From Work-It-Out-Seattle:
Don’t miss the ** Central District Community Street Fair!! **
WHEN: Saturday, August 10, 2013, 11am to 5pm
WHERE: 24th Ave., between E. Yesler & E. Alder
WHY: Because this is the LARGEST one-day celebration of education, children and resources! Families and children from all over Seattle come out for fun and FREE event. We hope you can join us as we continue our tradition of a fabulous fair!
(Image: mesobseattle.com)
Fans of tiny E Jefferson Ethiopian restaurant Mesob hopefully won’t have to travel far to visit as the restaurants makes way for a new rowhouse development.
The 14th and Jefferson parcel was purchased by developers Chris Gurdjian, Erik Cullen and Quinn Borseno in late 2012 for $630,000 — a tidy 37% more than the previous owner paid in 2005.
According to city records, a three-unit rowhouse project is planned for the parcel once it is subdivided.
We’ve been told Mesob is planning a move to near 12th and Main. A permit for the demolition of the 14th/Jeff building are currently listed as “reviews completed” — but not yet “approved.”
The Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington (JCCCW) is holding its third annual All Things Japanese Sale on August 24th and 25th. The ever-popular rummage sale features unique items like lacquer-ware, ceramics, dolls, kimono, and books, among other items. Prices start at $0.25 and all items are donated by the community. 
Proceeds go towards supporting the JCCCW. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at 1414 South Weller Street.
Shoppers can purchase a ticket for a special preview sale on August 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is $25 for JCCCW members and $50 for the general public and light refreshments will be provided. Registration for the preview sale is accepted by mail, telephone, and online at http://www.jcccw.org/events-
The JCCCW is accepting lightly used donated items and is asking for help from volunteers to work the sale. Email [email protected] to sign up. To donate, visit the JCCCW’s office between Monday-Friday 10am-5pm at 1414 S. Weller Street.
The community surrounding the new park project at 19th and Madison gathered Tuesday night as part of Seattle’s annual Night Out block party celebrations. Hot dogs, corn on the cob and all-you-can-eat gummy worms were on the menu. To learn more about the park project, check out facebook.com/19thAndMadison.
(Image: CDN)
A hot bed of social and political activism is reportedly shuttering on 23rd Ave. Here’s an update on the Wildcat from the Anarchist News:
As members of the Wildcat collective, we are both relieved and bummed to announce that everyone’s favorite too-tiny social center will be closing its doors by August 15.
Since opening in February 2012 near the politically-charged intersection of 23rd and Union in the Central District of Seattle, the Wildcat has hosted dozens of speaking events, dinners, and films. It also housed L@s Quixotes, a radical lending library with a great collection of anti-authoritarian books and consistent open-hours. We opened the space during the crucial ebb-time between the eviction of the Decolonize/Occupy Seattle camp at Seattle Central Community College and May Day 2012. Without the Occupy camp or the Autonomia social center, the city’s growing and loosely-formed anti-state/anti-capitalist network desperately needed a meeting place to continue to encounter each-other and discover new affinities. For a time, the Wildcat was exactly that. True to our mission, our three-room cubbyhole was “a springboard for comrades to meet and launch their collective struggles toward freedom.”
Throughout the spring of 2012, the Wildcat was a clearinghouse for posters promoting what would be an unforgettable May Day. The space bustled on summer weekends as folks circulated in from the Food for Everyone BBQs that took place down the street in front of the mostly-empty Horace Mann building, a site of historic contest in the Central District. Along with the Umojafest PEACE Centeracross the street, the Wildcat helped to spread anti-police and anti-gentrification sentiment in the neighborhood. Upstanding citizens complained about all the graffiti, posters, and demonstrations.
Unfortunately, developers are currently planning to destroy the southeastern block of 23rd and Union in order to build a giant apartment building similar to the ones on Capitol Hill. This development may ultimately destroy Umoja and the black- and brown-owned businesses currently located next to it. While we have no love for capitalist enterprise in general, we recognize that this development is yet another step in a process that is rapidly transforming Seattle into an over-priced, sterile, white-washed dead zone. In this context, it is really sad to see the Wildcat go. The yuppies would have really, really hated us.
More here.
According to city records, a permit to transition the building to restaurant use was renewed earlier this year. In 2010, CDN reported that a project called Burger Central was planned for the location.
The First Tee of Greater Seattle invites golfers of all ages and abilities to a complimentary clinic and lunch at Jefferson Park Golf Course. The event features Dennis Walters, an aspiring professional golfer who was paralyzed from the waist down following an accident in 1974. Since then, this honorary PGA member and his best friend, “Bucky,” a rescue dog have entertained audiences around the globe with his trick shots and life lessons associated with golf. The hour-long clinic and exhibition starts at 11 a.m. and is followed by lunch provided by Jersey Mike’s subs. Pre-registration is required and subject to space availability. Reserve online at www.TheFirstTeeSeattle.org
“Keys to Fame,” a musical written, produced, and performed by 45 teens, runs this weekend at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Academy (LHPAI). LHPAI’s Summer Teen Musical Program is also celebrating its 15th anniversary. 
The students in the program partner with LHPAI Summer Academy teaching artists to create original lyrics and music. This particular production explores the theme of pursuing a dream and bringing it to fruition.
The show will run at the following dates and times:
Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com or by calling the LHPAI box office at 206. 684.4758. Tickets can also be purchased day-of-show at the LHPAI Box Office.
LHPAI has more on the performances:
The Langston Institute Summer Performing Arts Academy doubled enrollment from 2012 to 2013 with 76 total students ranging from six to 19 years old this year. Students engage in theater training in the morning and focus on production and set support in the afternoon. “The performing arts academy is designed to develop strong minds, cooperative behavior and flexibility in all things related to ensemble creativity,” says Jacqueline Moscou, LHPAI artistic director.
The first drop of ballot counts in the 2013 August primary foretold promising results for incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn and his expected top challenger, Ed Murray. But there were also surprises like the strong showing of Socialist candidate Kshama Sawant who shows signs of being to hang in the race with incumbent Richard Conlin in the race for his seat on the Seattle City Council. You can find the latest results here via King County Elections. The next update is expected Wednesday afternoon.
Four Seattle Public Schools graduates are among this year’s winners in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program; three of them are graduates of Garfield High School.
Catherine E. Carey, Joanna Lynch, and Samuel A. Rasch of Garfield join more than 2,500 high school seniors nationwide who have been awarded National Merit Scholarship awards, which are underwritten by U.S. colleges and universities.
Carey will attend Colby College and plans to major in Environmental Science. Lynch is headed to Carleton College and is undecided. Rasch will attend the University of Arizona and pursue a degree in Computer Science. They will each receive scholarship awards ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate coursework.
Starbucks has announced plans to turn the 23rd and Jackson store into its fifth “community store,” a partnership involving a local charity that receives a portion of the shop’s sales.
Starbucks on 23rd and Jackson
The busy Central District shop will partner with the YWCA’s GirlsFirst and Young Parent programs. These programs will receive 15 cents from each transaction; the donations are expected to reach around $100,000 in the first year. The programs will also have the opportunity to use the store as a platform for their message, which Starbucks hopes will drive customers.
The new partnership will also mean a remodel for the 23rd and Jackson store. They will plan to move the massive in-store mural dedicated to Central District musicians, though Starbucks will preserve it in some way. The renovation will take place in September, and the store will remain open during the process.
Starbucks started its community store program in 2011; the chain hopes to add 45 stores to the program over the next five years.
The Seattle Times, which first broke this story, has more information on the YWCA programs:
The GirlsFirst program offers girls of color after-school activities, summer leadership training, mentoring and internships (including at Starbucks). The Young Parent Program helps people find permanent housing and offers parenting classes, GED tutoring and employment-skills training.