White Center Now: The blog about White Center

This Sunday, you can rollerskate at Southgate Rink for a special reason: West Seattle resident Kathy Himes has organized a skating benefit to help her friend Pauline Hunt, a former professional mountain biker who now is living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They’re raising money for a Habitat for Humanity renovation for the home where Pauline and her family, including her two young daughters, live, so that it will be wheelchair-accessible. It’s an international effort – Pauline is in Canada and is getting help from friends around the world, including Kathy. So come skate 5-7 pm on Sunday, April 28, for $12, which covers skate rental and a suggested donation. Kathy says there’ll be raffles too, thanks to donations from generous businesses including White Center’s own Zippy’s Giant Burgers, Full Tilt Ice Cream, and Meander’s Kitchen. (See the event flyer here.)

White Center’s wildly popular Proletariat Pizza is expanding – into the former tattoo-shop space next door. That means more room for sit-down dining, including a long space that could accommodate bigger groups, like youth-sports team parties. And there’s a quiet space off to the side intended as an adults-only area. The work isn’t done yet, note proprietors Stefanie and Mike Albaeck, so what you see in our photo is not the final look, nor the final table/chairs setup – it was just this past Monday that they knocked out a few walls to connect the spaces. But they’re expecting the expanded space to be at least partly usable, with temporary tables, tomorrow (Thursday) night when Proletariat takes part in Dining Out for Life, so stop by and take a peek. Proletariat’s been open 3 1/2 years now, at 9622 16th SW; in the mornings and early afternoons, the space is home to Caffé Delia.

Music, dancing, food, and more will fill a block of SW 98th (between 15th and 16th SW) in White Center this Saturday, 10:30 am-5 pm, and you’re invited. The occasion: The annual White Center Cambodian New Year Street Festival. It’s presented by the Cambodian Cultural Alliance of Washington; our coverage from last year is here; from 2011, here; from 2009, here.

A beautiful Earth Day at the White Center Pond wetlands! Thanks to Gill for sharing photos, including a Washington Conservation Corps member who was out with a group doing cleanup and planting as part of ongoing restoration work here.

Some of the local wildlife posed with the new plantings, too:

The mallards (above) were joined by Canada geese:

The pond is not only a functional wetland, but also helps the area handle stormwater.

Two White Center restaurants are signed on for this year’s Dining Out for Life fundraiser for Lifelong AIDS Alliance: Company and Proletariat Pizza. The event is this Thursday (April 25th), and both are participating at dinnertime, donating 30 percent of their proceeds.

P.S. If you’re reading this in neighboring West Seattle – four participants there (also for dinner); they are Buddha Ruksa, Eats Market Café, Skylark Café and Club, and Talarico’s;

From North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Barbara Dobkin, word of the slate for NHUAC’s next public-safety forum:

Mark your calendars.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council invites you to a Public Safety Forum:
Thursday, May 2, 7 pm at the North Highline Fire Station (1243 112th Street SW).

We are pleased to be hosting King County Sheriff John Urquhart and North Highline Fire Chief Mike Marrs.

Sheriff Urquhart will be here to take our questions, and listen to community concerns about public safety and the sheriff’s department staffing levels for the North Highline area.

Once again our White Center Storefront Deputy position is in jeopardy, as the special funding allocated in 2011 expires at the end of 2013. Will the 2014 budget include funding for this essential position?

The North Highline Fire District, which is funded solely by property tax money from North Highline, is facing critical financial challenges. Chief Marrs will discuss the history of our North Highline Fire District, operational status, and future challenges and options.

Also on hand will be our White Center Storefront Deputy, BJ Myers.

Please plan on attending and being part of this very informative and important conversation about life in North Highline.

If you have a child in Highline Public Schools and can donate money and/or food to local food banks – the district-wide food drive’s second and final week starts tomorrow (Monday, April 22nd). As is pointed out in the official announcement, beneficiaries include White Center Food Bank – and one dollar donated to a food bank can have the spending power of up to four! Plus, donations before the end of April count for more at food banks such as WC that are participating in the Feinstein Challenge.

(Photo by Patrick Sand for White Center Now)
Last July, minutes after the Chase Bank in White Center was robbed, we photographed that arrest – and today, the robber has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison. Here’s the announcement just in from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

A 31- year-old man who robbed a Chase Bank branch in the White Center neighborhood of southwest Seattle at gunpoint last year was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 102 months (8.5 years) in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. BRYAN ALLEN HILL, was convicted of armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence following a jury trial in January 2013. HILL was arrested a few blocks from the bank on July 25, 2012, with the gun and cash that had been taken in the robbery. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said this is “a very, very serious offense… basically terrorizing the individuals in the bank.”

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, HILL entered the bank with a blue bandana pulled up over his face. He pointed a handgun at the teller’s head and ordered the teller to put all the cash in the bag. While stuffing money into his bag, the bandana fell off of HILL’s face and the teller was able to see his face. Other workers in the bank were able to alert law enforcement and one wrote down a description of the robber. Within minutes of the robber leaving the bank, Seattle Police had a description and were searching the area around the bank for the suspect.

A Seattle Police officer spotted someone who was similar in appearance to the suspected robber walking quickly from the area. The officer ordered the man to stop and kneel on the ground. Witnesses from the bank were brought to the scene and identified the man, HILL, as the bank robber. When police searched the bag he was carrying they found the gun, cash, and some of the clothing HILL had removed following the bank robbery.

HILL was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement. PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level — in this case, in King County– has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs and Assistant United States Attorney Ehren Reynolds. Mr. Hobbs is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute gun cases in federal court.

Tell your tale as a 10-minute-or-less movie, and you might make it into the RatCity ArtCity Film Festival this summer. Here’s the announcement:

In June 2011, White Center curated its first Short Film Festival. Three twenty-minute programs covering a wide range of subjects were hosted by Southgate Roller Rink, Full Tilt, and Big Al Brewing.

We are again calling for submissions for the June 2013 Festival!

This is a one-night festival, held on June 13th in White Center. White Center is located between Seattle and Burien in unincorporated King County. It is a place with a lot of character and characters, where RAT is technically an acronym – but embraced as a mascot. RatCity ArtCity’s mission is to bring and sustain an eclectic, diverse range of art and artists to White Center, focusing on both emerging and well established artists. RCAC has revived the White Center Art Walk that had been in place for the past several years. Amanda Kay Helmick, Devrim Ozkan, and Theresa and Jason Beaulieu are the current facilitators and co-conspirators.

Submission Criteria:

* Completed Films should be under 10:00 total run time and formatted as a Quicktime (a complete spec sheet will be sent to filmmakers).
* Films should be completed and submitted by June 1, 2013
* Subjects and themes can range as the run time is the determining factor for inclusion in the program(s).

We encourage all ages, abilities and filming styles to submit! Remember, all final pieces should be in hand by June 1, 2013.

Please contact Amanda Kay Helmick at ratcityartcity@gmail.com for questions, specifications and submissions.

(WCN photo of mural-painting during 2012 Spring Clean)
With more than 20 murals – “tour” them here! – White Center just might be the mural capital of King County – or at least well on its way there. But more artists are needed, according to this announcement sent by Mark Ufkes:

The White Center Chamber of Commerce, working in close partnership with the White Center Community Development Association, has been coordinating the installation of murals at graffiti locations throughout White Center over the past several years. What we have learned is that murals add color to our community and reduce graffiti at the sites where murals are installed. White Center now has more than 20 murals.

Last year, for example, we took two of the dumpiest buildings in White Center and turned them into public art (The Lions Mural and the Rainbow Mural on 17th Ave. SW) Six more mural sites have been identified for this year’s CDA White Center Spring Clean. Three mural sites still need artists.

White Center needs mural artists who are willing to work for free to bring their art and color to White Center. Here are the details of identified mural sites that still need artists.

The Live Butcher (Tom Salle)
9432 16th Ave. SW (South wall – 36 feet long)
(206) 354-2692
Marquise from the CDA (206) 708-8762 will arrange for paint and Tom The Live Butcher will provide artists with extraordinary snacks from his butcher shop while they install their art. Tom would like a farm scene with rolling hills. It should include a steer, chicken and pork. Artists with an idea will need to sketch it out and go visit Tom (as nice a man as you will ever meet in life) and see what he says. Once you both agree on the design, call Marquise to arrange the paint colors you will need, and you can get started. This location is a very visible southern wall on a White Center arterial.

La Mexicana (Bill Fry) (two sections of the front wall facing 16th SW)
10020 16th Ave. SW
(206) 763-1488
Section 1: North portion 90 feet long
Section 2: South portion 65 feet long

La Mexicana is a high quality Mexican foods manufacturer located in White Center. Scenes of life in Mexico could work for the mural, and images emphasizing Mexican foods could work too. Lots of color and lots of culture would be great, Potential artists would need to sketch out their ideas, call Bill and go visit him. He is a very nice fellow. See what he says. If you both come to an agreement about a design, you will then need to call Marquise at the CDA (206) 708-8762 and ask for the paint and brushes. Marquise will set you up. Cover as much of the walls and doors as you can at both sites up to eight feet above the side walk. This will help reduce graffiti at the location.

Tam Industries (9420 16th Ave. SW) and the SW 107th wall cut away at 16th Ave. SW will also get murals this spring. If potential mural artists have questions, please call Marquise at the CDA. White Center needs your talents!!

White Center Spring Clean stretches over multiple months this year – details are on the WCCDA website.

Thursday night was the second edition of RatCity ArtCity, the new incarnation of White Center’s art walk. For WCN, photojournalist Nick Adams stopped at some of the participating venues:

(Photos by Nick Adams for WCN)
At Big Al Brewing (9832 14th SW), artist Ethan Jack Harrington posed with his painting “Sonics Girl.”

Next – glass art work by Michael Church at GnuOrganics (9988 15th SW).

Another look:

Also at GnuOrganics, Guy Lindenmuth‘s paintings:

GnuOrganics also showed acrylic works on canvas by artist Daniel Mohr:

(WCN photo from March’s lunch event)
Just announced by Mark Ufkes:

White Center
Free Tacos in the Park
This Friday

Friday, April 12, 2013 at Noon (Steve Cox Park)

This outreach to our homeless community is supported by the White Center Homeless Summit community group, a group of local churches, ministries, businesses, Evergreen High School senior Alex Campbell (his senior project) and the White Center Chamber of Commerce. Free lunch will be provided at the White Center Chamber office (1327 SW 102nd) in Steve Cox Park behind McLendons, across from Cross Church, at 14th Ave. SW and SW 102nd. (look for the blue canopy) Our partners have a goal of expanding this to a weekly free meal every Friday to members of our street community.

Thursday night is the second edition of RatCity ArtCity – the renamped White Center art walk – and the list of locations and artists is now online: See it here! Then go explore, 6-9 pm Thursday (April 11th).

On Monday, we reported local entrepreneur Vera Johnson‘s decision to change the name of the White Center garden tour she is sponsoring July 20th, after WC Jubilee Days asked her to do so, in a way that touched off a Facebook firestorm. Sara Sanford has followed up with an open letter to Jubilee Days organizers and asked if we would publish it. (Note that “today” in her letter refers to Monday.):

Dear David Krause, Greg McCorkle, Michael McGrath, Peter Mort, and Karen Padden,

Seven months after moving to White Center and immediately falling head-over-heels for the neighborhood, I had the opportunity to be one of three co-chairs for the annual Jubilee Days’ Spring Gala. It was truly a labor of love that ultimately gave me and the other volunteers the great gift of meeting vibrant generous community members we might not have encountered otherwise. Vera Johnson was one of these gracious humbling individuals.

In the midst of the chaos that typically accompanies community events and fundraisers, Vera Johnson – a stranger to me until then – found out we were in need of some last-minute miscellany. She and her employee threw together centerpieces and decorations and donated auction items to raise funds for the Jubilee Days event. After giving away her own time and materials, she refused a free ticket to the event and insisted on buying tickets for herself and several friends. I’m fairly sure that in the course of the evening we broke one of her vases and may have lost some decorations. She never cared. She thanked us for all our hard work and went on to run the Garden Tour that had been handed over to her at the last moment. I do not know all the behind-the-scenes that produced this garden tour – but I know the overall community impact was positive, as all events at her nursery have been.

Today, White Center Jubilee Days Board publicly posted a Cease and Desist letter to Vera Johnson on Facebook. They had already sent this letter to her in the mail, and she had received it Friday. She hadn’t even had an entire business day to respond before her name and business had been dragged through the mud by an organization she had assisted in the past. Again, I was not privy to all the behind-the- scenes action on this either – I just know that the overall impact on the community has been nothing but toxic.

As noted in the thread that ensued, there are endless ways to discuss where and how and why this was the poor choice.

There’s the technical/legal side of it all:

Read the rest of this entry »

From White Center Chamber of Commerce president Aileen Sison:

Join us Tuesday for a Power Lunch, noon-1:30 pm, at 3.14 Bakery. The day’s topic of spring cleaning will be addressed by Alan Painter and Bong Santo Domingo of King County Community Services, and Marquise Roberson of WC Community Development Association. Learn how to propose a project for the upcoming Spring Cleans and how to fund a small community project through King County’s Community Service Area grant.

A week and a half after the King County Sheriff’s Office put out word it was looking for Hung Minh Pham in connection with the arson at a 25th/Roxbury house in February, Pham is in jail right now – booked a little more than an hour ago. He also is charged in connection with a West Seattle assault case, as we reported on partner site West Seattle Blog. His bail is set at $1 million. (Hat tip to Washington’s Most Wanted for first word of today’s arrest.)

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Nine months after the last White Center Jubilee Days festival and three months before the next one, the local business owner who organized last year’s WC Garden Tour in connection with the festival says she’ll run a tour under a different name this time. This, after the Jubilee Days board went public with accusations via Facebook, and sent her a letter demanding that she stop using the name “White Center Garden Tour.”

We contacted Village Green Perennial Nursery owner Vera Johnson for comment after readers pointed us to this post on the Jubilee Days FB page, accusing her of focusing last year’s tour promotion on her business instead of WCJD. Festival organizers also published a cease-and-desist letter on the Jubilee Days website. Here’s how Johnson answered our inquiry:

The WC Garden Tour was started by Peggy Weiss 20 years ago (she and I are in direct contact). Peggy fully supports me taking over the garden tour, as an educational tool/experience and fun community event.

However, to avoid any community conflict, I’d prefer to be respectful to the people who the tour is intended for, which are the gardeners and tourgoers; I will change the name of my garden tour to the ‘Village Green Tour of Gardens’… in White Center’ and move forward towards a happy and joyous gardening season and look about the gardens we have already lined up, visiting the gardens, and connecting with the tourgoers.

The ‘Village Green Tour of Gardens’… in White Center’ will still take place on July 20th; all information will remain the same.

According to the Jubilee Days website, the festival is having its own garden tour on July 14th.

Evergreen Community Aquatic Center, born three years ago after the county shut down three years ago, is behind on its gas bill and facing cutoff in a matter of weeks, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council was told Thursday night by two ECAC representatives – who stressed they weren’t trying to sound “alarmist,” though council and audience members advised them to start making noise.

NHUAC took on several other topics during its two-hour meeting, but this was the most dramatic; as noted during discussion, the council had taken a leading role in marshaling support to save the pool last time around.

ECAC board member Brian Hastings and center manager Joel Schweiger did not immediately hint at the pool’s dire straits, first recapping the aquatic center’s history since the county closed it in 2009, more than half a year before the community effort’s success led to its reopening almost exactly three years ago. The pool is popular and busy, they said, offering programs that serve Highline Public Schools, the Whitewater Aquatics swim club that led the fight to save it, public swims, and”pretty much all-day activities.” More than 3,300 children have taken lessons there in the three years since the reopening, they said.

Hastings said they’re falling behind on utility bills, and they want to keep serving the public – with more than 3,300 kids getting lessons in the past three years – but they’ve lost $15,000 a year since reopening, which he says is “remarkable” given that the pool was costing the county $172,000 a year before it closed. “And we’re getting squeezed substantially by (Puget Sound Energy), which will only carry a delinquent bill for so long.”

It would be even worse if they hadn’t replaced the old boiler with a system that has cut the bill by about a third, Schweiger noted, and they’re working to use its surplus heat to heat the locker rooms, and to eventually put a solar-power system “on the sunny side of the building,” which would mean they wouldn’t need to run the boilers at all. A glitch in that: The roof needs some work, tracing to a county upgrade that never happened, and a school district project that’s not likely to happen.

They say they’ve worked too hard to let this die – “we’re close, we’re really close,” said Hastings – but not close enough without help. And this is a pivotal time because their three-year lease is expiring, and they have to decide whether to renew.

Answering questions from NHUAC members and the audience, one was: Could increased attendance help? Only to a degree, said Schweiger. There are many hours of the day when the pool is jampacked. During the middle-of-day hours outside of summer, they are saving money by not staffing the pool during what would be a low-attendance time. “So you’re looking for a sustainable funding mechanism?” asked attendee Elizabeth Gordon. “Yes,” they replied. “I’m not looking for handouts,” clarified Hastings, just more of a contribution from the community, because they are doing so much – as attendee Rachael Levine noted, teaching kids to swim means lives saved, among other attributes. Levine recalled the NHUAC campaign to save the pool, and suggested pressure on King County leadership to help. “You have done a great job maintaining that facility and keeping it open,” she told the guests, also mentioning specific programs such as the women-only swims. “It’s worth putting all kinds of pressure to keep it open,” and get the repairs done, she declared.

It’s not just a White Center-used facility – private teams from miles around come to use it, including from Seattle and Tukwila. And community involvement also means “getting members from the community who would like to sit on the board,” said Schweiger, noting that Whitewater Aquatics parents have made up most of the board so far.

So what do they need? asked attendee Gill Loring, trying to get to the heart of the problem. About $25,000 a year, said the guests. “We’ve proven over 36 months that this can work,” but now they are learning how to reach out to get what they need to keep it working. They also need somebody to do public relations and outreach.

But most urgently, they revealed when we asked from the audience – they need $17,000 by mid-May or Puget Sound Energy will cut off service. You should be able to donate soon through the Evergreen CAC website.

CRIME? QUIET! Storefront Deputy BJ Myers reported that violent crimes are down from the preceding month and about the same as a year earlier, and property crimes are down, which brings them to previous levels. Mail theft isn’t much of a problem as it had been, but Myers still says locking mailboxes can be helpful. Campers are turning up “in the space between Greenbridge and downtown,” he said, and Greenbridge’s storefront deputy is working on that – with clearing out planned soon, since that “did seem to work for several months” previously. He mentioned the KCSO Storefront’s participation in the Rat City Art City art walk last month, and said they’ll do it again this month.

LIGHTS FOR DOWNTOWN WHITE CENTER: Herban Legends owner Chris Cody is organizing a Local Improvement District to “brighten up the downtown core of White Center” with added lights. He’s also asking that supporters call their legislators about the DSHS building, to get exterior lights added and/or “get businesses into the empty spaces that are right now (a place for people) to hang out and get loaded.” He also is hoping to walk through Roxbury to 102th and 17th to 14th with a King County Sheriff’s Deputy. And pressure on the building’s owner might be welcome too, he noted. It’s been quiet in White Center lately in general, he noted.

Later in the meeting, NHUAC members decided to write a letter to the building ownership to urge lighting.

EX-EL CHALAN CLEANUP: This was mentioned – per our previous story – because of the recent paintover and weed-pulling; here’s our photo from March 26th:

Though it was noted wryly that the property still isn’t attractive, it was agreed the cleanup represented a massive improvement.

METRO CUTS: President Barbara Dobkin brought up the potential cuts mentioned by Metro GM Kevin Desmond earlier this week (here’s coverage from our partner site WSB) and said that NHUAC will have a guest from Metro at its June meeting.

NHUAC ON NICKELSVILLE: Dobkin wondered if any of the people hanging around downtown White Center during the day were coming up from the encampment; Deputy Myers said he “didn’t know that (he has) seen that.” In addition to our partner site WSB‘s coverage, a new story from The Seattle Times (WSB partner) was cited. Deputy Myers said he visited Nickelsville recently and didn’t recognize anyone – indicating it isn’t home to any of the loitering regulars he has seen. Before meeting’s end, NHUAC decided to write a letter in support of Highland Park Action Committee‘s efforts to get the City of Seattle to agree to sell the site to Food Lifeline, among other efforts.

WHITE CENTER SPRING CLEAN: Marquise Roberson-Bester from White Center Community Development Association explained the new plan for Spring Clean – not just one big day, but one day a month, as previously reported here. The first one is coming up fast – April 13th.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AREA MEETING: King County’s new outreach system via “Community Service Areas” is launching a series of open houses. Since North Highline and West Hill are one CSA, the one for the area is happening April 17th in Skyway, with this area’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott in attendance. President Dobkin urged her fellow councilmembers to attend, and anyone else interested.

NORTH HIGHLINE FIRE DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS: Next meeting is 7 pm April 15th, said NHUAC member Pat Price.

PUBLIC SAFETY FORUM: NHUAC’s next one is May 2nd, with guests including Sheriff John Urquhart and Fire Chief Mike Marrs.

7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ, you’re invited to tonight’s meeting of the NH Unincorporated Area Council – here’s our previously published agenda preview.

Just in from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

A 35-year-old Auburn, Washington man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release for being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, and possession and distribution of cocaine base. MICHAEL PAUL GRADNEY, was identified and prosecuted as part of the 2011 ‘Hot Spot’ initiative designed to combat street crime in the White Center area of King County. GRADNEY was convicted in December 2012 after a five day jury trial. At sentencing today U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that GRADNEY lied when he testified during the trial and had “flagrant disregard for the law.”

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, GRADNEY sold cocaine to people working with law enforcement on two different occasions in September 2011. In October 2011, law enforcement witnessed GRADNEY making what appeared to be multiple hand to hand drug sales at a gas station and various bars in the White Center neighborhood. On October 13, 2011, officers searched GRADNEY’s Auburn residence and seized a Glock 10 mm pistol, a North American Arms 22 caliber revolver, ammunition for three different firearms, more than $25,000 in cash as well as cocaine and a scale with cocaine residue. GRADNEY is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his lengthy criminal history including five prior felony convictions for drug offenses.

The White Center ‘Hot Spot’ initiative targeted law enforcement resources in the White Center area from July to October 2011. The operation focused on illegal gun sales and drug dealing both on the street and in area businesses. In all approximately 50 people were arrested and law enforcement seized 68 guns, 51 lbs of methamphetamine, 2 lbs of crack cocaine and more than 10 lbs of powder cocaine.

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. The investigation was a coordinated joint effort by ATF, the King County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), the Seattle Police Department, the King County Metro Transit Police, Washington State Department of Corrections, Washington State Liquor Control Board and the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Dion and Seth Wilkinson.