The first day of business at the Madrona Farmer’s Market is today (Friday) from 3-7 p.m.

As in previous years, vendors will pack the parking lot next to Grocery Outlet at MLK and Union. More details from market’s website:

Madrona Farmers Market is located in the parking lot of the Madrona Grocery Outlet at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and E. Union Street. In 2013, it is open every Friday from 3-7 p.m., from May 17 to September 27.

Please be sure to support your generous market sponsors, Madrona Grocery Outlet, for graciously providing the space for your Madrona Farmers Market. Thank you very much, Steve & Deborah Mullen, for your continued support!

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The Slog is reporting that Kay Smith-Blum will not be filing for reelection and that she has endorsed Stephan Blanford as her successor. He has been closely associated with Alliance for Education and the Gates Foundation. The filing deadline is today at 4:00 PM on line.

Online: May 13, 9:00 a.m. – May 17, 2013, 4:00 p.m.
Filings made online for regular candidates may begin at 9 a.m. the first day of the filing period and continue through 4 p.m. the last day of the filing period.

In-person: May 13 – May 17, 2013, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Filing opens Monday, May 13 at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17, 2013 at the King County Elections office, 919 SW Grady Way, Renton WA 98057.

Mail: April 29 – May 17, 2013
Filings made by mail must be received by the filing officer not earlier than 10 working days before the first day of filing or no later than the close of business on the last day of the filing period, irrespective of postmark. Failure to meet the deadline renders the filing invalid and it will be returned.

Today is Bike to Work Day. Cascade Bicycle Club, Swedish Cherry Hill, the Bush School and Cafe Weekend are all hosting Commute Stations, just a few of many such stations all over the city (see map below). Each station is different, but expect lots of free granola bars, coffee and encouraging smiles.

The centerpiece event of the day is a morning ride from KEXP’s Dexter and Denny studio to City Hall for a rally. The ride leaves KEXP at 7:45 a.m., and the rally starts at City Hall at 8.

More details from Cascade Bicycle Club:

Ride to Seattle City Hall with Mayor McGinn!

Friday, May 17, 7:30 a.m.
KEXP studios, 113 Dexter Ave N
7:45 – 8 a.m. ride
8 – 8:15 a.m. rally Continue reading →

That parking lot at 22nd and Main was still an active crime scene Monday

Police are still looking for information about a fatal shooting in a parking lot near Blanche Lavizzo Park last weekend.

Q13 has identified the man killed as Wilbert Plummer.

Police say he was at Tia Lou’s nightclub in Belltown Saturday night, but they do not know how he ended up shot in the 22nd and Main parking lot.

Anyone with information or who may have seen him or his black 2012 Jaguar Saturday night or Sunday morning should call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. You can also report any tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-tips.

Want to add a garage sale, lemonade stand, four square competion, or game of capture the flag to the Hopscotch CD course?

It’s easy, but this Saturday, May 18th is the last day we can get your information added to the paper map that will be handed out along the 1.8 mile course.

We need your event name, a short description, start/end time and location. Have a great idea, but not sure where to put it? Drop us a line at jacksoncommons@gmail.com and we can see if there’s a location or partner along the route for you! Garage sale not on the route but walkable from the route? That’s cool. Give us the details and we can still get you on the flier.

All the latest updates at www.hopscotchcd.com.
Route Map is HERE.

We will be tweeting during Hopscotch CD at #HopXCD.

Announcing $500k for arts education in partnership with @seapubschools ^at twitter.com/mayormcginn/st…

— Mayor McGinn (@mayormcginn) May 14, 2013

Mayor Mike McGinn announced Tuesday that the city will invest a half million dollars in art education in schools in and around the Central District.

The funding comes from tax revenue generated by the waterfront Ferris wheel and the Chihuly museum in Seattle Center.

Funding will go first to K-12 schools within the “Central Pathway.” Over the next several years, the program will reach to other schools in the city, as well.

From the Mayor’s Office:

Today the Mayor announced that the city of Seattle will deepen their partnership with the school district to invest in arts education.

Investment dollars will ensure that every student in the Central Pathway of Seattle Public Schools receive a minimum of two hours per week of arts education programming, as well as support the purchase of instruments and other art supplies for classrooms. The Central Pathway, which consists of schools in and around Seattle’s Central District, was chosen due to strong existing partnerships with community-based arts education organizations. The eventual goal of the program is to expand the program each year until all students at Seattle Public Schools receive two hours per week of arts education programming by 2020. Continue reading →

The academy’s robotics lab these days sometimes includes nearby High 5 Pie (Image: SAAS)

Neighbors living near 13th and Spring will learn more about the project to create a new $20 million science building on the campus of the Seattle Academy of Arts… and Sciences.

“We’ve had a strong science program in spite of the facilities,” Rob Phillips, Assistant Head of School said of the sometimes patchwork solutions to finding space for everything from chemistry class to the robotics club at the private middle and high school.

The new project isn’t required to take the same design review path as other large projects but the school is still reaching out to present its plans to the community:

After the regular 12^th Avenue Stewards meeting on Tuesday May 14 (5:30-7:00pm), lead architect David Miller will talk about and answer questions about the project to neighbors. The presentation is on the 12^th Ave Stewards agenda and we are also going door to door with the local neighbors to let them know. Continue reading →

Faculty and students protest the MAP in February

The Seattle School District will no longer require MAP tests at city public high schools, Superintendent José Banda announced Monday.

Faculty at Garfield High School this year led a boycott of the test that quickly expanded to other Seattle schools and drew national attention. Opponents of the test argued that it detracts from valuable classroom time, has little to do with instruction subject matter and are not taken seriously because students know they don’t affect their GPAs.

A Seattle Public Schools review of the test has recommended that the test be optional to city high schools, paving the way to Garfield to stop administering the test, so long as they “provide evidence of a way to assess and monitor progress of students who are below standard in math and reading. In addition, the high school must follow their typical school-level decision-making process,” according to a statement from Superintendent José Banda:

In February we formed a Task Force on Assessments and Measuring Progress to review our testing policies and explore concerns about the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. This group, comprised of principal, teacher, student, family and community representatives, met eight times and developed a list of recommendations for the 2013-14 school year. Continue reading →

Here’s a look at some of the past month’s crime incidents in the neighborhood. Information is from Seattle Police reports.

Robbery spree suspect arrested, 9:50 p.m. April 18

One of two men suspected of robbing two people in the area April 18 was arrested in the U District, according to the police report.

One robbery occurred near 24th and Olive Street around 9:50 p.m. While police were talking to the victim, they received a call of another possibly-related robbery at 22nd and E Thomas Street. Then, while searching the area, they received word that the suspects were being detained near 43rd and Roosevelt in the U District.

The first victim positively identified one of the suspects, and he was arrested. More details from the police report:

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