White Center Now: The blog about White Center

KING5 tells the story, surveillance video and all – see it here.

Teachers from the Highline School District alternative programs get ready to shop.

Last week World Vision teamed up with the Westwood Village Target to help out some local teachers and families. Everyone was given a $100 gift card then let loose in the store; families bought school clothes and teachers stocked up on school supplies. Considering that teachers spend on average $500 of their own money on school supplies each year, this was a much appreciated big deal.

WANT TO HELP THE WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK? We published this earlier today at partner site West Seattle Blog – the WCFB (which is news there too since it serves people in West Seattle as well as WC) is asking for artists to decorate chairs to be auctioned off at the annual Harvest Dinner and Auction coming up in October. Full details here.

HELP WHITE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, TOO! Last night we reported on White Center for the Arts‘ ongoing efforts to buy the Southgate ex-rink building; tonight, they’re inviting you to their next “Third Saturday” arts event – this time at Big Al Brewing, 7-19 pm Sept. 19. WCFTA’s Shelli Park says, “Come enjoy Art, Music, Food, Beverage, and Prizes; a rockin’ Saturday night, and help WCFTA reach its funding goal.” Here’s the flyer.

Thanks very much to the reader who spotted real-estate signs up today at the former Southgate Skate Center, briefly turned Southgate Event Center, and crews clearing various stuff out of the building. White Center for the Arts has been looking into taking over the building (it had artist studios in the easternmost section, which has a 16th SW entry) – its website currently says, in an undated entry:

Our mission to secure the Skate Building, at 9639 16th Ave SW, for the community of White Center may be successful. WCFTA is partnering with the WCCDA to retain the building for community use. Though we have officially moved out of the building this is hopefully only a detour.

We sent an inquiry to WCFTA chair Shelli Park, who replied before we could even finish writing this item:

Yes, the WC Community Development Association, in partnership with White Center for the Arts, is in negotiations with the current owners of the skate building. It has been a slow and painful process. A waiting game. The White Center community needs to preserve this historic building for community purposes! White Center for the Arts, which would manage the programming aspects of the building if the deal is successful, is currently looking for arts- and/or culture-based organizations and artists who are interested in renting space in the building as part of the development stage of the project.

Contact info for Shelli and WCFTA is at their website, whitecenterforthearts.org. Meantime, a Burien-based Coldwell Banker real-estate rep was on site today with the cleanup crews, and yet another firm — Cornerstone Investment Properties — is listed on the “AVAILABLE” signs now posted on the building. It went through foreclosure earlier this year, and went up for auction in June (here’s the “notice of trustee’s sale” that is archived in online county records); rink owners tried a swap meet last fall and had hoped to make a go of it as “Southgate Event Center.” The skating-rink business closed in 2005 and had a long history, as detailed at HistoryLink.org.

The state’s new program of keeping most liquor stores open on holidays continues this Monday – the White Center store is open 11 am-7 pm.

More from last night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council monthly meeting, this time a followup on the rally earlier this week at Evergreen Pool (on the eve of its indefinite shutdown, which began Tuesday):

NHUAC president Greg Duff outlined the latest developments, including a recap of Monday’s rally, but with a new wrinkle – he says the county told WhiteWater Aquatics, which hopes to take over the pool and reopen it, that it needs $100,000 in reserves to make sure labor/utilities/other costs can be paid until it has a “positive cash flow.” Duff described WhiteWater’s bid as a unique situation, adding, “How can a nonprofit come up with $100,000?” He quoted WW’s Ed Marrs as summarizing, “It’s down to money … $100,000.” WhiteWater has filed LLC paperwork with the state but there still appears to be no chance the pool would reopen any sooner than January 1st, even if WW’s attempt is successful. There was some question of why the pool didn’t wind up in the annexation area; during the meeting, in his update on post-vote annexation matters (more on that later), Burien City Manager Mike Martin said his city would rather build a new pool than try to keep up a dated facility like Evergreen (one of many regionally built with “Forward Thrust” money more than three decades ago).

One note from the early going at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting (which is still under way as of this writing at 8:25 pm):

–There’s a county-sponsored recycling event at Evergreen High School Saturday, Sept. 13, 9 am-3 pm. See the details here.

Although Seattle’s schools don’t start until next week, Holy Family on Roxbury Avenue at 20th SW has already started.  There is a crosswalk, right in front of the school, on the very busy Roxbury Avenue.  Problem is, that most days, drivers are whizzing along well above the speed limit, never mind the cross-walk limit.  Be warned that this crosswalk is ALWAYS, and I mean always, manned by police.  And the cross-walk is at the crest of a hill, making it less noticeable.  Our advice, slow down at all crosswalks, since SPD and other law enforcement are going to be vigorously enforcing the speed limit at school crossings.  Besides, kids are using these crosswalks and need I say more.  Be safe and be smart.

Reminder that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets tonight — first meeting since North Highline South annexation to Burien passed, first meeting since Evergreen Pool closed, and other hot topics on the agenda too – see it here. (Also follow the link on the NHUAC name in this story to see updates on their website – lots of topically updated news including items by president Greg Duff and WhiteWater Aquatics’ Ed Marrs following up on the Evergreen Pool rally earlier this week.) Tonight’s meeting is at 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ.

King County certified the final results of the August 18 election today, and here’s how the annexation measure ended up:

FOR ANNEXATION 1380 55.56%
AGAINST ANNEXATION 1104 44.44%

39.5% of voters in the area turned in their ballots. The election, Evergreen Pool, and more are bound to be part of the discussion tomorrow night at the next meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ. And the next meeting of the Burien City Council – for those who will soon be Burien residents without even moving – is Monday, Sept. 14.

Just noticed it while adding links to our previous story about the Evergreen Pool rally; see the North Highline Fire District’s updated website here.

Young swimmers like those two were among the Evergreen Pool supporters who spoke eloquently and energetically Monday night at the rally on the eve of the pool’s closure, aimed at gaining attention and momentum to make sure the closure — which starts today — is not permanent. (Here’s our first report on the rally.) Young swimmers also were on the mind of Ed Marrs, a North Highline Fire District firefighter and board president for WhiteWater Aquatics, which hopes to take over pool operation if it can strike a deal with King County Parks and Highline Public Schools, who own the site and building respectively:

The pool is lifesaving in another way, declared one of its dedicated senior swimmers, Lucy:

But passion must be translated into action, reminded Greg Duff, president of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

As noted in our earlier report, NHUAC has its regular monthly meeting this Thursday night, 7 pm at North Highline FD HQ (1243 SW 112th), and you can bet the pool’s future will be a hot topic.

Foregoing the usual banquet, the White Center Community Development Association held its annual fundraiser as a luau in the recently renovated White Center Heights Park.  Over $12,000 was raised; 320 attended.  The entertainment was all derived from the Pacific Islander theme, right down to the pig — roasted underground and here seen, well cooked.

Pacific Island Dancers

Fire dancer at CDA luau

Alongside Evergreen Pool, dozens of swimmers and supporters gathered this evening to show their support for getting it reopened as soon as possible following the shutdown that starts tomorrow. They heard from WhiteWater Aquatics, the group trying to work out a deal to take over the pool that the county’s shuttering – WhiteWater says it’s hoping to have a deal by January, sooner if at all possible — but that means the pool is facing a closure of at least four months:

James Bush from King County Council Chair Dow Constantine‘s office says there’s not much they can do since the budget crisis is threatening park/pool facilities all over the county, though he reminded the group that the pool started the year with only six months of funding and managed to get two more. After the rally, some concerned swimmers gathered outside:

Rally organizers advised several courses of action: Contact King County Executive Kurt Triplett and Council Chair Constantine (who represents most of this area); also work with the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, which will talk about the pool situation at its next meeting this Thursday, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District headquarters. We’ve got more from the rally, including video of swimmers young and old who had something to say – will be adding that as the evening goes on. EARLY TUESDAY NOTE: We decided to put up four video clips in a separate report; see that report here.

Thanks to Stefanie, half the duo that’s about to open Proletariat Pizza in the heart of the northernmost block of the 16th SW business district, for sharing that photo – the sign’s going up today, and as she told us last week, the new pizza place is set to open on September 11th.

Got word tonight from North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff that a rally is planned Monday night at Evergreen Pool, to “save the pool.” You’ll recall that King County Council chair Dow Constantine announced Thursday that the pool would have to close September 1st, TFN, because a deal isn’t yet worked out for someone else – potentially WhiteWater Aquatics (as discussed at the last NHUAC meeting) – to take over its operations. The rally is set for 5-7 pm; the pool is at 606 SW 116th (map).

We dropped by within the past hour – didn’t take into account the fact that things would be slow because of 5 pm Mass! Booths, food, bouncy toys, scheduled to be in action till 10 pm tonight, resuming 10 am tomorrow, along 20th SW south of Roxbury. Music too – Paulina Alvarado was singing during our visit:

*South Park Bridge is scheduled to be closed 7 am-7 pm.

*Holy Family School‘s “El Carnaval” Street Fair is scheduled for today and tomorrow, 10 am start both days.

Went to the Holy Family website to doublecheck on this weekend’s El Carnaval street fair – and discovered this announcement:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Fr. Ramon Velasco, who many will remember was our parish’s parochial vicar until last year. Fr. Ramon passed away earlier this week, and leaves behind many friends and family members one of whom is a member of the parish, Rosa Velasco. His funeral Mass is scheduled for this Friday at Holy Family before his body is returned to the Philippines.

Unfortunately, we discovered this just as all of the events concluded – a reception has just ended, following a Funeral Mass earlier today that was to be led by Archbishop Alex Brunett.

We’ve published the story at West Seattle Blog – read it here.