White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(National Development Council’s Michelle Morlan with White Center Square developer Con Vong)
By Tracy Record
White Center Now

Con Vong says his family hasn’t chosen the date yet for the anticipated July grand opening of White Center Square, but the choice will be a big one: “You’ve got to pick a good day.”

The date was strategically chosen, after all, for last May’s groundbreaking (WCN coverage here) at the site along 100th between 14th and 15th SW (map), and the ceremony featured prayers and blessings as well as shovels.

Now, 10 months later, the buildings are up, though the future 68-space parking lot is still rocks, dirt and heavy equipment. We took a hard=hat tour of the site this week at the invitation of local reps from the National Development Council, a nonprofit agency that helped arrange the financing for the $11 million project, including the use of New Markets Tax Credits – a federal program whose future is by no means guaranteed, which is why those involved with it are working to get the word out about what it’s helped achieve.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two and a half weeks ago, the Seattle City Council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee heard the city’s budget boss say Mayor McGinn was no longer pursuing an annexation vote this fall, because the financial outlook was a bit challenging. However, they were told, it might be a possibility for November 2011.

So today, that committee considered a resolution that would state its potential interest in a vote then (see the full text here). The committee just passed the resolution unanimously – after clarifying that while the resolution does not commit the city to annexing northern North Highline, it does “put us on a path,” as committee chair and Council President Richard Conlin put it, though “we can choose to step off the path” later. Next step: The full council will consider the resolution next week. It’s a detailed resolution with plenty of timetables – most significantly, setting next March as the drop-dead date for a council decision that would all but commit the city to a November 2011 vote in “Area Y.” DETAILS ADDED 3:40 PM: Read on: Read the rest of this entry »

2 pm at Seattle City Hall, the Regional Development and Sustainability Committee – same one that heard two weeks ago that Mayor McGinn was no longer pushing for an annexation vote this fall – will take up this resolution. It outlines potential interest in a November 2011 annexation vote, depending on how the financial outlook goes. The meeting will be live online at Seattle Channel.

White Center Now got a great behind-the-scenes tour this afternoon at White Center Square, where construction’s been under way for 10 months (here’s our coverage of the groundbreaking last May). We’re told the construction is back on schedule, after a little difficulty during the soggiest heart of winter, and that means a July grand opening is still planned. In addition to the new 11,000-square-foot Vong’s market (beneath the sign that’s being framed in the photo you see above), several of the storefronts are now leased. We’ll have full details, and the story behind the programs that made the dream reality, in a story you’ll see here tomorrow.

6:48 PM UPDATE: Got word from Cocoa’s people, she’s home. Glad to hear it.

EARLIER:
Cocoa‘s missing. Her people explain, “Any time she’s ever sneaked out before, she’s always come home! She is the best family dog and my kids are beside themselves. We’ve all had a horrible night.” She’s 3 years old and her people can be reached:
HOME: 206-767-2466
CELLS: 206-459-8979 & 206-459-9079

Cocoa lives near 28th SW/SW 116th (map).

The State House Position 2 race in the 34th District, which includes White Center and environs, has four candidates now – Sabra Schneider has dropped out because of a serious injury that she says would limit her campaigning. The full story’s on partner site West Seattle Blog.

Not only is it Disaster Preparedness Month, we’ve also just been reminded – by news of the Northern Mexico earthquake – that we’re in quake country and need to do everything we can to be prepared to get through something big. There’s news from the King County DDES today about one way the county’s trying to help – here’s the announcement:

King County’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) is helping citizens in unincorporated King County to prepare for an earthquake emergency with free home earthquake retrofit permits on homes that meet specific criteria.

DDES Customer information Bulletin #50, Obtaining A Voluntary Home Earthquake Retrofit Permit, is available online here and outlines criteria for securing a free retrofit permit from DDES. In general, the homes must:

o be of wood-frame construction;
o have a light-weight roof;
o not be irregularly shaped;
o have a reinforced concrete foundation;
o not exceed two stories in height; and
o be on a relatively level lot.

Free earthquake retrofit permits at DDES can usually be issued over the counter if a complete application has been submitted. (Homes that do not meet these criteria can still secure an earthquake retrofit permit, however the process involves more review time and permit review fees are charged.)

“I hope more people will take advantage of this important program,” said DDES Director John Starbard. “Our region dealt with the impacts of the Nisqually earthquake in 2001 and, although that event was not of the same magnitude as more recent international earthquake disasters, modern building codes minimized the physical and economic damage of the 2001 quake for the benefit of the entire region.”

Two notes: First, it’s the start of the Highline Public Schools weeklong spring break; second, tonight’s Burien City Council meeting will be preceded by a reception for new North Burien residents (aka the former North Highline South annexation zone) at 6:30 pm – the full council agenda is here.

Still a few notes to take care of from last Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting. First – King County Sheriff’s Captain Carl Cole’s briefing on area crime, including a recap of the busted-up burglary that drew regional media to the area (including helicopters) last Tuesday.

The biggest point from Captain Cole: “The crime rate in White Center the last few years has gone down dramatically.” This point has been made before, but hearing it again had new meaning for some of the people most closely involved in the issue of potential northern North Highline annexation, as claims of WC crime woes have come up at recent public hearings. One success cited by the captain – “The gang unit has saturated the area on Friday and Saturday nights.” For March overall, he said, most of the crime in the unincorporated area was gang-related, but it was an “excellent month” overall.

Also, he noted that White Center storefront Deputy Jeff Hancock is back on patrol for a few months because of some staffing challenges – including the annexation that took effect the day of the NHUAC meeting: “As of today, seven deputies are now Burien police officers,” he noted. He says KCSO is reorganizing its precincts this summer to deal with challenges; when that takes effect July 1st, he says, Deputy Hancock (and the two other KCSO storefront officers who also have been moved temporarily to patrol) will be back to his regular role.

Now, on to the recap of the Tuesday burglary arrests – we’ll do our best to transcribe the story as the captain told it, quite energetically at that: Read the rest of this entry »

They’re small, but these might be enhancements to our increasing number of White Center Now visitors (thank you!) – the right sidebar now features the latest headlines from the White Center Community Development Association site, which gets newsier all the time, and from our partner site West Seattle Blog, since we hear so often from folks suggesting that certain WSB stories should be featured here too. We’ve noticed there’s a bit of a lag in the digest, so what you see in the WSB box may not necessarily be the very newest stories (we update news there VERY frequently most days), but it’ll give you an idea of what’s going on, and of course any breaking news of value to White Center/vicinity will be here in the main section too.

From the White Center Now inbox:

Dog found about 6:00 on Friday evening at White Center Bank of America.
Male Chihuahua, black with white/tan markings, 7.5 lbs.
Wearing a collar, but no tags. No microchip.
Has mild bronchitis/pneumonia and is now on antibiotics. I would appreciate being reimbursed for vet costs.
Call Leslie @ 206-906-9058.
Describe his collar in order to claim him

Quick reminder, the annual Cambodian New Year celebration is 10:30 am-5 pm today, on SW 98th, stretching for about a block east of 16th SW (map).

King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart now confirms what was happening a little while ago in the Salmon Creek vicinity (leading to a school lockdown for a while, now over) – deputies were chasing someone who ran from a stolen car. Sgt. Urquhart says the suspect was caught.

In the ongoing saga of “who (if anyone) will annex the northern North Highline area” including White Center, we’ve just received the agenda for next Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of the Seattle City Council Regional Development and Sustainability Committee, which includes:

RES. 31198

Stating the City of Seattle’s interest in potentially holding a November 2011 annexation election in the remaining unincorporated area of North Highline, and outlining a work program, deliverables, and timeline to help the Mayor and the City Council determine whether Seattle should pursue annexation of this area.

Presenters: Greg Doss, City Budget Office (CBO); Kenny Pittman, Office of Intergovernmental Relations (OIR); Christa Valles and Dan Eder, Council Central Staff

The meeting’s at Seattle City Hall, 2 pm Tuesday.

What outgoing North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff told us in that short interview before Thursday night’s meeting is close to what he said as the meeting ended: He recalled being inspired by the late Barb Peters (NHUAC member who died five months ago). The new Burien resident reminded his about-to-be-ex-councilmates, “The love you put into this community will change this community.” He was given a hearty round of applause before he brought the meeting-ending gavel down hard – one last time.

And the group itself is changing, now that the unincorporated area itself has shrunk, losing up to 16,000 people (during the meeting, Burien City Manager Mike Martin said early Census results indicated that might be the more accurate tally than the previous 14,000-person estimate for what is now “North Burien”).

Christine Waldman will take over as president – though she is not planning to run for re-election, so it will be a short tenure. Doug Harrell was elected vice president. And Patrick Mosley was elected to the council as a member-at-large.

Ron Johnson reminded his fellow councilmembers, and the audience, that they have several applications for upcoming elections but still need more – the deadline is next Monday (April 5) and there’s plenty of information (and application links) on the NHUAC home page.

Duff and outgoing council member Ray Helms (who also is now a Burien resident) got a surprise during the meeting – Linda Robson, representing King County Councilmember Jan Drago, presented the two with certificates honoring their service as “invaluable.” It was clearly a surprise to Duff when one of the councilmembers told him at the meeting’s start that Robson would be an addition to the agenda; he hesitated a bit while repeating the announcement, and someone joked, “You’ve been in Burien too long.”

More to come from the Thursday night meeting in our upcoming report/s.

Beneath the flag, that’s Greg Duff, who’s presiding over his last meeting as North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president – 2nd from left in the photo, it’s council member Ray Helms. As tonight’s NHUAC meeting began, Duff and Helms were honored by Linda Robson on behalf of King County Councilmember Jan Drago‘s office, lauded for their service (both are now Burien residents). Otherwise, the “North Burien” transition for the south section of the former unincorporated area is of course the big news; right now, Burien city manager Mike Martin is briefing the group on various matters. Martin has just announced Burien will seek a $150,000 Community Development Block Grant for playground equipment in Puget Sound Park, acknowledging he’s telling this group before telling the council (although at least one member is here and said, “You’re forgiven”). He also says that preliminary projections from the US Census that’s under way indicate North Burien may have 16,000 people, not 14,000 (and he says that if the “original” Burien goes past the 31,000 expectation, this could make it a city of nearly 50,000).

Earlier, NHUAC member Pat Price announced that volunteers will be very much welcome at Evergreen Aquatic Center next week (Highline Public Schools‘ spring break) as they get ready to reopen the pool. More to come as the meeting unfolds.

A momentous meeting, on “annexation day” – we published the agenda back on Monday.

The latest update from White Center Community Development Association, as Spring Clean approaches (just a month and a half away) on May 15:

The White Center community is gearing up for its annual Spring Clean, an event that brings together volunteer youth and elders, business owners and residents, retirees and students to work, clean and improve the community’s physical environment.

“White Center is people-powered. Events like Spring Clean showcase our collective action for positive neighborhood revitalization that truly defines our diverse community,” said Aileen Balahadia, Executive Director of the White Center Community Development Association. The White Center CDA is a catalyst for a healthy community and new prosperity in White Center- so it’s a better place to visit, shop, and live.

Asked why she participates in the Spring Clean event, White Center resident Keysha Bryant said: “You must be the change you wish to see in your community, to help build and keep it a clean safe place for our children and everyone who lives here.”

In 2009, more than 350 volunteers turned out for the Spring Clean event. We painted one block-long mural previously plagued with graffiti, cleaned and painted art on 21 trash cans for the business district, removed invasive plant species at six parks, and hauled away two tons of garbage. Volunteers covered 70 neighborhood blocks, picking up litter and completing 19 individual beautification projects developed by local residents and groups.

The White Center CDA thanks our sponsors for their contributions to this year’s event: BECU, The Home Depot, King County Housing Authority, King County Parks and Recreation, Seattle Public Utilities, The Triangle Pub and the White Center Chamber of Commerce.

Volunteers are needed! To sign up as a volunteer, contact Nhan Nguyen, Neighborhood Revitalization Program Manager at (206) 694-1082 or at whitecenterspringclean@gmail.com, and fill out the attached registration form. To register online, visit http://www.wccda.org/home/wccda/644 and you will see the link to register at the bottom of the page. Volunteers will receive a complimentary t-shirt, light breakfast, refreshments, and lunch. For event information or to sign up as a volunteer, refer to additional information on the program’s website www.wccda.org.

ORIGINAL 7:31 PM REPORT: That’s the scene a short time ago inside the Triangle Pub (owner Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy at left, White Center Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes at right) as a White Center Business Forum event was convened to deal with “chronic, homeless alcoholics” in the area. Along with about a dozen business and community participants, there are reps from King County Sheriff’s Office and Seattle Police (including Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Norm James, as well as three state Liquor Control Board agents. We’ll have details soon on what was discussed and what happens next.

ADDED 1:26 AM: Here’s the rest of the story, with more photos: Read the rest of this entry »

Check out the video posted on the Seahawks‘ website, narrated by longtime local sports broadcaster Tony Ventrella, featuring a Seahawk sighting with WCPAL at the gym. Here’s the link.