Community Council arts forum calls for a Capitol Hill ‘arts ecology’

Jeffrey Cook frantically adding to the giant list of Cap Hill Arts Organizations

Jeffrey Cook frantically adds names to the giant list of Capitol Hill arts organizations

“The culture and the arts are really core to the identity of this neighborhood—there needs to be policy that will allow for its preservation, so that there can be an arts ecology here,” said Randy Engstrom, recently appointed director of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

And boy, is Capitol Hill’s arts ecology dense.

Discussion leader Jeffrey Cook struggled to keep up as the makeshift think tank that formed at Thursday’s Capitol Hill Community Council-hosted arts forum shouted out a litany arts organizations to add to the an arts mailing list, which quadrupled in the span of five minutes.

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CHS Pics | Cutting the ribbon at the new and improved Volunteer Park playground

Kids from Stevens Elementary School cut the ribbon with a comically large pair of scissors, and several small pairs of scissors.

The overhauled and more accesible Volunteer Park playground was celebrated Friday night with music — and lots of play.

Playground Crowd

(Images: Jim Simandl for CHS)

Opened to the public last month after a $600,000 construction project to create new paths, bridges and play structures while maintaining popular existing features like the Block (“bone”) play sculpture created by artist Chas Smith in 1962.

City and Seattle Parks officials including City Council member Sally Bagshaw were on hand as Choir5 from nearby Stevens Elementary performed. And, while it wasn’t exactly a sunny late afternoon, it didn’t rain on the new simulated fossils, musical play sculptures, sand box and more added to the more than 100-year-old Olmsted Brothers park. The popular wade pool returns to service — now with new paths, benches and a picnic area — again in June.

More pictures below.

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Finding no good fortune on 14th, Lucky 8s China House to close

(Image: Lucky 8s)

(Image: Lucky 8s)

One of the smaller entities in the transformation of 14th and Union into an island of food and drink activity is closing its doors after one last night of service — and delivery.

Lucky 8s China House will shut down tonight after just under a year and a half of operation on 14th Ave.

Owner Bracey Rogers confirmed the closure with CHS.

29351_301722226604741_960727091_n“Unfortunately, we just were not getting enough business to support all the overhead,” Rogers said. “We definitely had [our] diehard fans, but just not enough.”

The restaurant opened in time for New Year’s Day 2012.

“We’ll have a lot of dishes that people will be familiar with,” the project’s chef Justin Strnad said at the time. “We’re not fusion or anything. It’s our version of Chinese/American food. Housemade everything.”

Lucky 8s was built out of the space created by the overhaul of the old La Panzanella bakery for Oola. Belltown transplant Zoe filled its neighboring space while bear bar Diesel snuggled it to the north. The venture worked hard for notoriety amidst a wave of new food+drink players on the Hill. A mini-wave of Chinese-themed eateries also opened up around the same time including Chungee’s, Regent Bakery and the ill-fated Bako where Bait Shop floats today.

After closing down Friday night, Rogers says there will be a party for staff and regulars on Saturday. The restauranteur says Lucky 8s has been an education.

“The whole process has been a great learning experience for me,” he writes. “Hopefully I will be carrying this knowledge on to a potential new project.”

There’s some office space available on E Pike…

8542989691_e89169e652News from the E Pike Tim Burgess for Mayor camp this afternoon:

Statement by City Councilmember Tim Burgess
(Seattle, WA) – Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess, a candidate for Mayor of Seattle, today issued the following statement:
“Our city needs new and visionary leadership in the Mayor’s office that truly brings people
together to accomplish great things for all of Seattle. I had hoped to provide that leadership as
Mayor. Continue reading

Blotter | Suspect charged in Cal Anderson pit bull fight stabbing, Zipcar rollover crash DUI charges

  • Screen shot 2013-05-17 at 12.45.41 PMThe man arrested following Sunday night’s stabbing in Cal Anderson has been charged in the crime. 38-year-old Jeremy Nelson faces one count of second degree assault for the attack that the victim says started when he pushed away Nelson’s pit bull Zeus as it was running around without a leash in the park. The victim suffered a significant gash below his ribs in the attack. According to police, one witness said it could have been worse as the attacker also tried to stab the victim in the neck.Police recovered a knife believed to be the one Nelson used in the attack in the grass of the park following his arrest.Prosecutors say Nelson’s criminal record includes convictions for assault and weapons charges as well as various drug charges including a 1997 drug “delivery” conviction. Nelson also faces a drug charge following Sunday night’s arrest after police say they found a small packet containing a substance suspected to be heroin in Nelson’s pocket.
  • Police continue to search for the suspect believed to be responsible in another stabbing in Cal Anderson Thursday night.
  • There are no updates in the sexual assault investigation stemming from this May 6th incident in which a woman told police she was held at knifepoint and assaulted in Cal Anderson Park, according to SPD detectives.

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Washington State Kine Bud Control Board releases proposed rules for recreational marijuana entrepreneurs

Screen shot 2013-05-16 at 3.59.44 PMIt’s hard not to be silly about it. We’re assuming the same kind of giddy, childish humor was on display at the end of liquor prohibition, too. Thursday, the needs-a-new-name Washington State Liquor Control Board released a timeline and 46 pages of draft rules for licensing, sales and accounting in a nascent recreational marijuana economy. We’ve included the entire draft document and the board’s timeline for implementation, below.

The draft proposals includes everything from licensing requirements for a legal marijuana dealership to the new logo and information box to be used on WA State-certified weed packaging. Continue reading

SPD seeks assistance in identifying May Day 2013 riot suspects

Longboard vs. Walgreens (Image via SPD)

Longboard vs. Walgreens (Image via SPD)

Moment of impact (Image via SPD)

Moment of impact (Image via SPD)

Chances are, you might know one of these May Day riot suspects. Seattle Police are again turning to the public to help identify suspects caught in images and video recorded during the 2013 May Day marches, protests and vandalism that marked the left a handful of businesses damaged on Capitol Hill.

SPD has posted images and video of eight suspects here.

Following 2012′s May Day incidents in downtown Seattle, police also posted pictures in hopes of identifying suspects. Five people were ultimately charged in late November. Four of the cases remain in the court system — one of the suspects has pleaded guilty.

Video of some of the suspects’ actions distributed by SPD is below. Continue reading

Orale Chamo, debuting at the Broadway Farmers Market, is Venezuelan and Mexican ‘remixed’

Look, authentic corn meal (Image: Orale Chamo)

Look, authentic corn meal (Image: Orale Chamo)

As you head over to the Broadway Farmers Market this Sunday, make sure to save room for Orale Chamo, a new Mexican/ Venezuelan hybrid food stand so authentic its owners tracked down the same flour they grew up with in their home countries to make their creations here in Seattle.

The three ladies behind Orale Chamo describe their cuisine as Venezuelan and Mexican arepas “remixed.” Marisa Franco, Gloria Zambrano, and Lex Mederos, longtime friends and recent Seattleites, decided to bring together two different cultures of food to create a fresh experience. The stand will operate — for now — exclusively at the Sunday market on Capitol Hill.

(Image: Orale Chamo)

(Image: Orale Chamo)

An initial struggle in the operation was finding the authentic ingredients that the women used growing up. “We wanted the same brand of flour that is actually used in Mexico and Venezuela, and because we are new to Seattle, it was hard to figure out how to find that at first,” Zambrano said.

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Police search for suspect after another Cal Anderson stabbing

Police were searching for a suspect believed to be responsible for a stabbing at Broadway and Pine on the sidewalk in front of Walgreens. UPDATE: Police say the victim was stabbed during an “altercation” in Cal Anderson and walked to Broadway.

We are still confirming details of the attack that was reported just before 9 PM.

A witness tells CHS the victim appeared to have been cut on the arm in the attack. UPDATE: Seattle Fire reports it transported a male teen from the scene with a stab wound. The male was in stable condition.

Police searched the Broadway area for a suspect believed to be involved with the crime.

The knife attack comes just days after a stabbing in Cal Anderson Park a few blocks away.

UPDATE: SPD has released its preliminary report on the incident:

Police remain on the lookout for the suspect in a stabbing that occurred in Cal Anderson Park tonight. At approximately 8:53 p.m. officers responded to Broadway Avenue and East Pine Street to contact a male victim who had been stabbed a short time earlier (the victim walked to that location to call 911). After interviewing the victim, officers determined the stabbing actually occurred in Cal Anderson Park. The victim had gotten into a verbal altercation with a male suspect that escalated with the suspect stabbing the victim in his left arm and back. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. The victim and suspect are not believed to be known to each other.

The victim, a male in his 20′s, was treated by fire department medics at the scene and subsequently transported to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment of his non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned black male in his 30′s wearing all dark clothing. Officers conducted an area search however, the suspect remains at large.

This remains an active and on-going investigation.

CHS Pics | Check out Capitol Hill’s ‘little libraries’

As we are about to lose yet another independent bookstore and used books, too, will be in shorter supply come summer, here are two community-oriented efforts to keep the pages turning on Capitol Hill.

We told you earlier about the Miller Community Center “little library” — here it is:8745689196_2d2ab8e6e9_b

Here’s a closer look at what’s available for your reading pleasure: Continue reading