You have until 9 PM tonight to add your picks to the 2009 CHS Endorsements. We're conducting an open endorsement process -- anybody with a CHS account can add their vote for candidates and issues on the ballot. Participation has been great but we'd love to have a few more voters to solidify the endorsements. We'll tally results and share totals this weekend.

Last year's Capitol Hill Garage Sale was a modest success with some first-time lessons.

Good stuff:

• There were about 20 sales across the Hill.
• Organization was light and simple. Framework consisted of three basic items: a date to rally around, a community map and a web site to unite them all.
• People cleaned out their closets and found some treasures.

Bad stuff:

• Organizing the community spaces took a lot of work.
• One of the community spaces let us down.

This year, we're expanding our horizons while still keeping things simple. CHS is talking with Sustainable Capitol Hill about co-organizing the 2009 event. Basic framework will remain the same but having more people involved will make things like the community space actually work this year. Hopefully.

Still working out a few details -- but we're hoping to gel on date soon. CHS' unilateral suggested date is Saturday, June 13th. Share your thoughts and ideas on that and the rest below. Oh, and if you can't wait for June, you can always put the new...

I saw this 'monument' on my walk to the gym today, so I stopped to read it. I'd figured there was something in the news that I had missed.

But no... the 'monument' was set up outside of The Saint to bring attention to an organization called The Service Board.

There were many people stopping to look and read. The Service Board looks like a great organization, check it out.

From their brochure: "A lot of high-schoolers across Seattle lack positive role models. At the Service Board, we're ready to step up to the task. Our locally organized team of compassionate mentors give students the support and the setting to be who they want to be.

Call 206.324.7771 or visit www.theServiceBoard.org

It's cold. It will probably snow. All sorts of nuttiness out there. Keep each other warm with your Capitol Hill comments and observations. Give me flake reports, people. Here's the first I've seen -- 4 hours ago.

UPDATE 8:22P: Now that it's snowing for realz, send in your pics or post them in the comments below (you can use basic HTML or just include the URL and the site will create a link)

Ice Jimi

10-foot snowthing in Cal Anderson

Bobby Morris snow games

12:28a - Sticking and staying

UPDATE:
The totals are in and the CHS endorsements for the 2009 fall election are official. We'll write up the endorsements in another post but you can see the vote totals blow. Thanks for your votes, delegates.

Original Post:
This should be interesting. Each of you has been given a paper envelope. Please proceed to your favorite chair and don't open it. Inside, you won't find this Web page. That paper stuff is your real life King County ballot. Put it in a safe place.

This page is home to the 2009 fall election CHS Endorsement Polls. The goal is to give the CHS community a say in the endorsement process. Because we have registered accounts, we're one step closer to making online polls more than Web traffic popularity contests. But one step might not be enough. I've yet to run an online poll process that didn't produce hiccups, screw-ups and cheats. Expect some of each here. That's politics.

Here is how the polls work:

• Registered CHS accounts may vote in each poll once
• Polls close Friday night at 9 PM...
(more)

Kids wearing black with odd makeup asking for handouts. Looks like the Capitol Hill Community Council has started a new tradition with its Capitol Hill Halloween Walk. Between 6 and 8 PM on All Hallow's Eve, Broadway businesses will be handing out candy -- you can be part of the fun by joining the group gathering at Seattle Central or make your own mini-parade. Just look for these signs to find participating businesses.

Download PDF

Here's more from the Council:

We plan to gather in front of the Broadway Performance Hall (Seattle Central Community College). The walk will start at 6pm at the college and will proceed down the west side of Broadway to E. Roy Street then back up the east side and end at Cal Anderson Park by 8pm. Community children and their parents will lead the walk. Also joining us will be representatives from the East Precinct of the Seattle Police Department & the Sisters of the Mother House of Washington.

We encourage businesses on Broadway to decorate and participate in the Walk by handing out packaged candy between the hours of 6 and 8pm on Saturday, October 31st (Halloween).

Capitol Hill puts on a wild show for Halloween. With the holiday falling on a Saturday night this year, it should be quite a ride. Cool to see an event for the young and young at heart catching on in the heart of the Hill. After 8p, the grown-ups can have it all to themselves while the kiddies invade the prime CHS Trick-or-Treat Zone.

I spent the past week in Barcelona, jealous of all their great pedestrian-only streets.  Lots of the streets are so old and narrow that they’re pedestrian-only by default, but some are wide enough that they could easily have been converted into just another auto dominated street, and many were.  But luckily many were not, including the most famous, Las Ramblas, a 1.4 kilometer long pedestrian boulevard in the heart of the city.  This got me thinking about how much better some of our heaviest used pedestrian streets (North Broadway, Pike/Pine, 15th) could be if they devoted even a little bit more space to pedestrians, instead of the cars that dominate the space today.  Here’s my vision of a Las Rambla-ized Pike Street (from Broadway to 11th).

Pike Street as it looks today

Pike Street with two lanes of traffic replaced with a pedestrian walkway complete with outside seating for Cafe Vita and Quinn's.

Pike Street as it is today

Pike Street La Rambla-ized between Broadway and 11th St.

Unfortunately, in the near future, a change like this to a major street like Pike or Broadway is probably a pipe dream, but there has been talk of closing Nagle Place to cars.  This would be a great use of that barely used street, especially because of the proximity to the coming light rail station and the possibility of relocating the Broadway Farmers Market there.  I was also excited to see that the development on 11th/ Pike included the little retail lined "Mews", definitely a step in the right direction!

In northern towns where 6 inches of snow falling overnight is a regular occurrence, the spring thaw of icy rivers and crusted drifts is called "the break-up." It is mostly celebrated by people who live in these places -- the end of freezing cold, the start of warmer days. There is also an unease about it. Near rivers, giant ice drifts cause blockages and flooding. The retreat of the icy snow drifts reveals lost items, piles of trash and, worse, evidence of crimes and various misdeeds against nature and humanity.

Seattle, it seems, is going through a similar thaw. Where the snow was good fun and an unusual opportunity to play, it also overwhelmed many services -- and our streets and sidewalks. Today, we are left looking at the lost items, the trash and, worse, evidence of crimes and various misdeeds against nature and humanity.

There are many categories to discuss:

• The roads and sidewalks
• Snowplows, salt, sand
• Buses
• Services
• The mayor, the county exec, the governor, etc.
• Citizens
• Businesses
• Communication<...

Next week, there's yet another important public meeting on the CHS Calendar. It's difficult to keep up with all these meetings -- there's another design review tomorrow night and the Capitol Hill Community Council will be discussing plans for a new Pride event on Capitol Hill on Thursday night, for examples -- so you need to pick your battles. Why you might consider this one: the Sound Transit forum will be the first of quarterly meetings to discuss the "transit oriented development" phase of the light rail station project. This is your chance to tell ST, the city and everybody else who shows up what you would like to see the vision -- and rules -- be for how we use the space surrounding the new transportation hub.

Here are some of the ideas mentioned here in CHS comments in the past and a few bonus ideas floating around:

• Community meeting space
• Community performance space
• Expanded Capitol Hill Farmer's Market on a closed Nagle Pl

• Market stalls for craft vendors
• An open roof viewpoint area for views of the...

After you've weighed in on Capitol Hill 2008, leave a note about your plans for 2009.

Get all sorts of interesting ideas from the Capitol Hill Community Council. Vice prez Charlette Lefevre of Broadway's Museum of Mysteries adds another peculiar one to the pile -- Capitol Hill currency:

We like it. Especially if it means we get to make a fun poll to choose the new bills.

Thanks to Erik98122, Avitania, Smohundro and Yancy9a for images. Funny money courtesy Festisite.

The best part about living in the future? We are finally able to bring science to bear on the mysteries of the universe. For example: Where is the best trick-or-treating on Capitol Hill?

Zillow is getting a lot of play for this list of the top Seattle neighborhoods for trick-or-treating. Their Science is based on home values, density and walkability factors. It is a good start.

CHS wants the data. And, forget neighborhoods -- we want a forecast down to the city block level. Work on that, Zillow. We know you can do it.

In the meantime, we've deployed an advanced algorithm to create this Halloween trick-or-treating forecast for Capitol Hill. Feel free to call out any additional hot spots in the comments. (And, yeah, long-time readers have seen this map before -- kind of like the costume we drag out year after year.)

View CHS Halloween Map in a larger map

Climbing Originally uploaded by Aghman

UPDATE: Sunday 4:45 PM

• Seeing lots of search queries bringing people to site looking for updates and advice on road conditions. Please add a note if you have a second to share what you know. Updating the update: Here are two votes for I5 vs. 99 once you do make it down from the Hill -- Katelyn Hackett from Seattlest and WSDOT. Also, Madison is probably safest bet to I5.
• Update: Coming back from Sea-Tac? Southern approach to the Hill is advised in comments below. Take Rainier to 12th or 14th for a more gradually sloped approach to Capitol Hill, then work your way toward home from the top.
• Sea-Tac is a disaster. Making a few calls to see if the Madison to I5 route along the south side of the Hill is doable for anybody braving it.
• Metro says they'll be at half capacity again on Monday.
• City has updated its safety and services info like trash/recycling.
• Seattlest's MvB lives covered the lastest storm's impact on CHS from end to end in this photo essay.
• There are...

Some highlights from this second Thursday's Blitz Capitol Hill Arts Walk.  Live music at some of the venues this time:  Katherine Hepburn's Voice  at Cupcake Royale (7 pm),(KHV broke up! no band for Cupcake Royale!), Reji Lefleur at Retail Therapy (5 pm) and Lushy at Fetherston Gallery (6 pm). Note that  Seattle Asian Art Museum provides free admission during Blitz (5 pm to 8 pm). A few samples of what you'll see this month and a map of all the venues, below.

Maria Toro at Retrofit

Marion Resur at Caffe Ladro

Elizabeth Jameson at Fetherston

Monday is the deadline for community suggestions to name the two new parks being built on Capitol Hill. An e-mail from Capitol Hill Community Council president Jennifer Power spells out the parks department rules:

The Park Naming Committee is comprised of one representative designated by the Board of Park Commissioners, one by the Chair of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee, and one by the Parks Superintendent. Criteria the committee considers in naming parks include: geographical location, historical or cultural significance, and natural or geological features. A park may be named for a person no longer living (deceased a minimum of three years) who made a significant contribution to parks and/or recreation. The Park Naming Committee will consider all suggestions and make a recommendation to the Superintendent, who makes the final decision.

Suggestions should be sent to paula.hoff@seattle.gov

We've written about the naming process several times -- here are most of the suggestions we've seen on CHS. The only one we can endorse is the idea to name the 16th at Howell greenspace after Gray Lambert, the activist nearby Lambert House is named for. Some other ideas from CHS comments:

Summit at John An angled, sloped walkway separating a grassy grade and community garden plots. With skateboard element and picnic area	Howell at 16th A level turf area in the middle of the site, bordered by a collective garden to the north and a crushed rock plaza and allee to the south
Suggestions: Paradise Park Summit Slope Park Wayside Park Rest Stop Park	Suggestions: Shannon Harps Park Desmond Tutu Park Queen City Park Emerald City Park Parkcrest Park Maidan Park Flattop Park Mia Zapata Park Riot Park Seven Hills Park Capitolinus Park Second Hill Park Lambert Gray Park Obama's mother's park

Maybe we're not as tuned into the Hill's history as we should be but there aren't any ideas that seem like obvious choices. Honoring Cal Anderson at the time the Hill's park was being built, wrote community organizer Kay Rood, just seemed right:

State Senator Cal Anderson died of AIDS in August 1995, just as Groundswell was mobilizing on our first big grant project. One of our steering committee members suggested that we name the new park for him, and the idea seemed just right from the very beginning. I never knew Cal, but I know from all I have read and heard that he was an exceptional person. Widely praised for his work ethic and personal integrity, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the disenfranchised. A park in the heart of the 43rd District named for him would bring a pride of place to our community, a new name for a new future. We tucked the idea away. I figured we would know when the time was right to propose it, which was not until we had assurances that there would be a park worthy of Cal’s name.

Other Capitol Hill parks followed a more random path to naming. Tashkent Park, for example, is named for Seattle's sister city in Uzbekistan. There's a Jimi Hendrix Park (not on Cap Hill) -- why not a Kurt Cobain Park?

Some other notables with Capitol Hill ties who died in recent years:

• AIDS activist Bill Lake
• playwright August Wilson
• philanthropist James Ray
• politician and pharmacist George Benson and his wife Evelyn Benson
• peace activist Richard Carbray

So since I'm a history major (and also quite nerdy) I was going through the historic properties of Capitol Hill on the Historic Preservation site, and thought I would make a little google map out of them. All the ones in red means that there is a link to more info about them. If anyone's got info on ones that I don't please enlighten us :)

View Larger Map

So although there are a lot, I was actually surprised by what wasn't on the list. What about the Egyptian Theater, the Oddfellows Building, or the Broadway Performance Hall to name like one block? These are all on the city's list of Historic Properties, which you can check out here, but officially, they are not safe from development yet.

Forget the passive aggressive notes on your neighbor's windshield. Next time, use our handy flier.

EDIT:  We've heard the glue-paste critics out there and are happy to provide this updated flier.  Feel free to use either version.

Oh, and e.e. is more than willing to make a tooth brushing flier if that would be helpful for you, but please provide a valid email address so we know where to send it.

Happy parking!

This week's selections of top CHS comments illustrates what community news is all about -- a few good ideas, some helpful history, an argument or two and, especially, help identifying a type of tree.

Our write-up on the eviction of the Satellite Lounge inspired a few of the old timers to share recent history and what they loved most about the bar.

...hardly that old ...

It is in the up the Hill site of Spags which was bought out by the bus tunnel project. Spags was on Pine below the freeway. Very old gay bar, back to the 1950is. It was suit and tie downtown crowd at happy hour and party central on weekends, friendly, cheap beer, no hard liquor, a tavern....

Spags moved to the hill with a bag of buy out cash and remodeled the building, now site of the Satellite.

When, maybe 15 years ago.... historians speak.

Comment by Mike with curls

Jukebox

One of the things I loved about The Satellite was the jukebox. Once when I was there a Journey song came on ("Don't Stop Believing", I want to say) and the whole place started singing along. Yeah, their food wasn't that great, but it's places like this that help give the neighborhood character (in a good way). Even though I didn't go to the Satellite that often, I will still miss it.

Comment by SS

Meanwhile, CHS super sleuth linder seattle dug up this picture of happier times for the tragic Cadillac that burned on Madison:

looks kinda like this one
I'm not a car expert but here is a (quite similar looking) Cadillac El Dorado at last year's Kirkland Classic Car Festival. Photo by rikrose.

Comment by linder seattle

 

Like the Satellite's closure, the exit of Broadway Grocery from the corner of Harrison and B-way inspired historical analysis and some fond memories:

What kind of grocery store doesn't have milk?

I went in there on a take-out/grocery run, and even though they had wall to wall fridges full of beer and soda, they had no milk. To the back aisle of QFC for me.

I'm not going to miss it. I suppose if you wanted a wide selection of malt liquors it'll be a loss, but I was much sadder to see The Glade (Princess Market) go.

Comment by mattw

let we forget the lamb

Seattle's own sandwich nazi occupied the front of that store for a couple years. He was generally known to make the best lamb in pita sandwich possible. Everything homemade; unbelievably good, but you weren't allowed to take your sandwich off premises. He wanted them eaten immediately, because he was a perfectionist. I believe Rachel Kessler reviewed it for the Stranger. The owner was from Turkey, via Germany and he went bye bye right after 9/11, supposedly deported. The owners of the store said he was in a detention facility for awhile. His food was incomparable -- and I've done a lot of comparing.

Comment by juan

TJ, btw, wins points for funniest comment, 50 characters or less division.

Hmmmm....

So much for 'location, location, location'.

Comment by TJ

The Po Dog Hot Dogs mural controversy thing, if nothing else, is marketing genius. Zeebleoop found a reasonable approach to the 'controversy':

po dog's mural

i see nothing wrong with the mural and it's better than having a bunch of tagger crap scrawled there.

the parking lot owner won't let you use the spaces? then rappel from the roof and paint it anyway. or just paint it in the middle of the night when the parking lot's owner is probably safely tucked in bed.

Comment by zeebleoop

The mysterious YouTube video of a bunny rabbit groove guitaring on Broadway brought out a few eyewitness accounts of a bestial jam session. But which was it? A chicken or a crow?

jammin
i saw him and a guy with a chicken mask were jammin out with some experimental metal stuff for a few hours right next to bank of america.

Comment by madeline

Rabbit and Crow
I saw the rabbit last week, also next to Bank of America on B'way, but accompanied by a crow on drums.

Comment by MK

We liked this happy note regarding the inspirational street style blog, It's My Darlin'

LOVE

Dana, you're awesome! It's people like you who keep me inspired and motivated to dress well.

Comment by Clayton

Coincidence, we're sure. Furries and half of hillku caught on tape?

furry wedding day memories

One of the grooms featured around 3:59 is none other than hillku's very own City Limits!

Comment by final answer

And, finally, some CHS comments are just plain helpful. When CHS wondered what kind of trees had been broken on Pike, DevoDaddy answered.

Type of trees......

Crape Myrtles

Comment by DevoDaddy

Unpaving Paradise, Cafe Metropolitan, Capitol HIll Community Council, The Crescent Lounge and City Market are all co-sponsoring Chill-N-Grill, a block party that happens on East Howell between Olive and Bellevue.  In past years, this same event has been called the Olive-Howell Street Block Party.  Chill-N-Grill on the Hill is a part of National Night Out to encourage communities to reclaim their streets.  I stopped by this block party last year and it was quite fun.  Because there is an incline, many have a good view of the bands.  This year, music will be provided by Mighty Tiger, Eagle Seagull, Norey, Viva la Villain and The Autumn Electric. There may be other parties on the Hill closer to where you live.  We know that neighbors are getting together on 11th Avenue between Harrison and Thomas (thanks Michael Seiwerath for letting us know about it).  If you know of a party, please let us know in the comments.

Quick reminder that tonight is Sound Transit's latest open house to discuss the latest phases of light rail construction on Capitol Hill. The forum comes as work is set to begin on shoring up portions of Interstate 5 in preparation for tunneling that will begin in the area after this summer. The work will close the Olive Way exit from northbound I5 for the next year. We're still collecting questions to pass along to Sound Transit so leave a comment if you aren't able to attend tonight but want to be heard.

Also expect the recent news about sinkholes developing in the area of Beacon Hill's light rail tunneling to be on people's minds. Pulling together a CHS post on that later today.

Tonight's meeting runs from 6 to 8p at Seattle Central's room 1110 in the south end of the main building.

Sound Transit's Olive Way closure announcement:

Olive Way & Pike/Pine Ramps To Close for Tunnel Preparation
Construction is now underway on University Link, a 3.15 mile light rail line extension that will connect downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill and the University of Washington.

In early 2011 the tunnel boring machine that will construct the light rail tunnels between Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle will start digging south from Capitol Hill. Before it reaches the Pine Street area in late 2011, Sound Transit must prepare the ground under I-5 for the arrival of the tunnel boring machine. The construction contract to complete this work will require the temporary closures of the Olive Way off-ramp from northbound I-5, the Cherry Street on-ramp to northbound I-5 and the Pike/Pine reversible HOV ramp to the I-5 express lanes.

Drivers should plan ahead during the closures and expect:
* The Olive Way off-ramp from northbound I-5 will be closed for about one year starting as early as May 18, 2009.
* The Cherry Street on-ramp to northbound I-5 and one lane of northbound I-5 will be closed for about four weeks as early as May 26, 2009. This ramp will also close for about four weeks in Spring 2010.
* While the Cherry Street on-ramp is closed, the Cherry Street entrance to the I-5 express lanes from 5th Avenue will be open to all traffic (currently only open for HOV).
* The Pike/Pine reversible HOV ramp from the I-5 express lanes will be closed for about one year starting in mid-June 2009. Buses will still be able to access the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.
I-5 Undercrossing Project Schedule

Olive Way off-ramp closure May 18, 2009

Cherry Street on-ramp closure (including one northbound I-5 lane) May 26, 2009

Pike/Pine reversible HOV ramp closure Mid-June 2009

Cherry Street on-ramp closure (including one northbound I-5 lane) Spring 2010

All I-5 ramps re-opened to traffic Spring 2010

Tunneling work from the Capitol Hill Station towards downtown Seattle begins Early 2011

Sound Transit is working closely with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the City of Seattle and King County Metro to plan detours. During the year long closure a signed detour route will be in place. Drivers will exit to Madison Street and turn left on Boren Avenue to reach Olive Way. A major effort to educate drivers about the detour routes and construction status is underway.