Corner of 12th and E Jefferson

After a year-long wait and much City process, Capitol Hill Housing’s 12th and E Jefferson project successfully received a rezone from the Seattle City Council on December 13th!! On December 15th, we were notified of funding from Washington Works through the WA State Housing Finance Commission. More great news!!

Things are looking good for construction to start at this key intersection in the coming year! 

Project details:

• 40 affordable apartments for neighborhood workers earning up to 60% of area median ($36,000 for a single person, $41,000 for 2-person family)

• 5 stories of one- and two-bedroom apartments

• One level (5,000 sq feet) of commercial spaces designed for local businesses

• Building design and program supported by the local community

Rumor has it that Silver Slice Bakery is considering the vacant King Creole spot (on Cherry, between 29th and 30th Avenues) for their next addition. The owner, Tonyia Smith, is looking at a few other locations as well.  Please send her an email of support at [email protected], or call 206 423 8069.  Thanks!

Yes, there’s two weeks left in December, but if you’ve ever tried to book a last-minute dinner out on New Year’s Eve, you know it’s important to grab that reservation early.

Here’s the scoop on the NYE party at St. Clouds Restaurant:

Join us for St. Clouds New Year’s Eve Party on December 31, beginning at 9:30 and going until they won’t let us order a drink anymore (2 a.m.).We are turning the main dining room into a dance hall and bringing in a fantastic band – Danny Wheetman (of John Denver’s band and Marleys Ghost), Trevor Wheetman (headliner for J-Minus), and special guests, playing music that will MAKE you dance.  The bar is open – all drinks covered in your admission price.  Light snacks followed by a midnight buffet.

Price = $125 per person, includes tax and suggested gratuity.  You don’t even need to bring your wallet, just your dancing shoes and your imbibing arm; a smile might look nice as well.   

Space is limited, so sign up now.  Payment required when you sign up, by credit card or check.

St. Clouds will also be open for early New Year’s Eve dinner, with the last seating at 7:30pm.

Any other Madrona businesses doing something special for New Year’s that demands an early reservation?

Gift exchanges are an office holiday tradition that will never die. It’s too much fun to have an excuse to gift wrap a Chia head. Or a Jesus candle. Or a framed, autographed photo of yourself. But not everybody has an office to celebrate in this holiday season. Leave it to the Stranger to pity the self-employed, under employed and unemployed. The Slog crew is bringing the joy of holiday giving of amazing crap to Central Cinema Thursday night to celebrate the 2010 Slog Happy Gift Exchange:

Besides food, cartoons, and drink specials, we’ll also havePRESENTS! To participate in the gift exchange, you just have to bring a wrapped gift to the party—something old, something new, something you don’t want anymore—and we’ll put ’em all in a pile. Then we’ll draw numbers and everyone will take turns picking a package. There are always interesting things in the mix—cock cozies, fancy bottles of champagne, banana holders (as in a plastic container for fruit, not a man’s thong), porn, mixed tapes, and so much more. Last year I got a Thai cookbook. The year before that I got an autographed photo of Joh posing as Matthew McConaughey.

23rd and Union just can’t get a break. As landowners show signs of turning the four corners around and SPD and county prosecutors make headway on stemming the drug trade in the area, now it turns out there was a dangerous light pole at the intersection. Danger! Danger! High voltage.

The Thanksgiving day death of a dog electrocuted when it stepped on a metal plate near a streetlight in Queen Anne has lead to a process to inspect 20,000 metal utility poles and the discovery of three more electrified poles in the city — one on Capitol Hill, one on First Hill, and one in the Central District — each due to central Seattle’s aging infrastructure.

Here are the locations and the details of the electrified poles that Seattle City Light found in their inspections so far:

• 13th Ave E at East Aloha — 60 to 80 volts — Cause: Deteriorated wires
• Boren at Marion — 90 to 105 volts — Cause: Unknown
• 23rd and East Union— 60 to 80 volts — Cause: Unknown

Each of the lights has been shut down until repairs can be made, according to City Light.

While the exact cause of the escaped voltage is not known for two of the three locations, age appears to be a factor in each as old wiring was to blame on Aloha and the two metal poles involved in the First Hill and Central District locations were both 30 to 40 years old.

The voltage in each of the three locations was potentially dangerous. The Queen Anne dog death involved about 90 volts but even 30 or 40 volts can be lethal to small creatures — including humans.

Another pole with frayed wiring was also found in the High Point neighborhood prior to the discovery of the three latest problem poles.

No word on how far along City Light is in its audit of Seattle’s 20,000 streetlight poles and 10,000 metal vault covers. The department says it plans to have the work completed by at least May but is looking at options to “expedite” the process. In the meantime, you might want to watch your step around our city’s aging infrastructure.

If you are concerned about a specific pole or vault cover, you can contact City Light at (206) 684-3000 or call 911 if the situation is urgent.

Here’s the statement released by City Light documenting their latest status on the situation:

Last week Seattle Superintendent Jorge Carrasco briefed the media and the public on City Light’s plan to inspect 20,000 metal streetlight poles and 10,000 metal “hand holes” (small metal streetlight vault covers). This update is intended to provide a progress report since that briefing.

“So far, we have inspected 270 metal streetlight poles at High Point and GreenBridge developments and have found no additional contact voltage situations at these locations,” says Carrasco. “We will move on to Holly Park and Rainier Vista tomorrow. In addition, we have identified three other individual metal streetlight locations where there was voltage present. These include 13th and East Aloha East, where there was 60 – 80 volts. We found very deteriorated wire. The original cables were installed in the 1920s. Another location was at Boren and Marion, where there was 90 – 105 volts present. This pole is 30 – 40 years old. And, the final location was at 23rd and East Union with 60 – 80 volts from a metal pole that is 30 – 40 years old. There was no indication of the cause of voltage release at the last two metal streetlight poles. We have de-energized the lights until repairs can be made.”

City Light will continue its own inspection efforts and is evaluating options to expedite the original end date for inspection completion in May. City Light will routinely up-date the public on the progress being made with inspections.

Reader SL gives us a detailed report on a series of property crimes that have affected them, which they believe are coming from a neighboring house:

My housemate and I were hoping to alert the neighborhood regarding a series of recent burglaries that have occurred at or in front of our home near 26th S and S King.  On September 15th, our home was broken into, in broad daylight, in full view of the street.  The robbers opened an old living room window (that we’d never been able to get open ourselves, and had to hammer to close after the robbery) from our front porch (!!), and entered our house around 4 or 5 pm.  When my housemate (the homeowner) arrived, the scene looked as if the robbers had been interrupted, as they left a flat-screen television, laptop and other relatively portable electronic items on the floor.  The house had been rummaged through, but not thoroughly.  They made off with a laptop, a watch, an iPod, and an expensive digital camera.  The police took prints and were sympathetic, but not hopeful.  Several days later, the corner drug dealer (there is a drug house – up for foreclosure sale – filled with known gang members only two doors away) taunted my housemate as she padlocked our fence, saying: “What? You afraid you’re gonna get robbed again?”  The occupants of this house were noted to be standing around, looking toward our house when my roommate arrived on the day of the first break in.

A second incident occurred shortly after Thanksgiving, while another housemate was moving out.  She left her Zipcar unlocked and unattended for approximately five minutes, while she and a friend entered our house to get a mattress.  In that short amount of time, someone apparently walked by and snatched a large backpack from the Zipcar, containing a wallet/credit cards, a laptop, clothing, and the title to a new vehicle.  The police were called, but they didn’t respond in person to this incident.  (Again, people were observed lingering around the suspect house, and they all turned and went inside when the police were called – loudly – from a cell phone, while standing by the car.)

Last night (December 13th), I returned home from Christmas shopping to find that our house had been thoroughly trashed and robbed yet again.  This time, they got everything they left the first time, and everything that had been replaced.  All bedrooms were tossed completely.  They entered the house from a high bathroom window – that was locked – over our back deck, and climbed into the bathtub to get in.  They took two laptops, three iPods, the flat screen, antique jewelry, wedding jewelry, a highly sentimental box of childhood memories (with zero monetary value), all chargers and cords, liquor, checkbooks, credit cards, a new professional digital camera – and a spare set of keys to the house.  (They left another set of keys that were located in the same drawer as the house keys, so it would seem that they took the time to try out the keys first.)  The police responded in person this time, took photographs and fingerprints, and the list of missing items.  They had little advice or hope to give us.  (They actually suggested that we just get a safe.  For our tv?!)  Obviously, the locks have been changed and we’re taking further security measures and also talking to our realtor.  This is unbelievably frustrating, violating, and traumatic.  We had just begun to feel at ease again, and now we’re wondering if it will ever be safe to leave our house unattended.

The police were told that we suspect the people who live two doors down (they’ve also been caught in person, stealing small items from our porch last year), and their response was, “Oh yeah.  We know that house.”  Great.  Drug activity goes on in broad daylight on our corner and well into the night.  The police don’t really seem to care about it.

We’ve reported it multiple times.  We don’t know if we’ve been targeted because of our intolerance for illegal activity on our corner, or just because we have an older house that seems easier to break into than the new construction and Dwell homes that have gone up recently.  It does seem like our comings/goings were being watched – my housemate is an artist and business owner, who works from home, and they just *happened* to pick the rare moments during both robberies when no one was at home. Other neighbors we’ve talked to since the first robbery have reported car and bicycle thefts in the past year.  Our 80 year-old neighbor has had her home, the house she grew up in – the house that survived her internment during the WWII Japanese “relocations” – repeatedly robbed.  It’s disgusting.  People in our area should be aware, since these thefts haven’t been fantastic enough to make the news. 

Also, since both of our robberies happened when the perpetrators would have been visible to the neighbors and passerby, we’re looking for anyone who may have witnessed anything yesterday (i.e. people loading items over the fence, etc.) or in September.  It is believed, based on specific characteristics, that both home robberies were committed by the same people. 

CDNews recommends that anyone affected by a criminal property become a regular police informant. Watch closely, keep detailed notes, call 911, and tell them everything you see. There’s nothing bad about being a snitch if people can’t keep their hands off of you and your stuff.

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/1011/20101201_Resche

Dec. 14,  6-8 p.m., Drop-in session, JSCEE Room 2750

Dec. 15, 4-7 p.m., School Board work session –Integrated Planning,  JSCEE Auditorium,

Jan. 5, 6 p.m., School Board meeting –Transition Plan introduction, JSCEE Auditorium

Jan. 19, 6 p.m., School Board meeting –Transition Plan vote, JSCEE Auditorium

The Transition Plan for 2011-12, will determine the rules to for  phasing-in of the New Student Assignment Plan. If you have questions regarding data and the plan or want to offer suggestions or comments on the Transition Plan the informal drop-in sessions are the opportunity to meet with staff to share data and information about enrollment trends, options being considered for capacity management across the District. More information can be found: Transition Plan website

December 14, 2010

Sustainable Seattle Hosts Annual Event and Award Ceremony at Hidmo Restaurant

Sustainable Seattle

Phone: +1.206.622.3522
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

SEATTLE — Sustainable Seattle, in collaboration with Sustainable Central District and Pursuit of a Green Planet (POAGP), will hold its Annual Event at Hidmo on Dec. 16, 2010 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. The celebration marks the year’s achievements by Sustainable Seattle and its collaborators and will feature food, entertainment and a silent auction to benefit the organizations.

The evening will be a series of acts that include local calls to action, musical performances, film screenings of Sustainable Seattle videos, artistic displays and performances, awards program winners and a performance by local Hip-Hop act Young & Brave.

Hosting the Annual Event is Hidmo, a community-focused restaurant, lounge and meeting space located in the historic Central District. The venue was selected for its connection to the community it aspires to build and maintain and its wonderful food, service and ambience. This is the second Sustainable Seattle event hosted at Hidmo.

Many organizations and individuals have donated goods and supplies toward Sustainable Seattle’s fundraising goals and they include: Grand Central Bakery, Macrina Bakery, Gelatiamo, Honest Tea, Columbia City Bakery, PCC Natural Markets and Starbucks. Local artists and visionaries also donated gifts and services to the silent auction benefitting Sustainable Seattle and its partner organizations.

For more information on the Annual Event and to reserve tickets, visit www.sustainableseattle.org.

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Sustainable Seattle

Founded in 1991, Sustainable Seattle is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in the Central Puget Sound, nationally and internationally. Sustainable Seattle creates cutting edge products, processes and leadership that propel people and communities forward in reaching sustainability. Sustainable Seattle strives to create healthy communities, economies, and ecosystems by serving as an incubator for emerging people, projects, and ideas, as a convener of diverse citizens and practitioners, and as a catalyst for turning indicators into action

Sustainable Seattle’s mission is to be a positive catalyst and resource for positive change. We accomplish this mission by working with diverse individuals, communities, businesses and government agencies to build awareness, assess progress, and take action on collective sustainability goals.

With a flurry of recent arrests and charges in the Operation Safe Union and Drug Market Initiative efforts to curb the drug trade around 23rd and Union, the legal process has played out for Jamell Webb, a “25-year-old drug dealer affiliated with a violent Seattle street gang” who was caught dealing cocaine at the intersection in August, the Seattle PI reports:

Writing the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Lombardi noted that Webb’s gang – the East Union Street Hustlers – and an affiliated Central District gang, Deuce 8, had been in a bloody feud with several South Seattle gangs.

Webb’s arrest, Lombardi said, “will hopefully serve to deter others who might be similarly inclined to drag neighborhood around 23rd and Union back into its former role as an open-air drug market.”

Prior to Friday’s sentencing, Webb apologized for his actions, which he described as “illegal and reprehensible.”

Operation Safe Union and the Drug Market Initiative have targeted dealers around 23rd and Union for more than one year.

The students at Madrona K-8 will be presenting their winter program this Thursday, December 16, at 7pm, titled: “An Emerald City Winter Wonderland.”

From the Madrona Panther Partners PTSA:

The program is free to all and takes place on the school lunchroom stage. Come support the students in this terrific production being led by teacher Ms. Letta Steward with the support of Mr. Freedom and several staff members.

It’s a close by (and cheap!) family-friendly activity with a Wizard of Oz theme. Anyone planning to attend?