For those closely watching the future of the South Park Bridge, particularly whether it will have to shut down this summer if the county can’t find money to replace it, three notes: First, an update from our citywide-news partners at the Seattle Times – while that story’s topline is “the bridge might have to close in June,” the real news in the story appears to be that the county’s awaiting study results which might show the bridge COULD be kept open. Meantime, we’ve learned of two meetings next week for those interested in the bridge’s future – both have been publicized in South Park, but apparently not in West Seattle: First one is Tuesday (March 9), 7 pm, during the regular meeting of the South Park Neighborhood Association. The county has sent out a mailer – see it here. Then on Wednesday (March 10), community advocates are organizing a meeting about the bridge; here’s info about that, from the South Park Yahoo! group.
King County Executive Dow Constantine says he’ll keep pushing for federal help to replace the South Park Bridge – which the county has said will have to close, , potentially as soon as this summer, if money can’t be found to keep it open. This, as word comes that the county did NOT get the “TIGER” grant (explained here) it was seeking (here’s a national overview on what DID get funded – locally, it included the city’s “Mercer Mess” $30 million request). We’re pursuing other details on this, but for starters, read on for Constantine’s statement (followed by, added 3:19 pm, Councilmember Jan Drago‘s statement):Read More
Starting tomorrow, for four days, the South Park Bridge (seen above during a Duwamish River tour last week) will be closed to vehicle traffic, and will not be opening for marine traffic, 7 am-7 pm daily. Here’s the official advisory; this is the round of closures postponed from a week and a half ago. The county says engineers will be doing testing to gather data that’ll be used when they finally have the money to build a replacement bridge.
Mentioned here on Thursday that the South Park Bridge closures had been rescheduled, and that nighttime work was planned on the West Seattle Bridge next week. New details are in on both plans – read on:Read More
From a big construction roundup just sent around by Delridge Neighborhoods District Coordinator Ron Angeles – these two notes of specific interest – including the rescheduling of the South Park Bridge closures called off last weekend:
– Crews will be working nights on the West Seattle Bridge Feb 8-11 in both directions.
– South Park Bridge to be closed Feb 10-13, 7am-7pm daily
The full roundup, including some previously announced SODO closures, is available online here.
ORIGINAL 8:49 PM REPORT: Just got that photo via Twitter from @sntxrr who says it’s his view of the house burning right now in South Park, 500 block of South Trenton. If you are in eastern West Seattle, you might have heard the sirens – and another engine from central West Seattle (E32 from The Junction) was just called out to join the fight too (some of the responding engines/trucks on the 911 listing are from here too). Scanner hasn’t indicated any injuries so far, but the house was reported “fully involved,” from its garage to its attic. (Looks like this is the Google Street View angle closest to the one the photo shows.)
9:04 PM: At the fire scene is photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux – check his Twitter feed at @despeaux for photo/video links.
9:38 PM: Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says they don’t know the fire’s cause yet, but it’s out, adding that six people got out of the house safely, no injuries. She says the fire, which started in the garage, was first noticed by someone walking a dog.
1:08 AM: Just checked back with the SFD media hotline and there’s been a major development: Vander Houwen now says they found a body in the burned garage where the fire started. No word on identity or even gender; they also aren’t saying yet how the fire started – more information expected later today.
UPDATE: SFD has not announced a cause yet. Damage totaled $310,000. The victim was a teenage boy.
The King County Road Service Division is advising motorists that the previously scheduled closure of the South Park Bridge has been postponed due to a delay in obtaining a permit for the work. The bridge had originally been scheduled to close for a four-day period for testing beginning Sat. Jan 30. The testing will be rescheduled for a later date.
11:34 AM UPDATE – The South Park Bridge closures are POSTPONED till a future date.
One more reminder about three closures this weekend that might affect your travels to and from West Seattle:
10 PM TONIGHT THROUGH 5 AM MONDAY: That’s the schedule again this weekend for closures of the northbound I-5 ramp and the westbound Columbian Way ramp to the West Seattle Bridge, both related to the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. (Last weekend the work finished fast and both reopened Saturday night.) Details here.
7 AM-7 PM DAILY, SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY: The South Park Bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic, and will not open for marine traffic, all four days. Crews plan to do tests related to future construction of a replacement bridge; details here.
Thanks to Jillian for sharing that view of this year’s Space Needle fireworks from West Seattle – one more look as the holiday season winds down this weekend with tasks like taking down the Christmas tree. Since this weekend is prime time for many to, shall we say, de-decorate, we wanted to mention this once more: The city has two ways for you to recycle trees. If you don’t mind some chopping and bundling, there’s curbside pickup; if you’d like to just recycle it in one piece, your tree is more likely to fit the guidelines of what’s acceptable for dropoff at the South Recycling and Disposal Station over in South Park. See the guidelines here; here’s a map to the disposal station (open 8 am-5:30 pm daily).
(King County rendering of what replacement South Park Bridge would look like)
The South Park Bridge replacement project is now officially “shovel-ready” if it can just get the federal money sought for construction, says King County. Here’s today’s announcement with the latest on the project (which is needed if that route is to remain open):Read More
For the first time since the horrifying attack in South Park that killed 39-year-old Teresa Butz five months ago, the murder victim’s 37-year-old partner – who survived despite serious wounds – has broken her silence. She spoke, anonymously, withSeattle Times (WSB partner) reporter Jennifer Sullivan, not commenting on the attack itself, but about how she is getting on with her life, telling the Times, “Survival is about being part of the world, not getting lost in the fear …” She also has moved away from South Park, to Capitol Hill. The story was published tonight; you can read it here, including how she is about to help launch a new self-defense program for women.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct gets all the attention, but the South Park Bridge poses an even-more-urgent problem, with no guaranteed solution – yet. Here’s where things stand now.
By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The crumbling 78-year-old South Park Bridge across the Duwamish is dangling by a $99 million federal grant thread as to whether its future will be a closed bridge or a brand new span.
The bridge carries almost 20,000 passenger vehicles and 3,000 trucks a day across the river from an unincorporated King County sliver in South Park to the City of Tukwila and beyond.
The bridge’s closure would mean traffic would have to be diverted to the already crowded First Avenue South Bridge across the river.
County Council Chair Dow Constantine, a candidate for county executive, says he is pushing particularly hard for the $99 million TIGER grant, or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant, a federal bailout program Congress approved to help states with shovel-ready construction projects. The decision on that grant is expected by mid-February.
Just east of West Seattle – but part of the Seattle Public Schools‘ West Seattle “region” – Concord International School held its first assembly today under its new designation, one day after a similar assembly at Denny International Middle School (WSB coverage here), whose principal Jeff Clark was on hand (not only to visit with potential future Denny students, but also because he’s a Concord dad). The Concord assembly also featured cultural performances – and new Concord principal Dr. Norma Zavala explaining why multiculturalism matters, after talking about growing up bilingual/bicultural in a small Eastern Washington town:
Concord social-studies teacher Robin Kanev (a West Seattle resident) told us she’s excited – she’s been at Concord for nine years and specifically wanted to work at a school with a dual-language program. Meantime, district Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson also noted the significance of Concord’s new status:
And of course, there were performances – African-Cuban drummers to open the assembly, and shortly afterward, these dancers:
Concord has more than 300 students speaking 15 languages, and, as described in a Seattle Public Schools news release, “two classes of Spanish/English dual immersion program as well as an English cohort in kindergarten and 1st grade, (adding) 2nd grade this year, continuing to expand to additional grades each year.” Never been to Concord? Here’s a map.
Lashanna sent that photo just as “Crank It Up” was about to get going in South Park’s Cesar Chavez Park (7th So. and So. Cloverdale; map). She’s there doing facepainting – as she’s done at lots of West Seattle events too! “Crank It Up” continues till 6 pm and is just a short hop from West Seattle – here’s the list of what’s happening, starting with a bike ride that’s under way now and then moving on to live music starting at 3 with The Not-Its (who played the Alki community picnic recently) – There’sFull Tilt Ice Cream at “Crank It Up” too! UPDATE: Another photo from Lashanna – Ambulance is one of the bands that played – she says they’re all middle- and high-school students from Ballard:
(Thursday night photo by Christopher Boffoli) KENNEY SALE: West Seattle’s newest official city landmark, The Kenney‘s cupola-topped Seaview Building, marks the site of one of today’s many sales – Household goods, treasures, more, 9 am-4 pm, with this sale at The Kenney benefiting its fund taking care of residents who “outlive their financial resources.” 7125 Fauntleroy (map).
LOTS OF OTHER SALES: Other fundraising sales (like one for PAWS) and garage/yard sales happening TODAY are listed in the WSB Forums’ Freebies/Deals/Sales section – any time you have a sale, whether yard or business, you’re welcome to post there for free too.
HOLY FAMILY STREET FAIR: Holy Family School is on the line between West Seattle and White Center and inviting everybody in both communities – and beyond – to its El Carnaval street fair today and tomorrow, 10 am start both days. 20th SW will be blocked off just south of Roxbury for the fun (map).
Just in from the King County Department of Transportation:
The King County Road Services Division will close the South Park Bridge over the Duwamish River on 14th/16th Avenue South this Saturday, Aug. 29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for repairs. The bridge will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic over the bridge and to large marine vessels on the water.
From seattletimes.com: The arraignment in King County Superior Court is over, and 23-year-old Isaiah Kalebu has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder (for which the penalty could be death) and rape. He is accused of breaking into the South Park home of 39-year-old Teresa Butz and her partner in the early-morning hours of July 19 and attacking them; Butz did not survive. He was arrested less than a week later, after he was identified through DNA. He remains jailed in lieu of $10 million bail, and remains under investigation in a Pierce County fire that killed two people last month, including the aunt who had kicked him out days earlier.
COURT CASE: South Park murder suspect Isaiah Kalebu is expected in King County Superior Court at 8:30 this morning to answer charges including aggravated murder (which could bring the death penalty) in the July xx attack on two women who were asleep in their home when he allegedly broke in.
REP. MCDERMOTT TALKS HEALTH-CARE REFORM: Tonight, the long-hot topic gets its highest-profile West Seattle discussion yet, as the 34th District Democrats bring in Seattle’s Congressmember Jim McDermott in addition to other expert panelists. The agenda’s here, but also note the disclaimer on the group’s home page – this is NOT a “town hall meeting” and while everyone’s welcome to attend and listen, “only members may speak and participate,” per the group’s bylaws. The meeting starts at 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy.
We got to Saturday’s 5th annual Duwamish River Festival at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park just in time for the informal kids’ parade, featuring crafts young festivalgoers made from reused items:
This annual event is unique in its emphasis on education/outreach, along with kids’ activities, musical performances and other classic festival fun. A heavy-hitting lineup of government agencies, environmental groups and nonprofit educational organizations manned the booths – including the one where we found Kris from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which designated the Lower Duwamish a “Superfund” site in 2001, next to a display mapping key spots in the toxic timeline of the river’s industrial history:
The EPA has its own website full of Duwamish-cleanup information – find it here. The wheels of government-run cleanups turn slowly – take one hop to this page, and you’ll see another “draft” report due next year, and then a proposal in 2011. As for the history of all this – an even longer list of links is on the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition‘s site. Beyond the cleanup information, several booths offered resources and advice for dealing with everyday toxics, including the Vietnamese Healthy Nail Salon Project, run by the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (whose festival-booth staff told us they’ve worked with some West Seattle salons, but didn’t have a list handy). Another hot topic this year: Transportation – both what’s in the works (the Alaskan Way Viaduct project had a booth) and what people wish was in the works:
That hand belongs to Sustainable West Seattle‘s Chas Redmond, showing the stickers used to create that evolving display at festivals all spring and summer long (including SWS’s own festival back in May) – participants were told each sticker represents $500 million, so if they had that money to spend on an aspect of local transportation, what would they do with it? “Transit” was the most crowded section. (He and others are working to organize a Transit Riders Union of Metropolitan Puget Sound group to work more closely on transit advocacy.) The festival folded up as scheduled at 4 pm, but the Duwamish restoration work goes on, as does the work of restoring more shoreline sections to enable more recreational use – like this small park spot just a block west of the festival, nestled between industrial sites:
You can also get out on the river during a Community Kayak Tour, organized by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Alki Kayak Tours and the Seattle Aquarium Society, during one of three upcoming Monday nights: 8/17, 8/31 or 9/14. More info here.
Five days after the arrest of Isaiah Kalebu for the murder of Teresa Butz (right) in the South Park home she shared with her partner, who survived the stabbing attack, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg has just announced his decision on what charges to pursue: According to first word from seattletimes.com, the charges include aggravated murder, which could bring the death penalty. We will add the news release/charging-document info here when we get it. ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Kalebu is due in court August 12 to answer the charges. The court documents detail an especially brutal ordeal that lasted almost two hours. It also details what has been described as the action that Butz took, saving her partner’s life:
(Butz) eventually was able to kick the man off the bed, and she and (her partner) attempted to defend themselves. Enraged, the man punched (Butz) in the face with either his fist or the butt of the knife, knocking her across the room. He then began to stab her, striking her in the chest and upper arm. (Butz) was able to grab a nightstand and throw it through the bedroom window. She then dove out of the window herself. (Her partner) ran from the room and out the front door, where she saw that (Butz) had collapsed in the street. (Her partner) pounded on the door of neighbors across the street, screaming for help. The man apparently collected his clothes and fled out of the residence.
Butz died before aid crews arrived. The documents also detail the DNA and fingerprint evidence investigators used to identify Kalebu as the suspect, and note that he remains under suspicion in the fire earlier this year that killed two people including his aunt, as well as facing trial next month in a harassment/malicious mischief case in which the victim is his own mother.
NEWEST FORECAST: As usual, the National Weather Serviceissued a forecast update overnight – no reprieve, though, it still calls for a potential 100-plus-degree high today.
PROSECUTOR’S DECISION IN SOUTH PARK MURDER: At 10 this morning, King County Prosecuting AttorneyDan Satterberg is scheduled to announce his decision on charges against Isaiah Kalebu, jailed in connection with the attack that killed 39-year-old Teresa Butz at her South Park home a week and a half ago. After Kalebu’s arrest last Friday night, a deputy prosecutor had said they would consider seeking the death penalty.
BALLOTS IN THE MAIL: Also from your county government – today’s the day ballots will be mailed for the August 18 primary, the first major election King County is conducting entirely by mail. Who’s running – along with links to their websites and other info – is listed here; the city Voters’ Guide, including video links and information on Proposition 1 (the bag fee) as well as the mayor/council races, is here.
WEST SEATTLE LITTLE LEAGUE 11-12 ALL-STARS GO FOR WIN #3: The state tournament continues for the WSLL 11-12 All-Stars; tonight at 7:30, they face Pasco in their third game of the tourney, which is happening at Art Mikelson Field in Port Orchard (just a Fauntleroy-to-Southworth ferry ride away, and think of those cool breezes on the water!).
Just talked with King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe, who says bail has just been set at $10 million for 23-year-old Isaiah Kalebu, arrested last night in connection with the South Park burglary/attack that killed 36-year-old Teresa Butz and injured her partner. We expect to get some legal documents in the case shortly and will add new information here once they’re in. ADDED 2:35 PM: A few details from those documents, including the major evidence they have against Kalebu (and added early Sunday – a link to a followup article with more on how police figured out who they were looking for):Read More
We have more details now directly from Seattle Police regarding how they found and arrested the South Park murder suspect tonight, within hours of publicly identifying him as 23-year-old Isaiah M.K. Kalebu and publicizing photos. The updated news release we just received says:
Preliminary reports indicate that a Metro Bus operator who had knowledge of the suspect description contacted the Seattle Police Communications Center with a possible suspect sighting at NE 65th Street and Sandpoint Way in North Seattle. This occurred at around 6:30 p.m. North Precinct patrol officers saturated the area and searched for the suspect. Officers located the suspect and his dog in Magnuson Park. The suspect surrendered to officers without incident. He is in custody and en route to Seattle Police Headquarters for questioning. He will ultimately be booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Murder. The suspect was with his pit bull at the time of apprehension. The dog has been released to the care of Seattle Animal Control.
These photos of the dog were also made public by police earlier:
It’s been less than a week since 39-year-old Teresa Butz was stabbed to death after a man – allegedly Kalebu – broke into her home where she and her partner were asleep and attacked them; Butz’s partner survived and is out of the hospital. Just last night, hundreds of friends and neighbors gathered for a candlelight memorial at South Park Community Center, close to Butz’s home. We do not yet know how police have tied Kalebu to the crime but we will be adding more information as we get it; we’ll be checking into court records and any other background, too. He may have West Seattle ties – commenter Cheriberri, in the comment section of our previous report, says he was a classmate at Denny Middle School in the mid-’90s. ADDED 8:47 PM: The system we use to get court documents is down for the weekend but the top-level state online records are available round the clock and we have found a King County case in which Kalebu was due in court earlier this week, on a case dating back to April, with charges listed as including domestic violence and harassment. (Update:Slog has details of that case – the victim was Kalebu’s mother.) That’s one of 13 court cases listed for him dating back as far as five years ago. There is also a Pierce County case filed this month in which a domestic-violence protection order was sought against him (by the aunt who died in this fire days later; at least one media source says Kalebu will be questioned again in that case). Most of the other cases against him listed in the top-level statewide court records were also from Pierce County. 12:22 AM UPDATE: Kalebu was booked into King County Jail at 10:35 pm. He’s being held for investigation of five potential charges, including murder and attempted murder.
For those closely watching the future of the 
The crumbling 78-year-old South Park Bridge across the Duwamish is dangling by a $99 million federal grant thread as to whether its future will be a closed bridge or a brand new span.
Five days after the arrest of Isaiah Kalebu for the murder of Teresa Butz (right) in the South Park home she shared with her partner, who survived the stabbing attack, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg has just announced his decision on what charges to pursue: 
We have 
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