Collected by Antonio Foster
New High School Hall of Fame Welcomes Three South Seattleites
Count at least three former South Seattle high school athletes as inductees in to the newly created Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Athletic Hall of Fame (AHoF). Rhonda Smith (Franklin ’91), Jason Terry (Franklin ’95) and Nate Robinson (Rainier Beach ’02) were all announced as initial inductees of the AHoF, which honors outstanding SPS high school student athletes, coaches, administrators, and athletic community members.
For the inaugural class, AHoF committee members researched and reviewed 138 years of SPS athletics and selected 23 names. The chosen inductees come from the district’s 10 current high schools and 3 former ones: Broadway, Lincoln, and Queen Anne. SPS has been revealing a partial list of inductees every week, so it is widely expected that South Seattle’s tally of former high-school athletes will increase with former Rainier Beach High basketball standout and current Los Angeles Clipper Jamal Crawford seeming like a no-brainer. His classmate Gina Powell, a former track and field phenom, is also widely anticipated to make the cut. All inductees will be revealed prior to the inaugural induction ceremony February 16, 2017 at the Washington Athletic Club.
City Seeking Applications for Community Advisory Commission
Seattle Mayor Edward Murray and Seattle City Council are seeking community members to serve on the City’s new Community Involvement Commission (CIC). Created by Executive Order 2016-06 and established by ordinance last November, this Commission will advise the City on policies and strategies to advance equitable public engagement and civic participation.
“All residents, including those representing under-represented and under-served communities must have the opportunity to participate in the City’s decision making and planning processes,” said Mayor Murray. “This new commission will guide the City’s efforts to create policies and initiatives that are more inclusive for residents. If Seattle is to become a more equitable place for all, we must bring more voices at the table to ensure that we are representative of Seattle’s diversity.”
The Board will be composed of 16 members – seven appointed by City Council (by Council District) and seven appointed by the Mayor with one of his appointments reserved for a young adult through the Get Engaged program. The final two members will be selected by the Commission once established. All the appointments are subject to City Council confirmation.
Initially, the Commission will meet monthly at Seattle City Hall. Commissioners will serve without compensation and must commit approximately 3-6 hours per month to Commission business.
Those interested in being considered for the Commission can, complete the online application by Wednesday, March 1 by 5 p.m. If you cannot submit the application online, contact Seattle Department of Neighborhoods at 206-684-0464 and an application will be mailed to you or you can pick one up at its office (Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, 4th floor) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. If mailing the application, it must be postmarked by March 1. Mail it to: Tom Van Bronkhorst, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, PO Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649. Translated online and paper versions of the application in Korean, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese are available.
Sharon Tomiko Santos Sponsors Bill to Alter Sound Transit Board
As first reported by Seattle Transit Blog, 37th District Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos has joined with seven republicans in the state legislature to sponsor a bill that would drastically alter how the Sound Transit Board is chosen.
House Bill 1029 would shift away from appointed board members, to elected ones. Representative Santos has not yet publicly stated why she has decided to support the bill, though several constituents have reached out to her office for clarification as to why she feels the change is necessary. The Emerald is currently working on a story about the matter.
King Donuts Attacker Sentenced to Nearly 12 Years
Komo News reported that the man who robbed and brutally beat the former owners Rainier Beach’s King Donut in January of 2015 was sentenced to prison on Friday by a King County judge.
Gary Thomas- Stuckey was given 11 years, 8 months for his attack of Heng Hay and Chea Pol. The two had just finished their work day and had closed their shop up for the night.
“They’ve gone through so much in life & to have him come and beat and rob them like he did, it’s so horrible. My parents… they didn’t only suffer physical injuries, but mentally they’re unstable,” Kome reported Davie Hay, the daughter of the victims, as telling the courtroom on Friday. “They’re not here today because they’re scared of him. They don’t want to see his face ever again. And he took away a lot of things from them that they didn’t deserve.”
The Hay’s retired from the doughnut business in December 2016, selling it to new owners who have kept the name as well as the restaurant and laundromat set-up.
