The following are based on incident reports from the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct. They represent the officers' accounts of the events described.ASSAULTAt 12:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, officers responded to East John Street near 22nd Avenue East after a man reported being assaulted by five other men. He told officers he was walking east on the sidewalk when he noticed five men coming toward him. He didn't think much about them at first, but when he was about to walk by them one of the men asked him what he was looking at. Before he could answer, another man punched him in the face. Then the rest of the group started punching him. The man fell to the ground and the group started to kick him. Several of the men then searched his pockets. His wallet was taken, as well as his cell phone. A car drove by and honked its horn; the group then took off running. The man said he wasn't seriously hurt, though he added he feared for his safety while he was being assaulted. A witness, the woman who honked her car's horn, gave officers virtually the same version of the event. Officers searched the area with a K-9 unit but were unable to locate any of the suspects.DISTURBANCEAt 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, officers on routine patrol responded to a 10th Avenue East home after a man wanted to report an incident that took place the previous night.The man said that he and his boyfriend were walking home from a grocery store when they passed two other men and became aware that they were being talked about in none-too flattering terms. The man turned toward the men and yelled at them to shut up.No incident resulted from his actions at that time, but several minutes later the couple came upon four men, two of whom the man had yelled at. As the couple walked past them, the man was kicked and punched, and his boyfriend was tripped from behind. The man called 911 from his cell phone and the four men fled the scene. The couple gave chase but only long enough to see the four men climb into a car and drive away.The man said he waited to call 911 until today because he was both intoxicated and upset the previous night. He admitted to having a big mouth and agreed that yelling at the men in the first place was not the smartest thing to do. Officers left the couple with an incident report and a case number.Disturbance, warrantAt 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, officers responded to an East Olive Way coffee shop after a customer reported seeing a man relieve himself on the shop's patio. Soon after, the man came inside the shop and began yelling random, incoherent and profanity-laced statements. Police were called to remove the man from the premises.Officers had no difficulties locating the man. His clothes were worn and he was sitting at a table cursing under his breath and staring in his lap. When officers got close they noted the man reeked of alcohol. The man was escorted out of the shop without incident.Once outside, the man was identified. Officers learned that he was wanted for an outstanding trespassing warrant. He was issued a trespass admonishment card for the coffee shop prohibiting him from coming inside for one year. Additionally, the man, who is in his early 50s, was arrested and booked into King County Jail.
2008 arrived with tragedy in our neighborhood and broader hope for our country. I woke up New Year's Day and noticed a small article about a murder that occurred two blocks from my home. I didn't know Shannon Harps, who was stabbed to death a little after 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve. She sounded like a lovely person, well liked by her co-workers and people involved in the environmental movement.
By Jeremy Eaton
To the editor:The belligerent sense of entitlement by certain dog owners is very disheartening, especially given the lack of compliance with, and enforcement of, Animal Control ordinances: at times it seems a hopeless cause.
To the editor:I was disappointed with Russ Zabel's article regarding the City Council's decision to study a rental housing inspection program in Seattle ["City Council okays study of rental-housing inspection program," Dec. 26].
Ruben Mendez I still feel safe, although last week I was creeped out. The thing that's most unsettling is no one knows who did it and why. I'd like to think it's isolated.
Two Magnolia News readers contacted the paper recently to report they had seen a coyote near Discovery Park. For one of them, Sally Cole, it was déja critter all over again.Cole said she reported to the News around 13 years ago that a pair of mangy coyotes was in Magnolia. They killed her two cats, she said. "They ripped the head off one."
"It all started as a joke," said Jeff Valcik of his wife's winning bid at a Queen Anne Helpline auction two years ago that landed him a walk-on role in the award-winning TV show, "My Name is Earl." He wasn't exactly laughing after a trip to Los Angeles for the taping of one of the episodes this year, though.Valcik, a Queen Anne resident and associate broker for Windermere Real Estate, had done some stage acting as a kid, appeared in a couple episodes of "Miami Vice" in the mid-1980s, had a bit part in a movie that was never released in the United States, and did a commercial in France for A&W; Rootbeer, he said.
Chuck Hamaker, a first-grader at Catharine Blaine School, had a rough fall this year. The 6-year-old suffers from a rare skin condition that caused the full head of hair he started out with in September to completely disappear by October. The condition is called alopecia areata.And while something like 5 million people in America have the auto-immune disease, very few people have heard of it, said Chuck's dad, Paul Hamaker, who has set out to raise awareness about the condition with the help of an NBA star.
I was disappointed with your article regarding the Seattle City Council's decision to study a rental housing inspection program in Seattle (Dec. 26).You quote me as saying: "The only argument I've heard against it is privacy." This quotation is truncated and inaccurate. I said that this was the only argument I had heard against it, but that the concern was completely misplaced in light of the ruling by the Washington Supreme Court that a Pasco-style inspection program does not involve a government intrusion.
On behalf of the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, I want to express our appreciation to Richard Jameson for his extensive coverage of news and issues in our community.Under his watch as editor, the Queen Anne and Magnolia newspapers devoted many pages each week to topics that are important to residents as well as businesses in our area: public safety, transportation, parking, livability, etc.Richard was quick to point out the accomplishments of community organizations, from Little League to the Queen Anne Helpline, the Chamber, local churches and many others.
umn by Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. in the edition of Jan. 4. If you did, it's worth repeating; if you didn't, then maybe I can summarize for you. Jamieson had written an earlier column about being in a local restaurant when one of the cooks came into the men's room, took care of business and walked out without washing his hands.
In these early cold, gray-lit days of the New Year, all dreams are possible for our gardens. Perfection and beauty will reign supreme. The winds will always be tempered, the few freezes will be short-lived, the rains will not pelt down late in spring, the summer heat will come early and be moderate, and the early chills of fall will only be enough to heighten the dazzling autumn colors. Bugs and other garden pests will have been given overseas passports early in the season.
A new year. A fresh start. A clean plate. I thought of writing about a few failed resolutions. But let's just say that when a bad relationship or situation has breathed its last, no amount of resolve can revive it... and leave it at that.Perhaps we make resolutions in January to give ourselves a new set of survival tools until spring arrives. My 2008 survival tool was inspired by someone a few months back. For the sake of privacy, let's just call the inspirer... Mr. X.
Oh boy, here I go again. Why can't we all simply age gracefully instead of indulging in bizarre personal gymnastics trying to disguise our natural features, only to end up looking like something out of a Saturday Night Live skit? The classic example of this has to be the male comb-over. Who can forget Ohio congressman James Traficant, with what can only be described as a wedding cake on top of his head.