October 2009

Greenwood Avenue North, between North 105th and North 115th streets will be restricted to one lane of traffic in each direction 24 hours per day, seven days per week, starting today, Oct. 12 and continuing through Friday, Oct. 23, weather permitting.

Parking will be prohibited on both sides of Greenwood Avenue North.

Crews will be working in the inside traffic lanes between North 105th and North 112th, saw cutting, and asphalt grinding and paving.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is widening this part of Greenwood Avenue North from four lanes to a five lanes with a center median and left-hand turn pockets. New sidewalks and curb ramps will be added, street trees planted and new street lights installed.

These improvements will enhance pedestrian safety and keep people, goods and services moving, according to the city.

This project will be substantially completed by November this year.

A 67-year-old man with five aliases apparently mistook the QFC for SIR (Seattle International Raceway) on Monday afternoon. Seated in his electric wheelchair, he sped down an aisle, knocked over a display, which fell on a grandma, who landed on top of her 1-year-old grandchild. But wait, there's more: When he reached into his pocket for ID, several items he had shoplifted fell to the floor. He was escorted from the premises and and trespassed from the store. The grandmother and grandchild didn't appear to suffer serious injury.

An officer ran a license plate check on a car and discovered the vehicle was listed as stolen from Chehalis. He pulled the car over at 37thand Fauntleroy, and it was impounded without incident. As a bonus, the three occupants were wanted: one on a $5,000 warrant from Seattle Municipal Court, one on a $5,000 warrant for DUI from King County, and the third—a no-bail felony warrant—for escape from community custody. The driver will also be investigated for auto theft.

Seattle City Attorney candidate Pete Holmes, who is running against two-time incumbent Tom Carr in the Nov. 3 general election, walked through the Alaska Junction Monday morning, Oct. 12, on a meet-and-greet, discussing his stances, including no new jail in Seattle.

He is pushing for crime-reduction programs.

"I believe that Tom Carr is a good man but he has lost his way," said Holmes today. "He has forgotten that he doesn't simply represent city hall. He represents the people of Seattle. That's why we have had some bad decisions like the Sonics. We knew seven years ago that King County was going to take away the jail beds from us that we're faced with building a quarter billion dollar new city jail.

Add together the annual budgets of the city's Office for Arts and Culture, the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Housing, and the Department of Neighborhoods (not including the Neighborhood Matching Fund) and you still would not have chopped off enough city spending to fill the $72 million budget gap projected for 2010. (You'd be $4 million short.)

You could lop off all city support to the public libraries, but you'd still be $22 million short.

Welcome to budget season.

As of last week all, council committees (except the action-rich Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee and the Energy and Technology Committee) cease work on regular legislation. The Seattle City Council as a whole turns its attention to the spending plan for 2010.

On Sunday, Oct. 11 at about 7 p.m., officers were called to an apartment complex in the 7300 block of 15th Avenue Northwest to a dispute between two neighbors.

One neighbor punched the other in the face. The victim of the assault called police. Second watch officers arrived but the suspect appeared to have left the residence.

An assualt report was taken, second watch officers left the scene. The suspect then appeared from his apartment and pointed a handgun at the victim and threatened him with it.

Third watch patrol officers responded and contained the apartment building. Patrol set up a crisis team and began the process of calling the suspect out. Patrol attempted to make contact with the suspect for more than one hour with no results and SWAT team call out was initiated.

SWAT eventually made entry and found that the suspect had fled before patrol arrived at the scene.

The Jan. 16 electrical fire that engulfed the Alki Homestead Restaurant also enflamed Alki historians and residents loyal to the restaurant due to the loss of its famous fried chicken and of course the severe damage of their beloved 1904 log structure, originally called the Fir Lodge.

Homestead owner Tom Lin said he and his project designer, West Seattle Resident Jeffrey Smith, received a final report last week from Mark Fritch, of Mark Fritch Log Homes in Sandy, Oregon. Fritch is an experienced log house contractor. He found out before the fire that his great-grandfather, Anton Borgen, helped construct the Fir Lodge while Fritch was on a visit to the Log House Museum, also built by Borgen and crew.

Substance found in deputy's locker

An evidence specialist and a King County Sheriff Deputy were inventorying the contents of former Deputy Paul Schene's lockers in the men's locker room at SeaTac City Hall. Among the contents of the lockers allegedly found was an unsealed narcotics envelope. Police reports did not state if any charges were going to be filed. The alleged controlled substance found was submitted for disposal.

Sex offender lurking at schools

A concerned parent contacted police about a convicted sex offender contacting her son. Contact had been made through a social networking Web site to the 13-year-old boy. Reports also stated the sex offender had been seen driving through school parking lots.

Threats at gas station

Police responded to the 7-11 at 21454 International Boulevard South to reports of threats being made. The suspect was allegedly making threats to kill the victim.

He pulled the victims hair, punched the victim in the face and tried to pour hot coffee on the victim.

Burien's historic Three Tree Point store, now owned by the Fieratag family, has a striking garden of dahlias.

The photographer was stunned by the display and took a picture from inside his car, forgetting to roll the window down.

The huge bubbles you see are raindrops. He loved the effect.

For Highline residents contemplating a little getaway, Seattle Southside is suggesting a Southside Staycation.

Seattle Southside, www.seattlesouthside.com, handles tourism marketing for Tukwila, SeaTac, Des Moines and Kent.

Staffers note that lodging typically costs 20-30 percent less than comparable rooms in downtown Seattle and has easy access to the city with the newlight-rail station in Tukwila..

There are also more than 65 restaurants in the region. Tukwila boasts more than 5 million square feet of retail space within the city limits alone and the largest indoor shopping center in the Pacific Northwest, Westfield Southcenter.

Featured leisure travel packages in Seattle Southside for families and couples include:

Birthday Party Package - Includes overnight accommodations for up to four people at Embassy Suites Hotels, $100 party credit to the Family Fun Center, complimentary in-room movie and popcorn.

Highline Public Schools has been awarded $475,000 from the Stuart Foundation for the second year of a three-year project.

The grant funds community schools programs at 14 schools in White Center and SeaTac.

Community schools programs include academic support such as homework help, enrichment classes, and recreational opportunities for students, often after school.

Community schools also coordinate family involvement programs and other services for students and their families at the school.

Highline partners with Community Schools Collaboration, a local non-profit organization, to manage community schools in the district.

"We believe the collaborative community school effort between Highline and Community Schools Collaboration will positively impact students and families," stated Rhonnel Sotelo, Vice President for Program & Operations at the Stuart Foundation.

"It can inform and influence the educational practice of other districts and communities in Washington and beyond."

The foundation funding pays for staff who are housed in the schools, as well as program costs.