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Water main breaks between University Village and the NE 45th Street viaduct (UPDATE)
October 8, 2013 by 2 Comments
Guilty pleas entered by Mullan for Wedgwood DUI/vehicular homicides
October 3, 2013 by 5 Comments
At a hearing this morning at the King County Courthouse, Mark Mullan pleaded guilty to all charges against him for the DUI crash on March 25 that killed Judy and Dennis Schulte and severely injured Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and her newborn son, Elias.
Mark Mullan pleads guilt to 5 vehicular homicide and veh assault in Wedgewood deadly DUI crash #liveonkomo pic.twitter.com/NdxGoqdyH9
— Elisa Jaffe (@ElisaJaffe) October 3, 2013
Mullan was charged on April 11 with two counts vehicular homicide, two counts vehicular assault, and one count reckless driving. He entered a plea of not guilty at that time.
Mark Mullan,charged in Wedgwood DUI that critically hurt a mom and newborn and killed grandparents, at plea hearing pic.twitter.com/RuJGXKg9jR
— Jennifer Sullivan (@SeattleSullivan) October 3, 2013
Under the plea deal, Mullan would face a range of 14-18 years in jail.
#MarkMullan verbally declares guilty on each count, breaks down a bit. Now back in cuffs. He’ll be sentenced next month
— johnhopperstadQ13FOX (@JohnHopperstad) October 3, 2013
Sentencing is scheduled for November 15.
#BREAKING Prosecutors and Mullan’s attys agree to just over 18 years in prison for all 5 counts.
— Eric Wilkinson (@EricWilkinson) October 3, 2013
Dan Schulte and his sister, Marilyn, were at the hearing, and will speak to reporters after. We’ll add footage here when it becomes available.
Dan and Marilyn Schulte give a statement to the media after this morning’s plea hearing. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg stands behind them. Photo courtesy @joshtrujillo.
UPDATE: A statement from the King County Prosecutor’s office:
Guilty Plea in State v. Mark Mullan: Repeat drunk driver Mark W. Mullan pleaded guilty this morning as charged to four felony charges for a drunk driving collision that killed two grandparents and seriously injured their daughter-in-law and infant grandson in Seattle’s Wedgewood neighborhood on March 25. Mullan pleaded guilty to two counts each of Vehicular Homicide (DUI) and Vehicular Assault (DUI), and violation of an Ignition Interlock Device order. The collision killed Judy and Dennis Schulte. Their daughter-in-law Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and grandson Elias, who was 10 days old, were seriously injured are still recovering from their injuries. Mullan, 51, faces a sentence range of 14 to 18 years in prison, which includes a 24-month sentencing enhancement stemming from his prior conviction for drunk driving in Seattle Municipal Court. Prosecutors will recommend a top of the range sentence of 18 years in prison when Mullan is sentenced on November 15 at 1:45 p.m. before Judge Barbara Linde at the King County Courthouse.
“This heartbreaking case led to some overdue changes in the law, thanks in part to the courage of the family,” said Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney. “The defendant today pled guilty as charged to the top end of the sentencing range,” he added, “and the plea brings finality and closure to the case, and will keep the defendant in prison, and the public safer, for many years to come,” he said.
Satterberg along with other county prosecutors pushed for tougher sentences for vehicular homicide (DUI) in the 2012 legislative session. The Legislature approved a bill that doubled the standard range for vehicular homicide (DUI), making it equal to a sentence for manslaughter first degree. Under the old range, Mullan’s sentence would have been approximately 7 ½ to 9 ½ years instead of the 14 to 18 years that he faces today.
Last days for Peaks Frozen Custard in Roosevelt
September 25, 2013 by 5 Comments
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Especially in the case of Peaks Frozen Custard (1026 NE 65th Street), closing on Sunday, September 29.
From their website:
We could not be more grateful to all of you amazing custardmers. It has been 5 years of wonderful. So why would we close? Peaks is a small family business that takes 100% of our families attention. We had fun, but now we’re on to a new lifestyle! At the same time, our lease comes to an end- so it was renew, relocate or stop!
Hours for the remainder of their days on NE 65th Street are 6-10 PM on Thursday and Friday, and 1-10 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
And should you “custardmers” want to give the Peaks folks a good send off, a celebration is planned at the store on Saturday.
A few glimmers of tasty frozen hope:
- Peaks says that, “We will, however, be serving what has become the best frozen treat in the Northwest at festivals only.” Keep tabs on the Peaks Frozen Custard website and/or Facebook page for that info.
- A “new and unique” frozen yogurt shop will be taking the space.
Car veers off NE 75th St, 83-year-old driver injured (UPDATE)
September 24, 2013 by 1 Comment
Just after 11 AM on Tuesday, September 24, the Seattle Fire Department responded to a heavy rescue call on NE 75th Street just east of 26th Avenue NE.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer photojournalist Josh Trujillo (left) takes a picture at the scene.
A vehicle was traveling *eastbound* [corrected] on NE 75th Street when it left the roadway, struck and disassembled a road sign (pictured above), and came to rest on a cement embankment on the side of a nearby home’s driveway.
A car left the roadway, nearly crashing into a house on NE 75th St, just blocks from Ekstein Middle School. pic.twitter.com/ZfaDa0alFR
— Joshua Trujillo (@joshtrujillo) September 24, 2013
After leaving the roadway, the vehicle drove through parts of two yards before coming to rest on the embankment of a raised driveway.
The driver, an 83-year-old woman, was taken to Harborview Medical Center by Seattle Fire staff. She was transported in stable condition, said Seattle Fire.
View looking dowhill (west) along NE 75th St at emergency and police vehicles at the scene.
Eastbound NE 75th Street was blocked for a time for emergency vehicles, after which Seattle Police officers directed traffic past the scene using the new left turn lane. The sidewalk on the south side was closed while police investigated the scene.
UPDATE (2:30 PM): A little more info from a Seattle Police Department Blotter post up just now:
Preliminary investigation indicates that an 83-year-old woman was driving her Honda Element eastbound on NE 75th Street. Just after crossing 26thAvenue NE, for reasons yet to be determined, she left the roadway and drove over the south sidewalk, up an embankment and crashed into a house.
There were people inside the house at the time of the collision however, nobody inside the house was injured.
The driver of the Honda (and sole occupant of the vehicle) sustained serious injuries in the collision and was transported to Harborview Medical Center by fire department medics.
Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.
SPD estimates that NE 75th Street should be fully reopened around 3 PM today..
Long-time local kids coach, Liz Isaacson, hangs up her whistle (GUEST POST)
August 28, 2013 by 3 Comments
We here at the Ravenna Blog have the good fortune to live just up the street from a freelance journalist, Scott Johnson. Unfortunately, he’s got two small kids just like we do, and that makes it hard to make him write for us. Just not good for sitting and thinking and writing, the presence of the small children.
But where kids and news collide, Scott is there! (With his camera, too!)
…
Liz Isaacson won’t be roaming the playfield outside of Ravenna-Eckstein Center next week – or next summer, for that matter.
While that might not seem to mean much to local parents, these two words will: Coach Liz.
Coach Liz Isaacson (left) teaching a soccer class at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center. Photo by Scott Johnson.
After 35 years in the profession, the past seven of which included time teaching soccer, Tee-ball, and other sports to young kids at Ravenna-Eckstein, Coach Liz is hanging up her whistle.
“I still can’t believe it,” she said after one of her final classes coaching soccer earlier this week. “I woke up this morning and almost started crying.”
The popular youth coach who grew up playing sports in the shadows of three older brothers decided this was the right time to get out of the game.
“My body’s telling me it’s time,” she said. “My mind wants to keep coaching, but my body just won’t let me do it anymore.”
Coach Liz teaching Drew Johnson how to defend against a pack of girls at soccer practice. Photo by Scott Johnson.
Kids and parents hoping to say a final goodbye to Coach Liz before she goes back to being Liz Isaacson can attend a retirement party in her honor Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Northgate Community Center. Cake, snacks and games will be provided.
And if Coach Liz can’t hold back anymore, maybe even a few tears.
Scott Johnson is a stay-at-home father of two and freelance writer who counts The Associated Press, USA Today, The Sports Xchange and SportsPress Northwest among his part-time gigs. He lives in the Ravenna neighborhood with his wife, Erin, and their children, Drew and Molly.
NE 75th Street Makeover Update: It’s DONE (UPDATES, PHOTOS)
August 23, 2013 by 53 Comments
The Seattle Department of Transportation crew that had been laying down “proto-lanes” on NE 75th Street finished up their work today. And it was not long after they’d put away their paint can that the SDOT Painting Truck Convoy rolled in to finish the job*.
Above is a picture of NE 75th Street at about 23rd Avenue NE, taken at 10:15 PM on Friday night. It’s done.
Here we’re looking west down NE 75th Street, from the same location.
Additionally, the no-parking-during-commutes parking signs were replaced with these no parking signs.
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The “Wild West” has been tamed…or has it?
Drive around/Walk around/Bike around on it a bit, everyone, then let’s meet back here in the comments to talk about our experiences.
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*UPDATE (Saturday morning): The roadway improvements are not *completely* finished, but the new lanes had been laid down as of last night. The era of driving two-by-two is over. This morning, a crew was spotted adding reflectors to the sides of the new left turn lane.
Early Saturday morning, an SDOT crew walks down NE 75th Street placing reflectors along the sides of the new left turn lane. Photo by Adelina Starace.
UPDATE (Saturday afternoon): A truck/machine/thing was seen grinding the old yellow stripes off the middle of the road, east of 25th Avenue NE. Did not continue west of 25th, however. Monday’s job, perhaps.
UPDATE (Saturday evening): Valarie Bunn, Wedgwood historian extraordinaire, sent us some photos of the old lane lines being ground off the road earlier today.
We’ll know for sure when the rest of the lane erasing is done in a couple days (and I’ll be sure to run out there with my camera and get some video), but it looks like the work is done by HAND. 
The only female SDOT worker I’ve seen working on the improvements, and this is the job she’s doing. As my ancestors would say, “Uff da.”
And I believe the machine pictured above cleans up after the grinding equipment has done its job.
UPDATE (Sunday morning): OMG they’re back at it again already.
Workers, cones, and signs were spotted near 20th Avenue NE around 7 AM. And around 9 AM, the grinding gear was spotted in the same location:
https://twitter.com/Starace1919/status/371665527036317696
Makeover time is here: New NE 75th St lanes taking shape (PHOTOS)
August 21, 2013 by 37 Comments
With a goal of getting the new road configuration for NE 75th Street in by the first day of school (two weeks from today), it’s no surprise that the Seattle Department of Transportation has started preparing the Northeast Seattle arterial so quickly.
Some pictures from today (Wednesday):
View down NE 75th Street, looking west towards the signaled intersection with 20th Avenue NE. Truck with moving lighted arrow signage telling motorists to move to the right.
View from the west side of the SDOT crew’s spot in the middle of NE 75th Street, as they stop to look at the plans for a moment.
Worker on the right watches the NE 75th Street plans, while the worker on the left paints the lane plans onto the road surface.
Above picture taken a few seconds after the previous one, showing the lane painting occurring.
A look down the hill towards 20th Avenue NE. As the crew worked in the center of the arterial, vehicles parted around them, already driving in the new configuration.
We’ll add more photos here when we have them!
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Driven the new NE 75th Street configuration yet? What do you think so far? Tell us in the comments.
Heavy police activity in area Thursday afternoon (UPDATES)
August 1, 2013 by 1 Comment
Not long after 3 PM on Thursday afternoon, Seattle Police Department officers with a K-9 unit began searching yards in the area of 25th Avenue NE and NE 65th Street, assisting the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office with a robbery case.
Our K-9 unit is currently assisting @SnoCoSheriff on a robbery case in the Ravenna area. Traffic shut down on 25th/65th NE
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) August 1, 2013
A neighbor in the area got a picture of a group of officers searching along 26th Avenue NE.
As officers searched, streets were blocked by SPD patrol cars. Southbound 25th Avenue NE was blocked for a time, then officers moved eastward.
KIRO’s Chopper 7 was in the area for some time, and we snagged a couple screenshots from the live feed:
This (fuzzy) shot is of the K-9 unit searching down an area street.
And this shot is of a white van on the 2100 block of NE 61st Street that may be related to the case. Police were calling for a tow truck for this vehicle (per scanner) during the time when all the other activity was happening in the area.
We’ll update this post when we have more information.
UPDATE (4:33 PM): MyNorthwest.com is reporting that the suspect is Timothy Lussier, a convicted felon being sought by Everett police in connection to an armed robbery in July.
A violent offender task force tracked [Lussier] down to the Kenmore area Thursday, where he fled in a stolen car.
“There was a brief pursuit that followed and the suspect then ditched the stolen vehicle in the Ravenna area,” Ireton [with the Sonohomish County Sheriff’s Office] said.
Lussier is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, call 911 immediately.
Picture of Timothy Lussier (Washington’s Most Wanted)
UPDATE (4:52 pm): The Everett Herald describes Lussier as being 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He is 35 years old.
UPDATE (11:37 PM): Lots of folks, ourselves included, reported hearing hovering helicopter noise again this evening, starting around 10 PM.
Turns out it was air support courtesy the King County Sheriff’s office, looking for the suspect. But they didn’t find much:
Assist to SPD looking for a suspicious person in a greenbelt near Ravenna…..there was no person, only a family of raccoons!
— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) August 2, 2013
Community along NE 65th St to gather and discuss Bicycle Master Plan concerns
July 22, 2013 by 48 Comments
Ahead of the Bicycle Master Plan Update public comment deadline of Friday, July 26, a group of business owners and residents near NE 65th Street are meeting to discuss the BMP’s proposed cycle track for the Ravenna thoroughfare.
Ravenna Bicycle Path Small Business Owners/Residents’ Work Group
Next Meeting Tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m.
Varsity Restaurant, 2300 N.E. 65th St.
Flyer about the meeting up just outside the Ravenna Varsity Restaurant. Click the image to see the full version (6.4 MB file).
Concerns about NE 65th St and the BMP listed on the flyer include:
- Loss of parking along NE 65th St, and cars being displaced to nearly residential streets;
- Effects during special events (like University of Washington Football home games);
- Emergency vehicle access to Ravenna Ida Culver;
- Recommendation for a cycle track on NE 65th St was accompanied by “no empirical evidence to support it,” and no studies (environmental, traffic impact, or economic impact.
For more information about this meeting, residents are asked to contact Mark Briant at mcbriant@seanet.com.
Public comment on the City of Seattle’s 2013 Bicycle Master Plan Update can be sent to bmpupdate@seattle.gov. For a guide on making comments, you can use this form (Microsoft Word or PDF), supplied by the BMP Project Library page.
Ziti the cat has escaped! Have you seen her?
July 19, 2013 by 9 Comments
Ravenna Park neighbors in particular: We have a lost cat alert for you.
Ziti the Indoor Cat, pictured below, slipped out on the night of Sunday, July 14 and hasn’t been seen since.
The details, via email from the Hooning family (emphasis ours):
Our cat, Ziti, got out of our home at 62nd and Ravenna Ave NE on 7/14, and hasn’t been seen since. She is a four year old torby (tortoise shell/tabby), medium size, wearing a light blue collar with bees and flower design, and may be shy with strangers. Our cats have been indoor cats since we adopted them from Cat City last summer, so we’re concerned that Ziti has gotten lost or injured (we live a block from the ravine.) Please call if you see her (bonus points if you can catch her and keep her), and we’ll come by when we can to try to get her home.
If you see any signs of Ziti, please call 719-7815.
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