seadevi

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 Out commenter Mumbly Jo provided the photo above and identified Hills as a drummer in the Shy Ones

Update (11/11) 9:25 pm: You can check out Shy Ones music at Last.fm or on their MySpace page:

• http://www.last.fm/music/The+Shy+Ones
• http://www.myspace.com/theshyones

Atlas Clothing celebrates the one year anniversary of the new location for its Capitol Hill store on November 11 at  Sole Repair.  It will be a Free "Mad Men"-themed party and fashion show between 8 and 11 pm.  "We invite the Capitol Hill community to join us" says Holly Ricciardi, an Atlas Sales Representative.  

photo by Julie Harmsen

donna at the polish festival
Originally uploaded by plexipixie

The 49th Annual Fall Bazaar takes place at Dom Polski, this weekend (11/7 - 11/8) from 12 to 7 pm each day.  

Booths upstairs will offer Polish crystal bowl and vases, Boleslawiec pottery, amber and silver jewelry, pottery, books, and crafts.  Downstairs, you can enjoy traditional Polish dishes of pierogi, sausage, cabbage rolls etc. served by the young generation of waiters clad in Polish folk costumes. You can also buy home made desserts and pastries.  The address is 1714 18th Ave. Seattle, and free admission and parking.

Oddfellows (Veg) Breakfast Panini

• Zhivago's Cafe is open reports Thrillist (Daily Candy for men) - I stopped in there this morning & they said they would be open at 1 pm
• From 11/1 to 12/31, Ethan Stowell restaurants, including Anchovies & Olives, will discount you $1 for each cork you bring in (up to 25 per table) as part of the Cork ReHarvest Program
• Monsoon and Nishino are two area restaurants participating in Dine Around Seattle this month (3 courses for $30 - Sun - Thu but check site for hours and specifics); Lark taking part in 4 for $48
• Have you been to First Hill's The Hideout yet?
• PoDog opening postponed to next week (not opening today!)
• Rover's Thierry Rautureau spotted filming for Top Chef Masters
• Galerias offering $3.75 mojitos and free plate of nachos any time if you mention CHS sent you

Several indicators continue to show rising influenza activity in King County. Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness continue to increase. Hospital admissions for 2009 H1N1 flu are approaching levels seen at the height of the spring outbreak. The number of hospitalizations where flu subtyping has not been performed is increasing as well, and many of these are likely to be 2009 H1N1 flu cases. Clinics that are part of Public Health's influenza surveillance system are showing more activity recently, with both the number of specimens and the percentage of positive tests for influenza unusually high for this time of year.

Between 10/4/09- 10/29/09 the following hospitalizations and deaths have been reported to Public Health

Confirmed 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations: 77

2009 H1N1 deaths: 1

Non-H1N1 or not tested influenza hospitalizations: 47

Non-H1N1 or not tested influenza deaths: 1

• Pregnant women
• Children and young adults 6 months to 24 years of age
• Persons ages 25-64 years old with health conditions that could make them dangerously ill from the flu (such as those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or anyone with a lowered immunity)
• Household members and caregivers of children younger than 6 months in age; and
• Healthcare workers and emergency medical service providers

Capitol Hill tends to be one of the best places to experience Halloween in Seattle.  The people-watching on Broadway tomorrow night will itself entertain.

Upping the fun factor on Broadway, (CHS Sponsor) Sound Transit said they expected the laser light art installation in the lot at Broadway and Denny to be ready by Halloween night, but we have been unable to confirm that the lasers will be lit.  All of the equipment appears to be in place however.  Swing by the lot Halloween night and let us know (take photos of the lasers and/or people in costumes and drop them in our CHS Flickr Pool).  UPDATE: Sound Transit says the show is on.

Some of your other options for Halloween on the Hill:

• Capitol Hill MONSTER Street Sweep (10 am to noon): Start your day off right by helping to spruce up the area between Seattle U and Broadway/Pine - all cleaning necessaries will be provided to participants as well as a free lunch & Bluebird Ice Cream

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• Slightly off the hill and of interest to the little ones will be the October Spooktacular taking place in the Arboretum between 4 and 8 pm tomorrow.  Join us for a special spooky version of the popular "Park in the Dark" family program for parents with kids ages 6-12. Come in costume and enjoy fun activities, games and a lighted walk throught the woods exploring freaky fungi, creepy crawlies and hunters that "haunt" the Arboretum.
• CHCC Halloween Walk - Trick or Treat on Broadway (6 to 8 pm): Broadway business will be distributing candy to those joining Capitol Hill Community Council members and their children in this walk along Broadway.
• Artist Monika Profitt's The Living Room debuts tomorrow and invites you to the Grand Opening party tomorrow  8 pm - 2 am: there will DJs and no cover.
• Cap to the Hill is throwing a Halloween party at the Havana Parking Lot (8 pm to 2 am) $10 tickets.
• Bottleneck Lounge (CHS sponsor) celebrates its annual harvest fest with chow from Skillet.
• More Capitol Hill events from Gay Cap Hill

If you're aware of other fun options, let us know in the comments

• Jeremy & Lisa visit Dom Polski and recommend the pierogis, beet salad & the sausage
• Anchovies & Olives to start oyster power hour on November 1 (from 5 to 6 & 10 to 12: $1 oysters, $2 Peronis and $5 glasses of bubbly - late hh will also have $8 fish & chips)
• Hockey fans have a home at the Roanoke Tavern
• CHS sponsor Poco Wine Room celebrates its 3rd Birthday this Sunday, November 1 (happy hour prices all evening: $2 off glasses of wine & $8 off bottles + $5 truffle mac & cheese)
• Harvest Vine Chef Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez and his wife and business partner Carolin Messier de Jimenez are getting a divorce: Joseba has ceased full time duties in the Harvest Vine kitchen (you can again taste his cooking at a special 6 course dinner at Olivar - the 11/4 dinner sold out but a new date 11/5 has been added)
• Seattle U graduates begin distributing Finamore Limoncello (you can find at Cafe Presse, Moe Bar and Piecora's)
• Efeste wine dinner at Volunteer Park Cafe on 11/14
• Finally, welcome new CHS advertiser Galerias Gourmet. Swing by Broadway anytime for a CHS special $3.75 mojito. Tell em CHS sent you!

Northwest Film Forum (CHS partner) invites you to a party tonight:

Seattle writers Mark Rahner and Robert Horton host a Halloween party celebrating Rotten, their zombie-Western comic series (from Moonstone Books). The authors promise a highly animated—you might say "re-animated"—time including a film screening (title will be a surprise), selected shorts and various unhealthy high jinks.

 Rotten follows the bloody exploits of government agents as they roam the West, fighting to explain and contain a mysterious outbreak of the undead in 1877. Along with head-splattering action, Rotten offers distinct parallels with recent political events—a world in which fear threatens to trump reason.

 Costumes encouraged!  Thursday (10/29) at 8 pm

Having heard of a few H1N1 cases on the hill, we contacted the Seattle-King County Health Department for statistics on Capitol Hill. James Apa, a Public Information Officer from the Health Department, responded:

We're not recommending  virus testing for most people, so we wouldn't be able to provide meaningful statistics for any specific neighborhoods.

We do have other ways of monitoring  influenza activity across King County, including by reviewing hospitalizations for influenza, flu symptom reports at emergency rooms and absenteeism at local schools.  I'd encourage you to take a look at our flu surveillance pages.

In terms of vaccine availability, all health care providers are facing shortages because of the national delay in vaccine production. We're working to get the limited amounts of vaccine we do have to providers to vaccinate their patients most in need. All local health care providers are experiencing shortages, but many people most in need of vaccine will have the opportunity to receive vaccine in the coming weeks. Including this week's shipments, the cumulative amount of vaccine received in King County since deliveries started several weeks ago will be about 90,000 doses by October 30. We're expecting vaccine availability to gradually improve as more vaccine is shipped in future weeks.

For more updates, people can visit our web pages at  or call the Flu Hotline at 877-903-KING (5464), staffed Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5 pm to answer questions, including nursing staff to provide support and advice for people with the flu.  Recorded information is available 24 hours.

Here's the latest update from the 'surveillance' page:

Several indicators continue to show rising influenza activity in King County. Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness have been increasing since the beginning of September and now exceed levels observed during the spring H1N1 outbreak. Hospital admits for 2009 H1N1 flu also currently exceed levels seen at the height of the spring outbreak. Clinics that are part of Public Health's outpatient surveillance system show an increase in both the number of specimens and the percentage of positive tests for influenza; levels of both are unusually high for this time of year. Local hospital laboratories have reported increased requests for rapid flu testing, and an increased proportion testing positive for flu. School absenteeism has been increasing in recent weeks across all age groups. However, information from past school years is not yet available for most school districts, so it usually cannot be determined whether the observed absenteeism is abnormal for this time of year.

Zhivago, slated to be the go to Piroshky place on Broadway, was to have opened last week.  However, due to permit delays, it looks like they will open next Sunday November 1.  I walked by yesterday and the new opening date is hand written on the signage.