White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Maybe you’ve seen the sign warning about lane closures at 15th/Roxbury next week; we heard about it through a reader tip. That led us to chase down details, and the King County Department of Transportation tells us it’s part of a more-extensive project:

King County has issued a permit for fiber optic installation on 15th Avenue Southwest between Roxbury Street and 107th Avenue Southwest, moving east on 107th Avenue Southwest and then south along 12th Avenue Southwest to Southwest 114th Street in the White Center area. Most of this work will involve attaching fiber to existing utility poles, so traffic disruptions should be minimal with possible intermittent lane closures.

There is more extensive work being planned at the intersection of 15th Avenue Southwest and Roxbury that will involve 200 feet of underground installation taking up to five days, half in the city, half in King County. That more intensive work will require the closure of one southbound through lane on 15th Avenue Southwest north of Roxbury and a northbound left turn lane on 15th Avenue Southwest at Roxbury. Work is planned 9 am to 3 pm weekdays March 2 through March 6. Traffic control will be in place around the work zone.

The Evergreen Wolverines need you to help them take the field for this year’s high-school baseball season. Simple and tasty way to do that – breakfast, one week from tomorrow! Here’s the announcement:

The White Center Eagles Club (FOE) is holding a fundraising breakfast on Saturday, March 7, 2015 from 9 AM to 1 PM at the White Center Eagles Club located at 10452 15th Ave. SW, in support of the Evergreen High School boys’ baseball team – the “Wolverines.”

Because of recent thefts of equipment and lack of funding, the team is in desperate need of basic equipment and field improvements to field a team this season. Baseball lovers from Southwest Seattle, White Center, Burien, SeaTac and surrounding areas are asked to contribute to help put a team on the field for 2015. Members of the team and coaching staff will be present to help serve breakfast. For any further information please contact the White Center Eagles Club at 206-248-1400.

By Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
White Center Now/West Seattle Blog co-publishers

First word arrived via a tweet directed at us by Caffé Delia, with a photo of newly opened Mardi Gras Donuts and the message, “Donuts! In Rat City!” So we headed over to investigate.

More than the donuts, it turns out, Mardi Gras Donuts is all about the beignets.

That’s what proprietor Michael Williams (“call me Mike”) told us.

The donuts are a sideline to the beignets (ben-YAYS, as he pronounces it in his New Orleans accent – “New Orleans-born and raised,” he says proudly).

He’s been open a few days at 9828 16th SW (a storefront that’s been a bakery before). Signage just went up yesterday. No decorations inside, and when we walked in, we wondered if he would tell us he’s not really open yet. But — he is.

His marquee item, the beignets, are 3 for $2.25. He says he’s making and selling other types of donuts because that’s expected – cakes, glazed, honey buns, apple fritters, twists, donut holes.

He’s here as what sounds to be the latest stop on a cross-country journey of sorts. He worked in a donut shop in New Orleans that gained fame via a Food Network feature in 2011. Later that year in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, he opened his first Mardi Gras Donuts shop, featured in local news there.

Deciding to make a move, Williams said he almost wound up in Fargo, North Dakota, where he owned some property. The prospect of deep-freeze winter was a little much. Talking to a wholesaler, he heard Seattle didn’t have much in the way of beignets. So, here he is.

6 am-8 pm for starters (Williams says he’s still figuring out the hours depending on how the customer flow goes), and during the morning, they’ll make hot glazed donuts while you wait. P.S. – Cash only.

As announced back in December, the Burien Albertsons grocery stores are being converted to the Haggen brand. And we’ve just received information on the timetable for the conversion of the store that’s closest to White Center – 12725 First Ave. S. – as announced by the company:

6:00 pm, Sunday, March 8 – Burien Albertsons store closes
12:01 am, Monday, March 9- Haggen takes ownership of the store
4:00 pm*, Tuesday, March 10 – Burien store reopens as Haggen (*Opening time is tentative)

The conversion of the southernmost Burien Albertsons, at Five Corners, is expected to happen in late May.

11:53 PM: Still trying to unravel exactly what happened, but Seattle Police tracked a suspect into White Center tonight and have just taken him into custody near Marv’s Broiler in downtown White Center. The call apparently started with a report of a man with a knife in South Delridge; SPD was searching, and then found their suspect, who was reported to have been on a bicycle. King County Sheriff’s Deputies were on the case too. We’ll add anything more that we find out.

12 MIDNIGHT: Photo tweeted by Katt:

Today was the originally scheduled sentencing date for 44-year-old Brodie Lamb, who pleaded guilty last month to murdering his mother, 69-year-old Margaret Ryan, in 2012. But it’s been postponed a month because members of Ms. Ryan’s family were unable to come to court today. The hearing is rescheduled for 1:30 pm Friday, March 20th. As first reported here on January 23rd, Lamb pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder for stabbing his mother to death, and prosecutors are recommending a 22-year sentence.

The Rainier Roller Girls are bouting at Southgate Roller Rink on Saturday, vs. Faster Pussycats. And it’s not just a chance to see roller derby – the announcement also says:
“There will be an amazing bake sale with treats from Stuffed Cakes, Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe, and Mighty-O Donuts. There will be a Storm Trooper photo booth and many Star Wars characters from Garrison Titan and Alpha Base! A super-fun old school punk rock night of roller derby you won’t want to miss! And 10% of proceeds go to Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington!” See the Facebook invite here.

Thanks to Gill for the tip on law-enforcement activity – the King County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were looking for a suspect in an attempted bank robbery in the 9600 block of 17th SW. They used a K-9 team but they weren’t able to track down the suspect. So far, this is all the description information KCSO has released: Black male, dreadlocks, gray hoody. KCSO didn’t identify the bank, but (updated) a reader tells us that KCSO cars were outside the Bank of America.

The first votes were counted tonight in the special election for two Highline Public Schools measures. The operations levy Proposition 1, which required only a simple majority, is passing with 57 percent – here’s the full look, from the county website:

Construction/renovation Proposition 2 needs 60 percent to pass, and while it was close in the last election, it’s further back this time, at least so far:

Another round of votes will be counted tomorrow.

Today is Election Day for the Highline Public Schools measures, which means you have to get your ballot into the mail, with postage, by this evening, or get it to a dropbox by 8 pm.

If you saw the search activity this morning – it even rerouted Metro buses off 15th SW between SW 102nd and SW 106th for a while – here’s what it was about, according to King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates: “There was a domestic violence call; the subject fled on foot and we did an extensive K9 track with us and SPD. He wasn’t located. He was armed with a handgun and was threatening to harm himself.”

This month’s meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is coming up Thursday, February 12th, 7 pm at the NH Fire District HQ (1243 SW 112th). Here’s the agenda shared by president Barbara Dobkin:

7:00 pm Call to Order – Flag Salute – Roll Call –
Approval of Agenda – Approval of Minutes

7:05 pm Public Announcements

7:10 pm Public Comment
3 minutes for Individuals
5 minutes for Groups

7:20 pm Sherry Williams, Deputy Director, Operations –
Technology Access Foundation (TAF)

7:35pm Greg Smith, Facilities Manager
King County Library System

8:00 pm Committee Reports

8:10 pm New Business
*March Meeting

_____________________________________________________________________________________
NHUAC MEMBERS: Jessica Stoneback – Richard Miller – Elizabeth Gordon – Elizabeth Devine

COUNCIL OFFICERS: President – Barbara Dobkin: Vice President – Liz Giba:
Treasurer – Christine Waldman: Secretary – Pat Price

The deadline for voting on the Highline Public Schools proposals is one week from tomorrow – Tuesday, February 10th. If you’re not already registered to vote in this state, today is your last chance for this election – until 4:30 pm, you can register in person at King County Elections offices – KCE HQ at 919 SW Grady Way in Renton, or the county Voter Registration Annex at 500 4th Ave., Room 440, in downtown Seattle. From KCE:

To be eligible to register to vote, you must be:

* 18 years old by election day, Feb. 10
* A United States citizen
* A legal resident of the state of Washington
* Not under the authority of the Department of Corrections

Questions?

If you live in the Highline school district and haven’t yet received a ballot, or if you have questions, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683). Ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 10 or returned to a drop-box or Accessible Voting Center by 8 p.m. on Feb. 10.

No White Center drop van this time, but there are dropboxes in Burien and downtown Seattle if you don’t want to mail your ballot in.

Did you know that White Center Heights Elementary has the state’s first Vietnamese-language-immersion program? Find out about it in this story published by the Seattle Globalist (which, like WCN, is a Seattle Times news partner).

If you’re shopping for a school for next year, you’re invited to this afternoon’s open house at Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School at 20th/Roxbury in White Center:

Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School (Pre-K to 8) welcomes all parents to our Open House on Thursday, 1/29. Three sessions are scheduled, and each session includes a short presentation and brief school tour.

We are pleased to describe the Spanish language immersion program and answer questions regarding our school community.

Thank you for your consideration in sending your student(s) to Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School. We believe the educational and emotional experience will be positive for your student(s) and positive for the entire family.

You’re welcome to visit today between 1:30 pm and 3 pm.

(December 2012 gathering honoring murder victim Margaret Ryan)
3:30 PM: More than two years after the murder of 69-year-old Margaret Ryan in her White Center apartment, her son has pleaded guilty to stabbing her to death. The case against 44-year-old Brodie Lamb has dragged on for so long because of issues including whether he was mentally competent to stand trial; we have been checking in on the court files periodically over these many months and have noted that he spent time at Western State Hospital as well as jail. Lamb pleaded guilty this morning to the reduced charge of second-degree murder as the result of a plea bargain. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will recommend 20 years for Lamb, plus two years’ enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. He had a prior record including assault convictions; in one case, his mother was the victim. According to charging documents filed in November 2012, she wouldn’t allow him into her apartment, so he broke the door down and killed her. We are checking with prosecutors to find out when he will be sentenced.

4:28 PM UPDATE: The sentencing is scheduled for 1 pm February 20th at the County Courthouse downtown.

Last seen near Taco Bell at 16th/107th:

(WCN photo from September 2014)
Four months after King County Executive Dow Constantine announced at Greenbridge that the public-health clinic there would be saved thanks to a partnership with Planned Parenthood, PP has officially merged its clinic into that location. Here’s their announcement:

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest (PPGNW) (has moved) its West Seattle Health Center to a new location at 9942 8th Avenue, just over one mile from the current location. The facility, previously the Public Health Center at Greenbridge operated by Public Health—Seattle & King County, will open as the new White Center-West Seattle Health Center.

In 2014, the Public Health Center at Greenbridge was proposed for closure due to a severe budget shortfall at Public Health—Seattle & King County. However, through partnerships with PPGNW and the City of Seattle the health center will be operated by PPGNW for the next two years, as local leaders pursue longer-term funding.

“We are thrilled to be opening our new facility in West Seattle,” said Chris Charbonneau, CEO of PPGNW. “Our important partnership with King County and Seattle Public Health will bring continued support and service to the local community by providing high-quality, affordable reproductive health care for the women, men, and teens who need it most in West Seattle and the surrounding area.”

The new White Center-West Seattle Health Center will be open five days a week and offer a full range of high-quality reproductive health care, including affordable access to birth control, well-woman visits, breast and cervical cancer screening, emergency contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, abortion services, and comprehensive sexual health education and information. Planned Parenthood educators will offer comprehensive sexual health education, youth development programming and parent education for schools and community agencies.

In addition, patients can schedule appointments, or receive mail-order contraceptives and test kits for sexually transmitted infections via webcam. This online tool serves as an opportunity to reach individuals living in remote communities across the region.

For more than 30 years, PPGNW has partnered with King County Public Health to provide comprehensive family planning services. PPGNW will continue its partnership and collaboration with the city and county to ensure a smooth transition of patient care.

Thanks to the tipster who texted us this photo of a crash scene about half an hour ago at 16th SW and SW 112th. No info yet on circumstances or injuries, but take note in case you’re headed that way sometime soon.

(White Center Now photographs by Patrick Sand)
King County crews are continuing to clear overgrowth, and more, by “the bog,” a site that has been something of a dangerous hiding place in recent years. This information is from Ken Gresset, who briefed the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council in November:

Much progress has been made at “The Bog.” The patrol road is in and leads 200 feet to a spot where the rest of the site can be inspected by spotlight. We will be back on the site on Monday and Tuesday to clear out remaining brush.

The site is well protected against erosion with 130 bales of straw spread on the disturbed earth and logs staked at the base of the slope to intercept any silt that would wash down from the hillside.

We stopped by at midday Friday for our photos – county crews were only allowing visitors on the site during their lunch break, so they wouldn’t run the risk of winding up in the path of heavy equipment. One crew member told us they had continued to find syringes and needles from drug users known to frequent the area. (See what they’ve encountered before, in these photos we published days after the November briefing.)