Seattle, WA
Officials concerned by surge in abandoned building fires in Seattle
SEATTLE – Alarmed by the growing number of fires at abandoned properties, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins is supporting a new strong-armed solution that cracks down on private property owners in favor of public safety.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is on board, pushing for emergency legislation that would amend the city’s fire code to order and complete demolition of unsafe buildings.
“We’re still watching the rise in these fires,” said Scoggins to the Seattle City Council Tuesday morning. “Clearly to me that says we need to do something different to solve the problem.”
According to Scoggins, in just the first four months of this year, his crews responded to at least 30 different incidents at vacant buildings across the city. The data collected by Seattle Fire over the past three years highlights what Scoggins calls an escalating hazard. Back in 2021, crews were sent out 70 times to extinguish fires at derelict properties. In 2022, about 20 more. By 2023, the number had jumped to a staggering 130.
The issue isn’t unique to Seattle, as evidenced by a recent fire in Tukwila, where a vacant property became engulfed in flames.
“This is a building that has had previous fires in it,” explained Pat Pawlek with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority. According to Pawlek, homeless people were scrambling out when crews arrived.
The City of Seattle has highlighted at least 100 blighted properties in desperate need of a tear down.
“[The] last thing that I would want is any of our firefighters or community member to be harmed when we could have taken a very intentional step to solve the problem,” stressed Scoggins.
IT is a regional problem, now with a local fix. The emergency legislation, backed by the mayor, would allow for the demolition of hazardous properties, with the costs passed back to the owners if they fail to comply.
“If we can’t gain compliance, we shouldn’t leave these properties to be open-accessed,” pointed out Scoggins.
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Council has until mid-May to mull the mayor’s proposal over. Both Councilmembers Tammy Morales and Bob Kettle are in support.
Seattle, WA
National Championship Rivals Become Seattle Seahawks Teammates
The last time Michigan’s A.J. Barner and Washington’s Jack Westover stepped onto a football field, they were on opposite sides of the National Championship on Jan. 8. But now, they are teammates together in the tight end room for the Seattle Seahawks.
Michigan pulled out the win, giving Barner the championship. And he’s the one more likely to see the field first as a fourth-round draft pick, but he’s very excited to team up with the undrafted former Husky.
“Jack’s (Westover) my guy,” Barner said at rookie minicamp. “We were able to hangout during the pre-draft process too, just chop it up, talk ball and get to know each other too. He knows Seattle well and the state, he’s from here so even outside of football getting the lay of the land, it’ll be great to be with him.”
There is a world now where Barner and Westover can co-exist. Barner is more of a blocking tight end at 6-6, but Westover had more receiving yards and was used as a receiving weapon more often in college. In his last season at Washington, he had 46 receptions for 433 yards and four touchdowns. Only wide receivers Rome Odunze, who was taken No. 9 overall by the Chicago Bears, and Ja’Lynn Polk, the No. 37 overall pick by the New England Patriots, had more catches for the Huskies last season.
The fact that they already have a built-in chemistry gives them a head start as they navigate their first offseason together as pros in the NFL, and that could be what helps them to see the field alongside one another, instead of on opposite sidelines, this fall.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks 2024 NFL Draft Superlatives
Hitting the practice field for the first time, the Seattle Seahawks latest draft wrapped a much different looking rookie minicamp under new head coach Mike Macdonald on Saturday, debuting several newcomers including Byron Murphy II and Christian Haynes.
Looking at their new eight-player class holistically as the offseason programs revs into the third and final stage leading up to training camp in July, which player will prove to be the best value? Who is the wild card to watch? Which day three selection has the best chance to develop into a Pro Bowler or All-Pro caliber talent? What incoming rookie presents the best all-around scheme fit?
Hosts Corbin Smith and Nick Lee pull out their crystal balls to examine Seattle’s 2024 draft class and dish out their annual post-draft superlatives. They also take a close look at what went down at the first practice of rookie minicamp, including initial clues for how the coaching staff plans to deploy Haynes and fellow rookie guard Sataoa Laumea.
Capping off the show, Smith and Lee assess the Seahawks current salary cap dilemma and what options general manager John Schneider has at his disposals to free up much-needed financial relief to get out of the red in a jam-packed episode of Locked On Seahawks.
Listen to the latest Locked On Seahawks in the video player above or subscribe for free to the podcast platform of your choice here.
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Seattle, WA
Escaped zebra captured near Seattle after gallivanting around Cascade mountain foothills for days – East Idaho News
SEATTLE (AP) — A zebra that has been hoofing through the foothills of western Washington for days was recaptured Friday evening, nearly a week after she escaped with three other zebras from a trailer near Seattle.
Local residents and animal control officers corralled the zebra named “Shug” in the community of Riverbend, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Seattle, the Regional Animal Services of King County wrote on its website.
“The zebra seemed to be in good condition despite her nearly week-long adventure in the woods,” the agency wrote.
Shug was one of four zebras that escaped as they were being transported from Washington to Montana last Sunday. The driver had taken the Interstate 90 exit for North Bend, in the Cascade mountain foothills about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Seattle, to secure the trailer, when the animals got loose — surprising residents and drivers as they galloped into a rural neighborhood.
Three were quickly captured after being corralled in a pasture. But the fourth — a mare who was initially dubbed “Z” — hopped a fence and disappeared. Shug’s adventure quickly captured public attention, spawning social media memes that placed the animal everywhere from riding a ferry across Puget Sound to rounding the bases at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.
But there were more credible sightings elsewhere: Some area residents spotted Shug on their trail cameras, and that sparked some concerns since the cameras also recently captured cougars in the area.
Earlier Friday, King County officials closed off trail access points along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in the Boxley Creek Natural Area, where the zebra seemed to be frequenting. People trying to see the zebra there may have been spooking it, making it harder to recapture, they said. Feeding zones were set up to help coax the animal out for a rescue.
Owner Kristine Keltgen previously told The Seattle Times she bought the zebras in Lewis County, Washington, and was bringing them to a petting zoo she runs near Anaconda, in southwestern Montana. She had been on the road for about two hours when she noticed one of the trailer’s floor mats was flapping and dragging behind her. When she opened the door to adjust the mat, the zebras ran out. Several people stopped to help corral the animals, including a rodeo clown and horse trainers, but Shug had managed to elude those attempts.
Shug will now be transported to Montana to join the rest of the dazzle, or group, of zebras, Regional Animal Services of King County said.
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