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We stopped by and talked to two of the contributors who were working on it, who said that it's a student-led art project to decorate the concrete retaining wall with some Garfield-themed designs.

They're aiming to finish the project by Sunday, just in time for the start of school next Wednesday.

The abridged report from Seattle's sunny East precinct:

In recent years King County Prosecutors have passed up the death penalty in several high profile cases where it was applicable, with the Green River Killer being one of the most notable.

But that pattern ended today, with prosecutors announcing in a court hearing that they would be seeking the death penalty against Christopher Monfort, accused in the murder of Officer Tim Brenton last Halloween.

The prosecutor's office conducted a review to determine whether there were any factors that would justify life in prison instead of the death penalty, but in their notice presented at court they said that "there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency."

In a statement released to media, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said that the premeditated slaying of a police officer called for full punishment under the law. "The magnitude of the crimes with which the defendant is charged, and the absence of significant mitigating factors, convinced me that we should submit this case to the jury with the full range of applicable punishments, including the possibility of the death penalty."

Monfort's lawyers released a written statement that claimed the state is moving too quickly and that they believe the prosecutor moved ahead without a full review of information that would argue against the death penalty. "We are saddened by the fact that the prosecutor has chosen note to provide us with adequate time to investigate and present that evidence before making this life and death decision."

The death penalty decision has been repeatedly delayed to give both sides time to present and consider evidence related to the death penalty decision. However, in that time the defense team was not able to present a mitigation package that would detail their reasons for leniency. Their request for a further delay was denied at a hearing last week.

Monfort is permanently confined to a wheelchair and suffers from paralysis of part of his face due to wounds incurred when he was shot by officers at the time of his arrest. He maintained a defiant attitude in today's hearing, at one point yelling out "We can not be upstanding citizens unless we're willing to stand up."

Been a busy day at CDNews World HQ, but scanner's better late than never, right?

The Seattle Police Department has released the full report on an odd event that we recorded on last Friday's scanner, where a woman had reportedly entered Catfish Corner and sprayed patrons with mace.

According to the police report, the suspect arrived at the restaurant to speak to an employee about a man they both had dated in the past. Although the suspect offered to "release" the man to the employee, the employee made it clear she wasn't interested in the man any more, upsetting the suspect. She expressed that frustration by grabbing a can of pepper spray and shooting it it at the back of the restaurant employee.

Some of the spray misted and filled the restaurant, causing coughing and irritated throats for the other employees and two patrons who were dining in the restaurant. Medical assistance was denied by everyone who was affected by the spray.

The suspect drove ran out and drove away southbound in a Turquoise van.

The rainy season seems to be quickly approaching, which means it's time to get your home movie queue refreshed with things to watch.

We recently saw and enjoyed The Heart of The Game, a 2006 documentary that follows the trials and wins of the Roosevelt High School girls basketball team. And although Roosevelt is definitely not a Central District school, the main focus of the documentary is Darnellia Russel, a Central District resident and star of Roosevelt's team.

Darnellia's mother sent her to Roosevelt instead of Garfield to try and keep her away from from negative influences, giving Darnellia a new challenge as she got used to fitting in in an overwhelmingly white student body. A stand-out basketball player at Meany Middle School, she's convinced to join the Roosevelt basketball team and by the time of her junior year she's the star.

There's appearances by other Central District personalities too, including Joyce Walker, the former Garfield basketball star and coach of the Garfield team in the mid 2000s. And the plot climax of the documentary comes in the 2004 state basketball championship between Roosevelt and Garfield.

It was interesting to see behind the scenes of Seattle's hyper-competitive high school basketball programs, and the personal challenges and stories of the movies stars were moving as well. Plus, the final quarter of the movie has classic sports tension and excitement as we see two local teams compete for the state title.

The last day of August goes out with a gray whimper. Here's the day's events from Seattle's East Precinct:

The Leschi neighborhood's efforts to build a memorial to Officer Tim Brenton is getting new support from local businesses. Yesterday BluWater Bistro left a comment on CDNews announcing their plans to hold an event on Saturday, September 11th, to raise funds towards the $25,000 cost of building the memorial.

The restaurant will be selling rubber ducks for $5 at each of their three locations, including their waterfront restaurant in Leschi, with the funds donated towards the memorial. Then on September 11th they'll hold a Derby event in Leschi, where the first three ducks that make it to shore will win a range of prizes for their sponsors.

The BluWater program comes one week after the memorial committee announced an $8,000 donation of materials and services from Quiring Monuments, which will provide the sculptural elements of the memorial.

The Leschi community is working to hit their $25,000 goal by October 1st, so that the memorial can be built and then dedicated on the one-year anniversary of Officer Tim Brenton's murder on October 31st.

Seattle University students will have a spacious new place to get in shape when school starts next fall, as the University is preparing to break ground on a new fitness center in the 500 block of 14th Avenue.

The two-story, 21,066 square foot addition to the university's Connolly Center will add space for new fitness equipment, a group exercise room, offices, and locker rooms for student use. 

The new structure will occupy what is currently a small parking lot on the southwest side of the existing athletic center, adjacent to the larger parking lot at 14th & Jefferson. The addition will bring the total area of the Connolly center up to 118,058 square feet.

According to permits filed with the city last week, the new addition is valued at $3.9 million, continuing an aggressive building program that over the last ten years has seen the addition of a new Student Center, new housing, an alumni center, and additional instructional space around the campus.