I returned yesterday morning from a few days out of town to the terrible news about Tyrone Love.  After reading the reports here and elsewhere, I decided to take a walk, get some groceries on the Hill, and see what was going on up and down Union.

As I walked back from the store along Union, I was struck by the amount of garbage collecting on our streets.  More empty cans of malt liquor, airplane bottles of booze, baggies, and assorted junk than I can remember (Union b/w 23rd and 25th looks downright wrong).  Whatever agreement exists with Key Bank doesn’t seem to be working.

At 21st and Union, I saw an assortment of young men doing what they typically do–selling drugs openly up and down Union, particularly between their house (you know the one) and the bodega on 20th and Union.  They were taunting passersby and probably not being too welcoming to pedestrians, although I didn’t call the cops on them:-)

After crossing 23rd heading east, I noticed a young man, probably 11-12 years old, holding a sign at 24th and Union.  I said, “hey man, what’s your sign say?” and he turned it around to show me.  “Car wash”, it read, and I looked over into the driveway to see 3 of his friends scrubbing tires vigorously.

This was quite a moment for me, on this hopeful and sunny afternoon in late winter.  Here we had what I am assuming, with only a small amount of doubt, were 6-8 kids whose “vocation” was drug dealing, while just down the block we had the future hanging on by a thread.  This young man and his friends, working hard to make a few extra dollars on their vacation, will have a choice to make soon–look just up the road and decide to follow their elders into a dead end future of quick money or take the road we all hope they travel, with education, opportunity, hard work, and success in their future.

As we mourn another person murdered in our community, and we think about what we want this community to look like, let’s remember this young man and his friends and how we can all help them take the right road forward.  This community will not always “be that way”, although it will be if we let it be so.

Elvis

PI reporting this morning.

17-year old kid recently bused out of a juvenile detention facility in Woodinville (he hid amid the vineyards) and was found with loaded gun with hollow pt munitions, bottle of brandy, and 3.6 grams of marijuana. Seems like he was ready for action.

Sad fact is he’ll be back on the street since he’s a juvenile.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/16037

“The handgun police found was loaded and chambered with hollow point rounds, according to a police report.

After a brief struggle, police also reported finding a half-empty bottle of brandy and 3.6 grams of marijuana.”

In traveling around the neighborhood, I’m seeing some projects emerge that I don’t have any info about.

Does anybody know what’s going in at 20th and Union (between Katy’s and 2020)?

Does anybody know if there are plans for a business at 30th and Cherry (next to the bodega)?

Speaking of the bodega, i walked by there the other day and they were cookin’ up something interesting. Has anybody ever eaten there? What’s that guy go going on in the back?

PI article on the absence of a serious candidate to run against Mayor Nickels.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395175_mayor08.html

Are you happy with his performance? 

their marketing/ad folks are good.  they are advertising in the right places.

i laughed hard seeing that one.  good that it’s replaced Mark’s mug:-)

Curious as I have a valuable holiday package that has not arrived and was due before x-mas

Day 5 and still only one plow down Union. 

Madison seems nicely plowed.  In wedgewood, 35th street is bare pavement and, according to friends, has been plowed several times.

Have you seen PLOWdo?  Where’s Plowdo? 

Hmm, curious minds want to know why we don’t see many plows in our neighborhood?  Does City Hall not care about the CD?  Hmmm.  Has Mayor Nickels heard of Jane Byrne?

I am wondering if anybody has seen a plow in the last few days.  Driving up and down Madison, it seemed like it had some treatment, whereas Union, Cherry, etc, appear to have had none.

See a plow?  Let me know.

This summer I had a friend stay at my place while I was gone. Oh it was gonna be nice to allow my friend to enjoy my home! Nice, but forgetting to give him the alarm code cost me 90 bucks.

However, one can get the $90 fee waived if they attend a “false alarm class” at SPD HQ. It’s pretty comical, but I got some good nuggets of info I thought I might share.

• 98% of all alarms are false
• False alarms cost the city $1.2 million a year
• Majority of false alarms are at homes that have 1-2 a year
• Response rate to a burglary alarm averages 40 mins!  This is b/c 98% of alarms are false.
• Out of 14,000 alarms police responded to, 330 were actual break ins and 32 resulted in arrests
• Use your panic button for quicker response.
• Consider using private guard through your alarm provider as they can come by and check on your alarm before police do.
• If your neighbor calls in your alarm, it’s not a false alarm.  Maybe hire your neighbor??

Basically, the police have a low tolerance for alarms and don’t respond quickly.  In fact, he said when the power goes out, they usually don’t respond at all (alarms are triggered when the power goes back on).

great video of ATL schoolkids doing an Obama vs McCain song. The smile on my face gets bigger every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKxL0OQb6Q