By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Reputation of wild and woolly past still lingers

Within the main commercial strip are bustling Asian and Pacific Islandmarkets selling rice, tea, incense, jewelry, fresh meats and seafood, coconuts,salted fish and exotic greens. A T-shirt shop sells Rat City T-shirts across thestreet from a jeweler, pawn shop and Chinese herb store. A handful of nearbythrift shops offer deals on inexpensive clothing and appliances.

Nearby on 15th Avenue Southwest is Leonard Molner's Veggie Corral.Molner says he started his business selling local corn, produce and fruit from theback of his pickup truck. After years of saving, Molner bought a corner lot andbuilt his own outdoor stand, which his son helps run.

Molner grew up in White Center and has lived there most of his life. He saysthe community is still a friendly place where you get to know people by theirfirst name.

Locals such as Molner may feel comfortable living and working in WhiteCenter, but its reputation has always been a sore point with residents.

White Center has always attracted a seedy element, maybe because it neverincorporated or was annexed into another city. There is an independent streakto the community, where people feel its their right to park junk cars on the frontlawn or slaughter sheep in the back yard.

During World War II, White Center was known as a place where rowdyservicemen came looking for cold beer and "entertainment." By 1965, WhiteCenter was so disgusted with its own reputation it debated changing its name toWestwood, in honor of its shopping center, Westwood Village.

By 1993, White Center nearly became King County's poster town for drugs,gangs and drive-by violence.

"Five years ago I would hear gunshots almost every night. Now, maybe onlyonce a month at the most and at night only," says Mark Bryant, owner of BryantEnterprises, a local towing service.

That was a low point for the community, which has since turned itselfaround, Bryant says. New housing is being built and there are few emptystorefronts.

The biggest change came when the county sheriff's storefront opened onSouthwest 16th Street in 1993. Backed by King County Councilman GregNickels, the sheriff's department has since opened a police substation at ParkLake Homes. With a population of almost 2,400 residents, it is the largest of thecounty's subsidized housing projects.

Officer Don Davis is the county cop with the downtown beat. He has helpedweed out some of White Center's worst habitual criminals. He also is equallyproud of the work he has done to help straighten out some of the community'swayward kids.

A major victory came in 1995 when a well-known White Center flophouseabove the El Casino Bar and Grill was shut down. The apartment dwellers, whoDavis nicknamed "The El Casinos," trafficked in drugs, prostitution, arson "andalmost every other anti-social behavior."

Davis has also been a stickler for setting community standards, whether it'seliminating public drinking or junk cars. "I wish I had a bulldozer and 24 hoursof immunity," he says, referring to his desire to rid White Center of some of itsabandoned houses.

Since 1992, overall crime in White Center has dropped dramatically, althoughcar thefts and burglaries seem to be staging a comeback, police say. In 1992,there were 2,847 crimes reported, of which 191 were "major violent" offenses.Four years later, the total number of reported crimes had dropped to 2,087, ofwhich 104 were "major violent offenses.

"White Center is not totally there yet, but it is safer," Davis says. "We couldbe better."

Continued:

• A community outgrows its wilder days
• White Center is undergoing a cultural revolution of its own
• Many came here looking for a second chance
• Looking for a few good community leaders
• Low home prices make area a good place to start out