The city is hosting a discussion about race, social justice and policing January 28 at the Garfield Community Center.

The discussion, titled “Race: The Power of an Illusion” will check in on SPD’s practices and the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiatives. It starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 3. Those interested in attended should RSVP by January 20 by contacting Maggie Olsen at [email protected] or (206) 684-8672.

The city’s sponsored event comes a couple weeks after a planned protest against police misconduct January 14 at 23rd and Union.

The city event flier:

(Thanks for the tip Andrew!)

Protestors demanding the resignation of SPD Chief John Diaz are holding a rally at 23rd and Union Saturday protesting police misconduct. The rally, organized by members of Occupy Seattle, starts at 4 p.m., and will end with a march to the East Precinct, according to the Facebook event:

Join us for a speakout and rally at 23rd and Union. Speak about our experiences with police brutality, murder, and harassment.

We will light torches to symbolize holding in honor of our dead, killed by the police.

We’ll march to the East Precinct make clear our inten

tion: Chief Diaz’s resignation and the prosecution of the officers who are repeat offenders of excessive use of force.

Bring signs, your passion, and determination.

Members of Occupy Seattle have independently organized this action.

Defend the 99%: Bring Diaz Down!

The rally, which had been previously scheduled, comes just days after people squatting in an unfinished 23rd and Alder duplex were evicted by the King County Sheriff and Seattle Police. There were no arrests in the January 11 early morning raid.

A court ordered the eviction, which came nearly two months after a group of protesters publicly staked claim to the building. As the eviction deadline neared for the house, dubbed Turritopsis Nutricula, residents held an eviction party in which people painted the front of the house with slogans and messages, many of which were anti-police.

Taken January 10, one day before the eviction

Occupy Seattle released a statement denouncing the raid:

SPD officers raided Turritopsis Nutricula, named after the immortal jellyfish, this morning at approximately 4:15AM by sawing off front door hinges and breaking in the front door. They pointed two shotguns at nonviolent occupants who offered no resistance. Officers forced the occupants to leave without their possessions. Cell phones, sleeping bags and most personal belongings were later dumped on the sidewalk outside. SPD then began a misinformation campaign against the Turritopsis Nutricula occupants and supporters.

In response to the claims that the owner ordered the eviction of a house being remodeled: Turritopsis Nutricula has been vacant since 2006 and left unfinished after remodeling attempts in 2009. The owner of the building had allowed the occupants to stay in the home until being threatened by the city with fines from $100 to $1000 per day. The city of Seattle forced the eviction of the residents, not the owner.

One of the more inspiring examples of activism in recent months has been Seattle high school students working to educate policy makers, and the community that elects the policy makers, on issues affecting public education.

The Squire Park Community Council is pleased to welcome to its quarterly meeting this Saturday, January 14, representatives of these students with an important message. Come and hear what they have to tell us.

Saturday’s meeting also will be an opportunity for a conversation with Carl de Simas, representing the Central District Association Business District Program, and Richard Johnson, the new head of the Central District Chamber of Commerce. What does the C.D. mean to you? What can existing businesses do to attract your support. They want to hear from you.

And, if you are interested in hearing more about taking advantage of a fund available to help you pay for improvements to the comfort and energy-use of your home, Sustainable Works will be at Saturday’s meeting to tell you more about how you can save on items like furnaces, air-sealing, insulation, and hot water heaters. This information can help you save significant dollars.

Also, meet: Andrea Caupain, the director of one of the neighborhood’s important and long-standing institutions, the Central Area Motivation Program which, among other things, provides assistance for the payment of home-heating bills.

Finally, meet and hear from Michael Wells the director of the dynamic Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting is from 10:00 A.M. to noon on Saturday January 14 in a room adjacent to the dining room (cafeteria) of the Swedish Medical Center Hospital on E. Cherry St. between 16th and and 17th. (Most direct route is the unmarked building entrance on E. Cherry. Otherwise, enter the hospital and follow signs to the dining room.

Here’s a couple odd burglary reports in the neighborhood we missed over the holidays.

First, a present was stolen from a closet in a building at 10th and Terrace (AKA Whoville) on Christmas Eve. Video shows a thief enter the building and leave promptly with the present in his hands. The victim says he has no idea how the thief knew to find the gift — for his girlfriend — in the closet.

From the police report:

Copper stolen from construction site over New Year’s

Copper wiring and piping was found missing from a Jackson Place construction site January 3. Police figure the thief had lots of time over the holidays to clean the place out.

From the police report:

We reported yesterday about Peace Week, an effort led by UmojaFest PEACE Center and the United for Youth Coalition. Well, it’s a good thing we know Seattle’s justice-seeking youth like to walk, because the Seattle Parks Department is hosting their annual MLK Youth March January 14.

Participants will meet at Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Park (MLK and S Walker St) and walk north, touring some of the Central District’s parks named after Civil Rights figures. After Sam Smith, Powell Barnett and Sidney Gerber Parks, the march will end at Garfield Community Center with group discussions.

Seattle Parks also produced this 15-minute video about the walk, which traces the history of some park namesakes:

More info, from Seattle Parks:

Teens from around Seattle will gather at noon on Saturday, January 14 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Seattle Park that bears his name, located at 2200 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the public to join the march, and to visit the Teen Portal at: http://seattle.gov/parks/teens/programs/mlkprogram.htm to watch a short video on the civil rights movement as the first step in the march.

Teens will gather at the park and begin the march to Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry St., at 1 p.m. The route will take them up Martin Luther King, Jr. Way to E Cherry St. and end at Garfield Community Center. Along the march route, the youth will visit three parks named after local civil rights leaders, and will listen at each one to a brief performance representing the leader:

• Sam Smith Park, 1400 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S, was named after Sam Smith, the first African-American member of the Seattle City Council who served from 1975 to 1991. Historylink.org, the local online community history encyclopedia, said of Smith, “A man of urbane charm and a friendly nature, he answered his office phone with the greeting, ‘Hello, this is Sam,’ and solved the problems of his constituents in a timely manner. No problem was too small for him to tackle. He considered himself a good neighbor to everyone in Seattle and often drove through the city, stopping to visit constituents in person.”

• Powell Barnett Park, 352 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, is named after the community leader whose vision helped improve civic unity and race relations in 1960s and 1970s Seattle. Known for his ability to bring people together, Barnett was an athlete, a construction foreman, a state Senate clerk, a musician, a small business owner, and was among the leaders who formed the East Madison YMCA and successfully united the African-American and Caucasian boards. He also chaired the committee that revised and strengthened the Seattle Urban League, served on the Board of Community Chest, chaired the Black Musicians’ Union, united black and white unions in Seattle, and organized the semi-professional baseball Umpires Association.

• Sidney Gerber Park, at Cherry St. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, honors the philanthropist, engineer, civic leader and six-year chair of the State Board Against Discrimination. Gerber was named “Man of the Year” by the Greater Seattle B’nai B’rith in 1961, started and owned Harmony Homes, which built homes for African-Americans in previously all-white neighborhoods. He was also active in the Fair Housing Listing, an organization that pooled the resources of the five real estate firms to provide more listings outside the Central District for African-Americans and matched sellers with buyers. Gerber died in the 1965 plane crash that also took the life of City Councilmember Wing Luke, the first Chinese-American elected to a major office in the U.S.

When they arrive at Garfield Community Center, the marchers will watch the oral histories of veterans of Seattle’s civil rights campaigns and engage in small and large group discussions to reflect on the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement and how the movement has evolved over time.

For more information, please call Ron Mirabueno at 206-233-3979, or e-mail him at [email protected].

UmojaFest PEACE Center and the United for Youth Coalition are hosting a week of events January 15-22 to promote peace among youth in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Peace Week events will expand on the annual MLK Day rally and march from Garfield High School (January 16 this year) to promote the themes “Peace is a lifestyle” and “I love my life.”

Events in the works include an all-city talent show (Jan 21 at the Vera Project) and a peace forum.

Seattle’s first Peace Week is part of a national movement started in New York. Follow @PeaceWeekSea on Twitter or Facebook to stay updated on the week of events. You can also get involved by hosting your own Peace Week event.

More information, from Wyking Garrett, one of the event organizers:

Organized locally by the UmojaFest PEACE Center and the United For Youth Coalition, PEACE Week is an annual week of high profile events and activities happening across the nation to promote peace among youth in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King. The 2012 Peace Week  theme and messaging is: #PeaceIsALIFEStyle and #ILoveMyLife promoting taking personal responsibility for the lives we create for ourselves, and by extension, how we impact others.

7 days.

The collective goal is to create a culture of peace in the community by hosting events, performing an activity or simply taking one personal action toward creating inner peace and setting a positive example for youth.  Youth and celebrity ambassadors will blog, tweet and post user generated content for 7 days, sharing experiences that reinforce this year’s theme and messaging.

1 Voice.

Peace Week galvanizes the efforts of entertainers, cultural icons, government leaders, educators, athletes and community based organizations to host an event or lend their voice to the message of peace. Confirmed Peace Week celebrity ambassadors include: Russell Simmons, Deepak Chopra, Michael Strahan, Cheryl “Salt” Wray and more!

1.5 Million+ Teens & Young Adults

Peace Week targets 18 -25 year old tech-savvy, socially active teens, college students and young adults throughout the SEA MLK County who are influenced by pop culture and multi-media.  Via events and digital platforms, Peace Week will also encourage peer leadership and role modeling among this demo, for youth under age 18 who are looking to them for examples.

Why Peace Week?

Homicide is a leading cause of death among youth. Proceeds from funds raised during Peace week will go toward summer programs and activities for youth,  to provide positive alternatives to youth violence and other forms of negative behavior.

You can support Peace Week 2012 & “Peace is A LIFE Style” theme by:

1.Hosting your own Peace Week Event

2.Agreeing to attend at least one event during Peace Week,

3.Recording a PSA for Peace Week

4.Take Picture in Peace Week official shirt

5.Take a Picture with Peace Week Bracelet

6.Donate your Twitter Page either the entire time from kick off day November 29th til January 22nd last day of Peace Week or just during Peace Week January 15th -22nd

7.Encourage your friends & family to support and participate in Peace Week

8.Have your name and likeness used to promote “Peace Week  an theme “Peace Is A LIFE Style”.

 

“No One Has All The Answers But Together We Can Solve The Problem” Erica Ford

 

About Peace Week

Founded in 2010 by LIFE Camp, Inc based in New York City, PEACE Week galvanizes the efforts of individuals of all ages as well as organizations within the public and private sector to join in partnership for one week; the collective goal is to create a culture of peace by hosting an event, performing an activity, initiative, or simply taking personal responsibility for maintaining inner peace at all costs, to serve as a positive example for others.

        

THE MISSION OF PEACE WEEK IS TO:

Promote the value of LIFE

Develop teens and adults into peer leaders, to avoid becoming perpetrators or victims of violence

Provide young people with the tools and resources that promote critical thinking, self-empowerment and personal accountability

Build partnerships between public and private sectors to respond collectively, collaboratively and holistically to the issue of youth violence

Create a model for reducing violence that will provide stakeholders with the necessary skills and resources to effectively implement positive change within their own communities

The annual MLK Day rally and march will be January 16. It starts at Garfield High School (see our coverage and video from last year’s march). More information from the MLK Seattle Celebration Committee:

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee announces the 30th annual region-wide Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration on Monday, January 16, 2012, beginning with Workshops (9:30am-11am), Rally (11am-12:30pm) and the March beginning at a new time of 12:30pm. This year’s theme is “30th Anniversary Celebration: Recapturing MLK Jr.’s Revolutionary Spirit!”

This year we will march from Garfield High School to the Federal Building via Union St. & Madison St. Please see the march route page for complete details. Lunch will be provided FREE following the march in Garfield’s Commons area. We look foward to seeing you for a wonderful meal.

Kids 3+, teens, and adults of all ages can try a class for free at Harmony Arts (18th and Yesler). If you like the class, sign up for the rest of the quarter at a pro-rated price.  Scholarships are available.  Movement and Philosophy of Self-defense, Kung fu & yoga are combined with elements of dance and tumbling (for kids) to create a fun and peace based program, promoting self-esteem, respect, community building, focus, and strength in mind, body & spirit.

Contact Harmony Arts to reserve your FREE class, or check the website for schedule.  www.harmonyarts.us (206) 229-7582  [email protected]

This could be the last day for the people occupying the unfinished 23rd and Alder duplex dubbed Turritopsis Nutricula. A judge ruled against the anonymous residents December 28, giving them ten days to leave the property. The house has been occupied since November 19, when a group of Occupy Seattle protesters marched to long-empty building from their Seattle Central Community College encampment.

The judge ruled that the residents must vacate the property within ten days of the decision (January 7 by our count). After that, police will be able to take action to evict them. The judge also ruled that the defendants can be held liable for rent (plus interest) and any damages discovered.

The home’s legal owner is Denmark West, who owns the property through the 307309 23rd LLC (the entity identified on court documents). Representatives for Mr. West have not returned messages and phone calls from CDNews.

The residents did not go out without a party, though. An “eviction party” was announced on the Puget Sound Anarchists website, and police records show that they did respond to a noise complaint shortly after midnight January 6.

Larry Hildes, attorney for the anonymous residents, said he and his clients are upset by the judge’s decision. He summarized their court argument in an email to CDN (read the court documents yourself in our previous post):

We argued that the actual owner, a millionaire many times over, who is sitting on 307 23rd Avenue and other properties in the City allowing them to deteriorate until he can make a killing on them is fundamentally harming the community, and pointed out that our clients were trying to improve the situation and repaid the building so that it can house tenants not crack deals.  That housing is there for people to live in not leverage for obscene profits, and that Denmark West is not entitled to charge rent for a building that is stripped to the frame, and that our clients were doing what was necessary to improve a bad situation that was not going to get any better without their efforts.

The commissioner who heard the case was not receptive to those arguments, which are not the typical landlord-tenant arguments and found against us.

Our clients have been ordered to leave, which makes us all sad and angry.  We ask the community to organize to hold Denmark West and those like him politically accountable.

Before I became a lawyer, I was a tenant organizer, fighting slumlords and gentrification in New York back in the ’80’s.

We know that that fight will continue in the CD and elsewhere.

It is unclear what kinds of action the residents or the police will take going forward. CDNews will be monitoring the situation.

Central Cinema‘s family-friendly and all-ages community events could be in jeopardy due to state liquor rule changes that could prevent underage people from setting foot in the neighborhood theater. The 21st and Union theater (a CDNews sponsor) will continue operating as usual — including hosting their popular Thursday Cartoon Happy Hour — while the rule is contested.

The 2010 rule was written in response to a cinema/bar chain looking to open in Washington, according to Kevin Spitzer at Central Cinema. The rule (see legal text below) appears to be written for larger, multi-screen theaters, but does appear likely to capture the single-screen Central Cinema in its definition.

“We found out about this only a couple of weeks ago as we were going through the process of making some changes to our license,” said Spitzer in an email. “It was a big shock to us to get the call from the Liquor Board. We were extra miffed because there are only seven cinemas that serve alcohol in the state, and you would think that they would have included us in the rule making process, or at least notified us that there was a new rule. We have renewed our license twice since the rule changed and no one has said anything until now.”

Basically, if you are operating a restaurant or performance venue, Washington liquor laws allow you to serve alcoholic drinks to someone’s table (with some restrictions around late night performances) whether an underage person is at the table, in the room, whatever. But if there happens to be a movie screen in the room, people under 21 are not allowed anywhere in the building at any time.

“Their fear of Cinemas is based on their fear of a typical mall multi-plex installing beer taps next to the popcorn machine at the concession stand,” said Spitzer. “I believe they just didn’t think the rule all of the way through.”

This rule would significantly change Central Cinema, which operates almost like a community center.

“Not allowing minors 24/7 would take a big bite out of who we are,” said Spitzer. “Not having a liquor license would take a big bite out of our ability to pay the bills. Being a 21+ venue would mean no Cartoon Happy Hour or family-oriented movies. No Reel Grrls using the theater,” — the youth media non-profit uses the space for classes — “No Church use of the theater on Sundays. No weddings. No Neighborhood Holiday Parties, and so on. Our six-year-old son would not even be allowed in the room when we were closed.”

The cinema was planning an appeal to the new rules, but the governor has put a moratorium on non-critical rule-making activity through the end of the year due to budget cuts, said Spitzer. The cinema is looking at its options, including political action to get the rule changed or changing into a live performance venue (with film screenings) like the Triple Door or Jazz Alley.

The Liquor Board has been “as helpful as they can with what they have to work with,” said Spitzer. The theater does have a little time to either get the rule changed or change their practices.

“The enforcement officer has agreed not to prosecute us for this violation while we are working it out,” said Spitzer, “but we still have to become legal with Olympia one way or another fairly soon.”

Here’s the text of the rule:

WAC 314-02-027
What are the requirements/restrictions for a spirits, beer, and wine restaurant license at a cinema with a dinner theater venue?

  (1) A spirits, beer, and wine restaurant licensee at a cinema with a dinner theater venue must meet the following requirements: 314-02-035; and 314-11-055.

     (2) Alcohol sales and service may not be provided from the concession area in the cinema lobby.

     (3) Alcohol may be consumed only in the theater rooms approved by the board.

     (4) Minor patrons and employees are prohibited in the individual theater rooms that allow alcohol service and consumption.

     (5) A spirits, beer, and wine restaurant licensee at a cinema with a dinner theater venue must provide a floor plan of the cinema and indicate which theater rooms within the cinema will be operated as dinner theaters. Those theater rooms not operated as dinner theaters with alcohol sales and service may be open to minors and minor employees.

     Example: A cinema has eight theater rooms. The licensee wants to operate theater rooms five and six as dinner theaters with meals and alcohol sales and service. Minor patrons and employees are prohibited in theater rooms five and six, but would be allowed in the lobby area and in theater rooms one, two, three, four, seven, and eight.

     Example: A cinema has eight theater rooms. The licensee wants to operate all eight theater rooms as dinner theaters with meals and alcohol sales and service. Minor patrons and employees are prohibited in the lobby area and all eight theater rooms in the cinema. No minors would be allowed on the entire premises at all times.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030. 10-10-127, § 314-02-027, filed 5/5/10, effective 6/5/10.]

A memorial for Timothy Brenton

A memorial for Timothy Brenton sits at 29th and Yesler, near the location of his Halloween 2009 death. But he is just one of the 58 Seattle Police officers and 42 firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty, many of whom have no memorials in the city. But that may soon change, the Seattle Times reports:

The deaths of many officers would serve as lessons for the thousands of men and women who would follow them into the force — the details of their slayings sometimes used during police training — but their sacrifices have been largely lost to history.

Mike Severance, a veteran officer with nearly 44 years on the force, wants to change that.

Severance is seeking city approval for a plan to place a memorial sign at the closest intersection where each of 58 police officers and 42 firefighters lost their lives while on duty.

---

Both Severance and supportive Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess are aware that the effort come at a time of increased public scrutiny of SPD, the Times continues:

Both Severance and Burgess understand the timing of the effort may strike some as odd, coming as the Seattle Police Department has come under criticism from community groups that claim some officers engage in unlawful use of force and biased policing. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice found that Seattle police engaged in a pattern of excessive use of force and the department was deficient in its oversight of officers with regard to when and how they use force.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has ordered Police Chief John Diaz to begin carrying out changes urged by the Department of Justice.

Nevertheless, Burgess said the memorial-sign project is an appropriate honor for officers.

The Times created a map showing the locations of officer deaths around the city. Click on the markers to learn more about each incident (Sources: Mike Severance, Seattle Police Department. Producer: Nikolaj Lasbo).

View Deaths in a larger map