After just one year as guard for the University of Washington, Garfield High School basketball star Tony Wroten has decided to enter the NBA draft.

Wroten told the Seattle Times that the time seemed right to make the jump:

“I have been talking with my friends and family and I just felt like this was the right time,” Wroten said in a statement released Tuesday by the school. “I love the University of Washington, but I just feel that it’s best for me to make the jump.”

…

Wroten, a 6-5 guard, produced the best freshman season in Washington history. He finished with more points (559), assists (130), steals (66) and had the highest scoring average (16.0).

His scoring average was fifth among all Division I freshmen, second among first-year players from the major conferences.

Wroten was the state’s top-ranked basketball player during his time at Garfield. However, his time at the school ended with a bit of scandal when Wroten and another athlete were allowed to take a fake Spanish class. This special treatment lead to the firing of Athletic Director Jim Valiere.

A man suffered a 3-inch cut to his palm after refusing to give a man change near 29th and Cherry, according to police. The attack happened around 11:40 Monday night.

From SPD:

On April 2nd, at approximately 11:40 pm, a man was in the 2900 Block of East Cherry Street when he was approached by another man asking for change.  When the victim told the suspect he did not have any change, the suspect produced a knife and lunged toward him.  The victim put his hands up to stop the attack and suffered a 3 inch laceration to the palm of his hand.  The suspect, described as a black male, thirties, 5’8″, 180 pounds, dark complexion, short hair, and wearing a grey sweater and red sweatpants, fled eastbound on foot.  The victim was then able to call 911 from a payphone and East Precinct officers and Seattle Fire responded.  The Fire Department treated the victim at the scene and then transported him to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment of the cut to his hand.  Officers conducted a search, including a K9 search, but the suspect was not located.

In other crime news, reader KarlWalther reports of a heavily-armed arrest near Swedish Cherry Hill Monday afternoon.

Here’s a look at some recent crime in the neighborhood, according to police reports.

10 p.m. March 26. Judkins Park.

A group of men attacked a passer-by in Judkins Park March 26, according to the police report. The victim told police one of the suspects hit him with a stick, then chased him through the park. From the police report:

3 p.m. March 16. Parnell’s at 23rd and Dearborn.

A woman was assaulted by a jealous foe and her friends in the parking lot of Parnell’s Mini Mart, according police:

Midnight, March 25. Madison Safeway.

A persistent shoplifter was arrested after he was caught stealing laundry detergent, Febreeze and deodorant from the Safeway at 22nd and Madison. When confronted by security, the suspect allegedly shoved the guard out of the way and fled. However, police later noticed the suspect at 23rd and Cherry and placed him under arrest.

Happy Birthday, Tougo Coffee! The 18th and Union shop will be celebrating by selling espresso drinks for $1 until 1 p.m.

From Tougo:

Hello Everyone,

We would like to offer a big THANK YOU! Tomorrow, Tougo Coffee Co. will be celebrating five years of business! You have all played a huge part in making our wonderful cafe a fun, lively, community-minded place. Come visit us on Saturday to enjoy $1.00- 12oz. Espresso based beverages until 1 PM.

You are all loved!

– Tougo Staff (C & B)

A week after visiting Central Cinema (a CDNews advertiser) to assess how the neighborhood cinema operates, the state Liquor Board has begun the rulemaking process to address issues that could threaten Central Cinema’s family-friendly business model. The potential changes come amid protest from city leaders and fans of the 21st and Union cinema.

The rules, created in 2010 without consulting or even advising Central Cinema, appear to be aimed at cinemas with little-to-no supervision. Think: Dark multiplex theaters full of minors. However, the rules would also ensnare Central Cinema, which has a restaurant set-up with servers to check IDs and make sure minors are not served. Indeed, the cinema has not had issues with minors drinking in its many years of operation.

From Central Cinema:

This just in from the Liquor Board:

The board has decided to begin rulemaking to amend WAC 314-02-027 or create a new rule to address your business model. At the April 4, 2012, board meeting the board will give their approval to the Rules Coordinator to file a CR 101 with the Code Reviser’s Office to begin rulemaking.

Karen McCall

Rules Coordinator

WSLCB

A man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he showed up at the home of an ex and threatened her with a handgun, according to police. The 25-year-old tried to escape, but was apprehended.

From SPD:

On March 29th, at approximately 1:30 pm, East Precinct officers responded to an apartment building in the 2100 Block of East James street on a report of a domestic violence assault.  The call stated that an ex-boyfriend had shown up armed with a handgun.  The victim was able to escape to a nearby apartment.  According to the victim, the suspect had gained access to her apartment by climbing in an unlocked window.  The victim was not at home at the time, but returned home a short time later.  When she entered the apartment, she saw the suspect sitting in a chair and confronted him about being inside her apartment.  The two began to argue.  When the victim stated that she wanted to leave, the suspect removed a handgun and pointed it at her, at one point pressing  the barrel of the gun against the victim’s forehead.  Several times the suspect told the victim that he would kill her.  The suspect became even more agitated and began kicking in doors and punching holes in the walls of the apartment.  The victim was able to finally flee to a neighboring apartment where she was able to call 911.

Officers arrived and formed a tactical plan to attempt to locate and safely arrest the suspect.  Officers entered the front of the apartment building, while several officers contained the back of the building.  The suspect fled out the rear of the building, pursued by officers.  Upon seeing the officers staged at the back of the building, the suspect reached for the handgun in his waistband.  He was immediately ordered to drop the gun and attempted to hide it in the bushes.  Officers were able to take the suspect into custody.  The loaded .38 caliber revolver was recovered by officers.

Officers learned later from the victim that the suspect had threatened to kill her during a prior encounter several weeks earlier, but that the suspect was not located at that time.   A check of the suspect’s name revealed two outstanding misdemeanor warrants.  The 25 year old suspect was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of  Domestic Violence Assault, Investigation of Burglary-DV, Investigation of Malicious Mischief-DV,  Investigation of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and the warrants.

Domestic Violence Unit detectives will conduct the follow up investigation.

Pagliacci Pizza has plans to build a new restaurant in Madison Valley where Madison meets Lake Washington Blvd. The project is still several months away from construction, and it will not be open for another six months at the earliest.

The Spotless Cleaners currently located on the lot will keep operating until the late spring. Then Pagliacci will begin construction on a new, slightly larger building to replace the current one. They are aiming for LEED certification, and hope to incorporate sustainable practices into the restaurant, said Matt Galvin, co-owner of Pagliacci.

Once open, the restaurant hopes to deliver all over the CD and Capitol Hill, even going as far south as Leschi. They will have more details as soon as they get all their permits in line, so stay tuned for updates.

The bus Free Ride Area downtown will be no more as of September 29. Though the area does not reach into the Central District (it ends at I-5), your bus trips may still be impacted due to potential increases in loading/unloading times downtown. So do your part and get an ORCA card, which will help speed up transfer times. The more people with ORCA cards, the faster buses will be for everyone.

For more on the Free Ride Zone, there is a meeting Thursday (today) at Union Station’s Great Hall from 4-6:30 p.m. Our sister site Capitol Hill Seattle has more on recent transit news around the city:

• No more free rides + pay on entry — Come this fall, there will be some big changes to the Metro bus experience in Seattle. For one, the ride free area is slated to be eliminated as a cost-cutting measure. But the bigger change will be the end of the flipping of the sign — Starting in late September, all Metro routes in all directions will be pay-as-you-enter. Every time. No exceptions. No groans from the driver when you forget. Because you won’t forget. Because there won’t be anything to remember. Like Metro is wont to do, there is an open house on the changes slated for next week. Information on that is below. You can also submit comments on the changes if you have suggestions as the agency gears up for the massive change in service. The comment period for the plan closes April 6. Information on how to add your brilliant ideas to the mix is below.

The Ride Free Area for buses in downtown Seattle is scheduled to be eliminated on Sept. 29, 2012. At the same time, riders will begin paying when entering the bus for all trips.

These changes will help King County Metro Transit save money and preserve bus service. Sound Transit and Community Transit are also preparing to act on similar changes for their bus operations in King County.

The three agencies and the city of Seattle are hosting an open house to update the community and get feedback:

Thursday, March 29
4-6:30 p.m.
Union Station Great Hall
401 S. Jackson St., Seattle

Metro is currently working with Sound Transit, Community Transit, and Seattle on an implementation plan for the Ride Free Area changes. This includes options to address transportation needs of low or no-income people who use the Ride Free Area to travel to essential support services in the downtown area.

The Sound Transit Board is scheduled to vote in June on charging fares for ST Express bus trips within the downtown area, consistent with current policy for Link light rail.

If you cannot attend the open house, you can get more information and comment on the plan by visiting the How to Ride webpage. Comments can also be emailed; or submitted by phone: 206-296-7643; 206-263-9988 (Spanish); or 206-263-9674 (Vietnamese). The comment period on the implementation plan ends April 6.

• ‘Let buses go first’ — Not sure what sparked it but the city cleared up one of the mysteries of urban living this week. What, exactly, is supposed to happen when buses are pulling away from the curb and back into traffic? If you’re a driver, you’re supposed to wait — that’s what:

When a Metro, Sound Transit, or other transit bus driver signals that the bus is reentering the flow of traffic, other drivers must yield the right-of-way. The same goes for a streetcar or a Metro trolley bus. Many drivers do not seem to know this traffic regulation, or they choose to ignore it, but the penalty for not yielding is $124.

Consider this: a bus carries up to 80 or more passengers. If those passengers were riding in cars, there would be a lot more traffic and it would probably take much longer to get anywhere. By accommodating buses, we reduce congestion. When you think of it that way, a delay of a few seconds to let a bus go first doesn’t seem like such an imposition.

SDOT says it is working to reduce the number of stops where this kind of car-bus interplay is required but writes that there will “always be some ‘pull out’ bus stops.” Note this applies to the streetcar, too. But we won’t have to worry about that for a few more years.

• Shopping for new trolleys — In November, we reported on the $238.6 million plan to replace Metro’s aging trolley fleet. The county has said its 25-year-old battalion of 155 electric trolley buses needs to be replaced by 2014. We checked out some of the tires Metro has been kicking as it considers how to deploy those millions on new buses. We checked in with the county to find out the status of the process to make the sizable purchase and what features Metro is requiring from its providers. We were told the request for proposals for the contract will go out in April and the delivery expectation is still 2014. This might be your last chance to make some noise about that trolley feature wish list you’ve been putting together.

Last week, the Seattle Times reported that Swedish Medical Center may be facing layoffs as the company continues to lose $250,000 per day. The institution has about 11,000 employees at several campuses across the region, including the hospital on Cherry Hill.

The announcement comes months after Swedish and the Catholic-affiliated Providence Health & Services “joined forces” in a deal that would keep Swedish facilities operating under their current names.

From the Times:

Swedish Medical Center delivered some grim news to employees Monday: Swedish is losing $250,000 a day and likely will have to lay off workers.

“We all know this is not a sustainable situation, and we need to respond quickly and thoughtfully to correct this trend,” Swedish CEO Kevin Brown said in a memo to physicians and volunteers.

Brown said patient volumes and revenues are significantly lower than Swedish had projected.

In a Q&A to staff, Swedish spokeswoman Melissa Tizon addressed the question of layoffs.

“Given the extent of our financial losses, we will need to make some very difficult decisions in the next few weeks,” Tizon said. “We will need to reduce all of our costs, and that will likely include reducing staffing to match current volumes.”

The losses, Brown said, are a continuation of a trend Swedish saw in late 2011, when it experienced three months of consecutive loss. In January and February of this year alone, it has had an operating loss of $16 million, he said.

As the Molly Moon’s micro shop get’s ready to open for its second year inside the Madrona Laundromat May 1, the company announces some small renovations that will allow the small shop to scoop five flavors of ice cream and serve them in their house-made waffle cones. Last summer, the 34th and Union shop only sold pre-packaged scoops in cups as well as their pints, sorbet-sicles and ice cream sandwiches.

From Molly Moon’s:

The Molly Moon’s seasonal pop-up shop located at 1408 34th Ave in Madrona is slated to re-open Tuesday, May 1! Madrona residents are sure to be delighted as this mini Molly Moon’s has undergone a mini renovation. We’ve added an ice cream dipping cabinet and will offer five flavors (four “always” and one seasonal) available for scoops in cups and house-made waffle cones! Sundaes, milkshakes hand-packed pints and Molly Moon’s signature ice cream sandwiches are also featured on the menu at Molly Moon’s Madrona, which will be open daily from 12-noon to 10 p.m.