Two people were attacked after exiting the number 14 bus at 30th and Cherry Dearborn yesterday evening.

When the victims — a man and a woman — exited the bus around 9:35 p.m., the suspect followed them off the bus and approached them from behind. He knocked the man to the ground and stole his debit card. The woman tried to get away, but he attacked her, too, and stole her phone.

From SPD:

On February 29th, at approximately 9:35 pm, a male and female got off a Metro bus in the 800 Block of 30th Avenue South.  As they were walking home, an unknown suspect, who was also on the same bus,  approached them from behind and knocked the male to the ground.  The suspect took the victim’s debit card.  The female attempted to walk away, but the suspect knocked her down as well and took her cell phone.  The suspect then left the area.  The victims sustained minor scratches from the assault.

East Precinct officers responded to the area, as well as a K9 team, but the suspect was already gone.  The suspect was described as a black male, in his 30′s, bald, and wearing a dark trench coat.

Man fires gun outside Swedish Cherry Hill emergency room

Early this morning, staff at the Swedish Cherry Hill emergency room asked a man to leave after he entered the waiting area without checking in or needing medical attention. When he left, he pulled out a gun and fired a single shot into the air, according to police.

From SPD:

On 03-01-12, at approximately 1:30 a.m., an unknown male entered the emergency room of a hospital in the 500 block of 16 Ave and sat in the waiting room without checking in.  When staff determined he was not there for any medical needs they asked him to leave.  The male walked outside, pulled out a gun and fired a single round into the air before leaving on foot northbound.  No injuries were reported and no property damage was found.

The suspect is described as a black male,  mid 20s, 5-09, thin build, wearing a blue hooded jacket, blue knit cap with white lettering on the front, blue jeans, and blue sneakers.

If you are a teen who has received a traffic ticket, you might find yourself in a different kind of courtroom starting this month. Garfield High students will staff a new Youth Traffic Court at the Seattle University School of Law, the first of its kind in Seattle.

Students will be the jury, judge, defense and prosecution for the cases, and they have the ability to impose penalties such as community service, youth court jury duty or education programming. If the ticketed youth takes responsibility and carries out the prescribed penalty, the infraction will not appear on their driving record.

From the city’s press release:

Teen drivers who admit they committed their traffic offense will have the opportunity to have their punishment set by their peers instead of a judge through a new Youth Traffic Court alliance among Seattle Municipal Court, Seattle University School of Law, and Garfield High School.  The city’s first Youth Traffic Court will allow eligible teen drivers to appear before Garfield High School students at Seattle University School of Law, rather than in Municipal Court. The first cases are scheduled to be heard in March.

“Youth courts provide an opportunity for teens to take responsibility for their driving mistakes, while keeping their driving record clean,” said Margaret Fisher, a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Seattle University School of Law and a national expert in youth courts, who is overseeing the law school’s involvement.

Qualified defendants will appear before the Youth Court, receive a sanction of community service, youth court jury service, preventative education and/or similar consequences.  If they comply, the infraction will be dismissed and it will not be reported to the Department of Licensing or appear on the defendants’ driving record.  

Garfield High School students will serve as judges, jurors, prosecutors and defense attorneys and court staff.   They will be trained and supported by volunteer law students from Seattle University School of Law.  The high school students will take part in an intensive training before the first hearing and will meet with their law school mentors regularly.

“Youth court provides a meaningful civic opportunity for students, who will have the responsibility of deciding real cases,” said Judge Karen Donohue.

The Seattle Police Department, Seattle City Attorney’s Office, Seattle Municipal Court, and Seattle University Law School faculty are all committed to working with students through this innovative program. 

Organizing and implementing the Seattle Youth Traffic Court has been a collaborative effort involving Fisher, Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue; Seattle Municipal Court Magistrate Lisa Leone; Sally Haber, director of the Children’s Literacy Project at Seattle University; Diana Singleton, Director of Access to Justice Institute at Seattle University School of Law; and, Corey Martin, history teacher and SYTC advisor at Garfield High School.  Seattle Youth Traffic Court was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Seattle City Council.

If you would like more information, please contact Professor Margaret Fisher at [email protected].

I saw this in the ‘Big Blog’ in the PI.  It seems like a tongue-in-cheek take on each neighborhood and I’m sure everyone will find something to get steamed up about.  I’m glad that we’re at least included – so much of the time the CD doesn’t even get billing in a list of Seattle neighborhoods!  Of course I think they’re way off base in their characterization of our ‘hood ;-)

What do you think of their representation of the CD?  Do you have a two-liner that might better describe the our neighborhood? 

(note you have to click the “show caption” link at the bottom of the photo)  http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/02/22/which-seattle-neighborhood-are-you-most-like/#3278-3 

The Women Who Rock Project is taking over Washington Hall this weekend for two days of film, music, workshops and speakers. The event kicks off 6:30 p.m. Friday with a film festival, followed by a full day of workshops, keynotes and open mics Saturday.

Based out of the University of Washington, the festival will “explore and expand the meanings of women, rock, hip hop, music, space, gender, race, class, and sexuality through these community-curated workshops and film screenings,” according to planners. Attendees should bring your “instruments, paintbrushes, beat, ideas, t-shirts for screen printing, recording tools, knitting, art supplies, jarana, dancing shoes.”

Learn more at the WWRP website or from the Facebook event.

From the WWRP:

Women Who Rock (Un)Conference and Film Festival return for their second annual meeting March 2nd and 3rd, 2012 at the historic Washington Hall. With a focus on “Making Scenes and Building Communities,” Women Who Rock will be joined by iconic keynote speakers Alice Bag, author of Violence Girl: From East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage–a Chicana Punk Story, and Medusa, the Godmother of West Coast Hip Hop. A collaboration between the Women Who Rock Project, Ladies First Collective, and other fierce community organizations, the event includes a Ladies First Showcase that bridges punk, hip hop, and son jarocho, featuring performances by Militant Child and My Parade and a community jam facilitated by the Seattle Fandango Project.

With the goal of generating community, Women Who Rock & Ladies First sent out an open call for workshop submissions last fall inviting activists, scholars, musicians, filmmakers, artists, media makers, and community members to help shape this event. The community responded with art, film & music workshops designed to share new forms of mixing and mastering media. At this year’s gathering, Women Who Rock continues to explore and expand the meanings of women, rock, hip hop, music, space, gender, race, class, and sexuality through these community-curated workshops and film screenings. In doing so, WWR supports art, artists, organizations, and music that do the same. Our goal is to generate dialogue and provide a focal point from which to build and strengthen relationships between local musicians and their communities in collaboration with educational institutions.

All WWR film festival, workshop, and music events at Seattle’s historic Washington Hall are free and open to public. Children are welcome! Attendees may participate in the Women Who Rock Digital Oral History Project, a project documenting the histories of Women Who Rock in Seattle hosted on-line by the University of Washington Libraries.

Registration is free and open the public. Ladies First, as a grassroots collective, will be seeking donations at check-in to support local artists featured in the Ladies First Showcase.

Register to reserve your space at https://catalyst.uw.edu/ webq/survey/mhabellp/144086
For more info visit womenwhorockcommunity.org
E-mail: womenwhorockproject@gmail.com

This is a D.I.W.O event. Bring your: instruments, paintbrushes, beat, ideas, t-shirts for screen printing, recording tools, knitting, art supplies, jarana, dancing shoes.

Has anyone heard anything from Jim Mueller regarding the status of his 3 projects? I’ve not seen anything happen at the 2 sites on Madison @ 21st nor the site on 23rd & Union. An update would be nice. 

EDITOR’S UPDATE: Things seem to be stalled like they were when we last checked in. Though financing for Capitol Hill projects seems to be flowing, it has not yet reached 22nd and Madison or 23rd and Union.

From Jim Mueller via email: “Nothing to report yet, still working on it, though.  Thank for asking!”

The city is about to clear the way for a slightly-later-than-planned April start of construction on the First Hill Streetcar connecting Pioneer Square with Capitol Hill via Bailey Gatzert Elementary and Yesler Terrace. Planners hope an April start will get the project on track for an early 2014 start of service.

The first of two construction open houses is Tuesday from 5 – 8 p.m. at Union Station’s Ruth Fisher Boardroom (401 S Jackson Street). The second open house will be March 7 from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Broadway Room of the Silver Cloud Hotel (1100 Broadway).

Design work is getting to the final stages, so here’s a look at plans for the neighborhood:

Once completed, large sections of Jackson Place and Squire Park will be within a ten-minute walk of a streetcar stop. The route will run on Yesler Way between 14th Ave and Broadway, then on 14th between Yesler and Jackson, where it heads west to Pioneer Square. The roadways getting the streetcar will be completely reconstructed and redesigned.

Here’s a video flyover of the Yesler to Jackson segment (from August, so some details may have changed):

The intersection of Broadway and Yesler in front of the Yesler Community Center is going to get a complete overhaul. A two-way bikeway on Broadway ends, turning into bike lanes on either side of Yesler (as it is today). There will be a stop on Yesler just after the turn, with public art by Claudia Fitch: 

The Yesler Terrace stop

The streetcar then turns on 14th in front of the Urban League building and Bailey Gatzert Elementary. There will be a stop on 14th in front of Bailey Gatzert. Traffic southbound on 14th will be restricted to only the streetcar. People will still be able to drive and bike northbound.

On 14th Ave, looking northwest towards Bailey Gatzert

Then the tracks turn onto Jackson at the intersection with Rainier and Boren:

For more details on the plans, see the Seattle Streetcar website.

The Garfield High School PTSA announces its 7th annual all-school auction, “Raise the Woof!”, on March 31 beginning at 5 pm at the UW Tower, 4333 Brooklyn Ave NE. Friends and community members can support the Garfield Bulldogs, recipients of the 2011 KCTS Golden Apple Schools of Excellence Award, by donating goods, services, or certificates by March 9, and also by attending our lively event! Please visit http://garfieldauction.blogspot.com/ to learn more, donate, and register to attend, or stop by the school office for a donation form. You will also learn how you can enter to win a new Nissan Leaf and support the reopening of a student college and career center, lost to budge cuts two years ago. The auction will feature delicious food by star chefs Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s and Luc and John Platt of St. Clouds, talented performers from across the student body, and a video highlighting students and staff. All funds raised at the auction support the wide-ranging needs, interests, and talents of our richly diverse student body. Last year we funded over 50 programs and needs, including Writers in the Schools, science equipment and field trip scholarships, the Scholars Program, College Access Now, outdoor education, visual arts, music for all students, Read Right tutoring, the Messenger student newspaper, and an after-school study center. Donors will be listed on our highly visited auction website and in our catalog. Your donation is tax deductible and sends the powerful message to our students that generous community members believe in them and are vested in their success.

Three young men were arrested after multiple shots were fired near 23rd and Jefferson February 25, according to Seattle Police. All three were armed with handguns, one of which had been reported stolen.

From SPD:

On February 25th, at approximately 10:24 pm, East Precinct officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired in the area of 23rd Avenue and East Jefferson Street.  There were no apparent victims.  While in the area, Gang Unit detectives observed three men who appeared to be hiding on top of a building.  Those suspects fled westbound across the high school property and were detained by officers as they crossed the street at 23rd and Jefferson.  All three of the suspects were in possession of handguns, one of which was reported stolen.  All of the suspects, ages 18, 20 and 20 were arrested and booked into the King County Jail for firearms related charges.  Detectives will conduct the follow up investigation.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mike McGinn and Councilmember Bruce Harrell gave a speech today about how the city intends to address the huge increase in gun violence and homicides so far this year. There have been 19 aggravated assaults and murders involving guns in fewer than two months, the PI reports. In response, the mayor announced that every precinct will add violence prevention emphasis patrols.

Though the South Precinct has certainly seen the majority of the recent shootings, the CD has seen tragedy, too. One of the victims of gun violence this year was Central District resident Desmond Jackson, who was shot outside a Sodo nightclub earlier this month.

From the Mayor’s office:

Today Mayor Mike McGinn and Councilmember Bruce Harrell were joined by community leaders and the Seattle Police Department to respond to recent incidents of violent crime in Seattle. The mayor detailed the recent launch of new violence prevention emphasis patrols in each of the city’s five precincts. Precincts are deploying extra officers on the street to address street disorder, assaults, and shootings, focusing on the specific problems in each neighborhood. 

“Everyone who lives here, who works here, who shops here, and who comes here to enjoy what Seattle has to offer deserves to feel safe and secure. That goes for every neighborhood in our city,” said Mayor McGinn. “Public safety requires a strong partnership with the community, and we are committed to working with community leaders on public safety.”

“Many witnesses withhold valuable information from the police because of their fear of retaliation, mistrust of the government and because they comply with a code of silence,” said Councilmember Bruce Harrell.  “We are asking community leaders and organizations to work with the Police Department, the Mayor’s Office and the Public Safety Committee in establishing new norms of cooperation and trust.  Every community has the right to be safe and we are asking the community to help us establish cooperation with the police, institute preventative measures before crime and violence occurs through the 9-1-1 system; and help deliver a message to our youth that violence and the unlawful use of guns destroy what so many work to build—healthy communities.  Our strategy will be to strengthen and protect our community.”

Thursday, March 1st

FREE 1st Thursdays at NAAM

1st Thursdays at NAAM are always Free!

Free and open to the public!
Thursday, March 1st
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

March 2nd Deadline
Call for objects and stories

“Fight or Be Slaves!”
-Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters’ motto

The Northwest African American Museum is looking for stories, photographs, and objects for a project focused on Pullman Porters who lived or settled in the Northwest. If you were a Pullman Porter, have a family member who was a Pullman Porter or know of someone who was, please contact NAAM’s Curatorial Assistant Chieko Phillips at 206-518-6000×102 or [email protected] by March 2nd for more information. Thank you.

Saturday and Sunday, March 3rd and 4th

Museums On Us
Promotion is valid during regular open hours Saturday and Sunday

NAAM partners with Bank of America to offer 1st free weekend admission to Bank of America clients and staff once a month throughout 2012. Simply show your Bank of America ATM, credit or check card and photo ID at our reception desk and receive free admission to NAAM!

Thursday, March 8th

FREE 2nd Thursdays at NAAM

2nd Thursday at NAAM is always Free!

Free and open to the public!
Thursday, March 8th
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 13th

Elliott Bay Book Company Reading at NAAM
Ralph Richard Banks
Is Marriage for White People: How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone
7:00 pm

During the past half century, African Americans have become the most unmarried people in our nation. The racial gap in marriage extends beyond the poor. One reason that marriage has declined is that as black women have advanced economically and educationally, black men have fallen behind. Half of college-educated black wives are more educated than their husbands. Yet black women rarely marry men of other races. Is Marriage for White People? traces the far-reaching consequences of the African American marriage decline. It also explains why black women marry down rather than out. Its provocative conclusion is that black women would benefit both themselves and the black race if they crossed class lines less and race lines more. This book both informs and entertains. The culmination of a decade of research by a distinguished Stanford law professor, it melds scholarly theory and data with the poignant stories shared by black women throughout the nation. This unforgettable book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the shifting terrain of intimacy in American society.

Free and open to the public
Location: NAAM
Tuesday, March 13th
7:00 p.m.
For more information and to RSVP, please contact:
Twanda Hill | [email protected] | 206.518.6000 x 111

Monday, March 19th

Elliott Bay Book Company Reading at NAAM
Esi Edugyan
Half Blood Blues
7:00 pm

Berlin, 1939. A young, brilliant trumpet-player, Hieronymus, is arrested in a Paris cafe. The star musician was never heard from again. He was twenty years old. He was a German citizen. And he was black. Fifty years later, Sidney Griffiths, the only witness that day, still refuses to speak of what he saw. When Chip Jones, his friend and fellow band member, comes to visit, recounting the discovery of a strange letter, Sid begins a slow journey towards redemption. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris, Sid leads the reader through a fascinating, little-known world, and into the heart of his own guilty conscience. Half-Blood Blues is an electric, heart-breaking story about music, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others, in the name of art.

Free and open to the public
Location: NAAM
Monday, March 19th
7:00 p.m.
For more information and to RSVP, please contact:
Twanda Hill | [email protected] | 206.518.6000 x 111