Featured Stories

A reader pointed me to this PI story from earlier in the week, announcing a new deal between the developers of the big project on the Goodwill property and the surrounding communities that have been very outspoken against it.   

Some of the concessions listed in the story aren't new.  For example, the project has always had 200 units of affordable housing....

The Sept. 4th Seattle Times has a very informative obituary about Al Smith Sr., who photographed the Central District: he "single-handedly documented African-American community life here for a half-century".

His work is  at MOHAI, the African-American Museum and the 23rd & Jackson Starbucks, and in the book "Jackson Street After Hours"

Perhaps we can collectively carry on his work.

It doesn't take much searching to find fresh graffiti around the neighborhood.  This summer there's been an explosion of it across Seattle.  

So how about starting a community project on your block to help clean it up?   

The city has a cool program that will get you all set up with a wagon full of paint, brushes, and other supplies to let you and your...

Where was all of this nice weather in August?  Here's the report from the sunny streets of Seattle's East Precinct (and other parts of the city if they're worthy):

Here's the full story on this shooting and police stand-off that went down just after noon today.   It started at 12:28pm when multiple people placed calls to 911 to report that a man had fired 2-3 shots in the Red Apple parking lot near the Subway.   He was described as a black male, 20s, with a silver & black windbreaker & cornrows.   

Police arrived...

I'm at the scene of this stand-off on 29th S. One suspect has come out. They're calling on the PA for an additional man to come out. This is connected to the shots fired at the Red Apple that was in todays scanner report. The first people to come out of the house were two women and a baby. Then about 15 minutes later a teenaged man emerged and...

You may have seen this one on the scanner this morning, where two men armed with a gun broke into an occupied house and stole a variety of jewlery, cash, and other items from the female homeowner.    Police say the she was asleep at the time and was assaulted in the process.  

Officials have identified one suspect in the shooting and are asking for...

After two years of construction, today was the big day for the official unveiling of an extensively remodeled Garfield High School.

We've got two videos of the event.  The first has highlights from the ceremony, while the second gives a quick tour of the building.

The changes are pretty dramatic.  They've taken a run-down building and transformed it...

Happy Labor Day!  I can't believe it's already September.   Here's what will probably be an abbreviated report of East Precinct shennanigans:

Here's what we can piece together for this event tonight:

At 11:55pm, medics and officers responded to a 911 report of a shooting at 18th & Yesler.  At some point police connected the shooting to a Black Hyundai Accent hatchback, and began a pursuit of that vehicle all over the neighborhood, with police cars flying in all directions with lights and sirens blazing. 

No victim was found at the site of the shooting at 18th & Yesler, and police haven't been able to find or call the original complainant in that event.

SPD's official policy is to not engage in high-speed pursuits due to the potential for injury to innocent bystanders.  At some point the pursuit must have crossed that threshold, as it...

Quincy Jones, possibly the most famous son of the CD, is the subject of a big feature in today's Pacific Northwest Magazine.   He grew up in a small house on 22nd Ave, just a couple of blocks away from Garfield High School where he graduated in 1950.

Here his brother describes looking out the window of the top-floor room that was shared by seven siblings:...

I was out walking the dog, on my way back from getting a picture for another story, when I heard a loud crash a couple of blocks away.  We headed that direction and found a two-vehicle accident at the corner of 20th & Cherry.

A witness who lives about a block south said that he saw the maroon 4-door going northbound on 20th at "about 90 miles an hour....

Yesterday the folks who live on 20th between Marion & Union gave us all an example of how to build a strong community in the neighborhood. For the last four years, Chef Brenda Lee has worked with her neighbors to host a big block party with amazing food, cold drinks, and a lot of fun.   About 50 people took over the street in the middle of the block...

Anybody understand why Richlin's has by far the MOST EXPENSIVE gas in the Seattle area (Regular is $4.09)? It's not as though we're all rolling in money and won't notice the extra! BTW, given that gas is $3.85 at 23rd/Cherry, why does anybody stop at Richin's?

(yes, yes, I know there's a 45 cent debit card charge at 23/Cherry)

http://www.seattlegasprices....

There was a lot of interesting stuff at tonight's EPCPC meeting, but the biggest news was on the burglary front.  Earlier in the week we had a lot of discussion about the continuing burglaries in the area.  The big question was where we could push for changes that would break the catch and release cycle that's been happening with some of the juvenile suspects in the crimes.

That question was put to the east precinct's Capt. McDonagh, who said that the number of burglaries in July was "horrible" and that they had launched an effort with the King County Prosecutor's office to expedite the process.  Their goal is to decrease the amount of time between the filing of probable cause paperwork and the...