We’re following a breaking news situation on Lakeside Ave South near Frink Park involving a woman found shot in the chest. At this time, police are continuing to investigate the incident and we have no additional information about the circumstances.
According to Seattle Fire radio, a woman was shot in the chest in the 500 block of Lakeside Ave South and transported to Harborview in serious condition just before 1 PM Thursday afternoon.
The Seattle Police Department is investigating the circumstance surrounding this week’s home invasion robbery on East Madison where an armed robber and two accomplices made off with “a large amount” of illegal drugs.
According to SPD, responding officers to the Monday night robbery in a home near Madison and 23rd found narcotics at the scene including marijuana and cocaine. Because of the ongoing investigation, SPD will not say how much coke was ripped off by the gunman and his helpers but we have been told that the heist involved a significant amount of narcotics.
There have been no arrests related to the case involving the robbery suspects or the people living in the home.
One of the residents was pistol whipped during the robbery. Another was missing for a short time but turned up later Monday night.
A witness saw three black males running southbound on 24th Ave from Madison around 9:45 PM Monday night — one was wearing a red hoodie, one a dark jacket and one a white “winter” jacket with a blue stripe. The suspect wearing white was also very tall — 6’5″.
SPD is out with full details from the Tuesday afternoon laptop theft at the 23rd and Jackson Starbucks that ended with one arrest and the recovery of a stolen laptop. SPD says the suspect captured with the stolen laptop is a juvenile and was booked into the Youth Service Center. SPD confirms our report that a stolen handgun was found on the suspect during the arrest.
A new element in the newly released report details how the two suspects were working together and the involvement of a second victim.
Here is the full SPD report:
Juvenile Robber captured
On 3-1-11, at approximately 2:11 p.m., officers responded to a call of a strong-arm robbery at a business in the 2300 block of S. Jackson St. Officers arrived on scene and contacted the victim. He stated that a black male teen suspect with an afro, wearing a dark jacket, stole his laptop and ran off Southbound from the location. Officers arriving in the area advised dispatch that they had just seen a suspect matching that description running Southbound in the 400 block of 25 AV S. The officers located the suspect still in possession of the laptop and detained him in the 500 block of 25 Av S. A loaded stolen handgun was also located on the suspect.
The victim stated that a second suspect was also involved. A second victim was also located at the business.
It was determined that suspect 2 and the suspect 1 coordinated to steal the laptops. The victim confronted Suspect 2 as he exited the Starbuck’s and attempted to retrieve his laptop and phone. They struggled and fell to the ground. Suspect 2 handed the laptop off to suspect 1 who ran from the scene SB on 23 Av S. The second laptop and cell phone were damaged in the struggle. Suspect 2 then ran SB from the scene and is still at large.
Suspect 1, a male 17-years-old was booked into Youth Service Center for Investigation of Robbery, Violation of Uniform Firearms Act, and Possession of Stolen Property.
Suspect 2, is described as a black male, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt.
A suspect fleeing the scene of a laptop grab at the 23rd and Jackson Starbucks was caught by police on the run a few blocks away Tuesday afternoon.
Police saw the suspect running with the laptop and tracked him trough nearby yards until taking him into custody on 25th Ave S. In addition to the stolen laptop — still displaying the Web page the victim had been browsing when it was taken — police also recovered a stolen handgun.
Another male suspected of being involved in the robbery was not found by police.
The theft happened inside an extremely crowded Starbucks just after 2 PM. SPD was having difficulty processing the large number of witnesses to the crime. That store has been a hot topic of conversation on the site following a recent brawl inside the coffee hangout at the end of January.
Two people were injured and police say a “large amount of drugs” were stolen in a Monday night home invasion robbery near 23rd Ave and Madison. The SPD brief on the incident is below. We’re continuing to gather information on the hold-up and will update if we learn more:
On February 28th, at approximately 9:45 PM, East Precinct officers responded to a call of an armed robbery in a residence in the 2300 Block of East Madison Street. Officers contacted the victims who told them that at about 9:15 PM, three black males wearing masks had forced their way into the residence. At least one of the suspects was armed with a handgun.
The suspects demanded to know where the drugs were kept and began ransacking the residence. The suspect with the gun used it to hit two of the occupants of the residence. The suspects then fled after taking a large amount of drugs from the victims. Seattle Fire responded to the scene to treat the two victims for their superficial head injuries, but none of the victims required any further treatment. It is believed that this particular residence was targeted for the drugs kept inside. Detectives will follow up on this case.
We’ve posted details of the National Weather Service Winter Storm Warning that remains in effect for our area and the regular battery of updates from various public agencies about the forecast cold and snowy weather here. To repeat, here’s what the NWS says to look forward to Wednesday. We will update this post as events warrant. Stay warm!
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM WEDNESDAY TO
10 AM PST THURSDAY.* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS…SEATTLE…BREMERTON…CARNATION…
MONROE…NORTH BEND…BUCKLEY…TACOMA…PUYALUP…SHELTON…
OLYMPIA…CHEHALIS…MONTESANO…HOQUIAM…AND FORKS.* ACCUMULATIONS…UP TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE OVER MAINLY
THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER MUCH OF THE
SNOW WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DURING THIS
PERIOD AN AVERAGE OF 2 TO 6 INCHES OF NEW SNOW TOTAL IS
EXPECTED…ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS.* TIMING…AN ARCTIC FRONT WILL MOVE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS
THE AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST
SNOW WILL OCCUR AHEAD OF AND WITH THE FRONT.
National Weather Service says we should see wet, slushy snow through Wednesday morning:
IN THE LOWLANDS...EXPECT BRIEF AND LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS OF SLUSHY
SNOW TO OCCUR THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THIS IS MOST
LIKELY TO OCCUR ON HILLS ABOVE ABOUT 500 FEET THIS MORNING AND
ABOVE 300 FEET TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND MAINLY
WHERE CONVERGENCE ZONES SET UP IN THE NORTH INTERIOR AND NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS.
AN ARCTIC AIR MASS DROPPING SOUTH FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA...
COMBINED WITH DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE OFF THE WASHINGTON COAST
WILL GIVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW OVER ALL OF THE LOWLANDS
OF WESTERN WASHINGTON BEGINNING WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUING INTO
THURSDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL IN WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE SAN
JUAN ISLANDS WILL LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG NORTHEASTERLY
WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH AND GUSTS TO 50 MPH BY THURSDAY MORNING.
When we reported the story behind the abrupt closure of the Union 76 gas station at 23rd and Union, we were told by the family ownership group it was likely the lot would be reactivated with a new service station tenant and local landowner Ian Eisenberg weighed in with what he had heard on the matter a few months back:
Good news! I talked to the property owner and there is a new operator/tenant moving in and many planned upgrades & improvements.
We can now report the first tangible signs of what Eisenberg was talking about. While we don’t yet know details of a potential new tenant for the space, we have learned that the service station is being prepared for a significant overhaul that will give it enhanced capabilities to provide biofuels to serve the growing demand for alternative fuels in the city. Here are the details of the recent application filed with the city’s Department of Planning and Development to overhaul the site:
Alterations and improvemetns (sic) to an existing fueling station within a NC2-P zone. Request permits to add biofuels (biodiesel and ethanol) to station. Request permits to renovate the deteriorated existing building with no changes to square footage.
From the application, it sounds like in addition to the biofuel upgrades, they’re also filing to do work to renovate the mini-mart portion of the business.
While not the most earth shattering news of the week, it’s welcome news to many that the lot isn’t destined to become an inactive empty lot. We’ll see what we can confirm with the Richlen family about the upgrades and any information about a future tenant.
Community members and fans of the late Seattle grunge rocker Kurt Cobain this Sunday are gathering in the park famous as a favorite hangout for the musician to mark the singer’s 44th birthday, clean up the Denny Blaine park and talk about the creation of a memorial to the Nirvana front-man at the site.
The clean-up party lasts from 10 AM to 2 PM but the discussion about the memorial is ongoing. Details on the event and the organizers trying to create a way to mark Cobain’s influence in the city and on the world are below.
You can learn more here: http://permaculture.wikia.com/wiki/Viretta_Park_Repair
Fans of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain are traveling from as far as BC, Canada to attend a work party at Viretta Park on Sunday, February 20th, 2011, which would have been the late singer’s 44th birthday. Viretta Park is adjacent to the late singer’s house and place of death c. April 5, 1994.
The volunteer group, Viretta Park Repair, is collaborating with Green Seattle Partnership to remove invasive species from the park. The group’s founder, Daniel Johnson, hopes to find a balance between Kurt Cobain fans and the neighbors in finding a fitting memorial beyond the benches to celebrate his creative spirit. Johnson says:
“We’ve got to be more assertive and active in decisions about what kind of experience we’re looking for when we visit Viretta Park. Nirvana fans come from all over the world to pay their respects and its about time to remove the doom and gloom by repairing the landscape with invasive plant removal, natural area restoration and a redesign that strikes a balance between providing for the neighbors, Kurt Cobain fans and others who seek an uplifting forested urban experience.”
Fans gather yearly on Kurt’s birthday and around the anniversary of his death, often to write dedications on the benches at the park.(1) One fan volunteer has expressed frustration that no more suitable memorial exists in the park beyond just the benches:
“I have always wondered why there is not something more at Viretta Park as a memorial for Kurt, some king of plaque or some sort of a area where fans can visit. Yes, there are the benches, which people leave messages on but then the park board comes along and replaces them. Without him having a actual grave, fans have used the park as somewhere to go to pay their respects to him.”
Johnson, who is also the co-founder of the clothing-optional, permaculture-themed, Gardens Everywhere Bike Parade, will be collecting ideas on what people would like to see in the park online and at the work parties. Johnson will pitch his own ideas for a mix of perennial flowers including a small dahlia garden near the memorial bench, wild medicinal plants, a variety of native plants and edible plants visitors can glean from as well as an interactive memorial installation where fans can leave notes, drawings, flowers around a massive candelabra.
The Central District will share in a $1 million pool being made available to neighborhoods across the city’s central core to help build up Seattle’s business districts — and, thanks to geography and teamwork, they’ll get to share three slices of the pie. According to details released at a Wednesday announcement at 23rd and Union’s Thompson’s Point of View, the Union Street Business Group will administer $100,000 being made available to the CD as part of the Seattle Jobs Plan.
Derryl Durden of East Union Investors, a landowner at 23rd and Union, said the money will go toward organizing a joint event this summer in conjunction with the business district on Jackson that was designated $185,000 by the program. Durden said details of the June joint effort are still being worked out and the investment will help to continue the work going on to transform the area around Thompson’s. “I have never seen the type of partnership that has evolved,” Durden said of the work being done by business and land owners at 23rd and Union to re-shape the intersection long known for drugs and crime.
It’s the second boost in support and financial help this week for areas in the Central District that haven’t seen the same growth as neighborhoods to the north. Earlier this week, Central District News reported on a new Seattle University initiative to support the 100-block neighborhood around Bailey Gatzert Elementary.
And, as we mentioned above, the CD will benefit triply from the $1 million Seattle Jobs Plan pool as $145,000 was also designated for two Capitol Hill organizations working to improve 12th Ave. Last year, Capitol Hill Housing and the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce used similar funding to work together on the 12th Ave initiative including the first ever 12th Ave Festival.
Mayor Mike McGinn spoke at the Wednesday announcement during a busy day for City Hall as the Ian Birk situation played out. “While we’ve aggregated our dollars and made sure we’re going to use the dollars we have as effectively as we can,” McGinn said, “it’s not nearly enough to do everything that people want to do.”
Here’s the full announcement from the city on the plan and video from the Seattle Channel of the Wednesday media conference:
SEATTLE – Today Mayor Mike McGinn joined neighborhood business district leaders and local business owners at Thompson’s Point of View in Seattle’s Central District to announce a $1 million investment in 18 neighborhood business districts as part of the Seattle Jobs Plan.
“We all love Seattle’s neighborhood business districts,” Mayor McGinn said. “The programs we’re announcing today not only help these specific neighborhoods, but create jobs and add to the vitality of our entire city.”
Small businesses employ 72 percent of Seattle’s workforce and contribute 35 percent of the city’s business tax revenues, totaling $55.4 million. Our local neighborhood business districts serve as the location and incubators for many of the city’s small businesses. The Seattle Jobs Plan specifically targets investment in Seattle’s neighborhood business districts.
“What goes on around my business is just as important as what goes on inside my business,” said Gail Thompson, owner of Thompson’s Point of View. “I’m excited about this investment in our 23rd and Union business corridor to help us, the business and property owners, get organized to improve our local neighborhood business climate.”
The Office of Economic Development (OED)’s Only in Seattle Initiative supports investments in neighborhood business districts, and focuses on the following strategies to create healthy business districts:
- Business attraction and retention (business mix to serve residential needs);
- Marketing and promotion (events, social media, farmers markets);
- Clean and safe initiatives (graffiti removal, dumpster free alleys, lighting);
- Physical improvements (streetscape, catalytic development projects, façade, art); and
- Business-focused organizational capacity building to sustain the effort, such as Business Improvement Area (BIA) formation.
The local business communities in these neighborhoods have developed comprehensive, multi-year strategies in which the city is investing a total of $655,000:
Capitol Hill $145,000
Central District $100,000
Chinatown / International District $185,000
MLK (Rainier Valley) $125,000
Pioneer Square $100,000
“I moved my company to Pioneer Square because we were excited about the vibrant, urban environment with exciting amenities for our associates,” said Dan Greenshields, president of ING ShareBuilder. “I’m excited that this investment from the city will allow Pioneer Square to increase its economic development and retail recruitment to improve the diversity of our retail mix.”
In addition, focused investments of $247,500 to support from one to three strategies will be made in these neighborhoods: Ballard, Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Rainier Beach, University District and White Center.
The city will invest an additional $40,000 to expand the Only in Seattle marketing campaign, which highlights the hidden gems of shopping and dining in Seattle’s neighborhoods (www.onlyinseattle.org). The following neighborhoods will join the Only in Seattle marketing effort: Belltown, Capitol Hill, Greenwood-Phinney, Madison Valley, Queen Anne, South Lake Union, and the University District.
The Office of Economic Development also will invest $35,000 to build strong business-focused organizational capacity to sustain the efforts of neighborhood business districts Business Improvement Area (BIA) formation in the following neighborhoods: Ballard, Belltown, Capitol Hill, Central Area, Greenwood-Phinney, Lake City, Madison Valley, Pione
er Square, University District, and West Seattle; and $20,000 for farmers market support in neighborhoods across the city.OED will fund and manage this program in partnership with Impact Capital, a Seattle-based community development financial institution serving underserved communities throughout Washington.
“In addition to working with business and property owners in our neighborhood business districts, we are focused on providing direct services to businesses to help them grow and compete,” said Steve Johnson, director of the Office of Economic Development. “You can learn more about our services at growseattle.com, including financing products.”