Tag Archives: 23rd ave

Garfield High School asking families: Do you want a SPD ‘School Engagement Officer’ on campus?

Posted on by
8

SPD increased its presence outside Garfield following last June’s murder (Image: CHS)

Garfield High School is surveying student families as the district makes plans for the Seattle Police Department to assign a “School Engagement Officer” to the 23rd Ave campus.

“Garfield High School is gathering input from families to understand levels of support or opposition to the possible assignment of a School Engagement Officer (SEO) to our campus,” the survey begins. “An SEO is a uniformed law enforcement officer, similar to a School Resource Officer (SRO). SEOs may be assigned to schools to respond to emergencies, support campus safety, and build relationships with students and staff.”

Earlier this month, CHS reported here on $235 million earmarked in the proposed school levy renewal going to voters this fall for Seattle Public Schools safety investments including the possible return of police officers to Seattle campuses. Continue reading →

Sale of former Seattle Black Firefighters Association headquarters can stand, judge rules

Posted on by
5

The group rallied at the house in January

The sale of a Central District home once the headquarters of the Seattle Black Firefighters Association has been upheld by a King County Superior Court judge.

The ruling Monday denied a request to overturn the sale of the 23rd and Pike property that had divided the association’s members.

CHS reported here on the legal battle and what is sometimes a house by house effort to hold onto remaining roots of the Central District. The association agreed to sell the property last year sparking outrage from some retired members and community groups.

The double-lot property, located in one of Seattle’s most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, was sold for $680,000 β€” far below its market value, the group said.

The group of retired firefighters and community members has expressed disappointment in the ruling. The group is considering an appeal, Converge Media reports.

Β 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
πŸŒˆπŸ£πŸŒΌπŸŒ·πŸŒ±πŸŒ³πŸŒΎπŸ€πŸƒπŸ¦”πŸ‡πŸπŸ‘πŸŒžπŸŒ»Β 
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support πŸ‘Β 

Β 

Seattle Police: Reports of gang targeting students at Garfield High School

Posted on by
25

A memorial to slain student Salvador Granillo outside Garfield High School

Seattle Public Schools already said it was stepping up security and Seattle Police presence around Garfield High School.

Social media posts and reports of non-students coming onto the 23rd Ave campus looking for trouble to end last week have police increasing the efforts around the school.

SPD says its “increased presence” around Garfield comes after online messages.

“An unknown youth local gang was reportedly targeting students at the school and had posted on social media that they planned to ‘target’ several students after the sixth period,” SPD’s brief on the incident reads. “While no specific threats were made and it was unclear if weapons were involved, several officers logged in for a directed patrol at the high school to increase police presence.” Continue reading →

As memorial to classmate lost to gun violence grows at Garfield, district safety changes include ramped-up spring patrols, uniformed security, and ‘AI phones’

Posted on by
5

Images of the memorial for Salvador “Junior” Granillo

A memorial of flowers and chalk messages for Salvador “Junior” Granillo grew this week in front of Garfield High School.

His death comes as school officials this week said the city’s campuses have new protections against gun violence that are ramping up as summer approaches.

In front of the 23rd Ave high school, some students drew to say goodbye to their friend. Others drew messages against gun violence. Each of the messages was an expression of love and grief for a classmate lost in the prime of his young life.

CHS reported here on the weekend shooting that took the life of Granillo outside a party in Yakima early Sunday morning. The Garfield senior was 18.

A 21-year-old was tracked down and arrested later Sunday afternoon and is being held for investigation of second degree murder. As they prepare charges, prosecutors have revealed new details of the fight that led to the shooting as a scuffle quickly escalated with deadly consequences.

A memorial fund has been set up to aid the victim’s family:

Our community has recently suffered the unimaginable loss of our beloved student, friend, brother, son, nephew, uncle, and grandson. His friends, teachers, and family describe him as an extraordinary soul who was extremely kind, upbeat, compassionate, and made things happen. He was an active member of Razas Unidas, a manager of the Garfield gymnasium, an opioid awareness ambassador, a business entrepreneur, and a senior in the class of 2025 just months shy of graduation.

Gun violence has taken a painful toll on Garfield’s class of 2025.

Last June, 17-year-oldΒ Amarr Murphy-PaineΒ was shot and killed during a lunchtime altercation in the school’s parking lot. Murphy-Paine’s killer remains at large. Continue reading →

Police recover airgun as assault involving possibly armed teens sends Garfield High School into ‘shelter in place’

Posted on by
7

A reported assault and teens with possible handguns sent Garfield High School into a half hour “shelter in place” Monday.

According to Seattle Police radio updates, the incident began just after noon on the field near the 23rd Ave campus and involved at least one student victim and two teen suspects reported as possibly armed who fled the scene. Arriving officers recovered a weapon at the scene reported to be an airgun.

Garfield and nearby Nova High School reported going into shelter in place status beginning at 12:35 PM while many students were at lunch and stretching to just after 1 PM.

A possible teen suspect was taken into custody near Garfield’s campus just before 12:30 PM but police said the teen could not be identified as the perpetrator.

According to radio updates, one of the teens is also a suspect in a recent area armed robbery.

There were no reported serious injuries.

The school year at Garfield began with new efforts around gun concerns at the 23rd Ave campus and across the city as Seattle officials led byΒ Mayor Bruce HarrellΒ announced a $14.5 million planΒ focused on intervention, mental health, and increased use of β€œschool-based safety specialist” private security guards following the deadly lunchtime shooting of teenΒ Amarr Murphy-PaineΒ last June in the Garfield campus parking lot.

Β 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
πŸŒˆπŸ£πŸŒΌπŸŒ·πŸŒ±πŸŒ³πŸŒΎπŸ€πŸƒπŸ¦”πŸ‡πŸπŸ‘πŸŒžπŸŒ»Β 
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support πŸ‘Β 

Β 

Flowers Just 4 U closing shop after 40 years of business in the CD

Posted on by
1

(Image: CHS)

When you are ready to retire from the flower business, you are ready to retire — even if you are only a few weeks from Valentine’s Day.

Flowers Just 4 U will mark its final day of business Friday after 40 years in the Central District.

Owner Mary WesleyΒ told the South Seattle Emerald earlier this month she has been holding out hope a buyer will come along to keep a flower business going at 23rd and Cherry. Wesley said she also was invited to reopen her business on the corner after the planned affordable Acer House development demolishes the old building and finishes construction. Continue reading →

Garfield Super Block meeting will discuss planned parkour park, a first in Seattle

Posted on by
Reply

(Image: Parkour Visions)

Sunday evening will bring “a conversation on intergenerational play” in a community meeting about a parkour park planned to be part of the Garfield Super Block project.

The December 8th, 6 PM session at the Central District’s nearby Metier Brewing will include a panel discussion including parkour practitioners, coaches, and community representatives about the “history of the practice and its importance in Seattle.”

The parkour park element would be the first in the city. Continue reading →

With G humming on Madison, SDOT completes work on Route 48 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project, the 23rd Ave RapidRide route that never was

Posted on by
4

(Image: SDOT)

RapidRide G has settled in after a bumpy but much-anticipated start with service that probably falls somewhere below the loftiest goals of completely reinventing public transit along the Madison corridor. While the new G line and the changes and cuts to dozens of adjoining bus lines got the headlines, another important Central Seattle transit corridor also has been upgraded.

At one point, Seattle planned to make Route 48 and the 23rd Ave/24th Ave corridor a RapidRide route, too.

Years later, the Seattle Department of Transportation has completed work in the final weeks of summer on theΒ Route 48 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project.

Construction began in March to support more reliable trips for people riding the Route 48 between Mount Baker, the Central District and the University of Washington across the backside of Capitol Hill. Continue reading →

Amid changes over gun violence concerns, Garfield High School also banning phones in the classroom

Posted on by

One of the “cell phone caddies” at Bainbridge Island High School which instituted a similar policy six years ago (Image: BARN Woodworking Studio)

With the new school year, students at Garfield High School are being asked to start class with a new step — checking in and handing over their phones.

As school officials are responding with efforts hoped to make the 23rd Ave campus safer for students and staff, leaders at Garfield have also instituted a new policy they hope will improve the classroom experience and help eliminate harmful distractions while also responding to family concerns about communicating with students in case of emergencies.

“Upon entering the classroom, students are required to silence their phones and store them in the ‘Cell Phone Airbnb,’ where the teacher can easily see them,” a message from school principal Tarance Hart on the new policy begins. Continue reading →

Report: On day of murder in its parking lot, Garfield High School was already in middle of a classroom shooting scare — UPDATE

Posted on by

The deadly June shooting that killed a 17-year-oldΒ in the school’s parking lot has spurred calls for more to be done to address gun violence at 23rd Ave’s Garfield High School.

As families and school officials prepare for the return of classes in September and hoped-for improvements in campus safety, details of another gun incident inside a Garfield classroom only 20 minutes before that deadly shooting have added urgency for real changes and brings questions about the campus response that day.

CHS has learned about the following previously unreported incident from police reports and a person familiar with the situation. Seattle Public Schools has not responded to our inquiries about what happened that day before the afternoon shooting.

UPDATE 9:00 PM: The school district has confirmed it is reviewing the incident and says that the teen involved in the classroom assault “is no longer an SPS student.”

Calling the assault a “very frightening experience for those who witnessed it,” the district says the incident was “dealt with promptly and firmly by the school administrators.” The full statement from Seattle Public Schools is included at the end of this report.

Continue reading →