Multiple news sources are reporting on Twitter—follow here—that Clemmons was not in the Renton home that police have held under siege for over an hour. Clemmons, we gather, remains at large. I'm beginning to suspect he has one of these.
Multiple news sources are reporting on Twitter—follow here—that Clemmons was not in the Renton home that police have held under siege for over an hour. Clemmons, we gather, remains at large. I'm beginning to suspect he has one of these.
About 300 people are at the Northgate Community Center, where mayor-elect Mike McGinn is announcing staffers for the incoming administration at the first of three town halls, reports news intern Sarah Lloyd.
McGinn's deputy mayors will be Phil Fujii, the community relations manager at Vulcan, and Darryl Smith, a Windermere' [...]
Attempting to deflect blame away from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, O'Reilly said tonight of Maurice Clemmons:
Just a week ago this guy was released on $15,000 bail, an incredibly low number for the kind of crimes he's accused of. Altogether he had a total of eight felony charges' [...]
Says the Seattle Times:
A SWAT team has arrested a relative of Clemmons who is believed to be helping him. Police are at a location near Renton but have asked media not to disclose the address.
A short video clip of the scene in Renton from KOMO:
UPDATE 8:15: On Twitter, [...]
Mike Huckabee on Fox News a few minutes ago said that commuting Maurice Clemmons's sentence, resulting in his release from prison, is "not something I'm happy about at this particular moment,"
But Bill O'Reilly responds, "It's not your fault, governor... I'm not saying it's your fault. I don't think anybody" [...]

The light show that preceded this shot was much more impressive. It's been a long day.
Guilty Party's Name Withheld
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[...]Earlier Dominic wondered if that's really Marice Clemmons over there on Twitter. (Also wondered by everyone who checked out the feed: Who is "Reginald Robinson man of God" and why would Clemmons be Tweeting about him?)
A court document related to the child rape charge against Clemmons may provide [...]
KIRO:
The sources said they suspect Maurice Clemmons' friends and family are trying to throw investigators off his trail as the 37-year-old tries to avoid capture.
Ever since Clemmons was named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of the Lakewood officers, police agencies have been inundated with calls and tips.' [...]
KOMO:
Police have surrounded a home believed to be housing the suspect in the Lakewood police shooting.
A SWAT team has surrounded a home in the 13000 block of Renton Avenue South, and a police source has confirmed the incident is connected to the Lakewood murders.
I just stumbled across a picture while looking for Strangercrombie material, and it reminded me how awesome these ads were.
Now it doesn't even live in the Northwest.
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' [...]
Apparently Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in yesterday's shootings, and Nicole Smith, his wife, have a landscaping and pressure-washing business registered with the state, associated with an address in Kent Federal Way, Washington. On Twitter, @888hero points us to a copy of the business license:
It appears' [...]
He was sober and smart and big-picture and long-term. Maybe he'll still find a way to check in more than once a week? Maybe I should interview him about what he's learned as a critic by blogging (maybe I could learn a few things)...
Timothy Egan in the New York Times:
If this case does not sink the presidential aspirations of Huckabee, a leading Republican candidate, it should. By the standards that Republicans launched almost 20 years ago, Huckabee will be Willie Hortonized. But this case also shows, as with an earlier episode [...]
James Washington Jr. working on his bust of MLK.What do you say we focus on another black man in Seattle for a while?
Last week, just before Thanksgiving, I met Tim Detweiler at Woodside/Braseth Gallery to walk through [...]

...let's all keep our eyes peeled for white guys with handlebar mustaches who stink of gasoline:
Bainbridge Island police said they are looking for a man who they said threatened to kill a 39-year-old and her 12-year-old son early Sunday morning. Police said the woman's ex-boyfriend broke [...]
Police are saying on the scanner that they are pursuing someone or something at 13th Ave S and S Lander St. They have a K-9 out there.
Well, never mind. "SPD says search at 13th Ave. S./S. Lander St. was NOT connected. It was for attempted home break-in by" [...]

WikipediaI HEART JEN GRAVES!
Our own Jen Graves has been awarded a grant from the Arts Writers Grant Program, brought to you by Creative Capitol and the Warhol Foundation, to write this amazing-sounding piece:
Regrade: Rediscovering Seattle’s Artificial Roots
Just as early entrepreneurs sliced up [...]
Police have dropped their hunt for a 1997 Mazda Millenia with Washington license plate 208-SSX. "WSP Trooper Brandy Kessler says it was sold 2 months ago," reports @KIRO7Seattle.
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[...]
"Nicholas Francisco updated his Facebook page with his new name," writes Slog tipper page Janna. "He had this page when he disappeared and there was no activity since he went missing but he just updated it with his new name! WTF!"
His relationship status? "It's complicated." You [...]
The family of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton, who was shot dead on Halloween, has issued a statement about the Lakewood murder: "Our hearts ache for the families of Sergeant Mark Renninger, Officer Tina Griswold, Officer Ronald Owens and Officer Gregory Richards. We pray that they will be granted strength" [...]
Back in July, as Maruice Clemmons was awaiting trial on charges of child rape and assaulting a sheriff's deputy, he informed a Pierce County court that he intended to pursue a defense in which he would claim "insanity and/or temporarily experiencing diminished mental capacity at the time of the offense."' [...]
Josh in comments points us to this Twitter feed that spares us all the retweets.
Meanwhile, Maurice Clemmons's derelict Twitter account (if it's even the same Maurice Clemmons and isn't a prank, etc.) appears to be gaining followers.
In non-Twitter news, Seattlepi.com reports that State Patrol Trooper Cliff' [...]
Officers on the police scanner say that a would-be vigilante flagged down a cop near Cowen Park. The man was carrying a handgun and wearing body armor. He apparently wanted to help flush out the suspect from the park.
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Rick Moody is posting a short story on Twitter today and for the next two days. He'll post a new 140-character chunk every hour. Here's the beginning:
And here's an interview with the Wall Street Journal about the story. When Moody is good, he's very, very' [...]
Washington State's Child Protective Services confirmed that the agency had "founded" - or substantiated - a complaint of child sexual abuse in October against Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in the fatal shooting of four Lakewood Police officers.
DSHS spokeswoman Sherry Hill said the agency received a complaint from [...]
All those images Chris Jordan has made and all you can come up is this bank ad, Pacific Science Center?
Billboard at Denny and Eastlake
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[...]
Here's a brief (religious) stint on Twitter by someone posting as Maurice Clemmons this summer:
Can you fake the dates of a Twitter post?
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[...]It's kinda like driving while black... only with more automatic weapons being pointed at you. Anyway, it's a bad day to be a scruffy black dude in Seattle.
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[...]Police are closing down streets and preparing to search Cowen Park north of the University District, police are saying on the SPD scanner. Officers have reported a "blood trail" near the public bathrooms.
In the park, someone appears to be "asleep under the footbridge," says a male officer. "It" [...]
"Police are searching for a green 1997 Mazda Millenia with Washington license plate 208-SSX. The vehicle is registered to Clemmons' wife. Police said she may be headed to Arkansas," reports the Seattle Times. There's also a Google Wave (a technology I have yet to fully grasp) on the search' [...]
Chris Pesto, a junior at Syracuse University in New York, was annoyed by a fundamentalist Christian bigot holding up an anti-gay sign—"Homosexuality Is a Sin"—on his campus last week. So he took action:
This woman was wearing an ankle-length corduroy skirt, which, as we all know, is [...]
Whether or not this video is real or fake, the way Mom's Mini takes the blow, well, I kinda want one. A MiniVan, not a wrecking ball.
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[...]On the police scanner, officers say two people called about 15 minutes ago reporting seeing "a black man ... bleeding pretty heavily" at the intersection of Maynard Avenue South and South Dearborn Street, and one of the callers reported seeing "bloody gauze." The callers reported an an abandoned vehicle, [...]

(Once in a while, I take a new book with me to lunch and give it a half an hour or so to grab my attention. Lunch Date is my judgment on that speed-dating experience.)
Who's your date today? Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped [...]

Thinking about blond hair and its short but brilliant history...
Long, long ago, humans in what is now Northern Europe had a diet dominated by a grain that did not provide enough vitamin D. This resulted in the spread of the blond hair [...]
I'm a 40 year old lesbian who had a bad break up about two years ago. My ex reached out to me via email recently and we've begun writing back and forth. Yesterday she emailed me to inform me that she felt sexually violated by me during our relationship and [...]
On the police scanner, you can hear officers pursuing every tip on every possible suspect—a man carrying a cup of coffee on Aurora, a guy panhandling by the side of the road—as they should. In case folks want another photo of the man police are looking for, KIRO posted [...]
Andrew Wright did not love it:
Bound and at least three-quarters of the original Matrix aside, the Wachowski brothers have shown a distressing tendency to take should-be-surefire geek concepts and boil the fun right out of them. The Wachowski-produced Ninja Assassin (directed by their V for Vendetta [...]
The hash tag on Twitter to follow the manhunt for Maurice Clemmons, suspected of killing the four officers in Lakewood yesterday, is #Washooting. Techflash has a short article on how Twitter is changing the way citizens and media cover a crime story.
Music
Cold CaveMost new-wave revivalists are exasperatingly rote with their po-faced homages to late-'70s/early-'80s underground music. Philadelphia trio Cold Cave is the rare band that indulges in this sort of retro fetishism inventively. Their inspirational evocations of that era's chilling atmospheres, deadpan vocals, and stately melodies animate [...]

There are two readings today.
Local mystery author JA Jance reads at Seattle Mystery Bookshop at noon today. Trial by Fire is her newest book, and it's about—can you guess?—an arsonist.
And Chef Daniel Orr is at Elliott Bay Book Company tonight. FARMfood: Green Living with Chef Daniel Orr [...]
From the Arkansas Gazette:
Clemmons was sentenced by an Arkansas court in 1989 to 95 years in prison on a charge of aggravated robbery and theft. Huckabee granted him clemency in 2000, citing Clemmons’ age, 17, at the time of the sentencing. The action made Clemmons immediately [...]
...that's where Osama bin Laden was hiding and Osama was being protected by the assholes who were running that country. Osama isn't in Afghanistan anymore and different assholes are running Afghanistan now. So we're done, right? Wrong...
President Obama has issued his order to send more troops to Afghanistan, communicating [...]
Take it away, Telegraph UK:
A man with a sexual fetish for slurry has been jailed after breaching a restraining order banning him from a farm. David Truscott, 40, broke into a farm, covered himself in the waste and was seen masturbating, a court heard...
Originally posted at 8:30 AM...
We're hearing that the police surrounded and boarded a bus in the U-District believing that the suspect was on board—but the suspect wasn't on the bus. (Anyone see that go down?) KUOW just reported that there's an unconfirmed report that the suspect was seen getting off [...]
I realize this morning it's weird to think about anything but the shootings, but this is for a good cause, so I want to keep it up...I hope it's not too weird.
Two days left until the Strangercrombie one-of-a-kind art piñatas go up for bid.
Joey Veltkamp's bear piñata is full [...]
If Maurice Clemmons is ultimately caught and charged with the murder of four Lakewood police officers, this will stand out as a key moment leading up to the crime:
Prosecutors in Pierce County recently had requested a mental evaluation for Clemmons at Western State Hospital. On Nov. 6, a psychologist [...]
A Seattle police SWAT team this morning swarmed a Leschi home surrounded overnight but did not find suspected cop killer Maurice Clemmons inside.... Police had surrounded the home late Sunday night and Troyer said the search of the house finished shortly after 7 a.m. Officers [...]
And Huckabee said that before the news broke about a man he released from an Arkansas prison—a man he released over the objections of prosecutors—gunning down four cops in Tacoma.
"The reason I wouldn't [run in 2012] is that this Fox gig I've got right now, Chris, is really, really" [...]
Forgive the pre-dawn Morning News, but I can't sleep, mostly because of...
Maurice Clemmons: He may be the man who fatally shot four police officers yesterday in Lakewood, and he may be dead. Not dead, not caught, stay tuned.
Meanwhile: Pierce County is considering charges against KING-5 over the station's [...]
Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of killing four Lakewood police officers Sunday in a Parkland coffee shop, was shot and perhaps seriously wounded by one of the officers before fleeing, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said this morning. "He has suffered a gunshot wound," Troyer said at [...]
Seattlecrime.com is reporting that SWAT officers have a home in Leschi surrounded and believe a person of interest in this mornings police killings may be there.
The home is on E Superior Street and Erie Avenue. Buses in the area are being diverted.
K9 and negotiator units are on scene, and [...]
What the fuck?
Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.
Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting [...]
You elected Mike McGinn the mayor and Pete Holmes the City Attorney—sometimes the good guys win—but their campaigns aren't out of the woods yet. They're both in the red. (Granted, McGinn only has a quarter of Joe Mallahan's $106,174 debt, according to records from the Seattle Ethics and Election [...]
The image below shows a recent photo of Forza Coffee, where four officers were shot dead at about 8:15 a.m., at the corner of a strip mall south of Tacoma. If you swing the image around (click and drag), you can see it's directly across the street from McChord Air' [...]
KOMO:
Four police officers were shot and killed in a Sunday morning ambush at a Parkland-area coffee shop, officials said.
Emergency personnel rushed to the scene after receiving a report that multiple officers were shot and killed in the ambush at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, according to reports from the scene.
Pierce County [...]

There is an open mic (with erotic tendencies) at the Little Red Studio.
Or you could go to the Ballard branch of Seattle Public Library. Chef Daniel Orr, who is some sort of celebrity chef, reads from his new book FARMFood: Green Living with Chef Daniel Orr. Mr. [...]
Three days left until the Strangercrombie one-of-a-kind art piñatas go up for bid.
Susanna Bluhm's beautiful, big piñata is called Minimalist Sacrifice.
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[...]Posted by news intern Jon Brock
Purple Is the New Crimson: The Huskies beat the Cougars at the Apple Cup 30-0.
If You Were at Westlake Center Yesterday, and You Saw People Being Thrown to the Ground by Soldiers and Handcuffed...Relax: It was an anti-war demonstration.
'Twas the Night Before...a Major' [...]
The Tiger Woods story has officially become interesting:
TMZ REPORT: WOODS' INJURIES CAME FROM HIS WIFE, NOT FROM CAR CRASH This looks more and more like a domestic something or other. Especially now, let us not forget the Vikings and the way they terrorized Central Europe for centuries.
[' [...]
Music
Smash Putt!I hadn't been to putt-putt golf since Billy Taylor's stuffy birthday party in fourth grade—until last weekend, when those metal-working freaks at HazardFactory (they of constant calluses, Band-Aids, and singed eyebrows) opened their appropriately named Smash Putt! The temporary nine-hole warehouse course isn't just [...]

Today, Greg Bear reads at Seattle Mystery Bookshop. His newest book, Mariposa, is the second book in the Quantico series. You can probably buy the first book in the series here, too. (Hint: The first book is in paperback, and is therefore more affordable than the hardcover.) [...]
Four days left until the Strangercrombie one-of-a-kind art piñatas go up for bid.
WANNA SMASH THE VIADUCT? Vaughn Bell has made it so you can. Here's her viaductñata under construction.
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[...]Posted by news intern Jon Brock
More Shootings: Man fatally shot in Seattle last night near St. James Cathedral.
Speaking of Guns: The guy who brought his gun into the Southwest Community Center, and was promptly turned away, is suing the City of Seattle and Mayor Nickels.
Easy on [...]

My answer to the Michelle/ape controversy:
...This was posted in the middle of 2008, and there are many more like it. Leave the Michelle/ape alone; let it be, and let who needs a laugh have a laugh. And besides, humans are closely related to chimps! [...]

What's the book? My Little Dysfunctional Family Album by Sean Maher.
Why is it useless? It's a collection of very old photos with snarky comments written next to them. For instance, an unattractive man sits, rigidly, holding a guitar. Next to him, Maher writes "I still haven't figured'" [...]
Ryan Blethen has some advice to make the GOP stronger.
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[...]On December 2, a design review board for the city's Department of Planning and Development will make its recommendation on a six-story building planned at Broadway and East Jefferson street. Here's the corner recently:
And here's a rendering by Ankrom Moisan Architects of the proposed building:
[...]

The first time I went to the massive, citywide art fair Art Basel Miami Beach was in 2006, when the fair was so smoking hot that I was shamed into going. These are the first sentences in the piece I wrote about it.
It's a windy [...]
"Hey Lindy," somebody in the office just asked. "If I'm going to see one movie this weekend, which one should I see?"
Which began a whole conversation about the one whatevers people should see/read/do. Slog brings the results to you.
Lindy: People should see Fantastic Mr. Fox. It's the biggest movie' [...]
The Birthers and the Truthers are coming together to fight ClimateGate. What is ClimateGate, you ask? Why, it's the conspiracy to systematically take over the world by creating false evidence promoting the myth of global warming! Evil scientists and the one-world government have colluded to make us [...]
The Service Director Mark Sullivan has issued this statement:
The Secret Service is deeply concerned and embarrassed by the
circumstances surrounding the State Dinner on Tuesday, November 24.
The preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined
established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint,
verifying that two individuals [...]

In a piece that is weirdly complementary with this week's books lead, Chris Rodell has written a piece about the frustrations of being a freelancer whose pitches aren't rejected—they're outright ignored:
I’m nostalgic for the days when I used to gauge my how hard I was working [...]

amazon.comWowWee Wrex the Dawg: "The three moods and three desires are expressed in lucky crazy slot machine eye."
PETA's got its panties in a bunch over the University of Georgia using a real [...]
Reports Seattlepi.com:
A man who carried a pistol into a West Seattle community center two weeks ago to protest Seattle's new ban on guns in public spaces on Friday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, saying the policy violates the U.S. and state constitutions, as well as state law.
Bob [...]
News from Scotland:
A controversial Scottish brewery has launched what it described as the world's strongest beer - with a 32% alcohol content.
Tactical Nuclear Penguin has been unveiled by BrewDog of Fraserburgh. BrewDog was previously branded irresponsible for an 18.2% beer called Tokyo, which it then followed with a [...]
Way back in May, I watched The Yes Men Fix the World at SIFF. Here's part of what I had to say about it:
The thing that saves this movie from becoming a Michael Moore-style proselytizing headache is the Yes Men's commitment: They hang around long after things become awkward, [...]

And here's the best decoration I've seen yet, slapped on the side of a Metro bus:
I am not an atheist—to me, atheism seems like the most benign form of fundamentalism—but I approve of atheism being part of the religious conversation. (Also, this bus ad struck me as' [...]
Posted by news intern Jon Brock
On the afternoon of November 19, a man was driving from Renton to North Seattle on his way to apply for a job. On 3rd Ave NW near Holman Road NW, he "hit a pothole, flattening his right front tire," says a Seattle Police report. [...]
For those who can't run around today, all Black Friday crazy-brained, let me introduce you to The Shoedini. This is the best gift for everyone on your list. Not even a Snuggie™ can touch it.
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' [...]
www.freshfloursseattle.comCOOKIE! NOM NOM NOM!
...and $1 coffee drinks, tomorrow afternoon in celebration of the grand opening of Fresh Flours bakery's Ballard branch.
More info over in the Chow Calendar.
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[...]
This week in the book section, The Rejectionist writes about working for a New York literary agent. The Rejectionist is in charge of the slush pile, which is where all the unsolicited submissions go:
Any given morning might bring the Old Testament rewritten by George Bush Sr., [...]
Joseph Backholm runs the Family Policy Institute of Washington, which is the state affiliate of James Dobson's Focus on the Family. Backholm's group poured over $200,000 into the reject R-71 campaign; Dobson's national organization spent over $90,000. They lost. But Backholm is obsessed with gay people more than [...]
Remember how the Hunt Club and Canlis are offering Twilight-themed cocktails right now? Me too! I can't stop remembering it. In fact, I was so excited about the idea, I decided to invent a few movie-themed cocktails of my own. Read all about it in this week's Concessions.' [...]

One reading tonight.
Amy Goodman reads at Town Hall with Denis Moynihan. Breaking the Sound Barrier contains Goodman's "most piquant articles of the last few years." This is a very Town Hall-y event; it could be fun to have a bet going with a friend where you guess [...]
...Andrew Sullivan calls Karl Rove and Sarah Palin degenerates.
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[...]This awesome video in two parts is by General Idea, the trio of gay artists that worked from the late 1960s to 1995 (only AA Bronson remains; Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal died of AIDS-related causes in 1994). Their work was at the Henry two years ago.
Those are parts [...]
Five days left until the Strangercrombie one-of-a-kind art piñatas go up for bid.
Here's Jenny Zwick's me-ñata, complete with creepy fake hair and cute reflective pants, just like Jenny has. Smack her and all her fears come spilling out, printed on little pins (from this series of prints by [...]
Dear Simon,
Disregarding the fact that you have still not paid me for work I completed earlier this year despite several assertions that you would do so, I would be delighted to spend my free time creating logos and pie charts for you based on further [...]
BBC reports...
The oldest pieces of jewellery made by modern humans have emerged in Africa. Shell beads found in Blombos Cave on the southern tip of the continent are 75,000 years old, scientists say.... Until now, the oldest beads in Africa date to about 45,000 years ago.
The 41 Blombos shells [...]
...and that's why I can't stand Glee. Really, people, Modern Family is the goddamn funniest show on television right now and all anyone can talk about is Glee, a show with a creative team that doesn't have the balls to let it be Election or the ability to finesse those [...]