Here’s a roundup of some recent street robberies in the neighborhood.

22nd and Cherry, 1 a.m. October 26

A cab driver parked his car on Cherry and was walking to a restaurant he and several other drivers frequent when a man came up behind him and got him in a choke hold. A second suspect then took the victim’s phone and wallet. The suspect holding him then punched the victim in the head before the suspects fled. From the police report:

Yesler and MLK, 1:45 p.m. October 24

A man riding to work on the number 8 bus was punched in the face and had his phone stolen near MLK and Yesler, according to the police report. The suspects got off at the stop and fled. They were not found.

From the report:

MLK and Cherry, 3 p.m. October 20

A young man was jumped near MLK and Cherry, but he was able to get away before they took anything of significant value. Though he was punched an kicked, the suspects only got away with 75 cents. From the police report:

John Carlos, well-known for his iconic black power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium, will read from his new autobiography The John Carlos Story November 3 as part of the 2011-12 CD Forum season.

The reading starts at 7 p.m. at the Northwest African American Museum.

From CD Forum:

Thursday, November 3, 7 pm
Northwest African American Museum

Heroic, defiant and consequential, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s iconic Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Listen to John Carlos read from his new autobiography, The John Carlos Story.

Carlos is an African American and the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

He went on to equal the world record in the 100 yard dash and beat the 200 meters world record (although the latter achievement was never ratified). In 2003, he was induced into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Carlos will be joined by Dave Zirin; who writes and speaks about the politics of sports. UTNE Reader named him one of ”50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World” and Press Action has twice named him Sportswriter of the Year. Robert Lipsyte says he is “the best sportswriter in the United States.” He is author of Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love published by Scribner, A People’s History of Sports in the United States, part of Howard Zinn’s People’s History series for the New Press, and others.

The book, The John Carlos Story, although presents a gripping narrative of Carlos’ history with other Black athletes such as basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Olympic runner Ralph Boston, baseball legend Jackie Robinson and boxer George Foreman, it also highlights his relationship with Dr. King and impressions of current day issues. The book is personal, humorous, and depressing at times. 220 pages, publisher Haymarket Books, 2011.

Co-presented by Elliott Bay Book Company and the Northwest African American Museum.

Cost: $10 general | $8 students

Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com

Please join us for our All-School (2 1/2 years old to 5th grade) Open house on Wednesday, November 16th from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.  Free childcare is available for children ages 3 and older on a first come first-served basis.  Please RSVP at [email protected] or by calling 206.324.4847 ext. 30 if you would like childcare.  We look forward to seeing you!

The people behind the Twilight Exit are opening a new vegetarian-focused bar and grill at 23rd and Union called The Neighbor Lady. The new bar is moving into the space recently vacated by Thompson’s Point of View, the decades-old southern soul food restaurant that closed in September due to about $14,000 in back taxes.

Thompson’s had a rough year and a half. Carl Thompson, Jr died unexpectedly in the spring of 2010 at the age of 51. Carl had been a centerpiece of the restaurant since it started serving up North Louisiana-style food in 1986. The restaurant stayed in the family with his wife Gail taking over.

Inspired by some European bars, the Neighbor Lady’s theme will be “urban brothel, but not too westerny,” said Stephan Mollmann. Mollmann is the owner of the Twilight Exit at 25th and Cherry (a CDN sponsor). He and Shira Bray, also at the Twilight, will be partners in the new venture.

“I said I’d never go into business with anyone, but she’s bad ass,” said Mollmann.

Work could start as early as this weekend, but there’s a lot of work to be done. The Neighbor Lady should be open in mid-to-late February.

“We’re taking our time with this one,” said Mollmann.

The bar and grill will serve predominantly vegetarian comfort food, though there will be a few meat options, said Mollmann. Where the Twilight Exit has mostly meat dishes with a few vegetarian options, he envisions The Neighbor Lady as the inverse of that.

The name comes from a bar in Amsterdam Mollmann frequented when he lived there, and he has wanted to use the name for years. In fact, Twilight Exit was close to being The Neighbor Lady.

On a recent trip to Europe, Mollmann took a lot of photos of bars to help guide the design. Though some some of his personal style will come, too, including “weird” lamps like the ones in the Twilight.

But the 1928 building is going to take a lot of work before it can open. The kitchen is going to get an upgrade, and a gated, boarded-up space just east of the main entrance will be walled-in and utilized.

Mollmann has had his eyes on opening a bar at 23rd and Union for a while (he described similar plans to CDN last year). He wanted to open the Twilight on the corner years ago, he said, and now that the Thompson’s space opened up, he saw an opportunity.

“I’m just filling a void at this point,” he said.

From SPD:

On 10/31/11, at approximately 9:30 a.m., a medical marijuana dispensary in the 1200 block of S. Jackson St was robbed.  According to the employees at the facility, two armed suspects “bum rushed” one of the employees from behind as he was entering the facility. The suspects were wearing gloves and nylon masks concealing their faces. Both were armed with handguns. They ordered both employees into a back room and demanded access to the safe.

The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash from the safe and escorted both victims to a bathroom area and closed the door. The suspects fled the scene. The victims waited a couple minutes to make sure the suspects were gone, and then called 911. Numerous units responded to the call, but the suspects could not be located.

The Robbery Unit responded to process the scene and interview the victims. The surrounding businesses were also canvassed for potential witnesses.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity of the suspects is asked to call the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at t 206-684-5535.  Anonymous calls are welcome .

Just in from SPD:

Two years ago today, Officer Timothy Brenton was killed in the line of duty.  Today, at 2:00 pm, we will reflect upon what this day means to the Department by dedicating a plaque to Officer Brenton on the Seattle Police Department Memorial Wall inside the main lobby of Seattle Police Department Headquarters at 610 5th Avenue.  While this plaque is dedicated to Officer Brenton, it is also a time to honor all of the Seattle Police Officers who have fallen in the line of duty.

Today also marks the one-year anniversary of the memorial to Timothy Brenton at 29th and Yesler, where he was gunned down in 2009 while on duty.

It’s time for the annual free haunted house at 26th and Fir in the CD! Bring the kids for scary good times! Bravery in the face of monsterous peril will be rewarded with fantastic candy. Unless they’re just lil tykes, then they don’t have to be quite so brave.

5-9 pm, Halloween only. Hope to see you there!

The folks at Slog posted this trailer for Collide-O-Scope’s not-for-kids Halloween edition at Central Cinema (a CDN sponsor):

Collide-O-Scope starts at 7 p.m. followed by Tremors at 9:30. Because who needs Halloween candy when you can have Halloween Bacon?

Also, there is a haunted house at 26th and Fir:

Bravery in the face of monsterous peril will be rewarded with fantastic candy. Unless they’re just lil tykes, then they don’t have to be quite so brave. 5-9 pm

Know anything else going on around the neighborhood this evening everyone should know about? Want to post a photo of your cute/funny/awesome Halloween costume? Please do so below!

Police stopped a man with a gunshot wound to his left foot around 3:45 p.m. October 26. According to the police report, the man admitted to being in a gang that “everybody hates.”

He said he did not know who shot him and was unclear about where the incident happened.

He was transported to the hospital.

Form the police report:

Demicko Chatman was killed on 19th Ave near Yesler in an early morning July 26 shooting. New details suggest that the shooting may have been related to a love triangle Chatman was in, Jonah at Publicola reports.

Chatman was exiting a car around 4:30 a.m. when he was shot several times in the chest. A woman in the passenger seat of the car at the time ran away and flagged down a police officer for help. Chatman was dead by the time medics arrived.

The police are now looking into what role a love triangle may have played in the incident.

From Publicola:

The woman told police someone had come up behind the car while they were parked in front of the home, and fired three to five shots.

The woman said she jumped from the car and ran off before she flagged down an officer.

Police records note officers were “suspicious of her answers” about the shooting, and found that at least one of the shots fired at Chatman came from the right side of the vehicle, rather than from behind as the woman had said.

Police documents reference that Chatman may have been involved in a love triangle, and that another man had recently smashed out his car windows and slashed his tires. Records also say Chatman told an acquaintance the other man involved in the love triangle had told Chatman he had a gun and would kill him if he saw him with the woman they were fighting over.