Posts tagged as:

Rainier Avenue South

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) recently announced that a new principal has been appointed to lead Rainier Beach High School in the south Rainier Valley.

Dwane Chappelle – a former juvenile detention officer in Dallas County, Texas – has been in the education field for seven years, serving most recently as Assistant Principal for the Arlington Independent School District. He started his career as a special education teacher.

In January, after the school was designated as one of the worst in the state, then principal Dr. Robert Gary - with the school for 13 years – and his relatively new co-principal Lisa Escobar were reassigned to other schools.

Then last month, the district appointed a second Executive Director of Schools – Brianna Dusseault – that it said would “provide increased support and accountability” to Southeast Seattle schools, most of which are under-performing and attempting to serve a disproportionally high concentration of low-income students.

“I am confident that with a strong team in place at Rainier Beach High School, we will see significant improvements,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield.

Rainier Beach High is also located near one of the most violent intersections in the city – Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson – which is frequently the scene of gang fights and drive-by shootings. Earlier this year, a group of thugs entered the school looking for three students who had witnessed an earlier shooting and assaulted three security guards.

Currently, only 10% of Rainier Beach High School seniors go on to attend college. Photo/do communications

Related:

{ 12 comments }

Man found dead in lower Beacon Hill home

On Monday, a man in his 50s was found dead in his home in the 2000 block of 18th Avenue South on lower Beacon Hill.

According to police, officers were dispatched to check on him after it was reported that he hadn’t been to work for several days. When they arrived, they could see – through a sliding glass door – a man lying on the floor with obvious injuries.

Officers entered the home and confirmed that it was clear of suspects before Seattle Fire Department verified that the victim was dead.

Rainier Valley medical marijuana dispensary robbed

A medical marijuana dispensary located in the 3200 block of Rainier Avenue South in Mount Baker was robbed shortly before 8 pm on Monday.

According to the clerk, two men came in and robbed him at gunpoint taking cash, marijuana and some of his personal property before fleeing on foot in different directions on Rainier Avenue South.

A subsequent manhunt, including K9, was unsuccessful and there were no arrests.

The suspects are described as two black men between 18 and 20 years old, one is 6′ tall, 160 pounds, with dreadlocks, black shirt, red backpack and purple bandana, and the other is 5’8″, 150 pounds, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, red shorts and red and white tennis shoes. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Seattle Police.

Alert neighbor helps thwart Rainier Beach burglary

At about 10:20 am Sunday, an alert neighbor in the 5600 block of South Bangor Street in Rainier Beach call 911 to report a man breaking out the window of her neighbors’ home and walking out with two flat panel TVs.

According to police, officers arrived quickly and confronted the suspect who was arrested after a brief chase. He was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

{ 5 comments }

Tomorrow, SouthEast Effective Development (SEED) will debut its new mixed-income development located at 3333 Rainier Avenue South near Mt. Baker.

After closing in 2003 and remaining vacant for the next five years, the old Chubby & Tubby site has been transformed into a five-story, mixed-use building with 58 mixed-income rental units, 10 townhouse units and a roof-top garden with views of downtown Seattle and Mount Rainier.

The south end Chubby & Tubby landmark, an icon in the community for over 50 years, was one of the oldest businesses in Southeast Seattle and was the first Chubby & Tubby site and flagship store. The store was best known for its annual Christmas tree sales, athletic shoes and hard to fine hardware items.

The new development meets several sustainability standards, including WA Evergreen, Enterprise Green Communities, City of Seattle Built Smart and Built Green King County.

SEED hired Bainbridge artist Garth Edwards to create a whimsical, brushed aluminum railing façade for a second floor balcony, ground-level railing and three bicycle racks. A dedication of his work will be held during The Claremont Grand Opening celebration planned for Tues., April 26, at 10 am. Photo/SEED

Related:

{ 6 comments }

Less than two months after the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced the completion of the majority of work in the Rainier Avenue Corridor construction project that started last summer, the department has announced that construction at the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Genesee Street will begin again next week. From SDOT:

Construction work to repave the Rainier/Genesee intersection is scheduled for April 14-16. The work is expected to take two night shifts (Thursday & Friday) and a day shift (Saturday). The paving is weather dependent. If paving cannot be done on Saturday, April 16th, it will be scheduled for the following Saturday. Work includes grinding asphalt, jack-hammer work, and asphalt paving.

Traffic restrictions at Rainier and Genesee will include temporary bus stop re-locations, partial traffic lane closures and parking restrictions on Rainier and Genesee near the work area. Photo/do communications

Related:

{ 7 comments }

As you drive down Rainier Avenue past Vietnamese nail salons, Somali-owned halal restaurants, and storefront churches, you might not be expecting the three-foot tall banner that reads “Making the Green Economy Work for Our Communities.”

Yet, this is the location of the new green movement – a movement that sees environmental protection and economic opportunity working hand-in-hand. In an abandoned home behind the Emerald City Bible Fellowship Church, 15 unemployed residents are hard at work learning weatherization skills in a real-life construction setting.

Got Green, the group coordinating the training, forged a partnership with the church and its community development arm – Urban Impact – to transform this old gray house into a learning laboratory. Following the three-week, federal stimulus funded training; Urban Impact will develop the site to become an “Urban Art Center for Youth.”

In partnership with the Laborers International Union of North America, Got Green is providing a three week “Weatherization Installer Technician” training under a U.S. Department of Labor Pathway Out of Poverty green jobs training grant. Got Green is a part of the Seattle King County’s Workforce Development Council’s GreenLight Project funded under President Obama’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

Graduates from Got Green’s weatherization program will be in the pool of qualified local hires for contractors participating in the City of Seattle’s Community Power Works (CPW) program – a $20 million stimulus funded project to weatherize 2,000 homes in Southeast Seattle. The CPW project launches April 19.

Steve Bury, Urban Impact Executive Director states, “We are excited about the partnership with Got Green. We are training leaders in our neighborhood and raising them up in the green job sector.”

Ruby Jones, 30, the first woman trained through Got Green’s weatherization program, is pleasantly surprised to see stimulus money being spent in the Rainier Valley.

“This is the first time I’ve seen money being used right in the heart of our community, especially for energy efficiency.”

For Jones, the weatherization training class represents many things: an opportunity for living wage employment; skills she can use to weatherize her own home; and knowledge that she looks forward to giving back to her community about energy efficiency and cost savings.

Got Green, a local grassroots organization, works to ensure that low-income and communities of color able to participate and benefit from the new green economy, invites the community to see stimulus at work in our neighborhood.

Related:

{ 4 comments }

Local Girl Scout Troop 42276 met with Mayor Mike McGinn earlier today when they visited City Hall to celebrate the start of Girl Scout Cookie Sales, which run now through March 13. During this time, gaggles of Girl Scouts will spend their weekends increasing your calorie intake at the following Rainier Valley locations:

  • PCC (5041 Wilson Ave. S.) Seward Park
  • QFC (2707 Rainer Ave. S.) Mt. Baker
  • Safeway (3820 Rainier Ave. S.) Genesee
  • Safeway (9262 Rainier Ave. S.) Rainier Beach
  • Tullys Coffee (4400 Rainier Ave. S.) Genesee

Girl Scout cookies are $4/box; varieties include the best-selling Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas, Do-si-dos, Trefoils, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Thank U Berry Munch and Dulce de Leche.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is one of the few youth-oriented programs in the country providing its participants the ability to decide how to direct the proceeds generated through their business activity, whether it’s for a science program, trip, community service project or a unique goal designed by the girls.

All proceeds from the sale of Girl Scout Cookies benefit girls in the local community. In addition to the money earned by the girls, the cookie proceeds fund vital services such as leader training and camp operation, as well as a wide variety of Girl Scout initiatives such as: science, math and technology related educational activities, outreach to underserved communities and unique programs like Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, which addresses the needs of girls of incarcerated mothers.

Donate Girl Scout cookies to homeless families: This year, after much discussion, Troop 2096 decided to collect your donated cookies to homeless families in their community. Troops also collect donated cookies for seniors, food banks, troops stationed overseas and others. Photo/do communications

{ 3 comments }

Columbia City

MSN:

Hip bars, trendy restaurants, cute shops and a farmer’s market grace the pedestrian-friendly commercial district of Rainier Avenue South in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. They’re a sign that this once-sketchy neighborhood has undergone a sea change in the past decade.

The transformation began with artists and other pioneers who found gold restoring classic Craftsman homes near Rainier Avenue in the 1980s. A decade later, as the “Sicilian soul food” restaurant La Medusa started making a name for itself, the area attracted more visitors. By the late 1990s, real-estate prices increased, and stylish new condos and townhouses sprouted where there used to be weeds.

Today, Columbia City is a diverse and dynamic community served by Seattle’s new light rail. Read more.

Photo/Dougerino (South-End Scenes Flickr Group)

{ 8 comments }

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has completed the majority of work in the Rainier Avenue Corridor for a project designed to improve transit speed and reliability along Metro Transit’s busiest route, Route #7.

The only remaining work, the restriping of lane lines and crosswalks, will be completed this spring when the weather is warmer and dryer. While the general configuration of lanes will remain the same, minor changes in lane lines will make it easier for buses to move through the corridor as well as increase pedestrian safety and improve safety for parked vehicles.

SDOT’s contractor has completed the following improvements at locations on Rainier Avenue South and on South Jackson Street:

  • Installed concrete bus bulbs (curb and sidewalk extensions) that allow buses to load and unload passengers without having to pull in and out of traffic. The wider sidewalks also provide more room for pedestrians.
  • Improved street lighting and drainage related to the new bus bulbs at several locations.
  • Added curb ramps at several locations along the corridor.
  • Removed the traffic island and installed a new traffic signal at the northwest corner of Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King, Junior Way South, opening the new, safer southbound turn lane from Rainier onto Martin Luther King.

These improvements were funded by the “Bridging the Gap” transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters.

SDOT is planning additional improvements in this corridor during the next two years, such as adding pedestrian traffic signals, providing traffic signal priority for buses, replacing sections of sidewalk along Rainier Avenue South, and re-paving several sections of roadway along Rainier Avenue South.

Concrete bus bulbs (curb and sidewalk extensions), like this one at Rainier Avenue South and South Dawson Street in Columbia City, allow buses to load and unload passengers without having to pull in and out of traffic. Photo/do communications

Related:

{ 6 comments }

Man pleads guilty in slaying of girlfriend, infant (Seattle Times/RVP news partner):

Daniel Hicks, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend and their infant daughter, appeared impatient at the stream of questions from the prosecutor and judge about whether he understood what he was doing.

Hicks nodded, answered tersely and repeatedly said that he realized his pleas to two counts of aggravated first-degree murder carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

“You are never getting out,” King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kristin Richardson told the 31-year-old before he entered the plea. Read more.

Drunk driver hits six parked cars along Rainier Avenue South in Brighton neighborhood:

There were no injuries early this morning when a drunk driver sideswiped no less than six parked cars along the 6500 block of Rainier Avenue South in the Brighton neighborhood between Hillman City and Othello.

South Precinct officers responding to a 3 am 911-call found the driver in his vehicle and arrested him for driving while under the influence.

Burglary suspect arrested after putting up a fight (SPD):

On February 5th, at approximately 11:48 PM, a woman called 911 to report that an unknown, very large male had just entered her residence in the 2800 Block of 19th Avenue South. The victim was terrified and hid on the main floor with her children. Officers arrived and cleared the residence and then began to search for the suspect.

The suspect was located on the porch of another residence in the 2800 Block of 19th Avenue South. When officers attempted to contact him, he fled into that residence. The house was surrounded as officers contacted the residents. The residents were very intoxicated and hostile, denying that the suspect had entered the house. Officers were able to enter the house and located the suspect hiding in a closet. The suspect was taken into custody after a struggle with the officers.

In addition, two of the residents were arrested; one for assaulting an officer and the other for obstructing.

The victim positively identified the suspect as the one who had entered her home.

One officer was treated at Harborview Medical Center for his injuries. The 25-year suspect was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary, and the 25-year old male  and 26-year old female were booked for assault and obstructing.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

Related:

Commute traffic was a hot mess Monday afternoon when an apartment fire closed the 3400 block of Rainier Avenue South in Mt. Baker. Multiple units responded to several 911-calls that started just before 3:30 pm. No injuries were reported. Photo/JWL

A man was injured last night in the second South Rainier Valley shooting in just 24 hours.

Officers responded to 911 calls of shots fired at Rainier Avenue South and South Othello Street at about 11 pm Friday.

According to police, the male victim and two of his friends were standing in a parking lot when they heard five to six gunshots. They were all facing away from the street and immediately jumped a fence at the rear of the lot.

The victim was hit in the buttocks but ran for about a block before sitting down behind a house. Officers located the victim and medics provided treatment before transporting him to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

No suspect or suspect vehicle description was available and there were no arrests. Gang Unit detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

About three hours later, an officer on patrol was driving  southbound on Rainier Avenue South when he saw a man lying in the middle of the roadway at South Garden Street:

Preliminary investigation indicates that the 23-year-old male victim was in an argument with a group of suspects sitting in a car in the parking lot of a nearby gas station. The victim was outside the car occupied by the suspects. A female inside the car was heard to shout something at the victim at which point the victim broke out a driver’s side window of the car. Two male suspects exited the vehicle and began assaulting the victim with a baseball bat. The suspects got back inside the car and fled southbound the scene.

Medics responded and treated the victim for non-life-threatening injuries to his head and shoulders. The suspects and suspect vehicle remain at large.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

Related:

Shooting At Rainier and Henderson (seattlecrime.com):

We’re hearing scanner chatter about a shooting at Rainier and Henderson [Fri., Jan. 22] … Sounds like police just found a bullet lodged in the wall of a sub shop and Rainier and Henderson. More.

Former Rainier Beach HS  drug counselor faces prison on drug charge (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

Robert “Smitty” Smith was a bright light of the South Seattle community, a youth coach and stand-in father, a drug counselor at Rainier Beach High School.

Smith, 60, was also a pain pill addict and, a jury found, dealer. Next month, he’ll find out whether his next stop is federal prison.

Arrested in December 2009, the Rainier Beach drug and alcohol intervention specialist and a second man faced a federal indictment on allegations that they sold oxycodone to a police informant. Smith was convicted after a three-day trial on six counts related to a series of pain killer sales. More.

Beacon Hill teen has laptop, cell phone stolen after school (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

A teen was robbed of his laptop and cell phone last week on Beacon Hill, and police are looking for two suspects.

The incident happened about 3 p.m. Jan. 18 in the 3700 block of South Cloverdale Street. The student was walking in the opposite direction of the two suspects, who stopped to size him up. They threatened to assault him if the teen didn’t let them search his pockets and backpack.

The suspects then took his school laptop and T-Mobile Comet cell phone. They fled northbound over fences and through yards, police were told. More.

Weird crime at Rainier & Henderson: Pantless man, pepper spray, brass knuckles (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

Every so often, a police report comes along that seems interesting, but is hard to follow because of the bizarre circumstances.

One of those is on my desk today.

The incident –an assault with brass knuckles – happened Friday in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South – near Rainier and South Henderson Street, which has been marked by violence and gang activity. Read more.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

{ 9 comments }

City Awards Nearly $23M for Affordable Rental Housing, Including Two South-End Projects

01.25.2011 Development

The Office of Housing announced last week nearly $23 million in capital funding, divvied up amongst eight nonprofit housing developers, to create and preserve affordable apartments throughout the city, including two south-end projects. “Having housing throughout our community that is affordable to people from all walks of life, people with varying economic situations, is what [...]

Read the full article →

Traffic Alert: Construction Continues on RAS at Genesee & MLK, Jr. Way

01.24.2011 News

Construction on the Rainier Avenue South transit corridor improvement project continues this week with bus travel improvements along Rainier Avenue South at South Genesee Street and at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South. Motorists should expect lane closures and parking restrictions near these work areas. For instance, the southbound, right turn lane on Rainier at [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

RVP Exclusive: South Seattle Cop Questions Reporter’s Allegations of Police Brutality

01.20.2011 911

South Seattle Cop: Ms. Romo – the witness in this case – is a reporter, someone who’s job it is to observe and report facts accurately, yet she’s revised the number of punches she claims she saw an officer make a few times now, depending on who she was telling the story to. In the [...]

20 comments Read the full article →

KUOW Reporter Witnesses Cops Beating Homeless Man on RAS Near Mt. Baker

01.18.2011 911

Seattle Weekly: Yet another Seattle-cops-using-excessive-force story is making the rounds. Since Friday, Dave Ross and Luke Burbank of the “Ross and Burbank Show” on KIRO FM have been talking about how Burbank’s girlfriend, KUOW reporter Vanessa Romo, witnessed a pair of Seattle Police officers tackling and savagely punching a homeless man in the head. As [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

Welcome New Sponsor: Rose St. Apartments Accepting Applications for March Move-Ins

01.12.2011 Advertisement

Your RVP is pleased to welcome our newest sponsor, Housing Resources Group and the Rose Street Apartments in Rainier Beach, where 71 one and two-bedroom affordable apartment homes are available for less than $1,000 a month. Amenities include secure intercom entry, play area with play structure, dishwashers, washer/dryers in all two-bedroom units, community room,  reserved [...]

Read the full article →

THURS: Should Rainier & MLK Run One-Way in Opposite Directions? Learn More at Mt. Baker Meeting

01.11.2011 Development
Columbia City

The community is invited to join Mt. Baker’s Zoning Land Use Planning and Transportation Committee (ZLUPT) this Thurs., Jan. 13, at 7 pm at Mt. Baker Community Clubhouse (2811 Mt. Rainier Dr. S.), where the agenda will include: Update from Lyle Bicknell, City Planner regarding light rail station area planning, including potential for rerouting Rainier [...]

41 comments Read the full article →

Goodwill Downsizes Development Ambitions for North Rainier Valley

01.04.2011 Business

seattlepi.com: Nearly two years after the economic downturn killed a $300 million plan to redevelop the Seattle Goodwill site in Little Saigon, Goodwill is going ahead with a smaller-scale project on its own. “We’ve been trying to replace our facilities in Seattle for at least the last 12 years that I’ve been here,” Goodwill Chief [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Comment of the Week Goes To…

12.26.2010 Opinion

CBO on “SDOT Map Illustrates Pedestrian Death-Trap That Is Rainier Avenue South”: Road Diet time. Rainier is a *%$#ing nightmare. Too fast, too many lanes, not enough crosswalks, and too many [people] slowly jaywalking. The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such [...]

Read the full article →

SDOT Map Illustrates Pedestrian Death-Trap That Is Rainier Avenue South

12.21.2010 911

Last week, the Seattle Department of Transportation quietly released a map showing the location of every vehicle-caused pedestrian fatality in the city from 2005 to 2010. According to the map, there were five fatal pedestrian collisions in southeast Seattle during that time span, and four occurred on Rainier Avenue South between Mt. Baker and Rainier [...]

32 comments Read the full article →