OTHELLO – This week, in response to an increase in violent crime throughout the Rainier Valley, a local neighborhood group is planning a march and rally at Othello Station.
“The violence in our neighborhood continues,” wrote Nhan Thai in an email to the community. “From street robberies with guns to home invasions while people are at home.”
This month, two people have been killed and at least two others seriously injured in numerous unrelated shootings. There have also been stabbings, carjackings, armed robberies, assaults and home invasions.
The New Holly Pedestrian Safety Team is organizing the event this Fri., Feb. 3, starting at the New Holly Gathering Hall (7054 32nd Ave. S.) at 6 pm.
The event is planned for about an hour and will end at Othello Station.
“We are inviting other neighborhoods and organizations to join us in our effort,” said Thai. “No one person, group of neighbors, or organization can do this alone. This is the time to re-energize to make our streets safe for our families and neighbors.”
LAKEWOOD/SEWARD PARK – Next week, the Lakewood Seward Park Community Club, in partnership with the Southeast Seattle Crime Prevention Council, will host a Public Safety Meeting to address several recent violent crimes in the area, including a brutal robbery in which a man was stabbed numerous times.
Lakewood Seward Park Community Club president and longtime Rainier Valley neighbor Jeannie O’Brien said that South Precinct Captain Mike Nolan and other officers from the South Precinct are planning to attend.
She added that Seattle City Councilman and Public Safety Chairman Bruce Harrell, also a Seward Park neighbor, has been invited but is so far unconfirmed, as are Chief of Police John Diaz and his command staff.
“I would love to see Standing Room Only at this event,” said O’Brien. “We need to show how concerned we are about these recent events and the increase of all types of crime in the South End. This is a very disturbing and troubling trend that needs to stop.”
“We need to feel safe in our neighborhood,” she added. “We need to find out why this is happening, and figure out ways to work together to end it.”
The meeting is planned for Mon., Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Lakewood Seward Park Community Clubhouse (4916 S. Angeline St).
Rainier Valley neighbors are hoping that Seattle City Councilman and Public Safety Chairman Bruce Harrell, also a Seward Park resident, will attend next week’s public safety meeting.
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HILLMAN CITY – Seattle police are searching for two men who robbed a Hillman City couple and assaulted the husband early this morning.
Seattle Police Department spokesperson Renee Witt said it was 3:30 am Sunday when a woman heard a knock on the front door of her home in the 5800 block of Renton Avenue South:
She peeked out a window and asked who it was. The subject asked for Ricky. The victim told him to leave and called her husband who was at work.
Several minutes later, the victim heard noises at the back door. She went to look and observed two suspects huddled near the back door. One suspect pointed a handgun towards her… she immediately ran to the front of the house and called 911. At the same time, the victim’s husband arrived home.
The victim said she heard a commotion outside and saw her husband being chased by one of the suspects. She then heard a loud crash at the back door and was confronted by the other suspect who demanded money and drugs and was armed with a handgun.
Witt said the victim gave the first suspect – a tall, white, slender male in his 20’s, with a mustache – an undisclosed amount of cash and he fled the scene. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves.
Meanwhile, the victim’s husband was chased down and caught by the second suspect – an unknown race male, mid 20’s, shorter, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and bandanna over his face – near the corner of South Juneau and Renton Avenue South, where Witt said he was pistol-whipped and beaten.
He was subsequently transported to Harborview where he was treated for his injuries. According to Witt, detectives tried to interview him there but he was hostile and argumentative and refused to provide any information.
The suspects remain at-large.
SOUTHEAST SEATTLE – Two Southeast Seattle neighborhoods have made 7×7.com’s list of The 7 Best Neighborhoods in Seattle.
Beacon Hill beat the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood area as the best neighborhood in the city for families:
As over 20% of the households in Beacon Hill have kids, you would be hard-pressed to find a more kid-friendly neighborhood in Seattle. According to Great Schools, Beacon Hill has one school with an above 8 rating. The area also has multiple parks and playgrounds, a neighborhood branch of the Seattle Public Library, vast community diversity, and close proximity to light rail.
While Columbia City was named the ‘Most Diverse’ neighborhood in Seattle, with the International District/University District listed as runner up:
The 98118 zip code is arguably one of the most diverse in our nation. Columbia City boasts over 60 spoken languages. The neighborhood celebrates this diversity with street fairs throughout the year, one of the best Farmers Markets in the city, and many of Seattle’s best restaurants. Enjoy authentic Jamaican food. Discover the cuisine of Ethiopia. Head to Columbia City for an experience in cultural immersion. Don’t forget to stop for coffee and a pastry at the darling of the neighborhood, Columbia City Bakery.
Laurelhurst was named as the safest neighborhood, with Montlake running a close second:
This pictorial neighborhood on the shore of Lake Washington comes in as number one with under 30 reported non-violent crimes in a two-month period. Unfortunately, safety will cost you a pretty penny. Laurelhurst is 99% more expensive than any other neighborhood in Washington state. If you can afford the million dollar price tag (or the $1,800 rental prices), look no further for your sense of safety and well-being. Laurelhurst is close to the University Village shops and boasts 8 miles of bike lanes. With beautiful views of Lake Washington, Laurelhurst is one of Seattle’s best-kept secrets.
Photo/Dougerino (South-End Scenes Flickr Group)
Seattle Times:
“The ability of some schools to raise thousands and thousands of dollars to fund teacher positions creates an education system that is separate and unequal,” said Elizabeth Lowry, president of Franklin High’s parent group, which garners about $3,000 per year. “A parent’s job is not just to make sure that his or her own child has every educational advantage. Parents should work to make sure that all students have a chance.”
It was in that spirit that Bellevue Public Schools — after a long and contentious debate — decided in June to enforce a long-neglected prohibition on using parent donations to fund staff positions. The Washington State PTA board of directors is considering a similar resolution, with a decision expected early next month.
Meanwhile, some in Seattle are pushing a policy used in Portland and Eugene: Pool a portion of parent donations into a fund that is distributed to all schools. While even supporters acknowledge that idea is probably too controversial to be adopted here soon, they say rising contribution levels necessitate a citywide conversation. More.
Photo/Rainier Valley Post
Real Rainier Valley Girl on “Man Stabbed in Violent Seward Park Area Street Robbery”:
Cripes. Law-enforcement authorities warn us that it’s dangerous to walk to and from at the link light rail stations between “1 pm and midnight” (according to the Seattle Police Department and Southeast Seattle Crime Prevention Council) because gang bangers are stalking people who use light rail. Crime convey that it’s dangerous to walk in the parking lots of our local supermarkets because of purse-snatching teens. Now we read that dangerous to walk in our neighborhoods because of perpetrators wielding butcher knives.
Is there a point when the Seattle Police Department (SPD) will tell us that it’s too bloody dangerous to live, work and shop in southeast Seattle? The south precinct reluctantly acknowledges an increase of street robberies in the Rainier Valley, but nobody – not the SPD, mayor’s office or the city council (which boasts two people who claim southeast Seattle as their homes) – is undertaking significant steps to correct this situation. Instead, the SPD admonishes people with pithy safety tips (don’t walk alone at night, don’t walk with iPod buds in your ears) that imply that those who are attacked, assaulted, etc. are complicit in what took place.
What will it take for somebody in charge to do something to make the Rainier Valley safer? Are we are our own because the city has written the area off because it’s too hot to handle? Or is the Rainier Valley becoming some kind of “Deadwood” where people pack heat and take matters into their own hands? I hope not, but we’re running out of alternatives.
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RAINIER BEACH – Police say a 15-year old was critically injured Thursday when he and another man were shot shot near the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Fisher Place.
According to Seattle Police Department spokesman Jeff Kappel, the teenager was hit in the torso but managed to stumble into the adjacent gas station parking lot at Safeway, where he collapsed.
“SFD medics responded to the scene and transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) with life-threatening injuries,” said Kappel. “Sometime later a second victim, a 29-year-old male, showed up at HMC with gunshot wounds to the back.”
A subsequent manhunt was unsuccessful and the suspects remain at large.
Photo/KOMO News (RVP news partner)
SEATTLE – Next month, Renton teen Kenneth Muhammad, who commutes nearly three hours round trip after school each day to rowing practice at Mt. Baker Rowing & Sailing Center, will receive the Champion Award at the Fourth Annual Row to the Future Benefit Breakfast in Seattle.
“Kenneth is receiving the award for his dedication and commitment to the sport of rowing,” said Jessica Cothran, spokesperson for the George Pocock Rowing Foundation. “As a very eloquent young man, he regularly speaks to the community about his love for the sport and how it impacted his life.”
She added that, as an African American in a sport with traditionally little racial diversity, Kenneth knows what it is like to appear different. Yet, after four years of rowing, he has developed strong and lasting friendships with his teammates and is a leader in the boathouse and in the Row to the Future program. He changed schools several times during high school and each move brought new teachers, new classes and new friends. But not once did he lose his connection to rowing and his teammates.
“I’d like to go to college next year and maybe become an Olympic rower,” said Kenneth. “Win some gold. I also could start my own rowing club and become a coach. It all depends on what the future brings. Regardless, rowing will forever be part of my life.”
In addition to receiving the Champion Award at Row to the Future’s Benefit Breakfast, he will share his story with the event’s 300 guests from the rowing and physical education communities. The Seattle Yacht Club Foundation will also receive an award. Tickets to the event are on sale at www.rowtothefuture.org. Event proceeds benefit athletes like Kenneth, who is one of 19 athletes this year receiving scholarships, uniforms, healthy snacks, mentorship and more through Row to the Future.
Row to the Future, the youth development initiative of the George Pocock Rowing Foundation, uses rowing to inspire youth to become healthy, active members of their communities. Photo/George Pocock Rowing Foundation
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SEWARD PARK – A man was injured Tuesday afternoon when police say he was attacked while walking near 50th Avenue South and South Hudson Street in the Seward Park neighborhood of Southeast Seattle.
It was just before 2 pm when the 23-year old man was robbed and stabbed multiple times in the 4900 block of 50th Avenue South.
“The victim was thrown to the ground and the suspect stood over him, jabbing a kitchen knife at the victim while demanding his wallet,” wrote Seattle Police Department pokesman Jeff Kappel.
He said the victim sustained puncture and slash wounds to his face, neck and torso before pushing the suspect away.
The suspect fled on foot, but was ultimately arrested during a search of the area.
The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The 22-year-old male suspect was booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery and Investigation of Assault.
COLUMBIA CITY – This week, Columbia City Gallery presents two new exhibits.
“Things We Don’t Know” and “Lights, Camera, Action” will run Wed., Jan. 25 through March 11.
In the Main Gallery, Dianne Bradley and Jim Madara present new work with “Things We Don’t Know”.
Meanwhile, in the Guest Gallery is “Lights, Camera, Action”, photographs that explore drawing and painting with light by students at the Children’s Institute for Learning Differences, a school that provides innovative programs for children with special needs.
The artists’ reception – free and open to the public – is planned for Sat., Jan. 28, from 5 to 8 pm at the Columbia City Gallery (4864 Rainier Ave. S.).
Photos/Columbia City Gallery
RAINIER BEACH – Police are searching for a teenager they say assaulted and robbed a woman Monday morning in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South.
It was about 10:15 am when a witness watched three teenagers follow the 58-year old woman through the Safeway parking lot. One of the teens knocked her down and took her purse while the other two watched.
“During the attack, the victim struck her head on the pavement and sustained injuries to the left side of her face and cheek area,” wrote SPD spokesperson Renee Witt.
She added that the victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect – described as a black male teen, wearing a short black coat and blue jeans – fled the scene.
According to police, the subjects seen walking with the suspect remained at the scene. They were subsequently detained and transported to the South Precinct for further investigation, where they were ultimately released pending further investigation.
South Precinct officers and detectives are investigating an increase in street robberies in the area.
Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call 911.
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
