From the Washington State Liquor Board:

“You are invited…

The Liquor Control Board is holding a public hearing in Seattle March 12, 2012 regarding the City of Seattle’s petition to open rulemaking for extended hours of alcohol service. Under the City of Seattle’s proposal, individual cities would have the ability to seek an exemption from the 2:00 a.m. deadline for alcohol sales at on-premises locations.  Cities would be able to set their own hours, including allowing alcohol sales around-the-clock.  

Prior to making a determination of whether to pursue rulemaking, the Board is interested in hearing from community members and leaders, communities surrounding Seattle, law enforcement at the local, county and state level, neighborhood and community groups and other interested parties. For more background information on the City of Seattle’s petition, please see the LCB website:  http://www.liq.wa.gov/rules/extended-hours-rule-making

You are receiving this email because we want to make sure you have a chance to provide your comments to the Liquor Board at this hearing.  Whether you support the City of Seattle’s request or oppose it, we want to hear from you.

Please join us:

March 12, 2012  10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Seattle City Hall

Bertha Knight Landes Room

600 Fourth Avenue

Seattle, WA 98104″

Note: Many citizens have requested a second hearing in the community, outside of work hours. This is the Liquor Board’s response:

“At this point we are scheduling just one hearing in the Seattle area.  I’m the process of scheduling hearings in Vancouver, Tri-Cities and Spokane as well, one per city.  Our Seattle hearing was scheduled in conjunction with Mayor McGinn’s office, and while it may not be idea in terms of timing, I do hope those that have comments on the proposal will send them to Karen McCall ([email protected]).  Karen is tracking every comment submitted, whether for or against opening rulemaking, and sharing those with our Board.  I do apologize again for the inconvenience of the scheduling. “

Corporations Are Not People

A Discussion with Author Jeffrey D. Clements

Two years ago the Greater Mount Baker Baptist Church invited the Nickelsville tent city to camp on their vacant lot behind their church which, is next to a vacant house that they choose to not rent out.

Our once typical neighborhood is now on the radar screen of criminals and prostitutes, who gather in groups and loiter for hours, intimidating the families who live in the area. The neighborhood now has to watch the criminals stand in front of the church’s vacant house selling drugs and sex.

The criminals use the property that the vacant house is on to have sex and sell drugs, yet the church has refused to put a renter in this perfectly rentable house. By putting a renter in the house, the criminals would not have the ability to hang out, in and around, the dark vacant house with anonymity.

In my opinion, the church invited the problem for the neighborhood and, are now neglecting to follow through with simple solutions, such as putting up exterior lights and renting the house.

The church is aware of the situation, since neighbors on the street have called them to complain about the problem, but for some reason, they don’t care enough to just put some exterior lights on their vacant house and rent it out.

What do we have to do, picket the church, to get them to do something?

Hey CD Neighbors:

I wanted to let you know that the Garfield High School PTSA is having a raffle for a brand new 2012 Nissan Leaf! We will be selling 750 tickets at $100 each, pretty good odds of winning. Our school has an extremely diverse population with a high number low income students and the money raised will primarily go to fund a High School and Beyond career and college counseling center that benefits ALL students. If you are interested in purchasing a ticket or finding out more details please let me know. Only 200 tickets are left. Show your support for Garfield High!

Karen Stewart

[email protected]

Garfield Auction Co-chair

Traveling along Madison in the late afternoons and evenings, you may have noticed new activity in some of the storefronts – specifically, some jabbing, kicking, punching, and bowing. Alpha Martial Arts moved their second school to 1912 E Madison at the start of 2012.

This branch of Alpha Martial Arts started offering American Kempo Karate, kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu classes two years ago, sharing space with the Aikido Seattle dojo at 23rd Avenue and E Turner, near Aloha. Silas Ness, head instructor at the new location, said that sharing space with the Aikido school allowed Alpha Martial Arts to build their student base and assess the demand for a dojo like theirs in the Capitol Hill and Central District area. Holding classes at the Aikido school two days a week, then growing to four, Mr. Ness also reached out into the community, teaching classes at Miller and Montlake Community Centers. Before long AMA had too many students to accommodate in the shared Aikido dojo, and it was time for Alpha Martial Arts to open their second school.

The spacious new location, just east of Trader Joe’s on Madison, offers classes Mondays through Thursdays. Classes for young children run 30 minutes long and are held twice a week. Ness, who began teaching martial arts in 2005, said this is because of the typical short attention span of 4-7 year olds. While one hour long class could dissolve into “chaos,” he said that two, 30 minute classes give the kids the same amount of instruction time, but it is much more productive because the children can stay engaged and hold their focus for those shorter classes without getting too overwhelmed or overtired. Shorter classes for little ones keep the focus where it should be – on having fun!

Teen and adult classes run 45 minutes to an hour long. In particular, the adult kickboxing classes are designed around fitness and a work out, whereas the karate, Krav Maga and Jiu-Jitsu classes focus on developing the students into martial artists.

All karate students have the opportunity to test for belts on a quarterly schedule and both Alpha Martial Arts school locations gather for belt ceremonies three times a year.

The school’s original location — in Bryant near University Village — is run by Master Instructor Chris Herrman, who founded AMA in 2001. AMA instructors put a lot of emphasis on the relationship between martial arts and an individual’s interactions with the outside world and treatment of others. Their website lists, “courtesy, friendship, responsibility, integrity, courage, perseverance, fitness and respect,” as the characteristics they strive to help build in their students.

To emphasize this connection, AMA focuses on a “Word of the Month” and instructors write about it on the school’s blog. February’s word was “Loyalty,” and even the youngest students talked about what it meant to be loyal to their friends, families, and themselves. Optional homework for children gives the students an opportunity to discuss these values at home with their families, and students earn stars to put on their uniform for completing homework assignments.

Classes are still open for enrollment, and special introduction lessons for new students are held by appointment Mondays through Thursdays. Please call 206-322-1433 or fill out their online contact form to learn more. 

I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to the food truck in the parking lot of the gas station at 23rd & Cherry?I asked the employees of the gas station & they had no idea. A few months back I was there when the police were called, the man who was running the taco truck was being harassed by some men for ‘protection money’ (as he put it) & he refused to be intimidated & called the police. His truck is still there so I’m hoping he has just gone out of town or something & will be back soon, not that he was scared & bullied to shut down or worse. That corner has gotten markedly worse the last few months, it seems to follow the seasons from what I can tell. I notice that people view these threads but rarely comment, myself included… I would love to have more dialogue with my neighbors!!!

Eligible Middle and High School boys ages 11-18yrs can go to class for free during the month of March at Harmony Arts. www.harmonyarts.us   Classes combine movement and philosophy of martial arts and yoga, for fun classes that build self-esteem, focus, self-awareness, and strength & flexibility in mind, body, spirit & community.  For more information or to register for free classes in March, contact Tristan  (206) 229-7582  [email protected]   Classes are held at The Samarya Center on 18th and Yesler.

Bikes line temporary bike racks outside Tougo Coffee after the 2011 fundraiser.

A hundred people will gather at the MLK FAME Community Center Saturday morning to embark on a 70-mile bike ride to raise money for Alleycat Acres.

People participating in the Streets and Beets ride will begin leaving in packs starting at 9 a.m., heading south to Auburn, where they will eat lunch before heading back for a post-ride party at the MLK FAME CC.

Riders each pledged to raise at least $100 for the urban farming collective, which hopes to top last year’s ride pull of over $15,000.

Yours truly will be along for the ride, and I am an event partner through Seattle Bike Blog. I’m still trying to convince myself that 70 miles isn’t that far. Please don’t burst my bubble.

The ride comes as the collective prepares to kick off work on their second Central District farm, this time on MLK between Cherry and Columbia. The ground breaking is set for noon March 10.

The event poster:

Last night at 11:15pm our doorbell rang, along 20th Ave near Judkins Park.  On answering the door I was met with an individual claiming to be a neighbor from just down the road who had locked himself out of his house and was needing to give a locksmith $45 to unlock the door.  Could I please help out with just a few dollars?

This individual (or individuals, all who run a similar scam) has been reported on before by Seattle area community blogs.  I learned of them after being visited at our Capitol Hill condo, before moving to the Central District last September — that time being told he was a janitor who had locked himself out of the nearby Cornish building who had locked himself out.  The individual’s mannerisms lead me to believe it is the same individual.

It appears that his focus has moved to different neighborhoods now.

The individual was non-confrontational and did leave after suggesting just a few dollars, or perhaps even some quarters, but then realizing that no money would exchange hands.  If visited, I would suggest being courteous with any refusal to end the conversation quickly; and, if you choose, call police after closing the door.

The King County Youth Services Center is falling apart and smells funny. Also, it’s ugly, and much of the land it currently occupies seems ripe for development.

However, even though voters turned down a 2010 ballot measure that would have funded a replacement with a sales tax increase, the county appears ready to give it another shot with a new $200 million property tax levy.

From Publicola:

Four members of the King County Council, including Republican Kathy Lambert along with three Democrats, proposed a nine-year, $200 million property tax levy to replace the decrepit county Youth Services Center at 12th Ave. and E. Spruce St. in the Central District. If it’s approved by the full council, the measure would go on the August 7 ballot.

Advocates of replacing the facility argue that the center, which houses the county’s juvenile court and detention center, has been decrepit and overcrowded for years, with sewer, air, and heat systems failing on a regular basis and courtrooms so small they force family members—who, in many cases, are on opposite sides of family disputes—to crowd together along with courtroom staff.

An option for the YSC redevelopment before the failed 2010 vote

Back in 2010, plans for the site included a mixture of new developments, new (and redesigned) park space and a new Youth Services Center. The jail, which stretches along Spruce from 12th to 14th, would remain. Some plans even involved reconnecting Terrace St between 14th and 12th Avenues.

However, after the sales tax failed at the ballot box, the city and county announced a plan to try to replace the aging facility without the need for additional public money. The mayor at one time suggested the center could move somewhere else entirely, and the county could use the money from selling the land to fund a new facility. It even appeared possible to move the center to Beacon Hill’s iconic (and mostly vacant) Pac Med building. However, all those plans fell flat, and the county announced that their efforts to find a cost-neutral solution had failed.