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The Seattle Police Public Affairs Unit will begin sharing the Department’s Significant Incident Reports (SIRs) on the SPD Blotter. Every Friday, the week’s SIRs will be published and can be found here: https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/significant-incident-reports/
The types of reports that qualify as “significant” varies, so here is what SPD considers significant:
- -Assault with significant injury
- -Bias crime
- -Event likely to generate media attention
- -Event likely to generate community concern
- -Hostage/barricade
- -In-custody death
- -Officer assaulted
- -Robbery
- -Shots fired (with damage or evidence)
- -Type II and Type III use-of-force investigations
- -Any other event a sergeant believes is significant
Previously, SIRs have been circulated internally within the SPD in order to share information on significant incidents and police response across SPD units and precincts. Edited/redacted versions of SIRs are now being made available to the public in an effort to better inform community members about the incidents police respond to daily across the city. The Public Affairs Unit will edit and redact the SIRs prior to publishing. Certain SIRs will NOT be published based upon the content of the investigation(s). Incidents such as homicides, domestic violence, and custody dispute calls, while significant, contain information that may identify the victim(s) involved and will not be posted here.
These reports are a small portion of the information SPD gathers at an incident and are based on early information. Information in an officer’s final report may differ from the text contained here and should be considered more accurate.
 The past few summers one Pinehurst neighborhood has made a tradition of Seattle’s Night out as a time where they repaint and touch up their street mural on 9th Ave NE and NE 115th Street.
This year out of an abundance of caution due to covid-19 repainting the mural is postponed until next year – August 2, 2021.
But not to fret, just so we don’t forget that it is Seattle Night Out on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 (also technically cancelled, but the city encourages safe-distanced alternatives), from 5:00-7:30 p.m. those neighbors have invited Street Treats to their block between 9th Ave NE and NE 115th Street. They will serve up some pre-packaged delicious goodies for purchase via credit card or cash. Tell your friends and neighbors to stop by with their mask!
Adjacent neighborhood Victory Heights (there’s actually some friendly overlap since Pinehurst Community Council counts Northgate Way as our south border and Victory Heights Community Council counts NE 115th St as its north border) is setting up a Racial Equity Council. You can be a founding member, and help determine the goals for this group! See: https://doodle.com/poll/d76sm8wxceh894wu to indicate your availability for Zoom meetings.
 IT’S TIME TO VOTE! OUR MAIL-IN BALLOTS ARE DUE AUGUST 4 — Here’s everything you need to know:
Ballots are due August 4. That means that they must be postmarked — not just in the mailbox — so King County Elections is encouraging voters to get them in their USPS mailbox by Saturday to ensure they arrive on time, or find a ballot drop box if you’re cutting it close. The box nearest Pinehurst is at the curb in front of Lake City Library, 12501 28th Ave NE.
But wait, is USPS reliable right now? As a federal service dealing with cuts and service interruptions, folks might be wondering if it’s safe to put their ballot in the mailbox. If you haven’t had any issues with your mail recently — you’ve been receiving things and sending them normally — there shouldn’t be any issue mailing your ballot. But again, if you want to be extra-careful, find a ballot box. Then, make sure you check that your ballot has been counted to close the loop.
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE – use it!
August’s art in the pocket park is by … anonymous. It was made by a young person at last year’s Pinehurstfest. Notice how clever it is – in the pocket of the T-shirt is the pocket park, including the T-shirt drawing in the kiosk, which also has a pocket park in its pocket! Go look at it in the park kiosk at NE 117th St and 19th Ave NE and you’ll be part of yet another iteration of this infinite regression marvel!
If you would like to submit your child’s artwork (or yours!) for the Pocket Park, please email nancy@pinehurstseattle.org.
 If you’re planning to take a vacation right now during the pandemic, travel smart. Here are tips from local and national experts for staying safe when getting away (from Pemco Insurance newsletter):
- Plan. Love unscripted days and discovering charming roadside inns? It might be better to hold that thought till 2021. This year’s trip will be a safer with an itinerary and reservations. Avoid overcrowded attractions, verify ahead of time that your destination is open, and consider vacationing a little closer to home.
- Pack. A travel-ready COVID kit includes masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and a table cloth. And remember to pack plenty of picnic goodies from home – doing so will help you avoid those extra unnecessary stops along the way.
- Clean. If you are getting a room for a night (or more!), open the windows when you arrive and dive into that COVID kit. Even if your room’s been serviced, take a few minutes to wipe down door handles, light switches, bathroom surfaces, TV remotes and the microwave and mini-fridge. Looking “clean” doesn’t necessarily mean “disinfected.”
- Take care of yourself first. If you’re traveling with people who live outside your home, take separate cars. Ditto for RVs or camping tents. (Enclosed spaces with prolonged exposure are germ incubators). Outdoors is generally safer than indoors, but mask up in public and anywhere you can’t maintain six feet of separation. Wash your hands thoroughly after visiting pay stations, campground laundry facilities, cooking shelters, public restrooms and potable water faucets. The best way to be vigilant is to do the little things the right way, every time.
- Boat wisely. Mask etiquette, disinfecting surfaces and keeping your distance at the dock are all good places to start. Swimming’s fine as long as the water is uncrowded, but make sure you can keep a safe distance when getting in and out.
 Do you want kids to go back to school safely in the fall? A new report called “Schools are not islands: we must mitigate community transmission to open schools” was put out by Washington State Department of Health and Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM). The report is the result of modeling data that describes the transmission of COVID-19 to determine how it may spread in the future, depending on how effective Washington is at preventing its spread. It then predicts the course of the epidemic under various conditions in our communities and schools.
One can ask the model what happens if we follow the guidance we have developed for schools, and what are the chances that we can open schools without causing a spike in the epidemic. Read about it at https://medium.com/wadepthealth/back-to-school-a7909954b6c4. Important predictions are summarized here:
Opening school safely depends on continuing to reduce the amount of moving and gathering we do within our communities.
- The researchers estimated that now, in King County, folks are doing about 65% of the moving and gathering we used to do prior to COVID-19.
- If we continue to keep our travel and gathering less than 70% of pre-pandemic levels, we may be able to reopen schools safely, as long as we are using all the precautions in the schools — face coverings, screenings, social distancing, etc.
- If our travel and gathering increase to 80% or more of our pre-COVID lifestyles, there is nothing we can do that will allow us to open schools without causing an increase in the epidemic.
Community transmission is increasing all over the state. We must stop this increase by the end of August in order to reopen schools. We are more likely to be able to reopen schools if we all:
- Continue to restrict our travel and the number of people we see socially.
- Wear cloth face coverings in public.
- Stay six feet or more away from other people.
- Get a COVID-19 test if you feel sick, even if you don’t have a fever.
- Stay home if you feel at all under the weather.
- Wash our hands or use hand sanitizer frequently.
If the virus is spreading in our communities, it will spread in our schools. Help our kids get back to school by doing your part to control the spread of COVID-19.
 Daytime bridge span work begins next week over 1st Ave NE (between NE 100th St and NE 103rd St)
From July 20 to August 7, crews will be installing the first set of bridge spans on 1st Ave NE. The spans included in this work make up the portion of the bridge that’s commonly referred to as the “hairpin turn.”
Work hours are from 10 AM to 7 PM. This work will require trucks transporting equipment, two large cranes for erection of support girders, and a single lane closure of 1st Ave NE. Northbound and southbound travel will be maintained.
Northbound I-5 express lane nighttime work
From July 20 to August 9, there will be work in the median near the northbound I-5 express lane off-ramp at 1st Ave NE and NE 103rd St. Work will take place between 11 PM and 5 AM, within the regularly scheduled express lane closure hours. During this time, they’ll be installing a block wall for future truss assembly. Exit 174 NE 130th St/Roosevelt Way NE is the next exit open past the closed express lane off-ramp.
East side of I-5 (1st Ave NE between NE 100th St and NE 103rd St)
- Ongoing intermittent lane closures between 7 AM and 3:30 PM, with northbound and southbound traffic maintained
- Ongoing concrete work for several pier columns:
- Placing forms and rebar cages
- Placing concrete
- Allowing concrete curing time
- Removing the forms
- Concrete work for retaining wall and bridge footings
West side of I-5 (north side of North Seattle College and along N 100th St)
- Constructing and pouring leveling pads for concrete block walls
- Installation and backfilling of block walls
- Ongoing concrete work for several pier columns
- Placing forms and rebar cages
- Placing concrete
- Allowing concrete curing time
Northbound I-5 express lane
Work on the I-5 median, near the northbound I-5 express lane off-ramp at 1st Ave NE and NE 103rd St, will continue later this summer.
What to expect during construction
- Some noise and construction vehicle activity, including cranes
- Some nighttime and weekend work
- Detours for people walking and biking
- Lane reductions on Northgate express lane on- and off-ramp
- 2 freeway closures and detours (on weekends and at night only)
- Construction staging and parking impacts near the construction sites, including at the northern side of North Seattle College along N 100th St and on NE 100th St at 1st Ave NE
- Closure of the North Seattle Park & Ride on 1st Ave NE
Questions during construction? Contact SDOT:
Darrell Bulmer
Communications and Outreach Lead
Northgate Bridge Construction Project
NorthgateBridge@seattle.gov
(206) 905-3620
www.seattle.gov/transportation/NorthgatePedBridge.htm
Maybe you noticed a new feature in Pinehurst Pocket Park. No? A neighbor thought little free libraries are great for humans, but what about dogs? So she and her husband made a stick library and trimmed and sanded a variety of sticks for it. If you want to add sticks, please smooth them. Oh, and doggos, remember that the pocket park is not an off-leash area! It’s at NE 117th St & 19th Ave NE.
How can individuals and families make a difference in reversing global warming? If you’d like to attend this Zoom meeting please register below. Once you are registered you will receive log-in instructions via email.
Register here: registrationlink
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