With tomorrow being Earth Day and all, how about a small thing you can do to help out the environment? Our friend Stephan at The Twilight Exit (a CDNews sponsor) sent us this note about what you can do with all of those pesky old rechargeable batteries that are not supposed to go in the trash:

Hey Guys,

For a while now i’ve found it hard to recycle my old rechargeable batteries.  Especially the ones for power tools.  After a bit of digging i found a company that sent me a kiosk to toss old rechargeable batteries and cell phones into.  when it’s full I just pack it up in it’s own cool little box and ship it for free via UPS.  Once it gets to them they simply send me a new empty box.  I’ve put one of those inside the Twilight Exit.  

If you feel that it’s noteworthy please pass it on.  would love to see this box fill up rather than a land fill.

So now you can say “Honey, I’m going to go save the earth”, drop your old batteries in the box, and also enjoy a drink or two at the Twilight. Delicious!

Got or need extra starts, divisions, bulbs and/or garden supplies? Come share at the FREE CD Spring Plant Exchange this Saturday, rain or shine, 10am-2pm at the Copymaster parking lot at 20th & E Union.

You don’t have to bring something in order to take something: no one keeps score. Our goal is to have fun, exchange plants, share gardening tips, and have nothing left at 2pm.

Also available: information on the May 22nd CD Garden Tour, the 2011 CD Public Art Project and Smile Train fundraiser (last year we raised enough for one life-changing cleft palate surgery, huzzah!!)

Questions? Post a comment and we’ll respond.

We wish you a happy April Tuesday from the streets of Seattle:

Last summer we reported on how neighbors around Plum Tree Park were upset with the illegal activity that took place within its heavily wooded perimeter. The city came in and fixed that after repeated requests from those neighbors, and now that Spring is here it’s cool to see the final result.

We happened by on our dog walk yesterday and found the namesake plum tree in full bloom and new plants starting to take root along the retaining wall and pathways the city added. But the biggest change came from the removal of the dense trees along the front edge, and now you can actually see that there’s a nice children’s play area sitting in the middle of the park.

Here’s the before and after:

Happy Monday from Seattle’s East Precinct:

April 19, 2010

Sustainable Seattle Launches Dream a Sound Future-a Dream and Design Competition

Sustainable Seattle

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

SEATTLE–Sustainable Seattle, in collaboration with Sustainable Cascadia, SCALLOPS, Seattle Climate Partnership, Washington Lawyers for Sustainability, Feet First, Great City, and Seattle Parks & Recreation is pleased to announce the launch of Dream a Sound Future, a dream and design competition inviting members of community to think creatively and dream up a vision of a sustainable future forSeattle and the Central Puget Sound.

Far from a standard design competition, Dream a Sound Future calls on all levels of community tohelp create a vision and define the key transition steps in achieving that vision by the year 2100. In conventional or unconventional ways, through paintings, performance arts, architectural models or artificial intelligence, the only limitations are the participants’ own imaginations in how they choose to articulate and present their own vision of a sustainable future.

Sustainable Seattle is also pleased to announce that there are still slots open for the K-12 Challenge portion of the Dream program.  The K-12 challenge is open to school age young people who have a vision for what their future will look like in the greater Puget Sound region.  Students are encouraged to participate as individuals or teams in open ended designs or projects.  There will be prizes, recognition, accolades, and most importantly the chance to see their vision put into practice by inclusion into a Library of Dreams that will inspire and educate future dreamers.

The launch event for Dream a Sound Future Challenge is being held at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse on April 29, 2010 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  There is no fee and participants are encouraged  to donate whatever is their comfort as we will not let price be a barrier to attending this first annual event.  There will be food, fun and music and a special guest speaker, Dr. Sharon E. Sutton.

Dr. Sutton is an internationally recognized leader in the field of education and innovative teaching methods.  She has a focus in architecture and community development and her research has received funding and recognition from a wide range of organizations including the Ford Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Registration for K-12 Challenge is open now and due May 5, 2010 with a possibility of extension if needed. Further information about the competition is available at www.sustainableseattle.org.

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Sustainable Seattle

Founded in 1991, Sustainable Seattle (S2) is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in the Central Puget Sound, nationally and internationally. S2 creates cutting edge products, processes and leadership that propel people and communities forward in reaching sustainability.  S2 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 advance an integrated vision of urban sustainability by measuring progress, building driving coalitions and undertaking key initiatives. 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.

We’ve combed through the last month of police reports on SeattleCrime.com and assembled this list of recent events:

Robberies:

• The report has been released from the incident two weeks ago where a man was stabbed outside his home near 28th & Jackson. Here’s the details of what happened:  

At approximately 0145 hours, V/ grabbed his keys from inside his apartment located at 312 28th Ave S Apt #D and walked down the exterior stairs to his mail box. The apartment mail boxes are located on the north side exterior of the apartment complex. Upon reaching his mail box, an unknown B/M, 30’s, 6’3″, 200 lbs (stocky build), bald, wearing a black jacket, black t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers approached V/ stating, “Give me your money, give me your money.” V/ looked down at the suspect’s wrist as he approached him and saw what appeared to be a pocket knife in his left hand. V/Brown told the suspect, “Na I don’t have any,” and then the suspect slashed his knife, in a swinging motion towards the head of V/Brown. V/Brown attempted to block the strike from the suspect with his right arm causing a small laceration on the outside of his right wrist. V/Brown turned and ran back up the stairs to his apartment and when doing this he noticed that the suspect fled on foot to the N/E of the listed location.

• A couple was walking eastbound from 18th & Pike just after midnight on 3/29 when they passed three males and one of them knocked one of the victims to the ground and demanded his wallet. Another suspect tried to take the other victim’s purse and hit her in the head with a chain when she resisted. Suspects were all white males, 20s.
• At 8:30pm on March 13th, a woman had just gotten off the bus and was walking near 29th & Marion when a man demanded her purse, pulled it off her shoulder, and pushed her to the ground. He and another man ran off northbound, described as black males, 20s, 6′ tall, and wearing dark clothing.

Assaults:

• A 44 year old woman was crossing Union at 23rd when she got into an argument with a 44 year old man. The woman fell down and the man escalated the situation by producing a knife which he put up to her neck and said “Bitch, I’ll kill you” and accused her of being a snitch. A search for the suspect turned up negative.
• On April 3rd at 31st & Denny, a man was assaulted by a person he had known since high school. Their relationship took a bad turn recently due to a lawsuit filed by the suspect, but the suspect still stops by the victim’s house on occasion, and this one turned into an argument where the victim was accused of letting “his bitch run him”. The victim was hit in the eye and knocked into a wall by the suspect.
• A mother assaulted a school bus driver at 26th & Pine on April 5th when the driver refused to let her on the bus to get her kids (bus policy says no parents are allowed on the bus). The kids had phoned mom to complain about the bus driver yelling at them.
• A kid at Madrona K-8 was assaulted by another kid who told him “I hate Mexicans”
• A woman was invited by an acquaintance to go back to his house and get high. She did so, smoked some marijuana, declined the crack that was also offered, and then relieved her munchies by eating some food at the kitchen table. The suspect became enraged for unknown reasons and threw her to the ground and dragged her to the door to throw her out. The victim sought assistance at a neighbor’s house and called police. 
• On March 25th, two neighbors in an apartment building near 22nd & Jefferson got into a fight over noise or requests for cigarrettes/help with chores, depending on which party tells the tale. A fire extinguisher was used by one party to end the fight, creating a smokescreen in the hallway and requiring other residents to leave the building until it had dissipated.
• A drunk man was assaulted by several others outside Waid’s nightclub on March 29th at around 2:30am
• A man got off the bus at Yesler & Boren on March 17th at 2:00am and was walking north on 12th from Yesler when his path was blocked by two suspects. One asked him for money, and then demanded he hand over the contents of his backpack. One suspect then pushed the victim to the ground and hit him in the face, while the second grabbed his wallet from his back pocket. Both suspects ran off southbound. 
• A female Washington Middle School student was beat up by a group of 3-4 female students from Madrona K-8 in front of WMS on 3/24. Potential suspects were identified by police, but couldn’t be located at their homes.

See Jonah’s recent story on SeattleCrime.com that maps the robbery hotspots around Seattle.

What a perfect situation for a gorgeous grilling-worthy spring day. We walked over to Madison Valley today to see how much longer it would be until the new Bill the Butcher shop opened up, and were pleased to see that they were already open and starting their second day.

They’re located right in the heart of the Madison Valley business district, just west of City People’s, and have a full line of fresh organic meats of every cut imaginable. We saw all sorts of steaks, ribs, lamb shanks, sausage, and pork. The butcher told us that all of their meat is grass fed and locally sourced, mostly from western Washington.

Beware that this is not cheap grocery store meat. We picked up two rib-eyes for later tonight and paid $25 total. Stay tuned for a full report on how they turn out.

Bill the Butcher is open noon to 7pm daily, at 2911 E. Madison. They’re also hiring for retail sales if anyone is looking for a neighborhood job.

Update: The steaks were superb! A bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a perfect medium well rare grilling created the tastiest steaks we’ve ever had at CDNews World HQ. Highly recommended.

We just corraled 2 dogs, small terrier or jack russell types here on 19th Avenue near Cherry.   one carmel and white  the other black and white.  Collars but no tags. Would rather not call Animal Control, so hopefully someone here can assist!  Please call 206.713.4412

Seattle Times has details on the sentence handed down to Rey Davis-Bell, the man found guilty of the murder of Philly’s Cheesesteak owner Degene “Safie” Dashasa in 2008:

A 25-year-old Seattle man who was convicted of killing a Central District restaurant owner in 2008 was sentenced Friday to just over 123 years in prison.

Rey Davis-Bell was convicted in February of first-degree murder for shooting Degene “Safie” Dashasa in his restaurant on Jan. 30, 2008. He was also convicted of three counts of attempted first-degree murder for shooting at two other people in the restaurant and firing gunshots into the window of a former girlfriend’s apartment earlier in the day.

Rey Alberto Davis-Bell in the courtroom after his February homicide conviction