White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Two meeting announcements:

WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION meets tonight – fourth Thursday as always – 6-8 pm, White Center DSHS office.

WHITE CENTER BUSINESS OWNERS’ HAPPY HOUR: Aileen Sison sends word of this, and asked that we would invite the community: It’s a first-ever happy hour for business owners, one week from tonight, Thursday, March 31st, 4-7 pm at Company Bar in downtown WC. Aileen adds that it’ll happen every last Thursday of the month.

Speaking of Company – our friends at Seattle Weekly are showcasing them right now – check out the story here.

The Union Gospel Mission Search and Rescue van is about to hit the streets in White Center/West Seattle for the first time, according to UGM’s Sharon Thomas. She says it’s outreach to “homeless individuals sleeping outside.” Usually the van travels around downtown, delivering food, blankets, and clothing to help those people “survive the night,” and offering them a space in their shelter; this time, they’re traveling further south, and they’re planning to make it a weekly visit starting April 7th. They plan to set out tomorrow night from Westwood Christian Assembly sometime after 8 pm tomorrow (Wednesday). And if you know someplace where people are sleeping outside and might need help, UGM invites you to let them know via their Facebook page. (They also would like to hear from you if you can help – Thomas adds, “We always need sandwiches made, hot chocolate and warm clothing, especially men’s pants.”)

Just a quick reminder – the meeting about potential county action to try to help with Hicks Lake‘s water-quality problems is at 6:30 pm tonight at White Center Library. Here’s the original announcement with details.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

The gong of the bell and an electrified hard-rock version of the national anthem opened this afternoon’s White Center Boxing Club Showcase at Evergreen High School.

About 40 kids, including several representing the Police Activities League Boxing Club, were present to compete in matched bouts (equivalents in weight and experience are pre-determined by Head Coach Tony Rago) of three, roughly one- to two-minute bouts. Twenty total bouts were slated for the crowd of about 150.

The pre-bout safety preparations include painstaking wrapping of the young boxers’ hands by trainers, as well as fitting the fighters with headgear and mouthguards.

Today’s first bout happened to feature two young women.

Girls comprised a tenth of the competitors today, according to Lori Graham, assistant coach. Referees and ringside coaches keep an eagle eye on the boxers, as do medical personnel:

In general with PALS boxing, if there is any indication that an equivalent match is not happening, the bout is stopped without hesitation, though all matches in this afternoon’s competition were good and that was unnecessary.

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr sat with her sons Peter and Bill and PALS Special Events person Laurie Perkins. Sheriff Rahr was pleased to see the large turnout today and gave big kudos to the entire volunteer crew who work on behalf of the kids with tireless dedication. Rahr pointed out, for example, the work that Tony Rago does. “He runs a very tight ship and is an amazing human being,” she said.

On March 29, the sheriff will appear before a King County Council committee to seek funds to restore a deputy to Skyway and bring the LEAD program there, and potentially to WC as well. “Utilizing this program is a chance to be innovative,” says Rahr, “It is a prebooking intervention program [and] would serve these communities which are of great need.” Regarding recent speculation by a WC deputy at the last NHUAC meeting that the Kirkland/Juanita annexation process might free up additional deputies to bring back to North Highline, Rahr said that was a little too optimistic. “We have some deputies retiring and so are letting our retirement attrition get ahead of cuts,” Rahr says. It is unlikely any additional officers from Juanita-Kirkland will be transferred to North Highline, according to Sheriff Rahr.

Meantime, more information on White Center PALS, as well as volunteer opportunities can be found by going here.

They may have been partly within Seattle city limits at some point, but they also did some North Highline pickup today as part of the “Keep Seattle Beautiful” cleanup. We caught up with these volunteers on the hill between Highway 509 and White Center/West Seattle – County Councilmember Joe McDermott was there too (see photo on partner site West Seattle Blog). Keep up with founder Michael Merta‘s volunteer beautification campaign via this Facebook page.

From the White Center Art Walk‘s organizers – tonight’s lineup, 6-9 pm:

Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Ave SW): Martijn Caspar Swart – Varied Paintings. Beautiful interpretations of the human form; bold, cutting colors blended with dynamic compositions. Do not miss this.

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 SW Roxbury): S.M. Selby– photography. http://www.artdykes.com/ Psychedelic, kaleidoscopic modifications of photographs. High contrast, abstract images. Well worth a visit for a pastry and a peek see.

Café Rozella (9434 Delridge Way SW): Nancy Rich- Mixed Media- Celestial flow with and earthy base. Fitting for the worldly feel of Café Rozella. Stop by for some warm ambiance, delicious coffee, and sinuous art. Re-run from last month.

Dzul Tattoo (9622-B 16th Ave SW): The Dzul Family – Tattoo, airbrush, cool urban art. Check out the shop, get that long-desired tattoo!

The Company (9608 16th SW): Group Show – oil, acrylic, encaustic, illustration. Eight artists work graces the walls of this fine establishment, new to the Art Walk. The perfect spot for a scrumptious cocktail, out of this world noshes and some rock and roll! Did we mention the GORGEOUS artwork??

3.14 Bakery (9602 16th Ave SW): Robin Jordan-Oil on Canvas. Jacob Lawrence would be proud- Figurative, African, expressionist paintings that keep the eye moving. Come on in for a coffee and a look around, very family-friendly.

Full Tilt Ice Cream (9629 16th Ave Sw): Angelina Villalobos- 179– Illustrations. Native art meets Art Nouveau meets bold-graphic-lined interpretations of awesome. I can’t stop flipping through the images. The world has delivered us the perfect trifecta: Full Tilt Ice Cream, Beer and Angelina.

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Avenue SW): Dave Bloomfield- STARHEADBOY- Mixed Media. . Always a crowd pleaser, fun-Fun-FUN pieces that make you feel floaty and free. Creatures from a happy land invade your eyeballs. Stop by for a pint of Winter Warmer and float upstairs for some darts, Atari and Starheadboy. You will not be disappointed.

Proletariat Pizza – (9622-A 16th Ave SW)-Aaron Loidhamer- Hand carved wood/lino-block prints, acrylic ink on paper- A variety of different print styles on found paper. Stop by- drool on top of the Ham&Egg pizza (with arugula), and absorb Aaron’s work. This will be a flash-back from last month for those that missed it.

Uncle Mike’s BBQ– (9640 16th Ave SW)- Pop in to see their house artwork. Don’t forget to taste the Pulled Pork Sammich- it’s delicious!

(Substituted in early evening – archived video of today’s meeting)
1:50 PM: At 2 pm, you’ll be able to click above and watch live Seattle Channel coverage of the Seattle City Council Regional Development and Sustainability Committee discussing items including North Highline annexation. (later note: the video you see above is now the recording of the meeting)

2:47 PM UPDATE: The resolution is now being discussed by the committee. Council President Richard Conlin says he personally feel there are a lot of opportunities and he would like to see it move forward. But he says other issues have come forward. And he reveals that the City of Tukwila has appealed a small part of the annexation area, requiring mediation. He thinks that there’s no way to handle that in time for a fall 2011 vote. He is proposing a substitute resolution. The resolution says the city will decide by February 2012 whether to call for an annexation election. In 2012, the resolution says, we will either decide to proceed or will withdraw this as a potential annexation area. He says he regrets that they are unable to proceed this fall.

Councilmember Jean Godden asks if that would violate the “memorandum of understanding” that they had with other parties including Burien. Mayoral staff member Kenny Pittman says that though the council didn’t approve that, in the spirit of the agreement, Seattle had basically dibs until the end of this year. So technically beginning in the start of 2012, Pittman says, Burien could declare they want to go after it themselves.

Councilmember Mike O’Brien says he’s disappointed they are not at a place today to be able to go ahead to give NH residents a chance to vote. He says he disagrees with what he heard in public comment, that White Center could be a “drain” on the city of Seattle; he feels it would be an asset. On the other hand, O’Brien said, if you want to look at it that way, any neighborhood could be a “drain” on a city, just because that’s the way it works.

Councilmember Godden says she shares the financial concerns that have led Mayor Mike McGinn to oppose proceeding with annexation, and notes that the financial picture got even worse when the state’s new revenue forecast came out last Thursday. “Waiting till next February isn’t going to give us an awful lot of new information,” she says, “I feel it is unfair to keep people in limbo. … I must say that shelving our decision is possibly the least ethical choice.” And yet, she says, “I feel terribly, terribly torn about this” because the financial outlooks regarding annexation effects have conflicted lately.

They vote; Conlin and O’Brien pass the delay-till-Feb. 2012 resolution, Godden votes no. The resolution goes to the full Council on March 28th.

ADDED 4:35 PM: We contacted Burien’s city manager Mike Martin for comment. He said he’s “seeking clarification” on how this affects the situation; he also says he did not have advance warning of the sudden Seattle move to delay rather than vote yay or nay. (We’ll see if this comes up for discussion at next Monday night’s Burien City Council meeting.)

ADDED 5:27 PM: Archived video of today’s meeting in its entirety, added in the video window atop this story.

From King County Councilmember Joe McDermott‘s office:

King County Councilmember Joe McDermott was listening when North Highline resident Mike Merta expressed concern about increasing amounts of graffiti and litter in West Seattle and South Seattle.

What Merta and others are seeing, McDermott said, is the result of declining county revenues and budget cuts. King County cut back its litter control program in an effort to balance the County budget.

And that’s the impetus behind a community clean up event scheduled from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, March19. McDermott is spearheading the event with support from Merta and Waste Management.

“We have all been impacted by the cuts made to balance state and county coffers. Communities must work together to fill the void that has been left,” Councilmember McDermott, who represents North Highline, said. “Residents of North Highline love their community, and I’m thrilled to help them keep it clean.”

Volunteers are invited to a free kick-off breakfast at 10am. Breakfast will be hosted by Waste Management at the company’s site at 8111 First Avenue South.

“Waste Management is all about helping make communities cleaner and greener,” said Katie Salinas, public sector manager for Waste Management. “We are inspired by the community spirit that’s driving this event and pleased to provide breakfast to fuel this important volunteer effort.”

Volunteers are urged to bring gloves and to wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes.

For more information, “like” Keep Seattle Beautiful on Facebook.

From the King County Sheriff’s Office – a long-awaited program has launched:

The Sheriff’s Office has launched online reporting for a variety of crimes, suspicious circumstances, and traffic complaints.

The service is available to citizens living in unincorporated King County, as well as the 12 communities that contract for police services from the Sheriff’s Office. That’s over 500,000 people.

However, citizens who still want “human contact” can do so by telephoning the Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at (206) 296-3311. A deputy will come to the door if preferred.

➢ All emergencies must still be reported to 9-1-1!

“This new reporting system was developed for the convenience of folks who may not want to call in or wait for a deputy”, said Sheriff Sue Rahr. “It just gives citizens another option”, she added. Due to budget cutbacks, wait times for deputies in unincorporated King County have increased for incidents that are not emergent, Rahr said.

In addition, the new program allows crime victims to print a copy of their report which can be sent to their insurance company, if needed.

Some of the many crimes that can be reported through the Sheriff’s Office web site include vandalism, car prowls, thefts from vehicles or yards, identity theft, nuisance phone calls, as well as thefts of mail and bicycles. Burglaries and car thefts still require a visit from a deputy, but follow-up information after the initial report can be sent via the new system.

Reports of abandoned vehicles, suspicious activity, narcotic activity, and chronic traffic problems such as neighborhood speeding can be reported using the on-line system.

The link to view the complete list of what can be reported and other criteria is at www.ReportToSheriff.org.

On-line reporting and resource information is also available in Cambodian, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. By calling the Sheriff’s Communication Center, callers can be linked with a live translator for other languages.

Sent by Barbara Dobkin of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

If you have ever thought of serving on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council now is good time, as we are accepting applications for six open positions. Elections will be held on Thursday, May 19 at the North Highline Fire Station, 112 Street, White Center, 98146.

Residents of the North Highline Unincorporated Area who are interested in serving the community through the council must submit a completed application postmarked by April 12. Applications can be downloaded from our website www.northhighlineuac.org. Please mail applications to:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
ATTN: Barbara Dobkin
PO Box 66900
Burien, WA 98166.

There are a total of four districts positions:
Dist 1
Dist 2
Dist 3
Dist 4

To run for a district position you must reside within the district you are running in (See District Areas below).

There are two open At Large Positions.

The At-Large positions are available to any resident of North Highline, a business owner or an employee of a non-profit organization within the boundaries of North Highline.

Each position is a two year term with requirements to attend one meeting per month.

Meetings are held at 7pm on the 1st Thursday of the month at the North Highline Fire District headquarters (1243 SW 112 Street).

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.

District Three. All unincorporated area bordered on the north by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, on the east by 4th Avenue SW and on the west by 16th Avenue SW.

District Four: All unincorporated area bordered on the north and west by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, and on the east by 16th Avenue SW

For additional information please refer to the candidate application, the NHUAC website, or contact: Barbara Dobkin at bdobkin@northhighlineuac.org

(Map of potential annexation area – click for larger version, from City of Seattle)
For those following the latest turn along the road to White Center/North Highline being annexed eventually by someone – staying unincorporated is not a long-term option, and no one is currently campaigning to make the area a city all its own – Friday afternoon is the next pivot point. The Seattle City Council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee, chaired by Council President Richard Conlin, will likely decide on that day whether to continue down the road toward an annexation vote for the area this fall. The committee agenda is now out and the resolution that will be considered is here. If you can’t get to Friday’s meeting in person, you can watch it live online (2 pm) at seattlechannel.org (or, if you have access to the Seattle cable system, channel 21).

From Shana at WestSide Baby in White Center:

We wanted to remind you that our monthly After-Hours event is this Thursday evening, March 17th, from 7-9pm. Please grab a friend and join us on St. Patrick’s Day for an adult evening of sorting donations, having fun and making a difference in the community!

Space will be limited to 20 people so please RSVP to shana@westsidebaby.org if you will be attending. Parking is available in front of our Operations Center located at 10027-14th Ave SW.

That young patron at 3.14 Bakery is just one of the customers who helped it set records Monday – on unofficial “Pi(e) Day” — the photo is from an anonymous reader; news about the recordsetting day comes from WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz, who had reported earlier in the day that 3.14 was selling “pie pops” for $1 a … pop.

From Barbara:

Sweet young approximately 30 lb brown and white dog found on 4th avenue near 102nd in White Center on Sunday March 13 – pink collar but no tags – dog was brought to 24 hour vet – VCA Five Corners in Burien off 1st avenue (206.242.8338)- no chip – they kept the dog overnight and will have King County Animal Control pick it up – If this is your dog – call the Vet – the dog may still be there – or contact King County Animal Control in Kent.

From the Facebook invite for this upcoming event to help the Youth Media Institute keep working with local young people:

For over five years, Youth Media Institute has been utilizing media justice education and social justice conversations to empower youth in the White Center and South West Seattle neighborhoods. We plan on continuing our work for 55 more years. But to do that, we’ll need your help.

Drop by our first ever Silent Auction right in the world famous White Center neighborhood. You get to bid on fun items, meet the folks behind the sce…nes at YMI, have a fabulous time, and perhaps most importantly be a part of empowering the next generation of social justice media makers.

Auction items include: Ecuadorean painting, locally made ceramics, massage and acupuncture services, Papua New Guinea folk art, an antique typewriter, a three-minute promotional video for your favorite nonprofit produced by YMI, and much, much more.

Support White Center/West Seattle youth making a difference in our community.

Special thanks to Sibelle Nguyen and the Dubsea crew for ensuring that 100% of all proceeds go directly to YMI programming.

Dubsea, we hope you know, is at 9910 8th Avenue SW.

One week from today, the Seattle City Council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee takes up North Highline annexation again – with a decision to be made on whether to keep proceeding toward a November election in which residents of the remaining unincorporated area would be asked if they want to become part of Seattle. Today, the White Center Community Development Association – whose executive director Aileen Balahadia helped guide Seattle’s mayor on a WC walking tour two weeks ago – sent the council a letter, and published it on the WCCDA website. Read it in its entirety here. One excerpt:

We now need a municipal partner to fully achieve our vision of a vibrant commercial district connected to safe, residential communities. Whatever city embraces us will be able to tap that already existing blueprint and the human capital and resident leadership ready to carry it out.

In recent discussions, Seattle leaders had indicated that even if a vote is taken this fall, the actual annexation would likely not kick in any earlier than 2013.

(WCN file photo of Hicks Lake)
Neighbors led by Dick Thurnau have worked a long time to try to get the county to do something about Hicks Lake water quality. Now there’s word a plan’s in the works – and a meeting is set. Here’s the county announcement:

King County is developing a plan to help improve water quality in White Center’s Hicks Lake so that people and pets are safe from potentially harmful algae blooms in the small lake.

The King County Water and Land Resources Division has set a public meeting for March 22 at the White Center Library to share information on a scheduled treatment of aluminum sulfate in Hicks Lake. The meeting is set for 6:30-8 p.m. at the White Center Library, 11220 16th Ave. SW, Seattle.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has identified Hicks Lake as having “impaired” water quality because of excessively high phosphorus concentrations, which promote frequent algae blooms in the lake.

These algae blooms have produced biotoxins that are potentially harmful to people and pets that come into contact with the water. As a result of the algae blooms, warning signs have been posted along the Hicks Lake shoreline during the recreational season to alert people of the potential danger of contact with the water.

To address this ongoing water quality problem, King County has received a permit to treat the lake in May with aluminum sulfate to lower phosphorus concentrations in the water and “cap” the phosphorus-rich sediments. A similar action was taken at Hicks Lake in 2005.

More information about lake stewardship in King County is available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wlr/sections-programs/science-section/lake-stewardship-program.aspx./blockquote>

(9:39 AM UPDATE: Added link to full text of “lose-lose” handout mentioned below)

We routinely cover the 34th District Democrats‘ meetings, since they are this area’s largest political group and you never know what news might break when that many local leaders and activists gather. Wednesday night, news broke out again; outside The Hall at Fauntleroy, the group’s usual meeting spot, a cluster of people holding NO SEATTLE ANNEXATION signs stood greeting people as they arrived. It was dark and rainy and our photo didn’t turn out well, but the main point of their presence was to make themselves known to Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin, who heads the committee that will decide soon whether to send Seattle annexation to the North Highline ballot. Conlin was at the meeting to talk about the council’s priorities, but was questioned about annexation by both Ivan Weiss of Vashon and Liz Giba of White Center. In the video above, Weiss is concluding his question off-camera – he had begun by listing the range of potential costs of annexation to the Seattle budget – and Giba is seen asking hers, about the future of the White Center and Boulevard Park county library branches, on-camera. Conlin repeatedly said he thinks North Highline should have the right to choose, which seemed to signal he will advocate strongly for going ahead with an election this fall, and also offered that he believes White Center is part of the Seattle community, so should be able to vote on whether to actually become part of Seattle. Meantime, the Seattle-annexation opponents were handing out a flyer headed “Seattle Annexation of North Highline: A Lose-Lose Resolution,” with one side devoted to why they believe it’s a bad idea for Seattle and the other to why they believe it would have negative effects on North Highline – they’ve promised to get us an electronic copy so we can share it with you here.

ADDED 9:39 AM: Here’s the complete flyer.

For the second year in a row, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is giving its Westsider of the Year award to someone whose organization is actually based in White Center: Last year it was Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby; this year, as just announced this afternoon, it’s Rick Jump of the White Center Food Bank. He’ll be honored at a breakfast event on April 6th; here’s the full story of the WSCC’s announcement today.

From Audrey at the White Center Food Bank:

Want to garden in White Center? Applications are now available for 16 raised beds at the White Center Heights Park Community Garden. The garden is in its 4th season and is located at 102nd SW and SW 7th. You can use an organic raised bed to grow your own food or flowers. There is no cost to use the bed. Gardeners will be picked by a lottery process. To get an application, contact Audrey at the White Center Food Bank (audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 or stop by 10829 8th Ave SW). Applications must be returned by March 30 and those who will be able to garden will be notified within two weeks. The White Center Food Bank is working to get donations of organic compost, seeds and starts for use by the gardeners.