White Center Now: The blog about White Center

It’s been almost six months since our first reports that Brass Knuckle Bistro was on the way to the former 3.14 Bakery space at 9602 16th SW. Now they’ve announced that March 6th will be the opening date, with a “friends and family” event this weekend for other local businesses. BKB will focus on sandwiches – you can preview the menu online. (Thanks to Gill for the tip!)

(Photo courtesy Gill Loring)

We first told you last month that A Dog’s Dream Natural Pet Supply was adding a White Center location. And now its doors are open. The announcement sent to WCN:

We are now open!

Our hours are 10-7, seven days a week.

We will be hosting a Grand Opening/12th anniversary weekend event March 3rd and 4th, where we will be offering 20% off all purchases at both stores.

The White Center store is at 9620 14th SW; the original location is at 5913 Airport Way S. in Georgetown.

(UPDATED 6:25 AM)

The snow has stopped, but what’s on the ground has stayed. School changes:

From Highline Public Schools:

Holy Family Bilingual School – 1 hour late. BASS available at 8, school starts at 9

Anything else we should know? Text or call our 24/7 hotline – 206-293-6302 – thanks!

On Sunday, we reported on an incident that sent a pedestrian to the hospital after he was hit at 15th/100th. Few details were available at the time, but we have just obtained more information now from KCSO Sgt. Ryan Abbott:

It appears a 59-year-old male was struck by a 60’ long double articulated Metro bus which was southbound on 15 AVE SW approaching SW 100. The driver stopped at the Metro stop near the NW corner of the intersection. The victim was on the west sidewalk and stumbled off the sidewalk and into the path of the bus as it drove away. The right rear tires of the bus struck the victim and he sustained critical leg injuries.

The driver had no idea he had struck the pedestrian and the 40-50 passengers on the bus at the time also did not notice that the pedestrian was struck. The victim was transported to Harborview for treatment.

No information yet on how the victim is doing.

Been seeing some snow? The National Weather Service has sent out an alert about it – a “short-term forecast” alert:

… A very light dusting of snow on grassy or cold surfaces may occur, especially along the west side of Puget Sound from Bremerton to Hood Canal, south of Tacoma in Pierce county, and hilltops around the Seattle metro area. Most spots will just have passing flurries with no accumulation.

Even if this doesn’t amount to much, the longer-term forecast says we’re likely to see more, with multiple chances tomorrow through Saturday.

Thanks for the tips – 15th SW is blocked north of SW 100th because of a King County Sheriff’s Office crash investigation. Deputies at the scene include the special team that investigates serious incidents like this. They tell us a driver hit a male pedestrian, who was taken to Harborview Medical Center; no information on his condiion. They expect to be here investigating for a few more hours.

3:16 PM: Seattle City Light says 4,100 homes and businesses are without power in White Center, Shorewood, and points south. No cause listed yet; the restoration estimate is 9 pm, but keep in mind that this is only an estimate – could be much sooner or much later.

3:50 PM: The outage map now attributes this outage to a tree.

4:22 PM: Looks like almost everyone is back on.

If you missed our coverage of last night’s White Center attack that injured an employee of Cascade Heights Veterinary Clinic, it’s on our partner site West Seattle Blog – we originally heard about the helicopter search from people on the city side of the line, so that’s where we started the story, and never got around to crossposting here. Meantime, if you want to talk with deputies about crime/safety concerns, Friday is the day for Coffee with a Cop at the White Center Starbucks (16th/100th), as noted here last week – 9 am to 11 am, just drop in when you can.

From Highline Public Schools:

It appears the Highline Public Schools levy measure will pass, with early results showing 57.67 percent voting in favor of renewal.

“I am grateful to voters for their support of our students and schools. Local funding for our schools is critical,” said Superintendent Susan Enfield. “It allows us to provide the quality education our community expects for our children, which goes beyond the minimum funded by the state.”

The levy bridges the gap between what the state funds and the education Highline provides students. The approved levy pays for critical needs, including teachers, staff, school nurses, safety and security officers, counselors, social workers, special education, Camp Waskowitz and athletics.

It’s Tuesday – and that means it’s Election Day. Highline Public Schools has a levy replacement on the ballot, and you have until tonight to cast your vote – if you’re sending it in via postal mail, you’ll want to be sure it carries today’s postmark; if you are dropping it off in a ballot dropbox, get it to the one at White Center Library (1439 SW 107th) before 8 pm. Look for first-night results here around 8:15 pm. (Looking for levy info? Here’s how the district explains it.)

7:29 PM: Out of power? You’re far from alone. 3,000-plus customers in White Center and south West Seattle, because of a vault fire near 22nd/Roxbury. (And Roxbury is currently blocked by the Seattle Fire response.) We’re covering the outage on partner site West Seattle Blog – go here for the latest.

8:41 PM: The City Light map shows just about everyone should be back on. If you’re not, please be sure they know – 206-684-3000.

Road alert from King County – drainage work will close 26th SW/SW 112th starting Monday morning and continuing until Friday afternoon. We will keep an eye on it in case it reopens early, of course.

Four organizations in unincorporated North Highline are receiving King County Community Service Area Grants, as just announced:

King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced 65 volunteer-led community events and projects that will be expanded in unincorporated communities with grants of up to $3,000 each.

The Community Service Area Grants will enhance projects and events, such as First Aid classes, local music events, salmon habitat restoration, emergency preparedness, purchase a refrigerator for a food bank, and more.

“Volunteer-driven projects that refurbish playgrounds and pools, restore forest trails, and add street lights make our communities safer, more vibrant, and better connected,” said Executive Constantine. “Our investments will catalyze the work led by volunteers so it benefits more people throughout King County.”

The community groups successfully competed for a total of $90,000 in grants, which range between $290 and $3,000 each. Community organizations are required to match at least one quarter of the total project costs. The projects must be accessible to all residents, regardless of race, income, or language spoken.

The local recipients (see the full countywide list here):

WHITE CENTER
Sea Mar CHC – Wall mural 8 $ 1,750
Southwest Little League – Baseball equipment – bats – $ 1,000
White Center Community Development Association – White Center Spring Clean Event – $ 1,000
Whitewater Aquatics Management Pool motor – $ 2,250

In our coverage of last week’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting, we mentioned that the White Center Chamber of Commerce is relaunching. Today, a followup: First, there’s a survey for WC businesspeople, about your priorities – if that means you, you can answer it here. Second, the survey results are to be announced at an open house event on Wednesday, February 21st – Miss Sheryl’s Ballet, whose proprietor announced the Chamber relaunch at the NHUAC meeting, is hosting; from the announcement:

The White Center Chamber of Commerce, with support from the White Center Community Development Association, has an open house to share the results of a survey to see what the highest concerns of business owners are, gain feedback about White Center, and to develop interest of revitalizing the White Center Chamber. All business owners are encouraged to attend, and you can come anytime between 4 PM to 8 PM.

Miss Sheryl’s is at 9650 16th SW.

Want to talk with your King County Sheriff’s Office deputies about a crime/safety concern? Here’s your next chance – 9 am-11 am Friday, February 16, at White Center Starbucks! It’s “Coffee With A Cop,” just announced by KCSO. “No agendas or speeches – just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns, and get to know the officers in your neighborhood.”

The first Sunday afternoon of the month brings the Community Advisory Committee meeting for Camp Second Chance, the City of Seattle-sanctioned encampment near the entrance to the city-owned Myers Way Parcels. It’s the usual time and place, 2 pm at Arrowhead Gardens‘ community room (9200 2nd SW). This time, we took the liberty of asking the city Human Services Department about a couple things that seem to come up every month – the camp operator’s contract, and what’s involved in renewing the camp’s permit for a second sanctioned year. Both are addressed in this preview published Friday on West Seattle Blog.