White Center Now: The blog about White Center

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!

The proliferation of medical-marijuana enterprises is on the agenda at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council tomorrow (Thursday) night. King County Councilmember Joe McDermott will discuss it while speaking to the council, according to NHUAC councilmember Barbara Dobkin.

This comes while new medical-marijuana businesses continue to open in the unincorporated area, even as the push toward state regulation is mired in political disagreement. Just a few days ago, WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz found another one that has just opened:

She reports: Cannabis Oasis, located at 11109 1st Ave. So., opened for business more than two weeks ago in the Top Hat area as a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary. This is the third known medical cannabis related operation that has just opened or will soon open in the area, along with Herban Legends and Green Piece, both located on 16th Ave. in the central White Center business district. (In neighboring West Seattle, at least two medical-marijuana enterprises are currently in operation and actively marketing themselves, while there are reportedly others that are keeping a low profile; a third that plans to operate openly is coming to 35th/Roxbury.)

State legislators are hoping to get a new bill approved during their current special session, to make up for what was lost when Governor Gregoire vetoed parts of the bill both houses had approved during the regular session. A key player in this is our area’s senior State Rep. Eileen Cody, since she chairs the health committee in the State House. We caught up with her in West Seattle last weekend to ask about the issue:

As for local authorities, we had spoken with them extensively while the now-gutted bill was still going through the State Legislature. They all had hoped for a consistent state law – but barring that, local control might be needed and that’s exactly what King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has told Seattle Weekly – particularly considering one side effect of the governor’s action is apparently that one rule regarding providing marijuana to patients is about to get a lot tougher, and wasn’t originally intended to work out that way. That, according to our partners at the Seattle Times, leaves the current operators in fear of raids once the new law takes effect in July – unless changes are made before the Legislature’s special session runs out. Again, this is on the agenda for NHUAC tomorrow night – 7 pm, North Highline Fire District</strong> HQ (full agenda here).

11:07 AM UPDATE: From Deanie Schwarz at the celebration – we added her video of the benediction above; here’s the schedule for the next few hours:

11:30 Rappers SJ and Princy
11:50 Dance Troupes: Coconut Dance and Rice Dance
12:00 Traditional Games and Banana Eating Contest
12:30 Healthy Cooking Demos
1:00 Dance Troupe: Scarf and Karp Dance

Then tonight, it’s Roller Derby at Southgate Roller Rink! Details here.

With new medical-marijuana businesses continuing to open, including two in White Center, the governor has just vetoed key parts of a bill that would have clarified where these enterprises stand in state law. Seattle’s city attorney and mayor have already sent official reaction, and we’re looking for more from the county and state; here’s our updated story on partner site West Seattle Blog.

From WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz, photos and this quick update:

The long-vacant space at 9603 16th SW will have a new tenant as of May 1. Decoraciones Ely, a decoration and wedding supply shop, currently located down the street at 9640 16th SW, will be moving in with their vast inventory of wedding, baptism, and quinceañera supplies.

Below, shop owner Elisa fits a young woman for her quinceañera, a traditional Mexican birthday affair akin to Sweet 16 birthdays, honoring a young lady at 15 years old.

Right now (5:31 pm), there’s no bowling at Roxbury Lanes, but the restaurant’s open, as crews clean up after what we’re told was a small fire. We’re still working to gather the details; Seattle crews were there for a while to help North Highline.

5:41 PM UPDATE: It was a small fire in the laundry room – some rags caught fire. The bowling alley WILL be open for business, firefighters tell us, as long as they keep fire watch tonight.

We have the court documents this morning in a case first reported last night by seattlepi.com – two suspects charged with drug violations in connection with what authorities call a “drug house” in the 10400 block of 8th SW. The charges are filed against 51-year-old Charles Whitney Nelson and his 54-year-old brother Vance Mclay (aka Martin Nelson).

According to court documents, the King County Sheriff’s Office first got a complaint about the house in August 2008; the suspected drugs were heroin and meth. They checked on the area and “contacted” people from time to time, including surveillance and two arrests in December 2008; after that, the court documents say, activity “declined” – till early 2010. June 30th of last year was a pivotal date, according to the charging papers; a deputy and detectives parked nearby, watched comings and goings, and started stopping and arresting people. Then they discovered a three-year-old boy was in the house, grandson of Charles Nelson. Checking inside, the KCSO team found what they summarized as “overwhelming filth, dangerous drugs and paraphernalia” and took the child into protective custody. They talked to Nelson and Mclay, who acknowledged the drug activity and promised to clean things up. They didn’t, according to numerous subsequent visits by law enforcement that are detailed in the court papers, and a raid last December netted 13 arrests.

Each brother faces two charges resulting from the court documents summarizing countless KCSO visits. King County Jail records show that Charles Nelson was in jail for a little more than one day after the mid-December raid; he has been jailed twice since then, once for about a day for a public-nuisance charge, once for half a day for criminal trespass. Mclay (Martin Nelson) also spent one day in jail after the mid-December raid, and half a day since then for criminal trespass. Both are reported to have criminal records going back into the ’80s.

If you were ready to be the first in line for the White Center opening of Zippy’s Giant Burgers – which spent its first three years in West Seattle’s Highland Park neighborhood, till the building where they’d rented space got foreclosed on – sorry, it won’t be today, after all. Zippy’s proprietor Blaine Cook tells us they’re still waiting for a key permit – details here.

Lots of chances lately for White Center business owners to network – and the next one is coming up tomorrow: Aileen Sison‘s been getting the word out about the White Center Business Owners Happy Hour she is hosting at Company, 9608 16th SW, Tuesday 4-7 pm. Here’s the Evite invite, with the event description:

Meet up and mingle at Company Bar with White Center Business Owners. Open to anyone who wants to meet local business owners and enjoy this new bar. Get ready for some killer $2 kebobs and giveaways (Contributions welcome). This event is held every LAST TUESDAY of the month.

7:15 PM: A house fire in the 9400 block of 8th SW in Highland Park has closed 8th SW immediately north of Roxbury, to Cambridge, so if you are headed into West Seattle, you’ll want to find an alternate route. (Nobody’s hurt; here’s our coverage on West Seattle Blog.)

From WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz: You might have noticed the recent addition at the midway crosswalk on 16th SW in the north block of the heart of the White Center business district. King County recently installed the small rack after Proletariat Pizza co-owner Stefanie Albaeck got proactive with an appeal to the county requesting the purchase and installation. The first rack will serve shoppers and visitors to the business core on 16th. But according to Stefanie, the County will provide additional racks to the larger community if this rack is well-used. If the change in the weather prompts you to take a ride to 16th, you now have a centrally located place to park your wheels!

Story and photo by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

Second Use delivered about 100 gallons of donated latex paint Thursday afternoon to the King County Sheriff’s Office White Center storefront.

KCSO’s Community Service Officer Peter Truong (photo, center) assisted Second Use Outreach Coordinator Elena Velkov and a co-worker with the supplies. Second Use held a weekend-long drive at their facility adjacent to the South Park transfer station.

Truong said the paint will be used on the upcoming White Center Spring Clean on May 14. WCCDA has a deadline to register projects for the annual event at the end of the month. Last year, 400 people participated – this year, registration isn’t quite . The CDA is encouraging community members to register their projects and sign up for what is usually a couple of hours of fun work, community building and free snacks. An online registration form can be found on the CDA’s website at wccda.org.

(Photos by Deanie Schwarz for WCN)
What had been The Wall and then the Hang Around is now Green Piece, West Seattle medical-marijuana purveyor Brionne Corbray‘s newest of of four nonprofit locations of his GAME Collective operation. WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz reports that Corbray’s new location opened early only for today, in honor of 4/20, a reference to not just today’s date, but also the counterculture code-name for marijuana.

Corbray says this is a “lounge” model, distinctive from medical marijuana “dispensaries,” patterned after the only existing, known lounge/cafe for medical marijuana in the U.S., the Cannabis Cafe in Portland.

Deanie reports that collective members will not only be able to obtain medical marijuana and medibles (food items made with marijuana), they will be smoking/medicating and socializing at the lounge, which has just undergone more than $50,000 in renovations and cleanup work. More to come on both this operation and the in-the-works Herban Legends dispensary about a block north. (Legal side note: These businesses are not authorized under state law. There had been some hope a state law to license and regulate them would become official this year, but after it passed both houses of the Legislature, it’s now in limbo because Governor Gregoire says she’s worried about the effects of signing it.)

By Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

The monthly Business Mixer, a White Center Community Development Association event for local businesses, was held tonight at 3.14 Bakery, hosted by owner Jessica Haury and the CDA.

People socialized and heard updates on upcoming projects in White Center, but also were introduced to two medical-marijuana businesses opening up within a half a block of each other on 16th SW in the next few weeks.

GAME Collective owner Brionne Corbray – whose existing businesses include one in West Seattle – and Herban Legends owner Chris Cody stood before the crowd of about 30 and were asked questions regarding security measures, business structures, licensing, hours of operation, current legislation and issues of legalities.

WCCDA Economic Development Director Nham Nguyen had invited the businesses’ owners hoping it would be an opportunity for a multifaceted discussion in the health and growth of the business district, but noted to WCN the disappointing absence of a representative from the King County Sheriff’s Office, which might have provided more authoritative answers to some of the group’s questions.

WCN has been invited to a tour of the GAME Collective “lounge” and will be following up with a look inside the newly remodeled building where the former Hang Around (preceded by The Wall) operated.

WCCDA Board members were present and read an official statement from the Board regarding the presence of the two new enterprises. We are awaiting a copy of the statement and will publish that in a subsequent report, along with the many other community updates shared at the event.

From Barbara Dobkin on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

If you live in District 1 or District 2 (see District boundaries below) of the North Highline Unincorporated Area, and are thinking of running for a seat on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, there is still time to submit an application.

There will be a special three day filing period, April 26, 27, and 28, for the upcoming Council election to be held on May 19, 2011.

Applications will be accepted for a two year terms for these two districts.

District One. All precincts lying easterly of State Route 509.

District Two. All unincorporated area bordered on the north by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, on the east by State Route 509 and on the west by 4th Avenue SW.

To obtain a Candidate Filing Statement or to learn more about the position contact Barbara Dobkin, Chairperson, Elections Committee, bdobkin@northhighlineuac.org, or visit our website: www.northhighlineuac.org.

You can also see, and download, the candidate filing statement here.