I've know Erin since she was about 6: she's the daughter of a former colleague at the Hutch, and she was (rather more recently) a graduate student in a lab down the hall. They really did walk and paddle all the way from Seattle to the end of the Aleutian peninsula, blogging as they went! You can read their adventures on the blog, or you can read the book and/or come to the slide show.

We also go to the same dentist. At one point their inflatable raft was ripped apart by a bear. The thing that impressed our dentist most was that they were carrying enough dental floss to sew raft (and tent) back together again.

It's a great story. See you there.

We need to find out who, exactly, to thank for it but the weather station located inside Volunteer Park is back online. The station is part of Weather Underground's network of 'Personal Weather Stations' recording microclimates across the world. The station went offline about six weeks ago so we had been reporting temperatures from a location on Boren -- so not Capitol Hill! We use the data to power the weather widget in the CHS sidebar and, while Seattle's weather is mostly drama (and news) free, it's cool to be able to take a quick look to find out just how many sweaters you need to throw on before leaving home.

Parking. Tuesday night's discussion topic for the third in a series of Sound Transit-led forums on 'transit oriented development' of the land surrounding the future Capitol Hill light rail station isn't exactly sexy. In fact, Sound Transit seems to be hoping to sex the night up by also including a discussion about the Nagle Place, um, extension. Super sexy.

But don't let that fool you. The Nagle Place discussion will be a happy thing, to be sure -- as we reported, Sound Transit is working on an agreement that will turn the extended street into a home for the weekend farmers market once the station is complete in 2016. That's hot. But the real conversation needs to be about a key element in determining the transportation future of the development that eventually graces the real estate around the station.

Here is our coverage of the first two TOD sessions:

• Community uses
• Housing and retail

The forum format thus far has been Sound Transit and assembled experts providing information followed by Sound Transit officials taking questions from the audience -- though, to their credit, ST mixed it up in the Housing and retail session by facilitating smaller group break-out discussions. All of this ostensibly goes toward Sound Transit gathering community feedback to inform their future decisions, etc.

But the real workstream we need to pay attention to is ST's RFQ/RFP process. The requirements and the framework surrounding the agency's 'request for proposals' on the development work can -- and need to be -- shaped. It's a community/political process. These forums are part of the community/politics. Stakeholders are listening. We'll need people and organizations with political clout to champion our 'community' requirements (BTW, "Why haven't you attended a Capitol Hill TOD forum?" might be a good question to ask your favorite city councilmember or candidate). The RFQ/RFP process won't get hot and heavy until around 2011, reportedly, so we're slowly building toward the process.

Tonight we'll discuss parking. In a document presented to the stakeholder group working with Sound Transit to shape the community (political?) process around TOD, Sound Transit officials outlined the following focus areas for the discussion about parking-related planning for the possible retail, housing and community development around the Hill's light rail station. From the ST document (attached to this post):

•    Incorporate parking for the business district in redevelopment plan

−    Access from Broadway should not be permitted

−    Provide permanent, predictable, affordable parking supply for customers (not commuters)

−    Use the less desirable areas of the site (especially below grade) for parking

•    Consider creative ways to construct parking as part of site development

−    Sound Transit could concurrently build the station and underground parking, saving significant construction costs for an incoming developer

−    Sound Transit could also construct and lease back the garage

More notes from the ST outline of parking issues and opportunities in the light rail TOD:

• Business district lacks parking:
  
  

  According to the Capitol Hill Chamber, the business district lacks sufficient business and retail parking.  In addition, Sound Transit has removed several public pay parking lots (approximately 113 stalls) to construct the Capitol Hill station.  The Capitol Hill Chamber has expressed concerns that light rail riders may utilize remaining public parking for commuter parking; thereby further decreasing retail parking supply.

• City code restraints:



Code and policy requirements and constraints are a consideration to including business district parking at the TOD sites.  The City’s code eliminated minimum parking requirements for development within the Station Area Overlay (SAO).  Due to the area pedestrian designation and SAO, access to parking would not be allowed from Broadway.

 

The SAO prohibits single-purpose parking structures however it would allow community-serving short-term parking.  There are no parking maximums in the code.

Sound Transit policy is to not provide new commuter parking at Link stations in urban areas.  The Station Area Plans specifically proposed actions that created station areas predicated on transit oriented development and urban design that was supportive of non-auto access to Link.  Although short-term parking could be operated so that it is not used by commuters, attracting large numbers of cars to garages at station entries would compromise the desired pedestrian orientation of the sites and station areas. 

• Sound Transit's mission
  
  

  Sound Transit has maintained its position that as a regional transit agency, increasing community parking supply is inconsistent with its mission of providing transit service. Construction of a light rail station in this area will in fact mitigate loss of parking. Sound Transit will also not provide commuter parking at the Capitol Hill station.
  
  Sound Transit’s business and policy positions to date have been:
  • TOD site developers will likely provide some level of parking for tenants and retail customers (short-term) of TOD businesses.
  • Developers will not provide commuter parking or additional parking to serve business district (contrary to mission and not financially feasible).
  • ST will not build parking concurrent with station construction, construct parking and lease back garage, or subsidize parking for developers.

• Market forces
  
  

  To be competitive in the market each of these elements will need to be supported by some amount of parking. The number of parking spaces needed to compete with other space in the market in 2015 is unknown at this time; however, today the ratios in the table below provide some indication of market demand.
  Residential = .75 to 1.0 spaces per unit
  Office = 1 to 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet
  Retail = None necessary – more is better
  

The document also has a list of alternatives to parking that the station development requirements could be shaped to include:

Reducing total parking provided to meet minimum development needs:  In the station area overlay zone, there is no minimum requirement for parking.  However, developers generally need to provide some parking for tenant use which is often a requirement for construction loans.  Sound Transit will encourage the developer to keep parking at a minimum amount that makes sense for the development.  As fewer parking spaces are provided for personal car parking, users will look to other access options.  

Shared parking: Depending on the uses in the developments, parking can be shared between uses at different times of the day.  For example, a parking space could be utilized by an office employee during the daytime and a restaurant or other customer in the evening.

Commuter Financial Incentives:  Residential parking spaces could be offered to tenants only at an extra fee, and not bundled in overall rent costs.  Residents could be provided an opportunity to forgo a parking space for transit pass discounts and lower rental rates.  This would encourage use of transit, while lessening the need for parking within the development and/or in the neighboring community.  

Encourage retail use of transit:  Future retailers could promote use of transit instead of driving cars by offering small discounts to shoppers using transit when shopping.  Developing such incentives would be at the discretion of retailers to determine, but in a situation where limited parking is available directly at the site, more shoppers could be encouraged to use transit to get there.

Provide transit information: Property managers could provide up to date transit information, ride-sharing opportunities, bicycle services and facilities and other non-car information.

Reserved parking spaces for one or more car- sharing vehicles (Zip Car):  Developers could incorporate parking spaces for a flex car that can be utilized by the tenants of the developments.  This arrangement would offer use of cars for specific occasions but would not require the consistent need for parking for individual car ownership.  Tenants would have the option of a car when they need it, but would rely on transit, biking or walking at other times.

Electric Car Charging Stations:  Providing facilities and parking for electric car charging stations provides an alternative to typical car parking, while also working to achieve sustainability goals.  

Bicycle Parking:  The Capitol Hill Station west entrance plaza will provide bike racks for light rail patron bike parking.  In addition to this bike parking space, there will likely be a need for additional bike parking for transit users as well as tenants of the TOD sites.  Bike parking facilities will continue to be a need in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, so Sound Transit may pursue some additional bike parking arrangement with the TOD developers.  This could entail below grade bike parking for tenants (customers) of the TOD sites, and/or could also consist of some street level or below grade public (customer) bike parking.  Sound Transit may encourage or require the developers of one or more of the TOD sites to consider creating more bike space as a public amenity.

Sound Transit or the developer may also seek grant opportunities or partnerships to explore how bike parking can be further incorporated at the TOD sites.

There you go. A crash course in TOD parking concerns, issues and opportunities. Like we said, not sexy.

Capitol Hill Station: Transit Oriented Development Community Forum, Tuesday, Oct. 27

Ever wonder what it might look like around the Capitol Hill Link light rail station once construction is completed?

Join us for a discussion about transit oriented development issues at the station. This is the third in a series of quarterly community forums exploring future transit oriented development concepts at the station site.

This forum will focus on the Nagle Place extension and parking associated with the development sites.  Sound Transit will also present some promising news about plans involving the Broadway Sunday Farmers Market.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 
6– 8 p.m. (presentation begins at 6:15 p.m.) 
Century Ballroom 
915 E. Pine St. 
Seattle, WA 98122

For more information: 
Contact Michelle Ginder at 206-398-5328 or michelle.ginder@soundtransit.org. You can also visit www.soundtransit.org/CapitolHillTOD

I went down to the Sound Transit site this afternoon to check on the Art Installation that was scheduled for today, but found nothing but an empty lot.  I spoke with the artist, Dan Corson, who said the installation has been postponed because the rods didn't show up as expected, and he doesn't think they'll come until Wednesday. 

Sound Transit art program manager Barbara Luecke says that while it's been a chaotic last couple of days trying to get this project organized, she's confident it'll be finished in time for it's planned formal opening on Halloween.  And they still need volunteers, so she's encouraging anyone who's interested to email her at barbara.luecke@soundtransit.org, with their availability.

For more info on the project, including a video of a similar project, check out Justin's original report.

Ladies and gentleman, please warm up your development feedback engines. Two significant land-use projects are rumbling their way through the city's design review planning process in November -- one will breath life back into a wonderful old Pike/Pine building, the other will redesign nearly an entire block of Broadway and push out at least seven businesses and organizations.

• Sun Electric buildingThe plan for redevelopment of the at 11th and Pine comes back for a review in front of the Capitol Hill Design Board next week after the initial designs were sent back to the drawing board in August. The building in the heart of Pike/Pine was once a part of Capitol Hill's auto industry, according to neighborhood activist and historian Dennis Saxman. We'll have a deeper write-up on the second review once we get our grubby little hands on the updated design plan. In the meantime, here's our writeup on the project from August. The review board's big questions from the August session:
  o How to allow the developer to build high enough to preserve two floors of commercial space and leave more of the current character of the building intact?
  o What are the developer's strategies to achieve better integration of the preserved building and the new structure
  
  

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposal is to retain the existing two-story building facade and construct a new six-story building with ground level retail and artist lofts with 84 residential units above. Four parking spaces to be provided.

PROCESS

The applicant has applied for Design Review related to development of this site. At the Design Review Board meeting the applicant will present information about the proposed design and how it responds to the Design Guideline priorities established at the Early Design Guidance Board meeting on August 5, 2009, regarding this site; the public may offer comments regarding the proposed design; and, the Design Review Board members will offer additional guidance to the applicant regarding the design concepts.

MEETING

Date:                     Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Time:                     06:30 p.m.

Location:               Seattle University

                              Alumni Relations and Admissions Building

                              Meeting Room

                              824 12th Avenue

• Reshaping another key area of the Hill, the 224 Broadway projectSRM Development is finally starting to share its plans for -- the nearly complete block of Broadway it will demolish and redevelop as a mixed-use retail and housing development at Broadway and E. Thomas. Displaced by the project once demolition begins: Bank of America, the parking lot where the Broadway farmers market takes place, Noah's Bagels, Pho 900, Cafe Septieme and some residential structures including the old home that serves as offices for the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce. It's a massive project. More from CHS once we review any documentation from the project. This meeting will be a 'revised early design guidance' session so we might expect fewer details on the project from the developers and architects than we'll see in the Sun Electric project. The SRM development has been playing out for months. We first heard word that they were moving forward with public process on a smaller plan back in January but those meetings were scuttled. Three months later, rumors emerged about the expansion of the project to include the buildings where Noah's Bagels and Cafe Septieme now live.

View Larger Map

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposal is for a six-story (six stories facing Broadway, four stories facing 10th Ave E) 235 unit residential, retail and office building.  Parking for 250 vehicles will be located below grade. Six existing structures to be demolished. This project has been expanded and revised since original EDG meeting.

PROCESS  

The applicants have applied for Design Review related to development of this site.  At the early design guidance meeting, the applicants will present information about the site and vicinity.  The public may offer comments regarding the design and siting of  the subject site; and, the Design Review Board members will also offer comments and identify those Citywide Design Guidelines of highest priority in developing the site.  

MEETING   ***REVISED EDG***

Date:            Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Time:           6:30 p.m.

Location:     Seattle University

                    Alumni Relations and Admissions Bldg

                    824 12th Ave

                    Meeting Room

Seattle's 2010 budget process is coming down to crunch time as the deadline approaches for the City Council to shape the plan outgoing mayor Greg Nickels proposed in September. Talk about participatory government -- Councilmember Jean Godden will be hosting a conference call for citizens to discuss the 2010 budget this afternoon at 4:30 PM. Information on that and the rest of the Council's budget schedule this week is below.

You can check out the attached PDF for a summary from the mayor's office of the 2010 budget. This chart from the economic analysis portion of the report tells the story. Seattle -- like the rest of the world -- got slapped by the economic downturn. That means a budget plan that makes some hard cuts and dips into the city's emergency funds. The current plan also calls for no increase in taxes.

Source: City of Seattle

The biggest issues on the board appear to be:

• Layoffs -- 310 positions are targeted for elimination. From Publicola: "Those positions include 38 “executive, management,...

If you were looking for surprises in the 2009 CHS endorsement process, we are sorry to disappoint. The CHS community members who participated in the polls endorsed a mostly predictable slate. And there's nothing wrong with that. We're happy keeping politics here as drama-free as possible.

Mike McGinn at Capitol Hill candidates forum (Photo: Lucas Anderson/Neighborlogs.com)

The endorsement roster is below -- you can view vote totals here. The endorsements represent the community opinions of around 40 CHS registered users who participated in each poll.

2009 CHS Endorsements

• Initiative Measure No. 1033: No
• Referendum Measure No. 71: Approve
• King County Charter Amendments: Yes
• County Executive: Dow Constantine
• Sheriff: Sue Rahr
• Assessor: Bob Rosenberger
• Court of Appeals Division No. 1, District No. 1, Judge Position No. 3: Anne L. Ellington
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 1: John Creighton
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 3: Rob Holland
• Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No....

They'll be at the City Neighborhood Council meeting at the West Precinct meeting room (810 Virginia St) on Monday 10/26/09:

DRAFT AGENDA:

6:30    Introductions, review/approval of agenda and of September minutes

 

• Introductions
• Approve agenda
• Approve minutes 

6:40    Mayoral Candidates- Opening statements (3 minutes each)

• Joe Mallahan
• Mike Mcginn

6:50                   Question and Answers

• Pre-submitted to kenyland@comcast.net

7:40          City Neighborhood Council  Elections

• 2010 Nominees
• Slate of candidates

8:00                   Committee reports: each committee is allotted five minutes, unless they requested more time.

• Budget Committee—Ron Boddie, Chair 
• Neighborhood Matching Fund Committee--Laine Ross, Chair
• Neighborhood Planning...

So, pretty much every Gay bar on the Hill is having a costume contest. Here's your chance to earn some money for your creative costuming ideas! For the full list of LGBT Halloween events, check out GayCapHill.com

Bottleneck Lounge Hillside Harvest Fest No cover, season beer specials, Halloween festivities through the night

Cuff Halloween Party w/ guest DJ Kimberely S. - contest at midnight, $1000 first place

Neighbors Psych Ward 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. - cash prizes and contests

Purr Annual Halloween Party Contest at midnight, $1000 first prize (no cover)

R Place Sister Dawnna's Nightmare contest at midnight, $1000 first place

There's also COMEBACK at Chop Suey on Friday 10/30. It's $7 to get in if you're wearing a costume and there is a costume contest at midnight!

My original plan for this one was to focus on all the activity around Dick's, but I decided I'd be better off on the other side of the street, so I could also get the empty Sound Transit lot, which won't be empty for long!

This is the third of my weekly series of ambient shots around Capitol Hill. Every week I'll pick a different spot and stay for about 10 minutes to create a 'snapshot' of that location at that moment.

PAST EPISODES

Episode #1 - Cal Anderson Park

Episode #2 - Thomas St P-Patch

championship, originally uploaded by the distant atlantic.

Seattle University could be a practice venue for the best soccer players around the world in 2018 or 2022 if Seattle wins the bid to host the World Cup. The Seattle Times reports that the Seattle U soccer stadium is on the list of venues in the bid:

Seattle's bid included both 67,000-seat Qwest Field and 72,500-seat Husky Stadium as potential venues, as well as four training sites, including the University of Washington soccer stadium, Seattle University soccer stadium, Starfire Sports Complex and Virginia Mason Athletic Center, where the Seahawks train.

There has been much talk and very little action about putting the lot emptied in preparation for construction of Capitol Hill's light rail station into motion so it is more than just, well, an empty lot. This weekend, you'll finally see some action. Lots of it

Artist Dan Corson begins drilling thousands of holes -- 3,500, to be exact -- as he creates a 65' x 125' garden of fiberglass reeds, varying in height from 2' to 8' in an undulating field. "At night a laser light show will play over the field, moving up and down and through the reeds, in a slow-moving constantly changing spectacle," Sound Transit art program manager Barbara Luecke tells CHS. "We hope it becomes a surprise destination and stop for Capitol Hill goers, before or after dinner and drinks."

You can see the design diagram of the 'undulating field' on this post and the attached video is of a project Corson worked on in Florida to give you an idea of what we're going to see on Broadway starting on Halloween.

After the holes are drilled this weekend, reed installation starts Monday. Lighting tests follow with a formal opening on Halloween. Luecke says the current plan is for the installation to stay up through November 9th but that Sound Transit is working to keep the art in place a bit longer. "A longer run will be at the discretion of the Capitol Hill tunnel construction contractor who takes over the site then," Luecke explained. "Station construction is about to begin!"

Luecke also apologized for not announcing the project sooner but said there were a lot of technical issues to solve to make the installation happen.

If you'd like to help, Luecke is looking for volunteers. She can be reached at barbara.luecke@soundtransit.org or -- if you are really into getting involved and helping out, drop CHS a line and we'll help you get in touch with Barbara via phone.

UPDATE:

Artist Dan Corson with Barbara Luecke

I stopped by Saturday afternoon and got to meet Corson and talk with Luecke about the project. They're close to done with drilling holes. Next steps will be preparing and painting the rods then planting them in the asphalt.

Luecke said that, while it may be true that Sound Transit has been slow to activate the lot during its empty period before construction, she has been working hard to make this project happen. To give you a sense of the kinds of barriers somebody planning community art projects for an agency like Sound Transit faces, Luecke said this installation was almost scuttled at the last minute Friday night because of concerns the drilled holes might impact the 'integrity' of the asphalt during the construction phases. Calmer heads prevailed and the work is underway.

Corson said the planted rods will be yellow with orange tips and the installation will be lit by green laser light at night. They're still working out plans for the Halloween unveiling but he said curious neighbors have already been dropping by to find out what he was up to in the long-empty lot.

Corson said they'll need help painting the rods so if you'd like to get involved, send Luecke a mail through the link above.

Volunteers help drill holes in the pavement for the fiberglass rods

Video property of Corson Studios

Sound Transit is a CHS advertiser

Don't shoot the messenger. The Seattle Department of Transportation has released a draft plan for parking changes for the Broadway area of Capitol Hill. Some of the proposals will not be popular (with me!). Proposals include:

• Extended paid parking hours past 6 PM on Broadway between John and Roy
• Replacing free 3-hour parking along Cal Anderson Park with paid 4-hour parking
• A stick in your eye

Kidding. No sticks. Not all of the proposals will make you sad -- one proposal that could be cool is the addition of parking on both sides of the street on Mercer, Republican, Harrison and Thomas west of Broadway. More on that and the rest of the draft plan below. And, thinking of the greater good, better managed parking can be really healthy for local businesses and encourage better decisions for the environment by drivers. But, yeah, paying to park after 6 PM on Broadway is going to suck. And, don't even talk to me about the Cal Anderson change -- I consider that stretch official CHS motorpool parking when I'm chasing breaking news.

Here's the proposal map and details from SDOT:

Download PDF

SDOT Broadway parking proposals

• Increase residential parking availability by adding paid parking with restricted parking zone (RPZ) signs to
• mixed-use blocks just north of E Pine St (valid RPZ permit holders would be exempt from paid parking rates)
• Improve predictability for customers and visitors by converting 1-hour time limits to more standard 2-hour
• time limits
• Alleviate congested parking conditions at Cal Anderson Park and expand park access by changing 3-hour
• time limit spaces to 4-hour paid parking on 11th Ave directly adjacent to the park
• Create consistency and increased parking opportunities for residents east of Broadway by installing
• Zone 4 RPZ signs where there are currently gaps
• Increase parking availability and calm traffic by adding unrestricted parking on the north sides of streets
• where it can be done safely. All eligible blocks are shown in purple—which ones work best for you?
• Create more customer parking for restaurants and businesses by extending paid parking hours on Broadway after 6pm

SDOT is collecting feedback on the plan here through November 23. 

We wrote about the planning process and told you about some of this early planning here, by the way.

A three-alarm fire burned a building in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood housing three restaurants and a coffee shop.

According to AP report, Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen  says it was reported about 4 a.m. Friday. The roof partially collapsed, forcing firefighters to take defensive positions outside.

Thank God, there were no injuries except for a firefighter who twisted an ankle.

It might feel like showing support for R-71 on Capitol Hill is preaching to the converted. So how about putting your energy toward preaching to the undecideds that stream past our neighborhoods every day on I-5?

A group is organizing an ongoing schedule of sign waving for nearby I-5 overpasses through Election Day. The effort kicks off Friday morning. Sorry for the late notice but we just got word of it tonight -- you have plenty of time to plan for the afternoon shift!

Times and days:
7:00 am - 9:00 am Monday through Friday up to Nov. 3rd (starting this Friday 10/23)
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm Monday through Friday up to Nov. 3rd (starting this Friday 10/23)

Places:
I-5 Madison St overpass
I-5 Roanoke St overpass
I-5 45th St overpass
Aurora Woodland Park Zoo overpass

Want to organize a group at another overpass? (520 at Montlake anyone?) Here's the Facebook group info about the effort.

Organizer Josh Castle writes:

Many of you were very upset at the sight of 100 people waving "Reject 71" signs up in Lynnwood. Now's your chance to show them what WE are capable of!

We're at the final stage of the Approve 71 campaign - when we pound on people day after day, hour after hour, & remind them to vote! Ever needed a friendly reminder? We're about to give 100,000 people in the urban core of progressive Seattle during rush hour traffic one huge reminder - DON'T FORGET TO VOTE and APPROVE 71!

The Seattle non-profit Greendrinks is driving two environmentally friendly events on Capitol Hill in the next week. Agent Green invades Madison Market on Saturday to help improve its energy efficiency, and a slew of environmental leaders will bring their knowledge and inspiration to "Bloom" next Wednesday.

Agent Green

When: Saturday, October 24th

Time: 10 am - 2 pm

Where: Central Co-op

Tested and approved in April over at Pike Pub and Brewery, Greendrinks' Agent Green program is a mechanism for helping businesses renovate and retrofit to become more energy efficient. Working in tandem with Seattle City Light's commercial incentive program, Greendrinks helps plan, organize and publicize an event to raise money to cover the upfront costs of energy efficient installations such as new windows, insulation, etc., while City Light rewards them for these advances. This Saturday, Agent Green is doing its work for Madison Market.

According to Gabriel Scheer, Founder and Executive Director of Greendrinks, Saturday'...

If you think all religions damn homosexuality, think again. In a time where the rights of minorities are threatened, it is necessary to seek allies who support you no matter what. Lucky for us there are over 40,000 Jews living in the greater Seattle area, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

An overwhelming amount of Jewish community organizations, synagogues and leaders are rallying to get Referendum 71 approved, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Jewish Family Service, Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee.

 A special screening of “Oy Vey! My Son is Gay” will be showing October 26 at 6pm at Cinerama on 4

The film was shot in Washington and a few scenes take place in front of Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Capitol Hill, located at 1511 E Pike. Carmen Electra stars in this comedy about two Jewish parents learning to understand their gay son. General admission is $25 and all proceeds from this event benefit the Approve Referendum 71 campaign.

The Jewish...

The Broadway Farmer's Market will help you dress up your pumpkin this Sunday. Kid-friendly and provided freely are a few pumpkins and a crafty space with sparkly supplies galore. Is there a drag pumpkin in your future? From the market newsletter:

Grab a pumpkin and go to town with all manner of ghoulish deco and artistic accoutrement; paints, glitter, glue, pipe cleaners, googley-eyes, yarn, leaves, corn silk, etc. The decorating choices are endless and the results are always original. Decoration materials are provided by the farmers market, and some pumpkins will be provided by local farmers (shoppers are also welcome to purchase a pumpkin of their choice from market farmers).

Also in season: Kiwis!  I always forget this fruit can be grown locally; they just seem way too exotic for our temperate climate. (Like puffins. I am not making this up. Puffins are local, I swear. I saw one once.) 

Besides pumpkins and kiwis, other in-season goods include squash, carrots, lettuce, onions, pears.

iPhone...

In terms of geography, one of the more 'Capitol Hill issues in Wednesday's mayoral candidates debate (since our questions didn't make it on air) was the future of 520. You can watch the debate video here and read about coverage of the other issues from the debate here and here. CHS will take a quick look at what the candidates had to say about the 520 reconstruction project that is slated to expand the bridge from four to six lanes.

The question from the debate moderator: Which option for the Seattle end of the new 520 bridge do you support? McGinn made up a new plan. Mallahan said he didn't have an answer.

WSDOT

You can review the state's plans for replacing 520 here
Video simulations:

• Option A
• Option K
• Option L

These options were discussed at last week's Capitol Hill Community Council meeting. Citizens at the meeting were concerned about cost, time, and maintaining a limited number of cars in the Arboretum.

McGinn's answer during Wednesday's debate? Option McGinn. The candidate said he's choose none of the above because none of the existing options include specifics about light rail.

"What we should look at is in addition to light rail over I-90, let's run light rail over 520," McGinn said.

"I think the issue here is we need to put in light rail so we don't have congestion at either end, move a lot more people, move a lot more people more efficiently, and start building the light rail system for the future that we really need."

That would have pleased the attendees at the council meeting who are concerned about the increase in traffic from 520 pouring into Montlake and the Arboretum.

What McGinn didn't mention is this: There already is a McGinn option. At last week's community council meeting, WSDOT spokesperson Dawn Lindsey said the bridge will be engineered so it can carry rail traffic.

On the other side of the debate set, Mallahan's answer was about time.

"We in Seattle have to make a decision there because we're holding up that project," Mallahan said.

Mallahan said he didn't have an answer about which option should be selected. Mallahan also couldn't resist picking at McGinn's position on the Viaduct.

"He is pretty much anti-any road improvement or road maintenance," Mallahan said about his opponent's answer.

"He's not only opposed to the Viaduct, he's opposed to 520."

McGinn's response got the biggest laugh of the debate.

"Wow, we were just asked a question about 520 and Joe Mallahan asked about the Viaduct. I think he's turning into a one-issue candidate here," McGinn quipped.

Ballots have arrived, and if you're like most people around Seattle, it's still sitting on your kitchen table. Meghan Stobbe is one of those Seattleites, but her mind is already made up for proposition 1.

Stobbe is a Capitol Hill resident living in one of over 10,000 apartments funded by the affordable housing levy; a funding source up for renewal in November. Stobbe moved to Seattle 3 years ago with her then 1-year-old son to live in a large house rooming with some friends. But when the landlord forced them out of the home, Stobbe was left without a place to live, and a child to raise on a minimal income. After a difficult few weeks with essentially no home, a friend referred her to an affordable housing program through Capitol Hill Housing that helps disadvantaged families find a place to live.

"It's a critical service" said Stobbe, who now lives in the Villa Apartments, an apartment building acquired through the levy's Rental Production and Preservation program. "I wouldn't be able to work at the job that I...

When Capitol Hill's second stealth Starbucks (AKA Roy St Coffee and Tea) opens in the 700 Broadway building, it won't be sharing the inconspicuous, bubble filled entry way with FedEx Office next door.  Crews have installed stairs for what looks like a new, more prominent entrance on the Broadway side of the building (facing SW).  

The inside still looks about how it looked over a month ago, with none of the interior in place. 

And for those of you that hang out in the twitters, it looks like @RoyStCoffee is on there too, although they haven't tweeted anything yet.

Being a frequent diner at Hillside Quickies made me super excited about eating at their new restaurant, Plum Bistro. I had no doubt in my mind it was going to be amazing, especially after the rave reviews it keeps getting. I finally had brunch there last Saturday morning and sadly, I was not impressed. I understand that most of their meals are excellent, but I was left wanting more, a lot more.

The brunch menu is sparse, with about seven options to choose from. I ordered the cinnamon and strawberry crepes with vanilla custard, thinking I was just about to get myself into the hottest, sweetest mess of all possible brunches. Much to my dismay, I received two cold, bitter, hard taco-sized “crepes”, folded over about 8 slices of strawberry. That’s it. I’d say they used about 6 strawberries to make this meal. I paid $9 for six strawberries while my friend paid $8 for a hot, delicious, and gigantic tofu scramble with four pieces of toast. What?

I did ask them to hold the soy whipped cream, as my body does not tolerate...

Browsing Redfin listings and took them up on their offer to show me local grocery stores.

They were using BING which gave rather idiosyncratic results:

• Rainbow Market still there (it's LONG gone)
• NO QFC's
• NO Safeways
• NO Trader Joe's
• NO Madison Market
• Lots of obscure little markets
• Biggest stores it found were the M Street Market and the Grocery Outlet on MLK

Thanks BING, but you're not quite there yet........

Update: look further down the list and you do find a main-stream grocery store: the Albertson's on Mercer Island.

(You couldn't make this stuff up).

Miles of Aisles, originally uploaded by sea turtle.

It's rumor season on Capitol Hill. Last week, it was Elliott Bay Book Company pondering a Capitol Hill move.

Now, CHS has gathered rumors about a massive new Capitol Hill grocery store being planned that will likely dominate the Hill and command the lion's share of your Capitol Hill grocery dollars. A person in the real-estate industry with knowledge of the situation confirmed that a major player in the local grocery scene is considering a new Capitol Hill home and has a location picked out in the heart of the Hill.

If the project comes to fruition, it will be a significant development for Capitol Hill. The new store would join a crowded Capitol Hill grocery environment with no clear leader. The QFC inside the Broadway Market has been upgraded from its old Fred Meyer days. The produce section is expanded and the company hosts wine and beer tastings that you won't find in the typical QFC across the state. Broadway's second QFC down in Pike/Pine is more typical of the chain's offerings. Both stores are infamous for their near-daily reports of shoplifting. Meanwhile, there are Safeways at 15th and John and 23rd and Madison and Madison's Trader Joe's also keeps Capitol Hill pantries well stocked. As for Capitol Hill's indie markets, there is only one large player left. Madison Market celebrated its 30-year anniversary last October. 15th Ave's Rainbow Grocery went under in spring 2007.

The new store would likely eclipse all of these existing grocery providers when it opens in 2010. CHS is working to get more details before we reveal the rumored name and location. Please add anything you've heard in the comments or send e-mail to chs@capitolhillseattle.com

Benn Originally uploaded by fuzzirella

UPDATE 7:45 PM:
The Seattle Times tracks down Elliott Bay's owner and gets the details.

The owner of Elliott Bay Book Co. said Sunday he's considering moving the landmark Seattle business from its longtime home in Pioneer Square partly because of financial troubles.

Owner Peter Aaron said the store's lease at the Globe Building expires in late January, when a maxed-out line of credit he had been using to run the business also comes due.

The fast-approaching deadlines mean he is facing crucial decisions, said Aaron, who spoke briefly by phone about the store's difficulties in a tough economy.

Sales plummeted after the meltdown on Wall Street last fall, he said, breaking the store's already-tenuous hold on profitability. What's more, sales continued to decline through August, and he began to wonder if the store would go out of business.

Aaron goes on to tell the Times that he is talking with the owner of the Globe Building about a rent reduction and is considering moving to "elsewhere in downtown Seattle, Ballard and Capitol Hill."

Original Post:
A couple more news outlets have jumped on the Elliott Bay Book Company rumor bandwagon this weekend but nobody has put the pieces together yet.

• The Seattle Times weighs in with the closest thing we've seen to a confirmation from Elliott Bay that they're working on a move:
  
  

  [Store manager] Tracy Taylor said a move "is a possibility. We're looking into it." She declined to elaborate and referred other questions to the bookstore owner, Peter Aaron.

• Crosscut's Knute Berger takes the bait and puts the possible EB move into terms of urban development:



For Elliott Bay, moving to the Pike-Pine area of Capitol Hill could be a new lease on life. It could put them in the thick of the action for the next generation of urban development, in an area that is undertaking both a renewed emphasis on preservation and adaptation of older buildings. Density would offer the potential for more nearby customers and fewer problems trying to keep a struggling business afloat in a neighborhood that is wallowing, and that will struggle even more as work on SoDo, Waterfront, and downtown surface streets gets more fully underway. And for Pike-Pine and Capitol Hill, Elliott Bay would be a great catch, a major cultural institution that is a destination book lovers.

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