foundation in life, a strong community, and together we can do it.” She said it’s hard work and that she is “pragmatic but hopeful” in the goal of not leaving anyone behind.

As the meeting drew to a close, Darlene from the “log cabin” (the community center at Steve Cox Memorial Park) also shared some updates from King County Parks and the White Center Teen Program:

1. Our Recreation Aides put together a highlights video from the 2022 Summer Sack Lunch Program that ran out of both Thurnau Memorial Park and Steve Cox Memorial Park: https://youtu.be/N6e0AdPkMwU 

2. The Annual Outdoor Halloween Carnival is coming up on Saturday, October 29th from 2-5pm at Steve Cox Memorial Park.

The social-media page for the carnival is here.

NEXT MEETING: NHUAC usually meets on first Thursdays, so the next meeting would be November 3rd.

Thanks to Lauren for the tip on this. The Velasquez family, who run White Center restaurant El Catrin (9641 15th SW), are crowdfunding to keep their doors open. They write on the GoFundMe page, “We have been working for the last year to catch up on rent. Since we’re a new business, we don’t qualify for any government assistance, and with the increase of all costs in our city ( ood costs, utility insurance, and the closure of the street etc.), and losing battles with covid. Then the accident our Dad had with his hand, we’re running dry.” Lauren said in her note to us, “We would hate to lose them as they’ve always done tamale giveaways to families in need and Thanksgiving turkeys for families that couldn’t afford them.” If you can help, here’s the link.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

If you would like to get a flu shot but are having trouble making that happen, maybe this clinic tomorrow night is for you. The Roxbury Safeway pharmacy sent word that they’ve scheduled the clinic for 6-8 pm Tuesday (October 11th) at the store (28th/Roxbury). No appointment needed – just show up. As noted on this flyer for the event, the shot is “free” with most insurance plans, and if you’re doing grocery shopping while you’re there, you’ll be entitled to a 10 percent discount,

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

(Photo sent by Mel)

A investigation that lasted for hours today along southbound Highway 509 near White Center, just north of Glendale Way South/5th Avenue South, has detectives asking for help. The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a death and looking for the public’s help:

Detectives are requesting the community’s help as they investigate what happened to a female found deceased this morning on the side of Highway 509.

We’re requesting information for anyone who was driving southbound on 509 between the 1st Ave. South Bridge and the 518 interchange between midnight and 7:30 am this morning (October 7th) and observed anything suspicious (vehicles stopped, people on the roadway, etc.) or have dashcam video.

If you know or saw anything, call our tip line 206-296-3311 or report anonymous tips at P3Tips.com – Case #C22033455