First we had the Neighborhood Plan Status Update Meetings: most neighborhoods got one, Capitol Hill was so special it got to have two.  Now it's time for Neighborhood Plan Status Checks, which will be summaries of what the community told the Planning Commission and the Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee to change in our Neighborhood Plans during the aforementioned Update meetings. In short, it's time to find out if the city was paying any attention to what we were saying.

The Capitol Hill/ Central District/ Eastlake/ First Hill/ Pike-Pine/Belltown/ Queen Anne-Uptown Neighborhood Plan Status Check will be on November 10th from 6-8pm at Seattle Central Community College, Rm. BE 1110/1111. If you'd like to attend a Status Check meeting for another neighborhood, see below.

During June and July, many neighbors joined in meetings and many other hundreds participated in on line questionnaires to review the Draft Neighborhood Status Reports and comment on changes— good, bad, and unexpected —that have occurred since...

SEATTLE--Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Washington state are facing a crucial vote. Voters are choosing whether to approve or reject SB 5688--a domestic partnership expansion bill passed earlier this year by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor in May.

The law would grant the rights of civil marriage in Washington state--like sharing health benefits and death benefits, and hospital visitation rights--to same-sex couples and heterosexual partners where at least one of the two people is over the age of 62, without calling it "marriage." Everyone registered to vote in Washington state should vote to approve Referendum 71 and protect the rights of LGBT couples and seniors.

This "Everything but Marriage" law--as it is referred to by its supporters--is the culmination of a strategy of working toward marriage equality by first creating the domestic partnership category for same-sex couples, and then adding more and more rights until domestic partners have the same state-granted...

I knew that the Susan G. Komen walk was coming to Seattle, but I didn't know till this morning that the last day of the walk is today and that the end of the route comes right through Capitol Hill.  The first walkers came down Broadway around 11:30 AM, then through Cal Anderson Park and Seattle University on their way downtown.

Picture: @asa

Picture: @Moonrock

After being happy resident of Seattle for six years, Comrade Bunny started blogging about it. That is so Capitol Hill. For more geek/green/Seattle, see Life on the Hill and Other Stories

Slideshows are awesome. Remember in the TV series, The Wonder Years, when Ben Stein plays Kevin Arnold’s slideshow happy,  monotone 7

The World of Jewtopia comedy duo will be visiting Seattle to perform at a benefit for the Jewish Federation’s annual fundraising event, Laugh Your Way to Giving, to help raise much-needed funds for over 40 various non-profit agencies in Seattle, Israel and throughout the world.  Come and laugh your ass off.

September 16 // Beneroya Hall // $36

Just wanted to remind everybody that all branches of the Seattle Public Library system will be closed from Aug 31-Sept 7 and will re-open on Tuesday Sept 8. The book-drops will also be closed so do not drop your books and such off outside the doors as they will not be picked up and are still your responsibility. No materials are due and no fines will accrue either. The library's website and online catalog will also be down. All wireless routers will be turned off so those who use the internet from outside the buildings before and after hours will not be able to get online.

This closure is due to the city's budget cuts and not the library's choice. The mayor decided to do this as opposed to cutting back hours and services that many Seattle residents enjoy and need.

Please do not get upset with library staff regarding this closure. They are not getting paid for the week. All staff are taking a one week furlough and are feeling the affects from this also.

More information can be found on the library's website at www....

When I first saw this poster, I had a couple of questions. Not about the Barista Jam to be held at Visions in SODO - a day of coffee workshops seems pretty straightforward to me.  But how exactly does one hold a Latte Art Smackdown?  And why does this one deserve capital letters?

"Victrola hosts latte art smackdowns on a regular basis - pour-offs", said Sarah Jane Hoppe, manager of the I-5 shores Victrola, "This Smackdown is a pre-qualifying round for Seattle baristas only for September's event at Coffee Fest, which is versus L.A." Sarah Jane explained that "like any self-respecting coffee establishment", only freepour latte art was allowed, and that the baristas would compete tournament style, with two baristas pouring at once and presenting their lattes at the same time to judges and the webcams. "This is also a practice run for September, when the judges won't be in Seattle", said Sarah Jane.  Judges will be looking for the symmetry, contrast, and definition in the latte art patterns, and I assume,...

Most people are going to the Capitol Hill Block Party this weekend for the bands. The Seattle Green Bag Campaign will be there this Saturday for your votes.

The brouhaha about the bag fee, a.k.a. Referendum 1, has been going on for awhile now (you can read more about it here and here). Do we pay 20 cents for disposable bags at the grocery store, or not? Things just got more exciting this week when the main anti-bag fee group, the American Chemistry Council, threw another $300K into the kitty, bringing their total anti-bag fee donations to over $1 million.

Whether you agree with the fee or not, the American Chemistry Council's upped the ante to the point that the issue is hard to ignore.  Why on earth would a group that includes Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil throw in so much money to oppose an issue that's backed by the tiny Seattle Green Bag Campaign and it's itty-bitty $65,000 budget?  Huh. Might just be worth stopping by the SGBC booth this weekend to find out.

No, it's not a new neighborhood "shop local" initiative. The Drug Market Initiative is a pilot program aimed at reducing chronic street-level drug dealing that was rolled out by the East Precinct last week at a joint meeting with the African American Advisory Council at the Langston Hughes Cultural Center.  After an 1,800 household survey and multiple public comment meetings, the East Precinct is going forward with what they're calling an innovative new approach to eliminating drug activity in our neighborhoods.

The concept comes pre-tested since the SPD borrowed the idea from a similar program in High Point, Carolina. The idea: infiltrate neighborhood drug markets (as identified by neighborhood calls and complaints), gather information, call in low-risk dealers and give them a chance to turn their life around (and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law if they don't), prosecute high-risk dealers on a number of counts in a coordinated effort between all...

When I hustled down to the South Lake Union Armory Monday evening, I wasn't expecting much from the Neighborhood Plan Status Update Open House. After ten years of the City largely ignoring the neighborhood plans and with a mayor that sides with developers over residents ten times out of ten, it's hard to have high hopes about the Neighborhood Plan Update process.

See 9 strategies to drive what comes next on Capitol Hill for details on the status reports and to download PDFs

Things didn't start out terribly well. The PowerPoint presentation the DPD put together as an introduction felt condescending ("...so we're asking you, the experts") in its tone and content. I suppose the City couldn't get out of doing an extensive re-introduction of the history and process of the Neighborhood Plans. But they could have done it in such a manner that acknowledged that all the people in the room that night had the experience of savvy neighborhood activists. If someone knew enough about the plans to show up to that meeting, they really are experts.

Once we split up into neighborhood groups (Cap Hill, Pike/Pine - why separate?, First Hill, Eastlake - why are they grouped with us? where's the Central District?, and Queen Anne), the tone and the content of the meeting improved significantly. At the Cap Hill table there was representation from the Capitol Hill Community Council, Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan Stewardship Council, and the Polish Home Association, along with a few residents who were just interested in the process. The Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee (NPAC) members assigned to our table did a fine job of guiding discussing and eliciting opinions, and I think they got a pretty good picture of what has changed in the neighborhood since the plans were made and what needs to be accomplished in the Status Report Updates. Topics of discussion:  

+ Key Strategies of the old Neighborhood Plan 
   - Completed:
      ~ lidding of Lincoln Reservoir (aka the creation of Cal Anderson Park)
      ~ creation of a light rail station on Broadway (in process) 
      ~ creation of a cultural/business hub at North Broadway (sort of happened by itself)
   - Not Completed:
      ~ efforts to further define Cap Hill's 3 commercial corridors (Olive Way, 15th, Broadway, hey what about 12th?)
      ~ put something in place that would help preserve neighborhood character (PPUNC is trying at Pike/Pine)
      ~ increase neighborhood housing diversity and affordability (CHHIP is doing what it can, it needs more help) 
      ~ leverage investments in Seattle Central Community College (???)
      ~ assure adequate parking for visitors on Broadway

+ The City is too focused on automobiles - the Neighborhood Plan should pay more attention to pedestrian and bike traffic as well as public transit. Parking can't be ignored, but the fact that you can only fit so many cars on the Hill has to be acknowledged.  

+ The best thing the City can do is ensure that the goals of the present Neighborhood Plan are actualized. Very few of the concerns and hopes of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan were ever addressed by the city.  

+ East Capitol Hill (Broadway to 23rd) has very different needs than West Capitol Hill (Broadway to I5), and strategies that work well for one side of the Hill may be useless to the other.  

+ Capitol Hill residents love their green space, and according to the City's own documents, they need more of it.

So what happens next? There are more meetings to come (time and place TBA) and a lot of organizing to do if our neighborhood voice is to be heard. The Chamber of Commerce and the Capitol Hill Stewardship Council are committed to being involved in the Update process. From what I hear of the Cap Hill Community Council candidates, CHCC will be on that bandwagon as well once their elections are over. Stay tuned to CHS for more updates on the Updates.

You have all heard of Cabaret shows all around town, but this new troope is RAISING THE BAR!!!

Cabaret Magnifique is a Troope designed to restore the old vaudeville theatre that people once knew.

The Star Studded Cast is Amazing.  Demene Hall  has worked on the stage, in movies, and television and has worked with such actors as Mr. Billy Eckstein, James Earl Jones, Kelsey Grammar, David Hyde Pierce, and many others.

The Show also features a variety of local talent in the burlesque community, as well as some of the female impersonators of this area. 

They will be debuting on MAY 6th in Belltown at Amore. 2301 5th Ave. (corner of Bell St.) the show is free to attend. but reservations are encouraged. 206-770-0606.

The show is hosted by Two Time Tony Award Nominee and Recipient of the Broadway Musical Guild's Newcommer of the Year award (2005 in New York) , Mr. Ryan Hazy. Ryan Hazy's Techniques and vocal talents have gotten him known around the world for his Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra impersonations...

We like to announce a new up & coming design collective, JOIN: Design Seattle. We are combining all of our forces to build a stronger design community in Seattle showcasing North American Designs.  We are excited to present our next event, and our first juried show:
JOIN and Ouch My Eye are seeking submissions for Ctrl+Alt+Design slated for June 12th, 2009. The juried show will primarily focus on showcasing work by emerging American designers working in the areas of furniture, lighting, soft goods and home accessories. You can get more details about the show and apply, here. Now is a good time to turn your ideas in your sketch book into a real thing. It's free, so you just gotta make it happen!

We're looking forward to see all the submissions!  Deadline is MAY, 8, 2009. So feel free to apply and spread the word to any desingers out there, too!

Please check out JOIN blog to get updates and see past shows.
Please contact Jamie Iacoli with any questions at:
press [at] joinDesignSeattle [dot] com.

SSP got another administrative kick to the nads this last Friday when the WA state Department of Licensing upheld the ruling that SSP is a wrestling event and not a "fight-cabaret" theater.  Unless SSP can make a successful appeal (to DOL or the King County Superior Court), operations will get a whole lot more expensive:

Organizers say they can't afford the new fees — which also include a license and physical for each participant and a medic at each show. "If that's how they're going to classify us, it's probably not likely that we're going to keep going," said Brett Whistler, whose SSP persona is "Draven Lawless."

You can find the whole tragic saga here.

Seattle Great City Initiative just added a new feature: every Friday they're going to post up job listings that they think their "constituency would be interested in".  I interpret that to mean eco and sustainability oriented jobs of all shapes and sizes. Anyway, worth a look if you're looking.

Cheers to GoTime.com!  So many things going right with this locally owned website - so little I actually want to talk about outside of the fact that they have jammed lots of my "favorites" into ONE BRILLIANT promotion. 

1) It's Free
2) It's Happy Hour
3) If you win you get to pick where in Seattle you'd like to enjoy said happy hour and
4) You don't get like $25 dollars or something entirely lame, its $150 of happy hour goodness!!!  BOOO YA!

The site itself is WAAAY more helpful than say yelp or citysearch, far more details and far mor accurate, love love love the pictures too! GoTime.com kicks serioius ass and so does this promotion: http://www.gotime.com/fanfare/details - I found the details about it on another wonderful blog/website: http://citystimulus.blogspot.com/ - you can too!

Have you seen me?

"My name is Brittney Jones and i am staying in someones house here in capital hill"



My daughter just turned 15 and she ran away from her mom's house 12 days ago. I am very worried and just want to hear from her that she is ok.

Her name is Brittney Jones.

she has been reported as a runaway.

She has friends on capital hill and i believe she is in someones house there.

i hoped that a parent might see this and recognize her.

I am her dad and am worried sick.

my phone number is 425-923-8219 you can call from a blocked number i just want to talk to her to know she is safe.

Ben Kakimoto takes a look at 2008 condo appreciation (or depreciation) rates and finds that "condo values for most neighborhoods declined in 2008 from the prior year" except Alki, Admiral, Junction, Downtown, Fauntleroy and Leschi, which saw average sale prices rise.

Capitol Hill condo sale prices declined 1.2% from $315,000 to $311,250 on average. The problem with the way this measure was calculated is that it doesn't actually represent declining (or rising) values -- it merely represents averages of transactions. A single development of smaller-than-average condos, for instance, is enough to skew a neighborhood's results. The December auction of 15 Press Condos probably single-handedly dragged down the average.

1111 East Pike (artist's rendering)

That said, sellers are having to price much more aggressively, sales volume fell as loans became harder to obtain and as potential buyers were spooked by economic turmoil, and we're in a recession and stuff, so it's probably still...

In a win for the Seattle downtown, the Viaduct's replacement is going to be a tunnel, various news organizations reported. Sure, it'll take until 2017 (according to early estimates), but this is a major win for Seattle's walkability and pedestrian orientation that should have knock-on effects in surrounding neighborhoods (including Capitol Hill). The more people come to expect walkability in the downtown core, the easier it'll be to make decisions in support of those expectations. Non-obvious benefits for Capitol Hill could include more (or better) sharrows, investments in crosswalk safety, and an overall tilt in the balance between cars vs. people and bicycles.

Good comment by cheesecake, who asked: "How will building a new highway tilt the balance between cars vs. people and bicycles?"

My response: this project recovers land for pedestrian and bicycle use. The amount of walkable, bikable land in the heart of the city center will grow tremendously (80-114 feet by 1.6 miles, roughly). I'm not saying that this alone...

"It's probably nothing," Christensen added, "but the economy is really screwing all the bars right now, and the last thing we need is something ramping up the not-go-out mode people seem to be in right now. It's really freaky that someone would do something like this at a time like this."

Starting January 1, chain restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide are required to post calories and nutrional info. I took photos of 8 of them on the hill, including Subway, Tully's, Peet's, Pagliacci Pizza, Starbuck's, Taco del Mar, Noah's Bagels, and Domino's.

The only one in non-compliance was Domino's pizza on Broadway. After waiting for 10 minutes for the clerk to get off the phone, he said he didn't know about the rule, and didn't even have nutritional pamphlets.

The friendly guys at Peet's Coffee said people were doing this: "I'll have a Caramel... wait, is that the calories?!?!?! Okay, make it non-fat, sugar-free, and hold the whip." At Pagliacci Pizza, a cheerful clerk said that half the people don't even want to look at the calories.

My Awards:

Most legible: Subway
Least legible: Taco del Mar (they put light blue numbers on a dark blue background)
Most friendly staff: Pagliacci Pizza and Peet's Coffee
Least friendly staff: Subway on Broadway (the photo was from the Pine location)
Highest...

Even though I have studded tires, I just stayed on foot most of our holiday snowstorm and walked between my house on 17th and my office on Olive Way.  One of the detours I took was on 14th Ave. E, between Prospect and Roy, down what's known as "Millionaire Row".  This promenade makes a grand entry into the North entrance of Volunteer Park and few streets in Seattle better reflect a period of time in our history than this street. Although this is not quite Seattle's (or even Capitol Hill's) most opulent or architecturally distinguished neighborhood, it remains a largely intact grouping of grand early 20th century residences.

This sums up my frustration over the last several days...