February 2021

information from Seattle Police Blotter

An alert officer spotted a suspect from a harassment call involving a gun days later outside the location of the original altercation. 

Police were originally called to the 8800 block of 9 Avenue Southwest on February 13th for a report of a man who had entered the business and threatened a clerk with a firearm. Witnesses said the man left the scene in a green Honda Pilot SUV. 

Officers searched the area but were unable to find the suspect or the vehicle. 

On February 19th an officer on patrol in the same area spotted the suspect’s vehicle parked nearby and even recognized the man based on a tattoo over the suspect’s eye that was visible on surveillance video. The officer quickly moved in and arrested the 30-year-old suspect and recovered a firearm. The suspect is a convicted felon and legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. 

information from Seattle Public Utilities

Spills involving human waste from RVs contaminate our waterways and put our community’s health at risk. They also have negative effects on people experiencing homelessness who are staying in RVs, including depriving them of their dignity.

In 2019, there were nearly 100 RV wastewater spills reported to Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), but the actual spill count is likely much higher. With approximately 2,700 people living in cars and RVs in Seattle and King County, and no easy way for them to safely dispose of human waste, many more RV spills go unreported.

“I’ve only driven to the dump once,” says Dante, who is experiencing homelessness and currently stays in his RV. “It’s dangerous due to the age of my RV. The cost and logistics are hard, too.”

information from Small Business Administration

Building on a month of strong results, the Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration are takingsteps with the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses.  

By Ken Robinson

Managing Editor

When Jenny Durkan announced she would not seek re-election, I was not surprised but was a little dismayed. 

I think she has done a remarkable job leading the city during a time of high turmoil. The civil disobedience that took place at Cal Anderson park was fomented by forces way outside of the control of the mayor. Her response, which led to the departure of the the police chief and some days of violent actions and property damage, could not have been predicted. 

From the 10,000 foot view, what took place is a pretty small thing—and I place some of the blame for that on a group of malcontents who reveled in the carnival atmosphere. 

If interviewed about the reasons for their participation, I doubt they would be able to explain the politics of their involvement in the mob mentality.

By Katy G. Wilkens

This year I grew savoy cabbage in my winter garden. What a find! The bright green, crinkly leaves are much more interesting in salads, slaws and cabbage rolls than plain green cabbage. I will grow it every year.

While all cabbages are reasonably cold-hardy, savoy cabbage is the toughest. It can even tolerate snow. Another bonus of savoy cabbage is that you can clip off the outer leaves as it grows, adding the tender leaves to salads.

Cabbage can be grown in the spring or fall. I prefer the fall because the weather is more consistent, and truly, being able to harvest a big head of leafy greens in the middle of winter is quite a plus.

By Jean Godden

If you are sick and tired of reading and hearing about vaccinations, stop reading this column. Right now. Like many of you, I have grown weary of hearing nothing but stories from friends and acquaintances who -- maybe not really entitled to receive a shot -- have somehow been able to game the system.

The news is all around us. Pick up any newspaper and you'll read many column inches about how super-efficient clinics have opened to give shots. You'll see stories about employers who are offering bonuses to employees who get vaccinated. You can count pictures of people getting a shot: minor celebrities, sports stars, the state's governor, the city's mayor and even notorious folks like O. J. Simpson.

By Jean Wong 

New initiatives from Seattle Goodwill aim to speed the process of accepting donations, while maintaining COVID-19 safety precautions following CDC guidelines. 

In March of last year, as the pandemic was starting to spread, Seattle Goodwill temporarily closed all store and donation locations for around 90 days, and locations gradually reopened in conjunction with the state’s reopening plans. 

“We were overrun,” said Brent Frerichs, who is the vice president of stores, donations, and e-commerce for Seattle Goodwill.

“Even before we opened the stores, we opened about four donation centers and they were overrun with donors because people had completely ‘Marie-Kondo’-ed their houses and they were just waiting to give us all this stuff. So it resulted in a lot of donations, and a lot of long lines,” Fredrichs explains, “Donors were extremely patient.”

District 1 Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared this update via her newsletter to constituents.

Earlier this year Interim Chief Diaz spoke to the 2020 citywide homicide rate, which increased from 31 homicides in 2019 to 50 in 2020. As he noted, this is the highest number of homicides in 26 years, and it disproportionately affects young black men. He also spoke to the importance of work with external partners about addressing gun violence, which is a public health issue.

Here is crime data specifically for the Southwest Precinct, which has the same boundaries as District 1. Below is data for crime rates in the SW Precinct for 2018, 2019 and 2020, for violent crime and property crime.