Three NBA stars, each Garfield High School alumni, are returning to the Central District to distribute school supplies to neighborhood students. The project is run by humanitarian organization World Vision.

“The cost of school supplies can be a real burden to families as the start of the school year nears,” said Reed Slattery, manager of World Vision’s Pacific Northwest Teacher Resource Center in Fife, Wash.  “These events are a way that World Vision can help students in our own community start the year off well.”

The participating players are Will Conroy, currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves; Tony Wroten, currently with the Memphis Grizzlies; and Brandon Roy, who played most of his career with the Portland Trailblazers and retired with the Minnesota Timberwolves after the 2012-13 season. Each player graduated from Garfield High School before going on to play for the University of Washington.

The giveaway will take place at the Third Annual Back to School Backpack Giveaway & Community BBQ. Here, the players will distribute 600 backpacks of school supplies and 500 family food kits. Kids can get free hair cuts before school starts and snag an autograph with the players. The event will be held on Saturday, August 24, from noon to 3 p.m. in the Red Apple parking lot at 2301 Jackson Street.

Sustainable builder Cascade Built is in the process of building a five-unit townhome project at 208 25th Avenue E, between John and Madison. The townhome will be sustainably built with reclaimed materials and will be energy efficient, with the goal of achieving a minimum 4-Star Built Green Certification. Two of the townhomes will target Passive House principles, a rigorous set of guidelines for reducing the ecological impact of a home, according to builder Cascade Built.

The townhomes will be three stories tall with three to four parking spaces off the alley. The building will wrap around a central courtyard.

Cascade Built’s rendering of 25th Ave E development.

This project will be Cascade Built’s second Passive House project following their Park Passive development, Seattle’s first certified Passive House. Cascade Built is no stranger to the neighborhood: the builder has constructed multiple projects in the area, which was the neighborhood of owner Sloan Ritchie for 15 years. Recent projects here include the Alley House, Seattle’s first LEED Platinum single family residence and Alley House 2, Seattle’s first LEED Platinum Modularly constructed home.

As part of the permitting process, the city opened a public commenting period. Several residents wrote letters raising concerns about the number of parking spaces, hoping Cascade Built will add more so that street parking competition doesn’t increase. Owner Ritchie says he has no plans to add more parking spaces and is instead hoping to encourage walking and public transit use.

“We are building five units on this in-fill multifamily lot, as we are strong proponents of increasing density in the inner city transit-oriented walkable neighborhoods such as this.  As for parking, we are in compliance with city requirements for minimum parking provisions, as a result of a parking requirement reduction because of the lot’s proximity to public transit, including a major bus lines and a Zipcar located nearby,” Ritchie says.

Cascade Built says it’s difficult to estimate a completion date at this point but that they’re aiming for a summer 2014 finish date.

Seattle Police are reporting they’ve apprehended a suspect in an early morning stabbing:

A 42-year-old woman is in custody following a stabbing early this morning in the Central District.  The 24-year-old female victim was taken to Swedish First Hill by a male friend.

At about 5:30 this morning, East Precinct officers responded to the Swedish First Hill campus after receiving a call that a stabbing victim had just shown up.  Officers arrived and determined the following information:

The victim, suspect and a friend (all acquaintances) were in the 700 Block of 18th Avenue.  The suspect and victim were in an argument when the suspect stabbed the victim with an unknown object.  The male friend placed the victim in his truck intending to drive her to the hospital.  The suspect also jumped into the truck with the man and the victim.

All three arrived at Swedish First Hill.  Staff at Swedish called 911 to report the stabbing.  Officers arrived, and contacted the suspect and witness outside the hospital.  The suspect was taken into custody.  The victim was later transported to Harborview Medical Center from Swedish for further treatment.  The victim remains hospitalized.

The suspect is being interviewed by detectives and will be booked into the King County Jail later this morning.

About thirty minutes before firefighters rushed to the scene of the Madrona Elementary arson fire on Sunday morning, they doused a small fire under the Madrona library.

According to the Seattle Fire Department, the fire was small and the damage was minimal, but it’s under investigation due to its proximity to the Madrona Elementary fire:

On August 17, 2013 at 11:52 p.m. we were called to 1134 33^rd avenue for reports of a fire underneath the Madrona library. Firefighters arrived and found beauty bark that was burned along with other combustibles. The damage estimate is $10.00

Fire investigators are looking to see if this fire is related to the Madrona School fire due to the proximity of the fires and the time of their ignition.

Seattle Fire says there is currently no evidence to link these fires to the string of other arsons in the area, including the recent Med Mix fire.

Seattle Fire has passed along these flyers to educate homeowners and business owners on reporting and preventing arsons:

The slew of community activities currently taking place at the Horace Mann school building on East Cherry has the school district rethinking its plans to renovate and reopen for high school classes.

The Seattle Times reported yesterday that the future of the building is still uncertain:

The district shuttered the 110-year-old structure four years ago amid school closings tied to reduced enrollment. With enrollment now rising, the district planned to renovate Mann beginning Sept. 3 so it could return Nova Alternative High School there next fall.

Now, all that is uncertain. After telling the community groups in a letter this month that they needed to vacate by Aug. 15 — and then adjusting that date to Aug. 30 — the district has now formed a task force to study options not just for itself but for the organizations, whose programs it says align with the district’s five-year strategic plan.

The school district is currently housing Nova at the old Meany building near Miller Park, but had plans to return Nova to Horace Mann and reopen Meany as a middle school. But these plans are on hold while the district’s task force mulls its options.

Meanwhile, a diverse group of community organizations, operating under the coalition More 4 Mann, are holding outdoor movie events, mentoring programs, vocational training, and a slew of other community development programs.

We’re working to find out more on the school district’s plans as they develop. Stay tuned.

(Image: CDNews via reader contributed video)

Fire units responded to a fully engulfed structure on the Madrona Elementary School campus early Sunday morning.

We are awaiting updates from Seattle Fire regarding the extent of the damage and any word on the cause. UPDATE: A SFD spokesperson tells us the fire was determined to have been intentionally set and the investigation has been handed over to police. Damage was limited to $2,500 — $1,000 to the structure, $1,000 to the school building and another $500 to the contents of the shed.

The department marshal was dispatched to the scene for investigation of the blaze early in the response just after 12:30 AM Sunday.

The building was described as a “fully involved toolshed” by SFD radio dispatches and was brought under control about 10 minutes later. Inspections of adjacent facilities revealed smoke but no apparent fire damage.

The fire comes in the wake of a string of suspicious fires in the area. Madrona Elementary at 33rd and Union stands just 10 blocks from the arson fire that damaged the Med Mix restaurant last week. Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for any information pertaining to the case. Anyone with information is instructed to call 1-800-55-ARSON.

WHEN:  AUGUST 21ST 6:15 – 7:30 PM

WHERE:  DOUGLASS TRUTH LIBRARY

The Central Area Land Use Review Committee (CA LURC) will be holding a community meeting to give residents a chance to review and make comments on a new development, the Atlantic Flats proposed at 1801 S Jackson Street. Isola Capital is the developer of the site and will be providing a presentation on the proposed design followed by a comment & discussion period. Please join us in providing feedback & direction to the developer that can help them create a project that is well suited to the needs of our residents and a great addition to  the unique fabric of the Central Area.

WHO IS THE CA LURC?

We are a community group composed of residents, some of us with experience in the building industry, all working together in a positive atmosphere of collaboration with incoming developers. We aim to facilitate community conversations to constructively shape development as it enters our neighborhood.

QUESTIONS? 

Check out our website at www.centralarealurc.org or email us at [email protected]