White Center Now: The blog about White Center

A local student from Evergreen College just finished a short film about White Center. Some cool stuff about the history of White Center and its landmarks are included:

One week from this Saturday …

The announcement accompanying the flyer:

Dubsea Coffee
March 20 2010
7-9 pm
9910 8th Ave. SW

www.dubseacoffee.com
www.myspace.com/asaroaxaca
www.asar-oaxaca.blogspot.com

ASARO ” The Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca ” is a collective of about 20 members who specialize in a variety of artistic communications, including stenciling, grabados ,murals , engraving , theater and fine arts.The collective was formed in 2006 in response to a call fromAPPO ” Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca “,[ a group formed as a teachers union, but whose makeup also includes general citizens and representatives from surrounding communities ] during their occupation of Oaxaca City . APPO made a call to artists of Oaxaca to discuss the possible responses to the violence and oppressive actions from the police and military during their public demonstrations. Ever since ASARO has been partaking in one of the most prolific visual Resistance projects in the state of Oaxaca. ASARO believes that public art in all it’s diverse disciplines is a form of communication that allows a dialogue with all sectors of society and which makes possible the visualization of the real conditions of existence.ASARO states” We summon all the artists who authentically look for the social transformation to be united to ASARO, to extend our creative front of resistance and to approach the art in all the sectors of society. The creative capacity is a strategy that historically the city of Oaxaca has used, to survive and to revitalize themselves… We propose to initiate an artistic movement, where the aim is the direct bonding with people in the streets and in public spaces.

Speaking to the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council last Thursday, our area’s County Councilmember Jan Drago warned that the county is absolutely serious about shutting down the South Park Bridge this June – and said that demolition would start shortly afterward. No mention of the possible reprieve reported recently in the Seattle Times, if new test results showed it might be safe enough to stay open for a while, as the county continued searching for funding to build a replacement. Whatever the case, there’s no question that bridge is a lifeline for many people in this area, so tonight’s South Park Neighborhood Association meeting is of major interesting – it will include an official King County update on the status of the bridge. The meeting starts at 7 pm, South Park Neighborhood Center, 8201 10th Avenue S. (map).

From Shelli at White Center for the Arts – one week from tomorrow!:

Community Artist Meeting
Facilitated by White Center for the Arts
Tuesday, March 16th at 7:00 PM

Proletariat Pizza
9622-A 16th Ave SW, Seattle –
(206) 432-9765

Who is invited? Artists who live in and those who love the GREATER White Center Area/ Unincorporated King County, and a little bit outside that line. That means ALL artists. Music, dance, film, theatre, visual, 3-D, photography, written, mixed-media, young, old, in-between, student, emerging, established, etc.

What is this about? This is about continuing the conversation about art and it’s impact in White Center. About creating your opportunities. What do you want/need from your community in order to further your work/goals? What can you give to your community to help strengthen it? White Center for the Arts is opening the line of communication. This is not a formal, stuffy meeting, but the third meeting of many where your voice can be heard, where new connections can be created, and we can figure out how to best accommodate you, the artist, in our own neighborhood.

If you can, please RSVP so that we know how much pizza to order for you!

Shelli:
crimsonpark@whitecenterforthearts.org

One week from today, Democrats from around the 34th Legislative District – which includes White Center, West Seattle, Vashon Island, and parts of surrounding communities (map above is from Sen. Joe McDermott‘s website) – are invited to Mount View Elementary School in WC for the district caucus. In an e-mail announcement, Tim Nuse, chair of the 34th District Democrats, explains: “We will accomplish a number of responsibilities during our 2010 Caucus. We will elect 35 delegates and 18 alternates to the King County and Washington State Conventions, who will bring forward the issues and concerns of neighborhoods throughout the 34th District. We will develop our district platform, identifying and highlighting those issues and concerns in platform items and resolutions. And we will likely hear from candidates running for election this November. The Caucus is your chance to meet your Democratic colleagues old and new and weigh in on those issues and policies that are most important to you and your neighbors in the 34th District. Come share your voice and lend democracy a hand.” The caucuses start at 1 pm. Republicans in the 34th District, meantime, have their district caucus coming up at 9:15 am March 27 at Southwest Community Center in West Seattle (map).

Play (basket)ball! Tryouts are coming up next week for youth basketball teams at Salvation Army Community Center (9020 16th SW) that play in an AAU League. Here’s the announcement from Rino:

We will be holding open tryouts for players looking for teams

4th, 5th, and 6th Grade
Tuesday March 9th – 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Thursday March 11th – 5:30 to 7:00pm

7th and 8th Grade
Tuesday March 9th – 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Thursday March 11th – 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Tryouts will be held at
Salvation Army CC
9020 16th ave SW
Seattle WA 98146

For more information contact Sean or Charles (206) 767-3150 ext 113

(Photo courtesy White Center Food Bank)
That’s Long Nguyen with his raised-bed garden at White Center Heights Park – and now you might be able to have one too, according to this announcement, which includes a call for community-garden volunteers:

Together with the White Center Community Development Association, the White Center Food Bank is announcing that applications for raised beds at White Center Heights Park are now available.

The garden is located at 102nd SW and SW 7th across the street from White Center Heights Elementary School. Community members will have an opportunity to use a raised bed to grow their own garden. Raised beds are free to garden for the season. Gardeners can also contribute a part of their harvest to feed the clients of the White Center Food Bank.

Now In its 3rd year, the garden will be a place where residents can come together as a community to grow food with neighbors, family and friends. White Center Food Bank is excited to be able to provide an opportunity to the community to increase self-sufficiency and celebrate the diverse cultures that make White Center a wonderful place.

Applications are available at the White Center Food Bank. Contact Audrey Zemke in person, at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 for an application. Applications are due to the White Center Food Bank by March 30, 2010. A lottery system will be used to pick the 16 individuals or groups who will receive a raised bed.

The White Center Food Bank is also looking for people to help with the community garden. Volunteers are needed to help with composting, cleaning up before and after the season, educating gardeners, planning the kick-off garden event or year-end harvest celebration. If you want to be connected to a great community of gardeners, contact Audrey Zemke to volunteer.

That’s one of our personal favorite “Monty Python” TV clips. You got one? Or more? Mosey to Big Al Brewing noon-8 pm Sunday, where they’re promising to play as many classic “Monty Python and the Flying Circus” episodes as possible – and accepting donations for White Center for the Arts.

We arrived at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting late after covering the West Seattle crash involving a police officer – and walked right into that standing-room-only crowd. First one we’ve seen in the year-plus we’ve been regularly covering NHUAC.

No surprise, of course, given that the prospect of Seattle annexing northern North Highline annexation figured prominently on the agenda. 20 people spoke in the public-comment section – and by one tally announced at the meeting, 14 were pro-Seattle, 6 were pro-Burien.

Among the pro-Seattle speakers was Mark Ufkes, who brought literature to answer critics’ questions about the White Center Homeowners Association that he leads – as well as fellow Seattle supporters filling most of the seats.

King County (and former Seattle City) Councilmember Jan Drago was on the agenda too, speaking about the South Park Bridge (more on that later) as well as about annexation – on which, she said, she’d been misquoted; she contends she told Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin she would not oppose annexation, not that she supported it.

But the guest who drew the most interest was Kenny Pittman, the point person in the Seattle mayor’s office regarding potential northern North Highline annexation. He had briefly canceled his appearance earlier in the week; NHUAC president Greg Duff says he convinced Pittman to come after all. He showed up at 8:50 pm – luckily the meeting was running past the projected agenda times, which had him on at 8:25 (the meeting didn’t end until 9:45). But he had answers for most of the questions lobbed at him.

One question: What about Evergreen Pool, which has now been closed for almost half a year? If Seattle annexes northern North Highline, Pittman says, the budget would be drawn up to include full operation of Evergreen just like any city of Seattle pool. (The nearest one is Southwest Pool, in West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood.)

Speaking of budgets, though – that seems to be the sticking point that has the prospect of an annexation vote looking a little hazier than it did when we broke the story January 27th that Mayor Mike McGinn was moving forward.

The next Seattle City Council discussion of prospective annexation won’t happen until a financial analysis is done, Pittman said – and he didn’t offer a firm deadline for when that financial analysis is to be complete. It’s definitely meant the process is not moving along at the clip previously discussed, which at one point was going to have the council take it up next Monday – March 8th – for a vote indicating potential interest in, well, a (northern North Highline voters) vote. Instead, the issue is still in the jurisdiction of the Regional Sustainability and Development Committee that Conlin chairs, and its next meeting isn’t until March 16th. (You can watch for its agendas here.)

Meantime, Pittman promised there would be information-laden community meetings and other outreach before a vote, and that northern North Highline residents will know, for example, the potential differences in tax rates that they’d be deciding between.

As for other possible effects, here are toplines from what else Pittman said:
*The North Highline fire station would not close – at least in the first decade or so; he didn’t rule out a longterm strategy change if the city someday decided a different station in a different location would make more sense.
*Highline Public Schools would continue to run the northern North Highline schools they run now.
*King County Housing Authority would continue to manage Greenbridge – it would NOT become part of the Seattle Housing Authority.
*Sewer districts in the area would be “franchised”; Water District 20 would be contracted with, the other water district would be folded into Seattle Public Utilities, which would then employ its three staffers.

But, it seemed clear, this discussion would all be moot if the forthcoming financial analysis suggested it wouldn’t make sense for Seattle to pursue annexation. And – “I don’t know what the breaking point is,” Pittman acknowledged.

“Could we just not be annexed by anyone, ever?” one attendee asked at one point during the night.

No one had a set-in-stone answer for that, either.

Highline Public Schools has released more information on its plans for Cascade and Chinook Middle Schools, both of which are eligible for potential federal grants because they’re on the state’s list of lowest-performing schools. Read on for the district’s news release: Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting has Kenny Pittman, annexation point person for the Seattle Mayor’s office, back on the agenda, according to NHUAC president Greg Duff. Meeting’s at the usual time and place – 7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 112th (map). In other annexation-discussion news, West Seattle’s Southwest District Council is scheduled to hear from guests on the topic at next month’s meeting, 7 pm 4/7 at South Seattle Community College, according to an announcement at the end of the group’s gathering tonight.

Just announced by King County DOT, it’s time for weed work in areas including the unincorporated county areas. If you do NOT want them spraying herbicide near your property, read on to see what to do: Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Heidi for forwarding word that the former Brewsky’s is now under new management as Papa’s Pub. The announcement says, “The pub is going through renovations in stages. Our number one priority is commitment to providing a safe and fun environment for patriots in our community. TK’s kitchen is now open too and provides appetizers and meals inside Papa’s Pub. We look forward to hosting live music venues with local artist in the near future as we are currently working on our stage area, please contact us if you would like to perform at Papa’s Pub. We will start booking in the first week of May 2010.”

Update: Kenny Pittman will be at the meeting after all.

From North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff, the official agenda for Thursday night’s meeting. He says Kenny Pittman, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn‘s point person on the potential northern North Highline annexation vote, asked to postpone his appearance till next month:

7:00 p.m. Call to order
Flag salute
Roll call
Approval of agenda
Approval of minutes

7:05 p.m. Public announcements
7:10 p.m. Public comment – 3 minutes for individuals
5 minutes for groups

7:15 p.m. Update from Deputy Jeff Hancock, KCSO
Report from KCSO Gang Unit

7:45 p.m. Update from Mike Martin, Burien City Manager
7:55 p.m. Jan Drago, King County Council
8:25 p.m. Treasurers Report
8:30 p.m. Committee Reports

1. Governance

2. Arts and Parks

3. Public Safety

4. Housing and Human Services

5. Public Outreach

6. Transportation

7. Steve Cox Memorial

8:40 p.m. Old business
8:50 p.m. New Business

Published online late tonight: Seattle Times (WCN news partner) columnist Jerry Large‘s account of his meeting with Burien leaders, to talk about their interest in annexing northern North Highline, instead of leaving it for Seattle. The column ends by saying the Burien council will talk about it “next Monday”; we’re guessing that means Monday, 3/8, as this issue is not on the next agenda.

King County Council staff confirms that our area’s newly appointed County Councilmember Jan Drago, previously on the Seattle City Council, is going to be at this Thursday’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting. Though the agenda’s not online as of this writing, NHUAC leadership also had said that Kenny Pittman, point person for the Seattle annexation-election proposal on Mayor Mike McGinn‘s staff, would be there as well. NHUAC meets at 7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ.

Story and photo by Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for White Center Now

Providing clothing, toiletries and showers to those in need are just a few of the goals of “The Clothing Closet,” introduced at Thursday night’s White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting.

Beginning this coming Tuesday, Pastor Timothy Rambo of New Generation Ministries is opening the doors of a new endeavor in hopes of positively impacting the local community. (Photo: Back from left, WCCSC chair Sean Healy, Angela Rambo, youth ambassador Pedro Navaro, Timothy Rambo; front, Timothy Rambo Jr. and Titus Rambo.)

Regular hours of operation will be Tuesdays and Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m.

“We already have a lot of clothing for men, women, children and infants,” said Angela Rambo, Pastor Rambo’s wife and chief administrator of the project.

She said they want to target people who are going to job interviews or court appearances, but lack the proper clothing to put forward an appropriate image for the situation.

As the operation grows, she also said they hope to be able to offer resume writing assistance and mock job interviews, as well as other programs which might help develop the life skills of those who utilize The Clothing Closet.

While a website is still in the works, the operation can be reached via their e-mail address: newgenerationministries98106@yahoo.com

The Clothing Closet is located at 9029 16th Avenue SW (map) in the blue house across from the Salvation Army.

By Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for White Center Now

Change and transition were the dominant themes of last night’s meeting of the White Center/South Delridge Community Safey Coalition as the group discussed ideas for how they can continue to foster improvements in the safety of the area though activities targeting community building.

The main thing accomplished in that direction was agreeing to feature a local business on a monthly basis, with the thought being that local business owners and residents will each benefit greatly from improving the overall safety of the community by curbing crime and providing the sort of environment families feel safe visiting.

“We’re transitioning from doing a lot of weeding,” said coalition chair Sean Healy. “Things feel safer. Now we are trying to build on that.”

Coalition members were encouraged to keep track of their positive experiences with local businesses and share them with Healy via e-mail. The group’s goal is to then select a business to be featured and invited to speak to the group in beginning to build a bridge between community leaders and business owners.

The group also discussed hopes to build a website, which would then have a ‘spotlight’ area to help promote the selected establishment, while also hopefully
helping to change the image of White Center to that of a place to shop and dine. Speaking of which:

New Restaurant and Bar coming to White Center:

One of last night’s attendees, Jesse Lovell, hopes to help contribute to the continued growth of the dining scene in the White Center area, having secured a lease at 9608 16th Avenue, where he is working hard to open a new restaurant and bar called “Company.” Although renovation of the space is in extremely preliminary stages, Lovell did say he hopes to focus on locally sourced meat and produce and to provide a safe place that will “bring a different demographic to the area to show what White Center can have to offer.”

From Wes Olsen at Shorewood Foursquare Church:

The youth group at the church is participating in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine, which is when our youth fast for 30 hours to connect with those who are starving across the world. We also raise money for people who are starving or in poverty during this time too, including where our money is going to this (time), Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Part of what we want to do is to ask people to come to our location this Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm, and donate new or gently used clothing for teens to go to New Horizons Ministry in Belltown, and food donations to the White Center Food Bank.

Our location is 2656 Southwest 104th Street. It is the building just south of Shorewood Foursquare Church, on 28th Ave SW. The drop off location is on the 28th Ave SW side of the building.

By Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for White Center Now

Deputy Gerald Meyer of the King County Sheriff’s Office opened tonight’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting with an update on recent crime trends, reporting “a pretty good month without a lot of crime.”

“There were no homicides, shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, bank robberies, home invasion robberies, kidnappings, rapes, or carjackings in King County’s Weed and Seed zone of White Center,” according to the printed report distributed to attendees at tonight’s meeting.

From the city side, Officer Kevin McDaniel of the Southwest Precinct Community Police Team echoed Meyer’s sentiments, reporting that “burglaries are down significantly,” citing a high-profile arrest that took place on the West Seattle Bridge, believed to have taken a prolific burglary suspect out of circulation.

Beyond that, McDaniel reported five robberies last month, three of which took place on the street, prompting him to encourage residents to remain cautious when walking in the area and taking steps to avoid any people who may appear suspicious. He also said there was a recent increase in auto thefts, which seem to be primarily targeting Hondas to be taken out for joyrides.

According to Meyer, there has also been a recent focus on suppression of gang activity in the downtown White Center area, particularly on Saturday nights, which have traditionally seen the most problems.

One successful result of the Saturday night efforts came when Meyer and another officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by several known gang members, who were ultimately taken into custody upon the discovery of a pair of handguns.

“We will never know for sure what this arrest stopped from happening. This stop and arrest may have saved lives and for sure made our community a safer place.”

Meyer’s message for the group was simple: “Whenever you see something suspicious, call.”

Coalition members raised concerns about recent increases in graffiti around the area. Once member had even taken a photo of a particular ‘tag’ he’d been seeing around and showed it to the officers in attendance.

Detective Aaron Thompson, who works on the gang unit of the King County Sherriff’s Office, explained that gang-related graffiti can be differentiated from that of “taggers” in that the work of a tagger, who is likely trying to build their own notoriety by putting their “tags” in highly visible places, tends to use a lot of curves and “artistic” elements in how they write, whereas a gang “tag” tends to be a little more basic and is meant to be an indicator of claimed territory.

Meyer emphasized that citizens who find new graffiti should call the Sheriff’s Office to report it so it can be documented before any action is taken to remove or obscure it.