Just got an email from Seattle Center on a what could become a very hot ticket.  The concert is this upcoming Wednesday, and the ticket price — and where the money goes — seems just right.  Added bonus:  It’s at McCaw Hall.  From the release:  

Two of the nation’s leading high school jazz bands have just returned from the 2010 Essentially Ellington Competition in New York. Garfield High School Jazz Band won first prize for the second year in a row, and Roosevelt High School Jazz Band received an honorable mention. You can hear both bands in concert, performing big band standards, including works by Duke Ellington, on Wednesday, June 9, 7:30pm at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. “Pay what you can” donations are requested – suggested donation of $20 at the door benefits Garfield and Roosevelt High School Music Programs and Seattle Center Foundation. This concert is sponsored by the City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation and 88 5 KPLU, NPR News and All That Jazz.

So we have some problematic neighbors. They’re druggie loaffers who rent a house and therefore take absolutely no pride in where they live. Garbage all over, home falling apart. Well today, a tent went up in the backyard. I know it’s early, but I get the feeling someone’s gonna be living back there. I’ll give in a couple of days to see what pans out, then I’m leaning on the city for a potential grievance. Anyone ever deal with anything like this before?

While hoping for a non-irritating grocery trip to the Madison Safeway this afternoon, I was reminded by a P-A announcement in the store that the branch there is shutting down today. BECU workers told me the prized ATM “will” stay open. For those of us who are BECU members, it’s a bit of a bummer. The closest branch where you can have human contact for your banking needs is now over on Broadway.

Got a letter in the mail today from BECU, and its irksome news. The credit union says it’s shutting down its Neighborhood Financial Center at the Madison Safeway on July 31. The letter says the lease at that location is up. BECU says its working with Safeway to at least keep an ATM there, as they “are actively seeking other location opportunities in the area to expand our operations.”

Come the beginning of August, the closest BECU Financial Center will become the Broadway Market site at 401 Broadway East.

Boo.

Late this afternoon, the National Weather Service posted this alert heading into tomorrow. Could get ugly….

… VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE WESTERN WASHINGTON LOWLANDS MONDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING…

A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC IS EXPECTED TO DEEPEN TO AROUND 980 MB AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE WASHINGTON OFFSHORE WATERS TOWARD NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW WILL MOVE THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON MONDAY NIGHT.

A STORM AND FRONTAL SYSTEM OF THIS MAGNITUDE IS MORE TYPICAL OF LATE FALL OR WINTER THAN OF EARLY MAY.

AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS THAT SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WILL DEVELOP MONDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON TUESDAY. MANY DECIDUOUS TREES ARE NOW LEAFING. SO WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE MAY BREAK SOME LARGE BRANCHES AND POSSIBLY TOPPLE A FEW TREES. LOCAL POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE.

Now this is what I like to see. On a stretch of MLK between Cherry and Yesler this afternoon, Seattle Police had an full-on emphasis patrol. Not a few officers, but at least a dozen. They were apparently targeting speeders on MLK, and those drivers who don’t stop for people in marked crosswalks. I watched for a few minutes toward the tail end of the lunch hour as either cops in street clothes or volunteers walked back and forth in the crosswalk at the south end of the park there. If someone didn’t stop when someone was in the marked area, off went an officer on a motorcycle to issue a ticket. A radar gun was also out and being used. It seems Seattle Police are reacting to calls from people who live — and walk — in the area that things were getting too unsafe.

Mayor Nickels announced a new plan today to speed up projects around the city to get people working. (The economy is apparently in bad shape.) One of the notable mentions for the CD: Accelerating the renovation for the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, which includes making seismic improvements. In November, city voters approved a massive Park Levy, and earmarked $2.5 million for the work at the building. Repairs would have started eventually, but — if all goes according to this plan — the construction should begin sooner than later. The City Council still has to sign off on the ramping up of budget decisions, even though all the money for all the work is already in the pipeline.

All right. Have you seen the latest forecast for tomorrow yet? Snow could start falling overnight here in the city, with temperatures in the mid to upper 20’s in the morning. Things could get awfully slick. Plan accordingly, and prepare to navigate around those nasty hills as you try to get to work and get the kids to school. As always, safe travels.

Note by scott: Note that only customers with Thursday/Friday collection days will have pickup this weekend. I think the CD is almost all Wednesday pickups, which won’t be picked up until next Wednesday 12/31.  It’s kinda like the buses, some neighborhoods have good news, others, not so much.

Not sure about specific garbage pickup around the CD, but here’s important NEW INFORMATION released today by the city if your trash normally gets collected on Thursdays or Fridays:

Seattle Garbage Schedule for Special Weekend Pickup

Conditions Permitting, Garbage Will be Collected Saturday and Sunday

SEATTLE — Special Saturday and Sunday pickup is being scheduled, conditions permitting, for the city’s residential garbage, recycling, food and yard waste customers, Seattle Public Utilities said today.

Due to continued inclement conditions, today’s customers (Friday, Dec. 26) are scheduled to be collected tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 27) and Thursday customers (Dec. 25) will be collected on Sunday, Dec. 28.

Thursday and Friday customers are advised to leave their garbage at the curb through Sunday. Collection contractors will inspect neighborhood routes throughout the weekend for service opportunities. Customers scheduled for Monday through Wednesday pickup should set out their materials on their normal appointed days, next week. There will be no additional charge for setting out extra garbage.

Despite inclement conditions, the city’s collections contractors have been running limited commercial routes around the clock this week, providing service to urgent commercial accounts where containers are accessible. Contractors are running 40 commercial trucks today to serve locations on major arterials and utilizing extra staff to access snow blocked containers. Approximately 40 percent of Seattle’s business accounts have been collected this week.

“We are eager to resume residential services as soon as possible, but safety with our large trucks is our first priority,” said Hans Van Dusen, Solid Waste Contracts Manager for Seattle Public Utilities. “Warmer weather is forecast for this weekend and next week, and we expect that will make it safer to send big trucks back into Seattle’s neighborhoods.”

Customers whose collections have been delayed by a week can set out double their normal amount of garbage at no additional charge. When setting out extra waste, customers are encouraged to place perishable food items in their collection containers and set bagged non-perishable items next to the containers.

I was bound and determined to get out this afternoon.. run a few errands, a little shopping, meet up with a friend for lunch. The main streets SEEM okay (save for the enlarging puddles), but man alive, all that slush has many neighborhood roads still an E-ticket ride. Especially on the hills. I have a larger SUV with 4-wheel drive and it got a bit white-knuckle on some stretches. I almost think the slush is tougher to navigate than the snow. I think we’re still at the stage NOT to under-estimate anything. Safe travels!