White Center Now: The blog about White Center

As previously mentioned, the first pandemic-era North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is set for this Thursday, October 8th, online. Here’s the announcement with full details:

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where? North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When? Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 7 pm

How? (Here’s the link)
Meeting ID: 946 9398 2872
Passcode: 179306

Dial-in: 253 215 8782
Meeting ID: 946 9398 2872
Passcode: 179306

NHUAC Is Baaaack!!! NHUAC’s first meeting since February will be held Thursday, October 8th at 7 pm. It is going to be a virtual meeting via Zoom so it will be different, but the goal will be the same: To provide an opportunity to be informed, involved, and heard about issues affecting North Highline.

COVID-19 has changed our lives. We have been staying home to stay safe. Meanwhile, what has been happening in White Center, Top Hat, Boulevard Park, other North Highline neighborhoods? What is about to happen? To help us catch up and prepare, NHUAC’s October 8th meeting will focus on our first responders.

Have you ever called 911 because of a fire or medical emergency? If so, you know how important the North Highline Fire District is to our community. Assistant Chief Ray Pettigrew will discuss NHFD and ballot measure NHFD Proposition No. 1 to continue the Benefit Charge.

The climate around policing has gotten intense. King County’s response requires our serious consideration. If Charter Amendment No. 5 passes, voters will give up their right to vote for Sheriff. According to the King County Elections website, “The next sheriff would be appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council.” Charter Amendment No. 6 would transfer much of the Sheriff’s control over KCSO to the King County Executive (currently Dow Constantine) and the King County Council.

Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht will discuss these issues and others specific to North Highline. We will also be joined by Chief Jesse Anderson, who recently left Precinct 4 to become head of the Patrol Operations Division. Major Jeffrey Flohr, Precinct 4’s new Commander; Manny Apostol, KCSO’s new Community Engagement Specialist; and last, but certainly not least, Deputy Bill Kennamer will also join us.

Knowledge is power.

Do not miss this chance to learn and help make North Highline a safer place!

October 8, 2020 at 7 pm – Tell a Neighbor

(WCN photo, last Tuesday)

We finally have followup information on last week’s fire at the Viva Mexico restaurant in White Center. As we surmised at the scene last night, it was a small fire, according to a spokesperson for the >North Highline Fire District. It started in the kitchen; when crews arrived just after 11 pm, black smoke was coming from inside, and they found the fire on a cooktop. It had melted some plastic that dripped onto a floor mat, in turn igniting a fire on that mat. But the firefighters were able to extinguish it with a small amount of water. Along with North Highline and Burien apparatus, they were assisted by Tukwila Ladder 354.

Announced today by King County:

In addition to the North Highline Subarea Plan and Community Needs List, this year the King County Department of Local Services is working with the Department of Community and Human Services on the Anti-Displacement Strategies Report. The purpose of this Report is to study concrete actions that King County can take to develop and retain affordable housing in both Skyway-West Hill and North Highline.

Over the next few months King County will host three virtual workshops to share knowledge about the different anti-displacement strategies being explored in the Report and to provide an opportunity for community members to share their experiences and opinions on these topics:

Workshop 1 (Saturday, October 17th, 10 am-12:30 pm): Strategies to Increase Affordable Homeownership

Strategies to be discussed include community land trusts, rent-to-own and down payment assistance programs, and property tax exemption opportunities.

Workshop 2 (Saturday, November 7th, 10 am-12:30 pm): Strategies to Mitigate Displacement when Development Happens

Strategies to be discussed include community preference and right to return policies, community benefit agreements, relocation assistance, and local and inclusionary employment prioritization.

Workshop 3 (Saturday, December 5th, 10 am-12:30 pm): Strategies for Preservation and Creation of Affordable Housing

Strategies to be discussed include inclusionary zoning, manufactured housing community preservation, “no net loss,” and redevelopment assistance programs.

All workshops will be held on Zoom. Registration is free and simultaneous translation will be available in Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese.

Please register for one or all of the workshops here for English, Spanish, Somali, or Vietnamese.

For more information please visit the project website at www.publicinput.com/anti-displacement.

11:25 PM: 16th SW is closed at SW 106th because of a fire callout at Viva Mexico restaurant. On our way to find out more.

(WCN photo)

12:10 AM: When we got there, what had been a huge callout – more than 15 units initially – was down to just a few. No sign of smoke or flames, or exterior damage, so not a major fire. We will seek more followup info later today.

A reminder from the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

2020 has been a year of many challenges and the creation of many new norms. With that said, NHUAC will not be holding a meeting on the first Thursday of October, and instead will be holding the meeting on the second Thursday, October 8th.

With continued Social Distancing recommendations, the meeting will be held via Zoom. You will also have the option of calling in on your phone. We will send out info on how to join the meeting, as well as info on our guest speakers as we get closer to the meeting date.

Please plan on joining us as we will be discussing issues that are very important to the future of our North Highline Community.

So fire up your computers and get ready to Zoom.

Community Matters
Stay Informed, Stay Involved, Be Heard

White Center’s own Salvadorean Bakery has turned up in an unexpected place – featured on the website of Seattle’s new professional-hockey team, the Kraken. Sisters Ana Castro and Aminta Elgin tell their story of 25 sweet years baking and cooking in White Center, and, most recently, battling through the rocky economic times brought by the pandemic. If you’ve visited, you’ve seen their beautiful cakes – and in the story, they even show off one with a Kraken logo!

Deputies are headed right now to the Texaco station/mini-mart at 15th/Roxbury for a reported robbery. The emergency-radio dispatcher has advised deputies that the robber implied he had a gun, though none was seen. He left on a bicycle, westbound. Initial description: “Unknown race male, 30s, 5’5″, thin, hood and mask.” If you have any information, call 911.

Thanks for the tip. The White Center Starbucks had an unscheduled closure today. A reader told us the store was burglarized and that resulted in a broken window. We just talked with the company and they confirm the staff found a broken window upon arrival this morning, and decided to close for the day, but will reopen tomorrow.The broken window was on the drive-thru side. No other details on the crime so far.

In case you slept right through it, White Center did lose power for a few minutes early today, possibly related to a West Seattle outage that was already partly over by then. Here’s a screengrab of the Seattle City Light outage map during the short-lived outage:

No word on the cause so far, but it’s been a blustery night.

Set your calendar for October 8th instead of 1st – the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has moved its meeting date back a week. Connection/teleconferencing details to come – watch nhuac.org.

King County Executive Dow Constantine presents his next proposed budget on Tuesday, and his office released a preview today. This preview was focused on criminal-legal system reform as well as anti-racism work; it includes two mentions of White Center:

• Invest $750,000 to co-create and implement alternative to policing in urban unincorporated King County

The Executive Office will partner with the King County Sheriff’s Office and community members to co-create and implement a new community-driven safety model in urban unincorporated areas such as White Center, Skyway and East Renton. This may involve hiring behavioral health professionals to partner with Sheriff’s Office Deputies and divert cases from criminal courts and jails. The goal is to design the program in 2021 and implement no later than 2022.

• Invest in community engagement

The 2021-2022 Proposed Budget makes investments to change the County’s approach to working with community to support co-creation and the long-term success of community-based organizations. This includes creating a participatory budgeting effort to determine how to invest $10 million in new capital projects in the urban unincorporated areas of Skyway, White Center, Fairwood, East Federal Way, and East Renton.

While not singling out WC by name, here’s a mention of unincorporated areas:

• Divest $4.6 million of marijuana tax revenue

Executive Constantine’s proposed budget shifts $4.6 million of marijuana excise tax revenue from law enforcement to community-based programs. This represents all the money received by King County from retail marijuana sales. $2.8 million would be devoted to a program to help individuals vacate convictions of marijuana-related offenses that are no longer illegal, and settle unpaid court fines, fees, and restitution that could lead to incarceration. Black communities have historically been disproportionately harmed by our nation’s “war on drugs,” and this begins to undo some of that harm. $1.35 million would be shifted to the Department of Local Services for programs co-created with residents in the unincorporated area, including youth marijuana prevention and employment programs. The remaining $450,000 would be used to create and support a community-centered advisory body that would determine how to spend marijuana taxes in future years.

(Also posted on our partner site West Seattle Blog)

Beautiful flowers like those don’t just appear at local markets. They are grown on small farms. And like so many, the farmers have been hard-hit in these times. So they’re having a flower fundraiser, with online orders through tomorrow, and a Saturday pickup spot in White Center. Explains Cynthia Yongvang of the Hmong Association of Washington, who emailed to let us know abut this: “Our fundraiser would benefit both the Hmong flower farmers who are struggling financially during this pandemic and also our 4 very small communities (Mien, Hmong, Khmu, and Lao) in the Puget Sound area by providing rental-assistance relief to families in need so that they won’t be displaced during this time.” The order form is here, and it explains, “This weekend, based on the farmers’ selection of flowers, the mix bouquets will include sunflowers, dahlias, lilies, phlox, statice , snapdragons, gladiolus and greenery for $25, with $10 of every bouquet going to our rental assistance program.” Orders will be accepted until 3 pm tomorrow (Thursday, September 17th), with pickup options (also listed on the order form) including 9 am-noon Saturday in White Center.

Regardless of how it ends, the 2020-2021 school year’s start for Highline Public Schools made history, with thousands of students and teachers connecting online. The district made this video featuring dozens of scenes from Day 1.

From the WCN inbox:

The Khmer Health Board is organizing a COVID-19 Test Event on Saturday, September 19th from 9 AM – 3 PM at Evergreen High School, 830 SW 116th St.

In-person Khmer translators will be available to assist and insurance is not required for testing. Event is first come, first served. Giveaway items (health and safety supplies, Khmer groceries, etc.) are available until supplies last.

From King County Roads:

Starting at 7 a.m. Friday, September 11 until 11:59 p.m. Saturday, September 12, street parking will be temporarily prohibited in the following White Center locations:

• North side of SW 100th Street between 4th Avenue SW and 8th Avenue SW

• North and south sides of SW 106th Street for 100-feet east of 8th Avenue SW and first 100 feet east of 4th Avenue SW

The parking restriction is needed to allow King County Metro to reroute buses during roundabout painting work at the intersection of 8th Avenue SW and SW 102nd Street.

With all that wildfire smoke polluting the air, and hot, dry weather continuing, here’s something else to heed:

King County Fire Marshal Chris Ricketts has issued a Stage 2 burn ban for King County, which prohibits all outdoor recreational fires. Outdoor cooking and heating appliances are limited to approved manufactured gas and charcoal units only.

The Stage 2 burn ban goes into effect immediately for King County, which was already in a Stage 1 burn ban. Today’s announcement comes after the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag fire danger warning for Northwest Washington that will last through Wednesday of this week.

Abnormally high temperatures and gusty winds, along with low humidity, have prompted both warnings. Large fires in Eastern Washington and Oregon have also contributed to reduced air quality in the Puget Sound region.

During a Stage 2 burn ban, any outdoor fire such as a backyard fire pit or campfire using chopped firewood or charcoal is prohibited. Under the ban, any person with a recreational fire who fails to take immediate action to extinguish or otherwise discontinue such burning when ordered or notified to do so can be charged with, up to and including, a misdemeanor.

Manufactured portable outdoor devices are allowed, including barbeques and patio warmers that are used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Approved fuel devices – including charcoal, natural gas or propane gas – are also allowed.

Ricketts says if residents must smoke, they should exercise extreme caution with their ashes or when they’re extinguishing cigarettes. The county asks residents to be diligent and respectful of their neighbors, and to remember this is a demanding time for first responders.

“The conditions – high temperatures, wind, low humidity – mean everyone should be on high alert about fire safety,” Ricketts said. “Things can become dangerous – and tragic – extremely fast with these conditions. Everyone should be careful.”

Thanks for the tip! 55 Seattle City Light customers have been without power since just after 4:30 pm. The utility has not yet said what caused it but says workers have been dispatched.

(WCN photo, last month)

Three weeks into the North Highline e-scooter pilot, an expansion has just been announced by King County:

Momentum to bring shared electric scooters across King County is building, as a second major company has announced their e-scooters will be hitting the streets of North Highline, including White Center, on Labor Day.

Spin, a San Francisco-based industry leader, says they will roll out some of their fleet to the North Highline area just south of Seattle this Monday. Spin will join Lime as the two companies participating in a one-year pilot program created through legislation led by King County Councilmember Joe McDermott.

“This program is part of an effort to give residents a micro-mobility option that’s safe and socially distant, as well as a first-mile/last-mile option to connect with transit,” said McDermott. “Spin joining this effort will play a major role in further connecting the White Center community.”

Spin will deploy up to 50 scooters to popular transit stops across White Center on Monday (click here for a map of the service area), with pricing set at $1 to unlock and $0.25 a minute to ride. Users with limited incomes may be able to access scooters at discounted rates by applying for the Spin Access program. The program also grants access to those without smartphones, mobile location services, or credit cards.

The scooters are available from 8 am to 8 pm daily and riders can find the nearest available scooter on the Spin app and then activate it with the QR code on the scooter’s handlebar with the app. Riders are required to wear a helmet and should wear a mask anytime they might come within six feet of others. The scooters will be sanitized and maintained by Spin employees.

“We’re thrilled to partner with King County as a scooter provider for the next year. Spin is committed to working with county staff and local community stakeholders to ensure that Spin scooters increase transportation options, while reducing congestion and pollution,” said Kyle Rowe, Global Head of Government Partnerships at Spin.

The company says factors including the closure of the West Seattle Bridge have impacted the commutes of many White Center residents, making public transit an important option for some. As an incentive to commuters, Spin is offering users who park near specific bus stops when they end their ride $1 off their next ride – check Spin’s app for these select locations.

The White Center scooter pilot program runs through August 2021 and could be extended or made permanent at that time. Visit kingcounty.gov/scooters for more information about the program.

Announced by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting
Thursday, September 3rd cancelled –

But mark your calendars for NHUAC’s virtual meeting on Thursday, Oct. 1st 7 pm –

Our NHAC board was hopeful that we would be able to resume in person meetings on Thursday, September 3rd, but COVID had other plans for us. Although statewide hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have not risen for the past three weeks, they have not gone down. With that in mind and the continued directives that we limit the size and the frequency of our social gatherings, we are canceling the September 3rd meeting.

The good news is that we plan on resuming meetings on Thursday, October 1st when we will hold NHUAC’s first-ever virtual meeting. We are excited and look forward to connecting with the community.

As we get closer to the meeting date, we will provide information on how you can join us on your computer or by phone.

So stay tuned as we plan on having some important guest speakers.

Stay Safe – Stay Healthy

Questions- Please contact: bdobkin@northhighlineuac.org

Just announced by the King County Executive’s Office:

Customers at King County locations of Safeway will be able to take home free face masks with their groceries starting today with a new partnership between King County, Safeway, and UFCW Local 21. …

King County purchased more than 25 million face masks for county residents, and to date has distributed more than 14 million reusable and disposable masks through direct distribution and partnerships with local chambers of commerce and other community organizations. …

Starting today, customers at any of the 59 Safeway locations in King County can obtain two free reusable masks per person in their household, for up to 12 masks total, while at the checkstand. Disposable masks will also be available for customers who may have forgotten or misplaced their masks at all stores. All told Safeway will help distribute 750,000 face masks provided by King County.

The nearest Safeway stores are at 28th/Roxbury and at 1st Ave. S./SW 128th.

P.S. In case you wondered too – we checked: No purchase required to get your free reusable mask(s).