Editor's Note 2025

 The following posts are on subjects I think worthy of consideration. I would hope this information is relevant for your consideration. That being said, nothing posted should be construed as to what I believe. It is my hope to open up the dialogue about various aspects of education.

Birth of this blog and the Melissa Westbrook connection 

Click here to get the latest seattle public school's FOIA request log      New June 2023 file

BOX OF SHAME   <<<<<< take a peek !

View OSPI's SPS citizen's complaints here     Full list of SPS parents complaints here

Seattle School Board Elections    More local stories 

World's Largest Lithium Battery Plant Burns in Central California

 If the operator of the worlds largest battery storage facility can't stop lithium batteries from catching fire then why are these extremely dangerous batteries allowed in cars or in peoples homes?

                                  Moss Landing Power Plant 01/16/2025

                  https://www.ktvu.com/news/fire-moss-landing-power-plant-triggers-eas-warning-monterey-county

                                               20 Teslas burn up at charging station

Fire causing $20,000 in damage to Santa Rosa home originated in Tesla Powerwall, officials say

                           https://www.ktvu.com/news/fire-moss-landing-power-plant-triggers-eas-warning-monterey-county

 

Turf War Between Pimps Leads to Dramatic Shootout on Aurora Avenue (KOMO'S words not mine)

 Near Aurora Avenue and 96th Street, footage shows a woman diving for cover as shots ring out. In a sign of the severity of the situation, gunfire happened sporadically over several minutes. As a result, that woman is seen repeatedly cowering behind bushes to avoid being shot.

 Note:  I have reached out to City of Seattle District 5 counsel person Cathy Moore on Dec 30th for comment (cathy.moore@seattle.gov)  she has not responded.

 

 

 https://komonews.com/news/local/turf-war-pimps-aurora-avenue-north-seattle-crime-prostitution-surveillance-video-gun-violence-gunfire-chase-january-10-spd-business-district-accountability

Want to See Seattle Schools Really Suceed? Allow School Vouchers to Happen and they will.

 House Bill 1140, co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, would specifically fund ESAs for low-income students, special needs families and students trapped in failing schools.

Not all schools can serve all students, this sort homogenized approach has failed.    

Supporters of school choice via vouchers have a tough opponent in the teacher's unions and there supporters but there is hope as more and more tax payers see their taxes skyrocketing and student achievement dropping.  

At some point fiscal reality must step in.

Now They Are Shooting in Broad Daylight

 The shooting happened around 12:20 p.m. in the 10200 block of Linden Avenue North. Video captured by a person’s surveillance camera shows a Jeep almost pinned in a Maserati. The Jeep’s passenger window comes down, and the driver steps out and unloads a barrage of bullets as the Maserati speeds away. Responding officers found more than half a dozen shell casings at the scene.

And even though video surveillance clearly shows both vehicle's license plate SPD cant figure it out.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/gunfire-erupts-greenwood-neighborhood-jeep-driver-targets-maserati-suv/UXUUXGKEPZAWDEFT4EZYMKDSW4/
 

 https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2024/12/29/car-shot-at-in-greenwood-neighborhood-suspect-still-outstanding/

Seattle Public Schools assistant principal among 7 men arrested for sex crimes

Díaz Rios was listed as an assistant principal with Seattle Public Schools at TOPS K-8.

"Seattle Public Schools (SPS) entered into a separation agreement this month with Alex Diaz Rios who was charged with prostitution. Upon learning of the charges, SPS acted swiftly to place the individual on leave on Wednesday, Nov. 13. He has resigned and will not be returning to SPS. 

 https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/seattle-assistant-principal-arrested

Defund The Police Seattle City Cousel Member to Leave Post

Seattle City Council member Tammy Morales is resigning, she announced Wednesday, criticizing the way the rest of the council has been operating.

 

 

 

Morales then listed eight examples of the council’s conduct, saying her colleagues have interfered with the ability of nonpartisan staff to provide objective policy analyses; stifled First Amendment rights by having public commenters arrested; and “passed 11 bills to increase the punitive nature of our criminal legal system without any additional meaningful accountability for our police department,” among other alleged misdeeds.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-councilmember-tammy-morales-is-resigning/

LGBTQ Activist Murders Father Over Trump's Victory

 

A Blue Origin employee married to a prominent trans author and journalist has been accused of killing her elderly father with an ice axe on Election Night.

Corey Burke, 33, allegedly struck, stabbed and strangled her father, 67-year-old Timothy Burke, in a fatal attack at her $800,000 Seattle home on November 5.

Burke, a training manager at Jeff Bezos' rockets and spacecraft company, confessed to killing her father after he refused to turn off the lights, according to charging documents seen by DailyMail.com.

After emerging from the house with blood 'dripping' down her face, she confessed to police that she 'freaked out,' claiming there was 'something important about Election Day.' 

Burke reportedly told detectives that 'she knew that she could not convince her father to keep the lights off', so went upstairs and retrieved the murder weapon. 

She then tripped her father and strangled him before attacking him with the ice axe.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/triggered-by-donald-trumps-victory-seattle-woman-brutally-kills-father-with-ice-axe-on-election-night-101731567554842.html 

https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/corey-burke-hacked-father-to-death-after-trumps-election-night-victory/

 

School Districts That Spent COVID-19 Money Hiring Now Grapple With Layoffs

 An April white paper by the American Institute for Research and the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research indicated that in Washington state, about 25 percent of the money provided to districts funded new employees, and most of the hiring took place in larger, more urban districts that received larger shares of ESSER funding and served high populations of minority students.

All told, Washington state school districts spent $497 million over three years on additional teachers and other employees.

“If districts are unable to manage reductions via attrition, it is likely that the end of ESSER fundings will be followed by significant layoffs,” wrote one of the paper’s authors, Dan Goldhaber.

Many large school districts, including in Houston; San Diego; Anaheim, California; Hartford, Connecticut; Seattle; and Cleveland, grappled with deficits and job cuts at the end of the prior academic year.

 

Parents File Recall Petition Against Seattle School Board President

 Oh boy Liza Rankin what have you done now. More to come  

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/parents-file-recall-petition-against-seattle-school-board-president/