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Morgan Junction shooting suspect charged with 1st-degree murderJanuary 25, 2012 at 3:40 pm | In Crime, West Seattle news | 123 Comments
63-year-old* Gatewood resident Lovett James Chambers (right) is now charged with first-degree murder in the Saturday night shooting that killed 35-year-old Michael Travis Hood (left; known by his middle name). Charging documents were just provided by prosecutors; Chambers' bail is now set at $5 million. Hood was shot by Morgan Junction Park; a friend then drove him to Providence Mount St. Vincent, thinking it was a hospital, and that's where police and medics found him, taking him to Harborview Medical Center, where he died hours later.
At first glance the charging documents shed little light on the case beyond what has been reported already, except to say Chambers told investigators the victim and his friend were making "racial slurs," and that Hood was shot three times, twice in the back. The documents detail Chambers' past, as support for the increased bail:
… the defendant appears to have a substantial history of crimes of violence, which may increase his potential sentencing range. It is believed that the defendant's criminal history began in the eariy 1960s and includes a conviction for Robbery in 1961; a crime identified as GL (possibly Grand Larceny) in 1962; Robbery (two counts) and Kidnapping in 1966; Escape with Force in 1966; Resisting Public Officers in 1972; Extortion in 1982; and Robbery of a Savings and Loan in 1982. It is anticipated that the State will amend the Information in this case to Íiie Unlawful Possession of a Firearm charges against the defendant prior to trial.
In addition, it appears that the defendant has prior arrests for Kidnapping for Ransom and/or Rape by Force in 1965; Armed Robbery and Felon in Possession in 1973; Robbery in 1974; Extortion in 1976; and Bank Robbery in 1980. The ultimate disposition of the latter group of cases is not yet known.
In court for Chambers' first bail hearing on Monday, the suspect's wife said he had had nothing more than a traffic ticket in the 20 years they had been together; county records show they have owned a home in Gatewood for 18 years, and he has run a home-based computer-tech business. Details of the charging documents, ahead:
We do not usually include the names of witnesses, but because Jamie had spoken with WSB and we had published his first name, we will include it here. The following is a cut-and-paste from the charging documents (with a few formatting quirks since it's a PDF), with only witness names and the suspect's wife's first name and address omitted:
… January 21st, 2012, at about hours, victim Michael Hood was in the Feedback Lounge located at 6451 California Avenue SW – with his friend, Jonathan "Jamie" …
(Jamie) said it was the time he and Hood had been in that bar and they did not know anyone.
At some point during the evening, (Jamie) noticed a black male standing near the entrance to the restrooms – this male was later identifìed as Lovett Chambers. (Jamie) said he did not know why he noticed Chambers and said he and Chambers never made eye contact. (Jamie) and Hood were seated at a table near the restrooms; Hood had his back toward Chambers. (Jamie) was pretty sure Hood never saw Chambers while inside the bar. (Jamie) and Hood did not make conversation with anyone in the bar that evening.
At about 2135 hours, (Jamie) and Hood decided to leave the bar. They paid their bill and exited through the front door. (Jamie) said he noticed the same black male – Lovett Chambers – standing just outside the front door as they exited the bar. Chambers _Was just a few feet to the south of the entrance. (Jamie) said no Words were exchanged with Chambers. (Jamie) and Hood turned northbound and began walking toward (Jamie)'S vehicle (a red Ford Ranger) parked about a block to the north on California Avenue – against the West curb (just in front of Morgan Junction Park).
As (Jamie) and Hood passed the entrance to SW Beveridge Piace (a small street to the west)
_ (Jamie) realized Hood had turned and was Walking westbound on Beveridge Place away from (Jamie)'s truck. (Jamie) said he continued northbound on California Avenue and back to Hood, "Where you going? The truck is over here." Hood said something like, "ok" and started walking toward where (Jamie) had parked his truck. (Jamie) continued and arrived at his truck first. (Jamie) entered his vehicle on the driver's side.
(Jamie) said he reached across and unìocked the passenger side door for Hood. (Jamie) said Hood was out of sight for just a few seconds (a large vehicle was parked directly in front of his vehicle and blocked his View of Hood as hewas approaching on the sidewaìk). (Jamie) said Hood came into View and he noticed Hood was exchanging words with the same black male (Lovett Chambers) he had seen earìier. (Jamie) couid not hear what was being said between the two but he did not suspect it was anything angry. (Jamie) said Hood made it to the truck and opened the passenger door. (Jamie) said Chambers walked directly toward Hood and got within 2 feet of him. (Jamie) said Hood spun toward the bed of the truck and grabbed a shovel ((Jamie) said he kept the shovel in the bed of his truck because of the recent snow storm). (Jamie) said Hood took up a "batter's" stance with the shovel (holding it like a baseball bat) and stated to Chambers, "What do you Want to do now?" (Jamie) said Chambers immediately backed away from Hood (approximately 6 or 7 feet) and with his left hand pulled a black or blue handgun – -".40 or .45 caliber" – from the right side of his upper body. Hood yelled, "Oh my God, he's got a gun" and tried to get into the truck. (Jamie) said he saw the gun pointed at Hood and realized he was also in the line of fire. (Jamie) said he jumped out of the driver"s side of his truck and "hit the deck" as Chambers 3 rounds ((Jamie) said he believed it was three but it could have been four shots).
(Jamie) Said it was quiet after the shooting (he said his ears were ringing from the loud gun
shots). (Jamie) looked up and saw Chambers sliding his weapon back into his jacket as he
walked away southbound on the sidewalk. –
(Jamie) saw 'that Hood had been shot and was bleeding. (Jamie) pulled Hood into the truck and tried to close the door. (Jamie) saw that Hood had brought the shovel into the cab of the truck and blocked the door from closing. (He) pushed the shovel out of the door, and sped off northbound. (Jamie) said he left the area because he feared Chambers was going to come back and shoot him.
(Jamie) drove Hood to a Providence nursing home facility located at 483i 35th Avenue SW ((Jamie) believed it was a hospital).
(Jamie's truck; WSB photo taken at PMSV, Saturday night)
The Providence nursing staff called 911. Seattle Fire Medics responded to the nursing center and began treating Hood's injuries. Hood was transported by the medics to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died of his gunshot wounds.
Seattle Patrol Offìcers responded to the scene of the shooting as a result of multiple calls.
Officer Brian Koshak arrived in front of the Beveridge Place Pub » 6413 California Avenue SW, just north of the Feedback lounge. Ofñeer Koshak was flagged down by witnesses (A and B). They (said) they saw a black male wearing blue jeans, black beanie and what looked like a shiny black leather jacket confront a White male at a pickup truck. They saw the black male pull out a handgun and shoot the white male 3-4 times.
Witnesses (A and B) said they did not hear an argument or see any fighting prior to the shooting. (A and B) said the suspect calmly put his gun away and walked to his vehicle – a biue BMW M3. (A and B) said the suspect sat in his vehicle and Watched them as they stood outside the pub. (A and B) said they Watched the suspect text something on his phone. The witnesses said the victim was pulled into the pickup truck by the driver and driven from the scene northbound, they watched the suspect pull away in his vehicle and head in the same direction as the pickup truck. Witness (A) provided the license number of the suspect vehicle as O47 – that plate number did not come back to a BMW.
Officer Koshak located three .45 caliber shell casings on the sidewalk and blood on the curb just north of the Beveridge Place Pub. Additional offîcers arrived and secured the Scene.
Officer Koshak contacted (witness C) – employee of the Feedback Lounge. (witness C) told Officer Koshak there had been a black male in the bar that evening who Went by the name "Cid" and he matched the`description of the shooter. (they) provided a credit card receipt for Cid's purchase that evening and advised that he drove a blue BMW. Officer Koshak noted the name on the credit receipt was "Lovett Chambers." (witness C) told the ofñeer that Chambers was a regular customer and usuaìly a nice guy although tonight, for some reason, Chambers was very agitated. Members of the Feedback staff advised that Chambers lived in West Seattle.
(Officer) conducted a computer records check on Lovett Chambers and found a West Seattle address…
Detective Ed Chan conducted a computer Search of the suspect Vehicle license number and located a similar license number of O47 _XMK that was associated with Chambers' address. That plate number came back to a blue BMW M3 œgistered to Cidrìck Mann and (wife), with an address of …
(Officer) and members of the Southwest Anti-Crime Team responded to (the home) and contacted Lovett Chambers (AKA: Cidrick Mann) as he answered the door. Chambers told the officers his name was "Cid Chambers." Chambers was taken into custody and the house cleared for any additional suspects. Chambers' wife … was in the house and detained. While clearing the house for additional suspects, (officer) located a Wilson Combat .45 caliber, semiauto, handgun on top of the kitchen table (the gun was loaded and cocked). Next to the gun was a spare magazine loaded with .45 caliber rounds and BMW car keys. Mrs. Chambers told the officers that the .45 caliber handgun belonged to her husband. No additional suspects were found in the residence. Officers secured the house and sought a search warrant.
Offìcers McDougal and Renner impounded Chambers' blue BMW M3 that was parked at his residence. The vehicîe was transported to the CSI vehicle processing room to be searched at a later date. Seattìe Police CSI unit responded to the Chambers' residence with a Search Warrant and recovered the .45 caliber semi-auto handgun, magazine and ammo. An additional firearm ~ 9mm semi~auto handgun – was recovered from a fanny pack that Ms. Chambers described as her purse (it did contain her ID and credit cards).
Lovett Chambers was transported to the Seattle Police Homicide office, where he was subsequently provided with his Miranda Warnings. Chambers agreed to be interviewed (it was video and audio recorded). Detective Steiger and Detective Kasner conducted the interview. Chambers initially stated he could not remember much of the evening, but later in the interview remembered two men had followed him to his vehicle, a blue BMW. Chambers said he was parked in front of the Beveridge Place Pub. Chambers said the two men were making racial slurs as they followed him to his car. Chambers said he got into his vehicle and the two men _attempted to get into his car on the passenger side. Chambers said he retrieved his from under the front passenger seat of his vehicle because he believed the two men were going to attack him. When asked how the shooting could have occurred where (Jamie)'s vehicle had been parked, approximateiy 50 – 75 feet to the north of where Chambers' vehicle was parked," Chambers said could not remember what happened after he retrieved his gun. Chambers also stated he did not see either man with a weapon of any kind.
Mrs. Chambers was interviewed by Detective Steiger and Detective Kasner. Mrs. Chambers said her husband arrived home and poured himself a glass of Wine. Mrs. Chambers said her husband seemed calm and even asked her about the movie she was watching. Mrs. Chambers said that not long after her husband arrived home, the police arrived and arrested him.
A routine check of Lovett Chambers' criminal history revealed he is a convicted felon and not legally allowed to possess a firearm. Chambers was convicted of Robbery, Kidnapping, Escape and has a prior Felon in Possession conviction. The same record revealed Chambers has used numerous names – including "Cidrick Mann" – and multiple dates of birth.
Lovett Chambers was booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Assau1t (victim Hood was alive at Harborvìew Medical Center at the time of Chambers' booking),
On January 22nd, 2012 (Hood) died of his injuries. Preìiminary King County Medicaì Examiner autopsy findings disclosed that victim Michael Travis Hood had been shot three times; two of those in the back. The booking was amended to Investigation of Murder.
Chambers' arraignment – when he will formally answer the charge – is set for the morning of February 8th at the King County Courthouse.
*Footnote from the start of the story: Official documents in the case have given two birthdates for Chambers, in 1944 and 1948. The charging documents only use the 1948 date, so unless authorities say otherwise at some point, we will use that one when mentioning the suspect's age.
123 Comments
Keep this jerk behind bars!!!! Glad and thankful that the family has some sort of closure. Just wish that it was a happier ending. Prayers to Travis' family!!
Comment by MB — 3:50 pm January 25, 2012 #
They say old habits die hard…but this, after 30 some odd years of not committing a crime (or maybe just not being caught at it) goes for the ultimate crime – murder. Unbelievable and very tragic.
Comment by onceachef — 3:50 pm January 25, 2012 #
For any early readers, as of 4:12 pm, the entirety of the court documents is now included in the story – TR
so where's all this supposed "glaring" that was taking place, according to Jamie in all the other threads? now there was no contact at all, no eye contact? that seems fishy to say the least.. not excusing what happened, just saying that there have been wildly differing accounts already and we still only know half the story.
Comment by HelperMonkey — 4:24 pm January 25, 2012 #
sounds like a real angel. Maybe this time we can keep him inside?
Comment by Terry — 4:36 pm January 25, 2012 #
This man's violent history is so extensive, all of his crimes must have been prior to the 3-strike rule. He was convicted of rape, armed robbery, assaults… Even back then, I'm surpised he didn't do significantly more time. It took THIS final atrocity to get him where he always belonged – prison for life.
This is so tragic for Mr. Hood, and my heart/prayers go out to Mr. Hood, his friends and his family.
Because we incarcerate more people than any other nation on earth (many for non-violent offenses), men and women like this will slip through the cracks. Until we really make prison a hallmark for the violent offender, and not a storage for the surplus from a failed republican "war on drugs", we'll continue to see many more men and women slip through the cracks with light sentences – when they should be the ones targeted to reside behind bars for much lengthier stays.
Comment by Scubafrog — 4:39 pm January 25, 2012 #
HelperMonkey: We know more than half the story. We know that someone was shot in the back twice – it's hard to call that an act of self defense when the guy was by his own car.
Comment by Adam — 4:44 pm January 25, 2012 #
The dude shot someone in cold blood and by his wife's and other witnesses own testimony was calm about it. And you want the "other side of the story?" The other side of the story is this: that man is slime. There's examples of his sliminess in the 60′s the 70′s and 80′s and is a walking example of why there are those that support three strike style laws.
Comment by MyEye — 4:52 pm January 25, 2012 #
@ Adam, I commented before the rest of it was uploaded. Again, not excusing what happened…just questioning why such wildly differing accounts from the witness.
Comment by HelperMonkey — 4:54 pm January 25, 2012 #
Can you say Snapped??? Not one witness speaks of any big deal or encounter before he pulled his gun and killed in cold blood. Like he was waiting for someone to piss him off. So tragic for the victim and friends and family/ My heart breaks for his mother and Jaime. How awful to have had to experience and witness your beloved friends death like that.
Comment by cclarue — 4:58 pm January 25, 2012 #
Two guys "potentially" racist guys from the south come into a west seattle club see a black guy and incite a potentially violent and racially charged situation. If it was a police officer he was standing in front of holding a shovel in a baseball players stance he would be dead today as well… This story has another side it will come out! This guy comes to seattle to escape a violent city and uses racial slurs? sounds like the deadly force started with the shovel. Cambers past even though he has been out of trouble for 30 years will come back to haunt him and his freedom is gone, he should have never had a gun but if he didn't would he be the one we are mourning today?
Comment by vashon — 5:00 pm January 25, 2012 #
Convicted felon, carries a gun, drinks (like a fish, I'm told)…not a good "recipe". An argument, racial slurs, whatever…you don't get to kill (shoot someone in the back) because of that and call it anything but murder. And the wife carries a gun too…paranoia runs deep.
Comment by onceachef — 5:11 pm January 25, 2012 #
So, two guys are drinking at a bar. For whatever reason, they both start jawing at each other after they leave. No one can or will say for certain what these two were arguing about.
Victim walks towards Defendant, arguing at him.
Defendant walks towards Victim, arguing back.
Victim grabs a shovel and threatens Defendant.
Defendant pulls gun and shoots victim.
What a stupid, stupid tragedy. A useless and inexcusable escalation of violence over nothing more than words. This whole thing could have been avoided if either man had just shut up, gotten in the car and driven away. Both had the chance. Neither took it. Stupid!
One life is lost. Another ruined. Many others affected deeply. Over what? Nothing. Some perceived slight or, at worst, the bloviations of a complete stranger.
Comment by Huindekmi — 5:26 pm January 25, 2012 #
gotta love the justice system!
Comment by Paul — 5:27 pm January 25, 2012 #
If I legitimately shot someone in self defense, I wouldn't then calmly walk in my door and casually ask my wife how the movie was she was watching. Does that not sound fishy? Personally I would be freaked out to the point of incoherency.
Comment by CandrewB — 5:36 pm January 25, 2012 #
Sounds like the suspect was one of those high tolerant functioning alcoholics who always appeared in pretty good shape yet more than frequently has memory blackouts and whose irritated state caused him to think in a paranoid delusionary manner. That and the fact he also was packing is a perfect storm and poor Travis had really no chance. Wow my condolences to all of his friends and family and especially to Jaimie. It may sound stupid but we can all learn a lesson from this and that of course is that there are a lot of drunk hot heads out there and to be careful because guns are too plentiful.
Comment by Deedee — 5:53 pm January 25, 2012 #
Now more of the story comes out and from what I know of Cid someone would have to push his buttons pretty hard for him to do this. Everyone wants to convict him because of his past. He "was" a bad man but from what I know of him he wasn't till then. Seems someone (Hood) provoked a situation that got him killed. Did he deserve it I don't know, he did pull out a shovel and threaten someone with it. All I know I was in the bar with him 5 minutes before the shooting and I didn't see any plans on getting back on anyone in the bar. Looks like Hood started something he couldn't finish. People have to remember That anyone can have a gun and you can die from the stupid things you do. Was it all worth it?
Comment by Drinker — 5:56 pm January 25, 2012 #
It would be extremely interesting to find out how the defendent went from being a 20 year career criminal to spending nearly 30 years with a clean record and what caused him to snap and commit murder. It almost sounds like the plot of a movie.
Comment by Ohthehorror — 6:03 pm January 25, 2012 #
@CandrewB – And if you DO shoot someone in self defense, you should wait at the scene (if safe) for the police (especially since you think you didn't do anything wrong, right?)
All very sad. But this isn't some poor misunderstood guy who made "one mistake" or such. This guy had a LONG and VIOLENT history of many many crimes. Not one accidental crime of passion, or mistake or bad judgement. But a LONG pattern of criminal behavior. Theft, rape, kidnapping, etc. Unless he spent 20 years in therapy, you don't just magically change THAT much. This guy should have been in jail on a 3 strikes sort of law to begin with.
I'm for giving EVERYONE a 2nd chance, no matter how stupid a mistake, especially in youth. Everyone can imagine SOME circumstance in their life where only fate kept it from being a bad situation (driving after a few drinks and LUCK prevented you from killing someone, etc). But this isn't one bad mistake, but loads of them. You get a 2nd chance, but 6th, 7th, 8th chances? At what point do you stop getting "another" chance? 14, 15, 16 crimes? At WHAT point are you just a bad person, not a victim of circumstance?
Comment by Why Vodka — 6:09 pm January 25, 2012 #
Oh snap! I've spoken with a few friends who say they know the defendant and spoke highly of him like he was a pretty nice guy. I feel a little bad that many of his crimes were when he was super young and we all know the story if oppression in the black community. But seems like he has some "violent crime" history after all. I was hoping, for goodness sake, that this was actually a self defense thing.
Comment by tk — 6:23 pm January 25, 2012 #
this is a potentially huge story… if our local cut and paste media would do some real reporting we could look at some of the important questions like recidivism and does a criminal have a chance to become a normal member of society again? Race, If you committed a crime do you have the right to act in self defense. Why we as a society see everything in black and white and cant seem to grasp the idea that life is more nuanced. because this man has a past he is a monster period? If he did just randomly shoot this man and went crazy why is Jamie still alive?
TR. I don't include you in my cut and past metaphor.
Comment by vashon — 6:33 pm January 25, 2012 #
Poor Travis and his family. To have all the brothers die so violently – so tragic.
Comment by Amanda — 7:04 pm January 25, 2012 #
I hate to say it, and in all due respect to the tragedy it represents, but this report looks like it was written by a 7th grader.
Comment by Wellington — 7:22 pm January 25, 2012 #
How many chances do (we) give a violent career criminal?
This had "inevitable" written all over it, and now an innocent man was murdered…in our backyard. Maddening, just maddening.
Comment by WTF — 7:31 pm January 25, 2012 #
So DeeDee, you are buying his story about not remembering? A bit naive I feel…
Comment by Sgt. Hartman — 8:06 pm January 25, 2012 #
Not so sure why the suspect's story is so implausible. Is it because of his past? Evidently it has been about 30 years without him getting into any serious trouble. That's gotta mean something. I'm sure many people here have had their indiscretions they are not proud of and have moved on with their lives. Granted, his appears to be a dark past and though I'm not justifying anything, perhaps there was provocation that made him snap. Why do we take at face value that the victim and his friend weren't capable of trying to get into the suspect's car? Just because this is what they've been telling us.
It doesn't seem that the suspect expected to "get away" so to speak. Witnesses say he got back in his car and even took the time to text something. I generally believe if you've done something with truly malicious intent you are going to take off as fast as possible and hope no one gets your license plate number.
From what this report indicates the suspect may have been in some kind of shock as he doesn't seem to remember too much. For instance, he does not remember the victim having a weapon of any sort; yet according to Jamie, Travis pulled out the shovel prior to the gun being exposed and quoting him as saying "what do you wanna do now?"
As the Seattle Times has already reported, the victim has had "run-ins" with the law back in Jacksonville. There have been several inconsistencies with the main witness' account of how things went down, as well as unfavorable implications made about our community.
Though I am saddened by this murder, I think our community needs to stay open minded and not jump to conclusions based on what we have seen on the surface.
Comment by WS_neighbor — 8:45 pm January 25, 2012 #
I would like to know if the wife had a license for her firearm? If not then why didn't someone from SPD arrest her also?
Comment by WSRes — 8:55 pm January 25, 2012 #
thank you @Huindekmi
… this man's crimes are almost 40 years old, who doesn't have a past, who hasn't done things young and stupid that if the right people were watching they'd have a record…
we're talking about the segregated 1960′s here who knows what really happened with those convictions. do you know how many convictions have been overturned in our justice system because of racial injustices during that time. LOTS! Do you know how many men served time wrongly convicted because of racial injustices?LOTS!
if you weren't there you have no idea what happened.
it makes me sick to see how quick people are to judge a situation in which they have no first hand knowledge of.
Comment by sms — 9:06 pm January 25, 2012 #
@WS_neighbor well said! I appreciate you continuing to comment with such a calm voice of reason. Thank you.
Comment by sms — 9:09 pm January 25, 2012 #
I do believe suspect would have made up a more complete story to add to his defense if too much alcohol wasn't fogging the brain during the act and a lot of guilt was being felt during the interrogation.
Comment by Deedee — 9:11 pm January 25, 2012 #
I'm curious to where Mr.Chambers obtained his firearm being a convicted felon. A Wilson Combat 1911 is not a cheap gun. Also the charging document stated that the police found another firearm in Chambers wife's purse. I would ventured to say that perhaps she's the owner of both guns even though she stated that the gun that was in used in the crimed belong to Mr.Chambers.
Anyhow claiming self-defense after you pumped two rounds into the back of someone when they have already retreated and flee the scene afterwards is hardly self-defense.
Comment by Alan — 9:17 pm January 25, 2012 #
WSRes – I am sure someone out there is more well-versed in gun laws than my 1-minute Google search makes me, but I don't think you have to have a license to have a gun in your own home, assuming that, as would have been the case with the suspect, you are not barred from owning one. I don't know Mrs. Chambers' background and it would not be relevant here anyway, nor are the victim's "run-ins with the law." One person is dead. One person is now charged with murder, and even the relevance of his background to the investigation is framed strictly in the prosecution's argument for setting a higher bail – whether he would be considered a danger to the community – judges and juries are not allowed to convict people of a new crime because of their old crimes. – TR
It is not hard to envision a) youthful immature, hurtful behavior (think bullies); b) seeing a shovel wielded as a weapon; and c) tragic results. We don't and won't know until justice runs its course. Period.
Comment by GreatSoFar — 9:27 pm January 25, 2012 #
Fyi the naacp has been contacted and you choose to Censor my posts… I also took a screenshot of my post. Thiis will open up a whole new discustion. Are blogs really a news source or pading there pockets with ad revenue?
Comment by vashon — 9:31 pm January 25, 2012 #
That people are excusing chambers' violent criminal past as "indescretions" sickens me. He was convicted of rape for heaven's sake.
Per a couple of posters who actually thing chambers has a plausible "self defense" defense, laughable. He followed the victim out of the bar and provoked a situation in which Mr. Hood felt he needed to pick up a shovel (which he did NOT use to assault chambers). Chambers shot him 4 times. Sure there may have been a verbal altercation, but for all intents and purposes chambers kill Mr. Hood in cold blood and deserves to go to prison for life.
And that's that. Tragic.
Comment by Scubafrog — 9:43 pm January 25, 2012 #
@WSRes You don't need a license to own a firearm. You need a Concealed Weapons Permit if you carry one concealed. The police would have no reason to arrest her, unless she was a convicted felon. Unless I missed it, I didn't see anything that stated she was a felon. It's a shame someone had to die. What really bothers me is the 2 photos posted……
@questionable really? String him up??? I hope you don't live in West Seattle, we don't need people like you here..
Comment by Patrick — 9:44 pm January 25, 2012 #
@WS_neighbor The guy's walking around with a loaded gun while being a convicted felon. If he felt threatened he should have run into one of several crowded bars for safety, not pulled a gun and shot someone running away (several shots in the back). Obviously we can only comment on what we're told, but if the coroners examination is to be believed than the victim was shot while attempting to flee and this guy needs to go to jail…pronto.
It sounds like many of you are condoning shooting a man in the back.
Comment by J9 — 9:46 pm January 25, 2012 #
"Vashon," yup, we retain the right, as does any website owner, whether a news organization or not, to publish or not publish any comment, or any other material submitted for publication. Stories like this one tend to draw more than a few comments that we don't publish for a variety of reasons (including, as with one submitted right after yours, name-calling against other people participating in the thread). Trying to keep this conversation relatively civil has been as difficult as it was with a much-discussed murder case three years ago. As for ad revenue, that is how we make a living, enabling us to serve the community 24/7/365, and it's also the source of operating revenue for news organizations including newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, etc. If we wanted to try "padding our pockets" we would have raised our rates (which we've never done in 4 years), sold ads to the national businesses that have come calling (we reserve our space for local businesses), etc. But that's neither here nor there. If you don't believe we are running our site appropriately, I respect your decision not to utilize it. – Tracy
Who carries a gun in West Seattle bars? Any bars??! I can't imagine it even being an option. If you've had one hit on your record or many no matter how many years ago, packing heat is asking for trouble. NO sympathy here for the accused, no matter the drunken drama.
Comment by traci — 9:50 pm January 25, 2012 #
King County charging documents listed conviction was 30 years ago… that list of convictions is spread over 21 years… I could see his first text perhaps to his attorney, it is important to gain as many perspectives as available, sometimes that one person can change everything. Also when qualified to accept the facts. Side note: yeah a Wilson Combat .45acp starts at around $2,200 to upwards of $5,000.
Comment by Ace20604 — 9:55 pm January 25, 2012 #
Oh and just to add…my cousin shot his nieghbor 3 times in the face….just to prove nieghbors sometimes do wrong…no matter how good u think u no them
Comment by jodie davis — 9:57 pm January 25, 2012 #
Really? Asking 'why didn't they arrest his wife?' for having a firearm in her own living room when she was not involved in any of this? Seriously? Look, this poor woman has done absolutely NOTHING to deserve scorn or speculation from ANYone. You wouldn't want your community to assign "guilt by association" for YOUR spouse or family if you did something illegal. So LAY OFF of her and be nice. She's a lovely person.
Comment by Catty — 10:00 pm January 25, 2012 #
Well said Tracy. Gotta love people who think they are threatening you, wow, called the NAACP!!
Thanks for your site, it is definately a place people feel comfortable talking about local issues.
Comment by Seatttleseabug — 10:02 pm January 25, 2012 #
The man is a convicted rapist & yet is being defended by people! A man that violently attacks and forcibly rapes a woman is a disgusting animal that needs to be locked away. Not to mention kidnapping & all his other horrific charges.
Wake up people—-he is an evil man, a con artist. Even his wife & neighbors were fooled by him.
Comment by Rosanne — 10:12 pm January 25, 2012 #
@WSB, I understand that as a news organization you retain the right to censor things you deem to be inappropriate. For some reason you chose not to post one of my comments that I had made on one of the earlier stories about this case. I don't believe the comment I had made was inappropriate or inflammatory based on the context the discussion had taken. However, I respect your decision. What I don't respect is how you would let such an offensive comment such as the one posted by @questionable at 9:17pm actually slip through. This reflects badly on the WSB and our community!
Comment by WS_neighbor — 10:21 pm January 25, 2012 #
I am surely glad to see justice and prayers at work. Thank you for all of the positive and uplifting blogs as for the rest??????? I just don't get it no compassion and very blind
Comment by jamie — 10:26 pm January 25, 2012 #
He is innocent until proven guilty, and absolutely that is a principle worth defending.
Comment by Lura Ercolano — 10:36 pm January 25, 2012 #
WSN, sorry, that one shouldn't have gotten through, our rules also include not advocating violence against someone, no matter what (I can't tell you how many times we have had to delete or not approve comments on crime stories that were some variant of hoping a suspect or convict got dealt with violently by fellow inmates). I neglected to note that we do rely on people reporting something they feel breaks the rules. We do not usually pre-screen everything, though we have filters that catch most things in need of review. – TR
If the victim had taken a "batter's stance" as described by Jamie, then the bullets could have entered through his back.
Comment by WS_neighbor — 10:44 pm January 25, 2012 #
Call whoever you wish this guy is goin away for a long time. The color of his skin is irrelavent you could call me every name in the book and im not going to shoot you. Why ? Because i am not a murderer! If youve read this blog for any length of time you know the editors can delete any thing they want because its their site!
Comment by Cclarue — 10:51 pm January 25, 2012 #
Comment by WS_neighbor — January 25, 12 8:45 pm #…really, nobody in normal society that doesn't have a messed up noggin' shoots someone three times and then slowly walks away, texts and goes home and pours a glass of wine as if nothing happened. any sane human being would have remorse if they had done something that horrible. this man had no conscious on the evil act he had just committed. i sure hope time reflecting on his actions changes that…he deserves never to forget what he has done.
Huindekmi, SMS and others: yes, we have all done stupid things we realize weren't the best when young. but i highly doubt any of us have done anything repeatedly wrong and at the level of armed robbery repeated times, kidnapping for ransom, rape and the like. you cannot excuse such actions and 20+ years with multiple aliases, concealed illegal firearms, etc does not mean he was reformed…just perhaps not caught.
please stop making excuses why the suspect might be excused or been justified and have respect for the victim and the victim's family and close friends. this is an unexcusable and unexplainable act regardless of what verbal words may have been exchanged. a shovel in defense/response to a bad situation does not warrant 3 deadly bullet shots to the back and chest. those defending this act should take a step back and think about what your response would be if this happened to your family member or friend. it's often easy to react as you are b/c we have no idea how we'd feel in such a traumatic situation. and to those of you wanting the 'rest of the story' you think is missing…the only thing that matters is whatever was said between the victim and suspect, it in no way warrants shooting someone to death and calmly going home for a glass of wine as if nothing had happened. it also doesn't change the suspect's statement that the gun was his, he did shoot the victim three times and doesn't recall either the victim or witness having a weapon. stop creating a racial or self defense argument when the suspect himself didn't do so…he admits to shooting a victim with no weapon. last time i checked, that would be classified murder.
our thoughts go out to the victim's family and friends. may time bring you peace of mind and know that we as a general community are ashamed by this act and have you all in our thoughts!
Comment by an — 11:08 pm January 25, 2012 #
Jamie is Hoods friend. I have to believe that Jamie is portraying what happened in a light that favors his friend.
Jamie said his friend grabbed a shovel (a deadly weapon) out of his truck and took a threatening pose. Then and only then did chambers pull the gun and shoot.
This sounds like self defense to me. I believe hood threatend to hit chambers. I believe chambers felt threatened and shot hood as anyone would who's life was in danger. When a person is scared they never shoot just once they shoot many times.
Also chambers made no attempt to shoot jamie or anybody else.
Chambers past has nothing to do with what happened that night and should not be used against him. ONLY what happened that night should be used. And chambers served his time and put it behind him for 20 years.
That said chambers broke the law by being a felon and having a firearm.
If chambers past is to be taken into account, Hood also had a checkered past and has spent time in jail.
Did the coroner check hoods alcohol level? maybe he was drunk and aggressive. Jamie said hood went back in the direction of chambers.
Every effort must be made to find the truth.
I am very sad that a man got shot. I am sad for his family and friends. I am sad for chambers and his family and friends. Its just a horrible thing that happened
Comment by sam — 11:18 pm January 25, 2012 #
WS. neighbor…so yes everyone has a past…BUT you have to have control to live in society as a law ABIDING citizen, that is the difference…He had NO control as he took someones life AND he was NOT following the law…STOP defending this murderer in our town!! I hope he gets EXACTLY what he deserves!!! This should not be tolerated, rationalized, or defended! Sickening- I'm sure if the victim was some known to more of you, it would be horrifyingly different…
Comment by truth — 11:18 pm January 25, 2012 #
The funny thing about the NAACP and all of the racial speculation by everyone is comical as I had a black roommate at my past address here in West Seattle and ultimately got evicted because my longtime West Seattle landlord-neighbor was prejudice himself so maybe you all should try to play a different card. So maybe when the NAACP gets hear we can rectify the racial issue with my old landlord as well.
Comment by jamie — 11:23 pm January 25, 2012 #
I missed this by a hair, exited feedback that night through the back door at 9:45pm. Dumb luck that I didn't walk out the front. Unbelievable that this would happen here. Scary as hell that it seems there was not some big fight. RIP Travis.
Comment by Alkidoc — 11:28 pm January 25, 2012 #
West Seattle let's be careful who we know. People do tend to leave out the bad parts of a story. While it might make our ordinary days seem somehow more thrilling to hear someone talk about their past criminal trappings, remember these are real crimes that effected people before in ways like this.
Comment by Ace20604 — 11:40 pm January 25, 2012 #
I have know Cid probably as long as the FBL has been open. .. Merely as an acquaintance. I sat near his "normal seat" many times and he was always cordial and well mannered. I always thought he was a retired professional from the neighborhood. I had no idea of his criminal past, which is disturbing at best, but it did not represent his present public presence. Whatever happened that night is TRAGIC without doubt.. But full of holes at best. Two strangers walk into a bar full of well behaved "regulars" and this is the outcome? Let's wait until the facts are on the table.
Comment by Patron — 11:41 pm January 25, 2012 #
Jamie, as others have commented and we say this in all sincerity. We highly recommend you observe these posts, take time to grieve but in the best interest of justice for your friend who's life was wrongfully taken, stop posting on this blog or any other news outlet in writing. It is in the best interest of your friend and the prosecution if no further words are put in writing that my be skewed or distorted other than intended by the defense in the future.
Comment by an — 11:52 pm January 25, 2012 #
Dear Patron,
It does happen that a criminal lives among us and we as a community had no idea. That doesn't excuse what happened no matter what facts might come forward about what was said. Verbal exchange does not excuse shooting someone to death, period. I believe in innocent until proven guilty, but the suspect isn't claiming he's wrongfully accused or that it is in self defense as he stated he has no recollection of the victim or witness having a weapon at the time of conflict. I'm sorry you were unaware that this seemingly normal 'regular' is not the person you thought this drinking buddy was. A 20 year criminal past that is extensive and now murder. It's unfortunate, but he is not and wasn't the normal regular many thought he was or who a normal regular is. Facts won't excuse shooting someone to death due to a verbal disagreement…sorry.
Comment by an — 12:10 am January 26, 2012 #
So the gun was pulled out after hood was holding the shovel like a baseball bat?? Case closed self defense. "what are you going to do?". He was shown. Don't talk smack to strangers. I'm sorry this mans dead, but, he literally asked for it. If I owned a gun and had one on me and someone grabbed a shovel held it like they were going to knock my head off well he got what he deserved. He was at his means of escape and pushed the situation. Let this be a lesson to everyone, don't get cocky with strangers. I say let chambers free.
Comment by D — 4:43 am January 26, 2012 #
As travis would say….u can polish a pile of dog mess as much as u want but it will still be a pile of dog mess….
Comment by jodie davis — 5:18 am January 26, 2012 #
Very sad , I hope the truth and some closure finds its way to the surface. I do feel like there is more here from what I'm reading than is already revealed. The old bar down the road to the north used to have things like this happen, hopefully we wont go back to those days.
Comment by cj — 6:55 am January 26, 2012 #
Wait, "let's be careful who we know"?? Are we really to question our own judgement of every one we have met in West Seattle for the past 10-15 years? Where will that kind of attitude get us?
Comment by BeKind — 7:48 am January 26, 2012 #
You can never be able to tell an individual and what his/her proclivities are going to be regardless how well mannered they are.
Comment by jiggers — 7:58 am January 26, 2012 #
Well said Jiggers!
@ D – I'm certainly glad and thankful you are not in charge of this case in any way. How ignorant and ludicrous to think ANYONE would "ask for it" or "deserved" to be murdered in cold-blood on a local street. As for your idea that Chambers should be set free, an apparent $5 million bail says procecuters don't agree with you and I would venture to say most people in West Seattle wouldn't want him free and among us until all the facts are investigated and prosecuted accordingly.
Comment by LStephens — 9:01 am January 26, 2012 #
Criminal recidivism is highly correlated with substance abuse. Sad in how many crimes, drugs are an element to ones mental reasoning.
Comment by Ace20604 — 9:13 am January 26, 2012 #
I may have missed it above but isn't it illegal for a felon to own a firearm? I think it would also be illegal for the person who bought the gun to buy if for the defendant.
Comment by Angel — 9:26 am January 26, 2012 #
I agree with scuba frog and by LStephens. At this point based on the reports this case is looking more like murder, and less like self defense. The authorities set his bail at five million for good reasons. I find defending the suspect at this point repellant, and think some provincial bias is at play. The victim may not have had clean hands, but he was the victims in my mind. RIP
Comment by Goleta — 9:43 am January 26, 2012 #
This is such a tragic event that it sounds like could have easily been avoided.
We have been curious about the facts coming out when it sounded like there were holes, now some have; I am sure there are more to come as well.
Jamie, I can't imagine what you are going through right now. It seems as though this news report is become a place to vent and tell you perspective. You should absolutely vent, and talking about this tragic event might help you grieve. However, this is not the time or place. Please, utilize a grief counselor or someone who has experience with this sort of thing- not a news source based in a community where we are all reeling from the events on Saturday. Not a news source where everything that is posted can and will be used to make a case.
I know it can be addicting to read the blog – we all get that – but this is not the time for you to be drug into our opinions and posts. Ignore us and do what you can to help yourself and the memory of your friend.
Comment by Elizagrace — 10:09 am January 26, 2012 #
Wow, my thoughts exactly! After reading all these recent post, I have a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. This is so sad. Drugs and violence so often go hand in hand.
Comment by Dunno — 12:21 pm January 26, 2012 #
Blind loyalty, in all it's forms, is a scary scary thing…
Comment by MB — 12:51 pm January 26, 2012 #
As I've read thru all of these comments, I see a pattern of people trying to point fingers and make excuses. The real deal is that NO ONE ( I mean no one) should ever have their life taken over what you may or may not have said, done, worn, or looked. It doesn't justify anything. Period. Some of you didn't read the entire document that TR posted. There are witnesses who confirm the victim and his friends recollection and NOT that of the accused. Regardless of what the accused says, it doesn't add up to what many others saw. Felony background or not, he doesn't have the right to take anyones life. My sincerest prayers and deepest thoughts are with the mother who has to bury her last son and with his daughter whose life is forever changed. May all of his friends and family have some much derserved peace among all this non-sense. This could have easily been any WS resident or neighbor. It could've easily been someone I know and that makes me sad. I hope that the victims friends and family know that WS is a very friendly and wonderful place to live and I am happy to call it home. Tragedy like this just doesn't happen here.
Comment by westsidemegan — 1:04 pm January 26, 2012 #
I find those defending the actions of Chambers to be sick. Travis is the victim here, Chambers story is so terrible he had to change it.
Innocent until proven guilty is a fine thing, but this is past that point Chambers admitted to the murder.
He pulled a gun from his car, walked 50-75 feet and killed a man. If you chased me to my car I would pull whatever tool I had at hand to defend myself, I see nothing odd about grabbing the shovel.
If Chambers can lie about how it went down then his version of events is suspect. I don't believe there were any racial slurs or that they followed him to his car. Maybe an angry exchange between the two men, but no amount of verbal venum is worth a mans life.
RIP Travis. Take care Jamie.
Comment by Matt — 1:07 pm January 26, 2012 #
Could someone please explain to me, or could wsb research and come up with an answer for me on this: what exactly is the charge 'Kidnapping for Ransom and/or Rape by Force'. the and/ or confuses me, as these are very different crimes. I don't understand with this charge if there was a kidnapping or a rape or both. I'm not comfortable calling this man a rapist.
Comment by Steph — 1:34 pm January 26, 2012 #
Just dumb luck, really. If he'd have been shot in a neighborhood with amateur doctors, instead of a 'hood full of amateur lawyers, psychologists and recidivism specialists, he may still be alive today.
Comment by HimAgain — 1:39 pm January 26, 2012 #
It's hard to know for sure what happened that night, so this is all speculation, but it's still worth discussing.
If someone threatened ME with a shovel, and I actually felt threatened, I would shoot them without hesitation.
If all three shots were in the back, it would make it harder to believe self-defense. The fact that only two shots were in the back is often indicative that the victim was spun around by the first shot and shouldn't inherently rule out self-defense.
In a stressful situation that rises to the level where deadly force is used (either justifiably or otherwise) studies have shown that lots of physiological stuff can happen. Heart rates can reach 200 bps, people who think they fired once, fire 5 or more times, people forget details immediately after, people lose their bowels, get tunnel vision, have time slow down, etc etc. Whether it's a cop or a criminal, it bothers me when people who don't understand this widely-known fact play the "an innocent person wouldn't have done x" card.
In Washington State, any private citizen can sell a handgun to any other private citizen without having to even report the sale. It's not illegal for someone without a license to possess a handgun in WA, it's just illegal to carry it concealed. (it's also illegal to carry in places deemed 21 and over by the LCB, and illegal for felons in many cases, illegal to carry when legally intoxicatd, etc etc)
It's one thing to accuse someone of a crime that they committed, but another altogether to prove the facts of what happened. Chambers is being convicted in this forum by "facts" that aren't facts, an account from an eyewitness that has changed several times, and by assumptions that have been made based on nothing more than guesses and "I'm sures" said in other posts on this blog. The idea of innocent until proven guilty doesn't mean that the person didn't do what was alleged, it means that until the facts of a crime or incident have been proven they aren't guilty of the charges that were brought against them. This man shot and killed Travis Hood. That is a fact, but at this point he is innocent of the crime of murder because he hasn't been convicted in this case. "His past speaks for itself". I've read the list of prior convictions just like everyone else has. He was a thief, a thief armed with a gun. Nowhere in his list of convictions was he charged with killing someone or trying to kill someone. Nowhere was he convicted of drug possession or sales. If you rob a bank or institution and there are people present/ hostages it can always be tacked on as a kidnapping charge, or kidnapping for ransom. I haven't read a detailed report of all the charges he was convicted of, I don't know what any of them actually are, only what they're called on the surface in the most basic of terms.
There are people who have assumed that Chambers was drunk and have stated that as if it's a fact, who have declared for themselves that he's a "functioning alcoholic", and it seems like these declarations were made because he was at a bar, not because the people making the statements had any knowledge of his drinking habits at all; assumptions, ideas that were pulled out of nowhere. "Drugs and violence so often go hand in hand". Who are you assuming was using drugs in this scenario, the victim or the defendant? Drugs weren't mentioned anywhere in any article or post. Why would you make that statement in a way that implies there was drug use? In this blog Chambers been called a sociopath, a cold blooded killer, a lunatic, a monster, evil…..the list goes on.
There is so much more to this story than is being told. No one should have been killed that night, there's always the option of walking away, but we literally have no idea what was said that evening. Was Chambers told "I'm going to come back and kill you"? Did they exchange nothing more than flippant words? Something made this man snap.
I don't personally believe that killing someone is okay, but no matter my personal opinion in can be legally justified as a defense. In this country, like it or not, we do have the right do defend ourselves, including the use of deadly force if it's deemed necessary, or legally justifiable.
There have been a lot of statements directed towards people who knew Chambers and knew him well that they clearly didn't know him, that they had been tricked, fooled, in "Jamies" words "snowed". Really? How is that? You really can't know everything about everyone, and most people don't go around introducing themselves to people by declaring their criminal past, especially not one that is as long ago as his was. Yes, the extent of his past is shocking, no doubt, but I'd wager that his friends, family, and acquaintances who loved and cared about him absolutely knew the person he was. For as horrible as his past crimes have been it seems that he served time for what he'd done and had changed the life he had lived, became a better person. Isn't that what we're supposed to do, learn to be and become better people?
There have been statements of "If I'd just shot someone in cold blood I wouldn't have just gone home as if nothing had happened". I don't think most of us believe we would either. We'd be sickened and probably freaking out. This doesn't sound like someone who killed over a comment because he could, it sounds like someone who absolutely snapped. What was it that was said or done that triggered that? It was something.
The lives of the people on all sides of this have been changed and devastated in ways that can't be changed back. It's a complete tragedy.
Comment by life long ws resident — 2:18 pm January 26, 2012 #
@life long ws resident
Well said. Personally, I don't like to be misled into believing something just based on one or two witness accounts. Who are these witnesses and why should we take their word for it. There is more to this story and hopefully there will be more witnesses that can shed more light on this tragic occurrence, but until then our community shouldn't have the wool pulled over their eyes with loose assumptions of the facts.
Comment by WS_neighbor — 3:13 pm January 26, 2012 #
bouncer et all: from the report provided above:
(Jamie) said Chambers walked directly toward Hood and got within 2 feet of him. (Jamie) said Hood spun toward the bed of the truck and grabbed a shovel ((Jamie) said he kept the shovel in the bed of his truck because of the recent snow storm). (Jamie) said Hood took up a "batter's" stance with the shovel (holding it like a baseball bat) and stated to Chambers, "What do you Want to do now?" (Jamie) said Chambers immediately backed away from Hood (approximately 6 or 7 feet) and with his left hand pulled a black or blue handgun – -".40 or .45 caliber" – from the right side of his upper body. Hood yelled, "Oh my God, he's got a gun" and tried to get into the truck.
IF it was self defense, why did Chambers aggressively come up to Hood within two feet. IF Chambers stepped back 6-7 feet after the shovel was grabbed, how did he think his life was in danger. Was Hood going to damage the air that stood within that 7 feet between them? Chambers could have easily walked away from this and his life was not in such eminent danger from the shovel that he needed to go to such extreme measures. Shooting someone who is trying to get into the truck after seeing a gun pulled out, twice in the back is not self defense. There are neutral witnesses that observed Chambers was a bit agitated that evening. I wonder how much alcohol may have impacted his judgement that evening…very sad. Let's stop speculating how this horrible event may have been self defense as even in Chambers statement, it doesn't appear to be. How about we let law enforcement do the job they are trained to do and wait for the 'answers' you are seeking when all the pieces have been thoroughly studied and information released accordingly? In the meantime, the comments defending this senseless act are disappointing. To the family, the majority of the WS community does not think like this, are kind, community oriented folks and words can barely express the sympathy we feel for you. May Jamie RIP and please know that this senseless event will not be forgotten.
Comment by an — 3:14 pm January 26, 2012 #
It is a fundamental principle of this country that the accused is entitled to due process, a legal defense, and is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The statements by the witnesses, the investigation by police, etc, are indeed compelling. Certainly they show probable cause to hold the accused in jail under very high bail. But they aren't a trial, and the police investigation has only barely begun.
Comment by Lura Ercolano — 3:33 pm January 26, 2012 #
@an I can't speak for the other commenters here, but I certainly don't feel like I am "defending this senseless act." I more feel like I am cautioning people against a wild rush to judgment based on a limited amount of facts and incorrectly assumptions.
As far as "letting law enforcement do the job they are trained to do" despite being a self-adminted hubristic individual, I don't think my comments are holding up their investigation.
One more thing. 7 feet, seriously? You think 7 feet is some sort of safe distance from a person with a potentially deadly weapon? I'm not sure what more I can say on this one, except what you're saying doesn't follow reality in this case.
Its Travis That needs to R.i.P
Simple mistake on your part.
@ The Rest Of You
All in all. People need to understand that a mans life was taken.
No one knows exactly what happened except for Hood and Chambers.
All speculation right now is childish and incorrect on every ones part. You can defend a friend all you want but know when to hold and know when to fold.
Travis is being made out to be some kind of aggressor. AGAIN we do not know what happened. I think a lot of posters need to step back, take a self evaluation of what they would do in this circumstance.
Let justice run its course then you can make all the asinine comments you'd like.
Comment by Someone Reading — 3:53 pm January 26, 2012 #
Yes, Someone Reading, thank you. The phone rang as I was typing the end and I hit post to answer the phone when I should have proofread the finish first. Jamie, I hope you are able to grieve and recover from this tragedy and RIP Travis.
Comment by an — 4:36 pm January 26, 2012 #
@ Bouncer:
My comment was not meant to imply you were holding up the detectives work. Us (all posters) speculating from reading a few reports is senseless. However, I still stand by my view that holding a shovel and having 7 feet between the men absolutely does NOT warrant shooting a man to death, period. It's senseless and so very wrong. Instead of folks speculating and trying to craft ways to defend the suspect, how about we ban together as a community to support the victim's family and friends who are trying to grieve from this. Let's hold speculation until the detectives have done their work and can release information accordingly when appropriate.
Comment by an — 4:53 pm January 26, 2012 #
Laws governing use of lethal force RCW 9A.16 need to be followed. Mr. Chambers verdict should be found on the merits of the case. Criminal history should be consider in sentencing only.
Comment by Ace20604 — 4:54 pm January 26, 2012 #
Agreed that he is innocent until proven guilty.
But I feel "satisfied" in that no matter what, a felon with a gun (which he admits and there are witnesses) is a felony. That, at least, will net some years behind bars.
Comment by Eric — 5:13 pm January 26, 2012 #
@an I agree. Jumping to a conclusion one way or another based on the limited information we have available is unwise. I can easily imagine a situation where it was completely justified just as easily as a situation where it wasn't.
Not to beat the 7 feet thing to death, but discussing it is more fun than doing actual work. Your average 6 foot tall male is going to have a reach (shoulder to hand) of around 36 inches, which is 3 feet. A shovel could be anywhere from a tiny 2 foot shovel to a long 6 foot one. It's not unreasonable to expect the striking range of an average male weilding an average shovel to be at or close to 7 feet.
But all that aside, in security and law enforcement circles there is something called the "21 foot rule." In a nut shell, the rule is designed to illustrate that someone with a knife or other bladed weapon can move 21 feet and attack you before you would have time to draw and fire your gun. While it sounds impossible on paper, when you see it in training situations it becomes much clearer. Do a youtube search and you'll see countless videos of police academy cadets charging at each other with magic markers to illustrate the point.
Chambers multiple felonies that occurred over a nearly twenty year span are past "indiscretions" and as such are not indicative of his current, upstanding character? Okay, got it. They are not relevant to this horrible murder case, but the last I checked, being not only:
1.) a multiple convicted felon in illegal possession,
2.) illegally carrying that concealed weapon along with
3.) having multiple aliases supported by multiple false social security cards,
are not hallmarks of someone of high moral fiber, conscience or character. That's his current behavior and speaks factually about his current character.
This murder was all on Cid as he should not have had the gun in the first place. Folks, this is not a fine upstanding citizen of our neighborhood, legally defending himself under his constitutionally protected right to bear arms. Nope, he is a multiple CONVICTED felon barred from owning, let alone carrying a concealed weapon that shot a man in the back. Your basic, garden variety, low life, scofflaw behavior. Indefensible.
Comment by alkiobserver — 5:24 pm January 26, 2012 #
Cid will never see freedom again. He will die in the pen. That is how the jury will, and, should, see it.
Comment by Snow Wimp — 6:07 pm January 26, 2012 #
You know what, someone lost their life here, why is it that people have to point fingers at one another. To think that Travis's mom may read all this stuff is disturbing. Let Brenda bury her last son.
Rest in peace Travis!
Comment by Deloris — 6:51 pm January 26, 2012 #
I've set up a trust fund for Travis Hoods daughter. Its at us bank. I've tried to set up a paypal but I'm not very good with computers. so heres the info. Travis Hood memorial fund. account number is 253556484546. if you have an account with us bank you can call any us bank and make a donation over the phone. if you dont have an account you can go in to any us bank. those who wrote some kind words thank you so much. its nice to see our community comes together in a time of need.
Comment by kerry — 7:04 pm January 26, 2012 #
It seems that the gun "enthusiasts" in our community like to talk about how we don't know what really happened, but here is some "possible" scenario where they get to shoot someone's face off.
I have family members who keep guns in their houses for personal protection, but they don't visualize shooting someone to death because of a bar fight.
Comment by super mario — 7:06 pm January 26, 2012 #
I was not there, I have no idea what motivated either party. I don't know who did what. I am pretty sure suspect may or may not have a clear recollection of what happened, I am sure witness A & B may or may not have a clear recollection of what happened. I am sure Jamie was there and may or may not have a clear recollection of what happened. Guess I am going to have to wait for a jury of my peers to decide on the preponderance of evidence or beyond a reasonable doubt on what happened, since i am not a juris doctor, i think thats what may happen. Just glad that is how it works as opposed to hearsay and conjecture…
Comment by NM — 8:21 pm January 26, 2012 #
The whole incident is sad all the way around.
Comment by WS Resident — 8:36 pm January 26, 2012 #
A large portion of these comments make we want to stop viewing the WSB.
RIP Travis Hood.
Those that blame the victim are pretty classless. I believe there is a possibility of rehabilatation for a young, stupid thug. Suspecct doesn't quite fit that description for me. I'm sorry but firing multiple shots in the back by a convicted rapist doesn't make me feel like checking Hood's BAC (really?) is a necessicity.
By the way, my mom's cousin shot at a man who in return killed him in real self defense. Were we all super confused on why this happened? Yes. Did we pretend like he was not guilty because we knew him. No.
Comment by Harmonic — 11:56 pm January 26, 2012 #
so harmonic doest use use name-calling against other people participating in the thread… "Those that blame the victim are pretty classless" Just one of many. PC and predictable.
Comment by vashon — 12:30 am January 27, 2012 #
@Harmonic – We can't blame the victim if we're not sure he's actually a victim. You, on the other hand, have no problem assuming Mr. Chambers' criminal record indicates he's guilty and that Mr. Hood is an innocent victim despite Chambers' avoidance of a criminal record for 30 years. I have sincere doubts as to the validity of Jamie's version of events due to inconsistencies between his statement to police, his statements to WSB and his own comments on the various stories on WSB. I have a sneaking suspicion that these inconsistencies may be explained by the possibility that he can't keep his story straight because he's not being entirely truthful. When I combine that with the sheer incomprehensibility of his purported narrative (no previous interaction with Mr. Chambers in the bar), I find it very difficult to assume Mr. Chambers is a cold-blooded murderer who just decided to shoot someone for no reason or a very petty reason. Further, I've taken into account that Mr. Hood armed himself with a deadly weapon in an offensive posture and verbally challenged Mr. Chambers. I do not assume either side. I simply refuse to label Mr. Hood a victim at this point in time. I require far more to pass judgment.
Comment by Derp — 1:23 am January 27, 2012 #
In the case that racial slurs were being thrown, especially to a man who is 67, please keep in mind racism is real and for black people the pain still burns in our heart and strikes emotions only other black people feel when hearing racial slurs of afro-american nature. Some may react lightly and some will react extremely. If the shovel was being used toward the shooter, we shouldnt rule out self-defense because of his past. If you push a man against the wall (not literally), youd be suprised what he would resort to.
Comment by ca — 1:33 am January 27, 2012 #
I have represented many clients who after 10-20 years can legally get a felony conviction expunged from their record and your civil rights will restored again, therefor you can legally own a gun again.
Comment by ca — 1:55 am January 27, 2012 #
to ca- yeah racism is real. That being said, react better to words and peoples biases and maybe, just maybe there will be less racism. Stop shooting people for saying the N word. Do you hear news stories about white people shooting people for calling them a cracker? Stop living the stereotype and then it won't be a stereotype. We should be intelligent enough that race and/or words shouldn't enter into the equation upon whether to take ones life or not. In the end we are all one race and that is human so please stop bringing the black race card into the argument. It's getting old. You bringing the black card is actually making you look weak and like you are making an excuse for a fellow human beings pathetic actions.
Comment by keep vashon weird and cut them off from the rest of society — 2:25 am January 27, 2012 #
one more thing ca- good for you that you can get convicted felons the right to own firearms. I hope you can sleep well at night knowing that someone convicted of rape and kidnapping to name a few can be in possession of a firearm legally(if that is the case in this sitiuation) and then go on to commit murder. You sound like a real winner to me! I really appreciate what you contribute to society! You should be proud of yourself and what you contribute to the stereotype! Good job brother!
Comment by keep vashon weird and cut them off from the rest of society — 2:38 am January 27, 2012 #
I'm glad to see that stereotyping runs rampant.
Comment by jiggers — 7:41 am January 27, 2012 #
I am a winner actually, I have a law degree from Harvard and have contributed many thousands of dollars into West Seattle projects/charities when possible. I practice law whether its for the guilty or innocent, but that is not for me or you to decide, its up to the courts. An expungement can only be issued by a judge, its just my job to do my best for my client in which I am paid and in turn goes back in to my community. Not everyone who has a criminal history is a bad person for the rest of their lives. A lot of society have committed crimes, but because they have never been caught, there is no way of knowing. A lot of suspects are convicted on the word of informants with an axe to grind or to shave time or simply go free from their charges.
Comment by ca — 8:51 am January 27, 2012 #
Think this decision will come into play, if a self defense claim is made, Washington State Supreme Court found "that there is no duty to retreat when a person is assaulted in a place where he or she has a right to be." Intent will be argued when Mr. Chambers didn't drive away. Expunging ones record does show a commitment to reform, was it done?
Comment by Ace20604 — 9:31 am January 27, 2012 #
Good for you ca for contributing $ into projects. Did you do that out of the kindness of your heart or because you feel guilty because you also contribute to convicted felons getting guns? This is why people generally dont like lawyers. You act all high and mighty because you have a law degree from harvard and donate all this money to projects. You also work and contribute to a system that allows convicted felons to get guns. Convicted felons then go out on the streets an murder someone because of words that were or weren't said. I don't care how long ago this mans crimes were. Bottom line is he should never have had a gun. People like you that defend a convicted felon and say they aren't bad people and should have the right to have a gun are crazy. You have a law degree from harvard you should be intelligent enough to know that. Dont give me the I'm just practicing the law crap either. Morally you are flawed if you are practicing in a part of the law that allows rapists, murderers etc. to get their right to own a gun back.
Comment by A — 12:08 pm January 27, 2012 #
@ca, I'd like to thank you for your comments. For pointing out the legal channels that can be used to reinstate someones constitutional rights after a felony conviction, and also to thank you for contributing to the community that you live in, that most of us participating in this board live in. And also for pointing out that we all have a different set of experiences in the world, and that those experiences shape how we react/ respond to situations. Cheers to you.
Comment by S — 12:53 pm January 27, 2012 #
ca- Based on your non-existent punctuation and poor grammar, it would seem highly unlikely that you have a law degree from Harvard.
Comment by Wellington — 1:15 pm January 27, 2012 #
Im sorry A, I think your missing the point. Outcomes in the judicial system are dictated by the law/judge. He (ca) isnt personally allowing felons to get guns, he is simply a legal advisor. You should blame the law that allows a felon to get his/her civil rights back, not the lawyer trying to help his/her get them back. And that also proves another point, why does where someone has graduated from dictate their moral character? Isnt that being prejudice? And last but not least, you shouldnt question why someone wants to help thier community, especially West Seattle. A lot of citizens in the area dont, other than supporting local bars.
Comment by 13 — 6:58 pm January 27, 2012 #
So…I'm actually realizing what a different community this really is. So much for right and wrong, and factual information. I'm so surprised at this community for their dis connect. Given the witness testi. and no name calling here. There are witnesses that saw this horrible thing happen and this community wants to act like, something that comes out of someones mouth, what EVER that may be, could even be a reason to shoot someone almost point blank!!! WOW!! Now, it seems the community has shown some real ugly colors HERE!!
I'm done….RIP Travis
Comment by truth — 10:03 pm January 27, 2012 #
This is and and has always been a GREAT community as long as I have lived here… Its not a small place filled with like minded individuals, it's part of a world class city. This city like all city's around the world has very dark and very bright aspects that make up our daily rituals. you cant have one without the other. I know so many amazing people in our town, a town filled with human beings.
Comment by vashon — 11:38 pm January 27, 2012 #
Prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt "malice aforethought" (premeditation) in THIS case alone (not considering past cases of the defendant) – and the defense will probably suggest 'Provocation' by victim along with 'Diminished capacity' on defendant's part to DISprove the malice aforethought factor. I bet they even successfully plea bargain the charge down to Voluntary Manslaughter and it won't even go to trial.
Just a guess, though, just a guess…
Comment by JustSayin — 3:07 pm January 28, 2012 #
Growing up all these years seeing that blue BMW pull out of the alley as a kid, I can't believe this guy turned out to be a lifetime criminal and the fact that he was so low key these past few years driving a car under another name definitely is a suspicion of something more like drug trafficking. I do know a few years back he had a truck repossessed.
Comment by Diesel — 3:39 pm January 28, 2012 #
I believe this whole blog needs to be deleted!!!!! Nobody cares about anyone's opinion or what they THINK happened. The fact of the matter is a man was murdered! The suspect NEEDS to pay for what he has done!!!! Nobody desserves to die the way this man did!!!
Comment by SG — 6:08 pm January 28, 2012 #
Wow!!! I was noticing the shooter looked familiar and then I read he had a Blue BMW M3. I met him at Wells Fargo in the junction and have seen him around we were talking about our BMW's and he was a very nice guy. Goes to show alcohol and guns are a bad combination. I am a full supporter of the 2nd ammendment and a veteran, but people need to stop and think before getting drunk with a gun. Sad very sad all around.
Comment by Zach — 8:02 pm January 28, 2012 #
"Nobody cares about anyone's opinion or what they THINK happened." @SG – Then you go on to give us your opinion that "this man was murdered". Basically you've decided what's what, think your opinion is unassailable and are offended by people disagreeing with you. Grow up.
Comment by Derp — 8:18 pm January 28, 2012 #
@derp, I stated a FACT not an opinion!!!! Lol me grow up? I'm grown thank u :)))))) I haven't decided anything but FACTS that r ALL laid out on the table.
Comment by SG — 10:57 pm January 28, 2012 #
As for ur other posts u consider a shovel a deadly weapon? Really? Now that's funny and yes I said murder. What else would u call it when someone shoots someone 4 times? I made my point by the FACTS given and done here
Comment by SG — 11:06 pm January 28, 2012 #
Comment by DeShawn — 9:03 am January 29, 2012 #
Reminder that if you choose a screen name, you need to stick with it for that same comment thread. While we don't require real names, we do require one IP (aside from a known group IP, and yes, we check) = one screen name for that discussion/topic, so one person doesn't appear to be many (aka sockpuppetry). Not a perfect system but vital without a log-in requirement. Thanks! – TR
To answer the (rhetorical?) inquiry "What else would u call it when someone shoots someone 4 times?" – there are a number of different things a homicide being processed through the legal system can end up being called… 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, etc. Until then, "murder" is a "charge" … but we have to wait for due Process before it's a "fact." Just sayin'.
Comment by JustSayin — 8:38 pm January 29, 2012 #
Lol got it @ justsayin! Just an FYI 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder r ALL "murder charges" if he gets convicted. I just wonder if some of u still would be questioning these eyewitnesses if the victim was a life long resident of west Seattle, your son, brother etc. My entire point was that a human being was killed that's all!!!
Comment by SG — 9:13 pm January 29, 2012 #
There does indeed seem to be quite a bit of evidence against the suspect. Which is why he is in custody with very high bail.
But the whole point of having constitutional principles like "innocent until proven guilty" or "due process" or "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" is that these are principles that apply EVEN WHEN there seems to be a strong case. There wouldn't be much point in such principles if they only applied in cases without evidence.
There is an investigative process and a legal process that will take quite a bit of time, and acknowledging that that process exists isn't disrespecting the victim or the victim's friends and family at all.
Comment by Lura Ercolano — 10:53 pm January 29, 2012 #
Sorry, comment time is over.
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After the grind process, stress release is achieved by dual high speed scanning
polishing heads able to achieve +/- 5% non-uniformity. Improved die strength
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program is focused on enabling the manufacturability of 3D interconnects, and
one of our key infrastructure requirements is a system that provides an integrated
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Richard Brilla, CNSE's Vice President for Strategy, Alliances and Consortia,
said, "The addition of Okamoto's wafer-thinning tool will support the advanced
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subset: commoncrawl


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Archtober Building of the Day 8> The NYCHA Red Hook West Urban Farm
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The NYCHA Red Hook West Urban Farm
6 Wolcott Street, Brooklyn
thread collective
A gaggle of green-thumbed Archtober enthusiasts joined thread collective's Elliott Maltby and Gita Nandan to learn about the NYCHA Red Hook West Urban Farm. Situated in Brooklyn, the one acre plot has served as a model for other farms being developed on New York Housing Authority properties, including at Howard Houses in Brownsville and in Coney Island.
Atlanta plans to combat food deserts by hiring its first Urban Agriculture Director
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Audrey Wachs.
Atlanta has staked a commitment on urban agriculture. The city is poised to hire its first Urban Agriculture Director this fall. Conceived by the office of Mayor Kasim Reed, the position is part of a strategy to eliminate food deserts in south and west Atlanta by promoting agriculture within the city limits.
Wilmore Resident Wins Grant For Edible Walkway Project
Monday, June 16, 2014
Habin Kwak.
Kris Steele's "Edible Walkway" proposal to bring an urban orchard to Charlotte, NC was one of two recipients of the Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) neighborhood beautification grants announced in May. Steele's proposal was approved over 34 other proposals by KCB and received an endowment of $2,500 to get the plan moving.
Washington D.C. To Grow World's Largest Urban Greenhouse
Monday, May 19, 2014
Henry Melcher.
From junk metal and rubble to tomatoes and kale. That's the plan for a vacant lot in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. located just under six miles from the United States Capitol building. Over the next few months, the 2.3-acre site, which has been covered in trash for years, will be transformed into the world's largest urban greenhouse.
Milwaukee pushes urban agriculture for vacant land
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Chris Bentley.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is pushing a plan to turn parcels of city-owned vacant land into urban farms and orchards. The HOME GR/OWN program has long been stalled, but received a boost from the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge.
Chicago's 'Green Healthy Neighborhoods' plan moves forward
Monday, March 24, 2014
Chris Bentley.
Chicago's plan to revitalize troubled South Side neighborhoods with green infrastructure, urban farming and transit-friendly development is moving ahead.
Detroit Clears Land for a Downtown Park and a Massive Urban Forest
Monday, November 4, 2013
Chris Bentley.
With Detroit bankrupt and under the authority of a state-appointed emergency manager, all options for the city's future are on the table. But not all news out of the infamously depopulated city is about cutting back. A new park downtown broke ground this week, and plans surfaced for a massive urban forest on Detroit's southeast side.
Unveiled> Bjarke Ingels Designs an Entire City Covered in Green Roofs Near Paris
Monday, April 22, 2013
Nick Miller.
The Bjarke Ingels Group, along with Tess, Transsolar, Base, Transitec, and Michel Forgue, have revealed their winning design for EuropaCity, a 200-acre urban cultural and commercial destination located between Paris and Roissy. Combining the forms of a dense European city with an open landscape, EuropaCity is set to be a retail, cultural, and leisure city of unprecedented scale. Modeled on the European urban experience and equipped with cutting edge green technologies, the development will serve as a retail and cultural hub for the region as well as a laboratory and showcase for sustainable design.
Gotham Greens Building Massive Rooftop Farms Across New York City
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Nicole Anderson.
Gotham Greens, the company that currently operates a 15,000-square-foot greenhouse on top of the Greenpoint Wood Exchange in Brooklyn—is bringing its green thumb to roofs across New York City with three massive new rooftop farms in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
Soon, the biggest of the three planned farms at 60,000 square feet—among the largest rooftop farms in the country—will be built atop an industrial facility in Jamaica, Queens. The New York Daily News reported that Gotham Greens received a $900,000 grant last year from the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) to cultivate the sprawling new hydroponic farm on a rooftop in Jamaica. The three urban farmers behind the venture anticipate an opening as soon as 2014.
Southern Philadelphia High School Crowdsourcing Philly's First Rooftop Farm
Friday, April 5, 2013
Nick Miller.
Southern Philadelphia High School has teamed up with Roofmeadow, a Philly-based green roof design and engineering firm, and the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association to bring the city its first rooftop farm in a new campus-wide plan to take the school from gray to green. The plan includes rain gardens, street trees, vegetable gardens, and a rooftop farm. These elements will be incorporated into a new curriculum for the school's culinary and science departments, providing students with a chance to escape the classroom and engage in hands-on learning, while nearby residents will gain access to fresh produce and new green space.
"South Philly High is on the cutting edge of sustainability and innovation," said Kim Massare, President of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association in a statement to greenroofs.com. "It is changing the way we think about what a school should be and using technology to drive change in a totally new direction."
The school is working with Roofmeadow and community representatives to develop the master plan, which targets large, underutilized properties on the school's urban campus. The project will be crowdfunded through Projexity, an online platform that provides the support and framework for bottom-up neighborhood development projects, from creating proposals, to gathering funding, holding design competitions and getting the final approval necessary to move forward. The first of five stages of fundraising begins here on April 9th.
Advertise on The Architect's Newspaper.
East Coast
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Wednesday March 31, 1999
Given the current popularity of Shakespeare on the screen and the dominance of young moviegoers at the box office, you'd expect that at least one of his plays would wind up as a high school comedy. But writer Karen McCullah Lutz's refreshingly free adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew" and Gil Junger's on-the-money direction result in the witty, bristling "10 Things I Hate About You." As satirical as it is romantic, this is one teen film that is wise enough to span generations in its appeal.
Julia Stiles stars as Katarina Stratford, a Seattle high school senior of such surpassing superiority she has outgrown any interest in mere popularity. She says exactly what she thinks and cares not what others, teachers and fellow students alike, think of her in return. She can't wait to get to Sarah Lawrence, confident that her father, Walter (Larry Miller, that master in making frustration and outrage hilarious), will in the end let her go farther away from home than he would like.
Walter, a single parent and a doctor obsessed with teen pregnancies, has decreed that neither Kat nor her younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) will date until they've graduated from high school.
Maddeningly for Bianca, Kat couldn't care less, since she's decided nobody's good enough for her in the first place. But there's a new kid in school, the self-effacing but determined Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is so transfixed by the lovely Bianca he's just got to find a way to take her out. When the miserable Bianca persuades her father to agree that she can date whenever Kat decides to date, the complicated plot of "10 Things" is set in motion. The best that poor Cameron's shrewd operator pal Michael (David Krumholtz) can come up with is to get an affluent rival for Bianca's affections--a narcissistic novice model, Joey (Andrew Keegan)--to pay someone to take Katarina out.
There's only one possibility, Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger). He's a freewheeling loner, tall and handsome, smart and imaginative. He is sufficiently cool and self-confident to allow Katarina to discover for herself his worthiness. But even if Patrick could be persuaded to go along with the plan, and even if it just might work, Cameron still has to compete with Joey for Bianca. The filmmakers have built an anything-can-happen situation that's lots of fun to watch play itself out.
To be sure, along the way we get a better understanding of why Kat behaves the way she does. The great thing about Katarina, in the way she's conceived and expertly played by Stiles, is that she's not about to apologize for her sarcastic directness. She is capable of giving credit on those rare occasions she believes it is due, and she has, underneath her hard veneer, a capacity to be made as vulnerable by love as anyone else.
Lutz's dialogue is consistently sharp and snappy, and the large cast forms a sparkling ensemble under Junger's adept direction. Among adults, Allison Janney stands out as a high school counselor who divides her attention, without missing a beat, between her students and the porn novel she's writing on school time. Likewise, literature teacher Daryl (Chill) Mitchell manages to stay a step ahead of Katarina and not let her get away with anything.
"10 Things I Hate About You" is slick and brisk, but why do the filmmakers try to pass off Tacoma as Seattle when its key setting is Tacoma's landmark Stadium High School, a vast, magnificent turn-of-the-century brick castle originally intended as a resort hotel, overlooking the Cascade Mountains on a cliff high above Commencement Bay? It is so unique and perfect and dramatic a period setting for a film inspired by a Shakespearean comedy that Tacoma deserves to be identified in the film itself, not just in the end credits.
10 Things I Hate About You, 1999. PG-13, for crude sex-related humor and dialogue, alcohol and drug-related scenes, all involving teens. A Buena Vista Pictures release of a Touchstone Pictures presentation. Director Gil Junger. Producer Andrew Lazar. Executive producers Jeffrey Chernov, Seth Jaret. Screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz. Cinematographer Mark Irwin. Editor O. Nicholas Brown. Music Richard Gibbs. Costumes Kimberly A. Tillman. Production designer Carol Winstead Wood. Art director Gilbert Wong. Set decorator Charles M. Graffeo. Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes. Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford. Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron Jones. Larisa Oleynik as Bianca.


text:
Elections for school board candidates throughout the state are today.
Fourteen Doña Ana County candidates are vying for seven seats.
Las Cruces candidates are incumbent Chuck Davis, Brian Marshall and Lenwood Hampton for District 1; incumbent Barbara Hall for District 2; and incumbent Maria Flores and Beverly Hine for District 3.
Candidates for the Gadsden school board are incumbent Jennifer Viramontes for District 2 and Stephen Randall "Randy" Moncrief and incumbent Craig Ford for District 5.
Hatch Valley candidates are incumbent Elva Garay, Steven Bouvet and Arthur Tarin for District 1 and incumbent Bobby Cordero and Chris Montez for District 4.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call the County Clerk, 575-647-7428, for voting locations.


text:
Apparantly, when it comes to mobile phone use, more people would prefer texting the text than talking.
According to the latest released Nielson ratings report on mobile phone use in the United States, the average American reads or taps out just over 350 text messages a month (hopefully, not while driving). That's in comparison to about 200 phone calls.
When you look exclusively at younger groups, like teenagers (who will be applying for jobs at your companies in a few short years), the gap between texting and talking is much, much wider. The average teenager takes about 231 calls a month (okay, about the same as the grownups). However, that's in comparison to 1700+ text messages. Yow!
Thoughts beyond the numbers
- I think it's very important to note that the number of cell phone calls is actually slightly higher among teens, than adults. So I don't think the spoken word should be put on the endangered species list, just yet.
- Teens just gab a lot. I did when I was a teen. I bet you did too. And what a shock; they still do. Have you ever been privvy to what teens are texting to each other? Much of it would fall under the "inanity" file. I'm guessing as this generation grows up, the number of text messages will go down and the importance of the messages will go up.
- While the post- 35 years old generation may be burning a lot of unnecessary time on "War and Peace" length e-mails and conference calls, I'm actually hopeful that the generation coming up will naturally economize their words (and thus everyone's time) by their 140 words or less medium for communicating.
- The Babyboom generation gave us the "generation gap" term to describe the disconnect between themselves and their parents. This time around, is it a generation gap or a communication gap? I forsee increasing communication problems in and out of the work place not necessarily by age; but by choice of technology platform. It's the Twitter gap, the texting gap, the e-mail gap, the cell phone gap, the Facebook gap, etc.
- Same language, different meanings. English in shorthand is increasingly looking less like English. All of these communication platforms are creating a techno-tower of Babel. English grammar is being butchered like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. Forget spelling. Forget typing on a QWERTY keyboard with all ten fingers. It's two thumbs on a keypad. Falling by the wayside is all the subtle meanings of intonations and timber of voice. Left in it's wake is oceans of room for misunderstanding in short cryptic messages that can be taken a variety of ways.
What's your long term plan for fostering effective communications among employees, with your customers, your vendors and colleagues?


text:
'Pitch Perfect 2' Confirmed for 2015 Release
Now this is music to our ears!
Universal Pictures announced on Thursday that there will indeed be a Pitch Perfect 2, starring of course Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, which will be released in 2015.
RT if you can't wait! @AnnaKendrick47 & @RebelWilson are back in #PitchPerfect2!! pic.twitter.com/GzY7DeSLY1
— #PitchPerfect (@PitchPerfect) February 6, 2014
The sequel to the monster 2012 hit will be directed by Elizabeth Banks, who will be pulling double-duty as an actress in the film too.
Pitch Perfect 2 is slated for May 2015 release.


text:
CUPERTINO, Calif. - Dec. 3, 2001-Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), the world leader in Internet security, today announced that its integrated suite of Internet protection solutions, Norton Internet Security 2001, won the Smau Industrial Design Award in the software category at Smau 2001, the premier Italian information technology fair. The 38th annual Smau exhibition and conference took place in Milan, Italy and attracted nearly 500,000 visitors and exhibitors from more than 19 countries.
The prestigious Smau industrial design prize is awarded to leading-edge IT solutions by an international jury of industrial design experts. Norton Internet Security 2001 was selected out of a field of 148 entries. The judges chose the product based on its aesthetic value, functionality and ease of operation for even novice computer users.
"Ever since Symantec released this product several years ago, Norton Internet Security continues to be the leading solution for home users. This industrial design award demonstrates why the product is so popular," said Steve Cullen, senior vice president of Symantec Consumer and Client Product Delivery. "Norton Internet Security isn't just a great technical solution, it excels functionally and aesthetically, making it easy to use and easy to understand. The prize is recognition of the product's on-going quality and Symantec's continued efforts in technological research and in the development of new solutions capable of responding to a rapidly evolving marketplace."
Norton Internet Security is a powerful integrated suite of products comprised of Norton AntiVirus, the market-leading anti-virus solution; Norton Personal Firewall, to guard against intrusion by hackers; Norton Privacy Control, for protection of personal information; and Norton Parental Control, to prevent access to Web sites that are inappropriate for minors.
A new and improved version of the product, Norton Internet Security 2002, has just recently been released and is now available at various retail locations, Symantec's online store at new and improved version of the product, Norton Internet Security 2002, has just recently been released and is now available at various retail locations, Symantec's online store at www.symantecstore.com, as well as other online retailers.www.symantecstore.com, as well as other online retailers.
About Symantec
Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network security solutions to individuals and enterprises. The company is a leading provider of virus protection, firewall and virtual private network, vulnerability management, intrusion detection, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management technologies and security services to enterprises around the world. Symantec's Norton brand of consumer security products leads the market in worldwide retail sales and industry awards. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has worldwide operations in 37 countries. For more information, please visit www.symantec.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please view the Symantec Press Center at http://www.symantec.com/PressCenter/ on Symantec's Web site. All prices noted are in US dollars and are valid only in the United States.
Symantec, the Symantec logo, AXENT, AXENT Technologies, and the AXENT logo are trademarks or registered trademarks, in the United States and certain other countries, of Symantec Corporation or its subsidiaries. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.