UPDATE 5:40 PM:
CHS just received a note from a parent asking about a lockdown at Lowell Elementary this afternoon around the same time the man was arrested.

Any idea why there was a lockdown at Lowell on Mercer today around noon? SPS send out robocalls to parents saying at no time was anyone in direct danger. My son said there were unidentified helicopters circling the playfield, and the kids were told to take cover under the tables.

SPD didn’t say anything about a lockdown related to the arrest. But we also didn’t ask. It might have just been standard procedure given the situation happening less than a mile away. We’ll check back with SPD.

UPDATE 1:50 PM:
A man seen carrying a handgun in one hand and a knife in the other as he walked Belmont Ave was taken into custody by Seattle police, SPD spokesperson Mark Jamieson told CHS.

This afternoon around 12:15, a 911 call came in from a person who saw the man pull a handgun from his bag as he walked southbound on Belmont toward Harrison. The caller said the man had a knife in his other hand. Jamieson said officers arrived and arrested the man near Belmont and Thomas. A handgun was recovered at the scene. Jamieson said the report on the investigation is still being written up so it’s not clear what charges the man will be booked on.

Original report:
Still gathering details on this one but a sizable — and fast-acting — contingent of Seattle police officers converged on this I-5 Shores intersection this afternoon and appeared to take a man into custody.

Twitter user andrew_walsh supplied this report and picture from the scene:

I counted 9 cop cars, at least 4 bike cops, and a chopper circling overhead. Here’s a bad photo.

We’re contacting SPD and taking a quick listen to the scanner archive to see what else we can learn. We do know that the air above the area was ordered clear presumably to make way for King County’s helicopter SPD works with during pursuits and searches.

A woman at the scene said she was told the man taken into custody had a gun or a knife and lived in an apartment nearby but she had not seen in in the building before.

The brand strategy and logo cooked up by the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce with financial backing by Sound Transit’s business mitigation funding hit the streets today — and the results weren’t pretty. As a member of the committee the Chamber assembled to create the logo last year, I have a few things to say about it. More on that below. First, the new logo.

We first told you about the effort to create a marketing brand for Capitol Hill way back in October of 2008 when the process began. A year later, Sound Transit announced their business mitigation efforts to support Capitol Hill businesses through the eight-year light rail construction period were ready to begin with the new logo and marketing components like a new Hill Web site (not yet launched.)

Today, the press releases went out. To give you a sense of how this process is playing out, CHS didn’t receive a copy of the release this morning. But the Stranger did — and the results have been predictable:

Honestly, it kind of makes me feel nauseous. The mish mash… the color… meh. I’m not liking it.

*shrug*

Posted by Phelix on December 2, 2009 at 10:42 AM

 

This makes me feel like I’ve had a couple of quadruple venti Americanos.

Posted by kk in seattle on December 2, 2009 at 10:42 AM

 

At least they spelled it right.

Posted by DOUG.  on December 2, 2009 at 10:43 AM

 

This look like crap wtf

Posted by nitsua on December 2, 2009 at 10:43 AM

So, about that branding committee and defending the logo. I can’t. Defend it. I can tell you that it was the result of consensus and a reluctance to expose the design to a wider community of professionals. I lobbied for a review by Capitol Hill-based graphic design experts but couldn’t find support. The design and branding process was being executed by an Eastside firm and I wanted to balance that with feedback from local experts. That didn’t happen largely because of a high level of sensitivity about the Chamber’s effort to create a Capitol Hill ‘brand.’ It would be good in the future for organizations like Sound Transit to make a bigger commitment to keep these projects in the hands of businesses from the communities.

There were other candidates for the brand that were more (and less!) interesting — particularly a sleeker design that some found too subversive and complicated. But I also, in the end, voted for the design you see today. And you’ll see soon on signs on the Hill and, I presume, on the Chamber’s new Web site when it launches.

If it helps, try to see the logo for what it is — an effort to help the Capitol Hill business community through a long stretch in a challenging environment. There will be lots of good things that come out of light rail on Capitol Hill. In the meantime, there’s an ugly logo trying really hard to keep the Hill’s business environment as strong as possible.

A giant plume of black smoke stretched to the sky over north Capitol Hill this morning causing some alarm and a brief Twitter panic. Turns out, the smoke came from a University of Washington generator undergoing some maintenance. The smoke lasted for about 20 minutes starting around 10:30 AM before drifting away and leaving Seattle unscathed. When you see the smoke in this video, you’ll see why people were a little alarmed:

Last night, the Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee (NPAC) voted to recommend to City Council that the Ballard and Capitol Hill neighborhood plans be updated next year. According to the ordinance and resolution that established this round of the neighborhood planning process and NPAC, NPAC is to “provide advice on the order of plan updates after the status reports are completed.” Prior to receiving such advice, and without consulting NPAC, the DPD has recommended to Council that two of the three following neighborhood plans be updated: Columbia City, Rainier Beach and the University District. The DPD’s rationale was that that the City recommendations were based on the nexus between transit and planning efforts for stations that have already opened, and that the City’s model for outreach –  the Public Outreach Liaison model – had been such a success that it made sense to continue it, especially as Rainier Beach contained populations similar to the 3 other neighborhood plans to be updated this year: Othello, Mt. Baker and Beacon Hill. The City alleges that this model is based upon the “trusted advocates” model used in recent years in White Center. However, it is my opinion, after looking at reports on the use of that model in White Center, that the City has not followed the model with the rigor with which it was followed in White Center. Ballard and Capitol Hill were chosen after discussion of the following list of neighborhoods developed by a subcommittee of NPAC: Aurora/Licton Springs; Ballard, Capitol Hill, Columbia City, Rainier  Beach, University District and West Seattle Junction.  

The discussion of the neighborhoods occurred in the context of the following general criteria developed by the same subcommittee that developed the list of neighborhoods:  

1. Existing growth targets (economic or residential) have exceeded projections. Existing growth targets (economic or residential) have not been met.
2. Data set results (ie health reports, census data)
3. Stakeholder perception to change or adjust urban village boundaries
4. Need to add elements to the existing Neighborhood Plan (as identified by Status Reports)
5. Transportation Investments (Transportation Oriented Development, Major State Projects ie SR99 and SR 520)
6. Lack of Infrastructure (ie Sidewalks, Transit, Wastewater, Stormwater)
7. External Pressure from Developers and/or Private Institutions
8. External Pressure from Public Institutions (ie County/City health initiatives)
9. Equitable distribution of current resources (through the lens of Race and Social Justice Initiative and consider status of items on existing Approval and Adoption Matrix) Alternative wording: Opportunity to effect equitable distribution of resources
10. Stakeholder organization and participation (through the lens of Race and Social Justice Initiative) Alternative wording: Opportunity to support broad stakeholder participation in neighborhood organization
11. Willingness of neighborhood stakeholders to participate in an update.

  During the discussion last night, some members of NPAC asserted that the following neighborhoods were not willing or interested in participating in this round of neighborhood updates: Columbia City, Aurora/Licton Springs and the University District.  

I argued for Capitol Hil based on the LINK Light Rail Station, the intense development pressures and changes that the neighborhood had experienced in recent years, neighborhood concern with those changes and neighborhood interest in participating as shown by attendance at the meetings regarding Light Rail and a neighborhood design charrette that focused on the Capitol Hill Station. This is also the general sense I have developed from my participation in numerous neighborhood meetings. As Kate Stineback pointed out later, Capitol Hill will also be receiving a streetcar in the very near future.  

The Council and the Mayor have always intended that neighborhood plan updates for 2010 emphasize those neighborhoods “containing transit stations(not necessarily LINK Light Rail stations).” However, during budget discussions, Councilmembers expressed a concern with broadening the scope of the neighborhood plan updates beyond transit and land use. As part of its budget recommendations to the Mayor, the Council : “Directed Executive to undertake two new neighborhood plan updates and create a more expansive and community-driven process.” For those desiring more information, Seattle Channel has a recording of the Budget discussion on these issues: it took place the afternoon of October 20, 2009.  

For those who are curious about the range of options, the following neighborhoods were excluded by the Council and the Mayor from this round of neighborhood updates because they “have been the subject of recent extensive planning initiatives….”: Duwamish Manufacturing and Industrial Center; Ballard Interbay Manufacturing and Industrial Center; Denny Triangle and Commercial Core; Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District; South Lake Union; Roosevelt; Northgate, and South Park.  

The purpose of this post is to inform a wider Capitol Hill public and to give individuals and organizations an opportunity to comment on NPAC’s recommendation to update the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan in 2010. I will also be contacting local organizations and businesses for their input. Information gathered would be summarized and presented to the Council by December 15th for its consideration in making a final decision as to which neighborhood plans will be updated in 2010.  

I would appreciate timely comments regarding this matter. I will follow the comments here, and respond to any questions, but can also receive comments at raptor922 (AT) isomedia.com. Thank you for your time and attention.

A map of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Planning Area can be found by going here:  http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npi/plans/caphill/ and clicking on the link for the Neighborhood Plan Area Map.

  Dennis Saxman, East District Representative to the  NPAC.

CIMG1195,
originally uploaded by joesunga.

Gage Academy of Art’s Annual Drawing Jam is this Saturday. It’s an all-day creativity fest where amateurs and more serious artist-types collaborate in an art-supplied playland. They even give you models! This is the tenth year for the event. Tickets are $10 for adults and kids and teens get in free. More from information sent to us by Gage below. You can learn even more at GageAcademy.org/drawingjam

10th Annual Drawing Jam Features Stars of Seattle

Hundreds of artists will attend the 10th Annual Drawing Jam at Gage Academy of Art. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, Gage hosts this 12-hour art making celebration. Last year 950 people of all ages participated, packing into studios and creating artwork in every nook and cranny in the school.

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 This is such a popular and exciting event that in 2008 Seattle Magazine named the Drawing Jam the #1 Must Attend Event in December!

 More than 50 models will pose throughout the day including special “Stars of Seattle” guests: a performer from the current production of Teatro ZinZanni, entertainer Sylvia O’Stayformore, and King County Councilmember Larry Gossett.

Gage teaching artists will give artists demonstrations, including popular local artists Kimberly Trowbridge, Gary Faigin, Michael Lane and Geoff Flack. Even more musicians, entertainers and professional models will pose throughout the day. Other highlights include free art supplies, dedicated spaces for kids and teens, a sculpting studio and new exhibitions.

Visit the Drawing Jam website at www.GageAcademy.org/drawingjam for more information. Or contact Gage Communications Manager Erin M. Schadt at 206-323-4243 (360-441-9991 day of event) or [email protected].

Gage Academy of Art is located at 1501 10th Ave. E., on Capitol Hill next to St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, WA.

King County Elections has released precinct-level results for the November election and the dataset for the mayor’s race shows just how much Mike McGinn needed Capitol Hill for his 7,190 vote victory.

Nowhere else in the city did such a large population throw its support so solidly behind McGinn.

Here’s the color guide for the maps showing where Mcginn’s support was strongest — and weakest — across the city and on Capitol Hill.

Only the students of UW and pockets in Ballard and south Seattle rivaled Capitol Hill in their approval of McGinn as the city’s next mayor.

The Hill was not entirely McGinn’s. Precincts in the north of Capitol Hill around Volunteer Park fell to Mallahan. But the south held firm and went big for McGinn. The Mayor-elect took at least 60% of the vote in every precinct south of Aloha. Nowhere on Capitol Hill will you find the dark blue strongholds Mallahan scratched out in tony communities like Broadmoor, Seward Park and Magnolia.

For comparison, here are the results from the precinct mapping we pulled together following Barack Obama’s 2008 victory. If you were worried that your friends in north Capitol Hill were closet conservatives, even the precincts where Obama support was weakest clocked in at 80% support for the Democrat.

Final note of appreciation here to John Wyble at WinPower and Publicola for pointing us to the map file used to create this report. We normally have to crunch this stuff ourselves so it’s nice to have help. You can get a copy of the Google Earth file used to make the McGinn victory map here.

Team LaserMotive. Capitol Hill resident Dr. Jordin Kare, second from left, and their laser-powered climber (Photo: LaserMotive)

I often think of Seattle as a small town, but maybe it’s only in a city that I would not have known one of my neighbors on the next block was “freelance rocket scientist” Jordin Kare. He’s been living on Capitol Hill since March 2003, though his first visit to Seattle was back in 1979.

Previously at Lawrence Livermore, he moved up from the Bay to consult on a commercial satellite project at Boeing. Now he’s associated with Bellevue’s Intellectual Ventures, though it’s his side project, LaserMotive, that brought him to my attention.

A weary but suddenly richer version of Kare greeted me at the Victrola last week to discuss LaserMotive’s $900,000 win at the Space Elevator Games, held November 2 to 6, 2009.

“So, what can I do for you?” Kare asked. He’s unprepossessing at first glance, clad for Seattle’s cold and rain, unruly gray hair longer on the sides and back, and slightly reserved. After the interview he was off to catch a late show of 2012 with his wife, with whom I had a quick discussion about Joss Whedon’s Buffy , Firefly , and Dollhouse. (She’s still angry at Whedon for the way he killed off ” Wash “–really, a shock for all of us Firefly ers.)

This is just proof that you can’t tell by looking at someone that he’s devoted his professional life to laser propulsion ; Kare has been a leader in his field pretty much since he got into it as a post-grad in 1986. It is the power-beaming aspect of space elevators that got him into the Games. As it happens, it’s a great, high profile way to demonstrate that you can beam power over a kilometer’s distance in a challenging setting.

LaserMotive was founded, essentially, as a part-time enterprise that would have one product, or goal: to create a laser-powered climber that would win the Space Elevator Games power beaming competition. First prize, for a climber that could travel one kilometer vertically at speeds of five meters per second or more, was $2 million, provided by NASA.

LaserMotive’s climber set a world record, doing the kilometer twice at an average speed of four meters per second (topping out at 4.13 m/s), which netted them $900,00. “Hopefully we’ll pick up the spare next time we go back down there,” said Kare, cheerful at the prospect of holding another huge novelty check, this one for $1.1 million.

This is not precisely the space elevator you’ve seen on NOVA , with carbon nanotubes . For the competition, pilot Doug Uttecht’s helicopter hauled aloft a 3/16-inch steel cable, 4300 feet long, that weighed about 300 pounds. (The people with this niche expertise are Northwest Helicopters , who also flew the cables in for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.)

There’s another ” tether strength” competition that is supposed to yield a ribbon that can stretch from earth to geostationary orbit, which is over 35,000 kilometers. Since there are no 35,000-km extension cords, and onboard-gas-tank technology is already represented in rocketry, beaming the power via lasers is the preferred method.

“Some of the people who are competing are very much believers in the space elevator–Tom Nugent and I, who started the LaserMotive team, are pretty skeptical,” admitted Kare. “It’s one of these things where it’s a lovely idea, and it may be physically possible–which I wouldn’t have said a decade ago–but it’s a very long jump drawing pretty pictures and writing basic equations to being able to build something a hundred-and-some-odd-thousand kilometers long.”

Laser power beaming, in contrast, is “closer and closer to being something you could do practical work with,” said Kare. Satellite solar power arrays, for instance, with 24-hour, unobstructed exposure to the sun, “are enormously more efficient” than ground-based solar power.

“The two problems are always, How much does it cost to get a satellite up there, and how do you get the power back down,” explained Kare. “The laser system that we demonstrated in the climber competition are the first ones that are efficient enough that you could talk about sending the power down on a laser beam.”

Terrestrial power beaming is just now becoming competitive on both the amount of power delivered and cost, in special instances. A laser power beaming system “delivers” about 20 percent of its electrical intake–about 50 percent of the incoming electricity is converted to light, and about 50 percent of that light is converted by photovoltaic sells back to electricity.

The LaserMotive climber

“It’s not what you’d call efficient compared to an extension cord across the room,” said Kare, but in remote areas without power infrastructure, it could be cost effective to beam power in. Or, he suggested, electric drones could “refuel” in flight.

These are high-powered laser beams, of course: LaserMotive’s climber is powered by their own infrared 4-kilowatt laser , while its two competitors relied on an 8-kilowatt Trumpf TruDisk 8002 . You weld metal with the Trumpf, so safety is not just about not looking into the beam.

“Stepping in front of a high-powered laser beam is generally a bad idea,” confirmed Kare. “Our beams will cook hot dogs very nicely but they will take a few minutes to do it,” he said, adding a second later that this was confirmed in a LaserMotive test . (While LaserMotive has a great safety record, they also have a sense of humor about working lasers–a sign at their Kent workspace reads ” 1 Days Without Shark-Related Accidents.”)

It meant more work to develop their own laser system, but LaserMotive banked on getting more power from their 4-kilowatt system because the photovoltaic cells that could handle the 8-kilowatt Trumpf’s slightly longer wavelength were simply not as good. The Kansas City Space Pirates, despite having 8,000 watts to burn, could only get around 100 watts out of the standard solar cells they used. LaserMotive’s high-efficiency cells produced more with less area.

(In an ironic development, LaserMotive used a manual joystick to direct the laser beam, while its two competitors went with automated guidance. “Other people had problems with radio interference and computers crashing, we didn’t have any of that, we just had a guy who could cope,” said Kare.)

On their climber’s final run at the competition, a single, missing 1/4-inch titanium nut and Murphy’s Law meant the stripped-down climber appeared slow, baffling the admittedly sleep-deprived LaserMotive crew, who had just lightened it of protective material. A rod missing that nut had jammed into the backstop that would arrest the climber’s descent, and the climber was towing the backstop up. Unaware of the problem, LaserMotive “stepped on it,” transmitting 1,000 watts to the climber, and burnt out a DC-to-DC converter.

This article originally appeared on TheSunbreak.com

“We’re pretty sure we can do the five meters per second next time,” Kare said. The rematch is, tentatively, May 10, 2010.

After that? Possibly exploring power beaming to one of those “remote areas” he mentioned earlier. LaserMotive has been talking to NASA about the prospect of beaming power to robot rovers on the moon or Mars. (The incredibly hardy Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity have been sleeping through Martian winters, when not enough sunlight arrives to power them.)

Kare, who has worked out not one but two methods of interstellar travel, perked up at this idea. $2-million prizes are one thing. Space exploration, that’s where the excitement is.