December 2014

By Tim Clifford

On Dec.19 the Seattle Police Department held its first ever SPD Hackathon in the basement of the department’s headquarters on 5th Ave. A training room was turned into a “geek den” replete with coffee, pastries and plenty of outlets to accommodate the 80 plus attendees; including representatives from Amazon, Microsoft, and the University of Washington among numerous others.
The event went from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Officials from the City Attorney’s office, Lynwood Police Department, King County Sheriff’s Department and SPD were also on hand to take notes and engage in the discussion. Even Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole were on hand for a short time.

by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

T'was nice.
A crowd-rousing, fade-away, three-point shot by Chief Sealth International captain, senior, 6-0 guard, LJ Burns, merrily, tied the score, 64-64, with 2.8 seconds on the gameclock in the fourth quarter, but that nice play was made silent when the visiting Ballard Beavers went on to a 78-74, win, in overtime, Friday.
The Seahawks dropped to 0-5 in the Metro league, and, 2-5, overall, having a tough luck season thus far, having lost another OT game earlier this season, to Blanchet, and, also, close losses, to Cleveland and Blanchet, by three, and, six, points, respectively.

"I had to double clutch it, but I got a clean look at the basket, and, once it left my hands, I knew it was going in," said Burns, who scored 16 points to lead balanced scoring on his team against the Beavers.
Such a good quote! Wouldn't it be nice to dwell on that kind of coolness, those Burns' words of excitement there?

A screaming headline like, "Seahawks three-point shot flies through, sends team to OT win!

by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Chief Sealth International started with a good beat, playing to a 20-16 lead over Ballard after the first two quarters of girls basketball, but, at halftime, something went wrong with the rhythm, as, the team leader for the Seahawks did not come out onto the court in the second half, and, the visiting Beavers came back to win, 43-33, Friday.

The Seahawks dropped to 2-4, overall, and, 1-4 in the Metro League while the Beavers improved to 5-2, and, 3-1.

"Our point guard is having some troubles with the team, team issues, she didn't play in the second half," said Seahawks coach, Katie Jo Maris. "There is a chance, we will finish the season without her. Hopefully, there will come a day she will take time to figure out if she wants to play basketball or not. She has high expectations of herself. She has trouble believing in her team. It's too bad she has these problems, she's the sweetest girl off the floor. And, it's rough on us, because she's such a good player."

by Paul Moseley

The West Seattle boys basketball team took a decisive leap forward, moving above .500 in the Metro conference and 3-4 overall as they defeated the Ingraham Rams 78-35 at home.

The Wildcats took charge early, jumping to a 17-2 lead and eventually expanding it to 33-8. They were led by 6’1 Sophomore guard Nate Pryor, who led all scorers with 25 points and kept the Ram defense off balance with a combination of speed, no look passes and dynamic ball handling.

This West Seattle team appears to be settling in as they figure out how to win consistently. After beating Chief Sealth in a raucous overtime last week, the Wildcats had two straight losses, including a heartbreaking 2 point loss to Jefferson. They corrected that negative trend tonight. The young Wildcats, with 7 Sophomores and only 3 Seniors on their roster, will have a chance to build a winning streak and get their first road win next week as they participate int the Mountlake Terrace Holiday event.

The Wildcats take on Mountlake Terrace on December 29th and a TBD opponent on the 30th.

They are back home against Odea on January 6th at 7:30 PM.

by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Battling with a leadership player, the team's point guard, having court problems, the Chief Sealth International Seahawks lost its 20-16 lead at halftime, with being ouscored, 15-6, in the third quarter, and, 12-7, in the fourth, for a 43-33 loss to the visiting Ballard Beavers Friday.

"Our point guard is having some troubles with the team, team issues, she didn't play in the second half," said coach Katie Jo Maris. "There is a chance, we will finish the season without her. Hopefully, there will come a day she will take time to figure out if she wants to play basketball or not. She has high expectations of herself. She has trouble believing in her team. It's too bad she has these problems, she's the sweetest girl off the floor. And, it's rough on us,because she's such a good player."

So, the Seahawks used their normally positioned shooting guard, Labrea Denson, a sophomore, after the regular point guard getting pulled.

by Paul Moseley

The West Seattle girls basketball team continued their early predominance in Metro league 3A basketball tonight by dismissing Ingraham 74-24 at West Seattle gym.

The Wildcats are undefeated at 5-0 and have racked up lopsided scores all season, including a 72-10 win over Hale and a 72-19 defeat of Kennedy. They have also proven their ability to beat the contenders, defeating Lakeside 59-43.

The game was over in the first quarter, and gave the Wildcats an opportunity for this team to sharpen their skills as they executed aggressively on offense and defense - playing smart, positive team ball.

Gabby Sarver led the team at point guard, serving the ball up to Lydia Giomi, Lexi Ioane and Emily Fiso, who all had double digit points on the night.

It may be too early to start talking about State championship possibilities, but this team plays with veracity and crispness that makes them fun to watch. Coach Sonya Elliott is not thinking about State Championships either. “We take it one game at a time” said Elliott, and she’s trying to get as much as she can out of these early games.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Thursday, Dec. 18
Boys basketball
Seattle Luth. 72, Cedar Pk. Chr. 29
Seattle Lutheran won big in a battle with Cedar Park Christian on Thursday.

Wrestling
Renton 58, Foster 9
Foster was pinned with a loss by the Indians this Thursday.

Boys swimming
Hazen 110, Kennedy 73
Hazen's Highlanders got the best of the Lancers in Thursday action.

Wednesday, Dec. 17
Boys basketball
Foster 79, Evergreen 49
Foster topped Evergreen by 30 points Wednesday.
Kennedy 52, Lindbergh 39
The Lancers came away with a lopsided win on Wednesday.
Hazen 67, Highline 55
Highline was hammered by Hazen this past Wednesday.
Renton 64, Tyee 48
The Indians got the best of the Totems in Wednesday action.

Girls basketball
West Seattle 59, Lakeside 43
The Wildcats continued to stomp their opponents this year, with the latest victim being perennial power Lakeside.
Evergreen 48, Foster 36
Evergreen emerged victorious over the Bulldogs on Wednesday.
Kennedy 56, Lindbergh 27

Early this morning, Seattle Police announced that they arrested a man and a woman -- two felony suspects -- after a close to seven hour standoff.

The Major Crimes Task Force witnessed the two suspects enter an abandoned home near North 132nd Street and Greenwood Avenue North.

The suspects were wanted for connection to auto thefts and a recent violent robbery.

After detectives saw the 29-year-old female and 32-year-old male suspect enter the home, they immediately called for back up.

During the standoff, officers tried numerous strategies to convince the suspects to come out of the house. They called the suspect’s cell phones, used loud speakers, and even threw a phone into the house to make contact with the suspects. At one point a relative of one of the suspects spoke to them through a loud speaker in an attempt to coax them out from their hiding.

Since the home was close to Broadview-Thomson Elementary School, students were sheltered in a secure area during the stand off.

While the search for a new Seattle Fire Chief continues, Mayor Ed Murray has named former Assistant Chief Michael E. Walsh as Interim Fire Chief. Chief Walsh will be filling the top position on a temporary basis, succeeding Fire Chief Gregory M. Dean who retired in December 2014 after 44 years of service to the City.

Chief Walsh brings over 30 years of fire service experience to the position. Before retiring in January 2014, Chief Walsh served as Assistant Chief of Operations. In this role, he supervised more than 900 firefighters and oversaw the Department’s nearly 85,000 annual emergency responses.

Chief Walsh began his career with the Seattle Fire Department in 1971 and rose through the ranks reaching the positions of Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Deputy Chief and finally Assistant Chief. In 2010, Chief Walsh was named Chief of the Year for his dedication and commitment to improving firefighter safety and service delivery to the residents of Seattle.

Chief Walsh’s first day will be Saturday, Dec. 20.

As the number of people without access to emergency shelters grows, and as tents continue to pop up on public right-of-way and vacant lots throughout Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray is proposing additional shelter capacity and a new look at permitted encampments within the city.

Mayor Murray’s Emergency Task Force on Unsheltered Homelessness began its work in mid-October. The group included human service providers, advocates for those impacted by homelessness, and faith and community leaders, and was chaired by Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim. Members of the task force appeared yesterday before the Seattle City Council to outline eight recommendations.

Murray today endorsed several of those recommendations, some of which will provide nearly immediate relief to those living on the street, while other steps will take more time to implement.

For more information: http://murray.seattle.gov/mayor-endorses-additional-responses-to-homele…