White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(Crossposted in part from partner site West Seattle Blog.) Area students are involved with the World TB Day event Tuesday night at Town Hall in downtown Seattle is free – and promises to be an eye-opener. Full details here. If you thought tuberculosis was a thing of the past – this King County-specific information alone will cure you of that notion. (The local rate, in fact, hit a 30-year high in 2007.) Student organizers also have been sending out TB info via Twitter – follow their tweets (and see the archives) at twitter.com/worldtbday.

Lots of great art in the studio rooms upstairs from the 16th SW entry to the old skating rink .. but this was our favorite … with an invitation to do your own creating.

The Greater King County Police Activities League and the White Center PAL Boxing Program will sponsor the First Annual Sgt . Ken Migita Memorial Amateur Boxing Show on Saturday March 28, 2009 starting at 6 p.m. at Evergreen High School.   Admission is $10 for Adults and $5 for Children.   This is an opportunity to support positive athletic activities for youth who might otherwise be “at risk.”  Support this worthy enterprise and enjoys some great home-town boxing.  Contact:  Tony Rago (206) 293-3742 or 763-7525; email:  rago3@comcast.net.

WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK: Today’s the first of its new monthly Saturdays – third Saturday of each month – for WCFB to be open for clients 11 am-1 pm.

ART STUDIOS OPEN: White Center’s artist community invites you to another open house 5 pm-10 pm — enter from 16th SW, same place you’d use to get to the old skating rink (where it’s another Rat City Rummage NEXT Saturday, by the way).

Just talked to Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Office to find out why a search was under way around 16th/SW 116th – turns out one man was shot, another grazed by a bullet, on SW 119th. Three people have been arrested, no other suspects are being sought, and everybody involved knew each other, according to Sgt. Urquhart – the search that you’re seeing if you’re in the area involves deputies looking for the gun, which hasn’t yet been recovered.

The huge regional FIRST Robotics Competition is happening in Seattle next week – Thursday 3/26 through Saturday 3/28 at KeyArena – and Evergreen TEC will be there. Read all about its robotics achievements here.

… because Highline Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, and even the Vashon school district all are in no-classes mode today.

Just got this from executive director Nancy Woodland at White Center-based WestSide Baby:

WestSide Baby is hosting a 3rd Thursday After Hours Sorting Frenzy

Join us between 7 and 9 to organize and sort toys, clothes, bottles and more. Open to ages 8+ but ages 8 to 14 must be accompanied by a volunteering adult.

WestSide Baby is at 10032 15th SW; here’s a map.

Just announced:

Members of the Division 26 Kiwanis in Seattle would like to invite you to bring non-perishable foods to the White Center Food Bank on Wednesday evening April 8, 2009 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Members of the Kiwanis will be stationed outside the food bank at 10829 8th Avenue SW under a canopy to collect your donations.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time

The White Center Food Bank says the most needed foods are Hamburger Helper and Rice-a-Roni type products as well as canned meat (not tuna), canned fruit, cereal, and jelly. The White Center Food Bank serves a diverse ethnic population so ethnic foods are always welcome. The food bank also accepts $5 and $10 gift cards from Safeway, QFC or Albertsons. Cash donations can be sent to the White Center Food Bank at 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To donate on-line go to www.whitecenterfoodbank.org.

The White Center Food Bank has been providing emergency food relief in this community for over thirty years. In the past two years food insecurity has grown. The rising cost of housing, food, and health care, cutbacks in federal funding for housing and food assistance, and the loss of manufacturing jobs leave many working families short of food. Stories about the rising costs of food and hunger are in the press almost daily. The White Center Food Bank continues to provide much needed emergency food relief while promoting efforts to fight poverty.

Last year a record 17,000 families were served and almost 900,000 pounds of food was distributed worth about $1.5 million dollars. This was done with two paid staff and over 200 volunteers including members of Kiwanis White Center, 34th District Democrats, Fauntleroy UCC and Evergreen Key Club. 1,700 families a month are being served.

The Seattle Times is reporting that the road clearing during December’s snow storms was driven by political decisions rather than the clearing of critical arterials.

In previous storms, plow drivers had discretion over how best to clear their assigned routes, said plow driver Chris Stuker. City drivers would traverse main routes in tandem, allowing main roads to be cleared and plows to clear feeder streets as they were able to, Stuker and three other drivers said.

But that system was replaced by top-down decision-making that resulted in trucks being pulled from major streets for special assignments and to help less-experienced drivers, most of them working in the south end of the city, according to two drivers who asked to remain anonymous out of a concern for their jobs.

Your neighbors on the Seattle side of the line are inviting you again to the next Highland Park Action Committee meeting – here’s the announcement from chair Dan Mullins:

This month’s HPAC monthly meeting will include a presentation from Carolyn Johnson from Seattle Public Utilities to discuss the upcoming changes to our garbage, recycling , food and yard waste pick-up.
She will discuss:

What’s Changing
Food and Yard Waste (What’s New)
Recycling (What’s New)
Other Items (Now Collected @ Curbside)
More Options Than Ever (Service Levels)
What to Expect
Why is This Happening
You Can Make a Difference

Question & Answers or Where to Find Answers

And of course we will have reports on the NEC jail proposal, Becca Fong will discuss the King Co. Food & Fitness initiative, Officer Adonis Topacio with the neighborhood crime watch and much more. We will also have a Spotlight on a local business that we feel you should know about and a raffle with a big prize!!

So come for the pot-luck dinner and stay for the meeting, meet some old and new neighbors and bring your Rants and Raves.

The Highland Park Action Committee monthly meeting
Monday, March 23rd. at 7:00 ( potluck dinner at 6:30)
at the HP Improvement Club building
1116 SW Holden

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, so the chronic alcoholics, that live on the streets, felt emboldened.  Two drunks wondered down 16th Ave. SW, malt liquor in hand (no bags).  Clearly having imbibed a good deal already, one of the pair starts screaming at the top of his lungs.  Concerned that a fight was about to break out between these two drunks, I called 911 and explained that there were two intoxicated men, drinking malt liquor and being belligerent.  The dispatcher asked for description and said he would “call it in.”

My friend and I waited outside of the cafe and placed wagers on whether SPD would respond at all and if so would it be within the hour.  “These calls are just one step above noise complaints on their radar,” he said.  One of the drunks finished his liquor and flung the 20 oz can like a baseball.  The other one continued to nurse his beer.  Finally, about a half hour later a Seattle Police Department patrol car shows up with two officers.  Not bothering to get out of the car they pull up to the individual with the can of malt liquor in his hand.   “Toss it out,” they direct, although he had already started draining the can as he saw the patrol car approach.  He flings his can to the ground.  “Now move along,” says the officer.  The drunks get up and start heading south towards Roxbury.

My friend approaches the patrol car and indicates he wants to talk to them.  The police officers look bothered.  He tells them that the other fellow had just tossed his can on top of the roof of building.  “So?”  came the reply from the officer, who had by now exited the car.  “Well, we have lots of problems with these chronic drunks and we are concerned that nothing is being done to rid the area of them.”

“Look buddy, it’s not my issue.  I can cite him for public intoxication, but that’s just a small fine.”  We do not mention that he could have checked their ids and checked for outstanding warrants.

“But they are just going to get another round of malt liquor and continue to blight the area.”

The officer hems and haws and says, “they’re gone ok.  Buddy, we gotta go.”

And as the two drunks cross Roxbury into unincorporated King County, the officer looks over and says, “look, they’re the County’s problem now.”  And with those parting words, the officer gets in his squad car and drives away.

We’ve been covering this story at partner site West Seattle Blog, but turns out it’s on the county side of the line. Deputies tell us the man is expected to survive. Here’s our report.

There’s word of a meeting this Friday, 11 am-noon, at North Highline Fire District HQ, regarding the future of Evergreen Pool — Pat and Bob Price forwarded the note through mailing lists with a plea for a big turnout to show that the pool shouldn’t be shut down to save money. They say Margaret Anthony from King County will be there to talk about the pool. 1243 112th SW is where you’ll find the fire station, if you haven’t been there before.

Just in from Rick Jump at the White Center Food Bank:

Effective Saturday, March 21st the White Center Food Bank will be open on the 3rd Saturday of every month between the hours of 11:00am and 1:00pm. Registration begins at 10:00am. Proof of address is required on each visit. Service boundaries are as follows:

Between SW 140th Street and SW Myrtle Street
Between Highway 509 and Puget Sound

“During these tough economic times local food banks are serving more families than ever. Many of them are first time visitors to a food bank,” said Rick Jump, executive director of the White Center Food Bank. “This increased demand for services is likely to continue over the next several months. To help meet the need we find it necessary to expand our hours to include a weekend distribution for those who are unable to access our services during the week” said Jump.

The White Center Food Bank also welcomes donations to help meet the increased need in our community. Donations may be mailed to 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To make a donation online or for additional information about the White Center Food Bank, visit their website at www.whitecenterfoodbank.org or contact Rick Jump at (206) 762-2848.

The Hearst Corporation has indicated that the St. Patrick’s Day edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will be their final newspaper edition. Going forward, the “P-I” will publish as a web-only newssite. Executive Producer Michelle Nicolosi, indicated that the paper will leverage the content of the Hearst newspapers for its online edition. The online edition will have a fraction of its former staff, leading to a blurring of titles and responsibilities.  As articulated by Nicolosi, “We don’t have reporters, editors or producers—everyone will do and be everything. Everyone will write, edit, take photos and shoot video, produce multimedia and curate the home page.” The media word is abuzz with the news as this will be the largest online only newspaper and will certainly test out new business and media models. Let’s hope for the best and wish the new organization godspeed.

From the New York Times, a story of a cafe, not unlike Cafe Rozella:

Vox Pop was “kind of placing a bet on an emerging neighborhood” when it opened, said Sander Hicks, an author and political activist who started Vox Pop with Holley Anderson, his girlfriend at the time. He also published a free newspaper, The New York Megaphone, and was elected president of the merchants’ association. “We always used to say, it’s about smart growth, not gentrification,” Mr. Hicks said.

How different it was just four and a half years ago, when Vox Pop opened. “This was all 99-cent stores and video stores, socioeconomically challenged, surrounded by lovely Victorian houses that people have lived in forever,” Ms. Ryan said.

According to this P-I story, the long-awaited Durham Creek work — $400,000 worth — is now on a list of possible cuts when the city updates its budget crunch in the coming weeks.

If it hasn’t turned to rain already where you are, it should soon. But watch out for possible wind trouble later today – there’s a National Weather Service advisory from noon-11 pm.

5:19 PM UPDATE: The wind’s here. Be safe. Gusts up to 50 mph are possible (and Alki Point in West Seattle had one at 45 mph at 5 pm).

That’s Husbands Love Your Wives, playing live for a capacity crowd at Full Tilt Ice Cream last night.