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Neighborlogs intern Lucas Anderson sends in this shot of a single car accident that happened around 5:06 PM in front of the Safeway on 15th Ave. We'll get details from Seattle Fire when we can but Lucas reports that it looked like the driver was being transported to the hospital with a neck injury. Forget about naming Capitol Hill parks. Those dirty birds over at SLOG are running this poll to come up with a SLUT-like nickname for the new First Hill-Capitol Hill streetcar: CHS kinda likes BITCH. 
As we first reported last week, Seattle Parks has restarted the engine on the public process to name Capitol Hill's two new parks. The Parks press release is below. CHS picked up the best suggestion it has heard yet for a name for the 16th at Howell project at the park's groundbreaking ceremony this weekend. Iconic Hill scarf dancer Boe Oddisey suggests the park be named for Gray Lambert, the activist nearby Lambert House is named for. Here are ideas from recent CHS comments:
Summit and John:
UPDATE 10/6 7:15 PM:
Original Post: Crosscut describes the change :
Today the McGinn campaign circulated the attached map, showing all the places where Mike has sponsored "Town Hall" meetings. The mailing quoted the Seattle Times:
and quoted McGinn himself:
The meetings do indeed seem to be pretty well distributed around Seattle, except for the Capitol Hill area. Given the high population density of the Capitol Hill area (see attached city density map), this seems to be rather an oversight. Fortunately, the Capitol Hill Community Council has arranged a Mayoral Forum, so you will be able to question the candidates... 
One more example of history via poster sediment. The management of the woefully disused (but lovingly postered) Sun electric building appear to have used a sawsall yeasterday to re-discover a long buried door beneath 5 inches of plywood and show posters on 11th. Below pounds of wheat-paste and staples the deepest layers are nearly indecipherable, although an ad for a show at the Catwalk from Nov. 26 2005 barely survives. While the future of the corner building remains uncertain, at least it provides an occasional archive.
Metrix Create: Space will serve coffee, but it is clear this is no ordinary coffee shop with only the requisite high speed internet. Their passion is in enabling creative DIY with equipment and supplies not typically stocked by the casual hobbyist . Coffee is secondary: getting together and making things is the focus. In the make/hack space Metrix will offer the use of a MakerBot - a robot which makes things! - custom laser cutting and etching, sewing machines, and craft supplies. Soldering irons? Check. Jumper wire? Check. Power supplies? Check. Workspace? Check. Metrix Create:Space also has a vending machine stocked with both snacks and electronic supplies. It currently holds... 
The Seattle City Council this afternoon unanimously approved a bill authorizing an agreement between the city and Sound Transit to construct and operate a street car running from Union Station, through First Hill to the Capitol Hill light rail station site on Broadway. CHS reported on the bill's passage from the council's transportation committee here. Transportation chair Jan Drago said the line will be completed quickly -- likely before the Broadway station opens in 2016. "We will be fast-forwarding the money," Drago said. Councilmember Tom Rasmussen voiced his opposition to the cost of streetcars but voted for the bill. Before voting, Rasmussen called the project "another camel under the tent" toward completing a streetcar system in the city. In addition to structuring the working agreement with Sound Transit, the bill calls for the City Council to define the line's route and own the ongoing funding process to manage any costs overruns or renegotiation with Sound Transit. By the agreement, Sound Transit will... Are you interested in: • Living lightly on the earth. • Knowing and working cooperatively with your neighbors. • Reducing your household chores (cooking, cleaning, yardwork). • Sharing resources (woodshop, bikeshop, art space, kids play area).
If you’re looking for an alternative to how you live, attend this informational session on cohousing – community oriented, cooperatively managed, but independently owned housing.
Who: Open to renters and homeowners, children welcome Where: Seattle University Admissions & Alumni Building 842 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA When: Sunday, Oct 18, 2009 2-4pm Cost: FREE but RVSP required This week is shaping up to be remarkably busy on the CHS October Community Calendar:
CHS will be out and about covering most of it -- but please send in or post any pictures, videos or notes from the scene. We can always use the help. We're especially excited to lend our support to Thursday's Blitz Capitol Hill Arts Walk -- CHS is now an official sponsor. More... Today is the deadline for online or by-mail voter registration for the November election. It is supposed to be the last easy day for you to register but as of 9:45 AM, the state's online registration site is down. We'll give them a call to see what's up but you might want to look into getting a stamp and downloading the paper form. After today, you'll have to do in-person registration by October 26th to have your vote included. UPDATE: 
If there is one thing that is painstakingly obvious about Seattle right now, it’s the construction. New buildings are popping up everywhere and I’m curious as to who is going to fill them. Not only that, but who is in charge of them once they are built? Some friends of mine moved into the second phase of the condos built at 17 th and Madison above Trader Joe’s. The units weren’t selling as condos, so they desperately decided to lease them, and lease them to anyone. The building is more like a dorm now, with parties and noise and drunken people roaming the halls. Not quite what they had in mind for 1700 Madison.Although it boasts luxury, large stains dot the carpet just weeks after being cleaned, again. Piles of puke can often be found in the stairwells, left for some fairy-maid to clean up. The entrance sidewalk was finally paved after 6 months of people moving in through dirt. The structure walls already have long cracks, the windows leak, and when it rains water rushes under the outside door into the hallway,... Design reviews begin Wednesday for the expansion of the Belroy apartment building at 711 Bellevue Ave. E. The development proposed by Point 32 and Weinstein Architects not only refurbishes the original 1931 building but replaces four existing two story houses with three modern apartments. Weinstein and Point 32 held several meetings with Capitol hill residents to present their initial plan, discussing among other things, the amount of open space remaining for residents of the existing building, and the scale of the three proposed structures; two three story apartments match the scale of the existing building, one Northern building requires a variance. Wednesday's meeting at 6:30 at the Seattle University Alumni building, 824 12th Ave is the first opportunity for public comment. For many in the neighborhood the new construction is a test for a stretch of the hill which contains some of the best -- and most dismal -- urban design the neighborhood has to... Three of the ten businesses recognized in this year's Mayor's Small Business Awards do their thing right here on Capitol Hill. Here are Capitol Hill's 2009 winners -- you'll note we have to share the third with Ballard, Madrona and West Seattle.
Shen Consulting, Inc.  Box of Cupcakes Originally uploaded by sea turtle Cupcake Royale and Vérité Coffee Craving a red velvet, salted caramel, or peppermint party cupcake—and an espresso drink to match? Jody Hall’s Cupcake Royale and Vérité Coffee (Vérité Ventures, Inc.) have just what you need. Founded in 2003 with only seven employees, Jody now operates four funky neighborhood locations in Ballard, Capitol Hill, Madrona, and West Seattle. In addition to supplying Seattle with its favorite food addictions, Jody has advocated in Washington, D.C. for health care reform that would make it easier for small businesses to buy affordable and comprehensive insurance for employees – one way she makes sure that her staff shares in the rewards of her business. A daily huddle among managers and employees ensures that everyone in the organization is on the same page, from company sales goals to customer service strategies. Giving back to the community is paramount as well; last year, they donated over 25,000 cupcakes to local organizations, schools, and children’s charities, helping raise an estimated $200,000 for various programs throughout Puget Sound. Businesses were judged on five values:
According to the city, the judging panel is made up of a mix of past winners, owners of small businesses of different types and in different neighborhoods, and professionals who work with small businesses in non-profit business support organizations. To qualify for the award, businesses must have no more than 100 employees and gross revenues of less than $10 million. Finally, something CHS surely has in common with them all! Here are the 2009 award recipients from the rest of the city. There will be a ceremony on October 13 to honor the winners.
The Brix condo auction might have been a good thing for Capitol Hill buyers looking for lower prices. According to this report in the Seattle Times, renters should be getting a price break, too.
Tough to celebrate lower rent if you don't have a job. Article goes on to say that experts think we're through the worst of the job cuts in the region. 
A group of neighbors, gardeners, poets and parks employees gathered in a paved parking lot Saturday afternoon to celebrate the start of construction on a new Capitol Hill park. Community members were encouraged to bring a card with their favorite word or line from a poem or play to add to a poetry tree. Two cans of spray marking paint were also handed out and attendees were encouraged to leave a message on the pavement. A few wrote their names. Someone made a large 'Yay for parks' marking. That was about as close to actually breaking ground as things got. The afternoon featured a few speeches, some poetry readings and an occasional blustery burst of fall wind. It was noted that the park still doesn't have a name and that the community would be invited to start providing suggestions. CHS asked one Capitol Hill notable in attendance who he would like to see the park named after. Boe Oddisey -- the Capitol Hill scarf dancer -- said his pick would be Gray Lambert, the man nearby Lambert House is named for. CHS also...
Yup, the big Sonic Boom neon rocket ship is gone. We first told you about Sonic Boom's move from 15th Ave to Melrose back in June. Sign in Sonic Boom's window says the new shop will open November 7. Looks like the rocket has already made the move.
The New Generation of America Independent film-makers is growing, if only by means of incestuous interconnections. “The Mountain, The River, and The Road," (Oct. 2 at 7 pm) the opening night film at the Northwest Film Forum’s Local Sightings Festival (Oct. 2-7) looks and feels like a West Coast version of “Mutual Appreciation" or “Hannah Takes the Stairs," with the decadent urban grime of those pictures replaced by the airy mountains, clean flowing rivers, and open roads of the Northwest. Although it is director Michael Harring’s first feature, it is well-pedigreed by virtue of its cast. Justin Rice, who is so familiar from Andrew Bujalski’s “Mutual Appreciation" that this seems like a sequel, continues to exploit his natural persona of one who is dull on the outside but interesting on the inside. As his sidekick who abandons him at the beginning of their road trip, Joe Swanberg, writer/director/cinematographer of “Hannah Takes the Stairs," anchors the film with his quiet intelligence. Tipper Newton, the love... Some shots from last night's party at Revival. It drew a good size crowd, even though it was raining. 
Fair to say Twice Sold Tales qualifies as one of the Hill’s venerable businesses. Owner Jamie Lutton first started selling used books out of a cart in the old Broadway Market in 1987; the move to her own store front off Broadway on East John Street came in 1990, after which the store evolved into a neighborhood fixture and a business that helped define Capitol Hill. So it's worth considering how Twice Sold Tales is doing after Sound Transit took over the block and tore down the store and other buildings to make way for Broadway’s light-rail station. The store’s most recent incarnation — call it Twice Sold Tales 3.0 — opened on the southwest corner of Harvard Avenue East and East Denny Way in May 2008 in a vacant storefront that had been a dental clinic. It’s a warren-like space with nooks and crannies that appeal to book hunters as well as the cats that call the store home. (As of this posting four felines occupy the premises.) When asked how things were going, Lutton was quick to answer, “I’m still here!” Any changes to Twice Sold Tales’ current fortunes are sufficiently intertwined between its Sound Transit relocation and the overall economic downturn that Lutton finds it difficult to separate the two. In simple terms, it’s been a tough stretch. Overall, she said, foot traffic is way down — not surprising given the store is no longer adjacent to a heavily used bus stop — but the people who do walk in are more apt to buy books rather than simply browse. “More customers come with specific intent. Fewer walk in just to use the bathroom or camp out,” she said. Shoplifting is way down, Lutton opines, because far fewer homeless people walk inside. Her clientele is a little older than it used to be and a little more residential, also not surprising since she’s closer to more apartments and condos. She said she’s now sells fewer books about drugs and marijuana growing operations and is selling more mysteries, more books about birds and more science fiction. “I do my happy dance if someone wants to sell me science fiction titles,” she said. Physically, the store is 50 percent larger than its predecessor and thus more titles fill the shelves, roughly 40,000 by Lutton’s best guess. But the relocation/recession meant that she recently had to lay off three employees, leaving 2.5 coworkers when there used to be eight. Lutton herself typically works six days a week, sometimes more. At one point this year she worked three straight months without a day off. Such is the life of an independent bookstore owner. Still another sign of change: Lutton sold her Twice Sold Tales on lower Queen Anne earlier this year. “That was a sign of the economy,” she said. “It’s just thriftier to run one shop instead of two.” As for her experience with Sound Transit, the agency that took possession of her store through eminent domain, she’s basically sanguine about how it all went down. The relocation money provided by the agency didn’t come close to what was required to reopen her store — adding a wheelchair ramp alone cost roughly $20,000 — nor does she think Sound Transit’s efforts at signage and promotion were or are sufficient. But she said it things could have been worse; after all, she’s still in business. Lutton gives the agency a B, even B-plus, all things considered. “For one thing, Sound Transit first told me I’d have to leave by 2001 and they didn’t get around to it until 2008. Their delay helped me out a lot,” she said.
She’s less enamored with her dealings with the city, saying that obtaining the permits allowing her to convert the space into a used bookstore was cumbersome, expensive and often subject to the evolving whims of bureaucratic capriciousness. “Don’t get me started about the city,” she said. Lutton projects more than just cautious enthusiasm about the prospects of enduring through tough economic climes. It took years, but she said she was very lucky to find Twice Sold Tales' current location. And after 20 years she clearly still relishes being a bookseller. Recently a customer came in and asked for a specific algebra textbook. Jamie had the title at the counter within arms reach and handed it over within seconds. It had been in the store for months but Lutton was just resorting it. Such moments of serendipity — not to mention a $50 sale — bring a smile to her face, not to mention the stunned look on the face of the customer. Lutton acknowledges that the Internet, Amazon’s Kindle, changing reading habits etc. make the notion of running a brick-and-mortar used bookstore a far more precarious proposition than it used to be. But she’s determined, and actually even nominally optimistic, about Twice Sold Tale’s chances: “I’m having a good experience here. Business is not great but it’s acceptable. I have a corps of regular customers who keep me open and I still have eight years left on my lease. I’m planning on staying. Besides, I don’t know how to do anything else.” Just as Folklife celebrates the potential arrival of summer, Bumbershoot revels in the end of summer bliss. It is the last chance for Seattle’s own collective of crazies to sing and dance before retreating to their winter dwellings. Although boasting an eclectic population, Seattle's people are easily categorized at events such as these. I normally reject labels, however, festival patrons make it far too easy to judge. The following have been randomly chosen from this city's wide selection of summer fesitivites. There are six groups of people who attend Folklife:
Then Summer... 
Where one boutique blossoms another withers. Zebraclub, a Euro-inspired boutique fashion store started in 1985, has closed its Capitol Hill location at 421 E. Pine St. While the closure seemed abrupt to me, a reliable source (my girlfriend) informs me that the store was having some amazing sales in recent weeks. An employee of the downtown Zebraclub said that to his knowledge there was no intention of opening elsewhere on the hill. He was unsure why the store had closed. You can still shop at Zebraclub at their other locations in Downtown Seattle, Bellevue, and Vancouver, BC. Update: CHS member Cheesecake tipped us to this nugget of gossip:
We called Zero Zero Salon to confirm but they were reluctant to talk about anything just yet. They did say that anything new would...
With the Brix auction taking place last weekend, neighbor Bill asked us to look into another notable Capitol Hill real estate development - 25 on the Park - that is struggling with the down economy. Urbnlivn reported on some of the development's problems back in summer. We've dug in to learn a bit more about these empty homes that seem to be stuck in limbo on the edge of Cal Anderson Park. CHS can confirm that on February 24, 2009, Everett-based City Bank foreclosed on the development and the Dwelling Company ("Jacobsen House Inc" is the holding company) no longer markets or owns it (full notice of foreclosure is attached to this post). City Bank foreclosed on the property for the following reasons :
Though the notice anticipates an auction in June 2009 and there was an auction scheduled for August 2009, no auctions have apparently taken place. From City Bank's comments after its most recent earnings release, they may be attempting to find someone to finish the build out on the units to sell them:
CHS contacted City Bank for an update on the status of the development and will add any new information to this post if we hear back from them. Last week, CHS told you about the upcoming Sound Transit community forum slated for October 8th to discuss status of light rail construction on Capitol Hill. ST's official release about the meeting is below but first wanted to share details the agency passed along about some temporary art projects that will soon be featured in the big, empty, paved lot at Broadway and John:  Blue Duwamish, Dan Corson & Norie Sato 3 Originally uploaded by b_luecke
 SODO Pictogram, Christian French Originally uploaded by b_luecke Glad ST is moving forward with this -- but note that the 'sculptural performance space' is super temporary. When the construction contractor arrives in November, it's gone. Meanwhile, here's the ST release on the October construction and noise variance forum:
You might have heard that indie celebs Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard were married earlier this month in 'a town near Seattle.' Turns out, they honeymooned on Capitol Hill (oh, and she might not be vegan):
Now, before you think we're giving credence to this report because of some random comment on the Internet, we also found corroboration for the sighting in Seattle University's Hat tip to @lannyb for giving CHS a reason to read People magazine. |
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