Happy Cinco de Mayo from the streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:

CDNews reader MJ sent us this photo of Nickelsville breaking camp at 25th & King:

We spoke by phone with Fred who is one of the Nickelsville organizers, who said that they’re heading south to 129th S. & MLK S. near Skyway.

We asked Fred whether the camp had a good stay in the Central District. “It was real nice. The church that sponsored us was great and very helpful.”

Nickelsville had been at 25th & King since early February, having moved from their previous location in the neighborhood at 21st & Fir.

There is a car vs. school bus accident at the intersection of Massachusetts and 23rd Ave.    It is a bus on its way to Kimball Elementary.  It was south bound on 23^rd and turning east bound onto Massachusetts.     A few children reported bumping their heads but all the children appear to be fine physically (at least initially) but a little frightened.  There are many fire fighters and police on the scene.  They are calm and dealing calmly with the children.  The bus driver DOES NOT WANT ANY HELP and is sending people of offer assistance away.  A witness on the corner was not clear if the bus or the car ran the red light, but he though perhaps it was the car.

The May meeting of the Madrona Community Council last night was a long but fruitful one, as the council and attendees discussed proposals for allocating the funding provided by longtime Madrona residents Martin and Mimi Kraus for parks and recreation.

Mimi, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 98, left $50,000 in her will to be used to benefit park and/or recreation projects in Madrona. The April issue of Madrona News has a story written by two of the Krauses’ neighbors about the couple’s history and love of the outdoors, which conveys how important it was to them to sustain the outdoor spaces in the community.

At last night’s meeting, several proposals were presented, ranging from supporting ongoing projects like the Madrona Woods restoration, to revitalizing Madrona Beach, to adding an indoor bathroom and activities to the park shelter, to installing artwork at the playfield. The text of all the proposals will be posted on the council’s website shortly, and the council will vote to decide on the awarding of funds at next month’s meeting.

We’ll be sure to report how the money is allocated next month. Either way, it’s encouraging to know that one or more projects in Madrona will get a boost, especially given that the Seattle Parks Department is low on funding.

The global financial recession created a strong impact on every industry and was the same with solar energy industry too. The demand for solar energy dropped down by 17% in 2009. This is a harsh reality faced by the energy industry, as its getting slowly resurrected from recession. The global financial recession had created a decrease in the demand for energy, after a long time. This had put a temporary restraint on the growth of power industry, but the worldwide long term energy demands is increasing now, and is anticipated to become double by 2050. With the rise in concerns related to climatic change, the prospects of solar energy industry is much more than any other power industry. Experts say that the recession was a blessing in one way or another, as it helped may companies to focus on long-term strategic plans to strengthen their solar energy products, and enter the energy market with more confidence than before. In the latest report published by Energy Information Administration (EIA) the improving US economy is focusing more on lucrative renewable energy resources to meet the day to day needs. This is a great boon for solar energy industry and other renewable energy resources. On examining the information provided by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) we can find that the U.S. trade association has almost 500 solar energy investment companies In terms of the solar electric power installed, till fiscal 2008, Germany ranked first, with Spain, Japan and U.S following Germany. But in fiscal 2008, Spain outdid Germany in the number of new installations. The number of solar PV installations around the world reached 5.95GW in 2008, showing a growth of 110%. There are many environmental advantages of using solar energy. You can generate electricity from solar energy without any unwanted air or water emissions, noise or vibrations. This doesn’t create any impact on your habitat and doesn’t have any environment polluting waste products. This energy resource doesn’t have any fuel risk, like fossil ad nuclear fuels. You don’t have to worry about the volatility of fuel prices or the risks of delivery. Although the amount of sunlight received and its timing can vary, you can have a properly designed and configured reliable system that can help in providing lasting and electric supply at a fixed price. Unlike other energy resources solar power generating system can be conveniently placed at the customer’s site, as sunlight is an energy which is universally available. Thus solar power reduces the expense and energy loss associated with the transmission and distribution from large plants to end users. For people who seek environment friendly energy resource, solar energy is the most perfect choice, equally applicable for rural and urban resources. Solar energy projects have many subsidy programs. Most of the governments support the solar energy projects with subsidy programs. You can know more about the benefits of using solar energy, for power generation, from the websites and articles from leading energy research firms. Or you conduct a web search for the keyword ‘News On Renewable Energy, for latest research journals and articles.

We’ve been short on neighborhood breakfast options ever since we lost MezzaLuna last summer. But as you may have seen from their ads running on the site, The Twilight Exit (CDNews sponsor) is gearing up to fill your weekend brunch belly.

They’ll be serving hormore-free and free-range items on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am until mid afternoon. And the chef that’s fixing it all up will be a familiar face to the neighborhood: Brenda-Lee Neuweiler-Casas, who has operated a popular catering service and hosted the yearly block party on 20th Avenue.

Here’s items from the menu, which is also posted as a PDF at left:

• The Traditional 2 Eggs any style with House Potatoes, Choice of Protein & Toast…$8
• The Smokin’ Salmon House Smoked Salmon in a 3 Egg Scramble topped with Cream Cheese, Fresh Herbs and Lemon Zest served with House Potatoes & Fresh Seasonal Fruit…$11
• The Pea Patch 3 Egg Veggie Du Jour Scramble with House Potatoes, choice of Protein & Toast…$10
• The Onassis 3 Egg Scramble with Spinach, Onions Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta Cheese Served with House Potatoes choice of Protein & Toast…$10
• The Logger House Cubed All Natural Chicken Fried Sirloin & Country Gravy served with House Potatoes, Eggs any style & Toast…$10
• The Sawmill House Made Southern Style Biscuits covered with Sausage or Country Gravy, 2 Eggs any style & choice of Protein…$9
• The Lower Eastside House Made Slow Simmered Corned Beef sautéed with Red & Poblano Peppers, Redskin Potatoes, Herbs and Spices served with 2 Eggs any style & Toast…$10
• The Edith Piaf Thick cut French Bread served with All Natural Vermont Maple Syrup, Fresh Seasonal Fruit & choice of Protein…10
• The Hippie Organic Vanilla Yogurt topped with Granola & Seasonal Fruits…$7

It all starts this Saturday, May 8th.

We here at @cdnews can’t wait to try the B&G.

This afternoon as I was walking past JayWalk, the tiny gallery and gift shop that sells jewelry and locally made arts and crafts, I noticed a “For Lease” sign in the window.

A peek at their website revealed the news:

JayWalk is closing at the end of May 2010. The arrival of the owner’s son, Gus, has re-prioritized her life dramatically! Amy and Gus are on to new adventures now…thanks for five wonderful years.

I caught up with Amy Bush, the sole proprietor of JayWalk, who confirmed the closing date will be May 16.

“I’ve been there five years and had a wonderful, wonderful time,” Bush said.

You can still pick up JayWalk’s unique wares during the next two weeks. Through May 9, everything is 10% off. From May 12-16, local art will be 10-15% off and everything else will be 10-50% off.

It will be interesting to see what moves in next, as the storefront is a compact 240 square feet.

It’s already a rough month for businesses on 34th, with Precocious Toys on the corner of 34th and Cherry also shutting its doors this past week.

At the beginning of last night’s forum on neighborhood relationships, the moderator asked everyone to give their opinion on where things stand in the neighborhood: Improving, Stuck, or Getting Worse. The consensus was just slightly on the positive side of stuck. Of course the reasons for those feelings varied dramatically according to the individual, but the general feeling was while there’s some good things happening and some bad, there’s a lack of community coordination and cohesion that prevents us from making good forward progress without long-time residents feeling trampled in the process..

Here’s a few quotes from people who spoke:

• “I think we’ve lost the culture of the Central Area, and now we need to redefine what it is. We need to work together in order to pull it together”
• “Everybody’s a member of the community. Not just one group. When you move in you need to learn the history. First find out what’s going on, then find out how you can help.”
• “People have been less responsive since the recession hit. It’s harder to get people involved [in neighborhood activities]”
• “There’s a principle and it’s called respect. We have no respect for each other and that’s the problem.”

The room full of people also broke out into four groups to talk through issues in specific areas of the neighborhood:

17th & Yesler: Focusing on previous disputes over Casa Latina’s arrival in the neighborhood, participants in the group said it was “congenial” and “great.” Of course it would be hard for anyone to complain since none of the predictions of roving bands of day workers came true.

28th & Jackson: Leschi neighbors talked a lot about gentrification, crime (and how it can be overblown), and got to know the owner of the corner store on the corner across from Flo Ware Park. The discussion seemed positive, with one participant saying “I was moved when people started to share how they felt” about those issues.

23rd & Union: Composed of business owners and nearby residents, the group took concrete steps to restart the old Union Business Group and try to build a tighter-knit community there. One key goal was to build a community “where its members know each other, welcome each other, understand roots of the community.”

22nd & Yesler: Focused on the controversial felon housing project, a lot was said, often passionately, but neither side felt like any progress was made. Residents around the project feel like the ill will in the neighborhood is very deep and potentially insurmountable, and project proponents said that “it was just like the previous meetings. Right now people are still emotional, arguing going back and forth.”

From the cold, breezy streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:

Intended Consequences: A special panel discussion Thursday, May 6  6:30-9 p.m.

Pigott Auditorium

Since late March, Intended Consequences has appeared at Seattle University. The exhibit, consisting of 25 documentary images, movingly depicts the daily challenge and inner conflict experienced by Rwandan women who were raped during the 1994 genocide and had children as a result.

Related to that exhibit, will be a panel discussion including:

• Jonathan Torgovnik, the exhibit’s creator and internationally acclaimed Newsweek photographer, as well as co-founder of Foundation Rwanda;
• Howard Schultz, chairman, president, and CEO of Starbucks Coffee Company, who is working with Rwandan coffee growers to improve their economy;
• Jean-Baptiste Ganza, S.J., visiting professor and MBA student at SU, restorative justice scholar, and priest at the Centre Christus, a Jesuit cultural and spiritual center in Kigali; and
• Janet Nkubana, co-founder and president of Gahaya Links, a Rwandan handicrafts organization that empowers local rural women to achieve economic stability.

This thought-provoking evening, hosted by Dean David Powers of the College of Arts and Sciences, is free and open to the public. A dessert reception will follow.

In the days leading up to the presentation, the exhibit will be on view during regular hours (Wednesday-Saturday, 1:30-6 p.m. in the Hedreen Gallery of the Lee Center for the Arts). On the day of the event, the gallery will be open to the public until 5 p.m. and will reopen for viewing immediately following the event until 10 p.m