On Friday, September 18th, people all across the nation will take to the streets to turn car spaces into people spaces. In Seattle, Feet First is leading the charge by making it relatively cheap and easy to get street use and meter permits.  On Capitol Hill, People’s Parking Lot (a.k.a. the Keith Harris Conspiracy) and the Capitol Hill Community Council have stepped up to make Park(ing) Day 2009 even better. 

People’s Parking Lot and the Capitol Hill Community Council are hosting the first ever Park(ing) Day Seattle Prize.  A group of local journalists (is Central District News interested?), unemployed artists, and other disreputable neighborhood-types will be recruited to the judging caravan, which will wind its way throughout Seattle in search of the finest park to grace a parking spot. The winner will receive a super-secret fabulous trophy and an equally fabulous prize.  The awards ceremony will take place at 6pm at Park(ing) Day Central Park on 500 E Pine.

Are you tempted by the visions of mini-parks you have dancing in your head?  Do you too wish to be in the running for the fabulous trophy and equally fabulous prize?  If so, please contact elaine(at)feetfirst.info to register your park and to receive all the necessary paperwork. The deadline for application for a park on the street (filled out forms, plans and all) is August 20th, no exceptions.  If you have any questions about Park(ing) Day Central Park or the Park(ing) Day Seattle Prize, please contact Keith at peoplesparkinglot(at)gmail.com.

Tristan Appleberry entered a plea of not guilty this morning in an arraignment hearing. He faces charges of murder in the second degree for the July 22nd shooting of Aaron Sullivan.

According to Neighborlogs intern Lucas Anderson, who was present at this morning’s hearing, it was a routine affair that provided few additional details in the case. Apart from the plea, Appleberry was given a no-contact order for a list of witnesses in the crime. The court judge would also only allow photos from the neck down due to “identity issues.”

King County prosecutors made the for second degree murder due to the difficulty in proving premeditation in the shooting which occurred in front of Appleberry’s home in Leschi. Those charges could be upgraded if additional information comes to light in the case. According to previously filed court documents, the incident was spawned by an ongoing dispute over a girl between friends of Appleberry and the victim.

Appleberry remains in custody at the King County Jail on a one million dollar bail.

Thanks to everyone for the notes and thoughts over the last week. As a commenter said, this really is a case where an online community has contributed to a real-world community, and I and my family have definitely felt that community’s support.

I’m going to be spending this week with family, and then back at work full time next week. In the meantime, please keep up your great contributions when you see neighborhood news happening around you, or if there’s something you just want to chat about with the community. I’ll also be covering news when I can from a distance.

Thanks again,

Scott

An urban fauna alert from parenting e-mail list Madrona Moms:

A word of warning – a very large raccoon just attacked my two small dogs (less than 20 lbs) after I let them out in the backyard to go to the bathroom.(at about midnight). They appear to be okay, but the raccoon actually grabbed one dog and they were rolling around in the yard fighting. We live on 29th between Spring an Marion, and the raccoons appear to be attracted by a neighboring plum tree.

Hopefully neighbors human, canine and procyonid can share the space.

Last night’s second Teahouse Concert was a mellow evening with a surprising sun break for a perfect way to end the weekend. Greta Matassa, her band and Susan Pascal on vibes played a couple sets with songs from her many albums including some tunes by Henry Mancini, Ray Charles and ending with a few tunes by Blossom Dearie.

The final Teahouse Concert will be Sunday, August 23 with Jovino Santo Netos Quintet playing an evening of Brazilian Jazz.

The Teahouse Concerts take place in Judkins Park at 939 25th Avenue South,  98144
www.teahouseconcerts.com

The Teahouse Concert series is supported in part with a smART grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

I like to have a cheat sheet when filling in my ballot. Not necessarily for the big choices like mayor or City Council — those are easy. But when voting for port commissioners, it’s probably best for me to have help. The best guide I’ve found for this election is the Washington State Progressive Voters Guide — it’s got information on all candidates and, of course, lets you know which ones the ‘progressive’ group backs.

Here’s your chance to endorse the endorsements, guides and various other tools available online (and off?).

After travelling ’round the world, BLOOD ON THE FLAT TRACK is playing again right here in Seattle! The Seattle-made documentary about the Rat City Rollergirls has toured film festivals around the US, Europe and Australia, and now returns home for a limited run screening at Central Cinema.

Check us out at CENTRAL CINEMA, August 28 through September 2. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE!

Don’t worry, those DVD’s are coming soon!

Here are a few pictures from this evening’s Teahouse Concert featuring Tangabrazo playing some great old and new tangos and Jaimes Friedgen and Christa Rodriguez doing some dance demonstrations and teaching the neighbors some sweltering tango steps.

This is a very special and intimate venue to see some of Seattle’s top jazz acts, so you definitely won’t want to miss Greta Matassa’s Trio and Susan Pascal tomorrow night.

Tomorrow’s show start at 5:00 with $10 suggested donation.

939 25th Avenue South,  98144

Reservations are recommended:  [email protected]

www.teahouseconcerts.com

The Teahouse Concert series is supported in part with a smART grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

For at least a month, my qwest dsl has been awful. I can connect just fine to my work VPN, but most things “web related” are slow- or no-loading.

It’s so bad I almost want to go back to broadstripe. Is anyone else having problems?

At 25th and cherry last night, we had one of our first DMI busts. Officer Murray told me that this person was “on the list”, presumably meaning they were present at the intervention meeting Thursday night.

Is anyone aware of other arrests? It would be nice if there was a way to track candidate success rates.

In any rate, keep calling 911 when you see activity (in this case it looked like dealing combined with solicitation, though I’m not sure what charges have been filed).