November 2016

Information provided by Seattle Police Department

North Precinct burglary detectives have recovered hundreds of stolen items from a suspected burglar’s storage locker and are now looking to return them to their rightful owners.

Over the past year, police have been investigating a series of break-ins targeting storage units in Lake City, Fremont and Downtown Seattle. After a great deal of sleuthing, detectives were able to identify the suspect and served a warrant on the man’s own storage unit downtown. Inside the 15 x 8 room, police found more than a thousand items, believed to have been stolen from other storage units around Seattle.
Detectives have already returned some of the recovered items–including military discharge papers, a watch and even a banjo–but believe many of the items found in the locker have not been reported to police.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a storage unit break-in this year, detectives ask that you review the gallery of photos below and contact police to claim your items. If you believe one of the items pictured below is yours, please have your case number ready and call (206) 684-5735.

Masked man robs store, flees with $800 in cash and lotto tickets

Seattle Police responded to a robbery at a business located on the 6700 block of 15th Avenue N.W. on October 31. The initial report came in as a strong-arm robbery. Police were there within six minutes. A male wearing a ski mask had entered the store. His arm was in his shirt, implying the threat of a handgun underneath. He demanded the bills from the register and all the twenty-dollar scratch tickets from under the counter. The suspect asked for the complainants phone and the portable store landline phone. He said he wasn't going to break them, but that he would set them outside. He told the clerk to wait five minutes before coming outside; otherwise he would come back. The complainant handed over the phones. The suspect fled on foot. After ninety seconds the complainant called police. He described the suspect as possibly being 40-years-old with a skinny build, black hoodie and pants and a mask covering the lower part of his face. Police found two fingerprints on the phones. The estimated loss was $800.

By Amanda Knox

Tuesday, I dressed up for a big celebration—pearl tie, rainbow-plaid pantsuit—and attended The Stranger’s countdown party at the Showbox. I rubbed shoulders with colorful Democrats sipping “Donkey” cocktails made with Bombay Sapphire gin. I joined in the sportsman-like cheers and boos as predicable states were officially called for Blue or Red. But as I witnessed Hillary lose Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania…my jaw dropped. I backed up against a wall, sank to the ground, and watched as people with gold H’s painted on their cheeks trickled out of the venue, miserable and bewildered. At the end of the night, I was relieved that Hillary decided to wait until the morning to give her concession speech. I was already crying.

Like all of my politically liberal friends, I still haven’t wrapped my mind around it. I’ve not strayed far from media and social media, scrolling for signs of perspective and direction. I’ve struggled to reflect on what’s happened, what’s going to happen, and what, if anything, I can contribute to the conversation. What unique perspective do I have on the whole thing?

By Peggy Sturdivant

No November day in Seattle ever seemed as magnificent as Election Day dawned. At 7:30 a.m. at Ballard Commons the sky was cloudless, the sun already warm. I was trying to catch Bernadette Walcott in the kitchen at St. Luke’s where she is one of the breakfast cooks for their Edible Hope Ministry three mornings a week. She will be one of the cooks “competing” in the Bringing in Ballard: Harvest event that continues to be my ‘next big thing.’

But at 7:30 a.m. in the warm kitchen I was already too late to catch Bernadette. And on a day when millions of women thought they would see the first woman elected President of the United States it was already too late…but we didn’t know it.

Rain returned on November 9, 2016 along with shock. At Ballard Food Bank they thought there might be a shortage of volunteers to restock the shelves, open the doors and deliver food to clients. It was the opposite. The volunteer turnout was higher than normal, with people walking in during the day to say, “I’d like to volunteer.”

Information provided by Seattle Public Utilities

The Ballard Natural Drainage Systems will reach substantial completion this week, which means the contractor has fulfilled the work assigned through their contract and the system is operational. Thank you for your patience throughout construction. Over the next two to four weeks, the primary agencies who oversaw the work will complete their final inspections of the site.
- Seattle Public Utilities representatives will inspect the roadside rain gardens and related drainage infrastructure.
- Seattle Department of Transportation will inspect the new sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, and street trees.

After the inspection, the contractor will make any final repairs if requested. Seattle Public Utilities will also send homeowners information about the new roadside rain gardens and short-term and long-term maintenance needs. If you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call or email Grace Manzano, Project Manager at (206) 233-1534 or grace.manzano@seattle.gov.

To the editor:

Now that the campaign is over, where do we go from here?  Believe it or not, there is pending legislation in the U.S. Congress that enjoys wide bipartisan support. HR. 3119, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act is one such bill, with over 220 bipartisan cosponsors.

Representatives Jaime Herrera-Beutler, Derek Kilmer, Rick Larsen, Suzan DelBene, and Dave Reichert are cosponsors, along with others from the Washington State delegation east of the mountains.

HR. 3119 ensures expanded education, training, research and public awareness of palliative care impact on patients, families, and professional caregivers. The legislation would lift burdens for all ages, but would have tremendous positive impact on our aging population.

Burien Books is hosting Book Signings for two local authors :Phyllis Pahl Mitchell, who wrote, "Growing Up on Prairie Farms: A Rough & Tumble Childhood"November 19th, Saturday from 1-3pm. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28869101-growing-up-on-prairie-farms and David Larson, who wrote "The Scoreboard Keeper"On Small Business Saturday, November 26th from 1-3pm.http://thescoreboardkeeper.com

Janet Mae Peterson, age 70, passed away peacefully on October 19, 2016 with her two loving daughters by her side.

She was born April 22, 1946 to Esther (Judy) & Otillio Casciato in Portland, Oregon. After Janet's birth Judy and Otillio would get a divorce. Later, Judy would meet and marry Ted Johnson, the man her daughter would grow up knowing as her father.

In 1971 Janet further expanded upon her high school education by attending Seattle Central College and later Griffin Business College.

She started working at Budget Auto Wrecking in July of 1980 and continued to work there until her retirement in April of 2013. Janet was preceded in death by: both parents, Judy and Ted; one son-in-law, Edward Chrisman-Campbell; Grandchildren Kaydee Mae Campbell & Jeffrey Alan Campbell.

Janet is survived by her two daughters, Ronda Campbell and Sheila Peterson; Grandchildren Tony Campbell & Brianna Campbell; Great-Granddaughter Kaycee Mae Campbell, and many close friends that loved her and will miss her.

Smoking MaryJane
A suspect was arrested Oct. 25 for smoking marijuana at the Metro bus shelter on 15th S.W.

Could not stay away
A man was arrested at the Garden Point Apartments on 112th Street Oct. 25 after he assaulted his ex-girlfriend. Two valid no-contact orders had been in place.

Mail Theft
An officer was returning home Oct. 28 at 4:40 p.m. on 25th Avenue S.W. when he saw a person wearing all black clothing by the mailboxes north of his address. He drove around the corner and arrested a suspect who was in possession of credit cards and IDs not his own.

Pepper sprayed security guard
A female stole merchandise from at the Super Saver and was confronted by security outside the story. She pepper sprayed the lost prevention person.

Involuntary commitment
A woman was involuntarily committed to Highline Medical Center Nov. 1 because she suffers from extreme paranoia and psychotic delusions making her unable to take care of herself.

Mental complaints

by Ken Robinson

When we were kids, pre-teen or just turned teen, we walked from our house just east of Ambaum near Salmon Creek (about halfway between White Center and Burien) to go to the movies. That was in the mid-fifties and the destination was Coy's Highline Theater on 1st Ave. and a 130th Street.

Looking back, it now seems quaint that we walked there, with no expectation of getting a ride from Dad or Mom. If you have a bike, you could take it and leave it outside the theater with little chance it would be stolen. If you did that now, you might as well hand the bike to a stranger. You could have a sign on it that reads "Please steal this bike.

"But I digress. We walked the 2.5 miles happily, watching for dogs, discarded packages of Lucky Strike cigarettes so we could stamp on one and punch the guy with us (thus, a 'lucky strike') or empty 102 Beer cans you could stomp on and then make a clattering noise as you walked.

On these periodic trips, we carried enough money to pay for a movie ticket and maybe a little extra for a box of Milk Duds. The whole outing might have cost less than 50 cents.