Seattle, WA

Mail delivery halted for entire zip code in South Seattle

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2023

Mail delivery halted for entire zip code in South Seattle

Some south Seattle residents are claiming a significant ‘mail fail’ is occurring as the United States Postal Service (USPS) has halted mail delivery due to a rise in recent vandalism and theft.

A sign at a nearby U.S. Postal Service office in Columbia City is telling residents in the “98118” zip code to pick up their mail in person at an annex office, located at 5920 Martin Luther King Jr Way South. The zip code covers around 49,000 people — but it’s unclear how many of them are not getting their mail delivered.

(Kate Stone)

A visit to that annex office Thursday afternoon revealed a line of more than a dozen people waiting for their mail. A single employee was seen helping them.

One woman named Jenny told KIRO Newsradio that she had no official communication with USPS, but that her local postal carrier told her, “this was going to take a long while to fix and we had to come [to the annex office] to get our mail.”

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Seward Park resident Barbara Myers said her postal carrier told her the issue was caused by a recent theft.

“They haven’t been delivering mail for four days because a master key that operates all the boxes in Seward Park has been stolen,” Myers said.

Jenny stated she was told the same thing in her neighborhood.

“Apparently, master keys were stolen which makes it more serious right? Because it’s the whole south end … the whole zip code,” Jenny added.

When questioned about any thefts of mailbox master keys in that area, USPS Inspection Service spokesperson John Wiegand said there are active investigations, but declined to provide details.

“Property crime has been on the rise in the Seattle area, in the Northwest, and kind of across the country — and mail theft is unfortunately one of those areas that have been targeted significantly with that uptick in crime,” Wiegand said.

KIRO Newsradio also learned about a Columbia City apartment complex that was broken into in the early morning hours of May 4. According to Seattle police, two suspects wearing hoodies got into the building, broke open the cluster mailbox for all residents, and stole mail and packages. Police declined to reveal how much was stolen– or how the thieves got into the mailbox.

(Kate Stone)

Residents told KIRO Newsradio this is the latest in a string of incidents. Kirk, who lives in Rainier Beach, said he and his neighbors’ mailboxes were destroyed about a month ago.

“Our mailbox is just burned and it’s wide open,” Kirk said.

Frustrated couple pickets Wallingford post office to try to get mail delivered

When he complained to USPS, he said they told him they wouldn’t be able to deliver any mail until the cluster mailbox was fixed, and it costs $2-3,000 to fix.

“I have to go to each neighbor and collect money,” Kirk added.

He said the USPS told him he could either get a P.O. Box or wait in line indefinitely at the annex office for his mail.

On Friday, U.S. Postal Service officials announced they will be replacing tens of thousands of antiquated keys used by postal carriers and installing thousands of high-security collection boxes to stop a surge in robberies and mail thefts.

“We are hardening targets — both physical and digital — to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice,” Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale said in a statement.

Nationwide, 49,000 so-called “arrow locks” on mailboxes will now be replaced with electronic versions to make them less attractive to criminals. Those arrow locks can be opened with the same type of master key that residents claim was stolen in south Seattle.

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USPS is also placing 12,000 hardened blue collection boxes in high-risk areas.

“We are looking to get these kinds of things installed in the Seattle area,” John Wiegand said, but declined to say if south Seattle specifically qualifies as “high risk.” The Postal Service said Friday there were 38,500 thefts of mail from blue collection boxes in the 2022 fiscal year.

Mail theft carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Possession, concealment, or disposal of property carries a sentence of as many as 10 years in prison. Assault carries a sentence of up to 10 years for a first offense, and up to 25 years for any subsequent offense, officials said. Federal prosecutors can also bring other charges, as well.

There’s no update on how long mail service could be paused. A sign at one of the affected apartment buildings in Columbia City mentions a 30-day hold — but Barbara Myers said she was told this could last “indefinitely”– and she says she’s not getting any updates from USPS.

“There’s no one to call, there’s no one to answer the phone, no answer for anything,” Myers said.

KIRO Newsradio has reached out to regional USPS officials for more information.

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Seattle, WA

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Published

2 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Former Seattle Mariners star Alex Rodriguez is set to stay on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for at least another year.

While it’s unlikely that A-Rod gets into the Hall of Fame this year, he has enough votes to take another run in 2026.

Thus far, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame tracker, Rodriguez has gotten 47 votes out of 104 ballots. He would need to appear on 244 more ballots to get in this year, which seems like a tall task.

It’s unknown if Rodriguez will ever get in, given his admission of performance-enhancing drug use, but he continues to hang around the conversation.

Drafted No. 1 overall in the 1993 MLB Draft, Rodriguez made his debut with the Mariners in 1994, staying through the 2000 season. He made the All-Star team four times with the Mariners and won a batting title in 1996. He also hit 42 homers and stole 46 bases in an incredible 1999 season. He helped the Mariners to the playoffs in the 1995, 1997 and 2000 seasons. The M’s got to the ALCS in that 2000 season, taking the New York Yankees to six games. He also played for the Yankees and Texas Rangers.

In addition to Rodriguez, former Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is essentially a lock for the Hall of Fame. He’s currently on 100 percent of the ballots. Felix Hernandez is currently on 26 percent and Omar Vizquel is on 14.4 percent.

The Mariners have two true representatives in the Hall of Fame: Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Other players like Adrian Beltre and Randy Johnson spent significant time in Seattle but are representing other teams in Cooperstown.

You can follow the tracking here.

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

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Seattle, WA

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

Published

9 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

While the Los Angeles Rams might have rested several of their key starters and limited the snap counts of those who did play against the Seattle Seahawks, you certainly can’t accuse them of not making a concerted effort to still win the game.

The Seahawks had to make a late red zone stand to win 30-25 in their season finale. Even if the Rams didn’t treat this game with the utmost importance in terms of playoff seeding, it did impact who they’ll play and potentially their road to the Super Bowl.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South earlier in the day, the Rams needed to win to remain the No. 3 seed or else they’d drop to No. 4. That’s the difference between playing the Washington Commanders and the NFC North runner-up Minnesota Vikings, whom the Rams did defeat on a Thursday night back in October.

Seattle’s win has set up a Rams vs. Vikings rematch for next Monday night, while the Buccaneers will rematch the Commanders on Sunday night.

The Rams dropping to No. 4 means that unless the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles and No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lose next weekend, the Rams would have to go on the road for the NFC Divisional Round. As a No. 3 seed, the Rams would’ve only needed a Green Bay Packers win over the Eagles to snag a second home game, much in the way the Detroit Lions did last season when the Packers thrashed the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys.

Maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks sent the Rams to a more difficult path for a Super Bowl run… or even to get out of the opening weekend. If Minnesota sends the Rams packing, I think we’d be all happy with giving LA a tougher matchup.

While you’re here, check out the full Wild Card schedule for next week.

Saturday, Jan. 11

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 PM PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 PM PT on Prime Video

Sunday, Jan. 12

No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 am PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 PM PT on FOX

No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 PM PT on NBC, Peacock

Monday, Jan. 13

No.5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 5 PM PT on ESPN/ABC

Byes: Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions

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Seattle, WA

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

Published

17 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football to wrap up the NFC North and the No. 1 overall seed. It also means that the Vikings will not only be on the road as a 14-3 team playing in the Wild Card against the Los Angeles Rams next Monday night, but they’ll be returning to Lumen Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 regular season.

Game 272 was the final piece of the puzzle for the Seahawks’ 2025 opponents list. Whichever of the Vikings or Lions finished second in the NFC North would be headed to Seattle next season. While it would’ve been cool to see the Lions finally play at Lumen Field again after three straight Seahawks-Lions meetings in Detroit, it’s not happening.

The schedule is formulaic, which means the NFC West will play the whole of the AFC and NFC South, as well as the same-placed opposition from the NFC North (home), NFC East (away), and AFC North (away). Next season will be the AFC’s turn to get an extra home game, so the Seahawks will have nine away trips.

Home

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

New Orleans Saints (5-12)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)

Indianapolis Colts (8-9)

Houston Texans (10-7)

Minnesota Vikings (14-3)

Away

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

Tennessee Titans (3-14)

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)

Washington Commanders (12-5)

Atlanta Falcons (8-9)

Carolina Panthers (5-12)

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

The early returns on Michael Penix Jr and the late surge by Bryce Young could make the NFC South portion of the schedule much tougher than it looks right now. Never assume the league is so static that the teams that were good/bad now will remain the same the following season.

The NFL regular season schedule will be released at some point in May.

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