White Center Now: The blog about White Center

12:59 PM: Thanks to Gill for the photo and report – he says this is all that’s left of a portable toilet by the Steve Cox Memorial Park tennis courts, after a fire last night. He talked with a King County Parks staffer who said no one was hurt. We have a message out to Parks to find out more, including whether it will be replaced.

1:30 PM: Parks spokesperson Doug Williams tells us, “A KCSO deputy was in the park when the fire occurred, so we had emergency responders there in short order. Not sure if it was arson, or if someone was smoking in it. We’ve seen evidence of that before. We’re expecting to have the burnt sani-can replaced by early next week. Until then, there’s one sani-can available to park users by the stadium.”

White Center Kiwanis member Audrey Zemke shares the announcement:

Want to know more about Kiwanis? The White Center Kiwanis Club is having a social on Wednesday evening, November 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th Ave SW). Free pizza and one free libation per person. RSVP appreciated but not required to Bill Tracy at (206) 248-2441 or billnancytracy@aol.com.

You are invited! Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School welcomes everyone to Charlie Brown Bingo Night, 6-9 pm tonight in the school gym. HF says, “This is a great opportunity to help our school to buy resources while you are enjoying delicious food and winning great prizes.” The school is just north of the church, at 20th SW and SW Roxbury.

By King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
and
Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold
Special to White Center Now

There’s a lot of conflict and confusion around what to do about homelessness and how it can best be addressed. The debate has become polarizing for our region – let’s ensure it doesn’t become paralyzing. Many of our constituents express understandable frustration that people are camping in West Seattle, White Center, and elsewhere. There are also plenty of passionate voices who express compassion for people who experience homelessness.

But the biggest concerns seem to be in reaction to broken policies, not the people themselves. For the last few years, the City and County have heard from many residents that there are many people who are unsheltered in White Center. They ask that local government take necessary steps to ensure homelessness is a brief and one-time event.

We know we need resources to divert people from homelessness, resources to get people into housing quickly after becoming homeless, and resources to help re-stabilize families after experiencing homeless so they don’t become homeless again. For those living unsheltered, the need for low-barrier shelter is vital.

There are as many stories as there are people living unsheltered. No one is perfect, but many of the stereotypes of people who are homeless are simply that: stereotypes. As a community we must stop perpetuating the myth that people live unsheltered by choice. Most people we’ve talked to or heard about are not making a choice to live outside because they prefer it. Rather, it is because shelters are full, rental housing is unaffordable, and mental health and drug treatment services are unavailable. Those who are homeless are faced with a lack of real choices that can help people get and stay housed. And it falls to us, as a community, to provide them an opportunity for better choices.

It is incredibly disturbing to hear comments that repeat harmful stereotypes about the identity of people who are homeless, and the dangers that they pose to community safety. These comments have been made in response to not just the proposed shelter for White Center, but for those in other areas as well. This creates a sense of fear, and doesn’t allow us to have a productive conversation about how to address this situation.

The annual One Night Count last January confirmed more than 3,000 people living unsheltered, with over 100 of our neighbors counted sleeping outside in White Center in particular. There are very limited options for emergency shelter in this area, and new approaches and different policies might move some of these very same people to an indoor space. A current plan to open a shelter in White Center for people experiencing homelessness could fulfill the need for such a space.

The county’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) has proposed transforming a county-owned building, the site of the former Public Health clinic, into a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The original proposal included a 70-bed shelter facility that would be open from early evening through morning, to be located next to the White Center Food Bank. In response to community comments and the continuing engagement of a neighborhood workgroup, the proposal is being refined. We are especially supportive of efforts to work with clients to connect them with needed services, such as employment, health care, and permanent housing.

Long-term, this site is being considered as the future location of a community hub that can provide centralized access to needed services and permanent housing. However, it will be several years before such a development is realized. In the meantime, we have the opportunity to use this building, a public resource, to address one of the most pressing challenges facing our community.

We view this as an opportunity for collaboration and problem-solving between Seattle, King County, and the community. We appreciate that people have shared their perspectives on this strategy, from those with concerns to those expressing strong support. Working together, we must help people experiencing homelessness become more stable, because when they have some form of safe shelter, rather than sleeping outside in our neighborhoods, green belts, and on the sidewalk, they are able to secure housing more successfully. Providing low barrier shelter provides some improved stability for all. We have an obligation to act.

People are needlessly living unsheltered every day. We can and we must find more places where people can move out of the cold to a warm place where they can begin their journey to permanent housing. To those who say we must focus on long term solutions, we say we agree but no one should sleep outdoors, and we need solutions that will serve people today. Where can these people sleep this winter? And in the absence of a safe location, when we turn a blind eye to opportunities like the one in White Center, we risk making everyone’s situation worse — not better.

****
Councilmember Joe McDermott represents King County District 8, which includes White Center. Councilmember Lisa Herbold represents Seattle District 1, which includes neighboring West Seattle and South Park.

From the King County Sheriff’s Office:

Just before 2 am, deputies responded to a shooting at 15th Ave SW/SW Roxbury St. They contacted a 40-year-old male with a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to Harborview Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Multiple shots were fired and the victim was hit at least once. The suspect is described as a male in dark colored clothing. The suspect is at large. We have no further information at this time.

9:59 AM: Most of this – but not all – is south of White Center: 3,868 homes/businesses have lost power in the greater Highline area. See the map here.

10:50 AM: Outage over, per SCL map. The wind advisory remains in effect through 3 pm, though.

Six days after our extensive update on the proposed White Center shelter, resulting from county official Adrienne Quinn‘s appearance at the November NHUAC meeting, there’s another update. This one comes via e-mail from the county:

King County continues to explore opening a homeless shelter at the former Public Health Clinic in White Center. Recent work has focused on evaluating alternative sites suggested by the local community. King County is also evaluating the community suggestion of using the site for a family shelter.

The first meeting of the work group was October 18. The work group will meet again the week of November 10 to discuss alternate site locations and the shelter model. King County representatives also recently attended the November 3 meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council.

The King County Department of Permitting and Environmental Review is continuing to review the permit request.

The update points to the county website about the proposal – and that’s where you’ll find the new information, in response to questions raised, including at the NHUAC meeting:

*What about alternate sites? This document shows four sites that have been proposed and ruled out (and explains why).

*How many homeless people are in White Center? This document shows the 176 tallied during the One Night Count, with lower numbers from other sources.

*Definition of terms related to the shelter (enhanced, etc.).

After two rounds of vote-counting last night, it appears the Highline Public Schools bond is passing. It has 65 percent approval – at least 60 percent is required – and more than the minimum number of votes:

Approved – 19,696 – 65%
Rejected – 10,552 – 35%

Details of the bond are here.

(WCN photos and video)

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Another intense meeting for the White Center area’s community council, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

ADRIENNE QUINN: The director of King County’s Community and Human Services department, ultimately accountable for the proposal to set up a shelter in the former Public Health building at 8th and 108th, faced a full house. She said she wanted to talk about the original proposal and “where we are now” with it.

She said there are “a lot of misunderstandings about who people who are who are homeless…. The #1 reason for people under 25 are that they are gay, lesbian, transgender, thrown out of their homes … the #2 reason (for people under 25 to be homeless) is that they have been in foster care and have been thrown out of their homes … For women and families, the primary reason people become homeless is domestic violence, fleeing dangerous situations, their credit has been ruined, it’s difficult for them to get an apartment. … For adult men, right now, 31% are veterans over the age of 55 … another reason is untreated mental (illness). … 1 in 4 people (in general) have an untreated mental disorder … if you are homeless, you don’t have a place to carry your medication, you may not have a doctor, but if we are able to bring people inside, we can stabilize them … There’s a lot of discussion about crime and homelessness. People who are homeless are much more likely to be victims of crime than to (commit crime).”

She mentioned the 100 unsheltered people found in the White Center area during the most-recent One Night Count.”We have heard for many years, do something about the people who are homeless … So King County has been looking all over the county, looking for any available resource … to bring people inside … to help them get back on track. We identified the WC Public Health Clinic, several other buildings around the county, one in Kenmore, one in Bellevue … we began to explore that this spring …” She went on to describe why the building in WC seemed suitable, “to bring a shelter to WC to help people who are here right now, to work on case management, to try to stabilize them, to help people move through shelter in 30 days.” She said studies from around the country have shown that can be successful. And she pointed out that “many people who are homeless actually work” and need someplace to leave their belongings.

“We are continuing in exploration mode,” Quinn said, saying (this section of her speech is in the video clip above) that they are exploring the possibility of the shelter starting with a small population, being offered to families – if there are enough homeless families in this area – instead of the previously planned singles/couples, and being open 24/7 so that there would not be a daily discharge of people onto the street. She also said the small group that met two weeks ago for a discussion of this would meet again one week from tonight.

Opening Q/A, NHUAC president Liz Giba said that the concentration of poverty in White Center remains a concern. Quinn said that they are trying to help homeless people in WC to alleviate that.

Next, an attendee who lives in the area accused Quinn of lying and putting a “spin” on things. He claimed the plan has been in place since last November; she said that wasn’t true. He said they have a public-records request in for information, and that an online petition has collected 1,000 signatures, and that there’s crowdfunding to bankroll the records request. “You picked the wrong location …we’re going to get to the bottom of this.” He talked about problems happening in the park and near the clinic right now; Quinn said that getting people indoors would be the remedy for that.

NHUAC vice president Barbara Dobkin said she is concerned that more homeless people are turning up in White Center because they are being “pushed out of Seattle.” She cited situations such as the West Seattle Junction bus-shelter closure plan.

In other questions, she tried to clarify the “no-barrier” concept – not necessarily that people are going to be allowed in to shoot up, but that “if they have a little alcohol on their breath, we’re not going to turn them away.” She also said this would not be like the “navigation center” that Seattle is considering.

Another attendee brought up some contradictions in what Quinn was saying here and what they heard at the September 15th meeting. She noted that the shouting at that meeting was unsettling to some of the people at that meeting. (One thing that emerged – they’re looking at “portable showers” for the building, which otherwise was described as not being set up for shelter stayers to be able to take showers.)

One attendee said she had heard about what was recommended for helping ease Seattle’s homelessness problem; Quinn said that the county and city had declared an emergency to try to get the federal and state governments to help.

Another attendee challenged the contention that White Center had 100 people unsheltered during the One-Night Count, saying law enforcers had told them they had seen far fewer. Quinn tried to draw a distinction between people who are visibly homeless and those living in vehicles. She was asked why the people on the street aren’t getting help now; she said that outreach is being done.

Asked about shelters in residential areas, near schools, Quinn pointed to Our Lady of Guadalupe in West Seattle, which hosts a shelter. Small population, though, she acknowledged on followup.

Many of the questions and concerns voiced had to do with discrepancies between numbers cited in previous communications/meetings and what was being said here. Seattle displacement was cited, and at one point, Quinn said, “That’s a city of Seattle issue.” But she acknowledged the county is having issues too – she said she had heard from people in mobile-home parks who were getting forced out, too. Quinn added that her department is working with the King County Housing Authority, giving them a line of credit to “preserve at least 2,000 units” of affordable housing. They’ve bought four apartment buildings, she said.

She was also pressed on a variety of points about the county’s shelter operations. How many buildings? More than 70. How many people? About 2,000.

NHUAC board member Christine Waldman said a list of possible alternative locations was provided to the county and “there’s got to be someplace else that this can go.” Quinn said they are “looking at facilities that are safe to be inside right now … some are so rundown as to not be safe.”

NHUAC board member Elizabeth Gordon said the shelter plan needs to be viewed through an equity/justice lens for this community; Quinn had mentioned that they were using a more-regional assessment for that kind of information. Giba reinforced the point a few minutes later, and also addressed it to King County Council chair Joe McDermott, who was in attendance but did not speak.

Quinn was asked who is involved in the “core group” that will meet again next week – “15 or so people,” including three from NHUAC, “to really talk about, get into more detail about a lot of these issues people are talking about” in relation to this, including safety. She said that the work group’s eventual goal is to “come back to a larger community meeting” (as promised in the September public meeting), before year’s end.

One of the last comments to her was, “Don’t force us to read between the lines. Be radically transparent with us.”

CASCADE MIDDLE SCHOOL PREVENTION TEAM: Before Quinn spoke, three students and their adviser (from a team of about 20 students) spoke to the meeting, saying they have been doing cleanup work in Dick Thurnau Memorial Park and are concerned about the possible shelter being near the park and their school.

The students read statements they had written, and their adviser showed petitions that they had circulated, saying they collected more than 120 signatures. We recorded them on video – see and hear for yourself above. (During Adrienne Quinn’s time at the front of the room, NHUAC board member Elizabeth Gordon got Quinn to commit to following up on the students’ request for someone from the county to come speak with them.)

STEVE COX MEMORIAL PARK FIELD RENOVATION PROJECT: King County Parks reps Frana Milan and Tri Ong talked about this, saying it’s “just getting rolling” – improvements to “the fields outside of the stadium” – Fields 2 and 3, “currently underutilized.” They’re intended for youth baseball, but “frequently not even usable for the amount of use scheduled there, because of drainage problems.” Milan said there’s a higher demand, not just for traditional sports but also Ultimate Frisbee and lacrosse. She said 75 people were surveyed over the summer, and 40 percent of them use the fields in question for pickup sports. What would make it a great park? they asked. As a result of the replies, they’re trying to design the fields to serve local use, diversify possible uses, expand playable hours, and enhance public safety. Milan showed a rough design:

And she showed Walt Hundley Playfield in West Seattle as an example of “what we’re thinking about.” Synthetic turf is being considered, as are lining for multiple sports, a natural-surface walking path, new backstops, lighting around the perimeter, and access to the restrooms that face the stadium, so they could be accessed from the side of the field. Of those, survey respondents supported restroom access, lighting, and a walking path most strongly. With design under way, it should reach 90 percent in a year, then be built in spring/summer of 2018, concluded by fall of that year. The King County Parks budget already has $1.7 million allotted for this and is hoping for $1.6 million more in the current budget. Attendee questions asked mostly about funding and possible other sources for it. Separate from this project, the stadium is getting a new roof soon, said Ong, and parking-lot repaving is expected to happen next spring, along with ADA-compliant curb ramps.

One point of interest that emerged while attendees were asking questions: Jubilee Days would not be able to use Steve Cox for fireworks shows once these changes are made.

RESIGNATION: Gordon said she is no longer working in the unincorporated area so she needs to resign from the NHUAC board, and urged anyone interested in “positive community engagement” to get involved. President Giba led a round of applause, saying that Gordon has “been awesome.”

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS: NHUAC board member Pat Price announced plans for a Festivus celebration on Friday, Dec. 9, at White Center Eagles, dinner/auction, and the White Center Library Guild‘s book sale/holiday sale 11 am-4 pm Friday and Saturday (November 4-5) at the library … The White Center Kiwanis will have a meet-and-greet November 30th at Proletariat Pizza, 6:30 pm – “free pizza, and come see what we’re about” … The Kiwanis’s candy-bar sale, $2.50 for See’s bars, continues … Mark Johnston talked about the marijuana laws and said one licensee in the Top Hat area is looking to move to Federal Way.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets first Thursdays at 7 pm at NH Fire District HQ.

Looking for school(s) for next year? Thursday night brings a chance to find out more about West Seattle Montessori School and Academy in White Center. From 6 to 7:30 pm, the open house “gives parents and prospective families a chance to meet our staff, teachers and tour the facilities. You’ll be able to view samples of student work and pick up application materials. Our teachers and staff are available during and after the Open House to answer questions.” WSMS & WMA are at 11215 15th SW.

From the King County Sheriff’s Office, as they prepare to dedicate a memorial to fallen deputies, including White Center’s Deputy Steve Cox:

The King County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help locating any and all family members of King County Sheriff’s Deputies who have fallen in the line of duty. The Sheriff’s Office is dedicating a memorial to the 16 deputies who have been killed in the line of duty since the county was created in 1852.

The Sheriff’s Office will be dedicating a memorial to the deputies at 10 am on December 2nd at the King County Courthouse and would like family members of the fallen deputies to be present during the historic unveiling. If you are a family member or relative of one of these fallen deputies please contact Captain Greg Thomas at Greg.Thomas@kingcounty.gov

The fallen Deputies are (in alphabetical order);

Deputy Donald A. Armeni
End of watch
September 15, 1954

Deputy Mark William Brown
End of Watch
February 27, 1999

Deputy William G. Cherry
End of Watch
March 6, 1853

Deputy Richard S. Cochran II
End of watch
May 22, 1991

Deputy Steve E. Cox
End of Watch
December 2, 2006

Deputy Richard Anthony Herzog
End of Watch
June 22, 2002

Detective Sergeant Samuel A. Hicks
End of watch
June 24, 1982

Deputy Thomas Meehan
End of watch
November 13, 1935

Deputy George Poor
End of Watch
July 26, 1891

Detective Michael L. Raburn
End of watch
March 27, 1984

Deputy Robert Carl Scott
End of Watch
April 4, 1920

Deputy Norman F. Silkworth
End of Watch
March 7, 1952

Special Deputy Steve Watson
End of Watch
July 9, 1934

Deputy John Williams
End of watch
March 18, 1903

Sheriff Louis V. Wyckoff
End of watch
January 20, 1882

Deputy Posseman Cornelius Rowley
End of Watch
July 4, 1902

6:10 PM: 8th/Roxbury will be at least partially blocked for a few hours because of a crash investigation. A King County Sheriff’s Deputy hit a man who was walking across the street, according to KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West. While the man’s injuries are not believed to be major, he’s been taken to Harborview Medical Center, and because a deputy was involved, KCSO’s major-crash investigators are coming to the scene, and their work usually takes a few hours. Our crew says westbound traffic on Roxbury is completely blocked, while one eastbound lane was open, and some southbound traffic on 8th was also getting through. We probably won’t know more about the circumstances until tomorrow.

9:27 PM: Couldn’t get back to check until now, but in case you were wondering, the intersection is completely clear.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Sgt. West says the 65-year-old man who was hit was not in the hospital for long and was released last night. Here’s how they believe it happened: “The deputy was northbound on 8 Ave SW and was stopped at the red light at Roxbury. When the light turned green he waited for traffic to clear so he could make a left turn to go westbound on Roxbury. The pedestrian was in the cross walk on the west side of the intersection crossing from south to north. The man had just reached the first westbound lane when he was hit by the bumper of the police vehicle making the left turn. The northbound light was green and the status of the pedestrian crossing light is unknown.”

She says the deputy was in an unmarked SUV and was estimated to have been going 10 mph or less when he hit the pedestrian.

From the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, here’s what’s ahead for the November meeting this Thursday:

November 3, 2016 at 7 pm
North Highline Fire Station at 1243 SW 112th Street in White Center
(Parking and Entrance are in the Back of the Station)

Please join North Highline’s volunteer community council at our November 3rd meeting.

NHUAC aims to add opportunity to our community’s equation: The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard.

Neighborhood parks will be front and center in this month’s meeting. Our White Center Storefront Deputy, Bill Kennamer, will provide updates on the storefront’s move to Steve Cox Memorial Park, crime stats, and other news from the King County Sheriff’s Office.

More news about Steve Cox Memorial Park will be brought to us by Frana Milan and Tri Ong of King County Parks. Frana and Tri will share plans to improve the park and ask for input on how the project can best meet community needs and address concerns related to the athletic field improvements.

Adrienne Quinn, Director of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), will update us on King County’s plan to put a low-barrier homeless shelter for 70 adults in the old Public Health Building (next to the Food Bank and Dick Thurnau Memorial Park).

Our special guests will be members of Cascade Middle School’s Prevention Team. The Prevention Team is passionate about preventing drug and alcohol use among youth in our community, supports causes that promote positive community norms, and participates in a variety of community service events. The Prevention Team’s projects have included cleaning up Dick Thurnau Memorial Park. NHUAC is pleased to provide a forum where these inspiring students’ voices can be heard in North Highline. Help us welcome them this Thursday at 7 pm!

Can you spare a few minutes? If you’re 18 or older, this survey is for you:

The Coalition for Drug-Free Youth – a community-based alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention organization – is conducting a short community survey. This survey asks about one’s perceptions of drug and alcohol use and abuse in youth and in the community. The data from these surveys will be used to implement evidence-based prevention programs in middle and high schools in the community.

Adults ages 18 and over, who live, work or frequent the North Highline and Burien areas are eligible to take this survey. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey!

Survey link (English): surveymonkey.com/r/KIWHON2016

Survey link (Español) es.surveymonkey.com/r/KIWHSP2016

(Canada goose captured for cleanup – WCN photo from November 2015)

The company responsible for the cooking-oil spill in a White Center pond last year (13th SW/SW 100th) says it will cover the third-of-a-million-dollar cleanup cost, much of which went toward rescuing more than 50 birds. That’s according to this update from the state Department of Ecology:

A White Center food manufacturing company, La Mexicana, has agreed to repay the state for its efforts to clean up vegetable oil that spilled into a White Center pond last year. The company has also committed to fund a local environmental restoration project.

The Washington Department of Ecology, other agencies and contractors spent weeks cleaning up the vegetable oil, and catching and cleaning more than 80 oiled birds in November and December 2015. The response efforts and cleanup work totaled $333,729, and about $250,000 of this amount was dedicated to wildlife response. La Mexicana said it will pay for the bill.

La Mexicana voluntarily accepted responsibility after realizing the spill had occurred at its White Center facility.

The spill happened on Oct. 30, 2015, when a 200 gallon container of cooking oil accidentally tipped over and spilled an estimated 175 gallons into a storm drain. That storm drain emptied into the White Center pond a few blocks away.

“La Mexicana became an involved response partner as soon as they realized the oil in the pond and the impacted wildlife were a result of the spill at their facility,” said David Byers, Ecology’s spill response supervisor.

Since the spill, La Mexicana has purchased spill response equipment, posted instructions and trained employees to contain, clean up and immediately report future spills.

Cooking and other edible oils, while less toxic to wildlife than petroleum products, cause environmental harm. The oil coats birds’ feathers causing them to lose insulation and buoyancy. Oil also damages habitat for other aquatic life by reducing oxygen levels and creating physical impacts on the water surface and shoreline.

“La Mexicana cares deeply about our community and the environment. We are grateful that we were able to partner with the Department of Ecology to restore the pond and the impacted wildlife. La Mexicana has implemented robust programs to ensure the protection of our natural resources, and the continuous improvement of our processes, products, and services,” said William Fry, general manager of La Mexicana.

Along with cost recovery, the state issued a separate $4,813.83 damage assessment to La Mexicana for harm to natural, cultural and publically owned resources. The assessment is based on the amount spilled and the resources placed at risk.

Ecology also fined La Mexicana $2,000 for spilling oil and failing to promptly report the spill. Ecology penalties may be appealed to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board.

(White Center Now/West Seattle Blog photo by Patrick Sand)

11:59 AM: Thanks for the tips – 26th SW between White Center/Shorewood and West Seattle is blocked right now by a crash response at the intersection where SW 106th becomes 107th because of the crash in our photo above. Our crew is told 2 vehicles were involved and one person was taken to Harborview. King County’s major crash investigations team is on the way out so this might be closed for a while. Our crew says east-west traffic is being allowed through one lane at a time, but we would advise avoiding the area entirely. We will check back at the scene later; if you see it open again before we update, please let us know, text or voice, 206-293-6302 – thank you!

12:11 PM: Metro has sent a re-route alert because of this – “not serving stop at 26th/106th, use stop at Seola Beach Dr. SW & SW 106th or 26th/SW 100th.”

2:21 PM: The intersection remains fully blocked.

3:53 PM: Metro has just texted/tweeted that the bus stop on 26th SW is open again, which we’ll take as word that the intersection has reopened to all traffic.

Thanks to ex-Caffé Delia co-proprietor Matt for the update – their former space in downtown White Center has soft-opened today as Moonshot Coffee. As noted previously, the new owners are also proprietors of Burien Press. Here’s their announcement today:

Thanks to the amazing and talented people at Synesso, our new machine was installed last night. Because of that we’ve made the choice to go ahead and open for a few hours today for a “Please Excuse the Dust Pre Soft Opening” until 1 pm Saturday and from 9 am to 1 pm on Sunday. Additionally, we’re going to donate $1 from every drink sold to the good folks over at the Yes Foundation of White Center. We have a limited menu of coffee from Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. and Velton’s Coffee Roasting Company and some legendary Caffe Delia scones that we’ll serve until they are gone. We’re looking forward to making you coffee and meeting you.

Moonshot is at 9622 16th SW, next to Proletariat Pizza.

Demolition is well under way at the former White Center Chevron, which closed just two weeks ago to make way for a Starbucks coffee shop and Popeye’s fried-chicken restaurant (we had first word of the project back in June). Thanks to Gill for the tip on teardown starting earlier this week; we went by this afternoon to check on the progress.

12:18 PM: Avoid 17th SW at and north of SW 104th. Deputies have it blocked for what they tell us are two separate incidents. At the north end, it’s a suspicious package. At the south end, shots were fired at or in a longtime trouble house. The person who fired them is st large and might be injured, but his whereabouts are unknown. More later.

4 PM: No additional information, but in case you were wondering, the street IS fully clear now.