A man was shot near 26th and King Saturday evening around 5:20 p.m.

The 22-year-old victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The suspect or suspects are still at large, police say. Gang Units are investigating.

We will update as we learn more.

UPDATE: Police say the shooting started as an argument in front of a home near 26th and King. The victim was in a car when he was shot, and the suspect fled on foot. From SPD:

A 22-year-old man was shot following a disturbance in front of a house on 26th Av S.

Today, just shortly after 5:00 p.m., several neighbors called 9-1-1 and reported hearing 3 to 5 gunshots.  There were also reports that the victim was leaving with several people in a silver Mazda.

Officers responded and secured the scene.

Additional officers responded to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) and located the silver Mazda, the victim, and its occupants. The vehicle was secured and taken to the SPD processing room. The victim was immediately rushed into surgery.  His status is unknown at this time.

According to witnesses, an argument occurred in front of a house in the 500 block of 26

^th Ave S. The victim, suspect and several other people were involved.

During the disturbance the victim was shot twice in his torso.  The suspect is described as a black male, early 20’s, wearing a black jacket, black shoes, and a knit cap. The suspect left the area on foot.

The Gang Unit responded to the scene to handle the investigation.

UPDATE x2: It appears the argument that prompted the shooting was between the victim’s father and the father of the victim’s girlfriend, police say:

Detectives contacted the victim’s mother at HMC. She told detectives that the victim was at the scene of an argument between his father, and the father of the victim’s 18- year-old girlfriend. During that argument her son was shot.  She went on to say that she does not know why her son was shot and didn’t know the name of the female or the female’s father.

Neighbors have rallied to help the Murray family of six, which was displaced by a house fire Halloween night.

The biggest help would be leads on a new place in the Central District for the family to rent. They also need cash and gift cards to help them pay for replacement items and temporary housing.

Tricia Turton, a coach at Cappy’s Boxing Gym and neighbor to the Murrays, has been helping to spread the word about how to help them. She posted the following to the CDNews Facebook Page:

Here is the low down! Please encourage anyone who wants to help to send any information/requests to [email protected]. Just met with the Murray Families. Uncle Bill is set for right now. So, that leaves the family of 6.

MOST IMPORTANT! They need housing, or monies for housing. The girls (8,10) go to Leschi and the boys (11, 13) go to Washington Middle School, so somewhere in the CD/Cap Hill/ Madrona etc area would be easiest. The father works at Seattle University. The mom’s job is to take care of the family.

They are in desperate need of vet care for the kittens. Two have badly burnt paws and have stopped walking and one has some lung issues to be investigated. Anyone who wants to donate Vet care, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Next important needs: They could use gift cards for the following places: Wallmart, Target, QFC, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Any gas station, Lane Bryant, Marshalls, Ross, Sephora,

Also, Raquel and Mark (the parents) anniversary is coming up November 21st and we would like to have a date night sponsored for them. We have child care taken care of.

You can mail any gift cards to 425 26th Ave South Seattle WA 98144

You can also use Paypal to send money directly to the Murray Family. Please use [email protected]

These are their most immediate needs.

The Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board is leading a Central Seattle bikeability tour Sunday. The tour is the final in a series of tours of various neighborhoods for the citizen board, which is tasked with advising the city on issues related to bicycling.

The tour starts at Cherry Street Coffee House on 12th Ave and will go from 10 a.m. to 1.

Details from the event listing:

Please join the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways for our sixth and final Seattle “Bikeability Tour” of the year. This one will take place in Central Seattle (Central District/Capitol Hill/Eastlake) on Sunday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The purpose of the ride is to engage the Central Seattle community in the Bicycle Master Plan Update by identifying challenges and opportunities for better bicycling in those neighborhoods. Following the ride, SBAB will draft a report that will be distributed to City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and SDOT containing recommendations for ways to improve bicycling in Central Seattle for people of all ages and abilities. This report will be informed by the community participants and submitted as input into the update of the Bicycle Master Plan.

Here is the RSVP link with much more info: http://bit.ly/CentralBikeabilityTour

We will meet in front of the Cherry Street Coffee House at Seattle University (1223 E Cherry St) at 10 a.m. and ride a 7-mile route through several Central Seattle neighborhoods. We will end the ride at Grand Central Bakery on Eastlake Ave at noon for an hour of discussion of what we saw along the way over lunch.

I hope you can join us on November 11. If you have any questions about the event, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. And feel free to help spread the word!

Every now and then, a building pops up that makes people wonder, “Who the hell approved that?” You can help make sure we don’t have to ask that question — ever again. Because we’ll know. You approved that! And of course, we’ll celebrate your leadership as a member of the East Design Review Board, with purview over the Central District and Capitol Hill. All you need is an “interest” in architecture or design and Seattle residency.

Seattle – Mayor Mike McGinn is looking for qualified candidates to fill nine upcoming openings on the city of Seattle’s Design Review Board. The volunteer positions will be available April 4, 2013 when retiring board members’ terms expire.

Applications will be accepted for the following nine board positions:

Northeast Design Review Board – community representative	Downtown Review Board – development representative
Southwest Design Review Board – residential representative – design professional representative	West Design Review Board – design professional representative – residential representative – development representative
East Design Review Board – development representative – community representative

Application forms are available from www.seattle.gov/designreview or from [email protected]. The deadline for submitting an application is December 10, 2012.

Board members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council and serve two-year terms. Members serve on one of seven boards that reviewprojects in the city’s major geographic districts. Each board is composed of five members who represent:

— design professions

— development interests

— general community interests

— local business interests

— local residential interests

Applicants should have:

knowledge of, or interest in, architecture, urban design and the development process;

the ability to evaluate projects based on the city’s design guidelines;

the ability to listen and communicate effectively at public meetings;

a passion for design and community development; and

the ability to work well with others under pressure. Prior experience with community or neighborhood groups is a plus.

Board members must live in the city. Following appointment, the local residential interests representative must act as an ambassador to at least one community group or association (e.g. community council) that operates within the board district. Similarly, following appointment the local business interests representative must act as an ambassador to at least one business group or association (e.g. chamber of commerce) that operates within the board district. Acting as an ambassador is often facilitated if the board member lives or works within the district he or she is serving, but residency in a district is not a requirement to serve as a local representative.

Board members should expect to work 12-14 hours a month attending and preparing for board meetings, which are held twice a month, in the evenings. Board members are expected to attend at least 90 percent of the meetings.

Applications will be accepted for positions other than those listed above and kept on file for consideration for future openings.

The Design Review Program was established in 1994 to provide an alternative to prescriptive zoning requirements and foster new development that better responds to the character of its surroundings. Boards evaluate the design of development projects based on citywide and neighborhood-specific design guidelines. The boards review mixed-use developments, multifamily housing, and commercial projects above a certain size threshold. For more information on the Design Review Board and the city’s Design Review Program, visitwww.seattle.gov/designreview.

To be considered for appointment to one of the design review boards, please send an application, a cover letter and resume by December 10, 2012 by email to:

Lisa Rutzick

[email protected]

Email applications are preferred, as electronic documents facilitate file sharing among the selection committee. If emailing is not an option, applicants can send their applications via U.S. mail to:

Lisa Rutzick

Design Review Board

Department of Planning and Development

City of Seattle

700 – 5^th Ave, Suite 1800

P.O. Box 34019

Seattle, Washington 98124-4019

You may download an application at www.seattle.gov/designreview or email [email protected] to receive a copy.

For other information, please contact Lisa Rutzick, Design Review Program Manager, at 206-386-9049 or via e-mail at [email protected], or Alan Justad, 233-3891, or via email at [email protected]

Capitol Hill Housing, which has several projects in the CD, is also looking for new board members:

The Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program (CHH) seeks nominations of qualified board member candidates from the Capitol Hill community. Capitol Hill Housing will maintain an active list of candidates for ongoing consideration.

A brand new preschool is in the works! Starting in January 2013, Miller Community Center will be offering classes 3 days a week for kids ages 3-5 years old. Called “Miller’s Little Learners” this class is a great way to prepare kids for kindergarten while they have fun with friends in a safe and nurturing environment. Children will explore their ABCs, 123s, music, art, singing, and story time. With a big gymnasium stocked full of fun riding toys, balls and other equipment and an outdoor play area as well, there will be plenty of opportunities for physical activities too!

Starts Monday, January 7, 2013

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm.

$216/month

Questions?  Want to

One part of the Seattle Police Department’s 20/20 Plan, a response by the city to the recent US Department of Justice investigation, is a community outreach program called Safe Communities. The city has held meetings at every precinct in the city, wrapping up their tour with the Central District and Capitol Hill’s East Precinct Thursday.

The meeting is 7-9 p.m. at Miller Community Center.

The big precinct-wide meetings are the first phase of the program, which aims to hone community ideas into changes within the police department. From the Safe Communities promotional document (see full version below):

Our Mission is to ensure the city is meeting our goal of reducing crime and creating the safest possible neighborhoods by deeply engaging with the community.

This goal can only be accomplished with the support and partnership of the City, a broad base of residents and our police officers. This initiative, therefore, is being launched in partnership with the Police Department and builds upon their already existing Community Outreach Initiative (#19 of the 20/20 Plan). This outreach mission is designed to increase and bolster SPD’s goal of providing a sustainable system of outreach to the community—reaching beyond individuals that traditionally engage with the police department—that will also promote equity and strengthen accountability and responsibility. This will be an opportunity for neighborhood residents to meet with each other and members of their precinct police department and other City Departments to focus together on concerns in their neighborhoods.

After Thursday’s meeting, the second phase will start. 5-15 small group meetings will be held within each precinct. The groups will analyze data and review policy issues brought up in the large meetings. Then people from those groups and the city will come back to another round of precinct-wide summits, which should happen in March 2013, followed by a “report back” meeting in May to discuss actions taken and next steps.

Safe Communities Chart

Seattle Channel’s CityStream recently featured 23rd and Cherry’s Coyote Central.

The youth arts and education organization continues to grow since moving to 23rd and Cherry in June 2011. They offer a long list of courses for youth taught by professionals. Coyote Central also has scholarship opportunities for low-income students. We profiled Coyote earlier this year.

Fall classes are already underway, but there are several holiday break courses coming soon. See the course list on their website.

So, Central District, how was your election night? Judging from the deafening cheers inside the Neighbor Lady election party when Obama was projected winner of Ohio, I’d say most CD residents had a good night.

But other than Obama, did you know there were other issues on the ballot? Here’s a look at some local and state results as of Wednesday morning. Votes are still coming in, and you can see the most updated numbers on the WA Secretary of State website.

Democrat Adam Smith easily defeated Jim Postma in the race for the recently-redrawn 9th District of the US House of Representatives. As of Wednesday morning, he had 71 percent of the vote.

For the state house, Democrat Eric Pettigrew easily defeated Tamra Smilanich for the 37th District. Pettigrew is currently winning 88 percent of the vote. House Speaker Frank Chopp defeated Socialist Kshama Sawant to keep his 43rd District seat. Chopp is winning 73 percent of the vote there.

The scene at the Neighbor Lady when Ohio projections were announced

In state-wide issues, Initiative 502 to legalize marijuana has passed with 55 percent of the vote so far. Starting December 6, it will no longer be illegal for people 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana or less. Since rates of incarceration for marijuana possession are much higher among people of color, many initiative supporters see the law as a race and social justice issue.

Democrat Jay Inslee is looking likely to win the close race for the governor’s house (some are already calling it for Inslee, while others are holding out for more results).

Referendum 74 allowing same-sex marriage is slightly ahead in recent counts, as is an initiative to allow the creation of charter schools (both are 52–48 currently).

The next drop of vote counts will come between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Stay tuned for more.

Meanwhile, just over the hill, a spontaneous street party broke out on Capitol Hill. Our sister site CHS has coverage and photos.

Do you have any CD election night photos or stories? Share them below.

The primary Seattle campaign headquarters for Washington Democrats and gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee was burgled early Tuesday morning, just 14 hours before the Washington ballot deadline. No word yet if the break-in was political in nature.

From the Seattle Times:

Seattle police are investigating an apparent overnight burglary at the Democratic party campaign headquarters in Seattle.

Benton Strong, spokesman for the state Democratic party, said the break-in was discovered about 6 a.m. Tuesday.  He said it’s not clear if anything was taken and said he would not speculate while police are investigating.

A drive-by shooting Monday night struck a home at 23rd and Alder, sending one man to the hospital, according to one neighbor.

The shooting occurred around 10:10 p.m. aimed at the building on the northwest corner. One neighbor said he called 911 when he heard the shots. He said a vehicle honked three times, then fired four shots before speeding off.

The neighbor said one man was struck in the arm and taken to the hospital. We have yet to confirm these details with officials.

Police at the scene declined to give any details, but confirmed that there was no need to worry about an ongoing threat in the area.

The vehicle may have been a dark SUV, but the neighbor did not get a good look.

A nearby house was the target of an October 20 arson. A $10,000 reward was set for information in that case. There is no indication that the incidents are connected.

UPDATE: SPD confirmed via Twitter that a man was shot in the elbow:

UPDATE: SPD has posted more details on the Blotter:

A 20-year-old self-professed gang member was wounded in a shooting outside a Central District home Monday evening.

Around 10:15pm Monday night, the 20-year-old man was walking up to a home on 23rd Avenue and E. Alder Street when a dark-colored four door sedan rolled down the street behind him. Someone in the back seat of the car stuck a gun out the car’s window and fired at least three shots, striking the victim in his arm. The suspects then sped off.

At the scene, several witnesses admitted they had heard the shooting, but refused to provide officers with any other information.

Medics arrived and transported the victim—who admitted to police that he is a member of a Central District gang—to Harborview for treatment.

SPD’s Gang Unit is investigating.