You are invited to help plant flowers and tidy up the Officer Brenton Memorial from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23. The memorial, located at 29th and Yesler, was dedicated last Holloween, marking one year since he was murdered while sitting in his patrol car near the memorial site.

From Robert Cipollone, member of the memorial committee in Leschi:

It’s spring and time to plant some flowers and tidy up the memorial site.

Please come out Saturday April 23 from 11am to 1pm to plant some additional plants and put down some mulch.

Please bring work gloves, small shovels, brooms, dust bin and any other garden tools you think appropriate.

Feel free to bring so nibblely food to share so we can all socialize as we work.

Looking forward to seeing everyone after the dark cold winter!

Garfield High School’s Athletic Director has been on administrative leave since October following violations of the football team’s eligibility rules. Following a FOIA request, Seattle Times reports that Jim Valiere was officially fired by the school district April 11 following a lengthy investigation, including allegations he misused district funds and awarded grades to athletes that were not earned.

From Seattle Times:

The investigation alleged that Valiere provided 19 Garfield athletes with “secret waivers” that allowed those students to participate in sports without following pay-for-play rules. That action was deemed to be an improper gift of district funds.

The investigation also alleged that Valiere awarded two students grades for an independent-study Spanish class they did not earn. Both students told an investigator they didn’t do coursework to justify the grades, the letter said.

…

The investigation also alleged that Valiere misled the KingCo Conference and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) by underreporting the number of ineligible Garfield football players who participated against Sammamish. It also alleged that Valiere hired a club soccer coach as a boys assistant in violation of WIAA rules.

However, Valiere maintains that he has been unfairly maligned and has requested an open hearing to dispute the findings.

“I don’t think there ever was, really, an investigation,” Valiere said. “The investigation they had going was just to find more dirt to try and bury me.”

A group of eight gang members assaulted two men at a bus stop near 22nd and Jefferson April 18, according to Seattle Crime:

According to a police report, at 8:15 p.m. on April 18th, the two men—both in their late-teens—were waiting at a bus stop at 22nd and E Jefferson when a group of eight teenagers approached them and asked “if they were claiming” or affiliated with a gang.

When one of the victims told the group of teens “we don’t bang,” one of the suspects yelled “Deuce-Eight” and group descended on the victims.

The group of suspects punched and kicked the two men, and stole a wallet and cell phone during the attack.

The suspects fled the scene before police arrived.

An electrified metal plate on the sidewalk gave Hank quite a shock early this morning. Hank, an 85-pound yellow lab, was on a walk with his owner on 32nd between Atlantic and Massachusetts when Hank stepped on a metal plate on the sidewalk next to a light pole. He then “let out a pretty good squawk” and straightened up, said Alex Maas, whose wife had been walking Hank at the time. Hank limped for a little bit after the shock, but he walked it off and is doing fine.

After his wife told him what happened, Maas grabbed a voltage meter and went to the spot to test the metal plate. After he got a reading (the needle on his cheap meter was “all over the place,” he said), he went searching for a hotline number to call to report the problem. He logged onto CDN to find a post he remembered seeing a couple weeks ago about an electrified pole discovered at 23rd and Marion. After calling the hotline and reporting the problem to Seattle City Light, he left a comment on the story.

“I remember when the woman’s dog got electrocuted on Thanksgiving,” he said, in reference to the tragic death of Sammy in Queen Anne. After that incident, City Light began testing all their light poles, finding five electrified poles in the Central District.

However, Suzanne Hartman with City Light said they do not believe this incident is due to the same issue as the previous electrified poles. This light pole is concrete, she said, and in this case the electrical equipment under the panel may have been damaged during construction in the area.

“We’re trying to figure that out now,” she said. They have turned off the energy to the panel. City Light will publish an update on their website soon, she said.

Since inspecting the poles in January, the pole at 23rd and Marion is the only electrified one City Light has found. That pole was damaged by a car last year and was not reinstalled until after the January inspection, thus getting skipped by the check. City Light has since checked all the poles installed since the January inspection, said Hartman.

City Light responded to Maas’ call very quickly, said Maas, and he is pleased with how they reacted to his report.

“City Light was awesome,” he said. They went out quickly to assess the issue and gave him a call back to update him on the situation and ask how Hank was doing.

It’s a good thing Hank is a big, solid five-year-old who was able to walk off the shock, said Maas.

“Who knows, with a little dog, it might have been a different story.”

UPDATE: City Light posted more details on their blog. It appears a bolt was missing from the plate. They checked similar street lamps in the area and did not find any more issues:

The metal plate is about 3 inches wide by 5 inches tall and covers the wiring for the pole. A repair crew measured 109 volts of electricity on the plate and repaired the equipment immediately.

City Light continues to investigate the cause of the voltage. It appears there has been recent construction near the pole and a bolt was missing from the plate.

Since this was a concrete pole, there was no voltage in the pole itself. There are 15 similar poles in the surrounding neighborhood. City Light checked all of them and found no other incidents of contact voltage. Crews also will check 60 other similar poles in City Light’s service territory as a precaution.

Essential Arts is hosting urban farmer and writer Novella Carpenter for their second Art+Agriculture event. Carpenter’s 2009 memoir “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer” is about her experience creating an urban farm on borrowed land in a rough part of Oakland. The event starts at 7 p.m. April 28 at Washington Hall. Proceeds will benefit Alleycat Acres, which operates one of their two farms at 22nd and Union. Tickets are $7 in advance or $10 at the door and can be purchased from Brown Paper Tickets.

From Essential Arts:

The second edition in Essential Arts’ Art+Agriculture series focuses on Urban Agriculture and Food Justice. With artists, farmers, and organizers, we will discuss the intersections of creativity and change.

Novella Carpenter is the author of the NY Times-bestselling FARM CITY. She will talk about her experience Urban Farming in Oakland (and Beacon Hill). okanomodé– expressionist composer, glamazon troubadour, musical experience & alter ego of performance artist SoulChilde BlueSun–will perform songs on the topic.

A group discussion will feature: Rev. Robert Jeffrey (Clean Greens), Erick Haakenson (Jubilee Farm), Rosy Smit (21 Acres), Maria Elena Rodriguez (Community Alliance for Global Justice), and Sean Conroe (Alleycat Acres). Eddie Hill (GroundUp) will moderate.

Also check out our “Urban Ag Bazaar” (with Seattle Tilth’s Gardener Hotline, Central Co-op, Seattle Urban Farm Co-op, Jefferson Park Food Forest, and others)!  Refreshments and healthy treats for sale!

Now that the weather is finally warming up, Community Power Works wants to help central and southeast Seattle home and business owners increase the energy efficiency of their buildings so they won’t need to be so cold next winter. Where before energy efficiency programs were confusing and sometimes overwhelming, CPW will attempt to guide people through the process from start to finish. From Sightline:

Fortunately, Seattle is the latest Northwest city to roll out a smart program making that process much easier. It will help home and business owners make improvements that save energy and money over the long haul, and create family-wage green-collar jobs needed to do the work. The Community Power Works program – which officially launched today – is now available to homeowners, apartment building owners and small businesses in Central and Southeast Seattle. It helps people choose the most cost-effective projects, connects them with pre-approved contractors, offers assurances that the work will be done correctly, lays out financing options, and allows the loans to be repaid on their electric bills.

The project officially launched April 19 and was funded by a federal grant from the Better Buildings grant program. People who use the program will have access to an affordable load that can be paid off through their energy bills, and, therefore, through their energy bill savings:

Seattle’s Community Power Works for Home follows Sightline’s recommendations to make the process much easier for homeowners (and is similar to ones in Oregon and Vancouver). They’ll have access to:

• An energy expert to set up appointments and guide them through the process.
• A deeply discounted home energy assessment (cost: $95) to determine which improvements will be most cost-effective.
• Bids from pre-approved contractors that bundle together all applicable energy efficiency rebates and incentives.
• Information about financing options.
• Affordable loans from Enterprise Cascadia, a non-profit community lender, which can be paid back on the home’s electric bill.
• A followup audit to make sure the work has been done correctly and that the energy savings are being realized.

Homeowners can learn more about the home program at CPW’s May 3 kickoff event in Rainier Beach:

Community Kick-off Celebration

Join us for the community kick-off celebration for Community Power Works for Home!
Families are welcome!

When:
May 3, 2011, 6:30 p.m.

Where:

South Shore School

8825 Rainier Ave. S

If Metro bus routes traded passengers like players in Major League Baseball, then the 48 has lost a Gold Glove winning shortstop. Carla Saulter (AKA Bus Chick) wrote a reflective post about how, over the past couple years, her allegiance has shifted to the 8:

Not too many years ago, the bus I took most often was the 48, also known as “Forty-late,” “Dr. 48” and “the Tiger Woods* of the system.” I rode it south to Judkins Park (NAAM), Columbia City (dentist/homegirl), and Rainier Beach (friend visits), north to 23rd & Union (church, beauty shop), Montlake (545 transfer), the U District (pseudo-intellectual/artistic coffee joints, various readings and events), and Green Lake (Friday play dates).

They don’t call it Metro’s heavyweight for nothin’.

Of course, a few things have changed since then. The two biggest: the 48 stopped running south of Mount Baker Transit Center when Link opened, and I stopped commuting to the Eastside–or at all. (I now do contract and freelance work from home.) A few other minor (but relevant changes): my beautician moved to a shop near 15th & John, and we changed health insurance providers.

And then there’s the fact that the route I’ve had a crush on for years, the amazing 8, (finally!) started running on evenings and weekends in my neighborhood. I am not exaggerating when I say that this seemingly minor service addition has changed my life.

Learning new bus routes, even if it means walking a few extra blocks, opens up whole new parts of the city. It’s also a good way to mix things up if your typical routes are feeling stale. Anyone else notice their lives change just by switching buses? What CD bus route is your favorite?

After a couple months at 22nd and Cherry, Tent City Three packed up camp and moved to St. Mark’s Cathedral on Capitol Hill. Now, the lot that housed over 60 people just last week stands vacant once again.

Tent City Three has spent time at the lot, owned by Cherry Hill Baptist Church, several times in recent years. By design, the encampment moves every few months depending on agreements made with property owners, which are often churches. They plan to stay at St. Mark’s until early June.

On April 10, an encampment resident on patrol duty witnessed a robbery at Update Barber Shop and Beauty Salon and alerted police. However, the suspect was able to flee with a flat screen TV before police could locate him.

The 8th Annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival kicks off April 30 with Kinyarwanda at the Quincy Jones Theater at Garfield High School. The festival will span nine days and feature nearly 40 films by both renown and new filmmakers.

Due to ongoing renovations at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center at 17th and Yesler, the festival screenings will take place at Quincy Jones Theater and Central Cinema (21st and Union). You can purchase individual tickets online, or you can go for the $50 all-access Langston Pass.

The opening film, Kinyarwanda, takes place during the Rwandan genocide. The festival press release says, “KINYARWANDA is based on true accounts from Rwandan genocide survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. It recounts how the Imams opened the doors of the mosques to give refuge to the Tutsi and those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing.” Director Alrick Brown will be in attendance for the screening. The film’s trailer:

Another film certain to be of interest to CDN readers is 23rd and Union. When we posted the docu-drama’s trailer in February, it generated quite a bit of conversation and speculation. The film, which blends real interviews with a dramatized story line, will run at 5 p.m. May 1 at Central Cinema, just two blocks from the film’s epicenter.

Here’s the lineup from the festival’s website:

SATURDAY APRIL 30
OPENING NIGHT
KINYARWANDA
Filmmaker Alrick Brown in attendance
Reception 6pm | Film 7pm
Quincy Jones Theater| Garfield High School

SUNDAY MAY 1
1PM –MAKE A MOVIE LIKE SPIKE
5PM –23rd & UNION
7PM-EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

MONDAY MAY 2
4PM – SOLE OF A HUSTLA
5PM – WHY US?
7PM – AFTERSHOCK
POSITIVE NEGATIVES
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

TUESDAY, MAY 3
4PM  – REVOLUTION 67
7PM –CHILDREN OF GOD
Presented in collaboration with
Sista Sinema
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4
4PM – SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
7PM – WHEEDLE’S GROOVE
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

THURSDAY MAY 5
4PM –SOLE OF A HUSTLA
7PM – MIGHTY JEROME
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

FRIDAY  MAY 6
4PM – SHORT FILM SHOWCASE II
7PM – CORNERSTORE
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

SATURDAY MAY 7
11AM – BRUNCH WITH FILMMAKERS
1PM – CATASTROPHIC MAGNITUDE
4PM – HEARING RADMILLA
7PM- NICE AND ROUGH
(Filmmaker in Attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union St

SUNDAY MAY 8
2PM – FROM THE QUARTERS TO LINCOLN HEIGHTS
4PM – EL QUINTO SUYO
6PM – BUTTERFLY RISING
(Filmmaker in attendance- all shows)
Quincy Jones Theater | Garfield High School

Kedra Olsen did not expect to own a restaurant.

“I’m a server. That’s what I’ve always done,” she said. But since 2005, she has been at the helm of All-Purpose Pizza (a Central District News sponsor) at 29th Ave S and S Jackson St., more or less. Her husband John has been involved, but his main job is to work for the Fire Department. The couple also went through a divorce and got back together. Olsen thought at first she could just concentrate on front-of-house duties in the restaurant, but now she finds herself working on the restaurant all the time.

“You’re always on when you’re in the restaurant business,” she said. If she can find some good people to buy the place, she would “take some time and let someone else pay me.” She is currently looking for prospective buyers for the pizza joint, but only if they meet her standards. If such a buyer can’t be found, she is prepared to keep going, she said.

Olsen does not want the restaurant’s patrons to think she is abandoning them.

“Everyone’s my family that comes here,” she said. “I just reached a point where I ask, ‘How much responsibility can I handle?'” She said the business would be far easier to handle if she had a partner.

The neighborhood has changed quite a bit since Olsen moved there in 1998. She opened All-Purpose Pizza (in a space that was formerly an auto body shop) during more tumultuous times for the area.

“When I opened this place, it was in the middle of a gang war,” she said. There was once an idea that Jackson St would be a connected, meandering retail corridor that would start at All-Purpose and end in Pioneer Square. But until recently, most neighborhood business organizing at her end of the street has been about crime.

The neighborhood has quieted down since then, but so has the economy. The past couple years since 2008 have been hard for the restaurant, as they have for many businesses. In early March, Olsen engaged the CDN community asking for advice in making changes to All-Purpose. As a result, the shop launched a revamped menu that took out some elements that were over-priced (such as charges for half-and-half pizzas and thin crust) and added gluten-free pizza dough to the menu.

But Olsen’s life seems for be headed in a different direction. She moved to Snoqualmie after being unable to find a four-bedroom house she could afford in the city, she said. In addition to paying off business debts, Olsen sees sale of the business as a way to move on.

“It seemed like a good way to transition away from this particular job into something else,” she said.

The Craigslist ad lists the shop for $175,000.