Seattle, WA

Where are the most car break-ins in Seattle?

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2023

Where are the most car break-ins in Seattle?

SEATTLE — Information exhibits Seattle recorded its lowest variety of automotive break-ins in a decade final yr, however the Seattle Police Division says the numbers aren’t telling the total story.

SPD says technical glitches with its on-line reporting portal have been kicking customers again to the start of the multi-step course of, with the priority that some are giving up and never reporting in any respect.

The division’s crime information, which is barely obtainable via November of final yr, exhibits 8,326 automotive break-ins in 2022. It could must spike considerably to get near the subsequent lowest quantity in a decade, which was 9,140 in 2020.

The neighborhood with the best variety of break-ins was Queen Anne at 695. Neighboring that’s Magnolia, the place skilled photographer Rylea Foehl skilled her personal automotive break-in at Discovery Park’s South Parking Lot.

“It doesn’t most likely appear private to them once they break into folks’s stuff, however it’s private,” Foehl advised KIRO 7 after her automotive was damaged into throughout a sundown picture shoot final fall.

Thieves smashed in her window, broken her automotive, and stole 1000’s of {dollars} in images gear that had been hidden underneath a blanket behind one of many entrance seats. That included a laptop computer, lens, and a tough drive containing treasured images of her kids.

“I used to be actually on the point of get into the entrance seat to drop my stuff off,” Foehl mentioned. “And as I used to be doing that, I form of glanced and noticed that my window was fully gone.”

Glass was on the bottom and inside her automotive, together with in her baby’s automotive seat.

“Usually, you wouldn’t have gear in your automotive,” reporter Linzi Sheldon mentioned.

“I had a shoot earlier within the day right here within the metropolis, so I made a decision to go to a espresso store and form of work and edit,” she defined. “So I had every little thing with me. I had my pc, I had my laborious drive, I had further issues with me that I wouldn’t usually carry.”

Reminiscence playing cards along with her shoppers’ photographs had been protected. They had been in her pocket, not within the automotive. However she needed to substitute her laptop computer so she may edit photographs throughout her busiest time of the yr: the vacations.

“It was undoubtedly a success [to the budget],” she mentioned. “And we’re nonetheless ready for insurance coverage to reimburse.”

Foehl nonetheless hasn’t changed the stolen lens.

“It’s irritating, and you’ll’t assist however get mad, you realize?” she mentioned.

KIRO 7 checked out final yr’s numbers and located that after Queen Anne, the neighborhood with the second-highest variety of break-ins is the Downtown/Industrial space at 544, adopted by Capitol Hill at 445, and Northgate simply behind it at 430.

Relating to particular blocks, the 700 block of 1st Avenue led the best way, with 87 thefts from automobiles in 2022.

Behind that was the 12200 block of Aurora Avenue North, with 65 automotive break-ins, and in third place was the 1500 block of 2nd Avenue with 40.

Seattle Police Sergeant John O’Neil met KIRO 7 in Interbay, which falls underneath the Queen Anne part, to ask him methods to cut back the danger of thieves concentrating on a automobile.

“It most likely wasn’t a coincidence that that occurred to her automotive,” he mentioned of Foehl’s expertise.

O’Neil mentioned he wouldn’t be stunned if thieves had been watching folks within the parking zone, noticed Foehl taking her cameras out of the automobile, and determined to see what was left behind.

“In the event you cowl it up they usually can nonetheless see a lump, no, that’s most likely not going to work as a result of they’re going to say, ‘Hey, what’s beneath that?’” he mentioned. “I attempt to put my stuff within the trunk earlier than I get to the placement… as a result of when you put stuff in your trunk and any individual is watching, then yeah, they could say, ‘You realize what? Let me see how far they go away. After which I’m going to smash a window, pop their trunk, get their stuff.’”

He mentioned virtually anything– even charging cords– will be tempting to a thief who can promote it or commerce it.

“Winter hats, sun shades, all these are tempting?” reporter Linzi Sheldon requested.

“Completely,” O’Neill mentioned. “Jackets, sun shades, coats, hats, you title it. To any individual else, that’s worth. That’s property.”

He additionally advises folks to drive round an space earlier than parking to scout it out, park in a well-lit space, and attempt to park close to cameras. O’Neil revealed that thieves typically determine to focus on automobiles throughout heavy rain, which muffles or fully covers the sound of home windows breaking.

However SPD is anxious there have been extra that will have gone unreported. Automotive break-ins are one in all a number of crimes that may be reported via SPD’s on-line portal—that’s if it’s working accurately.

“There are just a few technical points that we’ve been navigating and making an attempt to repair,” SPD Chief Working Officer Brian Maxey mentioned. “Typically you’ll be coming into a report, and also you’ll get to a degree. It’ll ask a query, and also you attempt to reply it, and you end up again firstly of the report, which is understandably very irritating to group members which might be making an attempt to report one thing.”

“And so the issue with that, proper, is booting folks again,” Sheldon mentioned. “I’d assume it’s the priority that folks may not undergo the method of filling it out once more.”

“Completely proper,” Maxey mentioned. “If it’s too irritating, it turns into a barrier.”

He mentioned they’re redoing the web portal by partnering with an organization known as Accenture. The venture, he estimates, will price between $1 million and $3 million.

Maxey describes it as a system that can be “user-friendly, simple to navigate, intuitive.”

“Maybe most significantly, it is going to be obtainable in 12 languages upfront,” he mentioned, pointing to the truth that the present portal is barely in English. “The best way that can work on the again finish is when you enter against the law report in your native language and we don’t have officers that talk that language, it is going to be translated into the ultimate report with a notification that this was translated. It’ll additionally protect the unique in case we’d like it for courtroom or for every other function to have that reputable first lower at what occurred within the native language.”

He mentioned they’re additionally different potential options, like a chatbot for the web portal and even the choice to stay chat with an officer, and callback choices for individuals who name the town’s non-emergency quantity. Maxey mentioned about 15 p.c of the time, these calls, that are routed to a separate call-answering entity from SPD often known as the Group Security and Communications Heart, go unanswered and callers can’t go away a message.

Foehl mentioned she would like to see safety cameras at Discovery Park to attempt to deter thieves, however she can be again for picture shoots both manner. And when she is, there can be nothing of worth left in her automotive.

“I believe everybody leaves one thing of their automotive out of comfort,” she mentioned. “And also you simply actually hope it doesn’t occur to you and also you don’t suppose possibly it’s going to occur to you. After which in my state of affairs, it did.”

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Seattle, WA

An insider's take on Seattle Seahawks OC candidate Byron Leftwich

Published

7 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

An insider's take on Seattle Seahawks OC candidate Byron Leftwich

Former nine-year NFL quarterback and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is the latest name to emerge in the Seattle Seahawks’ OC search.

Report: Another Seahawks OC candidate gets 2nd interview

NFL on CBS insider Jonathan Jones reported on social media Friday morning that Leftwich has interviewed for the Seattle job, making him the fifth reported candidate to do so.

Leftwich, 45, spent four seasons as Tampa Bay’s OC from 2019 to 2022. During that time, he directed some of the league’s highest-scoring offenses. With Jameis Winston at quarterback in 2019, the Bucs finished fourth in the league in scoring. Then after Tom Brady took over at QB, Tampa Bay ranked third in scoring during its Super Bowl-winning 2020 season and second in scoring in 2021.

However, the Bucs tumbled to 25th in Brady’s final year in 2022. Leftwich was fired after that season and hasn’t coached in the NFL since.

Rick Stroud, who covers the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times, joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday to share his insight on Leftwich. Stroud said it remains perplexing that Leftwich hasn’t gotten another NFL gig, especially after he was considered a front-runner for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job prior to the 2022 season.

“The production (was) really remarkable in terms of the passing game,” Stroud said. “And then of course, once they got Tom Brady, the team really took off and won a Super Bowl. So I think it’s unfortunate for Byron. He didn’t get much credit for what was done here, but he was the game planner. He was the play caller. And he had some of the most prolific offenses in the National Football League.

“It’s really been kind of frustrating for him and mysterious that he hasn’t gotten that attention (from NFL teams),” Stroud added.

During the Jaguars’ 2022 head coaching search, there was a report that Leftwich turned down the job because he didn’t want to work with general manager Trent Baalke. Leftwich denied those claims, according to a recent article published in The Athletic.

“There were a lot of rumors and things that he doesn’t understand – one of them being that he wouldn’t want to work for Trent Balke,” Stroud said. “He told me, ‘Rick, I never had one discussion about the general manager in Jacksonville. I would have taken that job no questions asked about who was in the front office.’

“So in this day of agents and media – and sometime media sharing the same agents, quite frankly – guys push people that they have relations with. And Byron is not a campaigner. He’s the most affable guy I’ve ever worked with. I know the players love him. (He) never had a problem with a coaching staff member that I’m aware. So I think it’s just that, in an era of self-promotion, that’s the part that he may not have done very well. … But he’s ready to coach again.”

During his four-year run in Tampa Bay, Leftwich had one of the league’s top passing attacks. The Bucs ranked No. 1 in passing yardage in both 2019 and 2021, and No. 2 in passing yardage in 2020 and 2022. However, their ground attack was lagging, ranking in the bottom quarter of the league in rushing yardage all four years. In Leftwich’s final two seasons, Tampa Bay had the lowest run play rate in the league.

That run-pass imbalance would seem to be at odds with what Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald is looking for. Macdonald and the Seahawks moved on from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after one season, citing philosophical differences that appeared to be centered around Seattle’s inability to get the run game untracked. The Seahawks finished 28th in rushing yardage and had the fifth-lowest run rate in the league.

Stroud was asked whether he thinks Leftwich’s pass-heavy background in Tampa Bay would be an issue for Seattle.

“The offense that he ran is really an adaptation of what (former Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay head coach) Bruce Arians did for years and years,” Stroud said. “And it was good enough to win a Super Bowl with a 43-year-old quarterback who wasn’t the most mobile guy in the world. They started that Super Bowl season 7-5 and they made some changes. They shored up some protections and convinced Tom to take more shots down the field, and that’s when their offense really took off.

“And look, there’s a lot of ways to get things done. And a lot of times (with) the screen game, throws in the flat are just an extension of the running game. But I’ve never known Byron to be averse to running the football when you’re doing it successfully. So there’s definitely a philosophy. It was more of a pass-first offense – there’s no question about that. But they attacked people and they created a lot of problems for the defense.”

Listen to the full conversation with the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Seattle Sports.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Insider: Why Seattle Seahawks’ 28-year-old OC candidate is ‘fascinating’
• Report: Seahawks to hold 2nd interview with Klint Kubiak for OC job
• How would Klint Kubiak fit as Seattle Seahawks OC?
• Daniel Jeremiah: What Seattle Seahawks should look for in next OC
• Seattle Seahawks OC Search: Insiders weigh in on each candidate

Follow @CameronVanTil

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Seattle, WA

Gus Williams, Seattle SuperSonics star and point guard ‘Wizard,’ dies at 71

Published

15 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Gus Williams, Seattle SuperSonics star and point guard ‘Wizard,’ dies at 71

Gus Williams, the beloved Seattle SuperSonics star who led the franchise to its only NBA championship in 1979, died Wednesday at age 71.

Williams earned the nickname “The Wizard” thanks to his speed and athleticism as a dynamic scoring guard. He played six of his 12 NBA seasons with the SuperSonics, guiding the team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances. Both of his two All-Star selections came during his time in Seattle.

A second-round draft pick out of USC, Williams started his pro career with the Golden State Warriors and finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting in 1976 behind Phoenix’s Alvan Adams. After two seasons with Golden State, Williams joined the Sonics in free agency and quickly became a star once coach Lenny Wilkens made him a permanent starter in the backcourt alongside Dennis Johnson. Williams finished the 1977-78 season averaging 18.1 points in 79 games and helped Seattle reach the NBA Finals, only to fall to the Washington Bullets in seven games.

The Sonics faced off against Washington in the Finals again the following season, this time beating the Bullets in five games. It remains the only championship for the franchise, which moved to Oklahoma City ahead of the 2008-09 season.

Williams finished the championship season as the SuperSonics’ leading scorer at 19.2 points per game. He saved his best for last, averaging 29.0 ppg against the Bullets in the NBA Finals. Despite his heroics, Williams was not named Finals MVP, with that honor instead going to his teammate Dennis Johnson. Four of the five starters on that championship squad and key reserve Paul Silas are now dead, with Jack Sikma, sixth man Fred Brown and Wilkens the only surviving pillars of the team.

Remembering Gus Williams (1953-2025) pic.twitter.com/UGBFH2mq7v
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) January 17, 2025

James Donaldson, one of Williams’ SuperSonics teammates beginning in 1980, started a GoFundMe account on behalf of Williams’ family to raise funds for his burial.

Williams lived in a care facility in Maryland and died five years after suffering a stroke in 2020. Donaldson wrote on GoFundMe that he remained in contact with Williams “throughout most of this terrible journey” that included Williams battling pneumonia and meningitis after his stroke.

“He has spent the last 5 years, flat on his back and bravely battling this terrible misfortune,” Donaldson wrote of Williams’ health. “He fought a good fight, but alas, it just became too much to overcome.”

Donaldson said Williams’ family asked him to set up the GoFundMe account to bring Williams’ body to his hometown of Mt. Vernon. N.Y., so he can be buried next to his brother Ray, also a former NBA player who died of prostate cancer in March 2013. Donaldson said the Williams brothers’ 100-year-old mother and other relatives would like to be able to visit their gravesites together.

“(Williams) was gregarious, funny, always upbeat and (very) charitable with his time and money. Plus, he was always friendly with the fans and they loved him in return,” Donaldson wrote of his former teammate. “Super fast and super quick on the court. Could stop on a dime and outrun everyone out there. With a deadly jump (shot) to boot. Gus was one of a kind!”

Williams’ one-of-a-kind style extended off the court, too. He refused to back down in a contract dispute with Sonics management ahead of the 1980-81 campaign, ultimately sitting out the entire season. He returned the following season and averaged a career-high 23.4 points in 80 games, earning his first All-Star selection, NBA Comeback Player of the Year and first-team All-NBA honors.

Williams’ time in Seattle ended in 1984 when the SuperSonics traded him to Washington. He spent two seasons with the Bullets, followed by one with the Atlanta Hawks before retiring in 1987.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Washington Bullets alumni, Gus Williams.
Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/zhKV1lS5Pw
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— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 16, 2025

Williams finished his career with 14,093 points, 4,597 assists and 1,638 steals. He averaged 17.1 ppg in 825 regular-season contests and 19.5 ppg in 99 playoff appearances.

He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.

(Photo: Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

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Seattle, WA

Seattle weather: Cool blast of air for this weekend

Published

23 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Seattle weather: Cool blast of air for this weekend

Seattle weather: Morning fog, sunshine in the forecast

FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Ilona McCauley has your latest western Washington weather forecast!

Western Washington is gearing up for some of the coolest air of the season heading into this weekend. A weak cold front will drop our overnight lows into the lower 30s beginning tonight. Chilly conditions will remain into much of next week. It’s time to remember to protect your pipes, plants, pets and people.

A weak cold front moved through earlier Thursday, keeping cold air in place around Western Washington.

As the rain wraps up and the skies clear out, fog will develop overnight. With many spots dipping into near freezing, the possibility of freezing fog along with icy spots will be around for Friday morning’s commute.

Map showing increasing clouds around Western Washington.

Rain and clouds clearing out, leading to overnight fog.

Skies clear out after Thursday stray showers wrap up. Fog will develop on Friday morning with some freezing fog possible. (FOX13 Seattle)

January has gotten off to a cool start already with more cold air on the way. A ridge of high pressure will keep much of our area in a cool, dry, northwesterly flow through at least the end of next week.

The extended 7 day forecast for the Seattle area.

Skies are drying out and some of the coolest air of the season is on the way this weekend. (FOX13 Seattle)

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