White Center Now: The blog about White Center

It needs 60 percent approval – and so far, after the first ballot count in tonight’s election, the North Highline Fire District benefit charge has almost 70 percent approval. Here’s the full list of election results from around King County; next ballot count will be out tomorrow afternoon.

Today is Election Day and for your vote to count, your ballot needs to either be in the mail by tonight – and postmarked with today’s date, with postage on the envelope – or turned in at a dropbox or dropoff van by 8 pm, which does NOT require postage. There’s a van in White Center, on 8th SW in Greenbridge, all the way up until that last moment at 8. If you still need a reason to vote, there is one big measure to be decided today, the North Highline Fire District benefit charge, which requires a 60 percent “yes” vote to pass. Whatever and whomever you’re voting for, don’t let your ballot go to waste.

Though the city/county line runs down the middle of Roxbury for most of its length, Seattle is accountable for taking care of what’s between the north and south curbs. So it’s leading the way on the SW Roxbury safety project, for which North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and neighboring Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council led the campaign. The Seattle Department of Transportation unveiled its proposals on Thursday night, at the first of two meetings (the second of which is in White Center on Monday). Here’s a sneak peek via the slide deck:

The biggest part of the proposal is from downtown White Center westward – proposing “rechannelization,” or what’s also more conversationally known as a “road diet,” for the segment between 17th and 35th, converting it to one lane each way, with a center turn lane, and five-foot-wide buffers (shoulders) on each side. For full details on what’s being proposed – but far from finalized – on the full stretch, see our report on West Seattle Blog. Bring questions/concerns/ideas/etc. to the Monday meeting (August 4th), 6 pm at the Greenbridge Y, 9720 8th SW.

As previously announced, White Center’s assigned storefront deputy BJ Myers is moving on to a new assignment. He will not be immediately followed by a specific new assigned storefront deputy, according to KCSO’s Southwest Precinct Commander, Major Jerrell Wills. But the storefront still WILL be staffed, Major Wills explains. First, he shares the memo from Sheriff John Urquhart:

So here are the reasons for the operational change to the schedule in both storefronts [White Center and West Hill]:

1. The current 4/10 schedule does not allow for Friday and Saturday coverage at all. The new schedule does.

2. A storefront deputy should be available to the public five days a week, rather than four.

3. To reduce the need for overtime for community meetings by having the deputy more available during their shift.

4. Since KCSO did not receive budget authority for more deputies in 2015, a five day schedule allows for more deputies in the field.

5. Skyway, in particular, has seen a rash of gun violence this summer, and therefore the need for a deputy on at least that extra day compared to a 4/10.

6. The need to control costs. A non-rotating 4/10 schedule creates an extra expense (and days off) for Holiday pay.

In addition, due to budgetary reasons, it is unlikely we could sustain coverage with plain-clothes detectives for gang and firearm violence occurring in the West Hill community after August. So additional coverage with another uniformed deputy later in the evening is paramount. The new schedule allows the storefront deputy to work later (10:00 PM) five days a week. In addition that position can be “flexed” four hours either way. So if the need arises, the deputy can come in at 10:00 AM or work until 2:00 AM in the morning, for example on Friday and Saturday nights. (Actually having more deputies working later was a suggestion from one of our West Hill Deputies.)

Therefore, both storefront deputies were told they would be working five days per week, 8 hours per day, on 2nd shift, which is 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and affords Friday and Saturday coverage nine months of the year.

As Sheriff, I remain committed to the White Center and West Hill communities and doing what is best for that neighborhood and all neighborhoods where we offer police services.

Sheriff John Urquhart

Major Wills explained, “I regret to have to share the message from Sheriff Urquhart via email, but since there has been a transition of our White Center storefront deputy I felt I needed to get the word out as soon as possible. The immediate impact to this operational change means that neither the White Center or West Hill communities will have an assigned storefront deputy. I am hopeful that we will be able to identify a deputy for each community and the absence of your storefront deputy will only be temporary, but for now we will not have a deputy assigned to either community.

“I look forward to meeting with your community very soon and hope that we can work together to select your next deputy. In the meantime, please continue your vigilance against crime by calling 9-1-1 for emergencies and suspicious circumstances, and if you should have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email either Captain Ted Boe or I.”

Tonight’s the annual Spoke & Food dining-out benefit – participating restaurants are donating part of tonight’s dinner proceeds, and will be especially happy to see you arrive on two wheels! In White Center, Proletariat Pizza is on the list; in West Seattle, it’s Marination ma kai. See the full participant list here.

Two meetings are set for the Seattle Department of Transportation to go public with how Roxbury might be made safer – dating back to the joint call a year ago by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council. SDOT has announced two meetings at which it plans to show “several different engineering options to improve safety for all modes.” The first one is on the West Seattle side, Thursday, July 31st, 6 pm at Southwest Branch Library. Second one is on the White Center side, Monday, August 4th, 6 pm at the Greenbridge YWCA.The project’s official page is here; check out the maps linked from the left side, including this one showing speeds, volumes, and intersections with the most crashes.

Biggest day of White Center Jubilee Days is today – and even if for some reason you’re not going, you should be aware of the traffic effects. Today, according to the WCJD website:

*Street fair on 17th between 100th and Roxbury (music schedule here)
*Car show (100th at 16th), 11 am-4 pm
*Parade, traveling north on 16th SW from SW 112th to 100th, 2:30 pm

And of course the carnival continues at Steve Cox Memorial Park, starting today at 11 am. Have a great day!

(The Steve Cox Park piano – photo courtesy Pianos in the Parks)
If you weren’t already planning to spend part of your summer at county parks – a public/private-partnership plan announced today involving King County and Seattle public parks is meant to give you a reason to visit. It’s called Pianos in the Parks, and it’s placed 20 donated and decorated pianos in 20 King County and Seattle parks, for the next month. The parks, listed here, include Steve Cox Memorial Park here in White Center. Since it’s a sizable park, we asked a Pianos in the Parks spokesperson where to find it. She replied, “The Steve Cox piano is roughly in the middle of the park by the picnic huts and the playground.” (Above, that’s the Steve Cox Memorial Park piano, decorated by artist Camille Coonrod, before it was placed in the park.) Yes, the pianos are playable; you can even record yourself playing one and enter a contest. The pianos also are being auctioned off; you can bid on any or all of them online by clicking any individual park photo here to see its piano.

Just a reminder – as of mid-afternoon today, the White Center Jubilee Days carnival is on, and at dusk tonight, it’s the fireworks show.

The carnival continues through Sunday; other Jubilee Days info is on the official website.

King County Elections is sending out ballots for the August 5th election starting today, and if you live in the North Highline Fire District, you will be asked to vote on Proposition 1, the “benefit charge” measure. The district is having a public hearing next Monday, July 21st, during its regular meeting (7 pm, NHFD HQ, 1243 SW 112th). Here’s the fact sheet it’s circulating:

P.S. If you want to return your ballot without having to pay postage, the drop-off van will be back in Greenbridge August 2nd, 4th, 5th – details here.

Southside Revolution Junior Derby was at West Seattle Summer Fest this weekend in hopes of recruiting skaters – and tonight’s your next chance to find out about what’s in store! 7 pm, interested skaters 8-17 (boys as well as girls – they’ll launch a coed team too if enough boys are interested), at White Center’s own Southgate Roller Rink. Southgate will be the practice site for the new league, which also plans an August summer camp. Questions? E-mail info@southsiderevolution.com – and/or check out this Facebook group.

From the inbox: “I found this little guy wandering around White Center at 107th and 18th Ave SW
yesterday evening about 8:00 p.m. I took him to the vet and he isn’t chipped. He looks like a possible mix between a Basset Hound, Pug, and maybe Virgo because of his longer fur.” If it’s your dog or you know whose dog it is, please e-mail: anamac247@yahoo.com

Announced this afternoon on Twitter:

See what a few hours of patrol in White Center is all about. Follow me @KingCoSheriff starting a 5:30 today for a Tweet Along with a deputy.

— KingcosoPIO (@kingcosoPIO) July 10, 2014

You can see the short updates even if you don’t use Twitter – check in at twitter.com/kingcosheriff.

(WCN photo from 2012)
Announced today by Highline Public Schools:

The Highline School Board unanimously approved a contract extension for Superintendent Susan Enfield at its regular meeting on Wednesday. Dr. Enfield’s contract now runs through 2017, coinciding with the term of the district’s strategic plan.

“We are making good progress toward the bold goals in our strategic plan, and we have the right leader to get our students to those targets,” said School Board President Michael Spear. “We are confident in the capabilities of our students, the good work of our teachers, and the outstanding leadership of Dr. Enfield.”

Dr. Enfield led the development of the strategic plan, which outlines ambitious goals for student achievement by 2017:

19 out of 20 students will meet or exceed standard in all core subjects by the end of Grade 3.
19 out of 20 students will pass algebra by the end of Grade 9.
19 out of 20 students will graduate prepared to choose their future.

“I am grateful for the board’s support and confidence in me,” said Dr. Enfield. “I am so honored to serve the students and families of Highline, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside all of our staff to ensure that each and every student is known by name, strength and need—and that we continue to make progress toward our 2017 goals. Together, I know we will achieve great things for our students, each one of whom deserves the very best.”

Dr. Enfield began as Highline Superintendent in July 2012. Before coming to Highline, she served as Chief Academic Officer and Interim Superintendent at Seattle Public Schools. Previously, she held leadership positions in Evergreen School District (Vancouver, Washington), Portland Public Schools, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Dr. Enfield is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned master’s degrees in education from Stanford University and Harvard University. She holds a doctoral degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University with a concentration in the Urban Superintendents Program.

Less than a week until King County Elections sends out the August 5th ballots, which will include the North Highline Fire District benefit-charge ballot measure. Last night, meeting in West Seattle, this area’s biggest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, endorsed the measure. If you’re still getting up to speed on what it’s about, see the video in this WCN story from last month’s NH Unincorporated Area Council meeting.

The end of the 4th of July weekend is just the start of the rest of our summer. White Center Jubilee Days is just a week and a half away, starting Wednesday, July 16th, with the carnival opening at 3 pm at Steve Cox Memorial Park, hours before the fireworks show. The carnival continues daily through the end of Jubilee Days on Sunday night, but in the meantime, you can enjoy the Street Fair on Saturday and Sunday (July 19-20) and the Parade on Saturday (2:30 pm July 19th), among other events. More previews to come!

The August 5th election is just a month away – and it includes the important North Highline Fire District ballot measure. So don’t miss the chance to vote – here’s the reminder from King County Elections:

Citizens who want to vote in the August 5 primary election have until Monday, July 7 to register to vote or update voter registration information online or by mail. King County Elections will mail primary election ballots to all registered voters on July 16, so it’s important that citizens register to vote and keep their address and other information, including their signature, updated.

Voters can check to make sure their registration information is current by:

* Using My Voter Guide online
* Calling the Voter Hotline at 206-296-VOTE (8683)
* Visiting King County Elections, 919 SW Grady Way, Renton. Weekdays 8:30-4:30
* Visiting the Voter Registration Annex, 500 4th Avenue, Room 440, Seattle. Weekdays from 8:30 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 4:30 pm

How to register to vote

* Online
* By mail
* In person

Voters who miss the July 7 deadline to update their registration should still contact the Elections office to update their information for future elections. King County residents not currently registered in Washington can register in person at the Elections office through July 28.

Who can register?

To be eligible to register to vote, you must be:

* 18 years old by election day (August 5)
* A United States citizen
* A legal resident of the state of Washington
* Not under the authority of the Department of Corrections

A new incentive campaign for residential solar power is headed this way. Here’s the announcement we received about Solarize Southwest:

Solar energy is currently powering hundreds of Seattle homes, and residents of West Seattle, White Center, Georgetown, Burien and other southwest neighborhoods are about to get a special opportunity to add their rooftops to our city’s growing solar array. Through a nonprofit-led program called Solarize Washington, homes and small businesses can qualify for special pricing and take advantage of many incentives that make solar installations more affordable than ever.

Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED) and Seattle City Light are working with several community groups to launch Solarize Southwest, a solar energy education and installation program that starts today and runs through October. The program will be co-led by a community coalition of local volunteers, which will spearhead neighborhood outreach. Supporting organizations include Sustainable West Seattle and Sustainable Burien.

The campaign features a group-buy program that provides a streamlined process for residents and small businesses to purchase solar systems for a discounted price. Participants learn how solar photovoltaics (PV) works, how it is installed, what tax and production incentives are available to bring the price down, and how low-interest financing can spread out the cost. The limited-time campaign intends to install nearly one megawatt of solar energy in southwest Seattle and Burien by the end of 2014.

Through a competitive bidding process, community volunteers selected Puget Sound Solar and Artisan Electric as the project’s solar installation team. These contractors will offer solar systems at discounted rates to project participants.

Solarize Southwest will be the tenth campaign of Northwest SEED’s Solarize Washington program. To date, Solarize Washington campaigns have resulted in over 2 MW of new solar capacity, over 2,000 people educated through public workshops, 475 residents who installed solar on their homes, and more than $12 million injected into the local solar economy. The last Solarize campaign, Central/Southeast Seattle, was so successful that 885 kW of solar photovoltaics was installed on the grid and over 620 people attended workshops. Solarize Southwest is the third campaign sponsored by Seattle City Light, and momentum is already building to make this campaign even more successful than the last.

Registration for Solarize Southwest is open to Seattle and Burien residents who live in the geographic area bordered by downtown Seattle to the north, I-5 to the east, and within Seattle City Light service territory. Free educational workshops will be held on Jul 19, Jul 24, Aug 9, Aug 26, Sept 10, Sept 17, and Oct 4. For more information and to pre-register for a workshop, visit solarizewa.org.

(Deputy Myers with a community art exhibit inside the WC storefront: WCN photo, March 2013)
Out of the WCN inbox, from King County Sheriff’s Deputy BJ Myers – he’s leaving the Storefront Deputy job, but not entirely leaving White Center:

Dear White Center,

After three years in the White Center Storefront I have been selected for a new assignment on patrol. I will work White Center, Vashon, and Skyway and be more involved in the training of new deputies. I am very excited to start this new challenge and grateful for the opportunity to serve White Center for the last few years.

My experience as the Storefront Deputy has been very positive because of the relationships with people who work for good in the neighborhood. Through you all I have learned what it means to be part of a caring, creative, multi-cultural community. I appreciate all the support you gave to the Sheriff’s Office on so many different occasions.

Over the next few weeks the Sheriff’s Office will be selecting a new White Center Storefront Deputy. If you wish to be heard about the priorities of the neighborhood or the role of the Storefront Deputy, now is the time. You can contact Captain Ted Boe, Theodore.boe@kingcounty.gov, or me, Benjamin.myers@kingcounty.gov.

Thank you for your commitment to the neighborhood.
BJ

Deputy Myers started the storefront job in fall of 2011.

(The found dogs reported here on Sunday are back home!)