Sound Transit University Link/ Broadway Light Rail Station Update

Capitol Hill Construction Open House
Wednesday, June 17th
6 to 8pm (presentation begins at 6:30pm)
Century Ballroom - 915 E Pine, 2nd Floor

Sound Transit will present the latest in U-link/ Broadway Light Rail Station news. If you have any questions before the meeting (or after for that matter), the man to talk to is Jeff Munnoch, ST Community Outreach Specialist - jeff(dot)munnoch(at)soundtransit(dot)org.

Time to get out the lock cutters

Erica C. Barnett has a very good idea for a constructive use of all those abandoned PI (and various other) newspaper boxes around town. I've got the potting soil, who will bring the lock cutters?

Here comes the nom

And they call it...the Marination Mobile. (You can follow them on Twitter too. I just might - they're pretty funny.)

PS And what is this tasty confection you see to the left? It is the mythical Korean taco that we have heard tales of from the far away land of Los Angeles.

Farewell, sweet Ninja Bear

I'm happy the little guy is now back in his natural environment, but it was kind of neat having our very own Ninja Bear, if only for a short time. Farewell, Ninja Bear, and godspeed.

P.S. ...and the legends say that in times of great trouble, Ninja Bear will come back from the North and save Seattle...

l337 at The Mercury: The Return of of Battle of the Rock Bands

BACK BY REQUEST!!!!

The first Battle of the Rock Bands was so much fun we're doing it again!!!!

Doors open at 9pm
$5.00 cover
be 21+ w/id
No membership? No problem!!

Start Time:	Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 9:00pm
End Time:	Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 2:00am
Location:	The Mercury
Street:	1009 E Union (Lower)
City/Town:	Seattle, WA

Email:

the-mercury@hotmail.com

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!

Why do I have that ridiculous 80s song in my head?

BECAUSE JOHN AND SUMMIT PARK/P-PATCH JUST GOT FULLY FUNDED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE!

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Why am I so excited about this? Because I have been working, along with many other community members, to secure sufficient funding for this project for the last nine months. In the middle of an economic shit-storm. And our deadline was this August to raise the $150,000.

And then one day earlier this week, we heard that the Parks and Open Space Committee had chosen John and Summit Park and P-Patch as the recipient of $150,000 from the newly created P-Patch development fund (taken from the newest Parks Levy). We could not believe it was true until we got repeated confirmation, which trickled in over the course of the week. And just this morning, the lovely members of the Seattle City Council signed off on the funding.

And just like that, we won at life.


(You can see the relatively sober and official-looking post on the subject here if you want.)

I wish I had been the one to catch this

I'm an admin assistant, so I hang out with Avery products all the time. Unfortunately, we do not have this particular Avery product at my office so I did not have the chance to make this amazing discovery.

Local News Links

Sign up for the 2nd Annual Cap Hill Garage Sale already! It's on June 13th!

Doug Schwartz reviews the new SU Master Plan

East Precinct Crime Prevention Update

Parking Demands from SPD puts CHHIP Development at 12th and Pine on Hold

Dan Bertolet of hugeasscity to go on blogging sabbatical - whatever shall we do?!

Seattle Metblog's review of the disturbing SIFF film Dead Girl

Hurray! Cupcakes for Everyone!

Shiny Green Links

It's like a Segue but cooler

Go green by going white - lighter colors save tons of energy

Drink Green: Ruin your liver while saving the environment

Good architecture may not make you happy, but I'm pretty sure the bad stuff will still piss you off

Community Councils Get Smart and Green: Hmmmm, ideas for after the election...

Global warming will cause a greater death toll in poorer countries: I feel like they should have named this article "Death Warmed Over"

Now even buildings can make you fat

SIFF Reviews: Short in the Dark and Dead Snow

Instead of virtuously attending the 12th Ave Stewardship Council meeting last night like I meant to, I was gang-pressed into taking in a SIFF double-feature: Short in the Dark at the Northwest Film Forum and Dead Snow at Pacific Place.

I just barely made it into Dead Snow, even with friends waiting for me in the Will Call line way ahead of time. Seattle likes their foreign, friends-go-to-an-isolated-cabin zombie films that much. We were not disappointed, though the short film that accompanied Dead Snow might have been better than the feature we came to see.

Full Employment is a German short about an employment assistance agency for the elderly who still need to make money but aren't getting around so well anymore. It's full of mockumentary goodness and jokes about how all young people in Germany are unpaid trainees or volunteers. And the best part: Mr. Jones, the elderly man who's day we get to follow...is a zombie hunter.

Short in the Dark is a series of experimental short films, some of which were really great, others of which were...definitely experiments.

1. SHU (dir. Philipp Lachenmann, 12 min.)
   12 minutes of time-lapse filming watching night fall over an isolated high-security prison in the Mojave Desert. Mostly, you just hear the wind. It is quiet and beautiful. It is frightening to stare into the vast clear vault of the desert sky as it turns to night.

2. Puccini Conservato (dir. Michael Snow, 10 min.)
   Oh man... ten minutes of fuzzy closeup pans of someone's Panasonic stereo system as Puccini plays in the background. It was so bad. The sudden, silent cuts to a fireplace, flowers, and open water were so unexpected and bizarre that the threater burst into laughter.

3. Garden/ing (dir. Eriko Sonoda, 6 minutes)
   The whole short is a constant loop around a glass door that looks into a garden. The viewer seems to be approaching the door, only to go through it and see that they're looking at the same door again, somewhat like an inescapable revolving door that just keeps dumping one back into the lobby over and over again. Over time, the view of the garden through the door switches from the "real" view to a projection of that view to the entire screen being a projection of the "real" view of the room and the view. It was a fascinating study, although the constant circling motion made me rather queasy.

4. Dig (dir. Robert Todd, 2 min.)
   A seizure-inducing series of signs painted on the street to guide road construction is accompanied by the sound of jackhammers. It works - it does indeed "[reveal] a restless array of mysterious geometries". Thankfully however, it was kept to two minutes so that the audience did not succumb to seizures or sensory overload.

5. Slow Boat to Thassos (dir. Jon Behrens, 7 min.)
   Speaking of seizure-inducing... seven minutes of rapid-fire reverse colored photographic images with weird-ass noise in the background. This film would be perfect for brainwashing and hypnotic suggestion.

6. Horizontal Boundaries (dir. Pat O'Neill, 23 min.)
   This one nearly killed me. It certainly brought back ten-fold the queasy feeling I got from Garden/ing. It was supposed to be some kind of statement about LA's cityscape, since all the images used in this unending brainkill were of that particular metropolis. What it was was an eternity of vertically overlapping images of the city accompanied by a mind-breaking soundscape of music/noise/old radio plays/dogs barking. I would be interested in 2-5 minutes of this. I could stand 2-5 minutes of this. But after nearly half an hour I was surprised I didn't have a migraine from my body's rebellion against the aesthetics of the piece.

7. Somewhere (dir. Salise Hughes, 4 min.)
   Roy Rogers and Maria from West Side Story, cut directly from their native film stock and pasted onto a brightly colored backdrop, sing "Somewhere". Clunky and meh.

8. Adulte (dir. Carlos Reygadas, 7 min.)
   Very, um, experimental. It certainly was surreal watching a naked man sitting in a coffin, lamenting, rolling himself and the coffin to the cliff, and then throwing the coffin over the edge while wearing a (miraculously self-attiring?) suit.

9. Bedtime Story (dir. Sarah Jane Lapp, 2 min.)
   It's great, mostly because its a cute little story with a plot.

10. The Chronicles of Cleo and Jack (dir. Karn Junkinsmith, 15 min.)
    Hands-down, this is what made Short in the Dark worth my while. Well, and SHU too. Two young hipsters skateboard all around Seattle trying to deliver a package and get away from Hari-Krishna types that dance like the hippies in Hair. It's lovely in black and white, and Karn Junkinsmith is right - skateboarding is like dancing, at least when she films it.
    

Zombie Warning Issued for Broadway Business District

I'm so pissed that I won't be up the Hill after work until at least 5:30.

California Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8

UPDATE: Lovely Prop 8 protest pictures from down at Westlake are on The Slog, and CHS Blog covers when the protest came up to Cal Anderson Park.

Sigh. I really wish they hadn't done that. But the fight goes on. Don't forget:




P.S. Full disclosure: I actually can't make it to the Prop 8 rally tonight - I've got a meeting with the Cap Hill Stewardship Council and Sally Clark at 5pm and the last candidate conversation for the upcoming the Cap Hill Community Council election at 7pm. Even though I can't make it, I'd love to be able to get some pictures to post up on Life on the Hill. If you make it to the rally and have some pictures you'd be willing to let me post up (with recognition of the photographer, of course), give me a heads up in the comments.

Day of Decision

Looks like the California Supreme Court will hand down its decision on Proposition 8 tomorrow. This will mean a riot of some kind on the Hill, and personally I hope it will be a happy one. We'll see. But before we all hit the bars to cry/cheer in our beer, try and make time for the Prop 8 D-Day rally in Westlake Center at 5:30 tomorrow. Whichever way the decision goes, it'll be a good time to show our GLBTQ solidarity.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

We were so happy when we got him into office ... and now he goes and does this. Sigh.

CHCC Candidate Forum/ 12th Avenue Neighborhood Plan Stewardship Committee Meeting

Amid the magic that is SIFF, I'm still making room in my schedule for community meetings. I hope you do too.

The Capitol Hill Community Council (Final!) Candidate Forum is this Tuesday and the 12th Avenue Stewardship Council Meeting is this Wednesday. The (final!) candidate forum is a way for all of us to meet and greet the future face of the Council in person. The 12thASC meeting has a very full agenda, including future changes to the Seattle U Master Plan and news on CHHIP's upcoming 12th Ave. and Jefferson development. Both meetings are a pretty big deal, and it will be worth your time to attend.

Sweet, delicious SIFF

I'm heading to my first Seattle International Film Festival flick of the year this afternoon - Bluebeard at the Egyptian. I'll tell you how it goes.

UPDATE: Hmmm...it was interesting, and I thought it was worth seeing. I don't know that I'd recommend anyone else to see it though, even though it was a decent treatment of the fairy tale. I guess it's because I have higher standards when it comes to SIFF.

Why you should be part of the Cap Hill community council and bring a friend

Listen to Doug Schwartz (he knows his neighborhood) and participate in the upcoming Capitol Hill Community Council Elections. Most positions are still uncontested at this late date, even though I know there are more people on the Hill who have the time and desire to participate in Cap Hill community happenings.

However, if you don't have the time or desire to run for office, this doesn't exclude you from the election. Because we still need a bunch of people to show up and vote. And hopefully attend Tuesday's candidate conversation (Cal Anderson Shelterhouse, 7pm).

Wait...seriously?

You heard what the Happy Cat said - Thursday July 9th is Cheezburger Nite with the Seattle Mariners.

The Return of Ninja Bear?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Capitol Hill Street Sweep - Volunteers Needed

The Chamber of Commerce sez:

SEATTLE (Capitol Hill), WA - Join the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and community members as we work together to clean up Broadway for our sixth Street Sweep event on Saturday June 20th, 2009. Volunteers will be welcomed at the Cal Anderson Park Shelterhouse where they will sign up for teams, grab free coffee and breakfast treats and pick up materials to hit the streets and start cleaning! After the streets of Broadway are beautified meet back at the Shelterhouse for free pizza, music and socializing in the summer sun!

The Capitol Hill Street Sweep events are a great way to get more involved in the community, meet new people, and help reach our goal towards creating a cleaner, safer and more prosperous Capitol Hill. Sign up solo or get together a group of friends and/or colleagues and create a team!

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Jessica Norouzi at 206.328.6626 or email Jessica@caphillchamber.org .

We hope you will join us!

WHEN: Saturday, June 20th, 2009
WHERE: Cal Anderson Park Shelterhouse, 11th and East Pine Street - Directions/Map
START 10AM: coffee and treats, sign up for teams, pick up supplies and start cleaning
FINISH 12PM: Reconvene for free pizza and music

Event sponsors: Sound Transit, Pagliacci Pizza, Peet's Coffee & Tea, BECU, Charlie's, Century Ballroom, Gold's Gym, B-Bam!, Central Physical Therapy & Fitness, Seattle Parks and Recreation

This is what happens when I spend time on the Internet looking for Ninja Bear pictures

Ninja Bear: On the Loose in Northern Seattle

My favorite part of all of this - the naming competition that's going on in MyBallard's comments on the story. My vote is Stealthy McSneakypants.

P.S. McSneakypants is not alone - he is part of a long but little known ninja bear tradition.

Neighborhood Matching Fund Open House

I'm still all a-flutter about the NMF Open House. It's Unpaving Paradise's biggest grant, and this year the field is very full and very competitive. Our open house was just for the central area of the city, and we had groups working to renovate the Polish Center, establish a community center at the old MLK school, create a program to empower children through screenwriting, fund a Multimedia Resources Training Institute for the East African community, and put together a plan for a new outdoor pool in Northeast Seattle. Lots of motivated people, lots of good projects. I just hope there's enough money to go around.

Governor Gregiore has been awfully busy lately

Christine Gregiore just signed one bill that gives same sex partnerships the same rights and benefits that the state gives married couples and another that reforms how payday loans operate (somewhat). Good week.

Welcome Gamma Ray Games

After a long drought, Capitol Hill will get one of the things it's been sorely lacking - a gaming store. Gamma Ray Games is scheduled to open its doors this June on the 400 block of E Pine St. I'm going to have to scope out the block to see where the storefront will be.

Mind you, I and my gaming buddies get a lot of our gaming supplies online. However, the arrival of Gamma Ray is still really exciting, especially since it sounds like it'll also be a gathering place for neighborhood geeks to meet and game. There hasn't been a gaming shop in Central Seattle like that since the old Wizards of the Coast place in the U District, and that's been gone since before I came to Seattle.

UPDATE: I have been reminded my a friendly commenter of The Dreaming in the U District - sorry Aaron, you and your shop are the awesome. I only hope that Gamma Ray can live up to your shining example.

Fun with Pictures

I've finally uploaded pictures to An eventful Sunday and Showing at Fuel on Capitol Hill. Please go see them. I spent whole tens of minutes arranging everything, which is a considerable time investment when you think of how long a normal post takes.

A Walk in the Park

It was nice and clear and not rainy Monday afternoon, so me and the S.O. decided to walk through Cal Anderson and try some of the much vaunted Molly Moon ice cream.





Between the two of us, we tried the Salted Caramel, Balsamic Strawberry, Pomegranate Curry and the Scout Mint. The mint tasted just like you'd think it would, and the Pomegranate Curry was ... pomegranate with curry. Kind of weird.

The Salted Caramel was a little too salty, though we thought it would go well on pie. I thought the Balsamic Strawberry was delicious - the tangy sweet depth of the balsamic reduction kept the strawberry from getting boring and insipid. My partner in ice cream said he'd prefer just plain strawberry.




A business after my own heart - not only do they sell tasty ice cream, everything you can't eat is compostable.












I really like what they've done with the place. A clean classic interior...

With whimsical attention to detail.

After deciding on merely two flavors of ice cream that we had to bring home (Vivace Coffee and Balsamic Strawberry), we swung back through the park. And what should we happen upon but...

WANDERING WEINERS!

My partner in ice cream is less than impressed - if he had a hot dog stand, he'd call it "Walk the Dog".



On the way out of the park, I was struck by the change in scenery. The absence of buildings looks devastating from Broadway, but in Cal Anderson it just seems to open up the horizon.

Upcoming Events

The public hearing for the proposed Pike/Pine Cultural Overlay legislation is at 5:30 tonight down at City Hall. I really, really hope the city listens to PPUNC when they ask for width limitations on new construction - I don't ever want to have to deal with another block long monstrosity like what Murray Franklyn came up with for Pine and Belmont again.

In more fun and hopeful event news, Feet First is having a social and silent auction at Motore Coffee this coming Monday night. They're asking for $15 at the door, but Feet First is a good organization and there'll be food, so I think it's worth it.

Good News for Guerilla Gardeners

For Immediate Release: May 11, 2009
Contact: Alex Fryer, (206) 684-8358 or (206) 941-5931 (cell), alex.fryer@seattle.gov

Mayor Nickels Announces New Rules for Gardening in Planting Strips - New procedures to encourage more gardening citywide

SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels today announced improvements to make gardening in planting strips easier for Seattles residents. The new planting strip policy, issued by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), eliminates any permit requirements for gardens and ends fees previously required for hardscape improvements, such as planter boxes or pavers.

This change makes it easier to plant flowers and vegetables in the strip between the sidewalk and the street. "For many gardeners, that's prime space", said Nickels. "It's one of the things that makes Seattle special, and, with planting season upon us, its time to get those green thumbs going."

Under the new rules announced today, residents no longer need to obtain a $225 permit for hardscape improvements, such as raised gardens or stepping stones. Instead, they can obtain a free online permit for these improvements and to plant a tree at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/stuse_permits_online.htm

SDOT has updated its Web site with information explaining the rules:http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/stuse_docs.htm

To ensure public safety and protect city infrastructure, they also provide guidelines for making planting strip improvements.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is great news, especially considering present demand - The National Gardening Association projects that the number of homes growing vegetables will jump more than forty percent this year compared with just two years ago. (factoid courtesy of Seattle Tilth) Now if we could just get more P-Patches...

An eventful Sunday

This Sunday was the first Capitol Hill Farmer's Market of the year (hurray!). I celebrated this by staying at the market from open to close, tabling for the Capitol Hill Community Council and Unpaving Paradise. The day was cool and mostly sunny, and I was surrounded by local produce and friendly neighbors - not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning/afternoon.

This, however, is not what made my weekend.

If you were a huge nerd, and you played D&D, you would know about the Eberron campaign setting. You would also know that Keith Baker is its creator. And you would be very excited to hear that Keith Baker is doing the most grassroots promo tour ever - he's travelling all around the world, staying at people's houses and running an Eberron (4th ed.) game for his hosts.

Guess what I did Sunday night.

Amy and Keith. Keith is preoccupied because he's getting ready for a long night of gaming. Amy has a very satisfied grin on her face because she's the one who orchestrated the whole thing.


The party gathers. The conspicuously empty seat is for me.

As you can see in the pictures above and below, as the night goes on, the table gets more ... occupied.

Proof I was actually there and didn't just pretend it was me behind the camera all night.

That's all I can show and tell you (hee) about our gaming night with Keith Baker. Well, I guess I can also say we had a lot of fun and Keith is good guy and runs a great game. Everything else is a secret because he's going to be running this game many times all around the world, and he doesn't want us to ruin it for everyone else.

Showing at Fuel on Capitol Hill

Floating worlds old and new by Jonathan Wakuda Fischer - anachronistic graffiti stencil art inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

This looks like fun

Desmadres Opening Gala at Vermillion next Thursday

Well that was interesting

Chris Leman (formerly of City Neighborhood Council) loses it

Our Last Best Hope is a Group of Unemployed Journalists

Best Name for a Hot Dog Stand Ever

Wandering Wieners. Seriously. And it's often found in Cal Anderson Park. Only two locations could be funnier: Volunteer Park and outside of R Place. Ok wait, three - outside of Club Z.*



* Why is Club Z still open?! Why!?!

Cute...tiny..CUPCAKES!

When I first saw CakeSpy at I Heart Rummage, I fell in love. The art was so cute and tiny and full of baked goodness...I couldn't help it. Cakespy is showing at Schmancy this Friday - now you can fall in love too. Or just get hit in the face by a wave of cute. Whichever.

Jan Drago for Mayor?

It looks like she's testing the waters... The question is, could she beat him and would she be any better?

A Miscalculation by the Seattle School Board?

Cliff Mass (of local meteorlogical fame) and The Seattle Courant both have posts about the Seattle School Board's choice for their new math books. The Courant was fairly neutral, simply stating that there has been opposition against the Discovery Series, the school board's choice for their new math textbooks. Cliff just came out and said that he thinks that the Discovery Series sucks. I have not seen these schoolbooks, so I can't offer my personal opinion... I wonder where I'd have to go to get my hands on some to check out.

This week in Shiny Green News

The Gumby of Concrete

The Amazing MC Escher Throw Rug - Now in recycled wood!

Walk the talk and get a roomate already: Singletons use more energy at home

God, now everyone's on Twitter

An actually funny pandemic joke.

Guess what I get to do tonight

SO EXCITED! SO VERY EXCITED!

AFTER THE MOVIE UPDATE: That was one fine Star Trek film. I liked it so much I might actually shell out the ridiculous price of a movie ticket to see it again in the theater.

Spoilers: Stone cold fox + stone cold logic = HAWT. Also, loved seeing the young Kirk getting whupped several times in the course of the movie. The character is great, but let's be honest - Kirk needs to be taken down a notch at least once a week.

The way the characters were played was delightful. It was refreshing, but you could still see the old Trek cast right there on the screen. And the whole movie was as funny as fuck, especially with the addition of the in-jokes (hee hee, red shirt).

Stealth Gardening

Watch out guerilla gardeners - gardening in planting strip could get you a hefty fine from the City. But only if they catch you, and only if the City gets really desperate for money.... I advise concerned parties to write letters to the City Council (Conlin is sympathetic) and to consider hiring ninjas to do your watering.

Hey Look - Jet City Hoops!

I have been having a field day with my camera lately. And I had my camera with me at the last Jet City Hoops game - what can I say, my boyfriend's in the league. Here's the pics:






PS Sorry there aren't many - I'm not very good with sports photography.

A Possible Overreaction

I must emphasize that I could only give the post the title I did after this weekend's headlines stated that the factory farm flu is not likely to kill us all, just give us all flu-like symptoms.

Pictures from The Cabiri's 10th Birthday

Here are the pictures of The Cabiri 10th Anniversary show in Cal Anderson Park last Friday, with photographer's commentary:

The Waiting Crowds

The Amazing Daedalus, the star of the show

The Amazing Aerialist in his role as a shaman killing extraneous heavenly bodies (Siberian folktale).

The next few pictures are some behind the scenes shots. One of the benefits of having a show in an open venue is that you can get all the way around the stage without pissing anyone off.

The man on the stringed instrument is James Whetzel, a delightfully funky local musician.

The colorfully dressed ladies above are members of Radost, a Seattle-based folk ensemble.

These are the streggae, or the Malandante, destructive supernatural creatures that roam the Italian countryside sowing chaos in their wake. There was a great moment in the piece where they tear the shit out of a "field" of corn.

This guy is the Red King, a local performance artist. He did his own thing during the Malandante piece, being generally creepy, ritualized and alchemical. He was great.

I am very proud of this shot.

The following are from the Hecate dance, based on The Cabiri's interpretation of a ritual to the three-faced goddess of the crossroads between the living and the dead.

Look at what's on the stool - the old egg into the beaker trick! I totally saw that on Billy Nye!

This last one is the only shot I have from the Dawn of Chu, a piece based on one of the Chinese creation myths. One of the disadvantages of an outdoor performance in the evening is that eventually, you lose the light.

Coming Right Up: Officer Elections for the Cap Hill Community Council

A few words before the announcement:

I encourage everyone to take part in this year's election. It will be the second for the newly re-formed CHCC, making it a hugely important transition for the Council. Justin Carder is stepping down from the position of President, the Secretary position is presently empty, and there are three new At-Large positions. This means there's even more room than usual for new blood to take up leadership in the Council. So if you love your neighborhood, have the patience to deal with process, and like talking to your neighbors about parks and crosswalks, please consider becoming a candidate in this year's election.

An explanation/ disclaimer - I won't be doing much coverage on the election after this cuz I'll be running in it (Yay - Jen for Prez!). You'll just have to turn to CHS blog for all your juicy super-local election coverage.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Make a Difference in your Community - Announcing a Call for Officer Candidates!

The Capitol Hill Community Council is accepting nominations for its annual election of officers. The due date for nominations is May 21st. This year the Council is expanding its officer positions to seven with President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and three"At-Large" positions.

To date, the Capitol Hill Community Council has held many meetings that have helped address community concerns and development. The Council has also developed the "Capitol Hill Halloween Walk" and the "Capitol Hill Discount Dollar"as well as supporting "Unpaving Paradise" fundraising for John and Summit Park. The Capitol Hill Community Council is also actively developing the first annual "Capitol Hill Pride Festival" for June 27, 2009.

We encourage persons interested in building Community and effecting a positive change to consider running for office. Anyone can nominate any other member of the community for office, including him or her self. Candidate presentations and the election will be held at our usual meeting space, the Cal Anderson Park Shelter House.

Thurs. May 21st, 7-9pm Candidate Presentations

Tues. May 267pm Candidate Presentations

Thurs. June 25th, 7pm Capitol Hill Community Council Officer Elections

For more information on positions, candidates and bylaws or to submit candidacy e-mail: chcc.officers@gmail.com

A busy week

Tonight is the public meeting about the Design Review of Townhouses, or rather, about how DPD has some ideas around making townhouse projects subject to design review (which they are not subject to currently). Not very exciting after a weekend of sun, showers, and aerialists, but important nonetheless.

Much more interesting is the passel of events that WorldChanging Seattle has gathered up for the month of May. WC always has a good events list, but this definitely shows Seattle has woken up from the winter.

Speaking of waking up from the winter...Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow. Sigh.

If anyone is feeling up to it, the Cap Hill Chamber of Commerce is having a Seis de Mayo party at Barrio on Wednesday from 5- 6:30. $10 for members, $15 for non-members, tasty food for everyone (sorry, no free booze). If you're not going to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning after 5/5 and you're interested in community stuff, you should go: Chamber events are always a good place to see and be seen.

Jane's Walk this Saturday

I just heard about this via the 12th Ave Stewardship blog - there's going to be a free walking tour of Pike/Pine courtesy of Jane's Walk USA. It'll start at 2pm at the head of the Cal Anderson Fountain and end at 3pm at Molly Moon's where the discussion of livable and walkable neighborhoods will continue over tasty ice cream.

PS Who is Jane Jacobs?

PPS Whoa, I just had an Atlas Shrugged deja vu.

Coming Right Up: Yearlong Closure of Olive Way I-5 Offramp

From the Sound Transit website:

Construction on University Link and the Capitol Hill light rail station is now underway. Crews will soon begin preparing the ground beneath I-5 for the tunnel boring machine that will dig the light rail tunnels between Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle.

Beginning as early as May 18th, the Olive Way off-ramp from northbound I-5 will be closed to traffic for about one year. Beginning in mid-June the access to the I-5 express lanes via the Pike/Pine HOV reversible ramp will also be closed to all vehicle traffic for up to one year (buses will continue to have access to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel). These closures will be in place until Spring 2010. Other shorter closures are also planned.

To keep you informed about the construction, Sound Transit will be hosting frequent community meetings. Please join us on May 7th at 1701 E. Broadway (south end of the main building, enter near the Broadway Performance Hall) to learn about the construction schedule and to ask questions about this work or other construction activities affecting Capitol Hill. The meeting will extend from 6:00-8:00 p.m., with a presentation beginning at 6:30.

An event that I am less likely to attend, but you never know

An event I will likely be attending

Tonight at Cal Anderson Park from 6 - 9pm