Category: Seattle, Washington Local News

Many UCLA fans have spent years clamoring for Chip Kelly’s dismissal and made their feelings known via empty seats in the Rose Bowl and outrage on social media.

Turns out, the feeling might be mutual: It seems Kelly wants nothing to do with UCLA.

He reportedly is pursuing job opportunities in the NFL and, perhaps, elsewhere in major college football. But in a highly unusual development, none of those opportunities constitute upward moves. In fact, they aren’t even lateral.

If the barrage of media reports is to be believed, Kelly is so tired of UCLA that he’s willing to become an offensive coordinator in the NFL or, potentially, a playcaller in the Big Ten.

Not all the reports linking Kelly to coordinator openings in the NFL (Commanders, Raiders) have been confirmed, and he hasn’t uttered a public peep about the situation. But at least one link is legitimate: An interview with the Seahawks to join new coach Mike Macdonald’s staff as the offensive playcaller.

And if Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien fills the head coaching vacancy at Boston College, as many expect, Kelly could become a top candidate in Columbus to coach under Ryan Day, his former player (at New Hampshire).

In other words, a Big Ten-bound head coach making $6 million annually (approximately) would abdicate his position for a lesser role and lower compensation. And he’s making no secret of it, for the situation is playing out publicly on a daily basis.

Kelly is different. He has always been different. He was into hydration methods and sleep study and geo-tracking long before his coaching peers. But even for Kelly, this is bananas — not to mention an embarrassment for everyone involved.

Not to worry. The Hotline is here to help decipher a development that traces its roots to the first month of Kelly’s first season.

September 2018 feels like an eternity ago. The world was unaware of a wet market in Wuhan, China. All was quiet on the realignment front. The transfer portal didn’t exist. NIL was years from implementation.

But UCLA fans undoubtedly can recount every Saturday of the month, because their team was winless. Yep, 0-4. The Bruins lost on the first Saturday of October, as well, and finished the season 3-9. The enthusiasm that accompanied Kelly’s arrival the previous winter vanished instantly and, for many, was never rekindled.

Kelly eventually hauled UCLA to the high side of .500, posting three consecutive years of at least eight wins. The administration offered a contract extension following the 2021 season and then again after 2022, with the latter smartly featuring terms that were school-friendly.

Last season, the Bruins started fast but slogged through conference play and suffered desultory home losses to Arizona State and Cal. They did, however, hammer USC.

Kelly’s job security was a hot topic for a few weeks in November. But UCLA has never been that school — the school that axes its coach after winning eight games and bashing its rival. Especially when the eight-win season immediately follows a nine-win season.

Also, UCLA would have owed Kelly an $8 million buyout (approximately). And if you know anything about the state of the athletic department’s finances — the Bruins have tens of millions in accumulated debt — or the state of chancellor Gene Block’s mind, you know that’s $8 million the school wasn’t going to spend.

So the Bruins cast their gaze to the 2024 season and life in the Big Ten. Kelly did the same. And in our view, that’s where the situation turned tenuous.

UCLA should have a fairly potent offense with quarterback Ethan Garbers and several top playmakers returning. But the defense must be rebuilt under a new coordinator after D’Anton Lynn skipped across town to join USC’s staff.

Also, the 2024 schedule is brutal. The Bruins play Hawaii, LSU, Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Washington on the road — that’s 25,000 travel miles, or more than one trip around the world at the equator. (On the bright side, it’s only one-tenth of the way to the moon.)

And the home schedule isn’t exactly soft with Iowa, USC and Oregon.

So next year … the first year in the Big Ten … the big year … could be challenging.

What if the Bruins regress? Let’s say they finish 7-5, or 6-6. What then?

Well, two things happen: First, Kelly’s buyout drops to $4 million (approx.); second, a new boss arrives.

Block is stepping down this summer after 17 years leading the campus. There’s a good chance the next chancellor will take a more favorable view of football and zero chance the next chancellor will take a lesser view of football.

Which means the financial calculation should swing in UCLA’s favor, with Kelly’s reduced buyout and the freedom to offer a competitive salary for an established coach.

Kelly knows all that, as does his agent, Jimmy Sexton. And they are undoubtedly peering into the 2024 cauldron:

— It will be a grind, not only on the field but at the 35,000-foot cruising altitude.

— The contractual leverage will shift to UCLA, and away from Kelly.

— The external issues making program management so challenging for head coaches (e.g., NIL and the transfer portal) aren’t going anywhere.

All of which adds up to Kelly exploring his options, staying one step ahead of the termination papers.

The strategy makes sense, but the execution has been all wrong. The public nature of Kelly’s job pursuits has created an awkward situation. And it could make life exceedingly difficult if he returns to Westwood for the 2024 season.

What will he tell the assistant coaches? How will he explain his wandering eye to the players? How much credibility will he have in the locker room and on the sideline? Any UCLA fans who weren’t previously disenchanted with Kelly will assuredly sour.

What’s stopping athletic director Martin Jarmond from firing Kelly today, swallowing the buyout — it’s modest in size for the richest Power Five schools but steep for UCLA — and naming an interim coach for 2024?

He would need approval from Block, whose indifference is likely exacerbated by his pending retirement.

Also, the list of replacements isn’t nearly as strong now as it might be next winter with a new chancellor and, potentially, more resources.

Then again, let’s not discount the possibility that Kelly is, in fact, deeply committed to coaching UCLA next fall and the awkward situation is merely an agent-fueled campaign to force UCLA’s hand and wrangle more security for Kelly in advance of a daunting season.

That scenario doesn’t seem likely. But at this point, we are long past surprises in the curious, confounding case of Chip Kelly v. UCLA.

Seattle Police Officers surround a suspect and passenger in a vehicle that was part of a high speed pursuit after a drive by shooting Nov. 22. Multiple firearms were recovered.

The Seattle Police Department has published a video about the high speed pursuit and arrest of a drive by shooting suspect that took place last fall.

On November 22nd, 2023, Seattle Police with the assistance of King County Sheriff’s Office air support pursued and apprehended a drive-by shooting suspect.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m., near the intersection of 4th Avenue South and South Lucille Street, police located a vehicle suspected to be involved in a drive-by shooting. The vehicle was reported stolen and was also associated with a reported burglary. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, it took off at a high rate of speed.

Officers pursued the vehicle and eventually stopped the pursuit using a PIT maneuver in the 900 block of Airport Way South. The male suspect was taken into custody and a female passenger was identified and released. No injuries were reported.

Officers recovered multiple firearms from the vehicle. Three dogs were also in the vehicle and were uninjured.

The 32-year-old male suspect was be booked into King County Jail for investigation of drive-by shooting, eluding, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Video footage of the pursuit and arrest can be seen below:

A 1.25 million gallon underground stormwater and waste water facility will start construction in 2025 at the site near the intersection of SW Michigan St and 2nd Ave SW.

Drawing courtesy of King County 

King County has filed a land use application to build a 1.25-million-gallon underground storage facility near the intersection of SW Michigan St and 2nd Ave SW to hold stormwater and wastewater that currently overflows into the Duwamish River during large storms.

The water in the storage facility will then flow to the West Point Treatment Plant for treatment before it is safely released into Puget Sound. This storage facility will reduce overflows and pollution into the Duwamish River. The County will also build supporting infrastructure underneath West Marginal Way SW.

The project has recently reached the 60 per cent design milestone. At 60 per cent design, the project details are determined including equipment, architecture, landscaping, and contractor documents (design drawings and specifications). The project team is now focused on finalizing design details and preparing for construction, which will begin in 2025.

Unionization has surged throughout Seattle and the country in the wake of the pandemic as retail and service workers seek new protections. Several corporations headquartered in the region, such as Starbucks, Amazon and REI, have seen unprecedented organizing. Starbucks employees have spent two years awaiting a first union contract. 

Barista Rachel Ybarra, one of those employees, argued in a January hearing that the bill allowing striking workers to collect unemployment tips the balance back toward workers, especially when companies resist unionization and draw out contract negotiations.

Since negotiations began, the Starbucks Workers United union has filed more than 700 unfair-labor charges against the company. So far, of those, the National Labor Relations Board has issued 50 decisions finding in favor of the union and ordered the company to rehire 46 employees. 

“They’re blatantly violating labor law hoping to stall and starve out our union,” Ybarra told legislators. “Many of us don’t have the kind of savings that would allow us to use our collective power in a strike.”

Bob Battles, a director of government affairs at the Association of Washington Business, emphasized the concerns from across business, retail and the construction industries that the additional costs of the expanded unemployment benefits could risk the solvency of the unemployment-insurance trust fund.

Just as a pandemic is hard to predict, Battles told Crosscut, so is when or how many workers might go on strike.

The UI system was set up as a way to help individual employees get benefits when they’ve lost their job through no fault of their own, he added. “Not to get into the merit of strikes, it’s still by choice and you are asking employers to fund that.”

New York and New Jersey both have expanded unemployment benefits to striking workers. The California legislature passed a similar bill last year. But Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the expansion due to the nearly $20 billion in debt the state’s unemployment fund had accumulated.

Washington’s trust fund currently contains $3.7 billion in reserves, able to cover about 7.2 months of unemployment claims. It took a hit in the pandemic, dipping to $1.7 billion in 2021. It’s forecasted to continue growing, according to the state Employment Security Department. 

The department projected the bill could result in 812 to 3,470 more unemployment claims a year, costing between $2.1 and $14.1 million in additional benefits. The high-end estimate would still equal less than 1% of the $1.5 billion in payments Washington workers collected last year.

Another $1.2 million is anticipated for up-front administrative costs to enable the agency to update systems and process new claims and appeals until that happens. Costs would then drop to about $74,000 a year going forward. The ESD does not anticipate an increase to companies’ unemployment tax rate from the additional unemployment benefits expected from this bill. 

Find tools and resources in Crosscut’s Check Your Work guide to search workplace safety records and complaints for businesses in your community.

Some unions offer similar financial support to relieve the financial hardship from a work stoppage. Strike funds sometimes pay workers who spend time on the picket line. 

Macy’s department store workers also were on strike last month. Nine days after workers walked out, the union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract to replace the one that had expired in February 2023.

With the union’s strike fund, Macy’s worker Nicole Hardin said she could basically match her paycheck. Without one, she likely would have been on the picket line anyway, coming from a long line of union membership and having the financial security to do so.

“I have no choice but to go on strike,” said Hardin, who’s worked at Macy’s for more than a decade and a half. “But I know for a lot of my co-workers, that if there wasn’t a strike fund, they wouldn’t have gone on strike because they have to feed their families.”

Joe Mizrahi, the secretary/treasurer of UFCW 3000 which represents Macy workers, said strike funds cannot always replace a paycheck or make up for the hardships of striking.

“It’s tiring – you’re out there on the picket line, you’re having difficult conversations with a co-worker who’s crossing a line or a customer who doesn’t want to be kept out,” Mizrahi told Crosscut. “Workers would much rather be at work, doing the job that they signed up to do, and that’s not going to change if they suddenly get unemployment benefits.”

Homegrown workers in Redmond walked out 102 days ago. Southcenter workers left 77 days ago. Those workers, along with those still on the job at eight other locations, continue to hash out details of the first contract at the bargaining table.

For Sydney Lankford – whose firing from the Redmond Homegrown shop drew allegations of retaliation and nudged workers toward their walkout – the strike fund offers a lot less than her regular wages. 

“It’s hard to pay rent on it,” Lankford said. “Striking is incredibly frustrating, the whole goal is to get back to work.”

Every year, Black History Month brings a wealth of ways to acknowledge and celebrate African Americans of the past whose work continues to influence the present.

That’s also the aim of Crosscut’s ongoing Black Arts Legacies project — which we’re ramping up again for Season 3 this spring.

In the past two years, we’ve profiled 40 Northwest creatives who have made Seattle sing — sometimes literally, as in the case of jazz and blues singer Ernestine Anderson and grunge rocker Tina Bell.

Past Black artists like dancer Syvilla Fort, television producer Nate Long, sculptor James Washington, Jr., curator Zoe Dusanne and painter Milt Simons created a Seattle arts scene that stretched across decades and changed the whole cityscape.

That’s especially true in the case of architect Benjamin McAdoo Jr., profiled in Black Arts Legacies and the subject of a new University of Washington exhibit: Modern Architecture Activism: The Life and Work of Benjamin F. McAdoo Jr. (through March 15). The first Black architect registered in Washington state, McAdoo is known as much for his appealing mid-century designs as for his commitment to civil rights. 

If some of these names are unfamiliar, dive into Black Arts Legacies to learn more. (And this month, don’t miss our list of 13 recommended local shows featuring contemporary Black artists, including visual arts, music, dance, film and even a certain hockey logo.) Stay tuned for more Black Arts Legacies, coming soon.

WEDNESDAY 2/7  

Superchunk & Fucked Up

(MUSIC) Throughout their 35-year-long career, indie rock quartet Superchunk has experimented with the sweet release of loud aggressive music as well as the ease of soft indie pop. On their 2022 album, Wild Loneliness, they move away from the politics-driven aggression of their previous album, What a Time to Be Alive, and into a sense of peace that Pitchfork writer Steve Kandell described as “a deep sigh after their Trump-era primal howl.” Canadian psychedelic hardcore outfit Fucked Up will open with tracks from their critically acclaimed album One Day. (The Crocodile, 2505 First Ave, 8 pm, $35, 21+) AUDREY VANN

THURSDAY 2/8  

Ijeoma Oluo

(BOOKS) Self-proclaimed “internet yeller” Ijeoma Oluo is also the author of the New York Times bestseller So You Want To Talk About Race and the follow-up book Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, both of which offered critical perspectives on how to navigate the issues of racism and white male supremacy embedded in American culture. But for those wondering “Okay, what now?” Oluo’s latest book might answer your question. Be A Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World — and How You Can, Too looks closely at how folks are enacting change from within the powerful, garbaggio systems that be. Creating seismic shifts for intersectional racial equity is not only possible, it’s necessary, and Oluo’s got thoughts on how you can find an entry point. In these discussions—she’s appearing at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park on Thursday and Town Hall on Friday—Oluo will share “how to take conversations on race and racism out of a place of pure pain and trauma, and into a place of loving action.” (With Gabriel Teodros Thurs Feb 8 at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 7 pm, free ticket with book purchase, all ages; with Michele Storms Fri Feb 9 at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 7:30 pm, $10-$50, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

FRIDAY 2/9  

Sweet East

(FILM) The Sweet East is the directorial debut of an artist, Sean Price Williams, who has made his mark as a cinematographer. Williams has worked closely with the Safdie brothers (watch Good Time), Alex Ross Perry (watch Listen Up Philip), and Abel Ferrara (watch Zeros and Ones). He also lensed Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples. The Sweet East, which he shot and directed (no small feat), is a road movie that travels across post-pandemic and post-BLM America. It stars Talia Ryder and Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms). Its world premiere occurred at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. It should not be missed. See you at Columbia City’s the Beacon. (And, yes, I recently enjoyed drinking with Williams at one of my favorite Manhattan bars, The Library.) (The Beacon, 4405 Rainier Ave S, various screenings through Feb 21, $12.50) CHARLES MUDEDE

SATURDAY 2/10  

Lunar New Year Night Market

(SHOPPING) Seattle’s largest indoor night market is celebrating Lunar New Year with an adults-only evening of entertainment, delicious eats, and a makers’ market full of wares and treats from dozens of AAPI-owned businesses. On our hit list: checking out the drunken lion dance and more dance performances from K-POP Seattle, slurping hot noods from Oh Dang, and browsing delightfully cute creations from Peachy x Noodle. There will even be a bar dedicated to two of Seattle’s favorite things: alcohol and boba—a dream come true! General admission tickets are just $15, but for ten bucks more you can treat yourself to “All Day Happy Hour,” which includes a tote bag, access to the express bar, and two drink tickets. (Magnuson Park Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St, 4-10 pm, $15-$25, 21+) SHANNON LUBETICH

SUNDAY 2/11  

The Only Football That Matters

(FOOD) I know there’s a certain major sports event happening on Sunday, but the only football I’m interested in is the one from the tiny Chinatown-International District gem Homestyle Dim Sum. The name refers not to an actual pigskin, but rather an oblong deep-fried glutinous rice dumpling, otherwise known as ham sui gok. You bite into it and feel the starchy, slightly sweet shell shatter with an audible crunch, yielding to a chewy inner layer and a savory pork filling. At $5.50 for three, it’s a uniquely cost-effective delight. And if you’re lucky enough to get one hot and fresh out of the fryer, as I have before, the whole affair is elevated to a quasi-religious experience. (Homestyle Dim Sum, 664 S Weller St, open daily 7 am-6 pm) JULIANNE BELL

MONDAY 2/12  

She Is Conann

(FILM) There have been plenty of cinematic incarnations of the Conan mythos, but never has there been one quite like French filmmaker Bertrand Mandico’s She Is Conann. Telling the story of Conann through six different incarnations across time, it is a visually gorgeous journey worth taking in on the big screen. Dancing with death at every turn before launching into each new rebirth with plenty of flair, it is all guided by a Cerberus of sorts bearing a camera with almost magical properties. With each demise, a new world is discovered with plenty of pleasures and perils to be uncovered. It’s a scrappy fantasy vision inflected with sci-fi elements that, while not for everyone, may also get your head spinning. Put simply, this isn’t your grandfather’s Conan. Like peering into an increasingly hellish world that, much like its titular character, is constantly shifting before you, it is a bold film best experienced by letting its visceral visions wash over you. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, various screenings Feb 10-20, $8-$11) CHASE HUTCHINSON

TUESDAY 2/13  

Linda’s 30th Anniversary Party

(PARTY) Linda Derschang opened Linda’s Tavern in February 1994. It was the same year Kurt Cobain died and Jeff Bezos founded an online bookstore called Amazon.com. Seattle feels like a wholly different city now, but somehow, thankfully and miraculously, Linda’s has gone unchanged in the best way. The TOOLS RADIO TACKLE sign still hangs in the window opposite the HIPPIES USE SIDE DOOR warning, and the punk rock hunting lodge interior remains a cozy combo of wagon wheel chandeliers, strings lights, vintage show posters, and taxidermied animal heads. It’s cool, but not trendy; divey, but not rundown. And, thanks to a 2014 New York Times travel article, Linda’s also became widely known as the last place Cobain was seen alive, but the bar managed to avoid turning into a morbid tourist destination for Nirvana fanatics. Goddamn right that’s worth celebrating! Local music scene superstars Lisa Prank, Bree Mckenna of Tacocat, Sub Pop co-founder Bruce Pavitt, and Steve Turner of Mudhoney will DJ Tuesday night’s party, and there’ll be free T-shirts for the first 100 revelers. Long live Linda’s! (Linda’s Tavern, 707 E Pine St, 7 pm, free, 21+) MEGAN SELING

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WSU is one of the 52 higher-education institutions founded in the 19th century that still benefit from proceeds from land taken by the federal government from Indigenous nations, amounting to billions of dollars a year, according to Grist, which published on Wednesday its deep dive into the publicly available data to locate trust lands associated with 14 of the land-grant universities seeded by the Morrill Act. Other institutions included in Grist’s Land Grab University investigation are the University of Idaho, the University of Arizona and Texas A&M. 

WSU’s land-grant parcels that generate revenue, mainly through logging, are located all throughout Washington, from the Olympic Peninsula to the northeast corner of the state. Much of them are in Central Washington, and were ceded by the Yakama Nation in 1855. (WSU’s main campus in Pullman is also located on what was Nez Perce and Palouse land.)

“Let’s learn about the full story. When we talk about some aspects of the land-grant history, there’s pain,” said Higheagle Strong, Washington State University’s Vice Provost for Native American Relations and Programs. 

As WSU, which has grown to five campuses across the state, continues to receive money from land grants, the institution says it has been building a relationship with Indigenous nations to help serve the nations’ needs, including a 1998 Memorandum of Understanding with Native nations that commits to regular consultation for programs and projects that can directly benefit the tribes. Thirteen Indigenous nations, including the Yakama Nation, have signed on to the agreement. The school also has offered publicly funded scholarships for Native students.

Land grant legacies

The first Morrill Act, enacted during the Civil War, funded agricultural and mechanical colleges across the country with revenue taken from the sale of or profits from federal land. This was called a land grant. More than 10 million acres of that federal land was originally taken by the U.S. government from Indigenous nations, through either treaty or expropriation. The funding generated by land that originated from Native nations amounts today to about $2.2 billion a year to higher education institutions, according to reporting by Grist.

The importance of the loss from these takings is not about revenue.

“We see land as our relatives,” Higheagle Strong said in an interview with Crosscut. “When we talk about loss of land, it’s a deep suffering, it’s a deep loss.” 

“Even though Tribes don’t have that land ownership – that we look at in a Western sense – Tribes still feel a caretaking responsibility, because it’s a relationship,” she said.

Higheagle Strong, who is also WSU’s Tribal Liaison to the president, has given presentations to WSU faculty and staff about the institution and its Morrill Act history. 

Right after Washington became a state in 1889, the state Legislature applied to the federal government for a Morrill Act land grant to open a higher-learning institution in the eastern part of the state. Washington State University opened as Washington Agricultural College in 1892.

Ironically, the Morrill Act was meant to create colleges that would benefit and train common people, not just those with money and connections.

“The intent was with land-grant institutions to provide agricultural, mechanical and applied science education; it was to move away from the social norms of the elitist colleges,” Higheagle Strong said in her presentation about the Morrill Act. “But this idea of ‘democracy colleges’ or the ‘people’s colleges’ – that was the intent.”

But the ideals espoused when the colleges were established didn’t always meet reality. “Well, who were the people that were intended as ‘all?’ And maybe, you know, other people weren’t even included as ‘human’ at that point,” Higheagle Strong said. “Who really received the benefits of the land-grant institution? Did all people have equal access?”

The land grants that helped establish WSU originally totaled 190,000 acres. Of that, about 90,000 acres, originating from 21 Indigenous nations, are still today managed by the state of Washington, with the profits from that land earmarked for WSU’s benefit. About 86,000 acres of that are located inside Yakama land cessions, according to Grist’s reporting.

Between 1889 and 2022, timber sales on trust lands brought Washington State University roughly $1 billion, adjusted for inflation, according to Grist. Today that land is managed by the Washington state Department of National Resources, and the State Investment Board manages the money in trust funds that benefit WSU. See Grist for more.

The university says it has received an average of $15 million a year for the past 35 years – or more than half a billion dollars since 1987.

The money, which is distributed by the Legislature, is earmarked to build and finance buildings, including in recent years the building now known as the Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences at its Spokane campus and the PACCAR Environmental Technology Building.

While money from the land grants are not directly benefiting Native programs or students, WSU says it has made efforts to shift its relationships to Indigenous nations in a systemic way. It now consults with Native nations on programs and research that would directly benefit their citizens and members, such as projects on climate change, alternative energy and tribal food sovereignty. The university also has a scholarship program for Native students, to push for greater enrollment and mentoring support, and has supported efforts by Rep. Debra Lekanoff, D-Bow, in the Washington Legislature to expand that funding.

“Puts an emphasis on tangible dollars to individual students,” Higheagle Strong said, which she says could be thought of as a form of reparations from WSU as an institution. 

Read more about this history of land-grant institutions at Grist.

A new pedestrian bridge across Longfellow Creek installed by SPU Contractors.

SPU Photo

Information from Seattle Public Utilities

Construction continues on our multi-site Longfellow Natural Drainage System project. We anticipate that construction on the project will wrap up this spring. Thank you for your patience as we’ve completed this work.

Check out the updates below to learn what’s happening at each of our project sites and visit our website for more information about the project.

SW Kenyon St Site

Rendering of the planned public art installation at 24th Ave SW & SW Kenyon St

Contractor crews have finished installing the natural drainage system and pedestrian improvements at the SW Kenyon St site. We anticipate that most work at the site will wrap up by late February, though crews will return in the spring to complete wetland restoration and some landscaping work.

The intersection of 24th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St has reopened to vehicular traffic. We anticipate that the pedestrian bridge and walkway over Longfellow Creek will reopen in February or March once the electrical service for the bridge’s pedestrian lighting is complete.

The public art that is planned for the corner of 24th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St will be installed in collaboration with Portland-based artist Brian Borrello and the City of Seattle’s Public Art Program. To learn more about the public art installation, visit the project website.

Due to ongoing coordination work, SPU has decided to postpone construction of several pieces of underground drainage infrastructure that will be installed to the northwest of the 24th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St intersection. This work will be completed by another contractor later this year. Once we have a timeline for this work, we’ll be back in touch with more details.

24th Ave SW Site

Contractor crews have finished installing the natural drainage system and roadway improvements at the 24th Ave SW site.

Though most of the work at the site is now complete, there are still several remaining work items that impact specific properties along 24th Ave SW. SPU plans to use a new contractor for this property-specific work and will continue to coordinate directly with impacted residents.

Sylvan Way SW Site

Due to technical challenges, work at the Sylvan Way SW site has been postponed and will be completed under a separate public works contract. Crews will complete temporary pavement restoration along the street in spring 2024. We now anticipate that the drainage improvements at the Sylvan Way SW site will be installed in late 2024 or 2025. We’ll share more information about the updated construction timeline as we further develop our plans for the work.

Project Background

SPU is installing natural drainage systems in your neighborhood to improve water quality in Longfellow Creek, reduce drainage issues, enhance greenspace, and calm traffic.

As part of this project, SPU is partnering with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to provide pedestrian improvements along 24th Ave SW between SW Thistle St and SW Barton Pl and at the SW Kenyon St pedestrian bridge at 24th Ave SW.

Through the City of Seattle’s Public Art Program, we’re also installing artwork at the SW Kenyon St site.

Want to learn more?  

Please visit our website to:

• Learn about natural drainage systems and their benefits to your community
• Check out the final designs for each of the project sites

From Seattle Police Blotter

#2024-32637/Southwest Precinct/Third Watch:

On Sunday 2-4-2024, at 01:23am, officers responded to a call of an in-progress burglary in the 7500 block 21st Avenue Southwest.

Officers contacted a subject that the reporting party wanted removed. Officers identified the subject and released the subject.

However, as officers were clearing the scene, the subject assaulted an officer.

The suspect was taken into custody. Seattle Fire was called to provide aid. At this time, the suspect then assaulted a Medic, an AMR crewmember, and another officer.

The suspect was transported to HMC and will be booked once medically cleared.

On Wednesday, January 31st, the Highline Heritage Partnership MOU was signed in collaboration with the cities of Burien, SeaTac, Normandy Park, Highline Public Schools, Port of Seattle, and Highline College, has developed the “Highline Heritage Partnership” MOU. 

Highline Heritage Museum is dedicated to collecting and preserving the stories of the Highline area and its people through heritage, arts, and culture. 

This partnership represents the continuation of five years of collaboration between the Museum and community partners in the Highline area to host events, provide community space, retain historical records and artifacts, design exhibits, promote economic development, foster tourism, and empower residents to tell their stories. In the last five years, the Highline Heritage Museum has 104 spoken languages, 17,000 children in the school district, 548 partnerships collaborations, and ~ 100 -150 attendance per week, including large events. 

This Highline Heritage Partnership will facilitate jointly designing initiatives and strategies to address our local history preservation, community outreach, and educational accessibility in our schools.