Does anyone have the scoop on the new restaurant that’s suposed to replace MezzaLuna on 26th and Judkins? I saw a sign outside the shuttered storefront this morning advertising a kabob (Mediteranean?) restaurant.

Found a green canvas-type bag this morning on 26th AVE S, like the type used to carry pets. Apparently from a burglary/theft. If you’re missing one, contact me or let me know how I can contact you.

The Seattle Times P-I has a story today about a city proposal to restrict the number of residential parking permits people can have in certain neighborhoods. According to the article, households in some of the densest areas – like the heart of Capitol Hill – would be restricted to only one permit. In other aeas, like Wallingford,
a household would be allowed two permits. The article continues:

But for other residents, the proposed restrictions could remove fleets of cars on streets, and parking could get a little better, said city parking planner Mary Catherine Snyder. The permits, which exempt vehicles from time limits in residential parking zones, are intended to give residents a better chance of finding all-day spaces in their own neighborhoods.

I notice the CD isn’t among the neighborhoods mentioned (is this due to density requirements?) although there is a “Zone 14 near Garfield High School” that is slated for four permits per household.

If you’re a car owner like me, you’ve probably noticed that it’s getting increasingly tougher to find all-day parking outside your house or even on your block, due to the recent influx of townhouse and multi-family housing.

What do you think? Are parking spaces becoming scarcer in the CD? If so, what, if anything, should be done about it.

Here’s the story:

City proposes limits on residential parking permits

Legendary jazz great Ernestine Anderson is a long-time CD resident who once worked with the likes of Quincy Jones and Ray Charles. She was in imminent danger of foreclosing on her home in the Central District. Supporters stepped up and donated enough to stave off foreclosure. I read recently that more than 200 houses face foreclosure in Anderson’s zip code (98122). http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/369043_robert01.html

(edited by scott to remove Zillow link to Ernestine’s house due to privacy concerns)

The Seattle Times has a story today on developer Jim Mueller’s plans for several properties on 20th and East Madison.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008005703_m

This is a key neighborhood block and one of the last yet to be redeveloped on that stretch of Madison — Seattle’s only Sound-to-lake corridor. Its renewal would finally bring to this locale the kind of gentrification that has been taking place east and west of it and throughout much of the Central Area.

An article in today’s Seattle Times discusses a proposal aimed at booting drug dealers from their properties. Some folks in the CD have long complained about known drug houses (mostly rentals) and how hard it’s been to get the occupants out, despite the fact that everyone knows what the occupants are up to. Does the city of Seattle have a similar ordinance? What’s the best way for neighbors to discreetly get the proper authorities to take action against known drug houses? (yes, we know police cannot make an arrest unless they see the crime occur).

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004474540_d

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn has proposed an ordinance aimed at helping landlords remove drug dealers from their properties and levy fines against those who willfully ignore criminal activity at their rentals.

The proposed “Safer Neighborhoods Ordinance” has bipartisan support in the council and was crafted with the support and assistance of the King County Sheriff’s Office and the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound, Dunn said at a news conference Thursday.

Under the proposed ordinance, the Sheriff’s Office would notify landlords each time deputies are called to a rental property in connection with certain kinds of serious criminal activities.

Once a landlord has received three separate offense reports about tenants suspected of committing drug or sex crimes within a six-month period, a landlord would be required to take steps to curtail the illegal activity or face financial penalties.

Here’s a story from today’s Seattle Times that may be of interest to CD residents:

Cops tackle growing gang problem
Even without hard numbers, police say they’re encountering more gang-related crimes, and not just in Seattle neighborhoods that have traditionally seen heavy gang activity. Places like Northgate and Queen Anne are seeing problems.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004430842_gang22m.html

There has been a recent rash of house burglaries in the CD in recent weeks. Please be vigilant and report all suspicious activity. Here are details of three reports in the past week from the CNA chat list (with identifying address info left out):

Incident 3:
Just want to alert folks that our neighbors at 15XX 25th Ave. S were also burglarized this week – twice, on Tuesday and yesterday. It seems that they got in through an unlocked door (in one apt) and an unlocked but closed window (in the other). Be sure to lock your house and also keep an eye out for “suspicious activity” (whatever that is).

Incident 2:
Our neighbor on 24th and just south of Charles was also burglarized during the day. They broke a window in the back and were in process when neighbor got home. She saw them leaving the house and running across back yard and jumping the fence, on to 25th Ave S. This happened late afternoon on Mon. She described them as teenagers – they took her ipod, camera, liquor and maybe some cash. She has a dog and they did something to the dog (she described the dog as timid and soar) and also poured a bunch of dog bisuits on the floor. Police have a description of kids.

Incident 1:
We live on 25th Ave. S between Lane and King. We work at home which must have helped us to escape burglary for the past 12 years until yesterday. I was out of country and my partner went out from 9am to early afternoon. When he came home, he found the hinge of the door to the basement was broken. He knew we were burglarized. It should have been more than one person who must have closely monitored my partner’s in and out of the house and small enough to break in through a tiny toilet window in the basement.
Our new computer, a little cash and my jewelry were gone. They also took old returned checks which I’m a little concerned about. Fortunately they left my old computer and external hard drive intact, so I can keep working, which is a good luck out of bad luck.
When somebody stole your computer, what would you do? We are more concerned in the data stored in the computer than the computer itself because we do business on line. We appreciate your input about what to do other than changing the important passwords.

For example, how can we prevent the thief to keep reading our email communication? Computer is great to store important information but the damage is also great once it’s stolen.

For those denizens of the CD who have high-speed Internet and cable service and who have suffered through Millennium Digital and now Broadstripe, what, if any, are the alternatives? The outrageous price, slow Net connection and crappy service that I get from them is driving me around the bend. I see that Qwest is aggressively offering bundled DSL/phone service but I wonder if that is appreciably any better.

Residents of the CD might be interested in this event, which was posted on the Miller Park blog.

The State of the Cetral District: A Community Forum
http://millerparkseattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/state-of-central-district-community.html