Two men attempted to rob a woman at 32nd and Cherry around 7:30 p.m. January 24 by tricking her into pulling over, then threatening her with a handgun.

A person driving by saw the victim waving for help and stopped. The helper posted about the experience on the Madrona Moms email list:

Just thought everyone might want to know about a carjacking that took place on Cherry Tuesday night. I was driving home from Madison Park on Tuesday night around 7pm, when I noticed a woman waving me down just before the corner of 34th and Cherry. I slowed down and rolled down my window slightly and she informed me that she had just been carjacked. I pulled over and helped her call her husband and the police.

Police confirmed the poster’s account of the attempted robbery. The victim was driving eastbound on Cherry when a car bumped into her from behind near 32nd Ave. She pulled over as did the suspect’s vehicle.

Two black males in their early 20s got out of the car and approached her. One of them was holding a handgun, which he tapped on her window. They told her to put all her belongings on the seat and get out of the car, which she did.

However, her car had a keyless starter, which was on her person when she fled. This prevented the thieves from stealing the car.

She tried to flag cars down, but several passed without stopping before the Madrona Moms poster came along. She then called the police and her husband. The victim was visibly shaken when police arrived.

Robbery units are investigating, but police had few suspect or vehicle details.

Madrona’s iconic adobe gas station at 34th and Pike is on the way out to make way for a mixed-use residential and retail building. There will be a celebration Saturday from 6-9 p.m. saying goodbye to the former Madrona Auto buildings and hello to the new development.

CDN reported in 2008 that plans for the new development received a fairly warm community response during a design review meeting.The three-story building will have seven residential units. Six of the units will be “live-work” units, meaning residents will also have a retail space on the ground level.

Today

“The intention is that you live above your shop,” said Susan Jones of atelierjones, the project architect. Jones said building planners will be at the party Saturday to answer any questions about the project.

All units in the building will have roof deck agriculture space and other green building features. It also has a south-facing courtyard “for art, kids and life,” she said.

Artist’s rendition of planned project

The project has been on hold since 2008 due to a lack of available financing. But now, money is starting to flow again, and the project is moving forward.

Permits were granted this week, and the project should be finished in twelve months.

Poster for Saturday’s party:

More design details: DRProposal3007213AgendaID2224

Remember that bill two Vancouver, Wash. congressmen are pushing that would make it easier for movie theaters to serve booze? Well, Central Cinema is not so sure that it will really help them the way it is written.

As we reported earlier this month, the state Liquor Board changed laws concerning serving alcoholic beverages in movie theaters without alerting Central Cinema to the change until recently. The Liquor Board and Central Cinema are working to find a solution, and the theater is operating as normal. 

Meanwhile, a bill under consideration in the state legislature would seek to change the laws concerning alcohol sales in theaters, mostly to address issues encountered by Kiggins Theater in Vancouver, Wash. The Liquor Board opposes SB 6366 and its companion bill HB 2558 because of concerns about minors having easier access to alcohol because of the “darkened house” of the theaters.

After watching the Senate Labor Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee discuss the bill (see below), Kevin Spitzer at Central Cinema (a CDN sponsor) says they would prefer to simplify existing rules rather than add more complications as the proposed bill seems to do:

We feel that the bills were not very well thought out about how they would affect theaters beyond the one the bill sponsors are trying to help. The testimony of the Liquor Board is also bizarre in that they contradict themselves several times. The argument that theaters with liquor licenses must meet the minimum lighting and restaurant requirements but then are considered “darkened houses” because the lighting is below the allowed level contradicts itself. They also state that there is currently no license for theaters yet goes on to describe the regulations for theaters serving alcohol.

Our position is that theater entertainment in a dark venue is the same no matter what format that entertainment is presented in. Venues with live entertainment are allowed to have minors in a dark room during a show in many situations except for the special rule regarding cinemas (because they are darker?) A venue either meets the lighting requirement or it doesn’t. The Triple Door and Jazz Alley are allowed to have minors while Cinemas are not because the shows are projected.

It was frustrating to watch this video but we thought you should be kept up on where things are going.

We are currently also discussing things with Carl Marquardt of the Mayor’s office and Brian McMenamin of McMenamin’s in Oregon that operate the Olympic Club theater in Centralia WA. Hopefully we can make something happen where the Liquor Board will simplify their rules instead of adding more complicated ones.

A woman was arrested Wednesday evening after she allegedly rammed her Mercedes into her ex-boyfriend’s car multiple times. She eventually pushed his car down a six-foot embankment, according to police.

He was not in the car at the time.

From SPD:

On January 25th, at approximately 7:10 pm, East Precinct officers responded to an alley in the 1800 Block of 24th Avenue for a report of a female suspect who was using her 2004 Mercedes Benz 500  to repeatedly hit her ex-boyfriend’s vehicle. According to witnesses, the suspect used her car to ram the other car five to ten times.   The suspect, a 34 year old woman, was able to eventually push her ex’s vehicle down 6 foot embankment and into a neighbor’s fence.   In the process, she got her Mercedes stuck on top of the other car.   The ex-boyfriend, who was not in the car at time, and several other people witnessed this.  Officers arrived and arrested the suspect.  She was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Malicious Michief-Domestic Violence.  Detectives are now handling the follow up investigation.

A Yesler Terrace parent group is holding a meeting Saturday to help people better understand the city’s 911 system and to discuss crime with police.

The meeting starts at 2 p.m. at the Yesler Community Center. As with many meetings at Yesler Terrace, interpreters in Yesler Terrace’s many common languages will help with interpretation.

From PEER:

The PEER (Parent Empowerment for Education Results) is a parent group based in Yesler Terrace.  They are hosting a safety meeting to help bridge the gaps between community members and the police.  The hope is to increase awareness in two specific ways:  first, to educate community members from the Central District about the 911 system (how to remain anonymous, how to get an operator who speaks a particular language, etc.) and second, to help inform East Precinct officers about the increase in crime that has been observed in the community.  PEER is really looking for a strong turnout to help show East Precinct officers that there are significant safety concerns in the Central District.

The meeting will be attended by East Precinct officers including Deputy Chief Nick Metz, and there will also be interpreters for all major language groups.

Date: Saturday, January 28

Time: 2-4:30pm

Where:  Yesler Community Center

For more information, contact the PEER:

Chair: Darasavanh Kommavongsa – [email protected]

Co-Chair: Angela O’Brien – [email protected]

Hang on to those phones, folks.  Some guy just grabbed a phone out of another guy’s hands and ran. it was on the eastbound 6:15pm bus at the 1st stop on Yesler as the driver turns off 3rd to head of the hill.  Got away.  Yucky!

Police responding to an alarm call at a Jefferson St church may have scared off someone who had broken in, according to the police report. The officers responded to the church in the 400 block of 21st Ave at 12:40 a.m. January 20, but they did not find any signs of entry.

After walking around the entire building and checking that doors were secured, officers considered it a false call and contacted someone from the church. They also noted that there were no tracks in the snow.

However, after they left, someone fled the building out a back door. Nothing was stolen, but a door was damaged.

From the police report:

Growing food in the neighborhood isn’t enough for Alleycat Acres. They also want to know how people in the CD like to cook it.

EAT:CD is a neighborhood cookbook, and the urban farming collective wants you to send your recipes for the first edition. They hope to have an edition ready for the spring, but that depends on how many submissions they get and how long editing takes.

If you submit a recipe online, you will get a free download of the EAT:CD eBook.

From Alleycat Acres:

We’re calling anyone and everyone who lives in the Central District and Beacon Hill to help us compile your very own community cook book! In a continued effort to help keep our farms growing and our wheels spinning, we’ve decided to launch an eBook with a collection of recipes from each neighborhood our farms serve.

The details:

1. You submit (with the form below), we’ll compile. Simple!
2. For submitting a recipe, you’ll get a free .PDF version containing all selected recipes.
3. Once we’re ready to go, we’ll publish the eBook online and it will be available for download at an affordable price — around $2.99 – $4.99.

When will this be ready? You know, that’s a good question. Depending on response levels and how long it takes to edit/format things properly, it could take a while. Our goal is to have one ready to go by the time spring comes along for each neighborhood.

Meanwhile, plans are coming together for Alleycat Acres’ second CD farm on MLK between Cherry and Columbia. They are also hard at work on their spring bike ride fundraiser Streets and Beets. It’s a 70-mile ride to Auburn and back that starts at the MLK FAME Community Center in Madison Valley. Oh, and by the way, you can get discounted registration for the ride just by reading Seattle Bike Blog…

Seattle Fire responded to a report of smoke and a small fire in the upstairs bedroom of a 32nd and Cherry home shortly before 1:30 p.m. Monday.

The fire, possibly a mattress fire, was put out about ten minutes after the call went out.

We’ll update as we learn more.

If you are not already a “hardcore biker,” simply going to a bicycle shop to get your ride rolling can be an intimidating experience. And it is that know-it-all culture than the Bikery (located at 14th and Mail) tries to avoid.

The Bikery is a volunteer-run, inclusive bike project at 14th and S Main St. For years, the Bikery has provided affordable parts and shop space for people to keep their rides rolling and learn bike maintenance skills in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

But the Bikery needs your help.

They are looking for more members, especially queer folks, women and people of color. They are looking to restart their Queers! Gears! And Cheers! repair days, but they need more volunteer staff to help get it off the ground.

The Bikery also needs cash for rent. They have a bunch of affordable bike parts and bikes for sale, and people can use the shop’s tools and space on open days for a suggested donation of $5 an hour (or more!). And, of course, you can help them out by simply donating money or needed shop materials.

These days, the Bikery is open Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. But if you have time, expertise or cash to help them out, the shop could be open even more…

From Benji at the Bikery:

we’re seeking more collective members, especially encouraging more queer folks, women, and people of color, as we’re needing more staff to keep up our hours and to restart our Queers! Gears! And Cheers! day (a queer-focused space to help demystify bikes for folks outside of mainstream bike culture). Also, we’re having some financial difficulties, and we only have enough $$ to last the next few months, and we’re now selling a whole bunch of really nice parts and cool bikes for super cheap. Stuff available can be seen at bikeryseattle.tumblr.com

(This story was also published at Seattle Bike Blog)