Happy with your parks?  Recent land development?  Affordability?  Seattle neighborhoods are ten years into a long term plan - on the hill, goals range from building Cal Anderson Park to beautifying the North end of Broadway and maintaining the neighborhood character; what the city does for the next ten years will depend on citizen feedback in the next 2 days.  

You have until July 6 to go here: http://www.seattle.gov/planningcommission/  to fill out a quick questionnaire and let the city know what worked and where their energy and money needs to go now. 

If you print it, bring it to the Cal Anderson picnic and share it. Happy 4th!

Download PDF

      The new Pho Lotus Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant opened  where the old El Tijin  Mexican restaurant used to be down by the old Jade Pagoda Chinese Restaurant and next to the old Siam Thai Restaurant.

Get your gluttony on!  As promised, Cupcake Royale is opening its store at 11th & Pike near Boom Noodle (1111 East Pike) in time for the Capitol Hill Block Party.  Opening date will be 7/22.

Inside the Volunteer Park water tower
Originally uploaded by cleverdame107

An exhibit panel valued at $9,000 has been stolen from the Volunteer Park water tower.

Parks employees discovered the theft Tuesday, June 23, according to a Seattle Police Department report. The panel was part of an interpretive exhibit about Seattle's Olmsted parks installed on the walls of the tower's upper level.

According to the SPD report, the parks employee said the panel was ripped from the brick wall of the tower sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday night, June 24th. There were no signs of forced entry reported at the scene meaning the thief or thieves likely removed the 3-foot by 4-foot metal panel while it was light out and the park was still busy with people. The tower is open to the public between the hours of 9 AM and 9 PM.

The investigating officer attempted to collect fingerprints at the tower but was unsuccessful. You can review the officer's report on the theft below:

 

 

This is the first time in a very long time that I'll be on Capitol Hill for Independence Day. I'll be at the Capitol Hill picnic at Cal Anderson park on Saturday. If you're staying in town, hope to see you there. I'll have a jar of CHS crow buttons and will Tweet our picnic blanket location -- stop by, say hello and put down a blanket nearby if you like.

Meanwhile, this sunny Friday holiday kind of snuck up on us. What are you doing with it? And where will you be on Saturday?

(photos: laundryninja, liquidnight, zeebleoop)

NKO Originally uploaded by liquidnight

Last year, CHS asked for some tips on where to see the city's fireworks from Capitol Hill. Below is what we learned. Expect a few more bodies this year as the Lake Union fireworks will be the only show in town. Don't want to overload any one place so make sure to spread out and let the short people up front. And bring your singing voice.

• I-5 shores is usually hopping!! -- sparklingallison
• You can also watch the fireworks displays going on the eastside from Capitol Hill on 22nd ave around Galer. There are usually at least 3 different displays to see. -- Mike
• we usually head to the eastlake over-pass (which will be closed to traffic) to watch the lake union fireworks from there. best non-roof-top viewing i know of... -- mmess
• Just north of the Belmont-Eastlake I-5 overpass -- Andrew Taylor (Secret firework spot)

Message is the same for all locations. Don't even try to drive. You'll never find a place to park.

UPDATE:
SPD confirms comment below from Prospero -- the...

There were rumors about the future occupant of the florist shop on E. Madison; today I biked by and beyond the unfriendly cyclone fence was the silhouette the hill hasn't seen since the bulldozers came to Pine St...

Getting back into the swing of things with blotter reporting by digging through the Seattle Police Department media reports filed for Pride weekend. Don't mean to besmirch the celebration. Instead, we should all revel. Thousands of people visited the Hill during Pride and, for the most part, things were calm. Except when they weren't:

Guerrilla dance party
By now, most of us have heard the story of the dance party that broke out in the empty lot at Pine and Belmont last Saturday night. SPD told us that one person was arrested in what was otherwise a crime-free incident. Here is the narrative from the report the responding officer filed regarding that arrest:

The 23-year-old suspect was booked into jail for investigation of malicious mischief. We'll check to see what we can find out from the legal system about what happens to him.

Other reports

• In more traditional Cap Hill crime, this 48-year-old Ohio man reported an unwelcome hugger made off with his wallet Wednesday night:
• Friday night featured a dispute...

Yesterday evening, I attended a Capitol HIll Chamber of Commerce Party at the Brix.  We had beautiful weather and over 50 CHCC members and Brix residents enjoyed clear views of Mount Rainier, Madison Valley and Capitol HIll.  Table 219 provided the catering and aside from the sangria being a bit watery - a good time was had by all.  The party also marked the departure of Jessica Norouzi, CHCC's current program manager - who is joining Americorps.

If you are looking for something closer to the red, white and blue fringes this Saturday, you might want to twist up your dreads and hitchhike your way uphill for a 15th Ave E 4th of July.

• Hillside Quickie's 4th Annual Fourth of July BBQ

Fourth Annual Vegan BBQ Buffet: $8.00!

It’s back again! Join us on Saturday, the 4th of July from 2-5pm for Hillside Quickie's 4th Annual Vegan BBQ Buffet, where animals are our friends and it’s sexy to be vegan!

This summer we have more of our awesome backyard-style BBQ, including Tofu, Tempeh and Seitan burgers, some of the best potato salad, greens and the only Mac & Yease in town. Also, we're introducing our new line of leafy green gourmet salads chock full of our Signature Tofu’s Tempeh’s and Seitan.

All of this, Hillside Quickie’s yummy Desserts and Ice Tea all for just $8.00 our way of saying thanks for the business all year!

When is it?

Saturday the 4th of July from 2pm until 5pm

Where is it?

Hillside Quickie's Café...

The conversion of the dustbowl that is Miller Playfield to artificial turf continues. Earthmoving gave way to installation of drains and then layers of rock and gravel. Cycling to work this week and I came across the artificial turf being delivered. Here are a few pictures of what a rolled up ballfield surface looks like. It's FieldTurf, made by a company in Georgia.

I remind you of the other improvements we are campaigning for, and invite you to encourage the Parks Department to make them. The Superintendent's letter, attached below, demonstrates that they are moving in the right direction, but your further encouragement will surely help (contact info).

June 15, 2009

Dear Mr. Taylor,

Thanks very much for writing in with your suggestions.

1) Free time on the field for pickup games

We considered the possibility of setting certain times for drop-in play, but after discussion decided against it. The problem is that organizations would travel to the fields to use the open fields for (free) practice....

The Ron. K. Bills play fountain at Miller Community Center is a handicap-accessible water play feature. It should be working from 11 AM till 8 PM every day till September. 

This little video shows Pedro, son of a colleague of mine, running around in his little wet-suit. Larger version of video is here.  

A slideshow of the construction of the fountain is here, but if you want to view our documentary about the people who built the fountain, you'll have to ask me for a VHS copy (tayles@jps.net)

Two thoughts:

1) If you're at the fountain and note that the central water jet is very low (or not working) or if the ring of water jets aren't shooting up as much as normal, please pop into the Center and tell the staff. It means that the filters are clogged up and need cleaning.

2) Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the opening of the fountain. Anybody care to help me organize an anniversary celebration? (Hint: we can invite the Mayor, which should be a good way to ensure that all necessary maintenance...

The driver in Monday night's accident in which a father and two young children were hit in a crosswalk at the intersection of Aloha and 15th Ave E was arrested for drunk driving, a Seattle Police Department spokesperson tells CHS.

The driver was questioned at the scene and arrested for DUI, according to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Mark Jamieson. SPD would not provide the name of the suspect.

The father and the two boys, aged 1 and 3, who were hit returned home from the hospital with only minor bumps the night of the accident, the family's mother told CHS.

I love Cal Anderson Park and the way it reflects and collects the neighborhood character. (And characters.)  I moved to Capitol Hill about 2 years ago so I wasn't around for it's tranformation from Lincoln Resevoir and didn't realize the history of the site, the significance of the name, or what Teletubby Hill is actually made of.  (Hint:: not dead teletubbies.)  The Adventure School fills in my knowledge gap with historical pictures and a short informative account of the park, then and now.

Create your own Cal Anderson Park memories this Saturday at the Independence Day Community Picnic.  Music, root beer tasting, food, games, and more: check the flyer for details on all the activities.

Think you have a chance to win the Pet - Human Look-Alike Contest?  Pics or it didn't happen.

Persimmons are a new discovery and I like the composition of this shot

Glass of Sunshine, originally uploaded by Indigo Twilight.

This shot captures many different hues of blue

- It's official, Belltown will get its Bell St. Boulevard.

- If you like BBQs, golf, and jazz, well then Interbay has a summer series for you.

- Wallingford's Gasworks Park makes the Colbert Report

- The city waives fees for using parks in Ballard.

- Inaugural Cascade Farmer's Market a success in SLU.

- Greenlake is up in arms over their lack of a penguin.

- Coverage of last night's King County Exec environment debate

Also wanted to share this awesome map I got from Lake City Live. It shows all the hyperlocal blogs in the Puget Sound Region. I might have to start sharing some Eastside news in the future (aaahhh noooo!):

View Seattle Area Hyperlocal Blogs in a larger map

The project slated for 1222 E. Madison -- the current home of Precision Tune -- is up for its second design review tonight after the board rejected initial plans for the mixed-used development last month:

In the end, a divided board did not grant its recommendation despite saying much in praise of the project. But concerns over the 13th/Madison corner compelled the board to request the developers address that aspect of the design and present an update at a future public hearing. Specifically, the board didn’t like the concave entry and asked the developer to look at more asymmetrical and different shapes.

CHS contributor Josh Mahar had this to say about the project's initial design:

The architects are Bellevue-based Baylis Architects. I can't say it's a standout project but it seems nice. Earlier I was worried that keeping the parking within the structure would inevitably make it ugly, but they massed the garage in the back of the building so it's hidden from the street. Also, the limited parking will hopefully keep these units affordable (they claim in the proposal that this will be workforce housing). Due to earlier feedback they also shrunk the retail spaces, allowing for between four and six different spots. Check out the full proposal here [3.45mb].

The board will decide if the new design passes muster tonight at 6:30 PM at the Montlake Library.

Celebration for Obama!
Originally uploaded by Lei At Large

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the Capitol Hill Independence Day Picnic:

WE NEED YOU TO VOLUNTEER for the park's most fun event of the summer! The Capitol Hill Independence Day Picnic will be fabulous this year -- this Saturday, July 4th! -- and you can be part of it. We need people 12 noon - 5 PM to help with kids' activities, assist with various contests, help with food vending (food handling permitted folks especially welcome), setup and cleanup. Please contact aviva@theadventureschool.com.  Thanks for helping out.

Last week, Hearst Corp. put out a call asking for people to sign up to be neighborhood bloggers on the SeattlePI.com web site. Unpaid, volunteer neighborhood bloggers.

SeattlePI.com is seeking a low investment way to get involved in this vital information flow of Seattle neighborhoods. I'd rather see the company work with existing sites like CHS. But they're not. So I'm going to ask for something even more audacious than for you to write and report on news for nothing. Please join the CHS, um, volunteer advertising sales team. It's an unpaid -- but highly rewarding -- role.

Here's your CHS Unpaid Volunteer Advertising Sales Kit. Print a copy or two or e-mail the PDF to your favorite Hill business owner. Tell them how important you think it is to support CHS. Let them know we're affordable and effective. Tell them CHS gets somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000 people reading the site every month, depending on who is counting. Tell them CHS is your favorite way to take a break at work or spend a few minutes with...

Jamie Pedersen (photo: Progressive Voters)

Seattle Gay News reports that Jamie Pedersen's life as a father is about to get even busier:

Just next month, the 43rd Legislative District Representative's family will literally double in size. Jamie and Eric Pedersen, along with their son, Trygve, will soon be joined by triplets. And if that weren't amazing enough, here's the clincher: all three of the babies are boys.

SGN details the amazing circumstances by which Pedersen's parental duties will quadruple when the new little democrats are due in July. Congratulations to daddies Jamie and Eric. And good luck.

The man arrested by cops for attempting to break into the Century Ballroom was charged Monday with second degree burglary in what court documents describe as a planned effort to steal from the historic Odd Fellows building.

According to the court documents, an employee of the Ballroom says he encountered Benjamin Vaagen after he had broken into the building through the third floor balcony. The employee saw Vaagen exiting a room where the Century Ballroom's safe is located and called 911 before following Vaagen out of the building.

When cops caught up with Vaagen on the basketball courts in Cal Anderson Park, they say they found four keys on the suspect -- one of them a master with access to all parts of the building. The building's owner, developer Craig Swanson, told police he had noticed missing keys on Tuesday, June 23 and had several locks in the building replaced.

From Vaagen's MySpace page

Video from cameras inside Century Ballroom showed Vaagen using the keys to access rooms inside the business.

Century...

UPDATE 6/30/09 11:45 AM:
The mother of the two little boys provides a quick update in comments:

from the family

Just landed at SeaTac. Boys and daddy got home from hospital last night and aside from some bumps, are ok.

Mom

More Tuesday updates at the end of this post.

The driver was arrested after questioning at the scene.

ORIGINAL REPORT 6/29/09 7:32 PM:
A driver was arrested tonight after the car he was driving struck a family crossing an Aloha Street crosswalk at the intersection of 15th Ave E. Two children were transported from the scene in ambulances, one of them strapped to a gurney. One adult who was struck was also wheeled on a gurney to the waiting ambulance. Their conditions are unknown at this time but scanner dispatches indicated the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

The white Volvo involved in the 7:00 PM accident was stopped part way through the crosswalk where the family had been hit moments from the sidewalk. Not far away in the gutter lay a toppled stroller.

Traffic at the intersection was blocked for more than an hour as emergency crews responded.

UPDATE 11:21 PM:
KOMO TV is reporting that the children were and 1 and 3-years-old and were being walked by their father at the time of the accident.

KOMO is also saying police would not say whether the driver had been arrested or only handcuffed and questioned. Information we gathered at the scene indicated that the man was being arrested. We'll keep working to confirm details and attempt to update information on the condition of the family.

UPDATE 6/30/09 10:37 AM:
Seattle Police confirm that the driver was, indeed, arrested but won't say yet what crime the man was booked into jail on. His vehicle was impounded.

No additional information on the condition of the man and the two children who were struck. If anybody knows the family and would like to update everybody, please contact chs@capitolhillseattle.com or call us at (206) 399-5959.

A woman was robbed at gunpoint near Volunteer Park this afternoon by a suspect described as a black teenager wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and carrying a purple shirt. The Central District News first reported the crime in their daily scanner report at 3:21 PM.

The woman was injured in the attack but her condition is unknown at this time.

UPDATE:
Seattle Police Department has confirmed that they are looking for an armed suspect and are continuing to investigate the robbery.

The 28-year-old woman was treated at the scene by paramedics for minor injuries suffered in the attack, according to Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen.

UPDATE:
The Slog has details from the victim:

Ashley Wolff, a 24-year-old Capitol Hill resident, says she was walking on 15th Ave between E Prospect Street and E Ward at about 3pm when an African-American man in his late teens or early twenties approached her, tapped her on the shoulder and asked her for change for a dollar.

When Wolff said she didn't have change,...

The Seattle City Council approved legislation this afternoon creating a Pike/Pine Conservation District designed to preserve the neighborhood's historical character. CHS detailed the latest discussions surrounding the legislation when it was approved by the Council's land use committee last week.

In comments before the vote, councilmember Sally Clark said of the Pike/Pine 'character:' "We like it because it makes us feel a little bit warm and fuzzy but there's something about the buildings that lend themselves to the types of businesses [we] want to see in the area."

Meanwhile, a related bill that will enable the Polyclinic to develop a parcel of land it owns on First Hill into a new facility also passed the Council today. The legislation allows medicual uses of large developments within the city's 'highrise' zones. The Polyclinic is now able to build a new facility on First Hill to replace their aging structure on Broadway near Union. The Polyclinic had been considering building the facility on a lot they...