Greenwood Blog has Moved!

This little blog of mine is now shining over at http://www.greenwoodblog.com. Change your links and check out the new site, because we'll no longer be posting here!

And the Found Bicycles

Library staff found a blue, "Free Spirit" adult 10-speed dumped in one of the library's planting beds on Saturday morning. We still have it at the branch will call SPD to take custody of it if it's not claimed within the next few days.

There was a blue bicycle lying by the newspaper boxes in front of the Neptune Coffee place at the southbound bus stop at 85th and Greenwood this morning. (update: this bike's been claimed)

There is a red and yellow Haro mountain bike leaning against our mailboxes on Evanston. It looks like a medium sized bike--a good size for an adolescent. There seems to be a little joy riding going on in the neighborhood.

Also, I am still holding on to a younger girls bike I found in the ally btwn 97th and 100th. It's pink and I don't remember the brand name. It's sitting on the side of my house at 97th and Fremont if anyone has claim to it.

Would one of the missing bikes be a red 20 incher? If so, I saw it in my friend's driveway while driving my bus down 8th NW. I had him take it in after I read the posting. Just respond and we can get it back to you.

Stolen Bicycles

Three bicycles were stolen out of my garage last night. Two blue children’s bicycles (with gears), and an adult grey bicycle -- a “Giant” electric bicycle, without battery.

On the chance that they were just taken for a joyride, if you see them around the neighborhood, please let me know.

Big Block Party - Free! August 30

BIG BACKYARD BLOCK PARTY
FREE!
Sponsored by The Salvation Army
Located at Sandel Park
August 30, 2008
11:00am-2:00pm

Games, crafts, music, performances, free hot dogs… even an inflatable bounce house! Guaranteed fun for the whole family!

For more information, contact Erin Wikle
Tel: 206.783.1225
erin.wikle@usw.salvationarmy.org

Lack of Sidewalks in the PI

Another article about the problems created by the lack of sidewalks, and/or completely neglected and broken sidewalks...http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/375484_sidewalks19.html in the PI today.

Late Night Walk w/Police & Parks Tonight 10:30 PM

hopefully many of you will be able to come out to the walk with the SPD and the Parks Department tomorrow night at 10:30.... SE corner of the Greenwood Park.

I will make a list of some of the places that got tagged but while we have some officials from the city, now's a great opportunity to voice your concerns with them present.

The more that show- the more power and unity we provide ourselves!

MS-13 Tagging

driving about today i see more "MS13" tags on 95th and dayton.

according to what I've read --this gang is considered one of the most
violent in USA, exacutionists, and frankly i'm feeling disgusted that
this graffiti is intended to glorify a ruthless violent group of
thugs; this is insane.

Please look through a few informative links:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11240718/

http://msthirteen.com/

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan08/ms13_011408.html

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=11552

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002283961_gangslaying22.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004430842_gang22m.html

Saturday Night Drug Deal

Saturday night I drove by our park with my eldest daughter as we were coming home from the store. It was still pretty light out, yet we witnessed in clear daylight a drug deal. Dealer in red shirt and black shorts and buyer 4 kids in a car. I called 911 as I hadn't yet got to Rene's email with the number to call (thanks for that by the way). Anyway, they pretty much brushed me off as I had expected. I tried to get into not just his appearance but what specifically he was wearing in accordance with the past we have had with these guys. Yeah, they didn't really seem to care. However, I figure at least there is record of us reporting and enough reports start to add up and hopefully someone will care. It is an election year after all isn't it???

As I sift through these emails of concerned and dedicated neighbors I'm begining to feel the hair on my arms rise. We really do have a great neighborhood and some really great and sincere people residing in it. I really hope we can not only keep it that way, but clean out some of the rift raft only interested in illegal activity and spreading their unhappiness among our community. Keep up the good work everyone.

PS We walked a lot during this pregnancy and noticed something. I know we have all had problems with the "activities" in our allys and finding condoms in them. I don't know if it was heightened sences or what but it seems the number of condoms laying around in the allys has mutiplied by quite a bit. Anyone else seeing this increasing trend? Could it be the decrease in police activity in our neighborhood this summer as we were warned about this past spring? Are the police even monitoring the allys at all anymore?

17th Annual PAWS Walk Sept 6

Greenwood residents have no doubt stopped to enjoy the delightful antics of playful kittens or to admire a beautiful adult cat lounging in the windows at PAWS Cat City at 8503 Greenwood Ave. N. Since 1997, PAWS has found loving homes for over 9,000 felines through this neighborhood, cage-free cat adoption center. It is a great place to connect people with new best friends, while saving lives at the same time.

To help continue this great work in this great neighborhood, as well as all of the other life-saving work PAWS does for dogs and wildlife in the Seattle-area, PAWS is holding our 17th annual PAWSwalk fundraiser on Saturday, September 6 at Seattle’s Magnuson Park.

More than just a walk in the park, PAWSwalk includes animal-friendly shopping, canine massage, agility demos, contests, and a kid's zone, as well as fabulous prizes for the different levels of donations gathered. Dogs are welcome to attend, too! Get the full scoop on the fun and a schedule of events at PAWSwalk.net, where you can also register online and easily ask friends and family to join you in helping injured, orphaned and homeless animals.

You can find more info in our press release on the PAWS website: http://www.paws.org/about/news/releases/2008_08_07_PW08.pdf and, of course, at PAWSwalk.net.

All the best,
Mary Leake Schilder
Public Affairs Manager
Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
office: 425-787-2500 x270
media cell: 206-419-6646
www.paws.org

Malicious Firestarting on 100th Last Night

Hello: I have not found the site that you report crimes in your neighborhood yet. We live at 614 North 100th. Sunday night around midnight on the 17th of August, the pampas plant next to the road in our yard caught fire and burned brightly. the neighbors heard a pop like fireworks. One saw two boys on bikes and heard them laughing. Everyone around was frightened and rushed out to help. We used hoses from our house and the neighbor's at first. then the fire dept. came with more water and chemicals to smother the fire. I would especially like to commend a stranger who stopped his car and came into my yard. he yelled up to the second story where I was sleeping and woke me up, saying there was something burning in my yard. Then he took the hose and tried to put out the fire. He pointed out that sometimes gas lines can ignite, and that another tree in my yard is pretty dry and might cause my house to catch on fire. He was a tall African American man with a loud voice! I'd like to thank all my neighbors who showed so much care and concern. In addition, my next door neighbor's mailbox was pushed down the same weekend about the same time of night. I'm going to make a police report. Barb

Movie Shoot in Sandel Park on Tuesday Aug 19th!

We will be shooting a portion of an independently produced feature ("A/V") in Sandel Playground, in the vicinity of the wading pool and restroom shelter on Tuesday, August 19th. Below, I have included the text of a post card that many of the surrounding residents will receive today. The post card will provide all of the pertinent information. We were hoping that you could post something on the Greenwood News Discussion Group to broaden our notification area.

Specifically, we would like to point out that we will be working with the Seattle Police Department during the morning portion of our shoot (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.). We will from time to time have the police vehicle's emergency lights on. We just want to assure the residents that the police presence in Sandel Playground is part of our movie production and not anything that should cause alarm.

Greetings!

The cast and crew of the independently-produced motion-picture “A/V” are coming to your neighborhood!

The Seattle Office of Film & Music has granted permission to shoot part of this motion-picture in SANDEL PARK on Tuesday, August 19th from 9:00am until dusk.

From the hours of 9:00am until 1:00pm, a small contingent of 8-15 people and a small amount of equipment will occupy the northern section of SANDEL PARK. Additionally, one City of Seattle police car will be parked near the fountain area of the park, and 1-2 uniformed officers will be present.

A smaller team of 6-8 cast and crew-members will return to the park at 5:00pm and finish recording at this location by dusk.

This notification is in compliance with the permits and rights granted to the makers of “A/V” by the Seattle Office of Film & Music

Kind Regards,
The Entire Production-Team of “A/V” (The Movie)=

Call 911 or Non-Emergency Line?

Toby Tyler Hilden pulled this out of the PI archives for us all today:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/145191.asp

Q: How come when I call the Police Department's non-emergency line after 10 p.m. no one ever picks up? I've had numerous problems with teen drinking at the now-closed Viewlands Elementary School, as well as kids tagging the school late at night. When I call to ask for a patrol car, the phone is never answered. Why? Should I dial 911 instead?

A: The non-emergency number "should be staffed 24 hours a day," Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson said. "I don't know why this particular reader had that problem, but they can always call 911."

If someone is witnessing taggers in action, Jamieson said, they should call 911 because that's a crime in progress.

"We prioritize calls," he said. "If an assault call and a property damage call come in at the same time, we're obviously going to respond to the assault in progress in front of the property damage.

Jamieson said all 911 calls get an officer response. Their response time depends on availability and other calls.

Speak Up about Drug Activity!

In response to a lengthy discussion on the GAIN North list yesterday about drug activity up on 105th, and helpful to any of us witnessing drug activity, a note from Ed McKenna (emphasis mine):

Thanks for forwarding the information regarding narcotics activity to me.

Let me clarify a few things: Any time narcotics activity or a narcotics transaction is observed, it should always be reported to the Narcotics Section of the police department at (206) 684-5797. A Narcotics Activity Report (NAR) will then be generated and forwarded to the appropriate unit for investigation. Information provided should include suspect descriptions, times, locations, etc. Remember, "If you don't report it, it didn't happen!". In other words, SPD cannot and will not focus its efforts unless there are official complaints. The Narcotics Section is separate from the north precinct so any narcotics information reported to a north precinct officer should also be reported as a NAR.

Does anyone have an actual physical address of the problem location? I would like to discuss this issue further with the Community Police Team but it would be helpful to have the exact address so we can look up information on the property owner.

A community nuisance action is always a possibility. However, they do take some effort. Not only must one document the activity, but also document how the quality of their life has diminished. The Seattle Neighborhood Group sponsors the Take Action Workshop, (http://www.sngi.org/pdfs/takeaction108.pdf) which is an excellent resource to learn how to properly document the problem. I would also be happy to discuss small-claims nuisance actions.

I'll also be discussing this location with CPT Officer McNulty. Again, a specific address(es) would be helpful.

I'm available for further discussion. The best time to reach me is in the mornings.

Edward McKenna
Assistant Seattle City Attorney
206-684-7765
edward.mckenna@seattle.gov

Arts-In-Nature Festival Aug 23

The Camp Long Advisory Council and the Nature Consortium are happy to present the Arts~in~Nature Festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 23 and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 24 at Camp Long, 5200 35th Ave. SW.

The festival celebrates the relationship between artists and the environment in a natural setting-in this case, West Seattle's hidden gem, Camp Long. From fire performers and string quartets to dance troupes and an outdoor museum of sound, the 2008 festival has something for everyone.

Produced by the Nature Consortium and nestled in the forested arms of Camp Long, performances will take place in five different venues throughout the park: the Lodge, the forested grove by the Pond, the Climbing Glacier, the Meadow, and the Geodesic Dome near the Fire Circle. There will be a wide array of eclectic and traditional music offerings ranging from experimental and improvised to classical, jazz, and folk. Dance troupes will perform in various locations throughout the park, and wandering musicians will roam the forested landscape between the cabins.

Camp Long's rustic cabins will house the Museum of Sound, where artists take up residency for the weekend and create multidisciplinary installations that blend sound, auditory arts, music, and visual arts. This year's Museum of Sound artists include Hollow Earth Radio, Ela Lamblin, Perri Lynch, Kristin Tollefson, Dean Moore, Mike Shannon, Ben Smith, and NC Youth Art Program students.

The festival features interactive and hands-on activities such as eco-rhythm instrument building, eco-art mask making, and print making in nature. Naturalists will be on hand to help interpret the natural features of the park. There will be healthy, delicious food and drink by Vashon-based Tahini Genie.

Admission is by donation; suggested donation is $5 per person. Proceeds benefit the artists, the organizations. and their programs.

To cut down on waste, Parks and Recreation and the event sponsors encourage visitors to take the bus or carpool to the festival, and to bring their own plates and cups. Metro bus routes 21, 54, and 55 serve Camp Long; please visit http://transit.metrokc.gov/ to plan a trip.

For more information on Camp Long, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/PARKS/Environment/camplong.htm.

103rd St Speed Bumps

If you live on the 300 block of 103rd street, expect to receive a petition in your email or to get a knock on your door next week regarding a petition for the installation of speed bumps in the mid-block portion of the street:

[At Seattle Night Out] we also met briefly to consider the concerns of our neighborhood. Among the several issues discussed, the chief complaint involved a unanimous call for lower vehicle speeds and volumes along our street. The evolution of our residential makeup has seen a significant increase in the number of children (and pets) living here compared to ten years ago. At the same time the increase in vehicles using 103rd as an Aurora to Greenwood cutoff - at near freeway speeds - has increased seemingly exponentially. The safety of these kids as they increase their presence in the dangerous street is our primary concern.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has a program for helping communities address this called the Neighborhood Traffic Control Program in which they install permanent fixtures to help alleviate traffic speed and volume problems on non arterial streets. There is a process for this outlined at this link and more general information for those interested: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/trafficcircles.htm. The consensus at the Night Out was to pursue two speed humps midway on our block, speed humps are the most effective, have the least impact on the residents themselves, and are the most feasible from the city’s perspective. The attached documentation is an excerpt from a study done back in 1993 and sheds more light on their effectiveness.

The process involves at the outset a study by the SDOT and then gaining the support of at least sixty percent of the residents which for the 300 block represents 14 of the 22 residences. We are beginning a preliminary petition process and we will be going door to door with more information as well as a signature form to help us initiate the street study with the city. We welcome any questions or comments and greatly appreciate your support in this effort.

If you'd like information for pursuing action on your street, write us at greenwood_blog@mac.com and we'll send you a copy of these documents.

Red & Black Gang?

So, are red and black the gang colors of the kids doing the tagging all over the neighborhood? Several altercations between neighbors and groups of confrontational teens this week seem to suggest that they are. In addition, I've now seen quite a few young black youth wandering the neighborhood in these colors over the last few weeks. They do seem to sporting some sort of uniform color scheme, whether or not we can take that further and assume they are, in fact, a "gang".

Last night, on the way to the Pig & Whistle, I saw a young man get into a the passenger seat of a car on 84th with his head and face completely covered in a bright red knit cloth -- save for a tiny slit to see out of.

Taggers hit the "Other" Greenwood Park

These photos and captions are courtesy of a reader:



The TEE tag, followed by Roman Numerals for 206, our local area code. I saw the kid who did this scratching it into the park bench in the City Light mini park on N92nd between Evanston and Fremont. I called the police, but then he and his pals left before the police arrived. They left a bunch of trash too.

There were two other kids with the TEE tagger when the TEE kid scratched his name into the bench. One was male, the other female. These tags were fresh, still wet to the touch, just after the kids left:



Later in the day, I got a shot of the male who was with the TEE tagger.

King County Can't Afford to Build New Jails

Toby sent me this link today for a Seattle Times story talking about how King County can't afford to build new jails... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008097221_jail07m.html. The County is encouraging the city to move forward with adding more jails, and Seattle has identified four possible jail sites: 11762 Aurora Ave. N., 1600 W. Armory Way, Highland Park Way Southwest and West Marginal Way, and 9501 Myers Way S.

Suspicious Activuty

It is now 10:30 PM on Wed. night and my wife and I were just on our way home and noticed some kids who were acting suspicious, and quickly dispersed as we drove by. One of them was carrying a bat and the others looked to be painting the signs, although we couldnt tell for sure. We called the police and they said someone was in the area and would check on the park. As we drove around we again saw the kids leaving the park and walking west on 87th towards Greenwood.

Fresh Tagging Dayton Av N 97th to 102nd (and more?)

There was a bunch of fresh tagging done last night by the Drops, looks like most of the way up Dayton Av N., on mailboxes, traffic circle yield diamonds, children's play toys, and the perpetual Pods container at 101st. I walked the dogs from 97th to 102nd and that whole area was tagged. Please leave a comment if there's additional tagging by your house.

(And as you're repainting your mailbox after work this evening, why not make it into a work of art?)