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NEW HEAD HUSKY?

STEVE SARKISIAN PROFILE ART THIEL
Just 34, he’s Trojans’ Ex-QB prides himself UW makes bold choice
offensive coordinator on strategic thinking with ‘the anti-Ty’
SPORTS C1

F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 5 , 2 0 0 8

HOUSING PRICED TO SELL

Slide opens city living to first-time buyers SALES DOWN Seattle-area market continues to slow,
17.5% 16.4% but inventory remains largely stable
INSIDE BY AUBREY COHEN
P-I reporter
price in July was $425,000. A house
next door was on the market for
IN CITY IN COUNTY
BY AUBREY COHEN to the Northwest Multiple Listing
FROM LAST MONTH
MORTGAGES: $325,000, down from $350,000, the P-I reporter Service.
U.S. government
becoming No. 1
Cassandra Donovan and Karlis
Ogle started looking at homes for
initial price in September.
For first-time buyers such as Do- 35.8%
IN CITY
30.7%
IN COUNTY
Area home sales showed no
Total listings provided more
hope for people seeking signs of a
sale this spring. novan and Ogle, sliding Seattle signs of rebounding in Novem- turnaround. There was just one
source of mortgage “We were looking up in Everett,” home prices mean a chance to buy in FROM LAST YEAR ber, according to a report Thurs- more home on the market in Se-
money. E2 Ogle said Sunday. the city, rather than “driving to qual- day. attle than there was a year earli-
MELTDOWN: Fed “And Bothell,” Donovan added. ify” farther away in King, Snohom- November’s pending sales of er, and listings were up just un-
Chairman Ben
“We really initially didn’t even ish or Pierce counties. PRICES DOWN houses and condominiums in Se- der 3 percent countywide.
consider buying in the city,” Ogle The median price of a Seattle MEDIAN IN CITY attle and King County were down November’s median house
Bernanke pleads said. house was $415,000 in November, 17.5 percent and 16.4 percent, re-
$415,000
sales prices were $415,000 in Se-
for more They were standing outside an down from a high of $501,000 in Au- spectively, from October and attle and $395,000 countywide.
government action. open house in Seattle’s Meadow- gust 2007. November’s median was nearly 36 percent and 31 percent
brook neighborhood. Now listed at FROM HIGH OF
E2 from November 2007, according
$379,000, the home’s initial asking SEE BUYERS, A17 $501,000 IN AUGUST 2007 SEE HOUSING, A17

Rainier Beach at a loss

TOP STORIES

Proposed closure of high school shocks, saddens community

Pleading
for rescue
U.S. auto executives again pleaded
with lawmakers at a contentious
Capitol Hill hearing for emergency
aid before year’s end. But the
skepticism about a bailout seemed
as strong as ever. E4

Slow going
at Boeing
Boeing, still struggling to get its
production system up to speed
after the Machinists’ strike,
delivered only four commercial jets
in November, down from 40 a
month before the strike. E1

Strip club
near Safeco
The city has issued a building
permit for a Deja Vu strip club next
to Safeco Field. The Mariners, who
tried to block the cabaret, have 21
days to appeal. B1

ALSO IN
THE NEWS
WORLD
Parliament closed: Canada’s
parliamentary opposition reacted
with outrage after Prime Minister BRAD VEST / P-I
Stephen Harper shut down the Angela Mealing and her son, Keano Debari, an eighth-grader at the African American Academy, look over data sheets about proposed school closures at a workshop Thursday.
legislature until Jan. 26. A9

SEATTLE BY AMY ROLPH, JON NAITO AND CLAUDIA ROWE “It’s so sad. They’ve And that was only one of several new school merger or clo-
P-I reporters sure possibilities announced Wednesday – a week after Superin-
Paid parking: Fremont will be the been doing so good. tendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson unveiled the initial plan.
next neighborhood to get paid
parking stations, probably by
Last week, it looked as if Rainier Beach High School was safe. Everything – grades, The possible merger is troubling for some South Seattle par-
The South Seattle school would keep its doors open and pos- ents, who say their schools are disproportionately targeted in the
February. The announcement sibly absorb another school – a relief for parents and activists
test scores, plan, and that disputes between rival gangs at the high schools
outraged members of the Fremont who fought to keep the iconic, yet sorely underenrolled high enrollment – has could escalate with the change. They also wonder about class
Chamber of Commerce. B1 school, alive. been going up.” size at Cleveland and the fate of Rainier Beach’s powerhouse ath-
But just one week later, things have changed. letics.
INDEX Parents, students and employees learned that Seattle Public – Nancy Panama, Despite concerns, the latest changes announced at the
Schools staffers have recommended a “merger” that would send parent of student at School Board meeting might not be the last. Closure plans may
TODAY’S WEATHER all Rainier Beach High School students to Cleveland High School
Mostly sunny but chilly. just a few miles away. Rainier Beach SEE SCHOOLS, A18
High 47. Low 37. B6

Comics D4,5
Crosswords D4,5

Mental health system ailing

Editorial B4,5
Horoscope D2
Lottery B2
Obituaries B3
Television D3
★★★
Major problems found READ THE REPORT long investigation into the mental health
and criminal justice systems that let James
in keeping ill off streets ◗ For the full report, “Examining the Tools in the Williams roam the streets homeless and hal-
lucinating in the hours before he allegedly

(FJECD|15000W
The P-I and seattlepi.com reach
1.3 million readers a week in
Western Washington, including
three-quarters of a million
Monday through Saturday. To
subscribe, call 206-464-2121.
© 2008 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
BY CAROL SMITH
P-I reporter
Shannon Harps, a young Sierra Club
worker, devoted her life to improving her
community before she was killed last New
Year’s Eve. But her death may spur major
mental health system reforms that could re-
sult in improved public safety, better care for
the severely ill and tighter control over dan-
Toolbox: A Review of Community Supervision of
Dangerous Mentally Ill Offenders,” visit
seattlepi.com/390746.
◗ For previous stories in the P-I on mental
illness, visit seattlepi.com/specials.
gerous offenders.
A task force convened by the King Coun-
ty Prosecutor’s Office and state Department
of Corrections has completed a nearly year-
chose Harps at random and stabbed her
with a kitchen knife.
Williams, a severely mentally ill man
with a long history of violence, is now facing
a murder charge.
The 160-page report found glaring ex-
amples of poor communication, a critical
shortage of hospital beds and commitment
laws that don’t adequately address the com-
DAVE SCHIEFELBEIN
Shannon Harps was believed
SEE MENTAL HEALTH, A20 slain by a mentally ill man.

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• SPI -- FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2008 PAGE: A 17 EDITION: THIRD ★★★ REPLATE: P-A 17 •

SEATTLE POS T-INTELLIGENCER | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2008 ★★★ A17

BUYERS: Question is what would six more months get

FROM A1
$395,000 in King County as a whole, $320,150 in
Snohomish County and $234,301 in Pierce County.
Like Donovan and Ogle, newlyweds Lauren
and Keith Denton want to spend about $350,000
on a house.
“I thought we would definitely be north of
100th (Street),” Keith Denton said at a Loyal
Heights open house Sunday.
The house recently came on the market at
$399,950. Realtor Mary Duran, the listing agent,
noted two houses nearby for sale at virtually the
same price.
“Six months ago this would have been
$450,000,” she said, adding that she sold a house
across the street for $455,000 in April.
Crystal Cheairs and fiance Timothy Buettner
originally shopped for homes in the $400,000
range in Greenwood or Phinney Ridge, but then re-
alized that was more than they could afford.
“This past May we started looking in the
$200,000 range, and were looking in Burien and
Tukwila,” she said, adding they thought they had
no chance of finding a place in Seattle.
They ended up buying a Rainier Beach house
for $210,000 on Halloween. It’s a fixer that went
back to the lender after foreclosure, but Buettner
works in construction so he can make improve-
ments.
They’re painting and putting in carpet now,
while continuing to live in Cheairs’ parents’ base-
ment in Lake City, and plan to tackle larger projects
after they move in.
For Katherine Salinas, who was shopping casu-
ally for a home for about a year and got serious this
summer, lower prices haven’t changed where she’s
looking, but what she’s looking at buying.
“Initially I was looking at only condos,” said Sa-
linas, who wants to pay less than $250,000. “With-
in the past month I’ve started to look more at town-
homes as they’ve gotten a little bit more afford-
able.”
A townhouse means no homeowner dues, no-
body above or below her and more space, she
said.
“Seeing what was on the market in my price
range (at first) was depressing,” Salinas said. “Now
it’s actually starting to get fun to go out and look at
places.”
Salinas’ real estate agent, Windermere asso-
ciate broker Tyler McKenzie, said those in the mar-
ket for homes less than $300,000 wouldn’t have
found much a year ago in West Seattle, where he
does half his business.
“They have many more options available to
them now,” he said.
McKenzie said the lower prices and interest
rates have started to draw out more buyers, and
more multiple offers on Seattle homes. He noted
that Salinas lost out on one townhouse to another
buyer.
Of course, buyers who have seen the benefits of
waiting this long might wonder what they’d be able
to get in another six months.
“That’s, like, the $60,000 question. I think
about that all the time,” Salinas said. “I just feel like
(prices) are down now. If I find something that I
truly like, I’m just going to get it because I know I’m
getting a good price.”
Donovan and Ogle said they’re getting serious
about their home search now largely because
they’re tired of their basement apartment.
“We’re not trying to time the bottom at all,” Do-
novan said. “It’s just working out in our favor.”
The Dentons also weren’t trying to time the
market and were not worried about subsequent
price drops after they bought, they said, because
they planned to stay in the home for at least five
years.
“I have a lot of faith in the Seattle market,” Lau-
ren Denton said.
P-I reporter Aubrey Cohen
can be reached at 206-448-8362
or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.
Read his Real Estate News blog at
blog.seattlepi.com/realestatenews.

HOUSING: Effects of foreclosures felt

FROM A1 NOVEMBER HOUSING MARKET
That was basically un- Nov. ‘07 Oct. ‘08 Nov. ‘08 Change from a year ago Change from last month
changed from October and
down 12.6 percent and 9.2 Area home sales SEATTLE KING COUNTY
percent, respectively, from a continued to
LISTINGS Houses and condominiums LISTINGS Houses and condominiums
year earlier. slump in
The median condo prices November. 3,776 0.03% 13,188 3.0%
were $303,000 in Seattle and Prices were 4,128 14,655
$274,150 countywide. That’s down from a 3,777 -8.5% 13,578 -7.3%
up 5.4 percent in the city and year earlier, but
ONLY 5
down 0.3 percent countywide generally flat PENDING SALES Houses and condominiums PENDING SALES Houses and condominiums DAYS
from October, and down 0.6 from October. 743 -35.8% 2,084 -30.7% LEFT!
percent and 3.6 percent, re-
spectively, from a year earlier. 578 1,727
477 -17.5% 1,444 -16.4%
In a statement accompa-
nying the numbers, real estate
professionals emphasized the MEDIAN SALES PRICE MEDIAN SALES PRICE
impact of foreclosure sales on Houses only Houses only
price. $474,975 -12.6% $435,000 -9.2%
“Until all the foreclosures $416,000 $392,000
and short sales are gobbled $415,000 -0.2% $395,000 0.8%
up, they represent a chunk of Condos Condos
the inventory, and prices will
fall,” said Dick Beeson, bro- Source: Northwest $304,975 -0.6% $284,450 -3.6%
ker-owner of Windermere/ Multiple Listing Service $287,450 $275,000
Commencement Associates in
Tacoma.
SEATTLE P-I $303,000 5.4% $274,150 -0.3% GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
Others, such as Winder-
mere Capitol Hill owner Pat
Grimm, focused on differ-
distributed.”
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TAKE AN RUG GALLERY
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P-I reporter Aubrey Cohen ADDITIONAL 211 First Avenue South

15%
can be reached at 206-448-8362
price points,” he said. or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com. Seattle, WA 98104
“The pressures on supply
and demand are never evenly
Read his Real Estate News blog at
blog.seattlepi.com/realestatenews. OFF! 206.903.8286
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