From Seattle’s East Precinct, Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The March for Youth that was scheduled for this weekend has been postponed. This morning we received an email from march organizer John Hoole, who said the march leadership wanted to avoid conflicts with and detracting from the Juneteenth celebration that is happening all weekend long at Pratt Park.

They are now looking for a date in August to hold the march. (we’ve updated our calendar entry to August 15th as a placeholder).

The march was to have gone from MLK Memorial Park in Mount Baker to Judkins Park, and was intended to support youth in the city who are suffering from a wave of gang-related violence and bring south end and Central District communities together.

Tonight representatives from Seattle Public Utilities updated Madison Valley neighbors about the impending project that will expand the storm water detention pond there by 70%. Construction on the project will start very soon, possibly as soon as next Monday. A precise date will be fixed at a pre-construction meeting between the city and the contractor later this week.

The project is designed to increase the size of the emergency detention pond at 30th & Denny up to 1.7 million gallons, which officials say will reduce the likelihood of area homes being flooded during major winter storms. Efforts have been underway to provide an additional buffer since Kate Fleming drowned in her basement during the flash flood in December of 2006.

This part of the project is an incremental expansion of an existing system that allows storm water to back up in a controlled way when inflows reach a point that would begin to overwhelm the capacity of the sewer system. Accumulated water then drains back out of the pond as demand on the rest of the sewer system returns back to normal.

In addition to the expanded holding capacity, the city plans to make major upgrades to the landscaping and other amenities around the pond as an attempt to make it something more than just a grassy hole in the ground. Those plans call for additional walking paths through the bottom of the pond along what will be designed as a dry creek bed. The walls of the pond will also be restructured to add terraces, and the south end of property will get a sand play area and water feature for kids.

Officials say that construction activity can be expected any time between 7:30am and 6:00pm. On-street parking will be restricted in some areas around the property, and neighbors should expect dust, noise, and more than one-hundred dump truck trips as soil is dug up and hauled away.

The city’s construction contract calls for a maximum project duration of 90 working days, with a goal of having the project finished and grass re-grown before the rainy season starts again late in the fall.

This is also only phase one of the larger storm water project in that area. Phase two is scheduled to begin next year, and will provide a large new storm-water pipe along 27th & 28th Avenues, leading to a new underground detention tank near the play fields in the Arboretum.

Completion of both projects should reduce the likelihood of flooding down to only major storms that would be expected every 200 years or so.

Any neighbors who run into issues with the construction are told to contact project engineer Cynthia Blazina at (206) 423-1474.

Our spy at Seattle U has sent us another safety alert from their security department. He notes that this one seems like a story he’s heard before. Can’t say I disagree:

On Tuesday, June 16, 2009 the SU Department of Public Safety (DPS) received a report of an attempted strong arm robbery, which occurred between 3pm to 5pm on Monday, June 15^th.  The male student victim reported he was jogging on E. Marion between 12^th & 13^th avenue when he was approached by three males on the sidewalk. One of the males walked up to the victim and said ‘Man, I like those shoes’.  The victim reported he looked down and the suspect then suddenly hit him in the jaw.  The victim also reported that the suspect tried to reach for his book bag, but after the failed attempt, the suspect and the two other males all ran off.  The student then ran to his parked vehicle and drove to a local hospital for follow up care.  The suspect was described as a male in his 20’s.  He had a medium color complexion, was approximately 6’0” tall, 160 lbs, with short hair. The victim was not able to get a description of the other two persons present with the suspect.  DPS has alerted SPD to the incident and there are emphasis patrols in the area.

SPU Madison Valley Stormwater Project Update:

Council Briefing – June 23, 2009
Please note that the City Council’s Environment, Emergency Management & Utilities Committee will hear a briefing on the Phase 2 – 30% Design for Stormwater Pipeline and Storage in Washington Park.

When: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Where: Council Chambers, Seattle City Hall, Floor 2, 600 Fourth Avenue (downtown Seattle)
To view the live broadcast of this Council meeting, visit http://www.seattle.gov/council/council_live.htm
or www.seattlechannel.org/viewer_live.asp.

For more information about the project, visit www.seattle.gov/util/madisonvalley.

City Neighborhood Council

invites you to

The City Council Candidates’ Forum

Thursday, June 18^th, 2009

5:00 pm- 7:00 pm

Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall

600 4th Avenue, Seattle, 98124

 The filing deadline has passed and the races are crowded!

Knowing this is an important year in city politics, the CNC is proud to host this event.

 This is your chance to learn more about the candidates that want a seat on City Council.

This is your chance to find out more about their qualifications.

And, most importantly, this is your chance to let your priorities be known.

 Light refreshments will be available.

 Four City Council Seats. 16 Candidates. One Forum. And You!

 The City Neighborhood Council (CNC) is a citizen-led advisory group, comprised of elected members from each of the city’s 13 neighborhoods. In simple terms, we are the neighborhoods!

(planning underway for a Capitol Hill/Central Area Candidate Forum: School Board, Council, Mayor. Probably Sat. July 25th 9 – noon @ Mt. Zion, but stay tuned for details.  Contact [email protected] to volunteer)

From Seattle’s East Precinct, Tuesday, June 16, 2009

There’s an article in today’s Daily Journal of Commerce (online access for paid subscribers only) about the Bullitt Foundation’s intent to develop the C.C. Attle’s site, which they bought a year ago, with a “uniquely Northwest building.” 

The Bullitt Foundation is looking

“not just for a piece of sculpture” but for a building that performed a series of technically rigorous functions in geology, hydrology and solar applications.

Bullitt’s CEO (and Earthday founder) Denis Hayes said he

imagines the building being a living structure with many controls and sensors. Parts of the building may even respond differently to the environment. For example, one side of the building faces a busy arterial, another a green park-like area and a third side faces a quiet street. It is “entirely possible,” he said, that each side will look and function differently.

They have selected an architect (Miller/Hull) but are still looking for project partners.  They hope to have early design drawings by late summer.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009339984_g

HOW IT WORKS

The story hotline
We had this crazy idea: create a hotline people can call to share stories about 23rd and Union in Seattle’s Central District.

The idea was to set the stage for a creative and respectful conversation. We wanted the technology to be automated. So messages people leave become outgoing messages other people hear, and show up on our Web site, without us having to lift a finger.

Turns out that was a complicated proposition. But our software engineer Joseph Sheedy and our Web artist Anna Callahan managed to make it into a reality you can experience.

This is all an experiment, and a work in progress, so please let us know if you find bugs or things we can improve!

What to expect when you call
When you call 877-R23-UNION (877-723-8646) you hear a welcome message. Then you’re asked: Are you at the corner of 23rd and E Union right now? Press 1 for yes or 2 for no. (If you want to leave the producers a message press 3).

Now you can start listening to stories.

You’ll be asked to press any number 1-6 to hear a randomly generated story. It might be a story Jenny produced or it might be a message someone just left. It will be 2 minutes or less. And, it’s random. The computer chooses it for you.

When you’re done listening, press 1. Now you’ll hear one of our six questions (depending on which number you pressed before):

1. What do think of when you think: 23rd and Union?
2. Whose corner is 23rd and Union?
3. What stories do you tell about 23rd and Union?
4. Why is 23rd and Union this way?
5. What needs to happen on 23rd and Union?
6. Rap, sing, pray for 23rd and Union.

Listen to the prompt and enter the number it tells you in order to leave your message. (It will be a number between 11-16 or 21-26). Or you can press 3 to listen to ALL the other responses to this question.

If you decide to leave a message
You have 2 minutes. Introduce yourself and then go! It’s an open forum and a chance for you to speak your mind. Have fun. Go deep. Don’t hold back.

Your message will show up on our Web site within a few minutes. It will be integrated into the phone system within the hour. So it might be one of the random messages people hear.

Later on, we might select your message to air on KUOW 94.9 Public Radio or Hollow Earth Radio. We also might share it with other public media outlets in the future. It’s a non-commercial project, which means no one is ever going to profit from the messages you leave here.

What’s on the Web site
When you go to http://23rdandunion.org you’ll see there are six “question” pages that correspond to the six questions in the story line. On each of those pages, you’ll see two kinds of buttons. The pink buttons are stories that have extra content like photos and text. Anna placed them deliberately on the page.

The yellow audio play buttons are dynamically generated. A new one appears every time someone leaves a message. Every time you refresh the page the yellow buttons appear in random places. The computer decides where they go, not us.

Did I mention we love feedback? Email us: [email protected].

And remember to CALL 877-723-8646