White Center Now: The blog about White Center

A crash at Roxbury/Olson, right before the hill down to the freeway, has Roxbury blocked at 8th SW. Avoid the area TFN.

Big project announced by WSDOT – and if you’re heading back from points south, this might affect you tomorrow night (and in another round of work a week later) – here’s the state’s announcement:

Don’t let the cold weather and holiday lights fool you, WSDOT crews are still hard at work in December. For the next two Saturday nights crews will close six miles of northbound Interstate 5 through south Seattle to install 15 overhead sign bridges.

The new sign bridges will hold overhead electronic signs alerting drivers to reduce their speed or change lanes when there are collisions or backups on the road. The new signs are the latest smarter highway technology aimed at increasing safety and reducing collisions. The $23.8 million project is funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program to help keep traffic moving during viaduct demolition and construction.

“Getting these sign bridges up is the first major milestone in making northbound I-5 a safer and smarter highway,” said Craig Stone, WSDOT Toll Division Director. “We’ll spend the rest of the winter and spring installing the high-tech signs before activating them next summer.”

Crews will close all lanes of northbound I-5 from 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, to 8 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street. I-5 on-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m. Crews will again close all lanes of northbound I-5 from 11:30 p.m. Dec. 12 to 8 a.m. Dec. 13 between Boeing Access Road and I-90.

The following ramps will be closed from 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, to 8 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6:

o Boeing Access Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. to northbound I-5
o Swift Avenue S./S. Graham Street to northbound I-5
o Corson Avenue/S. Michigan Street to northbound I-5

A signed detour will direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Way/SR 519. Drivers should consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.

From Shelli Park at White Center for the Arts:

White Center for the Arts is looking for artists of all media for the White Center Art Walk. We are scheduling for the next year, and would like to get as many White Center artists involved, and exhibiting/performing, as possible. Also, in the more fine weather, outdoor performances will be an option. Please contact me with your interest and pass this along to other artists.

We still need artists for the December Art Walk!!!!! Any takers?

Also, Dubsea Coffee will be the site of our next Community Artist meeting, which is open to artists of all medium, experience and age in the Greater White Center area, and to anyone interested in cultivating the arts here in White Center.

The last meeting was enlightening and productive. There is a great community of arts supporters here. When we come together, we support the work that is vital to a healthy community.

The goal is to break down the barriers that create a feeling of isolation within the community.

What, as an artist, do you need from the community in order to further your creative goals?

What, as a member of the community, can you give, no matter how small?

What would you like to see in White Center that would help you feel validated as an artist, or part of a healthy, diverse community?

Too much to think about? We also just want to have a good time talking and laughing! Come see what’s up in White Center…

Thursday, December 10th, 7:00 PM
Dubsea Coffee
9910 8th Ave SW

According to King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart, the search around 16th/102nd is for a man who ran when a bail bondsman tried to arrest him – as they are legally allowed to do, he adds. The first call was about a “man with a gun” – but that, Sgt. Urquhart says, turned out to be the bail bondsman. More as we get it.

The group that’s been active in investigating noise concerns related to Sea-Tac Airport, particularly its newest runway, is getting the word out a bit further north than usual, and invites you to its meeting tonight in Burien – here’s the notice published on our partner site West Seattle Blog.

Just got word from Holy Family Parish School that they’re also selling trees and wreaths – you’ll find them at the church parking lot. Proceeds go to the school. Trees run from $20 to $69.

NHUAC meets this Thursday (December 3rd), 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ as always. The agenda’s not online yet but you’ll find it here when it is.

We’ll be scoping out the Christmas tree scene this weekend in White Center and West Seattle, but for starters, we have word that Croft Rentals (11229 16th Ave SW; map) is selling trees, swags and wreathes. And we’re told you’ll get $5 off your purchase if you bring in a new, unwrapped, unopened toy to donate. They’re also offering free delivery “within about five miles of (their) location.”

A free workshop’s coming up in West Seattle, presented by a longtime sponsor of our partner site West Seattle Blog, and we’re sharing the info here: 6 pm December 3rd, you’re invited to “Building a Better Home: Remodeling and Custom Home Workshop” at the offices of Ventana Construction, 5458 California SW (map). The workshop’s purpose:

If you are a homeowner considering remodeling your home or building a new custom home, this workshop is an invaluable first step in the process. Learn from experienced professionals about how to get started, what to expect, and the steps you can take to make your project successful.

Ventana requests reservations for the free event – call 206-932-3009.

That video clip includes tonight’s KING5 update on the search for the hit-run driver who crashed into Jeff Kearney near the 16th SW Albertson’s store, and just took off, leaving him lying in the street. We first covered the crash that night; this followup story has all the info on how to share information with authorities.

Thanksgiving produces mixed emotions for me.  Having grown up Chicano, in El Paso, Texas, the holiday carried considerable cultural baggage for me: the rampant celebration of gluttony, the Dallas Cowboys, America’s corporate franchise, always playing on the tube, the constant consumerism and, of course, the slaughter of Native Americans.  And then there was my mother.  When we lived in Mexico, we obviously did not celebrate Thanksgiving, so I have no early childhood memories of this particular holiday.  When we moved to the states, my mom had a lady who made the best tamales and mole, I have ever eaten.  So initially, we celebrated Thanksgiving in our way — the way I’d always known.

Sometime in my adolescence my mom became a fundamentalist Christian.  I abhorred this sect from the very outset.  I found their rituals, primitive:  speaking in tongues, meeting in store-fronts, fire & brimstone, the rapture – coming very, very soon.  And when I went away to college and matured into my progressive political views, I despised their unabashed right-wing politics.  Needless to say, none of this played well with my mom.

In high school, I would always goad my mother about politics, religion, culture; pretty much anything incendiary that would ignite a fire-storm between us.  These dramas took on heightened intensity on holidays like Thanksgiving, when my mother wanted everthing to proceed just so.  So, many of my memories of Thanksgiving revolve around the interactions with my mom.

My mom adopted, not only the rituals of Christian fundamentalism, but the cultural affects as well.  Instead, of mole and tamales, we got mashed potatoes and gelatin.  When I visited from college and the “gringo food” was served I would storm into the kitchen, fry up some beans, warm up rice and dig out the salsa.  I would set them down and exclaim, this is our food and we should celebrate the holiday with our food, (the turkey is ironically – our food – a New World bird).  I did not goad my mother, but I did ask her why we had to eat mashed potatoes when beans and rice were so much healthier.  And besides, “it is our food.”

I’ve mellowed considerably as I have become a parent.  The curse, “may you have kids like yourself” has come to bite me in a big way.  If I were celebrating Thanksgiving with my folks in El Paso, I would still pull out the home-made salsa, the tortillas, beans and rice, but instead of berating my mother, I would give her (and my dad) a big hug and a kiss and say, “I”m so very happy to be here.  I love you.”  And then we would retire after the meals and root for who-ever was playing the Cowboys.

White Center Food Bank is open for one more stretch today – 5 to 7 pm (we just called to check as we had conflicting info, but we’re also going over to make double-sure in person) – and they still need large turkeys, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls. 10829 8th SW; here’s a map.

That’s an official King County photo from this afternoon’s swearing-in ceremony in downtown Seattle, as Dow Constantine – who until this afternoon represented White Center (and the rest of District 8) on the King County Council — became King County Executive. We have two reports on partner site West Seattle Blog with lots of photos and video, since we were there to cover the event – see the as-it-happened report (including video of the first five minutes of his speech) here, and a late-night followup — including the list of applicants who want his former place on the council – here.

Two places we know for sure you’ll be able to get your latte on, this Thanksgiving morning — Cafe Rozella plans to be open 8 am-2:30 pm on Thursday (and they’ve got free live music the day after Thanksgiving – details on the CR site); brand-new Dubsea Coffee plans to be open 6 am-2 pm for the holiday.

Update to the Puget Sound Park situation (reported here late Friday) – Talked Saturday with Joe Woods from King County Executive-elect Dow Constantine‘s team. He says Constantine is asking that outgoing King County Executive Kurt Triplett not proceed with any deals before the change in command on Tuesday afternoon; Woods is short on specifics of what the “deal” involving Puget Sound Park might be, but he says it appears to be “something the current executive was pursuing to plug the budget hole and help fund the rest of the unincorporated parks that were at risk, according to his plan that came out this summer” – and whatever this is, it progressed further than other possibilities had. Woods says they’re hopeful the soon-to-be-ex-county-executive will appreciate the about-to-be-county-executive’s request not to strike a deal. We’ll be checking in with various parties Monday to see where all this stands.

Audrey Zemke had told us there’d be somebody at White Center Food Bank today to accept food donations in this critical pre-Thanksgiving time – and in fact, we found Audrey and Mike there this morning. Turkeys are particularly welcome – and you can buy ’em cheap at Safeway (1 limit) or QFC (2 limit) with $25 purchases and Club or Advantage Cards. Or, donate $ online – whitecenterfoodbank.org.

Two violins were stolen from a patron at Cafe Rozella.  They are not super-valuable but have great sentimental value for the owner.  If you see someone “odd” carrying or trying to peddle them please call Mike at (206) 767-4222.  It has been reported to the Seattle Police which may also be contacted at Incident Number #09-406085 Patrol M. Waters 206-733-9800, so Pawn Shops should not accept them.   Help if you can.  Owner is distraught.  More details to come.

We previewed it recently here – tonight, it’s happening. 6-9 pm. Have a blast!

Seven months ago, Puget Sound Park in White Center was reported to be in danger of being sold by King County for a housing project. A citizen outcry resulted in county promises that it would not be put up for sale. Now suddenly, its future appears to be in play again; we got a call this afternoon from Greg Duff of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, who’d worked hard to save the park last spring, saying he’d learned it might suddenly be on the brink of sale after all. We’ve been working since then to see what we could find out. Here’s what we know so far:

King County Parks won’t elaborate on exactly what is in the works. Jessie Israel, who’s returned to her parks division management job fulltime after a run for Seattle City Council, says they might have news next week – but for now, all she can say is: “We’re not selling a park – we’re looking for partners who will work with us to keep parks open to the public.” She said “several parks in North Highline and White Center” are being looked at in this regard; we asked repeatedly why the county would be looking at anything right now involving a park like Puget Sound Park that’s about to be turned over to the City of Burien, and Israel would only say “there are a good number of conversations that have started with the intent of keeping all White Center parks open. We are looking forward to working with Burien … our goal is really to figure out how to keep parks open to the public as public assets.”

“Working with Burien” did not seem to have been going on before we spoke with city manager Mike Martin earlier in the afternoon (after putting in the first call to King County Parks). He told us, “We don’t have a lot of information – what I know is that we have been told that the county intends to sell that property to a buyer, we don’t know who, we don’t know how firm that is.” He stressed that he too was still working to find out more, but what he’s heard so far indicated, “(The county) basically asked for anyone willing to buy the property to step forward … apparently they have a buyer. It would be nice to know (more). I am told they want to use some of the money, some would go to Burien, some of the money … to spread among some of the remaining (county) parks, for what purpose, I don’t know.”

Then he took on an even more grim tone: “I can tell you for certain that selling a five-acre park two and a half months before we’re supposed to annex, flies in the face of anything that might be interpreted as good public policy, or good for the North Highline residents … so what we’re doing is sending a letter to the County Council, and to (County Executive-elect) Dow (Constantine), asking what their intentions are.”

Martin went on to say that if he doesn’t get an assurance that the park is not about to be sold, Burien might push back the date when it actually officially annexes the “North Highline South” area. “At Monday’s Burien City Council meeting, we were to have set the date for annual annexation, March 2nd. Until we get clarity (regarding the park), I will recommend that we delay. It’s not something I recommend lightly, but I can’t make a proposal when I don’t know what the game is. I hope the county understands that if we have to delay annexation, it will cost them money” — in urban services they will have to provide longer than they planned.

Martin went on to reiterate that this turn of events is “a big deal.”

We also sent messages to Constantine and key staffers, but did not hear back from anyone; he had made the announcement last time that Puget Sound Park was off the table. He’s to be sworn in to his new job on Tuesday.

We’ll keep working to find out what’s happening and will report when there’s an update.

ADDED 2:50 PM: A reward’s now being offered to solve this crime. Here’s a flyer with information about that and about the victim:

FROM 9:27 AM: Another followup to Tuesday night’s crash – this just in from the King County Sheriff’s Office:

The help of the public is needed to find the vehicle that struck and critically injured a pedestrian in a crosswalk two days ago.

The incident occurred about 5:20 PM on Tuesday, November 17th.

A 36 year-old White Center man was crossing 16th Ave SW in the crosswalk at SW 106th. The suspect vehicle was southbound on 16th Ave SW and struck the man. The vehicle slowed but did not stop and was last seen driving off southbound on 16th.

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.

A driver’s side exterior mirror was found at the scene. There will also be damage to the left front fender.

The vehicle is probably maroon in color, a Chevrolet or GMC product. It is one of the following models:

GM or Chevrolet full size pick-up 1988-1989
Blazer or Jimmy 1992-1994
Suburban 1992-1999
GMC Yukon 1992-1999
Chevrolet Tahoe 1995-1999

If anyone recognizes the suspect vehicle they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 911.