August 2025

Suspect in West Seattle eluding incidents appears in court; Bail set at $100,000

Zachary R. McCreary, the suspect in a series of alleged reckless driving and eluding incidents, including one originating in West Seattle, made his first court appearance today in King County.

Prosecutors had requested a bail amount of $250,000, but the judge ultimately set bail at $100,000 after finding probable cause.

The first appearance hearing is a preliminary step and differs from the higher burden of proof required for a felony charging decision, which King County Prosecutors anticipate receiving from police investigators in the coming days. McCreary's next court date, a second appearance, is scheduled for August 8, 2025, at 2:30 PM.

Timeline of Events Leading to Court Appearance:

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Two key Community Safety Meetings scheduled for next week

West Seattlelites will have two important opportunities next week to engage with city officials and law enforcement on public safety issues. Two distinct forums are scheduled, providing different avenues for dialogue and input on making Seattle safer.

Micro-Community Policing Plans Community-Police Dialogue for SW Precinct

The first meeting is the Micro-Community Policing Plans (MCPP) Community-Police Dialogue for the Southwest Precinct, set for Monday, August 11th, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, via Zoom.

Purpose: These dialogues are designed to allow the Seattle community and police to discuss the results of the 2024 Seattle Public Safety Survey and current public safety concerns.

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Sound Transit shifts course on West Seattle Link Extension amid rising costs: Enterprise Initiative to reshape future plans

Sound Transit is embarking on a comprehensive agency-wide initiative to tackle significant financial challenges, a move that will inherently impact the financing and timing of major projects like the West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE). This new, broader strategy, outlined in Motion M2025-36, effectively supersedes an earlier, more narrowly focused effort for WSLE.

Initial Alarm Over West Seattle Link Extension Costs

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Law enforcement response near Highland Park Elementary draws concern

An event that drew the attention of neighbors and others near Highland Park Elementary School on Wednesday was explained in a letter sent to families and staff by the Principal today.

Dear Highland Park Families and Staff,

You may have noticed a significant presence of federal and police vehicles, including Valley SWAT, in the Highland Park Elementary parking lot earlier today.

I want to reassure you that, to my knowledge, there was no emergency involving Highland Park or Launch childcare which is using the school.

My supervisor, Regional Director Chris Carter, promptly stopped by to get an understanding of the situation. After speaking with the officers on site, it was shared that law enforcement was responding to a weapons-related incident in the surrounding neighborhood. They temporarily used the school’s parking lot as a staging area.

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Northwest Seaport Alliance reports significant dips in July volumes amidst widespread delays

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), encompassing the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, has released its Weekly Volumes & Metrics Report for the week ending July 25, 2025, revealing significant dips in international imports and vessel lifts. These decreases are largely attributed to vessel delays and voids.

According to the report, international imports and vessel lifts saw substantial declines both week-over-week and when compared to the July 2024 weekly average.

Key figures for the week ending July 25 include:

International Imports: Down 24.5% from the previous week and 25.9% compared with the July 2024 weekly average. A total of 10,386 containers were imported. This is also 19.2% lower than the 2025 year-to-date average and 23.6% lower than the 2024 weekly average.

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King County sees low turnout in unofficial August 5, 2025 election results

Wilson leads Harrell for Seattle Mayor in early returns

Unofficial election results for King County's August 5, 2025, primary election show a voter turnout of 18.92%, with 271,720 ballots counted out of 1,435,977 registered voters as of Election Day. Key races for King County Executive, Metropolitan King County Council, and City of Burien Council positions have seen leading candidates emerge, though these results are still unofficial.

You can see the full election results here.

King County Executive Race Highlights Girmay Zahilay's Lead In the county-wide race for King County Executive, Girmay Zahilay is currently leading with 40.39% of the vote, having garnered 103,471 ballots.

The race also includes a diverse field of candidates:

• Claudia Balducci received 77,590 votes, or 30.28%.

• Derek Chartrand is at 12.52% with 32,085 votes.

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You are invited to engage in Public Safety Dialogues; Southwest Precinct session set for August 11th

Seattle community members have a unique opportunity to engage directly with police personnel on issues of crime and public safety through the Seattle Police Department's (SPD) Micro-Community Policing Plans (MCPP) Community-Police Dialogues. These virtual sessions, a collaborative effort between the SPD and the Seattle University Crime & Justice Research Center, are running weekly via Zoom from May through August 2025.

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Road rage leads to shooting, assault, chase, wreck and arrests

#2025-221014/Southwest Precinct/Third Watch/F3:

At 9:30pm on Saturday, a man called police after having exited his parking garage in the 3400 block of Harbor Av Sw, and gotten involved in a road rage incident.

According to the victim, he may have mistakenly cut off two occupants of a black BMW, who exited their vehicle, with the passenger punching him in the face multiple times, and the driver brandishing a handgun.

The victim said that before he could put his vehicle in drive, he heard his vehicle being struck by gunfire. While on the phone with 911, who told him multiple times to pull over, the victim said he was following the suspect vehicle across the West Seattle bridge in an attempt to get the suspect vehicle license plate.

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Seattle Night Out 2025 is August 5th; Pick up your swag!

TODAY – Monday August 4th 9am – 12noon, at the SW Precinct, in the community meeting room (2300 SW Webster St).

The Seattle Police Department shared the number of Night Out parties set for August 5.

TODAY – Monday August 4th 9am – 12noon, at the SW Precinct, in the community meeting room (2300 SW Webster St).

Night Out is a national event promoted in Seattle by Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities.  

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Jennifer's View: My disappearing houses

By Jennifer Carrasco

I recently sold my home, and the developer plans to bulldoze it and  build a two story house with an ADU in back. Seattle doesn't have much room to expand, so the city must resort to density. I've come to terms with it.

Before anyone commiserates with me, I have to tell you that I've moved a lot, and I've gotten pretty thick skinned about the whole process. It does seem like a waste––my cottage was in very good shape and my studio would  have been a terrific workshop for someone, but I needed to go to senior living at St.Vincent's, and the developer gave the highest bid.  I didn't want to end up living in some broom closet smelling of pee.

Of course when a house is leveled, so goeth the garden. But I sent the word out to all my gardener friends and they arrived with pitchforks to root up my plants to plant in their gardens. Better than my previous moves....

 

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