People who live or work in Squire Park and own a car can now sign up for King County’s In Motion program, which goes neighborhood by neighborhood encouraging people to drive less.

All you have to do is sign up online (Swedish employees have their own program with different prizes) and report to the site how many car trips you have been able to reduce by sharing rides, taking the bus, walking or biking. Everyone who completes six trip logs will get a free ORCA card loaded with $10. There also opportunities to win more free bus tickets and prizes from business sponsors:

Earn 10 points each week (sunday through Saturday) you log two roundtrips you switched from driving alone to another option. For every 10 points you earn, you will receive 2 free Metro bus tickets.

For each week you complete a trip log, you’ll also be entered into a weekly raffle for fabulous prizes from our sponsors such as a Trader Joe’s gift bag, tickets to Central Cinema or the Zoo, $25 at Stumptown Coffee, a Zipcar package ($125 in Zipcar credit and $25 at Home Depot), and much more!

The program also created a new Squire Park bus, bike and walk map for neighborhood:

From the SDOT Blog:

King County Metro Transit’s In Motion program is a great example of encouraging folks to use healthier travel options.   Each In Motion program focuses on one neighborhood at a time, and partners with local groups, businesses and people in the community to tailor the program to the ‘hood. 

When you sign up, you receive a welcome packet with information on walking, biking, carpooling and transit, and Metro even sweetens the deal by throwing in some free bus tickets.  When you report your trips you earn incentives and chances to win prizes from neighborhood merchants.

The least you can do for Seattle youth is have a drink for them.

Twilight Exit (a CDN sponsor) is hosting A Drink for the Kids tonight (June 29) from 6 p.m. to close. Proceeds from Pyramid beers and Medeyeff vodka will go to support the Vera Project, the much-needed all-ages music venue at Seattle Center.

From the Facebook event:

Raging in the Central District with your hosts Josh Powell, Travis Maisch, and Rahwa Habte! We’re so going to party at this one, last year a round of shots was bought for the entire bar!

Proceeds raised from Pyramid Brewing Company beers and Medoyeff vodka drinks will go to support the Vera Project.

Speaking of all-ages music venues, the CD’s own Hollow Earth Radio is hosting their monthly all-ages dance party and art show at their 22nd and Union studio. The world can listen online, but people in the area can attend in person.

From the Facebook event:

OC Notes’ monthly all-ages art and dance party session, “The Art Show” goes down live in the Hollow Earth Radio studio and streams worldwide at http://www.hollowearthradi o.org/ . Catch it live in the studio at 9pm (sharp!), or set your internet equipment accordingly.

This edition will feature the scintillating essence of CHOCOLATE CHUCK and temporal inversions of SWAMPMAN as well as special guests, hijinks, and surprises beyond description.

Billy Chambers, who was convicted of manslaughter for his part in the 2008 killing of Ed “Tuba Man” McMichael, has been charged with intentionally running a woman off the road near 23rd and Jackson June 23. He has been charged with second degree assault and hit and run.

Prosecutors say Chambers attacked the woman because she had filed a police report about a car prowl.

From the Seattle Times:

Chambers is accused of rear-ending the woman’s car while it was stopped for a traffic light in the Central Area at 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street around 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The woman told police that as she tried to drive away the same car followed in the next lane and swerved toward the passenger side of her car, causing her to leave the roadway and strike a tree, according to charging paperwork.The woman was not hurt.

She told officers that she recognized the driver of the mid-1990s Ford Crown Victoria that hit her, according to charging papers. She said that she had reported him to police about a week earlier after he allegedly broke into her car, according to charging paperwork.

Police located the Crown Victoria parked outside Chambers’ home and were allowed inside. When Chambers was arrested he told police that he had been sleeping all day and that someone else had been using his car.

A man armed with a collapsible baton and four knives was arrested after he allegedly fought back when confronted about stealing a jacket at the Goodwill on Dearborn June 25.

After hitting one of the security guards several times with the baton, guards tried to restrain the man. He then pulled a knife. Security was eventually able to restrain him until police arrived. The suspect got free and tried to run, but police caught him and arrested him.

From the SPD Blotter:

On 6/25/11, at approximately 8:50 p.m., officers responded to the 1400 block of S. Lane St. to a business to investigate an armed robbery incident. Security at the business told officers that they stopped the suspect for shoplift after he exited the store without paying for a jacket.

To retain the stolen jacket, the suspect produced a collapsible metal baton and struck one of the security officers several times.  Security wrestled the baton from the suspect, and attempted to restrain him.  The suspect then produced a knife and began brandishing it at the security officers.

Security disarmed the suspect again and held him for officers.   When the suspect heard police sirens he broke loose and fled.  Officers pursued on foot and after a short struggle, took him into custody.  The suspect was found to be in possession of four knives.

Some of the knives he possessed were styles used in knife fighting and one was concealed in an ankle sheath.

The 33-year-old man was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery

KUOW’s Weekday took on the concept of gentrification this morning. Specifically, the program asked the question of whether it is good or bad.

Richard Morrill, professor emeritus of geography at UW, defined gentrification as “Replacement of less educated and less affluent households with more educated, affluent and professional households in urban core areas perceived as desirable and convenient resulting in reinvestment and selective displacement.”

Former Seattle mayor Norm Rice, Sightline’s Eric de Place and The Stanger’s Charles Mudede discussed the economic and racial aspects of gentrification in Seattle, for good and bad. You can listen to the hour-long program in its entirety on the KUOW website.

One area they focused on is the neighborhood near 23rd and Jackson.

“When it first was built — Promenade 23 is what they called it — it didn’t work,” said Rice. “It was a big shopping center that was designed in not necessarily the best way. It didn’t start taking off until the housing started being built around it. And then there were choices around the houses you could have, then you started seeing the influx of people who began to use the shopping center … you began to see the demographics change.” The center was supposed to be a magnet for people to shop, but it also became a magnet for development, he said.

“If you say its economics, I think that’s almost like getting away with something, making it too easy, wrap it up too quickly,” said Mudede. “I always will say that economic is the base,” but it’s not entirely a market decision. After all, civic decisions to make a place better make it more attractive and, therefore, attract people.

Census data shows the demographics of the neighborhood continue to change dramatically. Black population in the past decade has declined, and many areas of the neighborhood now have a white majority.

Professor Danila Rumold

Members of the Seattle University and Bailey Gatzert Elementary communities gathered June 20 to dedicate a new mural near the Bailey Gatzert Playfield. The radial design includes images of the neighborhood near the school as well as heroes from the many cultures represented in Bailey Gatzert’s student body, which is among the most diverse and impoverished in the city.

The mural was created by students in Seattle University’s Art 293: “Community Art & Mural Painting Techniques” class, which was taught for the first time this year. Professor Danila Rumold gave an overview of the process and the steps the class took to engage the Bailey Gatzert community to make sure the kids would be able to see themselves in the work.

One way the kids were able to get involved was through drawing pictures. Kids in first through fifth grade art classes were invited to draw pictures of their heroes and their neighborhood. The Seattle U students then took those pictures and incorporated them into the mural’s design. Several portraits are in the mural, including cultural heroes and favorite members of the school’s faculty.

The mural also reflects its environment. The building facades and skyline are modeled off photographs from around the neighborhood taken by Seattle U students as a way to create a familiar feeling of the kids’ urban environment. The cherry blossom tree at the center of the mural was modeled after the tree sitting in front of it. The blossoms on the tree were stamped by kids from Bailey Gatzert using wooden stamps the Seattle U students created.

After the dedication talk and the barbeque that followed, the mural is now in the hands of the people who will encounter it every day.

“The final step is for the community to accept this mural,” said Rumold.

From Q13:

Queen Underwood had to fight back from behind to pull out a close win to defend her USA National Championship title. She has now held the title for five years in a row.

The title bout was close, but the Garfield High alumna pulled out a 23-21 victory over Tiara Brown to retain her title in the 132-pound weight class. The win gives her another boost in her quest for 2012 Olympic gold.

Underwood fought five bouts in six days in Colorado Springs last week to win the title. She came out swinging hard and made her mark early as she stopped several of her first opponents (“stopping” an opponent is the amateur boxing equivalent of a knockout).

The Queen’s post-championship rest will be brief before she gets back to Cappy’s Boxing Gym to continue her training.

The Queen of the Ring is in Colorado fighting to win her fifth national championship in a row, and she is already making headlines. 

“Powerful Queen a knockout machine at boxing nationals” from The Gazette in Colorado Springs is one my favorites. And it’s true.

The Queen stopped (the amateur boxing version of a knockout) her first opponent Maria Madrigal in the first round. She then stopped Darina Mims in the third round. With two big wins under her belt, she faced off against another four-time national champion, Caroline Berry.

The Denver Post built up to the match in a story where they referred to Underwood as ” a women’s boxer named out of central casting.” Berry has a military background and has been training hard:

Barry is on the base six days a week, slipping up to Boulder for the seventh. Her intense workouts are Monday-Friday, beginning with 6 a.m. strength and conditioning at the Olympic Training Center.

Then she hops over to the Air Force Academy for vision and reactionary training, as well as hyperbolic intervals, where they control the climate to sea level and she will run treadmill intervals. She’ll sneak in a shower and lunch, then meet Coach Abdullah in the afternoon for boxing sessions — and sometimes at night too.

But who needs an Olympic Training Center when you’ve got Cappy’s at 22nd and Union? (see our previous story) Not the Queen. Here’s how she responded in the same article: 

The person perhaps in her way will be standing right in front of her today. The 5-6 Underwood is an audaciously aggressive boxer. The two will box today at the Colorado Springs Christian School in the quarterfinals — and the winner will advance to the semifinals and become one of the four automatic qualifiers for the Olympic Trials.

Underwood, who hails from Seattle, won Tuesday with a third-round stoppage, which is the amateur equivalent of a knockout.

“I’m ringing bells out here,” Underwood said. “That’s what I’ve been working on a lot — getting a hold of my power and trying to take people out.”

The Queen won the bout 14-10.

She is scheduled to take on N’yteeyah Sherman from Ohio today in the semifinals.

If you would like to eat delicious food and support garden education for children in Seattle, all you have to do is ride a bicycle to Madrona Eatery and Alehouse June 28 and buy dinner. The Alehouse is one of 13 restaurants participating in this year’s Spoke & Food, a fundraiser event in its second year that aims to encourage bicycling and raise money for local non-profits (among other goals).

Participating restaurants will donate 20 percent of all dinner bills collected between 5 and 10 p.m.

More details about Spoke and Food, from organizers Garett and Heather Slettebak:

Seattle’s second annual Spoke & Food event will happen on Tuesday, June 28th. Billed as “an evening of dining and bikes”, the event will take place in 13+ different Seattle area neighborhoods. The event asks people to bicycle to (and from) one of the “host” restaurants on the night of the event. This community event was launched last year as a way to influence the culture of Seattle, to show how easy and fun bicycling to and from dinner is and to raise money for a well-deserving Seattle area non-profit. A new non-profit beneficiary is selected each year. This year’s event will benefit the Children’s Garden Education program at Seattle Tilth where as last year’s event benefited the Lettuce Link program at Solid Ground.The funds raised for the non-profit are donated directly to the non-profit by each of the “host” restaurants who have agreed to give 20% of all the diner bills collected between 5:00pm and 10:00pm on Tuesday, June 28

^th. In return of their gracious support, the Spoke & Food event will have only one host restaurant in each of the neighborhoods that are involved.

Other participating restaurants:

• Ballard – Snoose Junction Pizzeria
• Capitol Hill – The Lookout
• Greenwood – The Barking Dog Alehouse
• Madrona – The Madrona Alehouse
• Maple Leaf – Snappy Dragon
• Phinney Ridge – Stumbling Goat Bistro
• Queen Anne – Via Tribunali
• Ravenna – Casa D’Italia
• Roosevelt – The Scarlet Tree
• University District – Chaco Canyon Organic Café
• Wallingford – Julia’s
• White Center – Proletariat Pizza
• West Seattle – Chaco Canyon Organic Café

Tyrone Love was walking on Cherry St between 26th and 27th in the early morning of February 16, 2009, when he was killed. A man pulled up in a car, jumped out and shot Love multiple times before getting back in and speeding away. He was wearing an oversized hoodie, but the police do not have enough details to build a case.

To this day, the case remains open and unsolved. Love’s family and SPD believe there are people who know what happened that night, but are afraid to speak up. They have teamed up with The Silent War to spread the message that the code against snitching is wrong. Murder is always wrong, and those responsible need to be caught to prevent more violence and to give mourning families closure, they said at a press conference June 20.

Tyrone Love’s sisters said they need closure.

“It’s still there, this mystery over your head of, ‘Who did this to my brother?'” said Tyrone’s sister Gweldolyn Love at the conference, which was held near the spot where the murder occurred. Gweldolyn and Christyna Bradford, another sister of Tyrone’s, had tears when talking about the killing.

“We still need that closure,” said Gwendolyn.

The Silent War is a local campaign lead by the Reverend Harriett Walden that urges youth to break the code of silence and help bring killers to justice. The group is launching a media campaign that includes online social media and flyers to help spread the word about how peopel with knowledge about a crime can report it. People can even make reports annonymously either through the SPD tips line or through the national organization Crime Stoppers. You can also text tips to crime stoppers.

More information on how to do that, from SPD:

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call the Homicide tip line at (206) 233-5000.  Anonymous tips are welcome.  Calls are taken 24 hours a day. 

Those not wanting to call police directly may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637).  Your text message should include “TIP486” to ensure proper routing. If a tip leads to an arrest and the filing of charges, callers may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1000.

The Silent War poster: