White Center Now: The blog about White Center

From the December meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

METRO TRANSIT: Route 120 between Delridge, White Center, and Burien will become RapidRide H Line, and planning is intensifying. So NHUAC was briefed by community-relations and public-engagement manager Jenna Franklin and RapidRide planning-and-implementation manager Alex Kiheri.

He explained how RR works – the goal is “speed and reliability,” the buses are different (you might have seen the red/yellow buses on existing RR lines such as C between West Seattle and South Lake Union), and other things. Metro is expected to add 13 new RR lines by 2025, and H Line will be the second.

The 120 currently has 9,200 daily trips, 25 percent morning, 30 percent evening, the rest spread out among the other hours. Saturday has 5,600 trips, Sunday has 4,300. RR tries to “run a longer span of service, more frequently” throughout the day. It offers “passenger amenities” such as “inviting” bus stops. Communication technology allows them to run a connected service – including offering online information so you know how far away your bus is and when it’s likely to arrive.

And Kiheri mentioned that Metro and SDOT are working together on the route, especially regarding the section that serves Westwood Village, and White Center. “Area 4” is what you’ll want to look for when you come to upcoming open houses – one of the areas where it’s “critical to plan well so the service can perform well.” White Center itself will be a particularly “interesting place” for investments, since it’s governed by the county, and Metro is a service provided by the county. That included a grant-inspired opportunity to improve a connection (“missing link” type area) along SW 100th in the Greenbridge community; Metro requested a $940,000 grant to “build that missing link” including sidewalks and bike facilities, and was “ranked very highly” so there’s a “strong possibility” they’ll get that grant to put in those improvements while the H Line is being set up. The grant had a strong level of community support, the Metro reps pointed out; NHUAC president Liz Giba noted that the group had written a letter contributing to that.

If you’re interested in the route conversion, you’ll want to go to one of two open houses that Metro has scheduled for next month:

Wednesday, January 10th from 5-8 p.m.
Burien Community Center, Shorewood Room
14700 6th Ave SW, Burien

Thursday, January 11th from 5-8 p.m.
Mount View Elementary School, Cafeteria/Multi-purpose Room
10811 12th Ave SW, White Center

They also will be mailing an announcement of those dates to about 28,000 people “along the line,” as well as putting up flyers and posters. There’s also a survey online, if you haven’t already participated.

In West Seattle discussion of RapidRide H Line so far, there’s been concern about stops being too far apart, per typical RR. Kiheri said they’re looking for a “middle ground” – every third of a mile or so, with quarter-mile space in some spots. He noted that some “underperforming stops” already had been taken out back in 2012.

CRIME BRIEFING: Storefront Deputy Bill Kennamer provided the newest information. He mentioned the 98th/15th SW homicide, with the victim having been shot and killed after trying to attack the shooter a third time. It does not appear the shooter, 16, will be charged, except for a gun violation. (Here’s the most-recent report we published on the case.)

Regarding crime in general – no significant increases year to year, but auto theft is running high – not so many stolen cars being found in this area though. Residential burglaries have spiked a bit, and the concentration area is around 17th/Roxbury.

General concerns involved trash dumped “all over,” as community member Gill Loring put it. He suggested a community meeting/discussion is in order.

A discussion about problems at the White Center Library, from broken windows to loitering, ensued. Kennamer said he had suggested that the library play music to discourage loitering – as is done across the city line outside Meat The Live Butcher. Giba mentioned she has invited the King County Library System to the February NHUAC meeting, to talk about a variety of things, not just problems.

COALITION FOR DRUG-FREE YOUTH: Rudy Garza from the coalition and Shoshana Mahmood from the Puget Sound Educational Service District started the meeting.

Garza said the coalition is in its sixth year of educating youth about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco – not to urge abstinence, but to offer “positive alternatives.” He cited a 2012 survey showing that youth in this community weren’t engaged – in school or the community. He said an anti-litter campaign created after that, in partnership with Cascade Middle School, “is ongoing to that day.” Getting “positive things to be involved with” affects their decisions about drugs and alcohol. Right now they’re awaiting word on funding, whether they’ll get grant money to keep Mahmood’s position funded – there’s money to continue it through the end of the school year, but after that, it’s a question mark. Navos has been funding the coalition and is the ultimate decisionmaker. They hope to kick off a billboard campaign in January, in English and Spanish, concurrent with a social-media and poster campaign.

Mahmood says she has worked with youth a long time, even before this position as drug/alcohol counselor at Cascade, which is part time. She also is involved with a prevention team that’s about to start work with Mary’s Place (which operates a White Center family shelter) after school winter break. Helping to educate students about self-determination, that they can make choices and decisions, is part of what she does. She is concerned that, aside from substance concerns, youth are over-stimulated by social media and entertainment, “a lot of surface-level stuff.” She is currently working one-on-one with 17 students. When she’s with them, they “talk about family and community the most.” Their concerns and fears include everything from what’s happening at home to bullying at school, and many say they don’t feel safe – “they talk about getting robbed all the time, at knifepoint and gunpoint,” but the school can only do so much – “once they’re off school grounds, they’re on their own.” Since marijuana legalization, awareness and curiosity have gone up, and vaping – which often comes with flavoring – seems rampant, she said. Kids tell her they are interested in the smell, the flavor, the clouds of smoke – nicotine vaping as well as cannabis vaping.

Garza said Mahmood also is supposed to be working at Evergreen High School but they’ve been working to find space for her. And he noted that an added stress for some youth these days is worrying that ICE may be coming for their parents – so drugs and alcohol might be used as an escape. And he said that a Latino youth with whom he had worked had spoken about being harassed and attacked by a group of white youths who yelled “go back to where you came from” – they find themselves spending time stressing that not everyone is against them, and that they can and should call law enforcement for help. Speaking of law enforcement – as they continue working to solidify funding, they also are working with the King County Sheriff’s Office to see if there’s some synergy with KCSO funding related to marijuana.

The next coalition meeting is next Wednesday, December 13th, noon-1:30 pm (lunch is served), at Seola Gardens (11215 5th SW).

Also announced at the meeting:

SEOLA POND: An update from Scott Dolfay, who’s been working on restoration – he’s expecting student volunteers one week from today, on December 14th. (More details on his project are in our September NHUAC report.) “It’s all coming together really well,” he said, after detailing the materials he’s been rustling up and plans he’s been making. The work is on the west side of the pond, along 30th SW.

CAMP SECOND CHANCE: NHUAC’s Pat Price mentioned the work party set for December 15th to build “supertents” (details are in our partner site West Seattle Blog‘s report on CSC’s Community Advisory Committee meeting from last weekend).

FESTIVUS PARTY THIS WEEKEND: As previewed here, the Jubilee Days fundraiser is this Saturday.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets the first Thursday of most months – not in January, though, so February 1st is the next meeting – 7 pm, at North Highline Fire District HQ (1243 SW 112th). Watch northhighlineuac.org between meetings for updates.

We’re publishing this announcement both here and on partner site West Seattle Blog because of the scope of the project:

The White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA), celebrating its 15th year serving White Center families with family/social services, small business/entrepreneurial development, school educational support, and family wellness, is partnering with Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS), which provides critical health services to youth and families-at-risk, to create the White Center Neighborhood Advisory Council. This 20-person council, nominated from diverse segments of our White Center community, will meet twice a month, over five months in 2018, to assist us in the following;

*Review and plan for a Family Resource Center at the former White Center public health building site at 8th Ave. SW and SW 108th Ave, now temporarily used by Mary’s Place as transitional housing for homeless families.

*Develop a long-range affordable housing plan for White Center that helps keep White Center families living near each other, and incorporate the planning process findings into affordable housing at the former public health site

*Assist in ensuring that homeless transitional housing is considered as a continuing service in the affordable housing discussions for the site and elsewhere in White Center that will result.

The 20 members of this Council will receive $100 each in May of 2018, to compensate for their time serving on this council. The Nomination Form and Scope of Work for the Advisory Council can be found at the WCCDA website. All nominations are welcome, but we reserve the right to ensure that broad, diverse community perspectives are included through the nomination process as described in the Nomination Form and Scope of Work.

Nomination forms are due by December 12 at the CDA Open House meeting from 4-6 pm, that will be held at the WCCDA offices in the Technology Access Foundation building at 605 SW 108th Street. All nominees are encouraged to attend this meeting to meet staff, learn about the existing important work our staff do here in White Center, and eat good food. Child care will be provided.

Questions: Mark@WCCDA.ORG or call the WCCDA office at 206-694-1082

Got your tickets yet? Ready to gather around the Festivus Pole? Ready to raise money for next year’s White Center Jubilee Days? You’ll be able to do it all at White Center’s own Festivus celebration on Saturday, December 9th. Doors open at the White Center Eagles‘ hall at 5:30 pm; your ticket gets you a prime-rib dinner as well as a share of the evening’s festivities, which include a silent auction. Buy tickets here.

From the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council – news of its next meeting:

When: Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 7 pm
Where: North Highline Fire Station at 1243 SW 112th Street in White Center
(Parking and Entrance are in the Back of the Station)

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

November’s NHUAC meeting confirmed that North Highline has more than its fair share of retail cannabis businesses. This month, we will learn more about the Coalition for Drug-Free Youth and what it is doing to help create a safe and healthy environment for our young people and community. Our guests will be the coalition’s Coordinator, Rudy Garza, and Sheshana Mahmood, Prevention and Intervention Specialist at Cascade Middle School and Evergreen High School. We will also learn about new challenges facing the coalition. This is our chance to support an organization that supports our community!

Have you taken a bus lately? As more people are moving to our area, public transit is becoming more important and crowded. Alex Kiheri, RapidRide Program Manager, and Jenna Franklin of King County’s Department of Transportation’s Community Relations and Public Engagement, will share information about the future of transit in White Center, including: the proposed Route 120 upgrade, potential benefits of the project, and opportunities to improve access to transit. Could more sidewalks be in our future?

We’ll also be welcoming back KCSO Deputy Bill Kennamer who will share crime updates, answer our questions, and increase our awareness of what is happening on the streets of North Highline.

Then, the floor will be yours! Do you have an announcement or something of community import on your mind? Join us and share at NHUAC’s last meeting of 2017!

See you Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 7 pm

Because Knowledge and Community Are Power!

Speaking of libraries (remember that the White Center branch is closed today and tomorrow), the King County Library System has just announced its new leader:

The King County Library System (KCLS) Board of Trustees has selected Lisa G. Rosenblum as the KCLS Library Director following a comprehensive nationwide search.

The Board made its decision at its regular monthly meeting on November 29 and extended an offer, which Ms. Rosenblum has accepted. Rosenblum will begin her leadership role at the King County Library System’s Service Center in Issaquah on January 16, 2018.

“Our search firm delivered a choice of several qualified candidates. During the interview process, Lisa Rosenblum rose to the top of the list as the person best suited to lead KCLS as we implement our new Strategic Focus,” said KCLS Board Trustee Robin McClelland who chaired the search committee.

“Lisa is undaunted by challenges, our geographic reach, and our mission to serve our diverse population of patrons. We believe she will strengthen relationships with communities and seek partnerships that share our commitment to innovation,” McClelland added.

A distinguished librarian, Rosenblum has spent her career in culturally diverse and metropolitan library settings on the East and West coasts. She joins KCLS from the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), the fifth-largest library system in the country, which includes the historic Central Library. There, Rosenblum served as Director and Chief Librarian, and oversaw the planning, developing and leading of BPL’s operations and its $120 million budget.

Prior to her position at BPL, Rosenblum served as Director of Library and Community Services for the City of Sunnyvale in California, where she implemented the use of innovative technology to enhance library services, increased the circulation of materials and augmented eBook collections. Prior to her role in Sunnyvale, Rosenblum served as Director of Library and Neighborhood Services for the City of Hayward in California, where she led the planning and modernization of library services and developed integrated neighborhood programs. Rosenblum began her library career as a librarian, and later training manager, then division manager, of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in the City of San Jose.

Since 2008, Rosenblum has shared her strategic leadership, organizational theory and management concept knowledge as a visiting professor and lecturer, respectively, at Pratt Institute School of Information and San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science.

“Lisa’s proven leadership abilities and extensive background in library programs, services, technology and innovation will be an immense asset to the King County Library System,” said Stephen A. Smith, KCLS Interim Library Director. “She has worked for years with people from all walks of life, which is a great match for our increasingly diverse county. We are very fortunate that she is joining us, and sincerely look forward to her arrival in the Pacific Northwest.”
A dynamic leader, Rosenblum will be responsible for advancing KCLS’ strategic focus initiatives, including collaborating with civic and business leaders, advancing the library’s literary and technology programs, continuing its excellence in customer service, building a diverse staff and supporting the KCLS Foundation’s fundraising efforts.

“The King County Library System is nationally known as a leader among public libraries. It is an honor to have been selected as the next director,” said Rosenblum. “Many of the innovative programs at KCLS are implemented similarly at BPL, so I already feel an alignment with the direction of KCLS and its strategic focus. I would like to continue the direction and help it grow as both an institution and a community asset,” she said.

Rosenblum earned her Master’s Degree in Library Science from San Jose State University and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John’s College.

If you’ve been to the White Center Library in recent weeks, you’ve probably noticed some damage to its distinctive glass facade. KCLS is about to fix the windows, but it needs to close the library to get that done, so it will be closed tomorrow and Friday (November 30th and December 1st), reopening Saturday, December 2nd.

The Seattle band Thunderpussy is out with the video for their new single “Speed Queen” – shot in White Center – Drunky’s Two Shoes BBQ, to be precise.

Want to help Highline College pick its next president? You don’t have to go far. This announcement includes word of a “listening session” coming up in White Center:

As part of its presidential search process, Highline College trustees will hold several listening sessions to learn what community members are looking for in the college’s next leader.

Sessions are scheduled in several locations throughout South King County and are open to all:

— Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.: Wiley Center Neighborhood House at Greenbridge

— Dec. 6, daytime sessions: Highline College main campus, Building 2 (times will be posted at highline.edu/presidential-search-listening-sessions once they are available)

— Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m.: Federal Way Library, Meeting Room 2

Trustees will use what they learn at the sessions to help create the presidential profile. Profiles often outline general duties and desired qualities or characteristics.

Highline’s board is responsible for selecting and employing the college president. It is composed of community members from Highline’s service area of South King County: Dan Altmayer and Bob Roegner, both of Federal Way; Debrena Jackson Gandy, Des Moines; Fred Mendoza, Normandy Park; and Sili Savusa, White Center.

To learn what has happened to date in the search for Highline’s next leader, visit the Presidential Search news page.

(L-R, Michale Farrar and Nathan Adams, in front of the bar mural)

By Linda Ball
Reporting for White Center Now

Nathan Adams and Michale Farrar love to host parties and to entertain. It’s not unusual for them to have 100 to 150 friends over to their home for events such as their annual chicken and brisket feed in the summer. So, their friends suggested, why not make some money out of all this great talent?

The wheels started turning for the partners when Adams left his “day” job a year and one-half ago. Now, they are close to opening The Lumber Yard Bar in downtown White Center.

Though The Lumber Yard is intended to be an LGBTQ bar, Adams and Farrar plan to welcome everyone. They live just nine blocks away, but had looked everywhere for a place to build out their vision. They realized their own neighborhood was just the place, as more of the gay community is moving south due to high housing prices in Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the city.

It’s been in the works a while. “It took six months to get our building permit,” Farrar said. He said they’ve had the lease for 9616 16th Ave. SW since last December. The Lumber Yard Bar will have a full
liquor license in addition to beer and wine, plus upscale bar food created in the downstairs kitchen, by Adams and Farrar and one other cook. The menu will include Cuban pulled-pork sliders, brisket sliders, brisket chili, pork-belly mac-and-cheese, baked olive bites, and a mashed-potato bar, to name a few items. They plan to have better-than-typical bar wine, with bottle service to drink at The Lumber Yard or take home.

Adams and Farrar have done much of the interior buildout themselves, along with a small crew from Treiber Building.

The interior plays up on the name with attractive wood-looking flooring (that’s really luxury vinyl), a 24-foot-long wooden bar, old cedar fencing (above) on some of the interior walls which they’ve painted, reclaimed wood, some of the old chairs from the Fremont Theatre, and a large mirror framed in timbers. Farrar said working with the old building has been challenging.

Local artist David Johansson created a forest mural, which hangs behind the bar (top photo). A long communal table will seat 12 to 14 people in the upstairs area, with more seating in half-booths and ottomans downstairs. The downstairs area will be what the partners call more of a “speakeasy” with an edgy feel, harkening back to the days when gay bars had to “hide out.”

Total capacity inside is 96, but in the summer they will be able to seat 40 to 50 more in a fenced outdoor patio. Plans are to have “Yappy Hours” when you can bring your best four-legged friend – only on the patio. There are restrooms on both levels, and a changing room for entertainers. Upstairs there is a small area for live entertainment and the sound system. With four big-screen televisions upstairs and two downstairs, they will screen Seahawks and Sounders games, playing music videos on non-game days.

Once open, they will have a total of 12 staff – Farrar still works as a systems analyst for Starbucks, a career he’s had for 18 years, but both he and Adams will be very involved day by day. Hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight Monday – Thursday, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, noon to 2 a.m. Saturday and noon to midnight on Sunday unless there is a game, when they will open earlier and serve brunch. They also will have a teachers’ happy hour from 2-6 p.m. on Friday.

Two items spotted at North Shorewood Park this afternoon by Gill:

The first item is a stolen bike which is located just off the North/South trail on its west side about halfway.

This trail is the one that can be accessed from either above the basketball hoop or from the other end by the fenced Corral. I would have tried to move it onto the trail but my hands were already full of other trash.

The second item was found about 100′ SE of the upper picnic table.

Two phones were in the pile along with items that someone might juse riding to and from work including water bottles. The whole pile now resides in the waste container down by the 24th Ave. SW entrance. Likely KC Parks will empty it Sat. morning.

So if any of that looks familiar to you – check it out on Saturday, sooner rather than later.

From the King County Sheriff’s Office:

King County Sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help locating a U-Haul van that was stolen from a hotel parking lot in SeaTac containing over $1 million in musical equipment.

The van was parked in the Double Tree Hotel parking lot in the 18700 block of International Blvd Thursday night. Surveillance photos show the van was taken from the parking lot Friday around 4:10 am. A dark colored pickup truck was seen in the area at the time of the crime and may be associated with the crime.

The U-Haul is described at a Ford F450, orange and white with a large picture of a Zebra on the side and license plates AG29943. The dark-colored pickup is described as a 2 door with 2 white stripes on the top of the cab.

If you have information about this crime please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311. Or you may remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

You can help fight holiday hunger by donating turkeys to the White Center Food Bank – and someone will be there almost every day before Thanksgiving to accept whatever you can give. WCFB is on the southwest corner of 8th SW and SW 108th, and promises someone will be there 10 am-4 pm Saturday and 9 am-5 pm each day Monday-Wednesday.

Did you miss day 1 of the White Center Library Guild Holiday Bazaar and Book Sale? No problem – go tomorrow!

10 am-2 pm Saturday, the bazaar continues for its second and final day. You’ll find books, gifts, decorations, and more – once you walk into the library’s main door on the parking-lot side, turn left.

It’s a fundraiser for library programs, and you’ll meet some cool volunteers too.

The suspect arrested in last Friday night’s shooting death by White Center Plaza had a hearing today. Documents from that hearing reveal that he is a 16-year-old from Olympia. We’re not identifying him until and unless he is charged; the deadline for that is Thursday afternoon. Today’s hearing resulted in a judge finding that there’s probable cause to keep him in detention until the charging decision is made. The documents say he was arrested at Capitol High School in Olympia and that he is a student there, and that he confessed to shooting 27-year-old Kenny T. Su at least four times with a .40-caliber handgun which he then threw into Puget Sound.

King County Sheriff’s Deputies searched off Don Armeni Boat Ramp in West Seattle today; a reader sent the photo above, and KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West confirmed that divers found a gun in the water. The suspect is reported to have told investigators that he shot the victim because the man had stabbed him minutes earlier at the 15th/Roxbury Texaco station, after allegedly demanding the suspect’s shoes. According to police, they identified the suspect with the help of security video and a tipster; the suspect told them he was in the area because he had taken a bus from Olympia to visit relatives in Delridge.

(WCN photo, Friday night)

The King County Sheriff’s Office just announced that a suspect is in custody in last Friday night’s shooting death in White Center. KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Jason Houck says the suspect is “a juvenile male” who has been booked into the King County Youth Detention Center, adding, “At this point, there is no new information about what led to the fight that occurred just prior to the shooting. Detectives are still actively investigating this incident.” The victim was a 27-year-old man from Burien, found by the White Center Plaza building late Friday night, along 15th SW just north of SW 98th – here’s our coverage from that night.

Reminder, if you missed this mention in our coverage of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s November meeting: If you use the Boulevard Park Library (12015 Roseberg Ave. S.), you will want to be there this Thursday (November 16th), 6:30-8 pm, for an open house where you can find out the latest about the upcoming interior-remodeling project. KCLS says the team from BuildingWork Architecture will be there.

(WCN photos)
11:49 PM: King County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a deadly shooting in White Center. They were searching on the ground and in the air after the shooting by the White Center Plaza building on 15th SW north of SW 98th.

KCSO says the victim is male but that’s about all we know right now – no word yet on the circumstances, and no word of any arrests. We’ll update when there’s more info to report. Deputies are also busy with a deadly shooting less than three miles south at 1st Avenue S. and S. 120th – early reports are that two men shot at each other; one was killed, one wounded in the leg.

7:17 AM: No additional information so far this morning. But we did verify that investigators cleared the scene overnight and 15th SW is open again.

8:45 AM: New information just in from King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cindi West: The victim was a 27-year-old man from Burien: “Witnesses told police that a group of men was talking with the victim prior to the shooting. The suspect who was with the group of men fought with the victim. When the fight was over, the suspect pulled out a gun and shot the victim. The men fled the scene on foot. King County Guardian One and K-9 responded but were unable to locate the suspect or the men he was with. The only description obtained was that the suspect was wearing a red hoodie.” They’re asking for tips – 206-296-3311 (or 911).

A little over a week until your chance to do holiday shopping and support a good cause – the White Center Library Guild‘s Holiday Bazaar and Book Sale is coming up Friday, November 17th, 10 am-3 pm, and Saturday, November 18th, 10 am-2 pm. The library is at 1409 SW 107th.

King County released its Election Night vote tally just after 8 pm. Here are notes of local interest:

KING COUNTY SHERIFF: Johanknecht 52 percent, Urquhart 48 percent

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Constantine 75 percent, Hirt 24 percent

KING COUNTY PROPOSITION 1: Yes 66 percent, No 34 percent

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 1: Creighton 51 percent, Calkins 49 percent

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 3: Bowman 67 percent, Abdi 33 percent

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 4: Steinbrueck 63 percent, Shridhar 37 percent

NORTH HIGHLINE FIRE DISTRICT COMMISSION POSITION 1: Giba 56 percent, Maples 44 percent

Full countywide results here.

Patti, Liz, and their canine companions posted for us at the White Center Library ballot dropbox late this afternoon. Also there, volunteers from the White Center Community Development Association, cheering for everyone who brought in their ballot. The dropbox at 1409 SW 107th is open until 8 pm – so if you are voting at the last minute, get there as soon as you can. First results are due by about 8:15 pm.