A few days ago I posed a question to a runner, "How many Obama signs do you think are on your running route?"  The answer: 30, possibly 31, on a 4 mile Fancy/Miller/CD run.  Some micro-analysis proved to be more interesting, though, since a few blocks had more concentrated yard signage than others.  This made me wonder: "Which 1 block stretch on Capitol Hill has the highest number of visible Obama signs?" 

A few rules:

• The sign can be in the yard, in a window, etc, but it must be visible from the sidewalk.
• Bumper stickers on cars don't count.
• Multiple signs at a single dwelling unit count separately.

So CHSers, which block is it?

(To be fair, we can use these same rules to ask: "Does any 1 block stretch of Capitol Hill have a McCain sign?")

The annual Perseid meteor shower is peaking this very minute but you couldn't see anything on Capitol Hill last night and you won't be able to see anything tonight. Seattle will be buried underneath a layer of 90% cloud cover.

But here's the good news. Nature doesn't run on a clock. The Perseids have been shooting across your sky for weeks and they'll be shooting across your sky for a few weeks more. Chances are good you'll be able to see a shooting star or three on the Hill Friday night as the cloud cover is forecast to drop to around 60% and a relatively crystal clear 40% on Saturday.

Also in your favor, the moon is retreating toward a thin crescent and won't rise until around midnight so the skies should be as dark as city skies get around 10:30 PM.

So that's the when. As for the where, here's a handy infographic from NASA showing a view to the northeast. That's what you'll want to find to get the best view of the action. Not sure where you'll find the barn and the windmill around here but keep looking.

Northeast View (NASA.org)

For your Cap Hill viewing location, think of relatively open spaces with a northeast view. Also think of dark places so bring a friend! Some places to consider: Louisa Boren Park overlooking Lake Washington and Volunteer Park.

The best places to view, of course, are far from the city. So think of things in a different frame of reference. This will be an urban meteor shower. There's a good chance that things on the ground will be more interesting than what's in the sky.

Design for Livability: Sustainable Cities Conference
October 15 - 16
University of Washington, Seattle

"This forum brings our region’s planning, design, development, and civic leaders and advocates together to better understand what we can do to build a stronger future. Today, more than ever, we are faced with environmental and economic challenges that will define our generation, shape our future, and test our resilience. Join leaders from across the region as we tackle these challenges head-on and demonstrate solutions to building more livable, walkable, and healthier communities."

Link: https://www.aiaseattle.org/sustainablecities

Cost (after Oct. 8)

$225 AIA, APA, ASLA, CLC Members
$135 AIA Associate Members
$225 Government Employees
$295 Non-members

Wednesday night Sound Transit hosted a lively public discussion on Transit Oriented Development around the Capitol Hill light rail station. In an effort to dialogue with the community ST plans on hosting quarterly forums for people to share their thoughts and ideas about what should be developed around our future light rail station (dates TBD). If you missed the first meeting tonight, here's a little recap of the evening's events.

The meeting began with a short introduction about what we have to work with. As anyone who visits Broadway regularly knows, ST purchased about 3 acres of land that they will use to construct the new Link Station. While the land will be vacant during construction, the station entrances have been situated to take up as little space as possible, allowing for a significant amount of TOD land. The map below shows the four main TOD sites (blue) along with the three station entrances (red):

View Larger Map

There seemed to be an unspoken understanding that the majority of the land would be developed as your typical, 6-story condo/apartment complexes springing up like dandelions here on the hill. But what ST wanted us to think about were the possible public amenities that could be incorporated into these new projects. In an effort to spark the crowd's imagination, three speakers talked about what they envisioned on the site. First, Chris Curtis, director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, spoke about the possiblity of a permanent home for the Broadway Farmers Market (which opens May 10th btw). She applauded its 35% increase in turnout last year and, along with some community members, suggested the possiblity of a bi-weekly or daily market because of the huge number of estimated vistors from light rail. Next, Michael Siewerath from Capitol Hill Housing, discussed adding more arts and culture space, lamenting the recent exodus of arts organizations from Capitol Hill. Finally, Capitol Hill Community Council President (and manager of this wonderful site), Justin Carder, talked about the idea of a more flexible community gathering space, where myriad clubs and organizations would be able to host their events, including the CH Community Council itself.

Along with these wonderful ideas, community members also had the opportunity to voice their thoughts about development. I was surprised and excited to find that instead of the usual banter over parking garages and height limits, the community seemed generally united in wanting to create a pedestrian oriented environment. Questions were asked such as, Could there be a maximum frontage size for retail spaces? Could the sidewalks be extended to over 20 feet? Could new buildings be required to be parking-less? The answer that Sound Transit gave was yes, all these things were possible....but it mostly depended on whether developers were willing to do these things on their own and if NGO's could secure outside funding to help subsize these public benefits. In fact, according to Sound Transit, because of some vague concept of Fair Market Value and federal funding sources, they could really only suggest how development proceeded, not actually mandate what it looks like.

But pointed questions uncovered two key differences between this project and all previous Sound Transit stations. 1) Sound Transit purchased the land for the CH Light Rail Station instead of leased it, as they did on Beacon Hill, giving them substaintially more control over what development looks like and 2) The postion of the station at the heart of one of the most dense and dynamic neighborhoods makes the land around the station some of the most desirable in the city

The end of the meeting was summed up by one vocal community member who chastised Sound Transit for being too timid. As a public agency he said that it was paramount that Sound Transit prioritize the needs of the public. He called on Sound Transit to be aggressive and bold and to make sure that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity truly transforms the way we think about transportation. Needless to say, he got a well deserved round of applause.

La Boqueria produce market on La Rambla. The future of the Broadway Farmers Market?

Hi. I'm Joe Mallahan. (Photo: Lucas Anderson/Neighborlogs)

Or the Central Area/Capitol Hill forum, depending on who had the microphone Monday night. You can find full notes and several pictures from the night's proceedings here. In the meantime, here are some bullet point takeaways from the event.

• I'm amazed candidates are so in need of getting in front of people that they'll subject themselves to loud buzzers, half-baked formats and not-always-well-worded questions. Guess that's democracy.
• Wherever the lightning round idea came from, it should probably be done away with. Check out this lightning round derailment complete with Greg Nickels calling a timeout. Shouldn't that be former NBA player James Donaldson's job?
  
• This mayoral lightning round exchange was, on the other hand, illuminating. The challenge: Name three Central Area or Capitol Hill community councils or associations. Some of the guesses these guys throw up are kind of hilarious.
  
• Speaking of, um, throwing up, I was worried for Tom Tobin, candidate for City Council position 4. He punted on a few answers mid-sentence and looked lost and a little confused on stage. Seattle Times was brutal in its review.
• Nickels kept his cool, Mike McGinn was good enough and Jan Drago seemed toned down a notch.
• Kwame Wyking Garrett got the most applause on the evening and was rolling out some decent stump skills.
• City Council candidates that stood out by saying something memorable and being able to manage the short 1-minute answer opportunities: David Miller, Richard Conlin, Sally Bagshaw, Jessie Israel (bonus points for being most adept at forcing her endorsements into answers), Robert Rosencrantz.
• Can't say the School Board position 5 discussion made our mind up though Kay Smith-Blum's answers were the most coherent and succinct of the bunch.

For more coverage of the forum check out this write-up from the Seattle Times:
Candidates sweat the details at Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Bailey/Coy Books, Broadway, Seattle, WA,
originally uploaded by djwudi.

UPDATE 12:10 PM:
I spoke with Bailey Coy owner Michael Wells this morning shortly after the shop opened for the first day of business since his big (and sad) announcement.

Wells said his decision to close for good after years of financial struggle came down to the fundamental question: What does an independent bookstore need to be in this era to survive?

Wells said he's been thinking of how to change for a long time. "I've considered so many permutations. Downsizing. Changing my stock. Events. The realities of book selling at this moment are such that I'm not even sure a change of retail model would even work," Wells said.

"I think a new bookstore has to look differently than in the past. I don't know that I can do that. I don't really understand what is needed. I don't know what e-books will do, how discounts will work, what it will take to do better."

So Wells said he has decided to do the prudent thing. Quit.

"Even if there was a huge groundswell of support from the community, the business model itself is so precarious," Wells said. "I wanted to end this with grace."

Not that the community hasn't tried to keep the story going. Wells confirmed that a prominent Capitol Hill business owner who is a longtime customer had been working with him to find a solution to keep Bailey Coy in business.

"A loan doesn't really help any more. The credit debt is too scary. We've gone through a couple of attempts to find financing and we end up in the same place. No," Wells said. "One of the pieces of this story is how hard it is for small businesses to get credit. At some point I stopped and said, 'I wouldn't even give us credit!'"

Wells said the financial condition of his shop wasn't dire -- in fact, he said he has never taken out a bank loan to keep the store afloat -- but that it had become clear that the struggle to survive was no longer worth the effort.

"This isn't the bookstore I want to be running. I only want to run a good bookstore. I cannot finance -- and the Cap Hill community -- cannot finance this store," Wells said.

Now, Wells said the best way for you to help him close Bailey Coy with 'grace' is to support the store as it sells off its remaining stock over the next four weeks. The prices will keep dropping, of course, but buying a book today will help Wells pay off remaining bills. He also said there will be a new 'Bailey Coy rummage' section of the store to sell off some of the memorabilia and etc. that has collected in the store over the years including a framed package wrapper from Feminist Press addressed to founder Barbara Bailey and some of the shop's classic window displays.

The best memorabilia will be part of an auction at a party Wells is planning to celebrate the store's history. Wells calls the party Bailey Coy's wake. "Barbara will be there," Wells said. "We'll auction off great memorabilia like a pair of underwear signed by David Sedaris."

The happy part of the whole thing, Wells said, is hearing from people about their love for the store. "I'm hearing so many stories. Stories about people coming here as a kid. We're connected to a variety of communities. A lot of people have different experiences. That's been great."

As for what comes next for Wells, he says he hasn't had time to think about it despite friends telling him for years that he should think about life after Bailey Coy.

"It's been a great 30 years," Wells said. "For 25 of those years, it was a profitable business. And then I bought it," he deadpans. Now that the struggle has ended, Wells can laugh.

UPDATE 9:25 AM:
Owner Michael Wells says thanks (and more!) in the comments below:

Thank You

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. We will remain open the rest of this month and book cards and gift certificates are still redeemable.

We're obviously very sad about this. We've been proud to be a part of your lives. 

I came to Bailey/Coy in 1989, so, while it's possible that I may be stuck in the 80's, it's far more likely that I'm stuck in the 90's. The 1890's, perhaps...

Original Post:
Michael Wells, owner of indie Capitol Hill bookstore Bailey Coy Books and a prominent member of the Hill business community, tonight announced that he is closing doors on the shop at the end of November. Publicola was the first to report on the closure in a report written by a Bailey Coy employee. The reporter included this press release from Wells about his decision:

Bailey/Coy Books, after serving the Capitol Hill community, the greater Seattle area and generations of book lovers everywhere for 26 years, will be closing its doors at the end of November....

(more)

A wind-driven lightning and hailstorm that quickly passed across the city also rumbled across Capitol Hill late tonight. The storm arrived on Capitol Hill around 10:42 if you believe Twitter -- about 5 minutes after reports started spreading across the social messaging service's Tweets from the West Seattle area. In the 15-minute window around the storm's coming and going, there were 1,267 Tweets about 'thunder' in the Seattle area.

Here's what a few of you had to say about it:

moohaha: Seattle Cap Hill: huge lightening + thunder. Cloud covered Space Needle in <5 min. Now it's hailing

SEATTLE

eliranderson: Wicked hail storm on Cap Hill.

Seattle, WA, USA

Power on the Hill is still on (fingers crossed) but there are reports of outages in Leschi and Queen Anne was dark earlier this evening. The Western Washington forecast says to expect more of the same blustery wet weather through Friday and into Saturday.

Here's a video of the heavy downpour from...

I'm heading out to check out the rally in Volunteer Park soon. Stay tuned for pictures and updates from the scene.

First Hill Streetcar Map, originally uploaded by Oran Viriyincy.

As we've been reporting all along, the city and Sound Transit have been pushing toward a plan to have the streetcar running between Union Station and Capitol Hill in service shortly after the 2012 apocalypse.

The two agencies made Streetcar 2013 official with this announcement released Monday:

Seattle, Sound Transit execute agreement for expedited streetcar construction

November 16 , 2009

The City of Seattle and Sound Transit are moving forward with plans to build a new streetcar line linking the city's First Hill neighborhood with Capitol Hill and the International District.

The city and Sound Transit have executed an agreement that includes an expedited construction timeline - the line is anticipated to open in 2013 instead of the 2016 completion that was earlier planned. The City of Seattle will build and operate the new line, which voters approved as part of the 2008 Sound Transit 2 ballot measure.

"This line will be the first two of 36 new miles of rail coming to our region," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who today added his signature to the agreement following recent approvals by the Sound Transit Board and Seattle City Council.

The First Hill Streetcar will serve major Seattle work centers, including Swedish Hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College. The line will provide easy access to the Link light rail system that opened this summer and the Capitol Hill light rail station when University Link opens in 2016.

"First Hill is home to more than 22,000 jobs and the streetcar will be a great new option for the people who live and work here," said First Hill Improvement Association Vice President Jim Erickson. "We look forward to working with the City and Sound Transit to meet the transportation needs of First Hill."

Sound Transit will cover the project's costs up to $132 million, and the city will take the lead on design, property acquisition and construction of the two-mile line connecting downtown Seattle, First Hill and the Capitol Hill light rail station. Sound Transit will cover operating costs when the line begins service.

The First Hill line will be the second modern streetcar line in Seattle following the Sound Lake Union Streetcar line which opened in December, 2008.

The City plans to begin construction in 2012. The final route will be determined as part of the environmental review process over the next two years.  The Sound Transit Board included the streetcar line in the ST 2 expansion package after determining that a previously-planned light rail station at Madison Street and Summit Avenue on First Hill would be too costly.

With the passage of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure in November 2008, light rail is targeted to reach all the way to Lynnwood, Redmond's Overlake area and the Star Lake/Redondo area near Federal Way by 2023.

Next for the process will be the public and political discussion about what route the line will take as it passes between the International District and Capitol Hill by way of First Hill.

We have been reading reports about this...

• 4/15/09 4:55 PM -- BrittneyBush: Cookie Monster is begging for money on Broadway
• 4/15/09 6:14 PM - katlen: I just saw Cookie Monster begging on Broadway in Seattle
• 4/15/09 8:31 PM - endquote: A panhandler on Broadway is wearing a Cookie Monster costume. If I have to start regularly dodging muppets on my way to lunch, I'm moving.
• 4/18/09 9:00 PM - adambomb00: Cookie monster is panhandling in capitol hill. I love seattle.

But the first to capture an image of the Cap Hill Cookie Monster was Matt Hickey last night around 10. Cookie is a long way from Sesame Street. Hope he get his life together.

UPDATE 9:45 AM:
King County Health spokesperson Hilary Karasz said her department is monitoring the University of Washington situation but hasn't yet seen a significant upturn in reports of H1N1 in the Seattle area. The appearance of H1N1 on campus, Karasz said, was only a matter of time. "There have been multiple reports in the community all summer long," Karasz said. "With schools coming back, we expect to see more outbreaks."

Karasz said, so far, symptoms appear to be mild and on the scale of the typical seasonal flu. The big difference with H1N1, though, is the level of immunity in the community. Because it's a new virus, fewer of us have developed immunities to it and so, Karasz explained, more of us are going to get it. "It's a strong reminder to wash our hands and stay home if we're feeling sick," Karasz said.

Karasz also said that you can monitor the county's latest recorded totals of H1N1 incidents on http://www.kingcounty.gov/health/h1n1. She cautioned that the county is not currently requiring testing for the virus so there are many more cases that are not reported in the health department stats.

Original Report:
CHS received this e-mail bulletin sent out by the University of Washington's head of campus health reporting two probable cases of H1N1. According to the e-mail, the two students are residents of a campus sorority house. More than 2,000 students at Washington State University are reported sick with 'swine flu' but the Seattle Times reports that most suffered mild symptoms and only two had been hospitalized so far. UW's first day of instruction is September 30.

The King County H1N1 page has more information on prevention and local updates. Last spring, concerns about an H1N1 pandemic caused closures across Seattle including Capitol Hill's Stevens Elementary which was closed for four days after a student who was sick with the virus attended class.

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

            While a diagnosis has not been confirmed, the first apparent cases of novel H1N1 influenza have been reported to Hall Health Center from a sorority at the University. Sorority rush is beginning and many of the houses are active with returning sorority members and new students. Two cases of probable H1N1 flu have been identified in one house. The students were advised to return home and other members who may have been exposed have been advised to take necessary precautions, which include hand washing and use of hand sanitizers. They have also been advised to watch for symptoms of the flu and report cases to Hall Health.

            This is a reminder that we all need to refresh our H1N1 preparation. Information is posted at the Pandemic Flu website and on the Hall Health center web site  More information will be forthcoming in the coming week as we approach the start of the school year. In the meantime, the following guidelines should be observed:

1. If you are sick with a high fever and cough or sore throat, stay at home.  You may return to work or classes when you have not had a fever for 24 hours without taking fever-lowering medication.
2. If you are coughing, cough into a tissue or your sleeve if a tissue is not available.  Avoid coughing directly into your hand as everything you touch after this will have influenza virus on it.
3. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water OR hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

We will be monitoring the situation in the fraternity and sorority system and elsewhere on campus to see what kind of influenza transmission occurs. This is the leading edge of what we anticipate during the fall quarter. The virus thus far appears to be readily transmitted from person to person. It also appears to be relatively mild in intensity and people are recovering as the virus runs its course. We will keep you posted with further information as it becomes available. If you are at high risk for influenza complications () and have been exposed contact your medical provider.

Sincerely,

Jean Haulman, M.D.

Medical Director

Campus Health Services

As the Seattle Times (via the Associated Press) reported this morning, there was an early morning fire on 11th Avenue between Republican and Mercer.  We have a call in to the Seattle Fire Department for additional information:

Smoking in bed started a fire that injured two men early today in an older house that had been converted to apartments, according to the Seattle Fire Department.

Spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen says firefighters responding about 2:30 a.m. found one man in a room. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries.

She says another man who was able to get out of the house on his own also was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.

Damage is estimated at [$]20,000 to the three-story house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Update (11/11) 2:19 pm: CHS has learned that the man who started the fire has died

Update (11/11) 2:51 pm: Line Out identifies Comet Bouncer Ben Hills as the man killed in the fire

Update (11/11) 5:08 pm: Line...

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...

Here are the results of the Brix Auction that happened earlier today at the Grand Hyatt.  I estimated the crowd size to be between 450 and 500 people.  Urbnlivn estimates that there were about 200 registered bidders, and the rest of the crowd were guests.  According to Zillow, the average sales price per square foot of a condo in the 98102 zipcode (where Brix is located) was $378 in July 09.  I have highlighted (in yellow) the units where the bidders were able to secure the condo for below this market valuation - click to enlarge the table.  Units (or Homes) are listed by the order they were sold at auction.

For an opinion on Sunday's auction, check out patgrimm's write-up.

pre-movie drinks at Joe Bar
Originally uploaded by yancy9

Looking at the hourly data at Sea-Tac Airport, it appears that we have broken the record for highest minimum temperature in Seattle history.
-- Cliff Mass, meteorologist, July 29, 2009

As Dr. Mass reports, we've already reached one heat record today and another is likely on its way. Seattle's record high for Sea-Tac airport measurements: 100 degrees on July 20, 2004.

As for on-Hill measurement, I found a link in a comment on the Mass blog to what is reportedly a measurement unit atop the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. Here is the data for this 'unofficial' Capitol Hill weather station. It reports a low this morning of 73.6 °F and a rapidly rising high of 97.3 °F as of 11:07 AM.

What's your strategy to survive the hottest day ever on Capitol Hill? Any guesses on today's 'unofficial' Volunteer Park high? Passes to Northwest Film Forum to person who comes closest to high recorded today at station KWASEATT110. Ties broken by judge's choice of best 'beat the heat' solution. Guesses must be posted by 4 PM

The city's Department of Planning and Development says the city is ready to meet with stakeholders to revise the Pike/Pine update. Rebecca Hertzfeld, supervising analyst for City Council central staff, said there will be a special meeting of the land use committee within the next three weeks to discuss solutions. She said a panel of stakeholders will be invited to speak including property owners, developers, community members and small business owners.

"The goal is to hear from various stakeholders on the proposal and whether they think it could be better or would like changes," Hertzfeld said. "I expect questions about the balance of wanting to encourage preservation of older buildings and creating [an overlay] developers can work with."

Last week, CHS was first to report Betsy Hunter, director of real estate development for Capitol Hill Housing, and the Pike/Pine Urban Neighborhood Council took a stand against the city's plans for zoning changes in the neighborhood, calling for a moratorium on any demolition in Pike/Pine until a solution is reached. The group said new rules being considered didn't go far enough to "preserve the character" of the area while giving developers the environment they need to develop Pike/Pine in a responsible, high quality way.

Hunter also appeared in front of the City Council's Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods committee on Wednesday, March 25, to speak about the weaknesses in the current plan to update the Pike/Pine overlay. You can watch that session here.

Talking earlier this week with CHS, Hunter said she hoped her appearance in front of the committee would help bring city planners back to the table to help develop a new set of updates. "We worry that it really hasn't met the goal of preserving the neighborhood's character," Hunter said about the updated overlay plan as currently written. "So it makes sense to get people around the table and talking about how to make this better."

One thing that will not be solved in this process -- transfer of development rights, the seeming holy grail of effective preservation-friendly development. That weighty topic, Hertzfeld said, can't be tackled until a second phase of legislation. "One reason to do the current piece of legislation first is that it clarifies the zoning so you could use transfer of development rights in the future," Hertzfeld said.

But given that the current phase of reworking the overlay has taken over a year, the prospects for putting a complicated TDR solution in place any time soon aren't good.

Hertzfeld offered an optimistic 9-month estimate. "The current overlay is 10 years old and there have been many changes that need to be accounted for. In a way, this kind of clears the decks and makes everything ready to do a transfer of development rights program."

In a move that could shake up prices in the Capitol Hill condominium market, the developer behind Broadway's Brix condos is taking the building's remaining 40 unsold units to auction. 101 units have been purchased since developer Schnitzer West began marketing the new building at the beginning of 2009. The Stranger documented the developer's recent woes in this article in April: Schnitzer Hits the Fan.

Capitol Hill resident and real estate expert Matt Goyer who wrote about the Brix auction on his Urbnlivn blog, tells CHS the Brix auction is good news for anybody in the market for a Hill condo but could be bad news for those who have already bought. "If you're looking to buy a condo on Capitol Hill, this is great news," Goyer told us via e-mail. "You'll be able to buy a place at half at what it was listed at previously. However, if you own a condo on Capitol Hill this is going to bring down the average sales dollars per square foot for our neighborhood affecting your ability to resell and your ability to refinance....

Just in from the scanner. Metro Tour bus with around 50 passengers on board has crashed off Melrose and is hanging about 10 feet over the lanes of I5 below. Accident involves two buses and there are reports of injuries. Heading out now for coverage and pictures.

Update: 12:52pm - It's actually two big tour buses that made a really poor choice to go down the very steep Thomas towards I-5 and slipped the whole way.  The front tires and door of one bus is hanging over the travel lanes of I-5, but it doesn't appear to be in danger of falling.   It did a real number on the guardrail and concrete though.

Update: 1:09pm - First pics:

Witness saw 1st bus had hit rail and then saw 2nd race down behind down Thomas

Update 1:15pm: Justin is talking to people at the scene.  The buses were full of kids.  The first bus went down Thomas and slid into the guardrail.  Then the second bus followed the same route and slid "really fast" down the hill, clipped the first bus and...

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

The duo behind Capitol Hill hipster blog cap to the hill have won the $10,000 Party contest. And you haven't.

Of course, you probably didn't know about the $10,000 Party contest and Capitol Hill advertising agency Creature wasn't thinking about you when they cooked up this for a JanSport marketing scheme:

Do you like throwing parties? Are you really good at it and do your friends count on you to always throw the best ones? Then we want to fund your next one-of-kind party experience.

Their vision for the party was a winner. Now Ryan and Gainer are working to pull the event together in a month -- their target date: Thursday, August 20.

We asked Ryan a few questions in an e-mail about the project:

You've put out a call for help and involvement from others in the community. What are you hoping people will step forward to contribute?
We are really trying to recreate the old pine strip of bars so anyone who has anything from the bars, worked at the bars/stores or knows how to get in contact with anybody who did. We are toying with the idea that cap hill businesses sponsoring certain booths, donating goods, labor, etc....but they would get all the profit they made. I could get more specific in a few days but we are just wondering who out there would like to be involved. We are primarily talking about people who can contribute something substantial....and that doesn't necessarily mean financially. bottom line is that to make this a great, safe party we need to spend our money on fencing, security and other means beyond "fun stuff."

What about yourself and your site. You've run captothehill for a while now. What are you hoping to get out of the experience? Besides that cool Jansport backpack...

More than anything, we just want to throw a party that celebrates the hill. It all means something different to us and coming together to celebrate whatever that may mean is the point. I guess, to acknowledge the spirit that still exists.

Capitol Hill has had a few legendary festivities. Where will this one rank in the history of Capitol Hill parties?
We aren't trying to make this anything beyond a good time that people can have fun at. This is not trying to bring back the 500 pine corridor, we could never really do that, but to celebrate what it is and pretty much be a tribute to a vibe it embodied.

Can you tell us where on the Hill the party will be held?

We are hoping to have the party in the peoples parking lot, the actual "burial" site of the old 500 pine block. we are working with the city to get permission. this is not official.

Want to throw your own Capitol Hill block party? You have until next Friday to register for a National Night Out party on August 4. Sorry. No $10,000 for you, however.

Broadway retail had another hole poked in the middle of it tonight as, under the cover of darkness, employees scrambled to gut the Hollywood Video next to Dick's Burgers and directly across the street from the empty lot where Sound Transit's light rail station construction is soon to begin.

A sign on the door said the location is permanently closing and directed customers to the next closest Hollywood Video in Magnolia. Despite the sign, a customer tried the locked door before dropping his movie in the return slot. He said he had just joined Hollywood's monthly movie plan.

UPDATE: Adding some information about the building itself, the $2.8 million, three-story brick building was built in 1929 and is owned by Ron and Edel Amundson, according to King County records. It is also home to online provider of phonics-based spelling lessons, Headsprout and a company called Antique Cycle Northwest. From the Department of Neighborhoods:

Historic Name:      Del-Teet Furniture     &...

Another mystery nightclub is for sale on Capitol Hill. Which one do you think this is?

Established Capitol Hill Nightclub  $800,000 2 bars; Special amenities; Great lease; turnkey Gross $1.12M.

Clues indicate it is a currently open, high volume establishment. Let's start with eliminating contenders: not Neumos (3 bars, right?) not King Cobra (they were only asking $500K earlier this year).

Which "nightclub" with "special amenities" do you think this is? The Garage? The War Room? Chop Suey?

That price is a real stunner, innit? Here's a brief rundown of other Capitol Hill area businesses currently for sale, all with lower price tags:

Rosebud  $295,000; India Express  $190,000; and Swoon  $65,000.  Slightly off-Hill listings include: Quiznos (Madison)  $179,000;  and Plaza Select Foods (Madison) $60,000.

And now for the bonus round:
 There's a handful of  no-name-please businesses for sale who have self-identified as being in the Capitol HIll neighborhood....

Front page story in today's Seattle Times: Starbucks on 15th is reopening soon as "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea". Didn't we hear that news around here on CHS, say back in June?

Somewhat ironic that the Seattle Times article also reports that Starbucks executives was snooping on (and emulating) local businesses:

Victrola Coffee Roasters saw the Starbucks people a lot more often.

"They spent the last 12 months in our store up on 15th [Avenue] with these obnoxious folders that said, 'Observation,' " said Victrola owner Dan Ollis.

He thinks it's interesting that they spent all that time in his shop, which serves wine and beer, then applied for a liquor license to sell wine and beer at 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea.

Can we expect the Seattle Times to start getting more like CHS soon?