White Center Now: The blog about White Center

In the last month, the sandwich board signs for Village Green Nursery, Cafe Rozella and the 16th Avenue Halal market have been stolen.  Apparently, one of the signs was found at the Home Depot dumpster which indicates that these thefts are plainly malicious.  These signs are not cheap and for a small business, especially businesses like Village Green and Cafe Rozella that are not conspicuous, they are important in driving traffic.  Accordingly, Cafe Rozella is offering a $50 coupon reward for anyone who fingers the dirty rats behind these thefts.  Call (206) 763-5805 or email guarnero@caferozella.com. 

Dick Thurnau from Friends of Hicks Lake sent word that work on this long-anticipated project has begun in earnest; we went to Lakewood Park to get that photo this afternoon. As he points out, the railings are now off the soon-to-be-ex-dock, and work crews are setting up on the eastern shore. According to the county website, this project is costing about a quarter-million dollars. Meantime, Dick also says Friends of Hicks Lake will meet at 11 am October 27th at the west picnic shelter (10th SW entrance) of Lakewood Park, with the Pomegranate Center scheduled to, as Dick says, “give us insight on how to utilize people and organizations for funding available for Lakewood Park / Hicks Lake improvements.”

(Burien Council members, seated tonight in “study session” mode)
From tonight’s Burien City Council meeting: Councilmembers voted to once again proceed with the planned annexation procedure — targeting part of White Center — that ended with the withdrawal of the proposal about a month and a half ago. They described the process as to some degree starting over again from the same point at which they were last spring. Here’s the map of the proposed annexation zone. We’ll be following up tomorrow with Seattle reps and others about what happens next from their standpoint. ADDED LATE MONDAY NIGHT: More details on tonight’s Burien proceedings: Read the rest of this entry »

King County Executive Ron Sims has officially unveiled his budget proposal, and says it balances an expected $93 million-plus deficit. Here’s his news release; you can read the budget summary here. Meantime, County Councilmembers — with elected county leaders including Sheriff Sue Rahr at their side — came out swinging, saying Sims’ plan doesn’t do the job, and relies on money that may not even exist (including future “legislative relief” and concessions in labor contracts). Their statement’s not online yet – read it here: Read the rest of this entry »

An update on a story originally published on White Center Now on 9/20:

As you know, in June KCHA submitted an application for $20 million in HOPE VI funds to help support the revitalization of the Park Lake Homes II (PLH II) public housing community. The plan calls for the demolition of the 165 existing public housing units and the redevelopment of the site as housing for 306 families. This housing would include the replacement of all 165 public housing units on-site, as well as 12 additional rental units, 17 Habitat for Humanity affordable homeownership units, and 112 market rate homeownership units. There would be several playgrounds, open space and 6,500 square feet of community center space on the ground floor of a residential building in the center of the site. Plans for the community space – a resource sorely lacking on the site – currently include a large community room, the Neighborhood Networks Center, office and classroom space for service providers, and a satellite office for the King County police. The existing Head Start facility would remain in its present location.

The HOPE VI program has become very competitive on the national level. Many applicants apply for two or three years in a row before their projects are funded. In the 2008 funding round, PLH II competed with 23 other projects vying for the six awards that were made.

I’m very pleased to announce that KCHA has been informed by Senator Murray’s office that PLH II was awarded the $20 million grant for which we applied. Our success is attributable to a number of factors. First is the strong support and advocacy of KCHA by Senator Murray’s office. She has been a tireless ally on every issue involving affordable housing. Second, the quality of the application, including the evidence of resident and community support and a solid Community Support Services program with strong partners, was key to our success in receiving funding as a first-time applicant. And last, but by no means least, KCHA’s accomplishments at Greenbridge under the first HOPE VI grant certainly strengthened the application.

Clearly, receipt of the HOPE VI grant is a critical first step, but now the real work begins! The proposed development schedule calls for relocation of the residents to be completed over the coming year and for construction to begin in the spring of 2010. We will also hold a series of community meetings in the next few months as the more detailed project planning gets underway. You will be notified of these meetings and I urge you to attend and continue your participation in the project’s planning and implementation. Thank you for all your contributions to our success to date and we look forward to your continued support of the project and participation in its success.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Nikki Parrott, the project manager (nikkip@kcha.org, 206.574.1222).

Stephen Norman| Executive Director| King County Housing Authority | 600 Andover Park W., Seattle, WA 98188 | Office: 206-574-1190 | Fax: 206-574-1189

That’s the source of $ savings included in a budget announcement from the King County Executive’s office late today; read it here.

Just in from King County Sheriff Sue Rahr (left) – plans for a series of town-hall-style meetings to talk about how the county budget crisis will affect public safety. She and other county leaders including Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Bruce Hilyer, and King County District Court Chief Presiding Judge Barbara Linde will be in White Center for one of these meetings at 7 pm October 29, Steve Cox Memorial Park. The announcement says, “Because of an estimated $90 million county budget shortfall, the King County Executive has directed the criminal justice system to take an “across-the-board” budget cut of 11.4% for 2009. These cuts threaten the quality of justice in King County and put the public’s health and safety at risk. Your criminal justice elected officials are hosting a series of town meetings to discuss the issue. It’s critical that your voice is heard.” (Before White Center Now launched in August, we covered an early-warning briefing by Sheriff Rahr in SeaTac on June 21st; see that report, which includes video, here.)

You may have heard about this one over the weekend: This morning, the King County Council will talk about a proposal to get the county out of the animal-services business, after a long-running controversy over the quality of what it’s been providing. White Center’s King County Councilmember, Dow Constantine, was one of three council members who spoke with the media yesterday about the proposal. The council is going to want to hear what you have to say about this, since some of the alternatives raise questions — for example, suggesting that sheriff’s deputies handle some animal-cruelty cases and animal attacks might be controversial in a time when the county is facing budget cuts that threaten its basic powers to fight and prosecute crime. You can watch today’s meeting at 9:30, live online or on cable channel 22; here’s the official news release: Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s magazine section of the Seattle Times takes a look at the history of five fieldhouses built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in King County, including the one at Steve Cox Park. Here’s the article; lick through the photos to the right of the article — it’s shown in #10 and #11. (The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council continues to raise money for a permanent artwork as a tribute to Deputy Cox at the park, and is now selling tickets to a November 14th fundraising dinner and silent auction that they hope will enable them to proceed with the project; go here to find out how to get tickets.)

Small but spirited group of vendors so far, in the first minutes of Day 1 of the new White Center Swap Meet (in the Southgate Event Center, formerly the Southgate Skate Center on 17th south of Roxbury). Operators asked us to remind you that the authorized participating vendors are all INSIDE – if you encounter anyone trying to sell you anything OUTSIDE, they’re not part of it. It’s open till 7 pm today; day 2 tomorrow is 10 am-4 pm.

At the old Southgate Skate Center, now rebranded Southgate Event Center: Doors open to buyers at 1 pm. Also today, the North Highline Fire Department has a pancake breakfast this morning at Boulevard Park Place as part of the regional “Give Burns the Boot” fundraiser.

The deadline to mail in a new voter registration or changes of voter registration ( change of name / address)  is Oct. 4th. ! Voter registration applications have be postmarked Oct. 4th for the Nov.4th election. Here are two important links: Washington Secretary of State – General Voter Registration Info: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/register.aspx

Voter Registration Form: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/pdf/2007/MI-VRCard.pdf

After Oct. 4th – the only way to register is in person up to 15 days prior to the election at the county election office.

One more story to come after this, from Thursday night’s meeting (an update on the Steve Cox Memorial fundraiser), but first, two quick notes: The vacancy on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is now filled; Rebecca Lopez got the job. She was the only qualified applicant; council leaders said a second person who applied turned out to neither live nor work in the area. Note #2 – parking changes on the way to Roxbury between 15th and 17th: King County has a plan to remove 10 parking spaces on the south side of the street, it was mentioned on the meeting (we’ll be checking with the roads department to find out more).

Several stories to report from tonight’s meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council at NH Fire District HQ: We’ll start with a summary of the Alcohol Impact Area discussion (previewed here); council member Heidi Johnson has been researching this for about a year, it was noted tonight. The heart of the presentation/discussion was an informational briefing, with Karen McCall from the state Liquor Control Board explaining what an AIA is, how it works, and how to request one. Bottom line: If an area has problems caused by public drinking/drunkenness – from litter to people passed out in doorways and on bus benches – this is one way to go after the problem. It restricts businesspeople in the area from selling certain types of alcoholic beverages, sometimes specifying certain times of day for the restrictions. “There has to be a link from the products to the problem,” McCall stressed. And it requires a lot of documentation — once you’ve proposed an AIA, six months of work to see if you can get local businesses to comply voluntarily with whatever you want them to do (restrict certain products, certain hours, or both) — and you have to document the problem, with photos, notes, etc. After six months, if you “don’t get compliance” as McCall put it, you take it to your local jursidiction – a city council or county council, for example, and say you want to take it to the Liquor Control Board. That process may take another three to six months, but, she said, “The board hasn’t turned one down yet.” Make sure you really want it, though, because “once it’s in, it’s in” for at least two years. McCall also noted one more tool that communities have – when businesses’ liquor licenses come up for renewal, they can request restrictions on sale of certain products (fortified wine, for example) – though again, documentation of neighborhood problems is required. (Note: Liquor-license applications can be tracked online here.) One person who could certainly play a role in that was at tonight’s meeting: White Center-based King County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Hancock. In his year and a half in the area, he said, while he’s seen “a lot of violent crime,” he emphatically declared: “The behavior that stands out, and makes a negative impression, is public drunkenness — from Roxbury to 107th, between 14th and 18th, four or five businesses have single-sale alcohol to individuals, and there are 20 to 30 regulars, any day of the week, you can drive down 15th and 16th, see the cans everywhere, people passed out at bus stops … I personally responded to robberies, assaults between people who are intoxicated. It’s very bad for the image of White Center. What people say – they don’t really see the narcotics deals, or the violent crime you hear about on the news, but they see every day the people stumbling down the street, aggressive panhandlers … Alcohol is not the most serious crime in the area, but the most detrimental to the growth of the area.” He added that he feels if Seattle chooses the nearby Myers Way jail site, and releases people there, they would immediately head toward White Center to “get a beer,” if nothing is changed. McCall said some business owners traditionally protest the potential designation, but revenue reports show they usually increase their business in the year after restrictions are put into place. What’s next? More research, and a decision whether this is to be formally pursued; as mentioned in our preview coverage, area activists also would like to look at whether the Seattle side of the White Center area could be included – apparently that would involve separate requests from the separate jurisdictions. James Bush from the office of County Councilmember Dow Constantine also promised they would stay involved.

A building permit application has been submitted to King County for a new construction project on SW 100^th, between 15^th Ave SW & 14^th Ave SW. Public comments are currently being taken and are due, in writing, this coming Friday, Oct. 3, by 4:30pm in King County‘s Land Use Services – Renton Office.  Comments must be conveyed either by mail or delivered by the Oct. 3^rd deadline. King County cannot accept comments via e-mail.

This is a chance to weigh in on a new proposed development in the neighborhood.

Per King County Land Use Website:

• To learn more about a proposal: Call the planner assigned to the proposal. Names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses are listed with each land use action. Or, visit the permit center, located at 1055 S. Grady Way – 6th Floor, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays and review the files for the proposal. Phone: (425) 430-7200.
• To comment on a proposal: Send your written comments to the Project Manager listed, Department of Community & Economic Development (CED) – Planning Division, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057, and be sure to include your name and address. (E-mail comments will not be accepted unless they are followed up with written and signed comments.) Comments will be accepted until the time a staff report is prepared for the decision or recommendation, with a minimum comment period of at least 14 days (30 days for shoreline proposals). If you submit a written comment, you will be sent a copy of the decision or recommendation. All written comments become part of the permanent record.
• To appeal a permit decision: Appeals of decisions must be filed in writing together with the required $75.00 fee with: Hearing Examiner, City of Renton, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057. Appeals to the Examiner are governed by City of Renton Municipal Code Section 4-8-110. Additional information regarding the appeal process may be obtained from the Renton City Clerk’s Office, (425) 430-6510.

Reminder – the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets tonight at 7 pm at North Highline Fire District headquarters, and the idea of a possible Alcohol Impact Area in White Center is on the agenda. (We wrote about this last month.) Read the full agenda for tonight’s meeting here; other topics include graffiti, King County Sheriff’s Office storefronts, and the upcoming Steve Cox Memorial fundraiser (here’s our most recent update).

Click pic to play vid

We first told you here at White Center Now (Monday report here) and at partner site West Seattle Blog (Monday report here) two days ago about an urgent call for help from the White Center Food Bank. Executive director Rick Jump says thanks to WCN/WSB readers for stepping up – hundreds of dollars in donated $, plus food donations, have come in as a result, and citywide media have come by to do reports – but much more help is still needed. While we visited Jump at WCFB earlier this afternoon for a followup, he gave us the newest statistics — the number of people seeking help from WCFB this September was 50% greater than last year, almost 1,000 in ’07, almost 1,500 in ’08. And as commenters pointed out on both sites, WCFB has a unique challenge – since it is not within the boundaries of a city, it doesn’t get any kind of city funding, as do its fellow food banks in incorporated areas. You can help WCFB right now by donating $ online, right from this page. While we were at the food bank this afternoon, a steady stream of people came in – Rick explained, it’s the first of the month, and food stamps are still days away; we didn’t photograph the clients because we believe they’re entitled to dignity as they seek help, but trust us (and listen to the sound as we shot the video you see above), the volunteers were working hard to distribute what they had. P.S. One more way you can help – the WCFB annual fundraising auction/dinner is coming up October 18th, 5:30 pm at South Seattle Community College’s Brockey Center; this event raises up to half the WCFB’s annual budget funds – check out the invitation here and RSVP by October 10th (read more in this previous WCN post).

Homer Angel’s building is on the sale block. The historic building, whose address is 9601 16th Avenue SW, sits at the corner of Roxbury Ave. SW and 16th Ave. SW. The building was owned for eons by Homer Angel, who was a great person but did little to invest in the building’s infrastructure. The building has an interesting history, having served is hotel, bordello, theatre and pharmacy. Current occupants include a Halal market, pharmacy, tax preparation business and a Lucky Nails salon. The corner space has an outstanding view of the heart of White Center. Homer passed away this summer and a couple of private sales fell through. The building is being shopped as an estate sale with an asking price of $1,700,000. The White Center Community Development Association previously attempted to buy the property but the asking price was above their means. This is actually a very lovely building in desperate need of a loving owner who appreciates its charms and is willing to invest in sprucing it up to its great potential.

We broke the story last week that Sen. Patty Murray and others would be in White Center on October 6th for the Educare Learning Center (rendering above) groundbreaking as part of the White Center Early Learning Initiative. Now, we’re getting more details. Joan Tritchler at the Puget Sound Educational Service District has just sent more info about the event next Monday, including: “Senator Patty Murray, Bill Gates Sr, state legislators and county officials will celebrate with White Center community members and children from neighboring Head Start and child care centers in this milestone for the many agencies and public and private funders that worked so hard to make this exemplary early learning facility a reality.” White Center Heights Elementary principal Dave Darling also is scheduled to speak, and some of his kindergarteners are scheduled for a performance at the event, which starts at 10 am Monday at the International Plaza at WCH Elementary (“steps away” from the learning-center site).

When we stopped by the former Southgate Skate Center last Friday, we were told the sign declaring it the Southgate Event Center would be up within a few days – and indeed, it’s up now. Saturday’s the first White Center Swap Meet at the historic, newly rechristened venue on 17th SW. (Previous White Center Now coverage here and here.) WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The rink’s sign was being painted over today – here’s a picture we caught early this afternoon: