White Center Now: The blog about White Center

ENERGY FESTIVAL: You’re likely to get a visitor today; here’s what it’s all about.

HICKS LAKE CLEANUP: You’re invited to join volunteers, 10 am-3 pm. Read more about it here; Dick Thurnau tells us that, to get there, you should “use the west entrance on 10 Ave. SW slightly north of SW112 th St. next to Cascade Middle School and meet at the West side Picnic Shelter restroom.”

CONVERSATION CAFE: 2 pm today at Cafe Rozella; read more here. Voter-registration drive all weekend, too, so if you’re not signed up yet, might be handy.

And that’s not all … check the White Center Now Events calendar page for more (including the Geocaching Cup and tonight’s football game)!

A reminder from the fine folks at the White Center Food Bank:

The White Center Food Bank invites all community members to join together to minimize hunger through the 4th Annual Harvest Dinner and Auction, Saturday, October 18th at South Seattle Community College Brockey Center. Wonderful gifts, goods, getaways, and services have been donated for the silent and live auctions. Enrique Cerna, Executive Director of Production of KCTS 9, will emcee. Social hour begins at 5:30 pm, dinner at 7:00 pm, $60 per person, adults only please. Free parking available. Please call 206.726.2848 to reserve seats or send an e-mail to rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org

Personal voucher: I worked with Enrique years ago at KOMO TV, and have encountered him a few times since, including events he emceed; he’s got a great personality and a dry sense of humor. Sounds like an event not to be missed.

Back from the Nickelsville sweep (22 arrests in all). I will link here to a full report with video that I will be filing at West Seattle Blog a bit later. Meantime, switching gears in a HUGE way, the White Center Now mailbox just yielded this, and I wanted to be sure to pass it along:

My name is Alfred Johnson and I am the Football Booster Director for Evergreen High School.

On behalf of Head Coach David Lewis and his Staff, I would like to invite the community to come out
to the first Home Game for the Evergreen Wolverines Varsity Football Team.

The game is this Saturday, Sept 27, 2008 at Highline Memorial Stadium.

The game starts @ 7:00pm.

As stated before, this is the first Home Game for the Wolverines this season and we would love for the community to come and support our boys as they battle Tyee High School.

Thank you for your support and hope to see you at the game.

Go, Wolverines!

A Rep of Chris Gregoire has just told the residents of Nickelsville that they can stay on the adjacent State property for another five to seven days. I will update more soon.

At 1:25 p.m., a couple dozen Seattle police officers moved into NIceckelsville.  Tracy reports 15 arrests so far.  Stay tuned for further developments.

Ok, so I promised sometime back to do a rundown of all the great places where you can get a Vietnamese Sandwich, which, next to Ramen, is the poor student’s sustenance.  There are as many Vietnamese Sandwich shops, as there are Pho shops and Asian markets, in White Center – which is to say alot.  So, rather than run down the list, I will share my personal favorite.  For my money, the tastiest Vietnamese Sandwich is, without hesitation, served at Banh 88.  The meat is always excellent, the dressings are fresh and the bread is always toasty fresh.  Load up some Vietnamese garlic hot sauce and you have a piece of heaven for a mere $2.75.  My personal favorite is the barbeque pork sandwich but all the sandwiches, including chicken, beef and vegetarian fare are excellent.  Nikki, the amiable proprietor, is an excellent cook and demands nothing less of her staff.  I have never been disappointed with any meal from Banh 88.  

I must add that besides the Vietnamese Sandwiches, Banh 88 does a full array of great Vietnamese salads, curries and noodle dishes.  This is the place to go with a crowd of people and try everything on the menu.  The curry dishes are likely the best in Seattle.  You can find Banh 88 at 9418 Delridge Way SW (98106), phone 206.768.9767, it is located just south of where Delridge and 17th Ave. SW diverge.  Hours are 11 am to 8:00 p.m.

That said, I invite cognerati to comment on their favorite White Center Sandwich Shop.  

No major headlines from tonight’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, but we’ve got a few toplines for you anyway: Read the rest of this entry »

Just found out about this “Coach Who Makes a Difference” feature with Coach Bethany Tate from Evergreen HS volleyball. Congratulations!

6 pm tonight, it’s the monthly meeting of the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition – it’s a one-stop shop to get the latest on what’s happening with crime, safety, and related concerns around the area, plus a good chance to ask any questions you might have about something in your neighborhood, since local law enforcers and community advocates are on hand too. It’s at St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map).

This morning’s annexation-issues meeting with Seattle reps visiting North Highline Fire District headquarters lasted only half an hour. Kenny Pittman from the City of Seattle said he’d come looking for “continuing discussion,” hoping it would help lead to a “direction.” A document presented at the meeting recapped the concern that had arisen prior to Burien temporarily withdrawing its annexation request, and laid out three potential annexation-related scenarios, one of which would call for a new fire station in White Center – read on: Read the rest of this entry »

From Highline Public Schools – more proof that saving energy isn’t just about the environment: Read the rest of this entry »

The folks at Neighborhood House are hoping to engage more White Center community members in volunteer work like this – so they asked us to spread the word about an opening for a “tutor/mentor.” Read about it here (including info on how to apply). Youth Tutoring Coordinator Sarah Smith adds:

I am the best person to contact about this, my email is sarahs@nhwa.org and phone is 206-366-5084.

The volunteer hours would be from 3:30-6:00, and there are many opportunities ranging from direct interactions with the students to helping out with less direct contact (in case people aren’t comfortable helping with homework, etc.)

Lots of news at today’s North Highline Fire District commissioners’ meeting – including the fact there will soon be fewer meetings. With everything new that’s on the home page, we’ll jump this one ahead – click for the full scoop: Read the rest of this entry »

Word just in from the office of County Councilmember Dow Constantine: A discussion is set to look at the “concept of setting up an Alcohol Impact Area in the White Center business district.” This will happen during the next regular monthly meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, 7 pm October 2 at the North Highline Fire District HQ. According to the announcement, “A representative from the Washington State Liquor Control Board will give a short presentation and will be available to answer questions,” and it further explains, “The Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) program was established by the Washington State Liquor Control Board several years ago. Liquor licensees within the borders of an AIA are subject to special restrictions as to what products they can sell. AIAs were established to deal with the problem of chronic public drunkenness and have been put in place in Seattle and Tacoma. Setting up an AIA requires an extensive neighborhood effort to document a neighborhood’s alcohol-related problems (police calls, aid calls, litter, etc.) along with a government effort to convince liquor license holders to sign “Good Neighbor” agreements. Because the White Center business district is bisected by the Seattle-King County border, we should also consider the concept of setting up adjacent AIAs in unincorporated King County and the South Delridge area (city of Seattle).” The invitation has gone out to “law enforcement personnel, community activists, and crime prevention experts on both sides of the city-county line to attend this discussion.”

Are you concerned about giving away $700,000,000,000 to Wall Street?  Feel a need to understand what this means?  Perhaps just getting your mind around the mind-blowing amount of $$$ that 700,000,000,000 represents?  Well, join us for a conversation cafe on the Wall Street Bailout this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cafe Rozella.  We will pull together some materials and discuss just what the hell is this all about?  If you would like to contribute – materials, ideas or resources please contact Ricardo at email: guarnero@caferozella.com.  The conversation cafe on the Wall Street bailout will be held this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cafe Rozella.  Cafe Rozella is located at 9434 Delridge Way SW, Seattle 98106.  Directions at www.caferozella.com.

If you know someone who is not registered or who may have fallen off the voting rolls, bring them by Saturday or Sunday afternoon after 2 p.m. at Cafe Rozella as we will be hosting a voter registration drive.  No need to mince words here, the issues at stake could not be higher:  war, civil rights, economic collapse and a cool trillion for Wall Street just to hit the high low marks.  Drag your neighbor, your cousin or boyfriend/girlfriend and get them signed up so they can exercise their citizenship rights obligations!  Cafe Rozella is at 9434 Delridge Way SW (just north of Roxbury and Delridge).  Phone (206) 763-5805.

Just in. Someone stole the Village Green sign from the corner of Roxbury Ave. SW and 26th Ave. SW (Safeway block). The sign chained to the tree and whoever took it SAWED off the leg and Stole the sign.

If anyone sees a sign around – probably lying on the side of the road somewhere…or being reused as a ‘newly made over’ sign- please contact Vera at Village Green. These signs are not cheap and for a small business owner it’s quite a hit (speaking from experience). Someone also had to have seen this event take place…sawing wood takes a minute or two… Contact for Vera at Village Green Perennial Nursery
10223 26th Ave SW
Seattle Wa. 98146
206-767-7735

Anyone seeing the sign or the person(s) who took it, please call!

That’s Patricia Julio, neighborhood-revitalization director for White Center Community Development Association<, at last night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting; she and WCCDA’s neighborhood-revitalization program manager David Daw were there to update HPAC on some of the many things WCCDA is up to, including the latest on the Cultural Center at St. James Place, and revitalization work in the WC business district — here are the toplines: Read the rest of this entry »

Just received this announcement – note it’s for an event this weekend as well as a call for playwright participation in an event next month:

The White Center Arts Alliance and DramaQueen Theatre are co-sponsoring a White Center “Future of the Arts” community planning meeting and visioning session on Sunday, September 28th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the White Center ALL ABOUT ARTS studio space at 9444 17th Ave SW.

White Center artists, community leaders and other interested parties are encouraged to attend. The agenda will focus on the short and long-term future of the arts in the White Center community. Phone Nancy Calos-Nakano at (206) 795-0833 for further details.

Also, looking for local playwrights for Live Theatre Week. 5 playwrights to read and present a 10 minute play will be presented on Oct 16,17,18 at ALL ABOUT ARTS studio space. Novice and seasoned writers should turn in a copy of their work to: Nancy Calos at culturalart@msn.com or Karen Kinch jkkinch@msn.com for details, approval, scheduling and entry. There is a small stipend awarded to the writer. Women Writers from all backgrounds are encouraged to enter. Event is called “The Rivers that We Carry – Voices from West of the Duwamish”

Disclosure, I was a Blue Bird, which is what a young Camp Fire member used to be called, back when dinosaurs walked the earth. So I’ve got nostalgic warmth for the Camp Fire USA organization, which was Camp Fire Girls way back then, but welcomes boys as well as girls these days. Here’s the announcement that registration is under way in our area: Read the rest of this entry »