White Center Now: The blog about White Center

On first glance, it sounds dry as a grassy parking strip in August: The county is seeking comments right now on Amendments to the Consolidated Housing & Community Development Plan for 2005-2009. However, if you peek inside those documents, you will find the newest document about the proposal for creating a White Center Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area. This document describes its potential boundaries as follows:

North: From 18th Avenue SW east along SW Roxbury to 2nd Avenue SW, east along the City of Seattle borderline to SR 509;

South: From S124th Street and SR 509 to SW 126th Street to 112th SW;

East: State Route 509 from S 99th Street to S 124th Street;

West: North from SW 126th SW along 12th Avenue SW then west on SW 116th Street to 16th Avenue SW, north to SW 112th Street, west to 19th Avenue SW and north to SW Roxbury.

Once you’ve read the proposal, you can use this online form to comment on it; the deadline is September 15.

Just six days after this website went live, I happened to be covering the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting in West Seattle for WSB, when Seattle City Council president Richard Conlin was asked about the annexation issue. Since I was already online from the meeting room, I quickly posted a short item here on WCN about his response. Little could we have guessed that one short item would draw 51 comments with spirited debate and information exchanges about the ongoing annexation issue. I mention this today, because two more long, thoughtful and thought-provoking comments came in within the past 18 hours, and are worth going back to read if you haven’t checked that thread since the first day or two. (See the original post and all 51 comments here.) Thanks for taking time to discuss, debate, and inform — WCN coverage will continue, and your participation will make it even better. (And keep an eye on our Events Calendar for important meetings on the issue.)

Click To Play

As promised in our earlier post about tonight’s live music at Cafe Rozella, here’s a quick sampler of the show that followed, a couple blocks south at Full Tilt Ice Cream. This was a CD-release party for Centaur Hearts, with Arbitron and One Million Teeth also on the bill – we showed up as the night began, so OMT is who you see in our video clip. Tomorrow (Saturday) night – more live tunes at Full Tilt – which proprietor Justin says got shoutouts from KEXP and the Stranger.

Click To Play

More live music tonight in White Center – this video shows just a bit of the beautiful acoustic sounds provided by members of Children of the Revolution, tonight at Cafe Rozella. (Next Friday night at the cafe, it’s Eduardo Mendonca.) After this 7 pm performance, live music by Centaur Hearts was scheduled over at Full Tilt Ice Cream, and our video crew is over there right now – stand by for that clip, or better yet, get out and enjoy the show on this pleasant late-summer night.

In a growing and changing area like White Center that’s working to overcome outsiders’ inaccurate perceptions – it helps to have the facts. Here’s a good resource to look up the facts about crime and safety in your neighborhood — the King County Sheriff’s Office Crime Stats online search. You can search by area and date; here are the numbers you need to search by area – K1 is the patrol area from Roxbury to 112th, K2 covers 112th to 116th, N1 is 116th southward. Maps are included, so you can see if you’ve found the one covering your neighborhood.

I just posted this bulletin on West Seattle Blog, and wanted to share it with White Center Now readers since the story had been posted here too: The stolen pugs turned up today at the Kent Animal Shelter. Read the details at WSB.

Margarita Prentice will face off against fellow Democrat, Juan Martinez in the general election.  Although many are aware of the annexation issue regarding the unincorporated parts of White Center, few readers are likely aware of the critical role that Margarita Prentice played in the political machinations regarding whether Seattle would continue to vie for annexation of White Center.  Senator Prentice was responsible for legislation which basically made it unfeasible for Seattle to annex White Center.  Subsequent legislation, House Bill 1139 was introduced to allow Seattle the same access to annexation incentive funds as other cities.  Prentice was also at the heart of Seattle negotiations with the Sonics and controversy regarding predatory lenders.  “Juan Martinez, is an affable working-class guy from the South Bronx who’s pounding the pavement in an effort to make up the fundraising gap between his campaign and the Prentice juggernaut.” (The Stranger, August 6, 2008 – endorsement below).   For more information regarding Prentice and her challenger, Juan Martinez I invite readers to check out the following sites (and please feel free to suggest others):  Prentice, Martinez in Legislative District 11, Senator MoneyTree, Sen. Margarita Prentice website, Senate Democratic Caucus and Municipal League of Seattle Guide.  Information on candidate, Juan Martinez can be found at:  Juan Martinez website, State Sen. Margarita Prentice Likely to Face Challenger, Juan Martinez, Municipal League rating, The Bottom One Primary, The Stranger Endorsements.   While much attention is being paid to upper reach races, this is an important race and deserves our attention.

Last Friday, we showed you scenes (like the one above) from the Back-to-School Block Party on 12th SW … today, we have an update from executive director Pat Thompson at the YES Foundation of White Center, who says ALMOST A THOUSAND KIDS – 950, to be precise – got backpacks filled with school supplies, as a result! She also wants to thank World Vision and its partner Washington Mutual for generously supporting White Center kids by providing the backpacks. (First day of school – 13 days away!)

Centaur Hearts

www.myspace.com/centaurhearts

Abitron

and One Million Teeth

www.myspace.com/onemillionteeth

Starts at 9 pm SHARP Friday, over by 11 pm FREE FREE FREE

King County Elections will release daily vote counts till all ballots are tallied. After this afternoon’s count, the race to see who will face 11th District State Senator Margarita Prentice in November is still fairly close – Juan Martinez was 237 votes ahead of Scott McKay. (The 11th starts south of SW 102nd, east of 4th SW – here’s the map.)

Ricardo posted about the missing pugs below, and we reported on it at West Seattle Blog, where we now have an update: A witness called police with information indicating the dogs definitely were stolen. Here’s the latest. Call Seattle Police with tips.

Children of the Revolution

Cafe Rozella continues its summer music series with Children of the Revolution’s acoustic trio.  COTR are always a big draw so plan on getting there early for their performance which begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 22nd.  Show will be outdoors barring inclement weather.

The Seattle Times is reporting that Arbor Heights resident, Marsha Lubetkin, had her two pugs stolen during a burglary last night.  Lubetkin is posting pictures  and asking residents to be on the lookout for of her beloved pups, Bandit and Pippin.  Picture from the Seattle Times article.

Lubetkin and her two pugs (source Seattle Times)

Football’s an all-weather sport – good thing, since according to this Times blog post, the Evergreen High School football team is scheduled to start practicing just after midnight, and it’s not likely to be your typical summer night.

The latest King County results are linked from this page. We’ll add updates to this post as the 11th Legislative District (which includes part of White Center) races shape up; none of the 34th District legislators have challengers. 8:35 PM UPDATE: The main race to watch is 11th District State Senator, with three contenders, to be narrowed to two for November – incumbent Sen. Margarita Prentice is ahead, with Juan Martinez narrowly edging Scott McKay for second place right now. 10:30 PM UPDATE: More King County votes counted; Prentice and Martinez are still the top 2 in that race. 12:46 AM UPDATE: Martinez (27%) has started to pull away from McKay (24%) in the latest count – still quite some distance behind Prentice (49%).

Be’s just opened on 16th in the old Entourage space. It is the same folks who have the Be’s on California. I will post some pics and a review soon.

Knowledge is power, they say. So if you want to stay in touch with who’s building what in your neighborhood, here’s a page to keep an eye on: King County public notices. Checking it today, you’ll see there’s one notice in the White Center area – a decision announced 8/8, allowing a .42-acre lot at 10249 26th SW (map) to be subdivided into three parcels. One more handy link you can use any time to find out who owns a certain property: King County Parcel Viewer.

Happened onto this while chasing something else: The Technology Access Foundation‘s annual Geocache Cup — described by TAF as a “high-tech treasure hunt” — will start at White Center’s Lakewood Park. The Geocache Cup is set for 1-6 pm Sept. 27; registration is open NOW for participants and sponsors – here’s the place to start. If you’re not familiar with TAF, its mission includes “prepar(ing) underserved children of color for higher education and professional success.”

Vashon resident, author and contributor to the Crosscut.com blog, Daniel Jack Chasan, has a couple of informative posts on current developments in White Center. The first post, “Gentrifying White Center” deals generally with the issue of affordable housing and how it is being impacted by gentrification and more specifically by the Greenbridge Project. Greenbridge is housing development of mixed income community taking shape in the old Park Lake housing project site. The model for Greenbridge is the Holly Park development in the Rainier Valley. Chasan points out the paradox that bedevils the economic revitalization of previously poor areas such as White Center. In the process of providing new jobs, businesses and higher income residents the area pushes out the very people who it was designed to assist. In the process, the area loses the flavor that the refugee and immigrant community imparted to the neighborhood. As well, Chasan takes King County to task for reducing the number of affordable housing units. I am not sure that I feel quite as pessimistic about gentrification destroying the character of White Center but Chasan’s concerns are certainly valid.

The second post by Chasan, “Social Progress in White Center” deals more broadly with the various social initiatives by foundations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The White Center Early Learning Initiative is nicely described. As with the first post, Chasen voices some concern for the changing character of the community. This post is a good primer for anyone wanting to understand some of the dynamics at play in White Center. Unlike the housing issue, it is hard to fault a program that invests heavily in the betterment of children. All the more so, as success would mean that the Initiative would become a model for other communities. In any event both posts are highly recommended reading.

If you vote in person instead of by mail, tomorrow’s the day – 7 am to 8 pm. The “Top 2 Primary” system is now in effect; the county has an FAQ explaining it here. If you’re not sure where to go to vote, look it up here. In state legislative race (all candidates listed here), the 34th District (map) legislators are all running unopposed, but the 11th District (map) races all have at least two candidates each.