September 2011

Update for 3 pm, Sept. 15
The suspect was arrested at 2:11 pm and the matter was resolved peacefully.

Please click the photo above for a slideshow of the standoff.

A Seattle Police negotiator, partially obscured from the suspect's view behind a SWAT vehicle with armed SWAT members behind him, spent over an hour speaking with the standoff suspect who was located on the upper porch of his two story home.

At times the negotiator talked to the suspect about sports and favorite teams in an attempt to calm the man who could often be heard yelling about problems he was having with his brother.

While the negotiator and suspect talked a separate SWAT team gained access to the rear of the home from an alleyway and were able to subdue the suspect on the porch, according to SW Precinct Captain Steve Paulsen.

The suspect was taken to Harborview Medical Center for a mental evaluation.

This story will be updated as more information comes in.

Original post

UPDATE: Check out this photo, above right, of West Seattle fashion designer Justin Bartle standing beside Ghizlane Morlot, the wife of the Seattle Symphony orchestra's new music director, Ludovic. This photo was taken the night of last Saturday night's opening gala at Benaroya Hall, as mentioned below.
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When world-class conductor Ludovic Morlot takes the stage in his first concert as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for Saturday night's opening gala at Benaroya Hall, he will be presented with wife Ghizlane to an audience of 2,500. While all ears will be on the musicians, all eyes will be on the symphony's new first lady and her orange gown.

The edgy but classical flowing creation is designed by West Seattle resident Justin Bartle, 21, one of 400 students at the Art Institute of Seattle School of Fashion on Alaskan Way with classroom windows that offer a scenic view of Elliott Bay and Alki beyond.

The East Ballard Community Association announced today that landscape architect firm Mithun has been selected and approved to design the 14th Ave NW Park Boulevard.

"We’ve been sitting on pins and needles these past few weeks while awaiting an announcement from the Parks Dept on their approval for a Landscape Architect firm," Dawn Hemminger writes on the East Ballard Community Association blog. "At last, we got the word from Parks this week, and I’m happy to announce that Mithun has been selected and they have accepted! We’re very excited about the team that Mithun has put together for our project and we can’t wait to roll up our sleeves and get to work!"

The park boulevard steering committee had worked closely with Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation to assemble a list of very highly qualified and talented consultants to interview from firms like Kenneth Philp, KPG, Mithun, Otak, and Swift.

Hemminger says that while Swift declined to go for the job, they did offer to provide the park boulevard project with some pro bono work.

West Seattle High School Assistant Principal Michael A. Kelly shares the following letter of introduction for the school's new Interim Athletic Director for the 2011-2012 school year.

It is my pleasure to introduce Kim Depew as Interim Athletic Director at West Seattle High School. Kim has been teaching at West Seattle High School for the past fourteen years in the Science and Math Departments. Kim is an active member of the West Seattle faculty serving as Key Club Advisor, Seattle Education Association Representative, and as a class advisor.

Kim’s career includes being a varsity coach for volleyball and softball. As head softball coach for the Wildcats she has taken the team to the district playoffs. In the community Kim founded the Thunder Select Fastpitch Team. Kim is familiar with the duties of athletic directing as she was Interim Athletic Director in 2007.

By Tom Fucoloro, Editor of Seattle Bicycle Blog

What started as a couple deaths after a long stretch with very few has turned into a devastating couple weeks on our city’s streets. After the third death on Seattle streets since July, one question has been on the minds of city residents and various media outlets this week:

What the hell is going on?

Nobody can really answer that question, and it is probably a combination of a lot of things: Bad luck, more people biking, holes in the bicycle facility network (and sub-par facilities), traffic errors, and on and on.

But we know for sure that something must change.

Tuesday morning, I was standing with friends of Brian Fairbrother at the spot where he crashed down a staircase at the end of a city-designed “bike trail” that had no warning signs. Brian’s friends held a beautiful memorial for him, creating art, telling stories and supporting each other through the loss of a friend who had touched so many people’s lives.

Meanwhile, car traffic trickled by on the five-lane Fairview Ave N at a rate of a couple vehicles per minute.

On TV, the newest star of The Deadliest Catch TV show, Capt. Scott Campbell Jr. is seen riding the Alaskan waves aboard the F/V Seabrooke. But on land in his souped up 1962 Ford known as The Big Nasty, Campbell is set to rule the road on the truck racing circuit.

"I'm on track to kick start a new charity initiative in the loudest, fastest way I can conjure," said Campbell Jr. "With a racing truck."

The Walla Walla resident wants to raise money for children's charities by donating his racing wins. And to spread the word, he's offering an exclusive opportunity for Seattle's Scandinavian community. He's offering a Deadliest Catch Tailgate Party to the highest bidder at this year's fundraiser auction at the Swedish Cultural Center.

"You'll get the first chance to ride with Campbell in this one-of-a-kind racer," said auction co-chair Kelly Hughes. "To spend the day with a Deadliest Catch star, have a tailgate picnic, and talk about fast cars and the Bering Sea."

Campbell's unique item is already creating a buzz.

Fire and police units responded just after 9:32 pm to reports that a man had stopped his car approximately 1/4 mile from the beach on Seola Lane s.w. and then stripped naked, walked to the water and began swimming.

This according to a neighbor who witnessed the events.

The emergency crews rescued the man from the water and the neighbor reported the man was shivering violently.

He was secured and taken away in an ambulance.

His car was towed.

We will follow up with the official report when it becomes available.

Samson is the proud dog of Lana Stratton and Alan Jackson who was named in a fun way. "We were living in Hawaii when we got him. I found him on Christmas Eve at a Safeway parking lot. We were in Hilo, shopping for Christmas dinner and I saw a sign that said Chihuahua puppies. We had to leave our chihuahua behind when we went to Hawaii, because of their regulations." Stratton and Jackon are both registered nurses and travel in their profession and once they had raised their children here in West Seattle they went to Arizona and to Hawaii.

"Samson was the last puppie left in the back of the truck and he just looked kind of wilted." Samson will be four years old in November. "He was smaller than a $20 bill."

"We came back in 2008, and it was that nasty winter. We took a spot in Spokane and it snowed like six feet. So Samson had gone from never experiencing anything under 70 degrees to zero," said Jackson. "He has a bomber jacket that he wears that is the most adorable little jacket from Australia."

But that's not all he wears.

The Aggressive Driving Response Team will keep ticketing people in West Seattle and environs as long as they see more drivers just blatantly ignoring the speed limits. Even for those who believe the speed limit on the West Seattle Bridge or the First Avenue South Bridge is too low, those traveling at 70 are going to get ticketed. If it isn't clear yet, the ADRT is also watching school zones since school is back in session. Even going 28 is going to cost you.

Here's today's report:

Posted by Detective Jeff Kappel- From the SPD Blotter

On September 14th officers from the Aggressive Driver Response Team issued the following citations:

1st Ave South Bridge – 45 mph zone

2 at 70 mph

1 at 67 mph

SW Admiral Way – 30 mph zone

1 at 48 mph

1 at 47 mph

4 at 46 mph

1 No Proof of Insurance

Gatewood Elementary School – 20 mph zone

1 at 32 mph

1 at 31 mph

1 at 30 mph

2 at 28 mph

Starting out, King County Assessor Lloyd Hara said home and business owners who recently received a valuation postcard in the mail probably noticed it had shrunk significantly from years past.

This small change, requiring some to pull out the reading glasses, saved the Dept. of Assessments $125,000, Hara said – a necessary reduction in light of a $2.1 million budget cut to his department.

Those who could see the valuation printed on miniaturized stock likely (and unfortunately) noticed the value of their lot and structure had diminished as well.

According to Hara, there has been a “very significant” drop in property value for White Center, Boulevard Park and parts of Burien – ranging from a 12 to 17.5 percent plummet in one year for some areas.

“There is a very close correlation between jobs and real estate,” Hara said. “As employment improves, the real estate market will also improve.”

Hara said nearby West Seattle and Delridge neighborhoods to the north did not take as big a hit (- 7.2 percent), due in part to quality of school districts and proximity to downtown Seattle.