This afternoon’s protest march against Ethiopian regimes starts at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Pratt Park. From there, it will head downtown on Yesler to the Federal Building.

From the city’s traffic advisory:

This afternoon 500 participants in the Ethiopian Regimes Protest March will gather at Pratt Park and begin marching at 2:30 p.m.   Starting at 20th and E Yesler Way, the marchers will head west on Yesler to Fourth Avenue, then turn right and continue north on Fourth to Madison Street, turn left and proceed west on Madison to Second Avenue to the Federal Building.  Seattle Police Officers will escort the protesters who will be marching in the street. There will be a rolling slowdown in traffic as the protesters pass by.   Motorists should plan accordingly.

It’s that time of year again: The Blue Angels will start practicing their deafening, crowd-pleasing (and pet frightening) fighter jet dancing over Lake Washington today (Thursday) and will fly every day until Monday. They should start no earlier than 10 a.m. and end by 2:30.

Are the Blue Angles the heroes of your household? Well, you have the chance to meet one of the pilots at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning at Garfield Community Center.

Here’s their flying schedule:

The Garfield event flier:

Supporters of Dave Christie showed up at 23rd and Jackson today with Lyndon LaRouche’s signature Obama-with-a-Hitler-mustache posters and were promptly met with strong resistance from a large crowd of angry people.

“You don’t come into the neighborhood with pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache,” said Larry, one of the people angry with the posters. “Take that Hitler mustache off, and we can have a dialog.”

People surrounded the table and berated the LaRouche/Christie supporters until they packed their things and left the sidewalk in front of Starbucks.

I have a feeling Dave Christie, a “Larouche Democrat” running against Adam Smith in the 9th District, will not be getting many votes from the neighbors of 23rd and Jackson.

UPDATE: So what’s Christie all about? Here’s a video where he explains it all (includes fears of WWIII, a LIBOR-centered conspiracy to reduce the world’s population):

The Mayor’s Council on African American Elders is hosting it’s Fourth Annual Legislative Forum Thursday at the Central Area Senior Center.

The noon forum is a chance “to inform legislators about the needs and concerns of older African Americans,” according to the event flier. Lunch will be served ($6 if under 60, $3 if over 60).

The flier:

New York Cupcakes at 27th and Madison is calling it quits. If you want a cupcake and to say goodbye, they are only staying open until they run out. So get there soon.

From their Facebook page:

Hey all, so today will be our last day in our Seattle location! We opened at 10:00am but are only staying open until we sell out. Please call first if you plan on coming by for a visit to make sure we are still open & have cupcakes! Again thanks for a fun year in the Emerald City & stay tuned because you never know where else we may show up :) In the meantime you can come visit at our Bellevue shop!

Since holding it’s first large meeting at Central Cinema in February, a lot has happened at Central Seattle Greenways (a group I helped form).

The group partnered with some people already working on a project to reimagine Melrose Ave on the western edge of Capitol Hill and applied for (and received) a $20,000 matching grant to get the Melrose Promenade project moving. It has also been a voice advocating for a complete biking and walking trail on the planned 520 Bridge replacement (sign the petition here).

But what about the rest of the neighborhood? Well, that brings us to the meeting today (Tuesday).

Alexa—a CD resident and one of the main leaders—moved to Portland a couple months ago, and part of Tuesday’s meeting is to find more people looking to take on some leadership. Leadership could mean leading community walks and/or bike rides in your part of the neighborhood or doing some behind the scenes lifting.

So if you want to get more involved, have an idea for a project or just want to learn more, join us at 7:30 p.m. at Central Cinema.

More details from Central Seattle Greenways:

The agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting is:

Introduction and Accomplishments

• Introduction to Neighborhood Greenways and why we are working on them
• Update on Greenway projects from all over Seattle
• Review work done so far by CSG on route selection
• Overview of our first major project: The Melrose Promenade

Breakout sessions (Round One): Route Refinement

• Capitol Hill
• Central District
• Leschi and Madrona

Breakout sessions (Round Two): Future opportunities and Building Compelling Narratives

• Greenways go to Transit
• Greenways go to Hospitals
• Greenways go to School (Safe Routes to School)
• Greenways go up Hills
• Planning Future Group Rides/Walks

 

Patterson

Andrew Patterson (AKA “AP”) pleaded not guilty to second degree murder today. He remains in custody at King County jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

Patterson, who turned 20 in June, is accused of killing Justin Ferrari at MLK and Cherry in May. Police say he fired a gun at a person who called him a “bitch,” but a bullet struck Ferrari instead as he drove west on Cherry. Ferrari’s parents and children were in the van with him at the time, but were not injured.

Patterson was arrested July 19 in Federal Way after police pieced together evidence from a variety of sources, including eye witnesses, ORCA card data, cell phone location data, an anonymous caller and videos posted to YouTube. To see how police built their case against him, see our previous post.

EastPAC honors case investigators

At last week’s meeting of the East Precinct Advisory Council, the group leaders presented investigators of the Ferrari case with plaques in honor of their work:

Sorry for the blurry photo

A collision at 14th and Cherry shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday night sent a 35 year-old man to the hospital with a head injury, police say.

The details of the collision are not yet clear. Officers on the scene took a report and forwarded it to Traffic Collision Investigators. As is typical in collisions, no citations were issued at the scene, pending investigation.

The man was treated at the scene by medics before being transported. According to the radio scanner, he did not have any other injuries aside from the head injury. We don’t have any more information on his condition at this time.

Demonstrators are planning a protest Friday evening at Pratt Park to express support for ongoing protests in Anaheim against two recent police shootings there.

The protest at Pratt gets under way at 8 p.m.

The action comes two weeks after a protest against a recent Seattle Police raid of an apartment at 29th and Judkins marched from downtown to Douglass-Truth Library.

More details from the event page:

On July 21st, an unarmed, 24-yr old Latino named Manuel Angel Diaz was shot several times by officers of the Anaheim Police department. He was left unattended to die where he was shot. The community stood up, and were brutally repressed by police who released an attack dog on a mother and her baby and shot indiscriminately at the crowd of neighbors, including women and children.

Anaheim was enraged already, but then the APD struck again killing Joel Acevedo another Latino during an apparent “gun fight” on the night of Sunday the 22nd. Witnesses nearby only heard the fire of the guns by the cops, though the police said they found a gun sitting next to the body of Joel. He was stopped for accused car theft.

Both of these men were “documented gang members”, something used as an excuse by APD for their actions. We will not take excuses for violence on our communities, especially those of color, anywhere. Not in Anaheim, not in Dallas, not in Oakland, not here in Seattle and surrounding area.

In other SPD news today, the city has reached a tentative agreement with the federal DOJ on police department reforms, the Seattle Times reports.

You can spend your Saturday morning strolling around the Central District with MOHAI, learning about the neighborhood’s role in the Civil Rights movement.

The two-hour tour starts at 10 a.m. at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (17th and Yesler). Purchase tickets in advance to avoid an extra $5 charge.

From MOHAI:

Neither the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s nor the racially discriminating practices that fueled it were limited to the Deep South. In Seattle, de facto housing segregation confined the majority of the city’s African American residents to the Central District and racial inequality was widespread in schools and in the workplace. The Central District neighborhood was a hotbed of activity in the 1960s, as men and women working or living in the area led the local Civil Rights Movement. Explore this rich history on a two hour walking tour of the Central District, led by museum docents Stephanie Johnson-Toliver and Julia Swan. This tour is offered in partnership with the Northwest African American Museum.

All ticket sales are final, and advanced registration is recommended. All tours are offered rain or shine, so please wear weather appropriate attire, including comfortable shoes.

Day-of tickets are subject to availability and an additional $5 charge. All day-of tickets must be purchased with a credit or debit card.

Meet at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Avenue South (meet on 17th Avenue) maps.google.com

This tour is also offered on Wednesday, August 15, 6 – 8 pm.

Cost: MOHAI and NAAM Members $15; General $20

Tickets/Registration: To buy a ticket through MOHAI’s ticketing site, click here: https://3365.blackbaudhosting.com