White Center Now: The blog about White Center

1:04 PM: Big power outage affecting parts of White Center as well as South Park and West Seattle – more than 14,000 customers, according to Seattle City Light. Under investigation is a report that this might have been caused by a tree being cut and falling onto wires in central Delridge.

2:15 PM: About a third of the originally affected customers are back on, including South Park and parts of West Seattle. SCL has in the meantime confirmed that a tree is to blame, and says it took out “two feeders,” which is why this was such a large outage.

2:21 PM: And as we typed that, most of the rest of the outage zone was restored – now down to fewer than 400 customers.

If you noticed the KCSO response that closed Ambaum south of White Center earlier tonight, here’s what that was about: Deputies are searching for two robbers who held up a mini-mart at Ambaum/126th and then another store on 14th Avenue South near South Park. Not too many descriptive details so far – KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Tim Meyer tells WCN the robbers are described as two Black men in their 20s, one wearing a white hoodie, one in a black hoodie. They were last seen on foot but probably in a vehicle to get between those two scenes; no description of that yet. Deputies have been using K-9s in the search, and Guardian One briefly joined in the Burien search until the weather got bad.

From Food Lifeline in nearby South Park:

Food Lifeline announced today that it will continue to distribute thousands of emergency food boxes to anyone needing help keeping food on the table during this crisis.

…Food Lifeline – 815 South 96th Street (Two (2) this week)

 Wednesday, May 20th, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 Friday, May 22, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

This schedule is also available on the homepage of foodlifeline.org

ANYONE can have access to this food. This is a confidential distribution, so there will be no paperwork or qualification. Food Lifeline is only asking for zip codes to track its efforts.

Just announced by Food Lifeline in South Park:

Free Food Distribution for Everyone

Friday, May 8th
2:00 pm. – 5:00 pm

Food Lifeline
815 South 96th Street

Come by Food Lifeline to pick up an emergency food box for yourself and/or your family. Food Lifeline will be distributing 2,000 boxes of shelf-stable food items to help you and your family during this difficult time. This is for ANYONE in the community that needs help. Your zip code is the only personal information required.

Each box will include up to 25 pounds of food such as canned fruit/vegetables, canned meats, non-meat protein items, and breads/grains. Here’s a map. This will be mostly a no-contact drive-up distribution between FL’s two warehouse buildings, while supplies last, but walk-ups are welcome too.

Just down the hill in South Park, noon-5 pm Saturday (August 18th), and you’re invited – stop by Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. S.).

The only rowing club in our area invites you to its second annual Dieter Hotz Cup Regatta on Saturday:

The Duwamish Rowing Club invites you to a fun free event this Saturday, July 15th, in Duwamish Waterway Park (S Elmgrove St. and 10th Ave S). Duwamish Rowing Club is hosting a regatta with races between local rowing clubs between 8 am and 12 pm. There will also be a free community breakfast. This event is a great opportunity to learn more about rowing and recreational activities on the Duwamish River.

The regatta will also be a kickoff for the free Learn-to-Row classes hosted by Duwamish Rowing Club on Saturdays in August and September. There is more information available on our website at www.duwamishrowingclub.org or contact us at duwamishrowingclub@gmail.com. Se habla Español. These programs are funded by the Seattle Parks District Recreation for All Initiative.

The Duwamish Rowing Club is a nonprofit organization with the mission of brining the sport of rowing to the residents of South Park, Georgetown, White Center, and surrounding neighborhoods, and to offer recreational access to the Duwamish River that is affordable for everyone.

Power went out for more than 2,000 homes and businesses in parts of White Center, South Park, and West Seattle at 11:19 am. Seattle City Light says a crash caused it; some traffic lights, including 8th/Roxbury (which is dangerous enough when the signal’s working), are out, so please remember that means they’re all-way stops until restored. SCL hopes to have this fixed by 2:30-ish pm.

11:09 AM: Of note for those continuing to wonder if Seattle will pursue White Center (and vicinity) annexation in the wake of the Burien rejection – we have just learned that a Seattle City Council committee is going to pursue an annexation vote for the two unincorporated sections of South Park, the “Sliver by the River” and “Duwamish Triangle.” Details are on our partner site The South Park News.

ADDED 11:18 AM: We didn’t catch it on first readthrough but the resolution DOES include a brief mention of North Highline’s “Area Y” – seventh paragraph:

WHEREAS, the City Council and Mayor intend to continue discussions with King County regarding the City’s potential future annexation by election of the North Highline Potential Annexation Area, known as Area Y…

That is mostly mentioned in support of why Seattle believes it should annex the Duwamish areas. But stay tuned!

4:44 PM: Does Seattle have renewed interest in the bulk of North Highline, now that voters have said no to Burien? We might get a hint next Tuesday, when the Seattle City Council’s morning briefing – usually scheduled for Mondays, but delayed because of Presidents Day – includes an agenda item titled “Annexations.” The only supporting documents accompanying the agenda right now are two maps of the unincorporated area – this one (which appears oriented toward discussing fire services) and this one – which don’t give a hint as to the prospective discussion’s direction. One of the presenters is Council President Sally Clark, with whom we checked when the Boundary Review Board rejected Tukwila’s proposed annexation of the so-called “Duwamish Triangle” area in southern South Park. Seattle had been interested in pursuing both that area and South Park’s “Sliver by the River,” but when we had checked with Clark, she said there wasn’t yet a plan for what the city planned to do next. Once we get a response to our questions, we’ll add it; in the meantime, the briefing is toward the end of the 9 am Seattle City Council briefing meeting next Tuesday at City Hall.

9 PM: We have heard from Council President Clark, who tells WCN/WSB:

… we scheduled this briefing to bring councilmembers up to speed on both:

1. Area Y (North Highline) after the rejection of Burien by voters in November.
2. Sliver Q – the catchy new name for the Duwamish Triangle and the Sliver by the River together.

We’ll cover what may happen now after the Area Y vote and after the Boundary Review Board’s rejection of Tukwila’s petition.

If you can’t make it to downtown Seattle for the briefing, it’ll be live on the Seattle Channel’s website – seattlechannel.org – as are all the City Council’s proceedings. No votes are taken during “briefing” meetings, but we’ll keep an eye on the agenda to see if any additional documents turn up by Tuesday.

The most recent round of bids to take unincorporated areas off King County’s hands have now gone 0-3: In last November’s election, White Center and vicinity said no to Burien and the West Hill area said no to Renton; tonight, King County’s Boundary Review Board said no to Tukwila’s proposed annexation of the Duwamish Triangle – aka North Highline Area Q – on the south side of South Park. More details on our partner site The South Park News.

(Also posted on our partner sites West Seattle Blog and White Center Now, as this tragedy touches all three communities)

Last weekend, a one-car crash in South Park took two young lives and changed three others. We are gradually learning more about those involved – including some with White Center ties.

One of the teenagers killed in the crash has been laid to rest: After her viewing in White Center and funeral Mass at Holy Family, 13-year-old Lucie Hernandez, a Denny International Middle School student, was to be buried at a cemetery in Tukwila Friday afternoon.

Viewing is Sunday and a funeral Mass on Monday at St. Mary’s in the Central District for 16-year-old Luis Martinez, who was a student at TEC High School on the Evergreen campus in White Center.

The two boys who survived the crash are also Evergreen campus students, according to Highline Public Schools, at TEC and at the Arts and Academics Academy, while the third survivor has been identified as Lucie’s sister Karla, a ninth-grader at Chief Sealth International High School.

We had previously reported an account to help Luis’s family with expenses, accessible via any BECU branch, in the name of Victor Herrera, account number 3579847581. Donations were accepted at this past Wednesday’s Denny/Sealth concert in West Seattle (coverage here from WSB). And now, there’s a benefit planned Monday night (November 19th) to help both Luis and Lucie’s families:

The event will be at Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant in Renton from 5 pm-9 pm. There will be a $10 buffet fee and a chance to drop off additional donations. Radio Variedades radio host Mercedes Garcia will be hosting the event live on the radio and encouraging the community to come and support. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to spread the word.

The restaurant is at 540 Rainier Avenue South (here’s a map).

(Recent aerial view of bridge construction, by Long Bach Nguyen)
If you are among those waiting eagerly for the new South Park Bridge to reopen, you have probably heard that it’s months behind the original schedule, and now not expected to open before early 2014. (The news first came to light during this month’s meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, when president Barbara Dobkin asked a county roads rep about the bridge timeline during a briefing on other topics; we subsequently highlighted it on partner site The South Park News, and the county made a formal announcement the next day.) Tonight, you can find out more directly from King County reps during a community meeting at the South Park Neighborhood Center, 8201 10th Avenue South, 7 pm.

“Burien or not Burien?” is not the only annexation decision that’s pending involving part of North Highline. The City of Seattle and the South Park Neighborhood Association are both on record opposing Tukwila’s proposed annexation of the “Duwamish Triangle” area. The Boundary Review Board plans a public hearing on October 22nd. We’ve got the new developments on partner site The South Park News.

For those following all matters annexation – Seattle’s discussion of pursuing annexation of both the “sliver by the river” and the Duwamish Triangle has suddenly hit a snag: Property owners in the Duwamish Triangle are seeking annexation by Tukwila, which also claims that part of the area as a “potential annexation area.” The Seattle City Council discussed this a short time ago, and our report is on our partner site The South Park News.

The flyer says it all, in two languages: South Park invites you to a Christmas party on 14th tonight, 4-10 pm, sponsored by its business community!

Quite the crowd down the hill in South Park this afternoon as a Cinco de Mayo festival was combined with the celebration for the start of South Park Bridge construction. The bridge that for a long time was no sure thing is now exactly that and is scheduled to be open in about two years. Our video captures the entire 40-minute ceremony with political speeches and at the end, the trap-door opening on the giant piñata!

We get questions every so often about the big project between Highway 509, Highway 99/West Marginal Way, and South Kenyon, downhill from the northeastern edge of White Center and environs. Not everybody realizes it’s … the new transfer station, 140,000 square feet, under construction and scheduled to open next year. WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz photographed the model at Second Use. (More project info here.)

From King County Councilmember Joe McDermott‘s office:

King County Councilmember Joe McDermott was listening when North Highline resident Mike Merta expressed concern about increasing amounts of graffiti and litter in West Seattle and South Seattle.

What Merta and others are seeing, McDermott said, is the result of declining county revenues and budget cuts. King County cut back its litter control program in an effort to balance the County budget.

And that’s the impetus behind a community clean up event scheduled from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, March19. McDermott is spearheading the event with support from Merta and Waste Management.

“We have all been impacted by the cuts made to balance state and county coffers. Communities must work together to fill the void that has been left,” Councilmember McDermott, who represents North Highline, said. “Residents of North Highline love their community, and I’m thrilled to help them keep it clean.”

Volunteers are invited to a free kick-off breakfast at 10am. Breakfast will be hosted by Waste Management at the company’s site at 8111 First Avenue South.

“Waste Management is all about helping make communities cleaner and greener,” said Katie Salinas, public sector manager for Waste Management. “We are inspired by the community spirit that’s driving this event and pleased to provide breakfast to fuel this important volunteer effort.”

Volunteers are urged to bring gloves and to wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes.

For more information, “like” Keep Seattle Beautiful on Facebook.

Writer Chad Newton makes the proposal on his website: What about a new South Park Bridge that’s aligned along South Cloverdale rather than 14th Avenue South? He made the Google Map above to illustrate his idea. You can read about it here. (Of course, as he notes, this would cost a few hundred million dollars more, but his main point is the west-east disconnect in the south sections of Seattle.)

We’ve been covering it at partner site West Seattle Blog but it’s big news for White Center and environs too: It was announced this afternoon that the South Park Bridge has full replacement funding – since the federal government has given a $34 million TIGER II grant. (The first TIGER was the round of funding in which King County had sought $99 million and been rejected; this time around, funding pledges were sought from a variety of regional sources, and that means the $35 million is only about 1/4 of the tab, instead of 3/4.) Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn were among the many dignitaries on hand for the midafternoon announcement by the south end of the old bridge, closed 3 1/2 months ago for safety concerns. The county says that if all goes as expected, construction will start next year and the new bridge is projected to open around May 2013 (we confirmed that date with the county, though the official news release says “late” 2013).