We’ve got 4 days to save King County Metro.

Losing buses is unacceptable. We can’t afford more congestion, pollution, or inequity. And we must not leave people stranded.

Luckily, the King County Council can do something about it. On Monday, August 15, the council can adopt a $20  “congestion relief charge” to save our buses.

But we still –still– need one more councilmember to support saving Metro.

Tell your councilmember that you support saving Metro.

Call 206-296-1000

Leave a brief message with your name, where you live & work, and that you support the “congestion relief charge” to save Metro buses.

The facts are simple. Losing buses would hurt hundreds of businesses and hundreds of thousands of people.

That’s why so many businesses and people have spoken out.  More than 175 business, human service, labor and environmental leaders just signed a letter to the council. And more than 15,000 letters and petitions have been signed and sent.

With just 4 days left, you can do 3 more things to save Metro:

1.  
   • Call the County Council at 206-296-1000 and tell them you support saving Metro.
   • Attend a press conference this morning at 11am at the Convention Place Transit Station in downtown Seattle.We’ll be announcing the letters from the 175 businesses and the 30 elected officals who support saving King County Metro.
   • Attend the King County Council decision on Monday, August 15, at 1:30pm at the County Courthouse.

You’ve been great. Thank you for your support. Together we can save Metro.

Sincerely,

Brock Howell
Field Director
Transportation for Washington

P.S. Remember, when you call the County Council at 206-296-1000, be sure to say your name, where you live and work, and that you support the council adopting the “congestion relief charge” to save Metro.

P.S.S. If you haven’t yet written a letter to the King County Council, send one now.

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#SaveKCMetro @T4WA

I’m thrilled that Twilight Exit recently opened up their weekend daytime hours to parents – but honestly, I’d love to go there with my husband and have a pint and play some shuffleboard sans child. Or see a show together! Last few times we’ve done that, the babysitter has doubled the price of our evening out, an unsustainable fiscal model. Anyone with kids in the CD interested in starting a babysitting co-op? We’ve done this with other couples/neighborhoods in the past and it’s fantastic – everyone wins. You trade off babysitting with other parents, and everybody gets what they put in to it.

We have a 3 1/2 year old, live on Cherry Street – let me know if anyone is interested…

The city will repave the curb lanes on 23rd Ave from E Cherry to E Spring Streets next week. Work will start August 16 and wrap up August 18, weather permitting.

The curb lanes on 23rd Ave are significantly more deteriorated than the two center lanes. So far, the city has paved in a similar fashion from Yesler to Jackson and from Union to Spring.

From SDOT:

SDOT crews will resurface three blocks of curb lanes on 23rd Avenue, between East Cherry Street and East Spring Street, on August 16 to 18, weather permitting. 

One traffic lane will remain open in each direction, and the sidewalks will remain open. A Police Officer will assist traffic at East Cherry Street.

Focusing on subtle fragrances you don’t smell a block away, Cameos and Crowns opened up shop on 34th Ave in Madrona one month ago. The shop’s owner brings deep experience with fragrances to a little space, situated just south of Union.

Lynette Vertoch

Lynette Vertoch’s southern California candle business went from home-scale to mass production seemingly overnight. In early 1990s, her Illume line of candles were all the rage, and even gift baskets for Tonight Show guests featured them, she told me while flipping through a big book of Illume clippings from various national magazines.

Since selling Illume in 1999, Vertoch has started another fragrance line and other endeavors. But the past few years have been difficult for Vertoch and her husband.

“We had a rough couple years, like everyone else,” she said.

The couple recently moved to Seattle, and on a trip to Madrona, Vertoch saw a space available on 34th Ave just south of Union. She decided to go for it and start Cameo and Crowns. The boutique features home fragrances, like candles and diffusers, soaps, perfumes, shaving products, fine paper and more, much of it handmade and from smaller brands.

For a list of brands and more info on the shop, check out their Facebook page.

The shop is at 1137 34th Ave, just south of Union

Notice a new business pop up in your neighborhood? Be sure to let us know! Email [email protected].

Thanks to readers for tips on this afternoon’s gunfire at 23rd and Union. Here’s the SPD report on the incident:

On August 10th at approximately 3:53 p.m. officers responded to multiple 911 calls regarding shots fired near 23rd Avenue and East Union Street.  It was reported that a black male was standing through the sunroof of a red car firing a handgun at a white car it was pursuing northbound on 23rd Avenue approaching East Union Street.  The “victim” vehicle cut through a parking lot and sped off eastbound on East Union Street.  The red vehicle fled in an unknown direction. 

A vehicle travelling southbound on 23rd Avenue was struck on the windshield by a stray round however, nobody was injured.  A comprehensive area check for involved patries turned up negative. 

No calls from the initial “victim” vehicle were placed to 911.

On Monday afternoon I was approached on 21st and Cherry by an elderly woman who introduced herself as Barbara. She seemed quite distraught, saying she had run out of gas and did I have some money so she could get back home in West Seattle. She looked moderately well put together but had pretty bad teeth. I offered to give her some bus money or help her call for help, because she seemed on the verge of tears. She asked if I would go withdraw $10 from a nearby ATM so she could fill up her gas can, and she offered to give me her bracelets as collateral for returning the money if I gave her my address so she could get in touch once she got home.

I’ve heard of similar scams like this in the area but I’m wondering if anyone has come across this particular individual before?

Representatives of King County attending last night’s 12th Avenue Neighborhood Stewardship Committee meeting were able to say very little about the reported possibility that the Youth Services campus could be transferred to a private developer. Facility Projects Manager Jim Burt and Alan Painter of the Executive’s Office acknowledged that the top-ranked candidate in response to the County’s request for proposals and concepts for a strategy to produce a new courtroom and office space had proposed a plan to move the Youth Services functions elsewhere. A report published in the “Seattle Times” suggests that a Wright Runstad plan would involve moving the courtroom and detention facilities to the Beacon Hill hospital building most recently identified as the home of Amazon.com However, citing confidentiality constraints, County officials could only confirm that the evaluation process continues. Painter was asked about the reliability of published reports that the Executive could announce by this Thursday or Friday a yes or no decision regarding the proposal to move the Youth Services functions. He said that was a likely schedule for such a decision.

The County’s stated goals require that any strategy resulting in a new courthouse or a new courthouse and detention facility not cost more than the revenue produced by a sale or lease of all or part of the County-owned real estate that is the current Youth Services Center campus. Painter did say, without indicating a decision has been made, it is proving difficult to find that the move to the Amazon.com building would meet the financial requirements.

For close to ten years 12th Avenue Neighborhood stakeholders have been meeting with county officials urging them to move forward with plans to turn the large surface parking lot into a mixed-use development that includes housing and neighborhood-serving retail space. The neighborhood also has repeatedly asked that the County stop providing hundreds of free parking spaces to County employees and, instead, vigorously promote transit use, including a transit route on 12th Avenue.

The County has produced several conceptual plans that would make way for mixed-use development fronting 12th Avenue and would reintroduce, at least at pedestrian routes, some of the public rights of way through the 8+ acres campus. Those plans would go some way to allowing the County-owned site to contribute to the revitalization of the “12th Avenue Urban Village” as identified in the City’s comprehensive plan.

Over the last ten years and more the City has devoted substantial resources to improve the streetscape on 12th Avenue and has supported private development on land formerly owned by the City. Many believe that the County, as property owner, is an obstacle to further neighborhood revitalization.

The 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee has pointed out that dozens of homes, and several streets were destroyed when the Youth Services site was built decades ago. Now, even if the Juvenile Court and Detention Center remains, the County could more creatively use its land to support long time goals of its Central Area neighborhood.

Activity returned to one more corner at 23rd and Union this week as Beehive Bakery had a “soft” opening in the old Philly’s Cheese Steak building. The bakery and coffee shop is functional, but the owners are still working to get things in order and make changes to the look of the space, both inside and out.

“The awning will disappear in time and will go for a more retro look,” said Ken Collins, who owns the business with his wife Jane. When CDN stopped by August 5, the signs planned for outside the building were being stored in the dining area, and tools were strewn about. But Ken and Jane wanted to get the doors open before the Umojafest Parade and start getting feedback from the neighborhood.

Jane Collins serves a baked good on Beehive’s first day in business

“Don’t be afraid to tell us the truth,” said Jane. “We want you to come back.”

The bakery is certified kosher by Va’ad HaRabinum of Greater Seattle. Even the Cafe D’Arte coffee is they serve is kosher.

“We thought it would be helpful to people with different dietary needs” to be kosher, said Jane.

The building has been vacant ever since the 2008 murder of Philly’s owner Dejene Berecha inside the shop. The shooter, Rey Alberto Davis-Bell, was found guilty in 2010, but the space had remained closed.

In fact, it was closed for so long that all the permits had expired, which delayed the opening of Beehive Bakery several months.

“Once an establishment is vacant for more than 12 months, it’s like ‘go back to go,'” said Ken. “We appreciate everyone’s patience.” However, some of the codes have changed, most notably regarding the drive-through. The bakery cannot reopen the drive-through window, but they hope to perhaps put some outdoor seating there or maybe make it a walk- or bike-up window.

By the end of September, phase two of the renovations should be complete and the shop will look much different. But until then, you can still stop in for coffee and fresh baked goods. The hours are still in flux, but they hope to open by 6 a.m. and stay open into the early evening, about 5:30 or so. Sunday will have shorter hours, they said.

The bakery menu:

Some have proposed splitting Seattle or slicing a piece off to create a minority majority congressional district.  The Central District would be affected. How do you feel about the shape of the current legislative districts?  See the current maps that are under consideration and comment.

You may also just observe.

After selecting Murase Associates to design the planned Jimi Hendrix Park at 24th and S Massachusetts, park planners organized a series of public meetings to gather public input. Now, the community will get its first peek at the final park design August 10 at the Northwest African American Museum which is adjacent to the future park.

From the city:

Butterflies and guitars, flowers and music, sun and water, and creative use of color will be reflected in the final design concept of Jimi Hendrix Park to pay tribute to the legendary Seattle rock star.

The community is invited to get a first peek at the final design concept at the Aug. 10 meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest African American Museum, 2300 S Massachusetts St.

Compiled from three initial concepts, the final design will be unveiled for the community and the public at the third and final public event on Wednesday, Aug. 10. The evening celebration of the collaborative design process will include a presentation and formal unveiling by consulting landscape architects from Murase Associates, and an opportunity for the public to make final comments.

The three-month design process solicited ideas from the community and generated at a brainstorming session in May, focusing on images and icons that define and articulate Hendrix’s legacy. Dozens of comments from community members have advocated intimate gathering spaces and performing opportunities, adequate connections to surrounding neighborhoods, functional walkways and seating, and colorful plantings. Scott Murase said the design concept incorporates a variety of landscape and structural elements inspired by Hendrix’s writings, music and art that will transform the Central District park into a living tribute to the Seattle native.

Before becoming a park, the property served as a parking lot next to the old Colman School, and now is a swath of turf adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum.

The non-profit Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park is leading the development process, which envisions a space that will motivate youth and others to achieve in music and art, and strengthen the cultural pulse of the Emerald City as a primary focal point for multi-cultural events, gatherings, and activities for the community.
Funding for the design work and construction of the park development comes from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy, which awarded $500,000 to the project last December, and from  a $76,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. Fund-raising activities by the Foundation, such as benefit concerts and online donations, will raise matching private money for park development.

The mission of the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation is to create a community space inspired by the electrifying music and story of Jimi Hendrix – a gathering place for individuals of diverse backgrounds and ages – to celebrate cultural heritage, experience community pride, and enjoy innovative educational programming in partnership with the neighboring Northwest African American Museum.

In 2006, Seattle Parks and Recreation renamed the 2.5-acre neighborhood space Jimi Hendrix Park, with the goal of turning it into a community gathering space honoring the Seattle-born artist’s extraordinary life and musical legacy.

More information is available at www.jimihendrixparkfoundation.org and on Facebook.
Seattle Parks and Recreation http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/jimi_hendrix/

Below are the three design concepts presented at the last meeting. The final design will likely incorporate elements that were popular from each.