I watched two officers handing out a second round of DMI surveys this afternoon, at first glace they appear to be the same as the original, I imagine as a comparison/follow-up to the original one: http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2009/06/25/dmi-survey
They were left on doorsteps, and I’m near 26th/Alder
It’s now 2010. In just ten or eleven years the south end of the neighborhood will have a shiny new light rail station that will give them a less than five minute ride to downtown and back (or a longer ride over to the east side if you’re into that kind of thing).
Sound Transit is continuing with the preliminary design of the station that will sit in the I-90 right-of-way between 23rd Avenue and Rainier Avenue, right at the entrance to the Mt. Baker Tunnel. The latest drawing shows a center-platform station with overhead protection from the rain.
Due to space restrictions, the station will be sited closest to 23rd, with elevators, escalators, and stairs to get down to the level of the station. On the west side, it will connect with Rainier via a 600 foot long ramp to get down to street level, providing access to the #7 bus route. Sound Transit is actively exploring ways to brighten up the area below the underpass there to make it more inviting for pedestrians.
Space is being made on both ends of the station for bicycle storage, as the station intersects with the popular bike route to and from the east side.
Among the issues that Sound Transit is still wrestling with is how to protect riders from the noise and chaos of the freeway. The platform sits right in the middle of ten lanes of traffic, so they’re looking for ways to use landscaping and/or physical barriers to help deflect some of the traffic noise.
Final design is scheduled to begin next year. Although construction on the overall East Link project will begin in 2013, construction on the I-90 portion may not begin until much later in the decade due to goals to keep the I-90 center carpool lanes open as long as possible. The state Department of Transportation also won’t allow Sound Transit to operate on the bridge until the complete connection to Bellevue is made, eliminating any chance to get early service to and from downtown and Mercer Island.
Sound Transit is actively seeking community comment to help drive their designs. You can email your ideas or concerns to [email protected].
We just saw that the gas pumps at the 23rd & Cherry AM/PM are taped off, and the cashier tells us its due to a flaky new computer system.
They got the new computer installed last week, and it’s been giving them a weeks-worth of problems, including today’s total shutdown. A technician was being called but they weren’t sure when it would be fixed.
Your alternatives:
Justice Is No Game: A Briefing on Washington’s 3-Strikes Law from FIX 3 STRIKES on Vimeo.
Since the early 1990s, Paul Rivers, Stonney Rivers, and David Conyers have been serving sentences of 777 years, 77 months, and 77 days With No Possibility of Release for crimes classified in the lowest quarter of criminal seriousness under Washington law.
All are members of the same family. David was sentenced at 21.
Not one of these men has any conviction for a crime classified under state law as a Serious Violent Offense. In fact, the state’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission recommended that the legislature remove Robbery 2 – and consider removing Assault 2 — from the list of 3-Strikes crimes in 2001. These are the crimes these men’s 3-Strikes sentences rest on. King County Prosecutors no longer ask for the 3-Strikes sentence in cases like these.
In this film, these three men and several other current and former 3-Strikers and their family members speak on what led them to where they are today and about the law and its impact on them. King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, and Senator Adam Kline also speak. As does Carolyn Walden, a resident of the Central Area who was a victim of a strike crime and voted for the law – and does not believe in life imprisonment for these crimes.
There has been legislation to reform this law for over a decade. Legislators who support this reform have said it will happen only with a public outcry.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s the news big and small from Seattle’s East Precinct:
The city planning department has posted a land use application that asks for a rezone of the parking lot owned by First Place School, which operates their programs in an old synagogue building in the heart of the Central District. The lot was purchased from the city for $1.9 million in 2001. UPDATE: This post has been updated. Location information for the facility has been obfuscated due to privacy concerns.
The requested change from L1 to L3 would allow increased height and density on the block:
The application notes that the use would stay as a parking lot for now.
We placed a call to First Place to get details on their reason for the rezone, but have not yet heard back. We’ll update this story if we do.
Lions, tigers, and sustainability, oh my!
Follow the yellow brick road to the Lake Washington Girls Middle School 6th and 7th grade production of The Wizard of Oz, this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Student-designed and -crafted set…
Community-made recycled- and re purposed-materials costumes, complete with converse of many colors…
Familiar songs and (a very iconic!) dance sure to get you on your feet…
Bring the whole family. Tell your friends. All residents of the great Emerald City are welcome!
MOHAI, 2700 24th Ave E
Thursday, March 18, 7pm
Friday, March 19, 7pm
Saturday, March 20, 1pm
$10 suggested donation.
Here’s all the excitement from the streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:
March 25 Community Forum: Contract with City & Broadstripe Hurts South Seattle Neighborhoods
The advocacy group Upgrade Technology for Underserved Neighbors (UTUN) announces a forum Thurs. March 25, 2010 5:30 – 7 PM at the Central Area Senior Center, regarding a contract between internet and cable provider Broadstripe and the City of Seattle. UTUN includes multiple south Seattle neighborhoods who advocate for immediate improvement to substandard cable and internet services in certain areas. If you live in the Beacon Hill, Leschi, Judkins Park or Central District neighborhoods, please join us when City of Seattle and Broadstripe officials report on the 2010 Work Plan that is designed to monitor and document improvements for local cable and internet services. The forum is at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. South 98144, 5:30 – 7 pm. Refreshments are provided by a key sponsor Central Area Development Association (CADA).
Speakers include Broadstripe’s recently appointed Northwest General Manager David Irons and City of Seattle Chief Technology Officer Bill Schrier.
The UTUN group started in 2008 and works closely with the City of Seattle and Broadstripe for specific improvements to internet and cable services in underserved neighborhoods. The group uses the term “underserved” to describe sections of neighborhoods where the sole technology services available is determined by a contractual arrangement between the City of Seattle and most recently, the company Broadstripe (formerly Millenium). UTUN leaders contend that this arrangement originated as a type of redlining. The term redlining originated in the 1960s – the practice of denying or denying access, or increasing the cost of, services such as banking, insurance, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined areas. UTUN seeks special attention for improvements and changes as soon as possible. The underserved neighborhoods are sections of the Central District, Leschi, Judkins Park, Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill.
For more information about the forum, or to receive email updates, please contact Tracy Bier at 206-227-2369 or [email protected]. UTUN supporters and members include Leschi Community Council, Central Area Development Association (CADA), 30th Ave. S. Neighbors, 28th Ave. Neighbors, representatives from the King County Council, and Beacon Hill neighbors.