White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The Puget Sound Business Journal just published a story on the economic effects of the recession on White Center.   Entitled, “White Center Shows Its Diversity,” the article quotes many business owners including this writer.

In the good days, just one year ago, lunch break at construction sites around White Center meant a flood of workers pouring into El Paisano for a taste of home.

Silva’s situation reflects a larger picture in White Center, a struggling, diverse neighborhood with many immigrants on the southwest edge of Seattle. Its downtown is an eclectic mix of Pho restaurants, taquerias, bars, pawn shops, tattoo parlors, and hair and nail salons, and many of these small businesses say they are now teetering on the brink.

At $40,480 a year, the median household income is 24 percent lower in White Center than the countywide average, according to the 2000 Census. The population is 21 percent Asian, 12 percent Hispanic, 6 percent African-American, 2 percent American Indian, and 2.6 percent Pacific Islander.

The article can be accessed online at its website.

Puget Sound Park wasn’t the only park discussed at last Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting: Steve Cox Memorial Park updates were discussed, too. Artist Jay Haavik presented his concept – the large, leaning piece is meant to represent White Center, and the short one to represent Deputy Cox, with the community leaning on him. The larger, leaning piece will be an 8-foot basalt column; the smaller piece will be 5 feet tall, with a replica of his badge sandblasted into the side. The next step isn’t quite settled, though; the memorial is to be in a 20 x 37 section of the stadium, but there’s a City Light vault in the area, and if that turns out to be in active use, then the memorial’s area may have to be condensed. Councilmembers approved the design in principle but are waiting for formal word on the vault before a formal decision. There’s also concern about the picnic shelter at the park; county parks rep Sam Whitman says a neighborhood petition would be needed to start the process of possibly removing the shelter, which has drawn complaints about transients and late-night partying. Suggestions were made about better lighting or moving the picnic shelter, but Whitman says all that would cost money, which is in short supply right now.

Though the event is in West Seattle, White Center’s part of it too. DNDA is presenting the Gathering of Neighbors/Biz Expo tomorrow (Saturday 4/4) with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and tonight we have the full participant list: To see who’ll be there, click here – on behalf of White Center Now and partner site West Seattle Blog, we’ll be there along with more than 70 other local businesses and organizations, including, from White Center, WestSide Baby and the White Center Community Development Association, as well as the White Center-based YWCA Employment and Training Program. Come by and say hi, 11 am-3 pm tomorrow, Chief Sealth HS at Boren (5950 Delridge; here’s a map); one other note — if you’re in West Seattle and you’re thinking about joining in this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (May 9), sign up at our table tomorrow — the first day of registration — and get a one-day-only discount on the signup fees (which pay for mapmaking, posters, other fun stuff that gets WSCGSD on the regional radar). See you tomorrow!

(click to see a larger version of the letter)
Following up on last night’s update of the Puget Sound Park sale-proposal situation – that’s the letter County Council Chair Dow Constantine has just written to County Executive Ron Sims, asking him to take the park off the list of land he’s seeking to convert into “affordable housing” — as noted on this county webpage — or else, Constantine writes, if PS Park is still on the list when it gets to the County Council, he’ll move to take it off through legislation. We’ll be checking with the County Executive’s office for their response.

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: While we haven’t yet received a direct response from the County Executive, his staff is working to arrange a chance for us to talk Monday with his point people on this project. We’ll let you know what we find out.

First of two reports from tonight’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting — this one, focusing on the intensifying controversy over the county proposal to sell Puget Sound Park (as reported here yesterday, it’s already accepted “submittals” from firms interested in buying up to five county park sites to build “affordable housing”).

Toward the start of tonight’s meeting, council member Barb Peters read a letter the NHUAC sent to outgoing County Executive Ron Sims expressing opposition to any sale of Puget Sound Park.

James Bush, from the office of County Council Chair Dow Constantine, stood up and said the sale proposal’s not going anywhere. Constantine himself reiterated that in an e-mail to us after the meeting, saying in part:

… as far as I am concerned, we’re not selling Puget Sound Park. The Council would have to approve such an action, and my position has been clear:

1) Park land is precious and is not to be parted with except under extraordinary circumstances; and

2) Puget Sound Park is within Burien’s intended annexation area and any decision about changing the park can and should wait until after that annexation happens.

Burien city manager Mike Martin was at tonight’s meeting too and warned NHUAC members not to leave anything to chance, saying they have to get the county executive to remove the park from the list. From what he’s seen, he says he’s clear that “the project is alive.”

Each council member agreed to contact a King County Councilmember tomorrow to get the message out; Constantine also tells us that we should know within a few days whether he has a majority of councilmembers on the no-sale side.

NHUAC is also considering further public outreach about the controversy, possibly leafletting neighborhoods, even organizing a picnic. We’ll follow up with Constantine and his staff to keep you up to date on what happens next.

Several White Center Now commenters asked questions following our publishing the other day of the King County Council’s news release announcing a $6 million financing deal for a “retail plaza … near Greenbridge.” What’s the project, and what’s “White Center Investment Fund LLC”? they asked. Alcina noted that the state corporation files include no such entity. We put the question to King County Council Chair Dow Constantine‘s office, and James Bush explains:

“White Center Investment Fund LLC” is an entity set up for this loan by U.S. Bank. It’s a Delaware limited liability corporation, as are many of the local LLCs set up for development purposes. In this sort of federal tax credit arrangement the money moves around from entity to entity, but where it will end up is as a loan to Vongs LLC, a corporation owned by the Vong family. They have an Asian grocery store in White Center which will move into a much larger space in this project when it is completed.

The White Center Square site is at SW 100th/14th SW (Google Street View, above). The project’s total cost is expected to be around $10 million. Here’s the ordinance the council passed; we had spoken with the company working on the project recently, and they said they’re hoping to break ground around the end of this month.

ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: KING 5 TV news was in White Center today to do a story about the project and the area’s revitalization in general (what? no Rozella/Full Tilt interviews?); see it here.

Much controversy and concern has been brewing around the prospect of King County selling parkland in North Highline, including Puget Sound Park, for “affordable housing” — here’s the full list of what the county put up for sale, five properties, with a request for submittals suggesting they would prefer that all five go to the same developer.

Three firms responded, according to online records: DevCo, Quadrant Homes, and Shelter Resources. The next step in the process is not clearly spelled out online. During a recent interview, we asked outgoing County Executive Ron Sims about this, and he said that the intent is for the county to replace the sold parkland with open space somewhere else. That’s not what North Highline opponents of the sale want to see happen, like Greg Duff of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (which will discuss the sale status during its meeting this Thursday). He writes:

It’s time for the citizens of Burien and North Highline to say something to Mr. Ron Sims about his underhanded attempt to sell off Puget Sound Park located at 126th and 1st Ave. South to contractors for affordable housing (another word for low income). Anyone who watched channel 4 news this weekend saw that this area is part of the proposed annexation area of Burien. Mr. Sims wants to sell off this park and leave Burien with more low income housing. Mike Martin, Burien city manager, is opposed to this idea. We need this park and unless we speak up we are going to lose one of the largest open spaces left in North Highline. Write Mr. Sims and let him know you are opposed to it. Maybe he’ll read your e-mail because channel 4 tried for 2 weeks to reach him and he never returned any calls. Maybe he is too concerned with moving to Washington DC to actually take care of King County.

The park sale plan is under “old business” on the agenda for this Thursday’s NHUAC meeting, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ.

As noted in our as-it-happened coverage, members of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council were on hand last night as the Boundary Review Board considered the proposed partial North Highline Annexation – and you can see them all in action this Thursday night, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ, during their regular monthly meeting. The agenda’s now available online; one of the “old business” items is the controversial proposal to sell King County parkland in North Highline.

(below, our notes on the meeting as it happened, start to finish)

7:06 PM: We’re at the Riverside Residences in Tukwila, where the King County Boundary Review Board is about to start its public hearing on Burien’s proposed annexation of part of North Highline. This is a key step along the path to the proposed August 18 public vote. We’ll be posting live updates here as it happens. Vice chair Robert Cook has recused himself from consideration of this matter; member Lynn Guttmann is ill. The hearing starts with various explanations of how the process works. Special assistant attorney general Robert Kaufman has just reminded those in attendance that they need to sign up if they want to speak when this finally gets to the public comment portion, likely no sooner than 8 pm. The city of Burien gets to make its presentation first. Kaufman explains that the board will conclude this hearing with a “preliminary recommendation” on the proposal, which then would be considered for final action when board members have their next formal meeting on April 16th.

7:13 PM: Looks like fewer than a dozen people plan to testify – there has just been a mass swearing-in of those who were signed up. Now Burien city manager Mike Martin is starting his presentation. He says this is a “historic” occasion and notes that at least three councilmembers are in the audience. He is also mentioning the hearing back in September that came to an abrupt end because the proposal had been withdrawn at that time.

His presentation says the proposed annexation area includes: 1679 acres, 14,100 people, assessed value $1,159,030,100. He recaps the negotiations that resulted in the Memorandum of Understanding with parties including the county, Seattle, Burien, and fire districts, including pointing out that everyone ratified that agreement except the Seattle City Council. Now a timeline – if the annexation vote happens in August 18 and it’s approved, the council could formalize the annexation in March 2010. Martin says the city is trying very hard to reach out to residents of the area. He says that while the county thinks that the area has $13 million in capital needs, Burien thinks there’s more like $59 million and isn’t sure how it’ll handle that, but they’ll do their best to try.

FOR THE REST OF OUR NOTES ON THE HEARING, WRITTEN AS IT HAPPENED, CLICK AHEAD: Read the rest of this entry »

Reminder: Tonight’s the Boundary Review Board public hearing on Burien’s proposal to annex part of North Highline – it’s at 7 pm at the Riverside Residences in Tukwila. More info here; for a map to the hearing location, go here.

ORIGINAL SUNDAY REPORT: That’s Payton the schnoodle, whose family lives just west of White Center along SW 104th. We told his story on West Seattle Blog earlier today – Dan and Kim say Payton was stolen from their car while they were parked at Piecora’s Pizza on Capitol Hill last night, and he could be anywhere by now. Here’s the full story at WSB.

MONDAY UPDATE: Payton is back home. Here are the details.

Not since Mary Kay Letourneau titillated the tabloids with details of her ongoing romantic involvement with a teenage boy has the greater West Seattle area produced an internationally notorious celebrity like Amanda Knox. Knox grew up in the Arbor Heights neighborhood just west of White Center.   Some of her family are familiar to us at the cafe, so writing about her case, a case which has drawn such notoriety, is necessarily fraught with emotion. It seems, the whole world is riveted on the trial of Knox and her former lover and codefendant, the Italian national, Raffaele Sollecito. The case has riveted both the English and Italian press and has spawned a cottage industry in the blogosphere.

In addition to the media attention, the case has produced two warring camps: those who proclaim Knox’s innocence and those who profess her guilt. The Knox family is receiving the services of a prominent Seattle attorney to discount the prosecution’s case.  The attorney, Anne Bremner, has put forward her own theory of the case, of which more later. As is often the case with public relations campaigns, though, these efforts have produced more heat than light. It is perfectly understandable that the family would wage a vigorous campaign on behalf of their daughter. Blood ties.

For those very few people unfamiliar with the details of the crime, it took place in the picturesque town of Perugia, Italy. Perugia has a large population of foreign students and it is where Knox and Meredith Kercher, of  Couldson, England went to study abroad. Knox, Kercher, and two other women were flatmates. On November 2, 2007, at approximately 1 p.m. the body of Meredith Kercher was found in her room. Her throat had been cut in a brutal manner. Her eyes were turned to the left and fixed in a rigid gaze, her tongue bone broken, and her neck bisected by a long, deep gash. Medical examiners say she died a slow and painful death. She had, as well, been sexually assaulted. Der Spiegel

Although Knox and Sollecito were first on the scene following the crime, it was not they who called the police. (A neighbor had found Kercher’s mobile phone under a tree and contacted the police.) By the time officers rang the doorbell at 12:35 p.m., on November 2nd, Knox had already notified another roommate and two friends. The two other women living in the apartment had gone away on holiday, so the door to Kercher’s room was broken down at this point.

When investigators arrived on the scene they were surprised to find that all of the rooms, except for Kercher’s, had apparently been scrubbed with concentrated cleaning agent, believed to be bleach, after the murder. They were even more surprised to find that none of Knox’s fingerprints could be found in the apartment, despite the fact that she lived there. Der Spiegel Police state that they detected the odor of bleach on Nov. 6, 2007 — the day both defendants were arrested.  The allegation is that the defendants might have used bleach to eliminate possible traces on any item that might tie them to the crime.

Both, Amanda Knox and Raffaelle Sollecito maintain their innocence. A third individual, Rudy Guede, and African immigrant, opted for a separate “quick trial” and was convicted of murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

On November 6, Italian police arrested Knox, then 20, Sollecito, 23, and Congolese national Diya “Patrick” Lumumba, 38. (Lumumba owned a local bar that occasionally employed Knox as a barmaid; his arrest resulted from Knox’s claim that she saw him enter Kercher’s room and heard screams emanating from it.) In their statement, the police said Kercher was murdered because she refused to take part in violent sex. According to Knox’s statement:

“I want to tell you what happened because it’s left me really shocked and I’m terrified of Patrick, the African boy who owns the Le Chic pub where I work sometimes. I saw him on the evening of 1 November, after I replied ‘see you’ to his text message. We met at about 9 p.m. on the basketball court in Piazza Grimana and went to my place. I can’t remember if Meredith was already there or if she turned up later. What I can say is that they went into the bedroom.” Amanda goes on to describe the assault in detail. Then she adds, “I met Patrick this morning [5 November – Ed.] outside the University for Foreigners and he asked me questions. He wanted to know what questions the police had asked me. I think he also asked me if I wanted to speak to journalists, perhaps because he was trying to find out if I knew anything about Meredith’s death”. (Emphasis added—Ed.)

As it happens, Lumumba had an airtight alibi and was eventually cleared as a suspect and released. Knox never provided a good explanation as to why she had accused Lumumba of the crime. Nor, despite the torrent of commentary, does anyone pick up on the very politically incorrect reference to the 38-year-old Lumumba as “the African boy.” Although from here on out, the alibis and stories of Knox and Sollecito become ever more contradictory.   Knox has claimed the these contradictory statements were the results of drugs, exhaustion and police pressure as well as psychological stress.

Initially, both Knox and Sollecito had claimed to have been at Sollecito’s apartment on the night of the crime, although each noted that either one could have snuck out at night while  the other was asleep.

Both of them had turned off their cell phones that night. Sollecito claimed that he was downloading a cartoon during the critical two hours that the crime occurred; however, tests indicated no activity on the computer that night and his Internet service provider indicated that there was no activity on his account that night. A surveillance camera, across the street from the flat, caught an image of Knox going to the house that night just before the murder. Knox retracted her initial alibi and gave a more detailed statement, which contradicted her first one.

Transcript of Amanda Knox’s handwritten statement to police on the evening of November 6, the day she was arrested:

This is very strange, I know, but really what happened is as confusing to me as it is to everyone else. I have been told there is hard evidence saying that I was at the place of the murder of my friend when it happened. This, I want to confirm, is something that to me, if asked a few days ago, would be impossible.

I know that Raffaele [Sollecito] has placed evidence against me, saying that I was not with him on the night of Meredith’s murder, but let me tell you this. In my mind there are things I remember and things that are confused. My account of this story goes as follows, despite the evidence stacked against me:

On Thursday November 1 I saw Meredith the last time at my house when she left around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Raffaele was with me at the time. We, Raffaele and I, stayed at my house for a little while longer and around 5 in the evening we left to watch the movie Amelie at his house. After the movie I received a message from Patrik [sic], for whom I work at the pub “Le Chic”. He told me in this message that it wasn’t necessary for me to come into work for the evening because there was no one at my work.

Now I remember to have also replied with the message: “See you later. Have a good evening!” and this for me does not mean that I wanted to meet him immediately. In particular because I said: “Good evening!” What happened after I know does not match up with what Raffaele was saying, but this is what I remember. I told Raffaele that I didn’t have to work and that I could remain at home for the evening. After that I believe we relaxed in his room together, perhaps I checked my email. Perhaps I read or studied or perhaps I made love to Raffaele. In fact, I think I did make love with him.

However, I admit that this period of time is rather strange because I am not quite sure. I smoked marijuana with him and I might even have fallen asleep. These things I am not sure about and I know they are important to the case and to help myself, but in reality, I don’t think I did much. One thing I do remember is that I took a shower with Raffaele and this might explain how we passed the time. In truth, I do not remember exactly what day it was, but I do remember that we had a shower and we washed ourselves for a long time. He cleaned my ears, he dried and combed my hair.

One of the things I am sure that definitely happened the night on which Meredith was murdered was that Raffaele and I ate fairly late, I think around 11 in the evening, although I can’t be sure because I didn’t look at the clock. After dinner I noticed there was blood on Raffaele’s hand, but I was under the impression that it was blood from the fish. After we ate Raffaele washed the dishes but the pipes under his sink broke and water flooded the floor. But because he didn’t have a mop I said we could clean it up tomorrow because we (Meredith, Laura, Filomena and I) have a mop at home. I remember it was quite late because we were both very tired (though I can’t say the time).

The next thing I remember was waking up the morning of Friday November 2nd around 10am and I took a plastic bag to take back my dirty cloths to go back to my house. It was then that I arrived home alone that I found the door to my house was wide open and this all began. In regards to this “confession” that I made last night, I want to make clear that I’m very doubtful of the verity of my statements because they were made under the pressures of stress, shock and extreme exhaustion. Not only was I told I would be arrested and put in jail for 30 years, but I was also hit in the head when I didn’t remember a fact correctly. I understand that the police are under a lot of stress, so I understand the treatment I received.

However, it was under this pressure and after many hours of confusion that my mind came up with these answers. In my mind I saw Patrik in flashes of blurred images. I saw him near the basketball court. I saw him at my front door. I saw myself cowering in the kitchen with my hands over my ears because in my head I could hear Meredith screaming. But I’ve said this many times so as to make myself clear: these things seem unreal to me, like a dream, and I am unsure if they are real things that happened or are just dreams my head has made to try to answer the questions in my head and the questions I am being asked.

But the truth is, I am unsure about the truth and here’s why:

1. The police have told me that they have hard evidence that places me at the house, my house, at the time of Meredith’s murder. I don’t know what proof they are talking about, but if this is true, it means I am very confused and my dreams must be real.

2. My boyfriend has claimed that I have said things that I know are not true. I KNOW I told him I didn’t have to work that night. I remember that moment very clearly. I also NEVER asked him to lie for me. This is absolutely a lie. What I don’t understand is why Raffaele, who has always been so caring and gentle with me, would lie about this. What does he have to hide? I don’t think he killed Meredith, but I do think he is scared, like me. He walked into a situation that he has never had to be in, and perhaps he is trying to find a way out by disassociating himself with me.

Honestly, I understand because this is a very scary situation. I also know that the police don’t believe things of me that I know I can explain, such as:

1. I know the police are confused as to why it took me so long to call someone after I found the door to my house open and blood in the bathroom. The truth is, I wasn’t sure what to think, but I definitely didn’t think the worst, that someone was murdered. I thought a lot of things, mainly that perhaps someone got hurt and left quickly to take care of it. I also thought that maybe one of my roommates was having menstral [sic] problems and hadn’t cleaned up. Perhaps I was in shock, but at the time I didn’t know what to think and that’s the truth. That is why I talked to Raffaele about it in the morning, because I was worried and wanted advice.

2. I also know that the fact that I can’t fully recall the events that I claim took place at Raffaele’s home during the time that Meredith was murdered is incriminating. And I stand by my statements that I made last night about events that could have taken place in my home with Patrik, but I want to make very clear that these events seem more unreal to me that what I said before, that I stayed at Raffaele’s house.

3. I’m very confused at this time. My head is full of contrasting ideas and I know I can be frustrating to work with for this reason. But I also want to tell the truth as best I can. Everything I have said in regards to my involvement in Meredith’s death, even though it is contrasting, are the best truth that I have been able to think.

[illegible section]

I’m trying, I really am, because I’m scared for myself. I know I didn’t kill Meredith. That’s all I know for sure. In these flashbacks that I’m having, I see Patrik as the murderer, but the way the truth feels in my mind, there is no way for me to have known because I don’t remember FOR SURE if I was at my house that night. The questions that need answering, at least for how I’m thinking are:

1. Why did Raffaele lie? (or for you) Did Raffaele lie?
2. Why did I think of Patrik?
3. Is the evidence proving my pressance [sic] at the time and place of the crime reliable? If so, what does this say about my memory? Is it reliable?
4. Is there any other evidence condemning Patrik or any other person?
3. Who is the REAL murder [sic]? This is particularly important because I don’t feel I can be used as condemning testimone [sic] in this instance.

I have a clearer mind that I’ve had before, but I’m still missing parts, which I know is bad for me. But this is the truth and this is what I’m thinking at this time. Please don’t yell at me because it only makes me more confused, which doesn’t help anyone. I understand how serious this situation is, and as such, I want to give you this information as soon and as clearly as possible.

If there are still parts that don’t make sense, please ask me. I’m doing the best I can, just like you are. Please believe me at least in that, although I understand if you don’t. All I know is that I didn’t kill Meredith, and so I have nothing but lies to be afraid of.

The state of the evidence was summarized by Charles Mudede of the Seattle weekly, The Stranger :

What we know about the crime and the suspects comes mostly from what the police and lawyers release/leak to the press. From these releases/leaks of information rises a haze of conflicting confessions, changing stories, DNA links, and digital details. For a while, Sollecito insisted he was not at the cottage at the time of the murder; he was, instead, at home surfing the web. But the recent revelation that his DNA was found on Kercher’s bra ties him to the scene. Knox first said she wasn’t there, either; she was at Sollecito’s place. Then a surveillance camera captured Knox walking back to the cottage an hour before Kercher returned home for the last time. After that, Knox admitted she had been at home, saying she had smoked a lot of hash, heard the killer in the other room, and closed her ears while Kercher screamed. But a drop of Knox’s blood has been found in a sink, and her DNA was also on a knife that had Kercher’s DNA on its tip. Guede claims that he did not kill Kercher, that the two had consensual sex, and after sex he took a big shit in her bathroom because his stomach was turned by some “spicy kebab.” While taking the long shit, he was listening to music on his iPod. Because the music was loud, he did not hear Kercher screaming for her life in the other room. When he entered her room, he confronted and tussled with her killer. The stranger screamed: “A black man found, black man condemned,” and fled the house. In the quiet moment that fell upon the room, Guede heard Kercher’s last word: “af.” He knelt beside her oozing life, dipped a forefinger into a warm pool of her blood, wrote “AF” on the wall, and ran out of her house. That is his story.

Guede opted for a separate trial, fearing that Knox and Sollecito were conspiring against him. He was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. The 100-plus-page opinion of the judge who presided over Guede’s trial has been dribbling out in pieces. Among the judge’s findings is the following :

Judge Micheli was also the pre-trial judge who in October said there was enough evidence against Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito for them to be sent for trial. The prosecution alleges that Guede tried to sexually assault Ms Kercher while Mr Sollecito held her down and Ms Knox toyed with a knife against her throat, which she then used to stab her. Judge Micheli said he accepted that there was “complicity” between the assailants, but said some aspects of the prosecution reconstruction were “fantasy”.

Reconstructing the crime in his 106-page report, Judge Micheli said the first blow was struck at Ms Kercher while she was standing up. He said she was killed because she refused to take part in a sexual game which “escalated into violence and got out of control.”

At the hearing to determine whether Knox and Sollecito should be held, Ms. Knox’s lawyers initially argued that evidence about her accusing innocent local bar owner Diya “Patrick” Lumumba of the murder should not be admissible. This was denied. There was a report from trial judge Paolo Micheli in which he concluded that Amanda Knox had opened the door to Meredith’s killer. The court heard that a knife with Kercher’s DNA on it had been found in Mr. Sollecito’s apartment.

Ms. Knox has been keeping a prison diary which was itself leaked. There is some controversy about the translation, but here is one version an excerpt from the diary:

“That night I smoked a lot of marijuana and I fell asleep at my boyfriend’s house. I don’t remember anything. But I think it’s possible that Raffaele went to Meredith’s house, raped her and then killed. And when he got home, while I was sleeping, he put my fingerprints on the knife. But I don’t understand why Raffaele would do that.”

Now here is what one of Amanda’s supporters claims she actually wrote:

“Raffaele and I have used this knife to cook, and it’s impossible that Meredith’s DNA is on the knife because she’s never been to Raffaele’s apartment before. So unless Raffaele decided to get up after I fell asleep, grabbed said knife, went over to my house, used it to kill Meredith, came home, cleaned the blood off, rubbed my fingerprints all over it, put it away, then tucked himself back into bed, and then pretended really well the next couple of days, well, I just highly doubt all of that.”

To look at the pictures both, in custody and on the web, Amanda Knox clearly projects the “all American girl.”  Albeit, in Italy she is derogatorily referred to as “Foxy Knoxy,” her Facebook name.   Obviously, her look and demeanor, did not sway the magistrate who ordered her held in prison who described “Knox as having “a multilayered personality, naive and cunning at the same time.”  Her accounts of the events of that night have constantly shifted, although she blames drug use and police pressure for conflicting narratives.  Even if she was using a lot of marijuana or hashish, that night, it is hard to square with her claims of memory lapses.  One would think that they would sober up pretty quickly upon finding a bloody murder scene and the police at the door.  And then there is the seeming lack of emotion betrayed after the murder, “Knox talked about the details of Kercher’s death as if she had thought about them carefully. “She bled to death very slowly,” Knox said.”  Der Spiegel

Her former lover and now co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito has tried to shift the blame to Amanda, arguing that she left his apartment at 9 p.m.  Needless to say, this account does not square with the forensic evidence.   As with Knox, the magistrate that ordered Sollecito held in prison gave this account of the young man, “Sollecito has a penchant for violent pornography and horror films, as well as knives and the morbid punk music of Marilyn Manson. He seemed withdrawn and was deeply affected by the death of his mother.”  Der Spiegel His father, who has come to his defense concedes that Sollecito had a knife collection but claims that he was incapable of being a killer.  Like Knox, Sollecito exhibited a strange emotional distance after the murder.   He now claims that he was a virgin before he met Knox.  His DNA was found on the bra strap of Kercher.  As with Knox, the forensic and circumstantial evidence do not bode well for Sollecito.  And as with Knox, his mutating explanations of what happened that night have only hurt his cause.

So what is the family’s theory of what happened on the fateful night?  The family’s Seattle lawyer, Anne Bremner poses a “lone wolf” theory placing the whole blame on, the now convicted, Rudy Guede,

What really happened in Perugia last November first?

Once you put aside the wild theories the authorities have spun for the media, this case isn’t mysterious at all.  The evidence shows it was a sexual homicide like many others.  The police have enough evidence against Rudy Guede to convict him in any courtroom in the world.

— He left a hand print, in the victim’s blood, next to the victim’s body.

— His DNA was found inside the victim.

— He admits he was at the scene of the crime.

— He admits to having some kind of intimate contact with Meredith but claims it was consensual and stopped short of intercourse.

— And he says someone else entered the premises and killed Meredith while he was in the bathroom.

This last claim is the standard alibi killers give police when they can’t deny being present at the scene of a murder.  It’s known as the “bushy-haired stranger” story, and it’s so common police often refer to the acronym, BHS.  One famous case in the U.S. is that of Diane Downs, who claims a BHS shot her children.

Judges and juries almost never believe the BHS story.  But Rudy Guede has an advantage over most people in his situation, because the prosecutor is already trying to make the case that two other people were involved in killing Meredith Kercher.  Not surprisingly, after Rudy sat in jail for a few months, he modified his story.  Now he says the BHS was Raffaele Sollecito.  And he also claims Amanda Knox, who he originally said was not at the crime scene, was present after all.

Guede wants to push the blame off on them.  It remains to be seen whether he will do so, but the factual evidence is strongly against him.

Putting aside the fact that forensic evidence ties Knox and Sollecito to the crime scene, the theory of Guede acting alone has been discounted as follows:

The lone wolf theory can be disbanded simply with a balance of probability. What are the chances of Rudy Guede, a young man with no history of violence, no criminal record and no recorded drug problem deciding to randomly go to the house of a girl he barely knew (or did not know at all) in order to sexually assault and kill her? What are the chances of him scaling a wall in order to break into the apartment when other points of entry would have been easier? What are the chances of him selecting that house to burgle if this was his primary motivation? What are the chances of him, independently and without consultation from the defendants or anyone else with access to this type of knowledge, knowing that Meredith Kercher would be home alone on the night of the 1st November 2007?

It is not unusual that a notorious crime would attract much media attention; whole journalistic enterprises feed on them.  But this case has some unusual features that attract even more attention.  For starters, each actor had a different nationality, Guede is African, Sollecito is Italian, Knox is American and the victim, Kercher was English.  All the actors are young, handsome and none had a history of criminal activity – especially violent criminal activity.  The brutality is shocking.  Finally, there is the question of motive.  Although, as a former prosecutor, in questions of sex, reason is often lacking and a little motive may lead to a lot of mayhem.  In this instance, perhaps, the most detailed analysis that I have found to explain why this happened and what animated the various actors is the blog entitled,“Lies Our Mothers Told Us” and extensive reporting by the BBC .  As we here, in Seattle, try and make sense of events that befuddle us, it is worthwhile trying to find information that is well-reasoned and well-grounded.  Presently, we get sparse feeds from the wire and an occassional report from home-town media.  In that regard, I hope this helps us to be better informed on the curious case of Amanda Knox.

The city of Burien has sent out a list with both reminders and announcements of upcoming meetings regarding whether part of North Highline will be annexed, with a vote coming up later this year – read on for details: Read the rest of this entry »

Just received from the state:

OLYMPIA — Beginning April 1, many people currently receiving food
assistance through Washington’s food stamp program, Basic Food, will
receive an increase in their monthly food benefits. The Federal American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently signed into law to help
stimulate the national economy, provides additional aid to people
receiving food benefits. Changes in Basic Food provided by the federal
stimulus package include:

* A 13.6 percent increase in maximum monthly benefit amounts for
most households – meaning a four-person household could receive up to
$668 instead of $588.

* Suspending the three-month time limit on food assistance for
childless, unemployed adults through September 2010.

Households currently receiving Basic Food will automatically receive the
higher benefits. DSHS sent letters to all affected households informing
them of the upcoming increase to their monthly benefits.

People receive their monthly Basic Food benefits electronically on a
debit-like card to spend on food items. The additional grocery purchases
generated by the extra benefits will increase economic activity in
communities across the state. During the state’s 2007 fiscal year,
Washington’s Basic Food Program generated more than $607 million in food
purchases statewide. With recent program expansions, this figure is
estimated to reach nearly $1 billion in 2009.

“Washington state has a history of weathering economic downturns fairly
well, but we haven’t been so lucky this time,” said Troy Hutson,
assistant secretary for the DSHS Economic Services Administration. “As
unemployment continues to rise, more people needing help to make ends
meet are coming to us. The food stamp program is the nation’s first
defense against hunger and these additional benefits provide much needed
help to families and the economy as a whole.”

People who would like more information about Basic Food can go to
www.foodhelp.wa.gov . Households can
quickly estimate what their monthly benefits would be and apply online.
People can also call 1-877-514-FOOD (3663) for questions about the
program.

From our partner site West Seattle Blog – both King County deputies and Seattle Police say what brought the chopper over the city/county line early Sunday was a fight, possibly involving someone with a gun, and did not result in arrests. Police could not confirm whether this nearby incident was related.

(Crossposted in part from partner site West Seattle Blog.) Area students are involved with the World TB Day event Tuesday night at Town Hall in downtown Seattle is free – and promises to be an eye-opener. Full details here. If you thought tuberculosis was a thing of the past – this King County-specific information alone will cure you of that notion. (The local rate, in fact, hit a 30-year high in 2007.) Student organizers also have been sending out TB info via Twitter – follow their tweets (and see the archives) at twitter.com/worldtbday.

The huge regional FIRST Robotics Competition is happening in Seattle next week – Thursday 3/26 through Saturday 3/28 at KeyArena – and Evergreen TEC will be there. Read all about its robotics achievements here.

Your neighbors on the Seattle side of the line are inviting you again to the next Highland Park Action Committee meeting – here’s the announcement from chair Dan Mullins:

This month’s HPAC monthly meeting will include a presentation from Carolyn Johnson from Seattle Public Utilities to discuss the upcoming changes to our garbage, recycling , food and yard waste pick-up.
She will discuss:

What’s Changing
Food and Yard Waste (What’s New)
Recycling (What’s New)
Other Items (Now Collected @ Curbside)
More Options Than Ever (Service Levels)
What to Expect
Why is This Happening
You Can Make a Difference

Question & Answers or Where to Find Answers

And of course we will have reports on the NEC jail proposal, Becca Fong will discuss the King Co. Food & Fitness initiative, Officer Adonis Topacio with the neighborhood crime watch and much more. We will also have a Spotlight on a local business that we feel you should know about and a raffle with a big prize!!

So come for the pot-luck dinner and stay for the meeting, meet some old and new neighbors and bring your Rants and Raves.

The Highland Park Action Committee monthly meeting
Monday, March 23rd. at 7:00 ( potluck dinner at 6:30)
at the HP Improvement Club building
1116 SW Holden

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, so the chronic alcoholics, that live on the streets, felt emboldened.  Two drunks wondered down 16th Ave. SW, malt liquor in hand (no bags).  Clearly having imbibed a good deal already, one of the pair starts screaming at the top of his lungs.  Concerned that a fight was about to break out between these two drunks, I called 911 and explained that there were two intoxicated men, drinking malt liquor and being belligerent.  The dispatcher asked for description and said he would “call it in.”

My friend and I waited outside of the cafe and placed wagers on whether SPD would respond at all and if so would it be within the hour.  “These calls are just one step above noise complaints on their radar,” he said.  One of the drunks finished his liquor and flung the 20 oz can like a baseball.  The other one continued to nurse his beer.  Finally, about a half hour later a Seattle Police Department patrol car shows up with two officers.  Not bothering to get out of the car they pull up to the individual with the can of malt liquor in his hand.   “Toss it out,” they direct, although he had already started draining the can as he saw the patrol car approach.  He flings his can to the ground.  “Now move along,” says the officer.  The drunks get up and start heading south towards Roxbury.

My friend approaches the patrol car and indicates he wants to talk to them.  The police officers look bothered.  He tells them that the other fellow had just tossed his can on top of the roof of building.  “So?”  came the reply from the officer, who had by now exited the car.  “Well, we have lots of problems with these chronic drunks and we are concerned that nothing is being done to rid the area of them.”

“Look buddy, it’s not my issue.  I can cite him for public intoxication, but that’s just a small fine.”  We do not mention that he could have checked their ids and checked for outstanding warrants.

“But they are just going to get another round of malt liquor and continue to blight the area.”

The officer hems and haws and says, “they’re gone ok.  Buddy, we gotta go.”

And as the two drunks cross Roxbury into unincorporated King County, the officer looks over and says, “look, they’re the County’s problem now.”  And with those parting words, the officer gets in his squad car and drives away.