White Center Now: The blog about White Center

This year’s Jubilee Days festival is about to gear up, with big events Wednesday – the fireworks show at dusk at Steve Cox Memorial Park, where you’ll also find the five-day carnival starting the same day. Also from the WCJD website – the main-stage schedule, and the family-stage schedule for the festival’s two biggest days, next Saturday and Sunday (July 18-19).

If you saw Seattle Police in the area Thursday, might have been related to this case that just appeared on their SPD Blotter website:

Southwest Precinct officers arrested a prolific auto thief and recovered a bag full of suspected stolen credit cards Thursday after staking out a stolen car in White Center.

Police had been scouring the neighborhood for the man, who was wanted on warrants for theft and auto theft, when they found one of his stolen cars parked near SW 104th St and 1st Ave SW.

Officers staked out the stolen Honda and waited for the suspect, who soon pulled up in a white Mitsubishi, driven by a female accomplice.

The pair of suspects seemed to take notice of an officer working the stakeout, who drove away from the scene.

The suspects sped up to catch up to the officer’s car, but quickly circled back to the stolen car.

When the male suspect climbed into the stolen Honda, he quickly discovered officers had already disabled the vehicle.

Police moved in and arrested the suspect and the woman driving the Mitsubishi, and found a purse filled with suspected stolen credit and gift cards, drug paraphernalia and tools frequently used by burglars inside the car.

Officers booked the man into the King County Jail for auto theft and booked the woman for reckless driving and possession of stolen property.

If you hit “play” on the :15 Instagram clip above, you’ll get an idea of how contentious this morning’s cannabis-crackdown announcement in downtown White Center was. While there was a full turnout of regional media, there also was a notable turnout of people from medical-marijuana establishments, furious about what’s happening.

Speaking outside the King County Sheriff’s Office downtown WC storefront were Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, Sheriff John Urquhart, and Russ Hauge from (what’s about to be renamed) the state Liquor and Cannabis Board. Satterberg wrapped it up with a message to the marijuana establishments: “You might not consider yourself illegal – we do.” A copy was provided of the letter circulated to them (starting at least two days ago, according to what sources told us). While the officials gave conflicting answers as to what kind of “timeline” they expected for stores to shut down, the letter stated flatly in the sixth paragraph, “You will need to cease operations now, even if you plan on applying in the future for a state license …” and when asked, there was one suggestion that if stores aren’t closed within a month, they would “get a visit.” (added) Here’s part of Satterberg’s opening statement:

A printed list also provided to the news media included six White Center/Top Hat establishments:

Herbal Market, 10422 16th SW
White Center Alternative Care, 9839 17th SW
Pacific Coast Natural Medicine, 9817 16th SW
WCC, 9809 16th SW
Northwest Cannabis Market, 9640 16th SW
Herban Legends, 9619 16th SW
WPMC, 11009 1st Ave. S.

After the letter was circulated earlier this week, Herban Legends had this sign on its door:

The county officials referred to the newly opened Bud Nation, a state-licensed recreational-marijuana store in downtown White Center, as an example of what they support, and what they feel is threatened by the unlicensed establishments. They also made it clear that the state was there “in support” of what was their initiative. They pointed out they are doing this under civil measures, not criminal, but also reiterated that they are serious.

The medical-marijuana advocates, meantime, continued to protest that they are offering medicine and that they believe this is just a ploy by the state because of competition – what they make MMJ available for is lower than the state-set prices.

More to come…

Tomorrow morning at the White Center storefront of the King County Sheriff’s Office, County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg and King County Sheriff John Urquhart plan to brief the media on what their advisory describes as an “effort aimed at closing down unlicensed marijuana businesses operating in unincorporated King County,” which includes WC. Sources tell us they’ve already been circulating letters to some White Center marijuana outlets. The proliferation of medical-marijuana enterprises in North Highline, particularly White Center, has led to some concern, especially for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, where it’s been a frequent topic at meetings, including one we covered in April. The crackdown follows passage of a new state law requiring medical marijuana to be handled as a sideline in state-licensed recreational-marijuana shops. (White Center’s first recreational-marijuana shop opened recently.) We’ll cover tomorrow’s briefing and will publish an update here.

(April 2015 photo by Gill: Volunteer working at North Shorewood Park)
North Shorewood Park needs you! One week from tomorrow, spend part of your day there with your fellow community members – 9 am-1 pm on Saturday, July 11th, to be specific. The invitation comes from Lina @ King County Parks:

Join King County Parks staff and community members at this wonderful White Center park as we work together to make North Shorewood Park awesome. Our goal is to make the park a healthier and safer place for people and animals so that our community can enjoy this lovely forest. We will be digging out aggressive plants that are doing damage to the health of the park. As part of the event, we will also walk the trails as a group and I will share information about the great native plants that are growing in the park.

Young people under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Any minors attending the event without a parent or legal guardian must also bring a signed youth waiver to event in order to participate. Please contact Lina Rose, lina.rose@kingcounty.gov, 206.491.5014, for a copy of the waiver, more information, and to sign up.

North Shorewood Park is at 10061 21st SW.

From Audrey Zemke:

White Center Kiwanis is holding its pancake breakfast on Sunday, July 19th from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm at Holy Family School (9615 20th Ave SW). Tickets are available at the door for $7.00 per person or $5.00 for tickets purchased before July 19 or at the door with a coupon. Kids 5 and under eat free.

Purchase tickets at the breakfast to win one of a dozen baskets. The pancake breakfast will be a collection point for diapers for WestSide Baby as well. White Center Kiwanis helps kids and youth in the White Center area by supporting Key Clubs at New Start and Evergreen High Schools, Highline Exchange Club, Salvation Army, Southwest Boys & Girls Club, Westside Baby and White Center Food Bank. If you wish to purchase table sponsorships or advertise on the placemat, please contact Bill Tracy at 248-2441 or billnancytracy@aol.com.

A mother and her 9-year-old daughter are recovering from what investigators say were minor injuries suffered when a car hit them at 15th/Roxbury this afternoon. King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident but we’re told that the two were not seriously hurt and that’s why the crash scene cleared relatively quickly; the driver did stay at the scene to talk with deputies.

Following up on our Wednesday report about a petition drive in which community advocates from here and West Hill asked for an emergency ban on fireworks: County leaders told us they don’t have the authority to do anything immediate, but that the state does. We finally got a chance today to inquire with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Deputy Fire Marshal Lysandra Davis replied, saying that only the governor has that authority, but that calling for one isn’t warranted right now. Here’s the entire reply:

Our office has received numerous inquiries on this matter, and we value and appreciate each and every one.

Because Washington is a Home Rule State, legislative authority to limit or prohibit the sale, purchase, possession, and/or use of consumer fireworks is only granted to city, municipal, and county governments. However, any ordinance adopted by a county or city has an effective date no sooner than one year after its adoption, per RCW 70.77.250 (4). Because State Fireworks Law does not provide the SFMO or any other local jurisdiction/agency the authority to temporarily ban
fireworks, even on an emergency basis, it is unlawful to do so.

The only person with the authority to issue a temporary ban on fireworks sales/usage is Governor Jay Inslee. This would be done through a State of Emergency Proclamation which normally prohibits activities that the Governor reasonably believes should be prohibited to help preserve and maintain life, health, property or public peace. In the past, when emergency proclamations have been issued during heavy wildland fires (usually occurring mid-July to August), fireworks usage and sales were already prohibited by State Fireworks Law.

The current burn ban that is in effect only applies to state forests, state parks and forestlands under Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fire protection, including Department of Fish and Wildlife lands; it does not include cities, municipalities and/or counties. This ban prohibits outdoor burning and fireworks and incendiary devices (which are never legal on DNR-protected forestlands).

While these drought conditions we are facing may be unprecedented, there is not a current statewide fire emergency that would warrant the Governor to declare a State ban on fireworks.

What I can assure you of is that the State Fire Marshal’s Office is committed to promoting fire safety and injury prevention year round with our Celebrate Safely and Legally campaign — emphasizing “personal responsibility,” especially during these extremely dry weather conditions.

So it looks like fireworks will be on sale, as planned, in unincorporated King County starting this Sunday, where the law allows their use 9 am-midnight on July 4th.

(A version of this is also published on our partner site West Seattle Blog)

Community leaders from the unincorporated areas of North Highline and West Hill have just launched a petition drive asking county leaders for an emergency fireworks ban because of drought conditions and exceptionally dry weather/vegetation – the petition is on this Change.org page. The petition is addressed to the County Executive and County Fire Marshal. Right now, fireworks sales in the unincorporated area are scheduled to start at noon on Sunday.

But is that even possible? After publishing this on our partner site West Seattle Blog a little earlier, we spoke with Jim Chan in the King County Permitting and Environmental Review department, which oversees the Fire Marshal’s Office. He says the same thing that WSB commenter Karen reported being told by the County Executive’s Office – that the county has no authority for an emergency ban; any ban couldn’t take effect for a year. Chan says a few Washington counties’ laws enable such a ban – Douglas and San Juan Counties, he mentioned – but for King County, that sort of authority has just never come up. We asked if the state would have authority, then, to take an action that could enable an immediate emergency local ban, and he said yes. So we’ll be checking next with the state Fire Marshal’s Office. Meantime, we were forwarded a news release that the county Fire Marshal’s Office had been planning to issue, saying only this:

King County fire agencies are urging citizens to attend one of the many professional public fireworks displays during the Fourth of July weekend. Prolonged dry weather and below average spring rainfall have cured grass and vegetation growth, creating high fire danger nearly six weeks earlier than normal. Last year in King County fire agencies responded to nearly 200 fire calls with 82 of them related to fireworks, as reported in the 2014 Washington State Fire Marshal report.

While it is not advisable to light fireworks, follow the three B’s – Be Prepared, Be Safe, and Be Responsible. Retail fireworks go on sale June 28 through July 4 and in those communities that allow fireworks, discharge is limited to July 4 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. only.

Just announced:

Due to unseasonably dry conditions, little expected rainfall in the near future, and a low snowpack, the King County Fire Marshal is issuing a fire safety burn ban in unincorporated areas of the county effective June 22.

Sky lanterns are not allowed under the burn ban.

This is a Phase 1 burn ban and applies to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved campgrounds or on private property with the owner’s permission. Recreational fires must:

*Be built in a metal or concrete fire pit, such as those typically found in designated campgrounds; and not be used as debris disposal

*Grow no larger than three feet in diameter

*Be located in a clear spot free from any vegetation for at least 10 feet in a horizontal direction, including at least 25 feet away from any structure and allow 20 foot vertical clearance from overhanging branches

*Be attended at all times by an alert individual with equipment capable of extinguishing the fire.

Tomorrow night in downtown White Center, you’re invited to join Full Tilt Ice Cream at its flagship WC location for a free all-ages show celebrating FT’s 7th anniversary. Info’s on this Facebook event page, which announces:

Performances by:

The wonderful and fantastic Kimya Dawson!
Folkish duo, Bird Teeth
And the lovely Apis Malifera!

Live music, ice cream, beer and pinball!

If you’re new in town … FT is at 9629 16th SW.

1:17 PM: We’ve been getting texts asking why Cascade Middle School, Evergreen Campus, and Mount View Elementary were in what the texters describe as “lockdown.” According to King County Sheriff spokesperson Sgt. Stanley Seo, deputies are searching for a student who was reported to have been seen with a “weapon.” They believe they know who they are looking for, and the search continues; the Guardian One helicopter has been in the area too. Important to stress, no injuries have been reported. And as we finish writing this, Highline Public Schools tweeted that the lockdowns have been lifted.

1:32 PM: New information from Sgt. Seo: The person who was seen may NOT have been a student. No one’s in custody so far. The earlier lockdowns were just precautionary.

The King County Sheriff’s Office has just explained what the Guardian One helicopter has been doing over Top Hat. From Twitter: Deputies were sent to a report of “a possible stolen car with person inside, S 100 ST and 2nd Ave S, Deputies arrived and the suspect fled … Deputies have set a perimeter, Helicopter on scene to assist, K9 tracking, stay inside to help the K9 track. … The car is a 1993, red, Acura Integra, 3 door, and is a confirmed stolen car. … Keep an eye out for a white male in his 20’s, in a t-shirt and jeans; this is the suspect who was in the stolen car and ran off.” We’ll update with any new information.

You’re invited! Just in from Mount View Elementary:

Mount View Elementary will host a carnival for the school on Friday, June 12th to celebrate the academic success of the students, to raise money for our sister-school in Honduras, and to support the school’s PTA. There will be face painting, bouncy houses, games, the circus, and MANY awesome raffle prizes! Please come and celebrate TWO fantastic causes!

When: Friday, June 12th, 4-6 pm

Location: Mount View Elementary, 10811 12th Ave SW

The briefing at this morning’s meeting of the Seattle City Council Education and Governance Committee was indeed brief; when the video is available via Seattle Channel‘s website, we’ll post it here so you can see for yourself. (ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: Here it is.)

The topline is that Seattle will go ahead and file the next round of paperwork with the Boundary Review Board by Friday, to continue to preserve its options for getting the state sales tax credit, but it was reiterated multiple times that this is just procedural so far and that there are many more points along the way where they would be able to say “no, we’re not proceeding.” While the filing will trigger a six-month period with the BRB, it was also said by city staffer Kenny Pittman – long the point person on this process – that extensions would be possible and almost certainly sought. And it was reiterated multiple times that the city would not annex without a vote of the people in the North Highline area. One more note: They’re still hoping that, during this Legislative special session in Olympia, the tax credit will be beefed up, to $8 million a year for a finite period, rather than the currently on-the-books $5 million.

Two downtown White Center biznotes, both from tweets by Caffe Delia – and the first is about their own business:

Hey everybody, we are going to be closed Wednesday June 3 through Saturday June 6. Our cousin Andrea has passed away and we’re going back east to be with our family. We hope to be back open Sunday.

They also sent word that the recreational-marijuana store we mentioned here recently is now open:

We reported here a month ago that Bud Nation’s license had been approved for 9640 16th SW.

Announced today by the county library system:

The King County Library System (KCLS) will host a community-wide Big Read program this fall to explore and discuss the immigrant experience in the communities of SeaTac, Tukwila, and White Center.

With more than 60% of the population being persons of color, 30% foreign born, 40% speaking a language other than English at home, and more than 70 languages represented in the area’s school districts, SeaTac, Tukwila, and White Center are the most diverse in King County.

Immigrants and refugees have contributed to King County’s sweeping demographic change in the last 20 years. In these neighborhoods, the increase in immigrant-owned businesses, religious centers, and organizations addressing new residents’ unique needs, has generated cultural division and tension as well as great opportunities for building cultural awareness and new social competencies.

Presented by KCLS, the Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA), Highline Public Schools, Highline College, King County Housing Authority, and the White Center Community Development Association/White Center Promise, The Big Read will engage residents in conversations about their experiences, and give the entire community a welcoming and safe environment to explore issues that are close to home in these areas, including gentrification and racial tension.

The program will begin this fall, offering free copies of the novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears to encourage all residents to read the book and join in the conversation. Author Dinaw Mengestu drew on his own experience having fled Ethiopia to The Other Washington: D.C.

The community read and related activities will begin a cross-cultural dialogue about how we are different, but more importantly, our common experiences and desires for a thriving community.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of reading in American culture by exposing citizens to great works of literature and encouraging them to read for pleasure and enrichment. King County’s southwest corridor is one of 75 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read from September 2015-June 2016. The national Big Read is managed by Arts Midwest.

For more information, please contact Jo Anderson Cavinta jacavinta@kcls.org 425-369-3454. This fall, there will be a full calendar of events for The Big Read in SeaTac, Tukwila, and White Center available online at kcls.org.

Coming up this weekend in White Center:

How can robotic technology help people and communities in ways it has not yet? How might a mobile app help solve a common problem? What goes into building the speediest drag racer? Can you build a robot sumo wrestler? What does STEM mean to our youth today? All these questions and more will be answered by elementary and middle school students at the TAF Expo this Saturday.

The TAF Expo is an annual end-of-school-year exhibition event celebrating the accomplishments of TAF students. Kids and families who are curious about STEM learning opportunities in Southwest Seattle and want to see a sampling of what TAF and #STEMbyTAF are all about, are encouraged to attend. This year’s Expo is on Saturday, June 6, 10 am-1 pm, at TAF’s headquarters, Bethaday Community Learning Space, in White Center (605 SW 108th St.).

Here’s what you can expect to see at the Expo on June 6th:
• Youth Inventions: innovative STEM solutions developed by 6th-8th graders from the White Center region
• STEM Project-Based Learning at Mount View Elementary exhibition with 3rd-6th graders
• Youth robotics competitions by 4th-6th graders: robot drag race, a fancy robot “catwalk” revue, and TAF’s ever-popular Sumo Wrestling Robot tournament!
• Peer youth coding workshops led by young women from Girls Who Code
• Hands-on STEM workshops for young children, provided by Pop-Up Science, a Seattle-based nonprofit mobile science museum
• More information about TAF Programs in White Center and beyond
• Food, prizes, FUN!

Lunch will be provided. This is an all-ages family event; children who are not currently enrolled in TAF programs must be accompanied by an adult. White Center area youth who are currently in 5th and 6th grade, who may be interested in our middle school STEMbyTAF Labs program, and their families are especially encouraged to attend. This is TAF’s seventh annual end-of-year Expo, and our third one at Bethaday Community Learning Space. A flyer for the event is attached. Email sarahw@techaccess.org for more information, or call 206-725-9095×102. Learn more about TAF at www.techaccess.org.

Just received the Seattle City Council Education and Governance Committee agenda for this Wednesday (June 3rd), 9:30 am, and it includes a discussion on two potential annexation areas for the city – one of which is the remaining unincorporated North Highline area. This is a briefing item, not a vote; the NH-related portion of the staff memo says:

In December 2014, the Council passed Res. 31559 calling for the annexation of the larger and more populated North Highline Annexation Area. At that time, the Council made clear its intent that this resolution was a placeholder to preserve the ability to take advantage of an expiring state sales tax incentive that could come with annexation. The incentive redirects to the City $5 million a year in sales tax revenues for 10 years, but there have been attempts by the City and the County to improve this incentive from the State Legislature. A legislative proposal was floated to change the incentive to $8 million a year for 6 years, but nothing has been adopted at this time. The City’s efforts in this regard are ongoing.

This Council has not yet taken a policy position on the merits of annexation of North
Highline. In order to preserve the option of utilizing the existing sales tax credit, Res. 31559 calls for the filing of a Notice of Intention to Annex with the BRB within 180 days of passage of the resolution. June 5 is the last day to file this notice, which essentially continues and solidifies the placeholder set by the Council last December.

If the BRB completes its review and determines that the City may proceed, the Council would need to make a policy decision about whether or not to send an annexation vote to the residents of North Highline. Presumably, such a decision would come after an extensive public outreach process and more detailed discussions regarding financial and operational considerations.

The committee meets in the City Council chambers in downtown Seattle at 600 Fourth Avenue. If you can’t be there in person, the meeting will be webcast live at seattlechannel.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this year, a reader sent us a postal-mail letter worrying about the future of White Center’s B & D Aquarium, the only aquarium-supplies store for miles around (West Seattle, for example, has none). He asked us to do a story. Took a while, but here it is.

Story and photos by Randall Hauk
Reporting for White Center Now

“I’ve been hanging on so long, I’ll hang on as long as I can.”

Being a brick-and-mortar retailer these days can be a challenging prospect, even for businesses which have accumulated decades of expertise in their industry while serving their community.

Such is the case with White Center’s B & D Aquarium, regarded by many Puget Sound-area hobbyists as a valuable resource for serious hobbyists, who rave about the shop’s incredibly knowledgeable staff and the intense care paid to keep healthy stock available.

B & D’s owner, who prefers to be identified only as P.D. (“That’s what all my friends call me.”), started his business in 1972, originally located at 35th SW & Roxbury. Listen to P.D. tell his story:

The current location at 10450 15th Ave SW (next to the White Center Eagles, with a large Clown Loach painted on the north-facing side) is the fourth iteration of the store.

Between P.D. and his two employees, B & D Aquarium staff offer knowledge compiled through more than 100 years collectively in the business, which started and has been maintained all through the passion of a true hobbyist. In addition to all the advice and equipment needed to start and maintain your home aquarium, B&D Aquarium’s 70 tanks offer a variety of fish from “all over the world . . . except Antarctica.”

A year after quitting his aquarium-shop job, P.D. found himself missing the atmosphere of being surrounded by fish, especially after having had to get rid of most of his 52 tanks at home due to the expense. In an early ’70s version of crowdfunding, P.D. opened a shop with “the help of friends and donated tanks.”

When the shop found itself in need of a new home, “customers and ex-employees all came in to help move,” says P.D. And though he also says he was “lucky to find this place,” four years later, B & D hasn’t entirely recovered fiscally from that move, as his humble business has struggled to compete with larger pet shops and online retailers.

“I’ve seen (chain pet stores) selling equipment for less than our wholesale cost,” says P.D. of the challenges in staying competitive. “People tell me, ‘We bought our stuff somewhere else because it was cheaper, but we come to you for advice because you know what you’re talking about.”

The loss of revenue from that segment of their potential customers already forced B & D to get out of the saltwater side of the aquarium business several years ago. Advising people who were not spending money in their shop was also taking too much time away from the time needed to properly care for the fish they have on hand.

And for P.D. and his colleagues, all dedicated hobbyists themselves, taking shortcuts to create time and reduce operating costs is simply never a consideration.

In order to assure the fish he sells leave the shop in good health, P.D. says, “they have to be treated, quarantined, and watched. We make sure they’re 100% healthy, which takes ten times as much work as making sure they’re even 99% healthy.”

His love for the hobby and the fish themselves also can get in the way of cynically taking every dollar that presents itself at his cash register.

“I spent far too much time talking people out of buying things to be profitable!”

That level of dedication is precisely what draws hobbyists from throughout the greater Puget Sound region for their aquarium needs. It also speaks to why B & D has such a loyal, if small, customer base. Spending the extra money on the fish initially saves them later on the cost of chemicals and other treatments that follow fish not properly prepared for the move to a home-aquarium environment.

But how do people get drawn so strongly to a hobby that requires significant expense and effort to maintain? Perhaps even to the point of running a struggling shop for forty-plus years?

“It’s a spiritual experience,” explains P.D.. “It can lower your blood pressure. They prescribe it for hyperactive children. It can really open your eyes . . . (one gets a) completely different understanding of the whole universe.”

“It can be wonderful.”