Monthly Archives: July 2020

Reopening: Live theater during a pandemic — Some turning to live-stream, others on pause

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1984 at 18th and Union (Image: 18th and Union Theater)

When the pandemic shuttered Seattle’s theaters and playhouses in March, the Central District’s 18th & Union was in the middle of an adaption of George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.” By the third week of production, it became clear the venue had to close.

“I think we were lucky that we at least got three solid weekends in before closing,” actor K. Brian Neel said. “I know a lot of theater artists who had to close shows right before opening or right towards the end of the rehearsal process and that would’ve been frustrating.”

According to state reopening guidelines, live entertainment falls under Phase 4 — the final stage — and King County has lingered in Phase 2 for over a month now. As cases rise across the county and Washington rolls back phased reopening, theater companies and accompanying venues are tasked with adapting live theater to an online format or staying closed indefinitely.

And for those planning to reopen in some capacity with live actors, performances will look markedly different.

Theaters reopening or not?
18th & Union is planning to live stream shows out of its space this fall with up to two cast members six feet apart. Producing director David Gassner says the venue has multiple shows — yet to be announced — lined up for September, and the studio is setting up with cameras and other necessary equipment.

“There won’t be any stage combat, there won’t be any kissing, there won’t be any touching — so we’re having to choose the kind of shows that we present knowing that those are the constraints,” Gassner said. Continue reading →

In summer of cancellations, Umoja Parade will cross Central District Saturday

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2020 has been a summer of cancellations. The Central District’s annual Umoja Parade can’t be stopped.

Organizers have postponed this year’s three-day Umojafest celebration but the parade and march centerpiece to the annual event will still take place starting Saturday at 1 PM at 23rd and Union:

We are proud to honor the spirit of Umoja Fest, Black Community Festival, East Madison Mardi Gras, and the current global uprising for Black lives, justice and equity.
Due to COVID19 we will not have the annual three day Umoja Fest celebration.
We will hold a Umoja Parade March & Day of Unity for Black Lives, Love, Unity, Healing & Justice on Saturday, Aug. 1st starting at 23rd & Union and going to Jimi Hendrix Park/African American Museum.
Drill & Dance Teams are encouraged to step for Black love and unity. Churches, community organizations, youth groups and businesses are invited! All African diaspora communities are invited to raise your flags in unity!

 

The march will travel down 23rd Ave to Jimi Hendrix Park for “powerful performances and speakers, children’s activities, and a variety of Black businesses.”

Wear a mask, be safe, and enjoy the celebration.

 

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Reopening: Retail under quarantine, Drizzle and Shine welcomes Capitol Hill shoppers with comfort

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(Image: Drizzle and Shine)

Capitol Hill’s “eco-first” fashion boutique Drizzle and Shine temporarily closed at the end of March in accordance with the state’s COVID-19 response plan. Now the shop has reopened, but with a few changes: contactless payment, limited store occupancy and a 24-hour quarantine of clothing items tried on but not purchased.

Capitol Hill retail shops like Drizzle and Shine began reopening their brick and mortar stores once Phase 1.5 was approved at the beginning of June. Now in Phase 2 of reopening, they can offer in-store retail with maximum 30% customer occupancy.

Drizzle and Shine owner Jean Coburn said adaptability has proven essential to the shop’s continued business over the past few months, as sales transitioned from mostly in-store to entirely online to now a mixture of both. Continue reading →

#defundSPD: Going it alone, Sawant to unveil her proposal for immediate 50% cut to Seattle Police budget — UPDATE

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Sawant at a Juneteenth Black Lives Matter march

Seven of Seattle’s nine City Council members have pledged their support for the demands to #defundSPD part of the city’s weeks of Black Lives Matter protests community rallies.

But none have presented a specific plan for cutting SPD’s current 2020 budget while moving the funding to other departments and to fund social and community programs — until now.

Kshama Sawant, the District 3 council member representing Capitol Hill and the Central District at CIty Hall, will go it alone and unveil her unilateral proposal Thursday morning for a 50% cut to SPD.

Sawant’s office says the representative, chair of the Council’s Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, will formally introduce new amendments at Friday’s council budget committee meeting that would cut tens of millions from SPD’s remaining 2020 budget.

“The amendments incorporate the Black Lives Matter movement’s demands that the remaining 2020 Seattle Police budget be cut by 50%, with those funds invested in Black and Brown working-class communities,” the announcement reads. Continue reading →

Weigh in on $10M in upgrades to improve Freeway Park’s connection between First Hill, Capitol Hill, and downtown

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(Image: City of Seattle)

With a new initiative underway to add new features to Cal Anderson Park recognizing the power of the occupied protest camp and Black Lives Matter movement of the summer of 2020, another central city park is also in the middle of a public design process to upgrade the important public space.

Freeway Park, a public space connection to downtown through the convention center, is lined up for $10 million in upgrades — minus some consulting and design fees — thanks to the $80 million community benefits package formed to cover the value of public right of way being dedicated to the convention center’s expansion. Continue reading →

Police say van abandoned at East Precinct after protest property damage held fireworks, improvised weapons

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The Seattle Police Department (SPD) said Wednesday that it found fireworks, improvised spike strips, nails, and bear mace in an impounded car parked near the department’s East Precinct during Saturday protests that the SPD declared a riot.

Police say they saw a van following protesters on 12th Ave Saturday afternoon, which was later abandoned in front of the precinct. Concerned that there could be explosives in the vehicle after a witness reported seeing baseball bats and pyrotechnics being distributed from the van, it was impounded and police were granted a search warrant on Tuesday.

Continue reading →

Amazon Fresh grocery store making plans for 2020 opening in the Central District

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(Image: Vulcan Real Estate)

With its city and its Central District neighborhood grappling with issues of equity and gentrification in a summer of Black Lives Matter protest, the new Amazon Fresh grocery coming to 23rd and Jackson will mark an interesting milestone when it opens later this year.

Typically secretive, the Seattle retail and tech giant has yet to confirm the Central District plans CHS unearthed in February describing a new 25,000-square-foot grocery store under construction in the massive Vulcan development underway at the corner where the neighborhood Red Apple and a collection of shopping center businesses used to stand.

But its latest permitting efforts confirm what the company’s PR department won’t — Amazon is opening a new grocery store at 23rd and Jackson. Continue reading →

After CHOP, City of Seattle launches process on ‘a community conversation and vision’ for changes to Cal Anderson Park

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As the Seattle City Council takes up its final push in the debate over Seattle Police funding in 2020, Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle city officials are making good on at least one promise made to Black Lives Matter protesters — finding ways to make changes at Cal Anderson to “memorialize” the demonstrations and weeks of CHOP, the occupied protest camp that filled the nearby streets and the park in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“The protests of the past couple months have required that we begin a conversation about how Cal Anderson Park can better serve our community and more firmly speak to our values,” Jesús Aguirre, superintendent for Seattle Parks and Recreation, said in a statement on a new initiative to start the Cal Anderson planning process.

The Cal Anderson effort comes as as the Seattle City Council prepares its final rebalancing of the city’s 2020 budget and zeroes in on a major vote on the plan Monday. UPDATE: The final vote is being delayed a week and will now be held Monday, August 10th.

Today, the council will renew its debate on addressing #defundSPD goals as its budget committee holds its final meeting before Monday’s big vote. Although a Seattle City Council majority has committed to the long-term goals of defunding SPD by 50%, the path to getting there will be set this week and in the days leading up to the August 10th vote.

Compared to the budget maneuverings, the art and possible changes to Cal Anderson are minutiae in the pages of department spending being pored over. Officials have not yet established a budget for any of the work that could be planned for the Cal Anderson initiative. For many, city-backed efforts to create CHOP art and features in the park will echo with other City of Seattle initiatives stronger in symbolism than substance like the rainbow crosswalks of Pike/Pine.

But the process to shape Cal Anderson changes could also be important to Seattle City Hall’s attempts to patch damage done to its image and its connections to the communities around the recent months of protest. The city’s early steps in working with the community on preserving the CHOP art and the large BLACK LIVES MATTER mural on E Pine did not go well.

At Cal Anderson, the city says the park remains “temporarily” closed after weeks of clean-up and graffiti removal during collowing the end of CHOP. Most of the art and graffiti is gone though some elements like the BLM-inspired paint job for the park’s central bathroom building remain. Even the Bobby Morris sports field’s artificial turf got an overhaul and clean-up following CHOP. Continue reading →

King County Equity Now calls for ‘Defund the Police’ support — UPDATE: August 10th

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(Image: Andrew Jacob Media / @meadedawg with permission to CHS)

Now is the time for Seattle residents to take action who say they support the Black Lives Matter movement but couldn’t get behind CHOP, the protests, or property destruction.

King County Equity Now, the coalition of Black-led organizations including the Central District’s Africatown that has been calling on Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the city to meet a roster of goals including creating a $1 billion “anti-gentrification, land acquisition fund” and halving the Seattle Police budget to pay for social and services and community programs, is asking for support and advocacy as the Seattle City Council prepares its final rebalancing of the city’s 2020 budget and prepares for a major vote on the plan Monday. UPDATE: The final vote is being delayed a week and will now be held Monday, August 10th.

Don’t wait to speak up.

Wednesday, the council will renew its debate on addressing #defundSPD goals as its budget committee holds its final meeting before Monday August 10th’s big vote on rebalancing the city’s spending plan for 2020.

Although a Seattle City Council majority has committed to the long-term goals of defunding SPD by 50%, the path to getting there will be set this week and in Monday’s vote. You should add your voice.

 

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Mayor Durkan talks increased COVID-19 concerns and SPD crowd control in ‘virtual town hall’

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Following a weekend of heavy-handed Seattle Police crowd control on Capitol Hill and with COVID-19 numbers rising, Mayor Jenny Durkan held her sixth “virtual town hall” since the start of the pandemic, this time to hear from residents of Southeast and Central Seattle neighborhoods including Capitol Hill and the Central District. City officials responded to citizen questions about the police’s continued use of aggressive crowd control tactics at protests and announced plans to increase coronavirus testing in the coming weeks.

South Seattle and the Central District have seen some of the highest COVID-19 rates in the city, with King County reporting 8.8 positive tests per 1000 residents in South Park and higher numbers extending into South King County.

Tuesday, the Washington State Department of Health released its latest “situational report” showing the outbreak continues to grow in the state and hospitalizations and deaths are now on rise.

“What we do know is that our BIPOC communities, our communities of color, are particularly disproportionately impacted,” said Patty Hayes, director of King County Public Health, on the systemic health and social inequities contributing to BIPOC communities having more “chronic conditions and the inability to work from home.” Continue reading →