White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The deadline for voting on the Highline Public Schools proposals is one week from tomorrow – Tuesday, February 10th. If you’re not already registered to vote in this state, today is your last chance for this election – until 4:30 pm, you can register in person at King County Elections offices – KCE HQ at 919 SW Grady Way in Renton, or the county Voter Registration Annex at 500 4th Ave., Room 440, in downtown Seattle. From KCE:

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

* 18 years old by election day, Feb. 10
* A United States citizen
* A legal resident of the state of Washington
* Not under the authority of the Department of Corrections

Questions?

If you live in the Highline school district and haven’t yet received a ballot, or if you have questions, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683). Ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 10 or returned to a drop-box or Accessible Voting Center by 8 p.m. on Feb. 10.

No White Center drop van this time, but there are dropboxes in Burien and downtown Seattle if you don’t want to mail your ballot in.

Did you know that White Center Heights Elementary has the state’s first Vietnamese-language-immersion program? Find out about it in this story published by the Seattle Globalist (which, like WCN, is a Seattle Times news partner).

If you’re shopping for a school for next year, you’re invited to this afternoon’s open house at Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School at 20th/Roxbury in White Center:

Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School (Pre-K to 8) welcomes all parents to our Open House on Thursday, 1/29. Three sessions are scheduled, and each session includes a short presentation and brief school tour.

We are pleased to describe the Spanish language immersion program and answer questions regarding our school community.

Thank you for your consideration in sending your student(s) to Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School. We believe the educational and emotional experience will be positive for your student(s) and positive for the entire family.

You’re welcome to visit today between 1:30 pm and 3 pm.

(December 2012 gathering honoring murder victim Margaret Ryan)
3:30 PM: More than two years after the murder of 69-year-old Margaret Ryan in her White Center apartment, her son has pleaded guilty to stabbing her to death. The case against 44-year-old Brodie Lamb has dragged on for so long because of issues including whether he was mentally competent to stand trial; we have been checking in on the court files periodically over these many months and have noted that he spent time at Western State Hospital as well as jail. Lamb pleaded guilty this morning to the reduced charge of second-degree murder as the result of a plea bargain. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will recommend 20 years for Lamb, plus two years’ enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. He had a prior record including assault convictions; in one case, his mother was the victim. According to charging documents filed in November 2012, she wouldn’t allow him into her apartment, so he broke the door down and killed her. We are checking with prosecutors to find out when he will be sentenced.

4:28 PM UPDATE: The sentencing is scheduled for 1 pm February 20th at the County Courthouse downtown.

Last seen near Taco Bell at 16th/107th:

(WCN photo from September 2014)
Four months after King County Executive Dow Constantine announced at Greenbridge that the public-health clinic there would be saved thanks to a partnership with Planned Parenthood, PP has officially merged its clinic into that location. Here’s their announcement:

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest (PPGNW) (has moved) its West Seattle Health Center to a new location at 9942 8th Avenue, just over one mile from the current location. The facility, previously the Public Health Center at Greenbridge operated by Public Health—Seattle & King County, will open as the new White Center-West Seattle Health Center.

In 2014, the Public Health Center at Greenbridge was proposed for closure due to a severe budget shortfall at Public Health—Seattle & King County. However, through partnerships with PPGNW and the City of Seattle the health center will be operated by PPGNW for the next two years, as local leaders pursue longer-term funding.

“We are thrilled to be opening our new facility in West Seattle,” said Chris Charbonneau, CEO of PPGNW. “Our important partnership with King County and Seattle Public Health will bring continued support and service to the local community by providing high-quality, affordable reproductive health care for the women, men, and teens who need it most in West Seattle and the surrounding area.”

The new White Center-West Seattle Health Center will be open five days a week and offer a full range of high-quality reproductive health care, including affordable access to birth control, well-woman visits, breast and cervical cancer screening, emergency contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, abortion services, and comprehensive sexual health education and information. Planned Parenthood educators will offer comprehensive sexual health education, youth development programming and parent education for schools and community agencies.

In addition, patients can schedule appointments, or receive mail-order contraceptives and test kits for sexually transmitted infections via webcam. This online tool serves as an opportunity to reach individuals living in remote communities across the region.

For more than 30 years, PPGNW has partnered with King County Public Health to provide comprehensive family planning services. PPGNW will continue its partnership and collaboration with the city and county to ensure a smooth transition of patient care.

Thanks to the tipster who texted us this photo of a crash scene about half an hour ago at 16th SW and SW 112th. No info yet on circumstances or injuries, but take note in case you’re headed that way sometime soon.

(White Center Now photographs by Patrick Sand)
King County crews are continuing to clear overgrowth, and more, by “the bog,” a site that has been something of a dangerous hiding place in recent years. This information is from Ken Gresset, who briefed the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council in November:

Much progress has been made at “The Bog.” The patrol road is in and leads 200 feet to a spot where the rest of the site can be inspected by spotlight. We will be back on the site on Monday and Tuesday to clear out remaining brush.

The site is well protected against erosion with 130 bales of straw spread on the disturbed earth and logs staked at the base of the slope to intercept any silt that would wash down from the hillside.

We stopped by at midday Friday for our photos – county crews were only allowing visitors on the site during their lunch break, so they wouldn’t run the risk of winding up in the path of heavy equipment. One crew member told us they had continued to find syringes and needles from drug users known to frequent the area. (See what they’ve encountered before, in these photos we published days after the November briefing.)

(Photo courtesy Gill)
After a rocky past and a false start or two for the long-vacant building at 9801 16th SW, it is now home to a new restaurant. After getting reports about The Rose Petals moving in, but finding nothing online, we tried a couple times to find out more in person, but apparently chose the wrong days. Finally, we have information courtesy of the Seattle Weekly, which has the story here. SW reports that it’s operated by a much-respected soul-food chef, Helen Coleman, who has had restaurants at two other spots in the city. Though the banner says The Rose Petals is open for lunch and dinner, the story says they’re open for dinner now, adding lunch in a few weeks.

SIDE NOTE: In case you can’t quite place the building, its past incarnations included bars The Wall and The Hang Around, and a medical-marijuana lounge. An unrelated dispensary has been occupying the lower, west-facing level.

UPDATE, JANUARY 12: Seattle Weekly now reports it’s been contacted directly by Helen Coleman, who tells SW she is NOT associated with this new restaurant. Read their update here.

Update from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, as announced earlier today – you can use your fireplace/woodstove again:

Effective immediately, all burn bans are being lifted in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, as well as Darrington. With the help of rain and wind, air pollution levels everywhere dropped to GOOD or lower Moderate last night.

While agency forecasters do expect only light winds during the day today and into tonight, an approaching weather system should increase winds and rain late tonight and into Sunday. This will again help disperse our air pollution and keep levels low for the next 2-3 days.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency would like to thank everyone who switched to alternative sources of heat instead of burning wood during these bans. Children, the elderly, and people with chronic respiratory health problems especially appreciate your efforts.

(UPDATE: Photos added from end of demolition work)

12:43 PM: Thanks to reader Sally for noticing a new banner on the fencing around 11060 16th SW, the long-vacant, often-vandalized former restaurant (El Chalan, Ezell’s, Wendy’s). The banner touts a bank as “proudly fund(ing)” a project there. The project was news to us, so we looked it up. From the King County Assessor’s Office site, a quick line:

CONSTRUCT A 42 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING/THREE STORIES WITH ASSOCIATED SURFACE PARKING ADJACENT TO THE BUILDING

After checking out the banner and starting this story last night, we went back today and discovered that the longtime eyesore is being demolished.

1:17 PM: Adding photos and backstory. It’s been eight years since El Chalan, last tenant of the building, shut down, according to random mentions we’ve found. The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council long campaigned to get the property owners to keep the graffiti vandalism and overgrowth in check; we reported here on a major cleanup almost two years ago. Since then, we’ve seen periodic paintouts.

Meantime, as to its future – according to county permit records, the apartment proposal has been in the system for some time, but just got going in earnest this past September.

ADDED: A few more photos, from the very end of the demolition:

Another missing dog – have you seen her?

HI EVERYONE! I have a missing dog. Her name is Missy. She is a minpin/chihuahua. She is a little over a feet long. She is black and has brown on her face (as you can see on the pictures) she goes by the name Missy and she doesn’t bite so if you do see her, please call her over. She is 3 years old. She doesn’t have a tag or anything. She went missing this morning around Mt. View Elementary area. I love her and miss her very much so please spread the word!!! Please message me or my boyfriend here or text me, thanks! 5187792247

UPDATE – This dog’s been found!

A Stage 1 burn ban is now in effect for all of King County, as announced by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, because of “stagnant weather conditions and rising air pollution.” It’s expected to continue at least until tomorrow. Here’s what a Stage 1 burn ban means you can’t (and can) do:

* No burning is allowed in wood-burning fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves or fireplace inserts. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled.

* The only exception is if the homeowner has a previously approved ‘No Other Adequate Source of Heat’ designation from the Clean Air Agency

* No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.

* Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

* It is OK to use natural gas and propane stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.

Whenever the burn ban is lifted, we’ll publish an update here on WCN.

School’s still out and boredom could be rising. Southgate Roller Rink has been offering special afternoon skating sessions to try to combat that – and there’s another one today, 1-4:30 pm ($6.50 charge). The rink will be closed on New Year’s Eve and Day, so you’re running out of time to say you skated there in 2014; there’s one more afternoon session planned, on Friday, January 2nd.

Can you answer the call?

Volunteers able to lift between 20 and 50 pounds are needed at 9:00 am Wednesday, December 31 to help the White Center Food Bank do inventory. The inventory will take place at 10829 8th Ave SW. Volunteers should dress for a warehouse and wear closed-toe shoes. Available? Contact Audrey Zemke at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or 206-762-2848.

A holiday reminder from Oscar Brambila of Taqueria La Fondita #2 – tomorrow, Christmas Eve, is their annual gift to you – free food between 11 am and 4 pm! Tacos, burritos, and free drinks, according to the announcement he sent, something they’ve done for more than a decade. They’re at 9811 15th SW, and expecting Santa Claus at noon.

This day started a lot earlier than it should have had to for Zippy’s Giant Burgers. And it’s including jobs it shouldn’t have had to include – cleaning up broken glass and buying a new cash register. Zippy’s proprietor Blaine Cook was planning one last full day of business before an early closure Tuesday for the staff party, followed by a holiday break. Instead, he got an early call about one or more burglar(s) breaking a side door to get in, discovered by a family member arriving around 4 am to clean.

The cash register and safe were taken, Cook writes on Facebook). The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating; deputies were just leaving as we arrived. Zippy’s is at 9614 14th SW; you’ll recall the Greenbridge area, several blocks east, had a series of business burglaries last month.

Received from Highline Public Schools, on behalf of Superintendent Susan Enfield:

As the Superintendent of Highline Public Schools and a resident of the Highline community, I feel compelled to write this open letter. I am grateful to those of you who supported our bond measure last month, which fell just short of the 60% supermajority needed for passage. For those of you who opposed the bond, I also appreciate that you took the time and effort to engage in the democratic process and express your views.

On December 17, the School Board approved placing another bond proposal on the February 10, 2015 ballot. We are taking this step because in order to best educate our children, we must replace aging buildings and relieve the crowding in our schools. The proposal includes some savings gained from, among other things, eliminating the need for middle school interim sites, thus ensuring that our middle school students will not have two transitions during their middle school years.

As we move forward we will engage in a community-wide conversation about this bond proposal, including multiple opportunities at schools and in the community to hear your concerns and answer your questions. During the last election there were significant inaccuracies and misstatements shared by those in opposition to the bond, and I welcome the opportunity to correct those errors.

I extend an invitation to all community members to engage in a conversation with me, Highline Public Schools Board members, and staff about how we will provide safe, up-to-date schools for our students and staff. We will be inviting those who opposed the bond in November to participate in these meetings so that we can have an open, public dialogue on these issues. Our first meeting will be in early January and we will post all the information on our website at Highlineschools.org.

I especially want to invite those who opposed the bond to participate in these public conversations so that we may hear and respond to your concerns. I strongly believe that we as adults must model for our children and young people what it means to be informed, engaged citizens and how to participate in the democratic process responsibly and respectfully.

Together we will build a better, stronger, Highline Public Schools—and deliver on our promise of knowing every student by name, strength and need.

Susan Enfield

If you, like the tipster who shared that photo, wondered what was going on around 2:30 am in the heart of Greenbridge – King County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Houck has replied to our inquiry. He says it involved a stolen car: “At around 2 am or so a Deputy turned around to stop a vehicle that had been driving toward him, for an equipment violation. As he was doing this, 4 unknown race/ sex / age people jumped out and ran in all directions.” The ensuing search, including a K-9 team, didn’t find any of the suspects.