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You've already seen some of the Hill-oween pictures we gathered and took during the fun last Saturday -- but there are so many new shots flying around the Internet in the days since that it would be a shame not to share those too. Thanks for dropping these treats into our CHS flickr pool plastic pumpkin. Special thanks to flickrite sea turtle who, once again, captured so many great images from Halloween on Broadway.

You'll see a lot of sea turtle's work in this slideshow of images from "capitol hill seattle" sorted by flickr's "most interesting" ranking from this year. Enjoy.

Urban Wildlife - Uploaded by: sea turtle

Richie Tenenbaum and Max Fischer, originally uploaded by pam sattler.

You are never to old to trick or treat!, originally uploaded by ERIK98122.

, originally uploaded by chelsey [ r ] scheffe.

Wedded Bliss, originally uploaded by sea turtle.

spooky house, originally uploaded by jillbertini.

Halloween on Broadway, originally uploaded by sea turtle.

Christopher Monfort as a UW graduate student

Here are the latest updates on the case from our news partners at the Central District News, SeattleCrime.com and the Seattle Times:

• SPD is calling the killing of officer Timothy Brenton a case of 'domestic terrorism' and say they discovered a cache of weapons and explosives inside Christopher Monfort's Tukwila apartment.
• Adding to the possibility that political motives were part of what drove the killer, a mystery clue found at both the scene of an arson that destroyed three police vehicles earlier in October and at 29th and Yesler where the SPD officer was gunned down on Halloween has been revealed. The clue? American flags left at both scenes.
• Also found at the October arson scene? A note saying an officer would be killed. SPD 'rank and file' are upset that information wasn't share before the Brenton slaying.
• Finally, another clue to what may have driven Monfort to make the switch from politically agitated loner to alleged cop killer: a ticket that might have cost the 41-year-old his job.

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Capitol Hill parents -- and parents to be -- might want to plan a drugstore road trip this week. The county health department has announced a plan to distribute a new batch of H1N1 vaccine through area pharmacies.

According to the announcement, people eligible to receive vaccine through pharmacies include:

•     Pregnant women
•     People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
•     People between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old
•     People between 25 through 64 years of age with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems
•     Healthcare and emergency workers with direct patient contact

The list of participating stores and appointment availability can be found here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness
A county health spokesperson told the West Seattle Blog this list will be updated over the weekend 'as availability changes.'

This Google Map provided by the county shows the pharmacy locations. An additional important thing to note: None of the stores currently on the list have staff licensed or trained to vaccinate infants so you'll need to visit your pediatrician for that. Any parent who has made a call to a pediatrician lately knows to expect busy phone lines, long waits and a challenge to find open appointment times.

Also, there is an up-to-$22 fee for administering the 'swine flue' vaccine, according to the announcement.

According to the county, with limited national vaccine supplies, Public Health - Seattle & King County has not been able to make the vaccine widely available. As more vaccine becomes available, the announcement says there will be additional sites for getting vaccinated, including community clinics.

Here's the county's announcement:

Friday, November 6, 2009

 

Limited amounts of vaccine available; some pharmacies taking appointments now

KING COUNTY, WA - To provide another option for people prioritized to receive H1N1 vaccine, selected King County pharmacies are receiving limited supplies to begin vaccinating. A total of 15,000 doses of vaccine have been allocated to pharmacies, with more available in future weeks.

Many of the 44 participating pharmacies are taking appointments by phone starting today; some will be holding walk-up clinics without appointment starting next week. The full list of participating pharmacies, including hours, types of vaccine available and vaccination age ranges, is posted at www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness/pandemicflu/swineflu/locations. This site will be updated Monday through Friday by noon; people should contact pharmacies directly for the most up-to-date information.

With limited national vaccine supplies, Public Health - Seattle & King County has had to delay its plan to make vaccine widely available through community venues. As more vaccine becomes available, there will be additional sites for getting vaccinated, including community clinics.

"Making vaccine available through pharmacies is an important next step in protecting our community, but supplies at both pharmacies and health care providers will continue to be limited for at least several weeks," said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. "Eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants to get vaccinated, but we are still dealing with limited vaccine supplies."

With the latest deliveries this week, King County has received approximately 142,000 doses of vaccine. A new allocation of approximately 71,000 doses is being ordered for delivery to the county. Most of the vaccine is being made available through health care providers.

Pharmacy vaccination details

People eligible to receive vaccine through pharmacies include:

• Pregnant women
• People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
• People between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old
• People between 25 through 64 years of age with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems
• Healthcare and emergency workers with direct patient contact

The amount of H1N1 vaccine at pharmacies will be limited, with each pharmacy receiving a few hundred doses each. Vaccine will be re-supplied to pharmacies as more becomes available over the coming weeks, so people should regularly check Public Health's website for updates.

Many pharmacies are unable to vaccinate babies and young children because their staff is not licensed and/or trained for these age groups. Residents trying to vaccinate children should check with pharmacies directly and with their health care providers since vaccine is continuing to arrive.

Pharmacies may charge a fee for administering the vaccine, typically between $12 and $22 (not to exceed $22). This fee is covered by most health insurance. People should bring their health insurance information to the pharmacy, and they may need to submit a receipt to their insurance company for reimbursement.

Visit the Public Health H1N1 influenza website at www.kingcounty.gov/health/H1N1 for updates on vaccine availability in the community or call the Flu Hotline at 877-903-KING (5464), which is staffed with operators to answer questions from King County residents about H1N1 influenza. Hours of operation with operators are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with special 24-hour nurse line service extended over this weekend for people with flu seeking medical care advice. Recorded information will be available 24 hours a day.

The first of two Friday updates from King County Elections shows Mike McGinn has widened his lead over Joe Mallahan in the Seattle mayor's race. McGinn now leads his competitor by 1,209 votes.

Mike McGinn: 75,657 49.99%

Joe Mallahan: 74,448 49.19%

The next drop comes after 9 PM tonight. Seattle Post Globe reports that election workers decided to put in some extra work today instead of having to work over the weekend to produce a new count on Monday.

Breaking news in the hunt for the killer of Officer Timothy Brenton. Central District News is heading to the scene:

There's a massive police response down in Tukwila, where Tukwila police are reporting that a "person of interest" in Officer Brenton's shooting was shot by police while they were there serving a warrant.

This started about 25 minutes after the conclusion of Brenton's memorial at Key Arena.

TV chopper coverage is showing a covered vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment complex where today's shooting occurred, and it appears to be of the shape and size of a Datsun 210, the suspect vehicle in the Halloween shooting.

SPD homicide personnel are said to be on the scene in Tukwila, but so far SPD isn't talking about what might be going on.

More as we get it.

The Seattle Times is reporting the suspect was shot in the head by Seattle Police. Reports are that the suspect has been transported to Harborview.

SeattleCrime.com is reporting that the man who was shot has died. survived.

Tukwila police say two other people have been taken into custody in the incident.

With the investigation into the Halloween night murder of officer Timothy Brenton stretching into its sixth day, the Seattle Police Department is about to lose its newly appointed head of the Violent Crimes Section. Berkeley news sources are reporting that Seattle police captain Mike Meehan has been tabbed as the new police chief in the California city. According to the Berkeley Daily Planet, Meehan's appointment must still be confirmed by the Berkeley city council at its November 10th meeting.

Meehan, a former East Precinct commander, recently moved to take over Violent Crimes where he oversaw the Homicide, Robbery, CSI, Gang, Polygraph, Bias Crimes and Fugitive Units after a stint working in the Narcotics Section. He is a 23-year veteran officer according to this SPD blog post.

The Berkeley Planet story linked above also dug into the CHS archives for some insight into Meehan:

Comments on a Feb. 2009 blog catering to Seattle’s Capital Hill area [sic], a pre-dominantly gay neighborhood, discussed the possibility of Meehan replacing then–Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, who was selected by the Obama administration to be the “drug czar,” overseeing the country’s drug-control policy.

“I would be overjoyed to see another ex-East Precinct Commander (Mike Meehan) as the Seattle Police Chief, but suspect he’ll have to work his way up the ranks a bit first,” said Andrew Taylor, a writer on the blog. “He’s very smart, thoughtful and good with the public. And he’s very tall!”

Meehan also made it into our recent history of East Precinct bosses where the then-commander was quoted as having said this in 2004:

“I say this laughingly, but I told my boss that my intention is to stay here until the day I retire. I'll stay here as long as they allow me to stay. I am very happy to be at the East Precinct.”

Meehan left the EP commander role in 2006.

CHS will be covering the memorial procession to honor Seattle Police Department officer Timothy Brenton as it passes across Capitol Hill this morning. The more than 1,000 vehicles and thousands of police, fire and emergency personnel expected to participate in the procession leave the University of Washington's Husky Stadium parking lot starting at 9 AM. They are expected to begin passing through the Capitol Hill area after 10 AM on their way to Key Arena where the memorial will be held.

• A map of the route can be found here.
• There is no street parking along the route and bus service will be disrupted. Seattle Transit Blog has a list of planned re-routes. Metro says to expect delays.
• If you have a report from your morning's bus experience to share, leave a comment here or Tweet to #caphillbus

Watch this post for updates and pictures from the procession. Our news partner the Seattle Times is also updating an interactive map and timeline of today's events . You can watch live video coverage from KING-5 here .

UPDATE:

Photo: Scott Durham/Central District News

Central District News has coverage of the memorial ceremony at Key Arena . You can also check out photos of the procession's path through the CD here .

It's been a long time since Seattle's last big shake had everybody diving under desks and thinking about being more prepared for emergencies. If you were here for the Nisqually earthquake in 2001, you'll be happy to know that we apparently got lucky. These scientists say 'the big one' might end up being even bigger than previously thought when it finally strikes the city.

All of this toward freaking you out a a bit and encouraging you to give serious thought to attending a community meeting on disaster preparedness this Saturday -- or, at least, getting prepared on your own.

The Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare group is bringing its seminar to the Capitol Hill library Saturday at 10:30 AM. You'll learn how to be prepared as an individual -- and as a community -- for emergencies big and small and, yes, even snowy.

The SNAP group has also been working with community groups in the city to prepare neighborhood disaster response plans for the areas. Where on Capitol Hill will people gather in the event of a major catastrophe that destroys homes and apartment buildings? That's the kind of thing you might want to have a plan for as a community. As an individual, much of it is as simple as making sure you have the phone numbers and e-mail addresses of your neighbors and extra water.

And being prepared on Capitol Hill is an especially good idea. WARNING: More freak-you-out stuff follows. At a recent meeting of the Capitol Hill Community Council, Seattle Office of Emergency Management's Mark Howard said Capitol Hill's older homes are a big concern in a significant earthquake. Howard said older houses on the Hill are often not attached securely to their foundations and the risk is that they will collapse in the event of a strong earthquake. Howard said the most vulnerable area of Capitol Hill is the west side along I-5 where there is also the risk of landslides. Freak-out stuff over.

With that as inspiration, for you do-it-yourselfers, here are some SNAP resources linked to from the Seattle Office of Emergency Management Web site:

SNAP Meeting Packet Items for Shelter and Special Needs, Communications and Damage Assessment:

• Getting Organized Meeting Agenda (PDF)
• Neighborhood Coordinator Task List (PDF)
• Search and Rescue Task List (PDF)
• Shelter and Special Needs Task List (PDF)
• Communications Task List (PDF)
• Utility Control Task List (PDF)
• First Aid Task List (PDF)
• Damage Assessment Task List (PDF)
• Help/OK Sign (PDF)
• Neighborhood Response Site Signs (PDF)
• Getting Organized Worksheet (PDF)
• Getting Organized Beginner Drill (PDF)
• Download All SNAP Host Kit Materials (PDF)
• Download All Preparedness Materials (PDF)
• Download All Task List Materials (PDF)
• Download All Meeting Packet Materials (PDF)

SNAP Drills:

• Conducting Effective Neighborhood Drills (PDF)
• Planning Process for a Neighborhood Drill (PDF)
• Neighborhood Drill Log (PDF)
• Getting Organized Beginner Drill (PDF)
• Beginner Tabletop Drill - Task Responsibilities (PDF)
• Intermediate Functional Drill - Map Your Neighbhorhood (PDF)
• Advanced Drill to Drill Kit (PDF)
• Download All Drill Kit Materials (PDF)

Special Medical Needs (PDF)

Store Emergency Water for Disasters (PDF)

Supply Kits

• Family Disaster Supplies Kit (PDF)
• Pet Preparedness (PDF)
• Car Kits (PDF)
• Work/School Kits (PDF)

Storing Emergency Water (PDF)

A wind-driven lightning and hailstorm that quickly passed across the city also rumbled across Capitol Hill late tonight. The storm arrived on Capitol Hill around 10:42 if you believe Twitter -- about 5 minutes after reports started spreading across the social messaging service's Tweets from the West Seattle area. In the 15-minute window around the storm's coming and going, there were 1,267 Tweets about 'thunder' in the Seattle area.

Here's what a few of you had to say about it:

moohaha: Seattle Cap Hill: huge lightening + thunder. Cloud covered Space Needle in <5 min. Now it's hailing

SEATTLE

eliranderson: Wicked hail storm on Cap Hill.

Seattle, WA, USA

Power on the Hill is still on (fingers crossed) but there are reports of outages in Leschi and Queen Anne was dark earlier this evening. The Western Washington forecast says to expect more of the same blustery wet weather through Friday and into Saturday.

Here's a video of the heavy downpour from Cheesecake:

Rainstorm in Seattle - Nov 5 09 from David Albright on Vimeo.

Consider this your Friday morning, crowd-source Capitol Hill transportation bulletin. With all due respect to the officer and the department Friday's memorial procession honors, there is a lot of confusion about transportation in the Capitol Hill area as the streets will be blocked and Metro's buses delayed and rerouted. Metro's bulletin on the service disruptions lacks specifics and the promised reroute information has not been posted as of 10:45 PM. It's for a good cause -- we'll just need to make the best of it. UPDATE: Seattle Transit Blog has reroute info.

So, why not harness social media for something a little more useful? Might still leave this post in place given likelihood things won't be smooth. Please post your experiences, questions and tips here in the comments or to Twitter with the hashtag #caphillbus so they automagically appear in the post.

Metro Bulletin
Expect significant delays and some transit reroutes during this time.

Affected buses may be delayed at other points along their routes as well.

If your Friday travel plans take you through these areas, give yourself plenty of time, travel before 8:00 AM or after 1:00 PM, or be prepared for significant delays.

Metro will not be able to tell you when specific buses will arrive at or depart from specific locations.

Additional information, including planned reroutes and a Queen Anne Hill shuttle, is being prepared and will be available online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro by Thursday evening.

View Brenton Memorial Procession in a larger map