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Those old white dudes at the Academy (94 percent white and 77 percent male? Seriously?) might be working to decide the best films and actors of the past year, but the folks behind the 20/20 Awards are doing much more important work: Deciding the best films of 1992.

The third annual two-decades-delayed award show will announce the big winners during a show at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Central Cinema. Tickets are nearly sold out, so buy now if you want to go. (UPDATE: If you don't get tickets, Central Sounds is hosting an interesting crew from Women Who Rock tonight at Hollow Earth Radio, just around the corner from Central Cinema. See bottom of this post for details)

From the 20/20 Awards:

In 1992, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS swept the Academy Awards, taking 7 nominations and winning the “Big Five” including Best Picture, Best Actress (Foster), Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Director (Demme) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally). This is the first year the 20/20 Awards is poised for a repeat, with an exciting opportunity for multiple...

The students of Thurgood Marshall Elementary were rewarded for their exceptional attendance record with a February 16 visit from Blenda Rodriguez of the Harlem Globetrotters. The visit was part of the Be Here Get There program as reward for the school's January attendance rates.

From the Mayor's office:

Harlem Globetrotter Blenda Rodriguez performed at Thurgood Marshall Elementary on February 16 in partnership with the city of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools' citywide attendance campaign, Be Here Get There, to congratulate Thurgood Marshall Elementary for having the best elementary school attendance in Seattle for the month of January.

"We are very excited to be able to welcome the Harlem Globetrotters to our school," said Thurgood Marshall Elementary Principal Julie Breindenbach. "We're extremely proud of our faculty, students and parents for making attendance a priority."

"Improving attendance rates must be addressed in ways that engage students," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "We're very...

Seattle City Light is working to restore power to 383 customers in Madrona after a tree caused a power outage. They expect power to be back by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Area affected, from the City Light system status map:

  (more)

Take time to Rest and Relax! Recovery is an important part of the process of getting stronger and faster. When you catch your breath, you enable your cells to repair and reinvigorate your body. So the next time you ride a bike or go on a run, or what ever you do, you can go farther and go faster. One of my favorite yoga poses to do after a long day of teaching yoga and cycling around the city is Legs up the wall pose. It is pretty simple and only requires an area to lie down on the floor and put your legs up the wall.*

What makes this pose great is that gravity does all the work for you. Your hamstrings slowly loosen up and you do not have to balance or strain at all. Put a blanket under the entire length of your your spine to gently open your chest and support your head if you like. Let your arms open by your side with palms facing the up. Slide your shoulders away from your ears and breathe deep.

To learn more ways to recover from long rides attend my class this Sunday!
Rest and Relaxation Workshop
Sunday... (more)

Police responded in force after reports of a man firing a gun at 12th and Dearborn around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The suspect was arrested near 13th and Dearborn after KIRO TV choppers spotted him fleeing on video.

No victims have been located yet, and it's unknown if anyone was struck in the shooting.

From SPD:

Seattle Police officers, including SWAT and K-9, and Washington State Patrol troopers conducted a search for a man who discharged a firearm near 12th Avenue South and South Dearborn Street at around 11:15 a.m.  It is not known at this time if anyone was injured in the shooting.  The suspect fled on foot crossing I-5.  He was last seen headed in a southwesterly direction underneath I-5 at approximately South Massachusetts Street. 

The suspect was described as an Asian male in his 30′s, about 5’6″ tall, wearing a dark blue baseball hat and a grey and white hooded sweatshirt, possibly in a plaid, camouflage or leopard print. 

At approximately...

After squeaking out a 25-24 win Thursday, Garfield alumna Queen Underwood took apart her opponent in Saturday's final to win the US women's boxing trials in Spokane. This brings the Queen one step closer to competing in the 2012 Olympics in London.

She must now place in the top eight for weight class at a May Olympic qualifier in China before taking the ring in London to battle for the crown... er... gold medal.

Underwood had her home-state crowd going crazy, the AP reports. Her story of perseverance and strength in the face of childhood abuse has resonated nationwide. You can help the Queen by supporting her Living Out the Dream Foundation.

From the AP (via Seattle Times):

The sellout crowd was behind the Seattle native, stomping on the floor and chanting "Queen! Queen! Queen!" while Underwood took apart Mayer with brutally effective shots from all angles. The final margin was smaller than expected, but Underwood had little doubt, raising one finger in anticipation of the verdict.

"It hurts. I'm happy....

Demonstrators are planing a noisy protest outside the King County Youth Services Center at 12th and Alder Wednesday at 8 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring "anything to make noise" to the demonstration as part of a national day of prison protests.

More details and reasons for the protest from the Occupy Seattle Calendar:

There will be a noise demonstration held at the King County Juvenile Detention Center in the Central District (Seattle) at 8PM.

This is organized to respond to the California prisoners call for solidarity with prisoners which was endorsed by Occupy Oakland. Occupy Oakland will be going out to the San Quentin Prison. Other cities including LA, Baltimore, Chicago and others will be joining in on the call as well.

Things to bring:

anything to make noise! (so the youth can hear us)

banners, flags, signs, fliers, etc.

This noise demonstration will be to express solidarity with all political and social prisoners as well as the youth imprisoned at King County Juvi to break the isolation...

Alleycat Acres will break ground on its new farm March 10 at noon. The groundbreaking will come a week after fundraising bicyclists storm the streets of the CD as part of the urban farming collective's annual fundraiser.

There is still room in the organization's March 3 fundraiser bike ride dubbed Streets and Beets (full disclosure: I am a supporting partner of the ride through Seattle Bike Blog). The 70-mile ride will begin and end at the MLK FAME Community Center in Madison Valley with a halfway lunch stop at Seattle Tilth Farm Works in Auburn.

The group hopes to raise thousands of dollars from the ride in order to support the year's operations and the expansion to their new MLK space between Cherry and Columbia Streets (see our previous story). The new farm will be created in a long-vacant lot, and the group has been gathering a community to work the land.

If you are interested in the fundraiser bike ride, you need to register by March 1. You then need to raise money to benefit Alleycat. More ride details:... (more)

Any word on why there are a couple of helicopters circling the neighborhood?

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Looks like the choppers were out to cover a fatal motorcycle crash at the I-5/I-90 interchange this morning. It appears a person riding a motorcycle ran into a barrier and fell from a ramp onto I-5 around 4 a.m.

Timothy Richard Wettack, 23, was pronounced dead at the hospital, KIRO reports. (more)

Here's a short roundup of what's going on around the neighborhood this weekend. Got anything to add? Let us know in the comments. And if you want your event listed, be sure to post details to the CDNews events calendar.

When: Saturday, February 18, 2012 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Where: 1634 19th Ave. Seattle, WA
What: Women's Day Marketplace and Arts Fair

On Your Mark, Get Set, Shop! ...The Women's Day Marketplace and Arts Fair! Unique gifts, Entertainment, Food, Fun for Everyone...you will find it all at the Mount Zion Women's Day Marketplace and Arts Fair! Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 18th from 11AM to 5PM in the Jessie L. Shields Fellowship Hall. Vendors, the Marketplace and Arts fair is the perfect place to sell, sell, sell! Applications are available in the church lobby and at www.mountzionseattle.net. We are also still in need of volunteers to help with set up, break down, assistance with vendors throughout the day, etc. For additional information please contact Dr. Georgia McDade at gsmcdade@...

When the Beehive Bakery went belly-up in November, there were fears the former Philly's Cheese Steak building would go back to being endlessly vacant. But that's not the case this time, as Pioneer Square's Mediterranean Mix takes over the space to open their second location (as noted in this community post by MarkJ).

"I've got a lot of plans for that place," said owner Otmane Bezzaz, who also runs Pioneer Square's historic J&M Cafe. The new Mediterranean Mix will have a similar menu to the Pioneer Square location, but the increased kitchen space will let them add a few extra items. In all, there will be about two dozen Greek and Mediterranean dishes to choose from, including their signature chicken and rice.

"We don't buy frozen stuff," Bezzaz said. "We make everything from scratch."

With the opening of the Neighbor Lady next door planned in the next month, Bezzaz said he hopes the restaurant can help make the intersection more vibrant. The restaurant will close around 10 or 11 when it first opens, but... (more)

A community group that bridged the Central District, Capitol Hill and First Hill happily tells CHS this afternoon that Metro has decided against lopping off the portion of Route 2 the transit agency was proposing to do away with in a fleet of coming service changes. We've yet to confirm the details with Metro officials but, according to the Bus2 group, Metro has agreed to maintain the route's connection to Queen Anne. Here's the update we received from the group:

Metro just announced at a meeting at the Tate-Mason house that they are (1) taking the proposed changes to the Route 2 off the recommendation, and will maintain it at least as far north as the Seattle Center (Mercer) at its current frequently; (2) the #27 till remain the same route, although it may be less frequent; and (3) the trolley bus changes and deletions are all being re-examined as it the service to Queen Anne now on the trollies (and also to the Seattle Center).  An official announcement will be made within 24 hours or so.

Ashley DeForest, who made the announcement, said that the reason they have reconsidered changing Route 2 is that they heard from so many different constituencies and so many neighborhoods -- all with the same message:  it's a great bus route so why change it?

Bus2, our little group of advocates, is quite relieved, and very happy.

The debate over the 2 has been raging on CDNews ever since the changes were announced. Some saw the gains in system efficiency to be worth the re-route, while others did not like the loss of a connection from the CD to Westlake (among other concerns). Here are some materials the group posted at several bus stops:A previous campaign to save the 27 was largely successful, as Metro scaled back it's complete deletion of the 27 to a plan that would reduce its frequency. (more)

This spring, the corner of MLK and Cherry will be the home of a new daytime doggie daycare center. The vacant and slowly decaying former headquarters of The Facts newspaper is getting cleaned up and renovated to become Play Doggie Daycare, which is planning on an April opening.

"Somebody had to buy it," said Play owner Sarah Slater of the vacant property. "I'm quite excited to put something into the neighborhood and clean up part of it." Slater lives near the corner and has operated a dog walking business called Sniff and Scamper since 2004 ("People have probably seen my truck going around," she said).

Slater purchased the property three days after an October fire ravaged the space. The fire was started by "improperly discarded smoking materials," likely from a person who was squatting in one of the rooms. The person squatting even furnished the room, though much of that was destroyed in the fire. However, the structure was not seriously damaged, and Slater plans to fix the roof and repaint.

She said plans... (more)

Update: Adam Kline's office says this event it not happening (see comment below). There will be a town hall sometime soon, though.

It is time to meet with your representatives in Olympia.  These people represent you.

Saturday, February 18, at 11am. Senator Adam Kline, Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, and Representative Eric Pettigrew will be hosting the town hall at Garfield Community Center, 2323 East Cherry Street in Seattle, WA.

The Wing Luke Museum and several partner organizations are hosting a series of community discussions about race as inspiration for a 2013 exhibit based on those discussions.

The first partner to host a discussion is the Northwest African American Museum, which is holding a potluck and community discussion Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

From the Facebook event:

In 2004, the Wing Luke Museum opened a powerful and innovative exhibit: “Beyond Talk: Redrawing Race.” The show included 20 works by a dozen artists exploring race and racism in the U.S., along with interactive installations designed to draw visitors into a deeper conversation, and to spur them to take action in their communities.

In 2013 a new art exhibit will open at The Wing. Like the 2004 show, this exhibit will grow out of community discussions about race and racism -- this time with a focus on intergenerational conversations. Several Seattle organizations will help spark these discussions by hosting community Potlucks to stir conversations...

A coffee shop in the mornings and a sports bar at night, Wonder Coffee & Sports Bar will keep the lights on at 19th and Jackson when it opens in March.

Starting at 4 a.m., the shop will operate as a coffee shop with lunch food and wifi. At 4 p.m., it will close and switch over to dinner, which will go from 6 until 2 a.m., said owner Negsha Yassin. Yassin already owns several stores in the city including the Corner Store and Deli at 16th and Jackson.

Inside, the thing that might stand out the most is the body of a sports car sitting in the corner with a private seating area nearby. There will also be an outdoor patio space.

Yassin also said he hopes to have 50 beers on tap, in addition to the full bar.

"I want to compete with Seattle bars," he said.

For dinner, the restaurant will serve "all different types of American food," said Yassin. This includes everything from pizza to burgers and sandwiches. For lunch, it will be mostly cafe-style sandwiches and wifi (wifi is a food group, right?).

Yassin has been working on... (more)

The man killed in an early Sunday shooting outside a Sodo nightclub has been identified as Desmond Jackson of the Central District, the Seattle Times reports. Jackson was one of two people shot in the incident, which started as a large fight around 3:30 a.m. The other person injured, not yet identified, is reportedly in critical condition.

Friends and family held a memorial vigil for Jackson Monday evening at the corner of 20th and Marion. He was 22.

From the Times:

A relative of the slain man identified him as Desmond Jackson, of the Central Area. Jackson, the eldest of three siblings, attended Garfield High School and most recently was taking courses at Seattle Central Community College, said his great-aunt, Gazelle Williams.

Seattle police homicide detectives and gang officers are investigating. No arrests have been made.

(more)

CD residents who are concerned about some the proposed changes should consider attending this meeting.  There are intrinsic relationships between First Hill and the CD transit routes.  Decisions regarding one area will affect the other.

First Hill Improvement Association:

Volney Richmond auditorium is in the Lindeman Pavilion on Level 1.  The street address is 1201 Terry Avenue.  You enter the building on the second floor, due to the hill, and take the elevator or stairs down to the first floor.  There is parking in the garage in this building also. (Unfortunately, it is not free.) Here is a link to the campus map and instructions:

https://www.virginiamason.org/body.cfm?id=226&fr=true

The Common Language Project and the CD-based film studio The Last Quest are working to finish a documentary about an Iraqi immigrant living in a Seattle suburb who got caught up in the war on terror and was deported.

To finish the film, they have Kickstarter campaign running that they hope will raise the $8,400 they need for post-production and animation.

The Last Quest were profiled in CDNews in September. They are housed in the 2522 E Cherry building, which joined the Second Saturday Art Walk on Cherry Street last year. They screened some short films and even held scratch-film animation workshops.

From the filmmakers:

Sam “Barzan” Malkandi, an Iraqi immigrant to the US and beloved family man, was working toward his piece of the American Dream in a Seattle suburb. But a footnote in the 9/11 Commission Report, connecting him to a high-level Al-Qaeda operative through his childhood nickname, changed...

Goodwill will break ground on their new building at Rainier and Dearborn Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. The three-story building will house education programs as well as administrative offices for the Seattle Goodwill Headquarters.

Plans for the new building developed after plans for a large, mixed-use redevelopment of the Goodwill site on Dearborn fell through for financial reasons three years ago, prolonging the company's search for a way to house their training program and administrative staff. Leaving the door open for future redevelopment of the space, Seattle Goodwill tore down three vacant buildings on the lot to make room for the new 49,562 square-foot.

From Seattle Goodwill:

WHAT:  Celebrate the ground breaking of Goodwill's new Job Training & Education Center and Administrative Support Building. 

WHEN:  Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30 a.m.

 

WHERE:  1400 South Lane Street in Seattle

WHO:  Speakers will include Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Goodwill CEO...

When a thief stole a bicycle from one Judkins Park home, it's doubtful he knew he was caught on camera. The couple had previously installed a security camera after too many car break-ins, and they posted images of the thief right here on Central District News.

Well, a few days later, they spotted the bike on Craigslist and told the police. They arranged to meet the seller (obviously not a CDNews reader) at 12th and Jackson, where the 17-year-old suspect was arrested. The bike was returned.

From SPD:

On February 5th, a victim reported that  his expensive bicycle had been stolen from his residence in the 1100 Block of 21 Avenue South.  The victim informed the officer that images of the suspect were captured on the victim’s security camera and those images were turned over to the officer. 

On February 11th, the victim contacted officers again after seeing an online post offering to sell his stolen bicycle.  The victim knew it was his bike because the post included photos...

Ran into some people moving stuff into the former Philly Cheese Steak spot Thursday evening.  They said that Mediterranean Mix, the Greek place in Pioneer Square is coming.  Didn't get an opening date, but it looked like some of the stuff they were moving was food, so it may not be long.

Haven't heard anything recent about "The Neighbor Lady" cafe that is supposed to be coming to the former Thompson's Point of View.  Would be nice to see some vitality returning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sports/quanitta-underwood-

EDITOR'S UPDATE: The NYTimes published a heart-wrenching feature on Queen Underwood, delving into her history as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. With the US Olympic boxing trials beginning today in Spokane, Underwood is largely considered the nation's best chance to win gold in women's boxing. The story shows Queen evolve from an abuse survivor to a dominant force in the ring.

From the New York Times:

THE TWO SISTERS shared a bed, and each night, with their hearts hammering, they would listen for the turn of the knob and the push of the door.

Quanitta Underwood was 10, her sister Hazzauna, 12. The walls of the house were thin, and the girls could hear every move their father made. Hear him sit up, hear him get out of bed, hear him walking their way.

Quanitta pinched her eyes shut when her father entered the room, but she could imagine the presence of his familiar silhouette. She felt his weight sink into the bed while his hands traveled...