White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Out of the WCN inbox:

Join King County Parks Volunteer Program in partnership with Washington Trails Association (WTA) at North Shorewood Park on Saturday, November 2nd from 9 am-12 pm for some planting fun! This is a special event focused on younger volunteers! We will be working at North Shorewood Park in White Center and we will be planting native species along the trail that WTA has been restoring, and in the lower forested areas that King County Parks Volunteer Program has been stewarding. Youth ages 7 and up are encouraged to join this unique work party for a fun day of restoration and planting along the North Shorewood trail system. King County will be on site to help direct the projects while your favorite WTA crew leaders will lead the charge on trail.

Adult volunteers must be accompanying a youth, solo adults will be asked to leave. Youth participants 14-18 may attend on their own. Ages 7-13 must be accompanied by an adult. All registrations are through the WTA website.

Grab a spot today!

Fundraiser season continues! Next month you can enjoy a night out while helping the White Center Food Bank finish the fundraising needed to cover costs as they settle into their new home – WCFB’s announcement explains how:

Join us for this year’s fall event, the Bring It Home Dinner and Auction on Friday, October 18th at the Sea Mar Community Center! Come together with the White Center Food Bank community for dinner & drinks, live music, and a “fireside chat”. We will also share a short video presentation showcasing our wonderful new facility and the people who make up this amazing organization.

We have raised roughly 75% of our $8.6 million goal and this event will gather community members, donors, customers, staff, board members and volunteers to raise awareness and financial support to complete our Capital Campaign. So far White Center Food Bank has received widespread support from Washington State, King County, many foundations, businesses, private donors and others. Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 more in private funds, through this event and additional donor engagement. With the completion of this campaign, we can return 100% of our focus to raising funds to keep the community fed. Together, we can Bring It Home!

The fireside chat will include local Senator Joe Nguyen, Executive Director Carmen Smith, Board Chair Gabbi Gonzales, and experienced volunteer Ashley Northup, who will illustrate the importance of our new facility to the community and our organization. The event will be MC’d by the inspiring White Center community king and food bank partner, Kimnang Seng. Delightful music from the virtuoso pianist Marina Albero and her quartet will create a celebratory ambiance for this special event. Each ticket includes dinner provided by El Catrín, dessert by Patrick’s Cafe and Bakery, plus a drink ticket.

Date: Friday, October 18
Time: 6 pm-9 pm
Event Location: 9635 Des Moines Memorial Dr S

“We’ve accomplished so much together as a community in the last two years since launching our capital campaign: started & completed construction on our new site; moved into our new site and started distribution; and raised 75% of our capital campaign goal. Now that our project is nearly complete, it is time to bring our capital campaign home and move onto the next chapter of supporting our neighbors beyond food resources,” says Carmen Smith.

Get your ticket(s) here before they’re gone!

Less than two weeks until White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby welcomes you to their annual fundraiser, “Beyond the Basics,” to help local families care for their kids. It’s at 6 pm Wednesday, September 25, at WS Baby’s Hub (10002 14th SW):

Meeting the basic needs of children is more than just the diaper or car seat that we distribute. These items represent dignity, freedom, and joy for the child, and their entire family. For over 20 years, you have partnered with WestSide Baby in support of the belief that every child deserves to have their most basic needs met.

Diapers are a universal need, and yet they are out of reach for so many families. We see the ripple effect that basic needs insecurity has on parents, caregivers, children, and our whole community. We believe that when families have what they need to thrive, they can go Beyond the Basics.

WestSide Baby is thrilled to host our community where the magic happens at WestSide Baby: our warehouse! While the warehouse will be partly transformed for this event, we want you to have an opportunity to see the space in which we serve over 100 community organizations and their clients.

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

You are invited to gather with a common goal – ensuring children have their most basic needs met. You will be treated to delicious food, refreshing beverages and inspiring connections.

FIRST REPORT, 3:33 PM: No school again Wednesday for Highline Public Schools students, as the district struggles to recover from technology trouble still described only as “unauthorized activity”:

All Schools Closed Wednesday, September 11

All schools will remain closed on Wednesday, September 11. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled. Central office is open. …

Our investigation into unauthorized activity on certain systems on our network is ongoing. As a precaution, we have taken certain systems offline which are important for the safe operation of our schools.

We know this is difficult for students, families, staff and our district as a whole. However, we are actively working around the clock to bring the relevant systems back online quickly and securely so that we can open schools again. We will keep you informed with updates as soon as they become available.

Student safety and well-being remains a top priority. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

The full announcement is here.

7:48 PM: Tonight, the district announced it expects to be able to reopen schools Thursday. Here’s the plan for that day:

Family & Staff Information for Re-opening
We have taken steps to allow us to restore certain segments of our digital network in a secure manner.

Grades K-12: All schools will be open on Thursday, September 12 for students for grades K-12.
Preschool: The first day of school for preschool students will be Monday, September 16.
No School: As shared previously, schools are closed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 11.

Athletics & Activities Information
Athletics will resume on September 12. School clubs and activities will resume on a case-by-case basis, determined by school leaders. We’re working with our before- and after-school providers—please look for communication from your provider about programming.

Internet Access
Internet access in our schools will not be available when we return to school. We are working on identifying a plan for Highline Virtual Academy and the Highline Virtual Elementary program, whose educational programming relies on virtual learning.

Questions & Answers
Schools will look different when we return. We know you may have questions. We are working on a list of frequently asked questions and answers to post on our website. We will share a link with you tomorrow.

Incident Update
The investigation is still ongoing. We want to be clear, this incident involved our digital network, and not the physical safety of our facilities. Student safety measures remain in place. We will provide updates related to the incident as they become available.

Staff Instructions for September 11 & More
To prepare for the re-opening, certificated staff have the option to work for two hours on an extra service contract on Wednesday, September 11 to plan for revised instruction. Please communicate to your supervisor if you plan to work. PCT time on Friday will be dedicated to team planning.

School and department administrators will follow up with school-specific and department-specific information, including instructional guidance, regarding the reopening. If you cannot access this information via email, call your school or department after 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

We are asking staff to continue not using their district-issued computer and laptop until further notice.

Thank You!
We know the school closures this week have been difficult for students, families, staff and our district as a whole. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

We are excited to welcome all students and staff back to school on Thursday.

Highline Public Schools has announced its schools will remain closed for a second day tomorrow:

All schools will remain closed on Tuesday, September 10. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled. Central office will be open.

Our investigation into unauthorized activity on our technology systems is ongoing, and critical systems are still offline.

The message sent to Highline staffers, as forwarded to us, also says “We have not seen evidence of staff, family, or student information compromised.” The district so far is not commenting on the nature of the “unauthorized activity,” first disclosed on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the tips. Highline Public Schools has announced that a technology problem will close all its schools tomorrow (Monday, September 9) though some staffers are still expected to come to work. Here’s the full announcement from the district’s website:

All schools are closed on Monday, September 9. All school activities, athletics and meetings are canceled, including the vaccine clinic. Central office is open.

We have detected unauthorized activity on our technology systems and have taken immediate action to isolate critical systems. We are working closely with third-party, state and federal partners to safely restore and test our systems.

We understand this comes as an unexpected disruption, particularly on the eve of the first day of kindergarten for many of our families. We recognize the burden this decision places on both families and staff, but student safety is our top priority, and we cannot have school without these critical systems in place. …

School and central office administrators are expected to report to work. Central office administrators may be deployed to schools if needed.

The investigation is ongoing. We will notify staff and families by 2:00 p.m. on Monday if this disruption impacts schools on Tuesday.

Highline just started its 2024-2025 year this past week.

From a reader:

We found a dog at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center this morning around 10:15-30am. Seems to still be a puppy, looks like a lab mix of some sort and had a green harness on. No collar, no chip. I will be taking him to RASKC in Kent. My contact number is 2549314047.

(WCN photo, August)

Before their next fundraising sale, the White Center Library Guild needs more books! Here’s how you can help:

Time to make room for more books? The White Center Library Guild accepts donations of books for our sale shelf.

If you need more space for your books or have left over books from your yard sale, please donate them to the White Center Library Guild. We accept old books, new books and everything in between.

Just take your donations to the library‘s front desk.

Contributions help fund children and adult programs at the White Center Library!

Thank you!

The library is at 1409 SW 107th – check here to see when it’s open.

Good luck to all the families with kids entering/returning to Highline Public Schools this year! It’s the first day of classes for 1st through 12th graders in the district. Here’s the district’s start-of-school message to families.

According to a bulletin shared on Seattle Police radio, King County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a carjacking attempt tonight at 15th/Roxbury. We don’t know the exact time, but in the 9 pm-10 pm vicinity. Circumstances weren’t described but the suspect, who was reported to be armed, left on a “blue motorcycle.” He was reportedly possibly seen at the Coronado Springs apartment complex afterward, but gone by the time KCSO deputies arrived.

The White Center KFC and A&W location at 10050 16th SW has suddenly shuttered, and that big banner explains why. The signage is all gone too.

A reader had told us Saturday that they’d seen indications the A&W had closed; we went over to look but saw no overt signs of that, and the KFC was definitely still in business, but today they’re both gone.

This is White Center’s second fried-chicken closure this month, after Bok a Bok. Online records show nothing of recent note for the now-ex-KFC site – no permits, no sales.

ADDED: The day after we published this, the building was repainted beige. We’re continuing to watch for signs of what happens there next.

Shop and play at Burger Planet (9614 14th SW) starting at 3 pm today (Saturday, August 24):

Burger Planet adds, “Free entry into the Tournament with purchase of a burger. We’ll have a DJ and local artists selling their wares from 3-7. Nintendo Switches will be available for folks to play from 3-5 and the Tournament will start at 5p. The top player wins a sweet package of prizes, including a Burger Planet gift certificate and a mystery Nintendo Switch game!”

Thanks to Gill Loring for the photos from today’s big fiesta at Holy Family – billed as a Gran Kermes Fiesta Mexicana. (Kermes is a type of culture-celebration festival that churches often present as fundraisers.) Lots of live music, and even equestrian performers:

Vendors, including food.

And plenty of opportunities for kids to play:

Gill reports it was well-attended, with hundreds of people there when he visited.

That’s a screengrab from the Seattle City Light map showing a power outage that started when that huge blast of wind roared through around 4:30 pm. The outage stretches from east West Seattle down into part of White Center and to South Park. May take a while for it to get fixed, as 26,000+ residences and businesses are without power throughout City Light’s service area – including a big outage south of here, in Burien.

Thanks to Meghan for the last-minute tip on this! Tonight is the debut of the Rat City Art and Food Walk, planned for 5-9+ pm on third Thursdays. Here’s the info she forwarded:

ADDED: Here’s the text list of participants, as presented by the White Center Business Alliance here:

1. 2 Fingers Social Club – Live Painting, DJ, Tattoos!
2. Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery -Vecinos Art Show
3. Nacho Mama – $5 Mini Native Tacos
4. Misfits Strength Studio – Circus Art
5. Boombox – Karaoke 9 pm-close
6. Lumberyard – Live Art, GameNite 8 pm, Happy Hour 4-7 pm
7. Mynt – Gift with Mural Selfie and Social Media Post
8. Alebrijes Oaxacan Kitchen – Kids/Youth Painting & Food Specials
9. Big Mario’s Pizza and Alpine Diner – Live Music & Food Specials
10. Southgate Roller Rink Bar – Karaoke w/ Baby Ketten
11. Tim’s Tavern – Live Music W/ Dusty 45s & Tropical Itch Art By Henry Ward
12. Sap Sap Lao Deli – Meatball Skewer Special & Tofu & Gluten Free Sauce Special
13. Que Chevere – Latin Music & Food Specials
14. Crawfish House – Live Painting by Mia
15. Puffy Pandy – DJ, Live Painting, Interactive Panda Mural, Artist Marketplace, $5 Ice Cream Puffys
16. Lariat Bar – Live Art by Nolan Harris & Market by John X Garaizar & Sing in the Ring Karaoke with Christopher Mychael.
17. Blu Grouse – Gears N Beers

A man was found with a gunshot wound this afternoon outside the 15th/Roxbury gas station – and investigators believe the bullet that hit him was fired from the other side of Roxbury, outside the Walgreens, where they reported finding 19 casings.

Because the gunfire originated on the city side, Seattle Police and Fire were initial responders, so we are updating details on our partner site West Seattle Blog.

(Added: WCN photo)

Thanks to Sue for the tip. Bok a Bok has abruptly closed two of its locations, including its original restaurant in White Center. Proprietor Brian O’Connor made the announcement on social media:

THIS ONE HURTS

Effective immediately Bok a Bok White Center and U-District have closed their doors.

Thank you White Center for the last 8 years and Thank you U-District for the last 5 years

But numbers don’t lie.

The 3rd party apps were great for exposure but made margins so thin that those orders didn’t count after it was all said and done.

We wanna send a huge thank you to those who believed in self-delivery and what we were trying to do but not enough orders trickled from the 3rd party apps to our website to make enough of a difference.

If you love us and wanna keep us open please visit Capitol Hill and Kirkland.

We reported on Bok a Bok here the night before it opened on June 1, 2016. (They sold out on day 1.) It was preceded in the space by a short-lived eatery called Charlie’s Buns.

Thanks to Gill for photos from Night Out! Like most block parties, food is a big draw – this block had a cookout and as seen below, a cute cake!

They also got a visit from North Highline firefighters.

That proved educational too.

Night Out happens nationwide on the first Tuesday in August.

(Update: dog’s home found!)

Kids and their families are invited to the White Center Summer Celebration at Greenbridge Plaza on August 17, 2-5 pm:

Students can start the year with a new backpack and have fun while at the event to get one.