Comment of the Week

NickS on “Police Make Several Arrests in Recent Rainier Valley Robberies, Burglaries”:

I sincerely hope that, the police having done their jobs, the prosecutors don’t let the perpetrators walk away with a hug, glass of milk, and plate of cookies. I’m hopeful that community pressure following the increasing violent assaults in our neighborhood will force prosecutors to take this seriously.

I completely agree with Jim — alert neighbors working together can really turn a neighborhood around. If you see something odd going on, phone it in.

For example, if you see a gaggle of teenage boys approaching a house, with one knocking on the door, peering through a window, then the group moving behind the house — call it in. That’s exactly what happened during an attempted burglary of my neighbors (foiled due to an alert neighbor and fast police response!), and it’s a pretty common approach. Don’t ignore knocking on the door; no need to open the door, just yell “I’m on the phone!” through it and make sure the person leaves.

I’m curious what time of day these incidents occurred. I suspect a lot, if not most, of the burglaries occurred when people were at work. Unfortunately, almost entire neighborhoods empty out during the day with couples going off to work. One silver lining to a high unemployment rate, I guess!

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CBO on “‘Alarming’ New Test-Score Gap Discovered in Seattle Schools”:

Well I don’t think it’s about music or dress, considering the white middle class kids I teach listen to the same crap and wear their pants in the same idiotic fashion while continually beating state test averages. South end schools are failing kids because the community they work with is failing kids.

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Greener Grad on “Police: Danny Vega’s Killing Was 10th Attack in 8 Weeks”:

Since Mr. Vega’s brutal murder, I have mentioned the crime wave to a few people and a couple of people told me about assaults that were not reported.

A teen girl told me that an older boy grabbed her purse, but she didn’t let go, so he grabbed her necklace and ran. She did not report it.

It would be quite easy for a gang of thugs to drive by or sit in a car and pick likely targets. I am curious what South Seattle Cop would advise (other than the obvious “Move away.”)

The Mayor and City Council want us all to “Walk, Bike and Ride.” I can avoid walking by driving to work. I can afford it, but not everyone can.

I have noticed walkers carrying large sticks. They are good for fending off loose attack dogs, but what about carrying a bat to fend off loose attack thugs? Someone pointed out that a concealed pistol would not work out so well under attack by a gang of thugs.

So what’s the solution?

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Tom T on “Danny Vega’s Family: ‘We’re Strong Because My Uncle Is Strong’”:

While more cops would be great it boils down to the community really working with the police. This includes providing information to the police as well as calling out their own.

I’m sure that there is someone in the community who knows who these punks are. But for whatever reason they aren’t coming forward.

Beyond all the rhetoric, our community doesn’t work until there is mutual respect among everyone that is involved in it. Part of that mutual respect is not legitimizing thug behavior among your own.

Do you think this would happen in a community where the perps know that everyone they see knows who they are and wouldn’t hesitate to identify them to their family and police?

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Carol on “Open Thread Thursday: What Are You Grateful For, Neighbors?”:

I’m grateful for my sweetie, who proposed to me last Sunday in the Rainier Beach High School parking lot while we were on our way to the grocery store. I suppose it’s an unconventional way to ask someone to marry you, but if his goal was to surprise me it got the job done! We picked Leap Day for the date, I figure that way neither of us has an excuse for forgetting our anniversary!

So welcome David to the neighborhood. We still haven’t figured out living arrangements, since my house is full of teenagers. But at the rate prices are dropping, we just might pick up a second home in the neighborhood cheap.

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Tasha 3.0 on “New Family Friendly Sports Bar Opens in Columbia City”:

I went in last night and I have to say…

I was very impressed. Very laid back and cool. Wait staff was very attentive and it was clear they were ready to make an excellent name for themselves. Oh and one minor thing…

THERE WAS A HAPPY HOUR!!!

The rest of you CC places need to step your happy hour game up cause Rookies is making you look bad on that front. Two dollars off on happy hour on drinks and food. The prices were very reasonable to begin with.

Now I know I was making funnies about the whole kid friendly thing, but I really like the layout. The way It’s set up you can bring your side piece and creep in the bar side on the weekend and have family time on the other side during the week. Everybody wins!!!

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Tiffany on “Police Looking for Driver Who Rammed Doors at Mt. Baker Pawn Shop”:

How ironic. A business that thrives on peddling stolen goods gets burgled.

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Sarah on “Old Verve Space Available for Lease”:

Verve did pay their bills. They were in fact very surprised that the lease was not renewed. The issue with the kitchen as I understood it, is that there was no ventilation system and Lamb was unwilling to install one, so all food had to be made on a small self contained unit. Verve was even interested in moving into the Kallaloo space at one point (now Rookies) but Lamb was not interested in that either.

I am astounded that Verve’s lease would not be renewed without a new leasee in line. Seems like a bad decision for the the community, let alone buiness wise. Must be something we are not privy to…

And although a family friendly sports bar seems a little contradictory why not support a local buisiness until you decide it doesn’t personally work for you based on experience?

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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SolvayGirl on “Open Thread Thursday: What’s on Your Mind, Neighbors?”:

Actually, according to the naturalists at the Audubon Center, the coyotes disappeared from the park last year. They believe they were poisoned. There are, however, coyotes living in the greenbelt areas around Kubota Garden and other wooded areas (possibly Deadhorse Canyon), so it is wise to keep cats and small dogs in between dusk and dawn.

The naturalists also said that Great Horned Owls can take cats, and this was confirmed by 4Paws who said they had a client come in with a cat with talon wounds on its hind end.

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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RV Dude on “Hillman City Business Association Restarting, Seeking Volunteers”:

Three out of the four corners of Hillman’s main intersection (RAS/Orcas) are occupied by religious enterprises. These ‘storefronts’ typically gravitate to where rents are low, of course.

The *good* thing about them is that their presence encourages the buildings’ owners to maintain the premises. The bad thing is that, except for the believers who occupy the chairs and pews, no one else frequents the area.

Unfortunately, the fourth corner is occupied by a group of small businesses that cater to a specialized demographic, and do *not* seem to keep an attractive appearance for customers, so people aren’t drawn to them, either.

The first challenge for any neighborhood improvement group will be to make that important corner attractive to casual passers-by, and to give drivers and strollers a reason to stop and look around. That’s how CC managed its Renaissance. Churches and wig shops are not that good reason. I’m hoping the new ‘pub’ on RAS might be a start, though.

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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