Stories

Republished from the October Leschi News.

Reflecting on her recent trip to Europe in last month’s News, Diane Snell noted a stark difference in daily life there. In many of the cities she explored, it is “possible to do without cars.” Across that continent, there is a long history of building and maintaining public transit, and the private automobile has never completely taken over. Right here in Leschi, ours was originally a community of transit and pedestrian-oriented development. Former Leschi Community Council President Wade Vaughn documents in his terrific local history, Seattle Leschi Diary, that Yesler cable cars running as often as every three minutes made even some well-to-do businessmen give up their buggy for daily commuting.

When the private automobile came along, things began to change in Leschi and across the United States.  Today, we’re suffering from the abandonment of urban railways, but our city’s blueprint retains the shape of the streetcar and bicycling networks it was built around.... (more)

Today the guys at Seattle Transit Blog released an awesome map that shows bus routes based on their frequency. Routes that run at least every 20 minutes get big colorful lines. Those that run only part of the day or less often get little skinny gray ones.

Central District routes are prominent on the map, with frequent service on the #2, #3, #4, #8, and #48 routes.

We should be thankful for our good bus service, but also realize it exists for a reason: because we've got a large population that are heavy users of transit. Get on the #3 or #4 on any given day an it's likely to be standing room only by the time you reach Broadway. It's the same for the #48, and the #8 has been doing very well too since its frequencies were increased earlier in the year.

But our problem going forward is that those frequent bus routes are apparently all that we're ever going to have. They are currently at capacity, especially on the slow, crowded routes that have to forge through bad hospital traffic and steep hills as they approach... (more)

This morning Mayor McGinn made it official: Interim Police Chief Diaz gets to remove the interim from his title and will now officially take over as the leader of Seattle's Police Department.

Congrats to him.

And this seems like good news for us in the Central District too, as new outside leadership would have been more likely to reshuffle things throughout the department, creating churn here in the East Precinct when Captain Dermody is just getting started as commander there.

The big loser in all of this is pretty obviously City Attorney Pete Holmes, who last week went on a big public campaign against Diaz, saying that the department needed new non-Diaz leadership. We spoke to people in the city legal world who were mystified why he would do that if there was still a good chance that Diaz would get the job. But now Diaz is the man, and Holmes will have to work with him every day, realizing that no one else at city hall seemed to care for his previous input on the matter.

And in other police news, tonight... (more)

We stopped by for weekday lunch at Ras Dashen, located at 2801 East Cherry Street.  It is owned by Bogalech Tessema, who can occasionally be spotted socializing at the Ras Dashen bar with regulars.  Upon walking into this corner building, the first impression is of airiness and light.  The floor is a blonde wood, and the interior is studded with woven baskets and folksy, patterned curtains and tablecloths.  It is hard to envision that this space was formerly a church.  The air is sometimes redolent of incense and the televisions were tuned on this day to the French Open (though at a volume that was hardly discernible).  Ras Dashen takes its name from the tallest mountain in Ethiopia.

We ordered the Dashen Vegi Combo for $11.  On that day, the combo consisted of the following: Gomen (collard greens), Fosolia (string beans with tomato sauce and carrot), Misir Wot (red lentils), Shiro Wot (yellow lentils), Okra Alich'a, cabbage and salad.   Our favorites were the Gomen, the... (more)

The final decision on whether or not to keep the trolley buses will be made by the King County Council. And whether or not electric buses will save the county money over the long term, there's a cold political reality to the county council's decision: Out of nine county council members, only two have any trolley buses in their districts. 

That fact could easily open up the trolley decision to the long-standing divide between Seattle and the surrounding regional government. Perceived equities in Metro funding has always been a key part of that, which resulted in the infamous 80/20 rule that devotes 80% of new transit hours to the suburbs, even when multiple Seattle bus routes run at standing-room-only conditions.

On the other side, everyone in Seattle city government who has spoken out on the trolley bus issue has been in support of keeping them. So with a potential city/county divide on the issue, the question becomes: what could the city offer to keep the trolley buses around.

As we discussed last month, the... (more)

I have a beautiful 6mo old puppy I take with me whenever I can. She's got long legs and needs a lot of exercise, so we walk a lot on my days off. I would love to run errands with her, but I know that she can be pretty excitable. She may decide to jump up on someone. She may try to steal some kid's stuffed animal. So I don't. I only run errands with her when I am with another person who is willing to stay outside and keep my pup from doing things she shouldn't. I work hard at being a responsible dog-owner. My dog is well-socialized and loves both people and dogs. If a dog indicates in any way that it does not appreciate her presence (by snarling at her or barking or growling), she runs. She's really good at taking the hint.

We were just walking by Healeo and there was a light red Siberian Husky (I think) tied up outside. As we passed, my dog and this dog touched noses and sniffed each other a tiny bit, then this dog lunged at my pup and bit her shoulder. (it wasn't a play bite) My dog yelped and leaped back. No... (more)

At 8 am tomorrow, the 15th of January, parents are staging a rally to keep Principal Kaaren Andrews at Madrona K-8. The Superintendent, Maria Goodloe-Johnson, has decided against the wishes of faculty and parents to re-assign Ms. Andrews to another school. I have personally worked with the children of Madrona  who have systematically been re-assigned(closing MLK, Meany and TT Minor), having their schools closed in the best interest of ... I do not know. Madrona has been showing improvement every year under the strong and positive leadership of Ms. Andrews. Moving her in the middle of the year is disruptive, un-necessary and for lack of a better word, racist. Yes, racist. Please think of the kids that call Madrona home and support our efforts to keep Ms. Andrews as an advocate and a strong leader throughout her 6 year tenure in the Central district. Enough is enough. The children of Madrona should not have to deal with the shady so called leadership that we call our Superintendent. Stand for something or fall... (more)

It's probably a good thing that national politics don't really fit into the neighborhood news world. But just in case you were dying to know our thoughts on the current health care reform effort, you can refer to our sloppily written but highly recommended note published on talkingpointsmemo.com this morning:

I think people are pissed right now less at the fact that they didn't get what they wanted, and more at the fact that they feel like their people didn't really fight for it. Leaders don't always get what they want. But people recognize when true leaders at least give it a shot. And people judge that leadership by what they say in public and how hard they see them publicly pushing for it. Closed door negotiations don't count.

They wanted to see Obama push the public option and say that it was crucial, important part. His broad outlines of "cuts the deficit, improves coverage" is too bland and not something people can rally around, and he gives the impression that he's ceding power and leadership to a...

There's quite a few folks who are lobbying to put the First Hill Streetcar on the western side of the neighborhood, closer to downtown and closer to Virginia Mason hospital. And they've got a good argument in that it's on that side of the hill where you have a high density of institutional jobs and where property is already zoned for residential highrises.

But here's what I don't understand: If you work at Virigina Mason hospital, or live in a highrise along Boren, why would you take a twisting turning streetcar to get to a downtown light rail stop? Especially when you have three high frequency bus routes to choose from that will get you there in less time?

For example, the #2 bus runs past the front door of Virginia Mason on Seneca every 10 to 15 minutes during the day, and takes about 5-8 minutes to get to 3rd Avenue where the University St. light rail station is. A Boren streetcar route would add rails to a chunk of the #2 route, duplicating service, and would only be accessible from the ugly-concrete-wall... (more)

Back in the campaign season, Mayor Elect Mike McGinn got a lot of kudos in the transit community for proposing an expansion of light rail to serve West Seattle and Ballard. It looks like a good plan to give better transit service to two neighborhoods that can be notoriously hard to get to.

But here in the Central District we've got a very transit-dependent population and a diminishing level of transit performance. In spite of some modest increases in service over the last several years, our bus routes are still standing room during large portions of the day. To see how bad it is, try and grab an eastbound bus on from 5th and James at 4pm on a weekday, and you'll find that there's a good chance that a packed-to-the-gills bus will pass you by before you find one with room to get on. And adding more buses won't really help - the #3, #4, and #48 routes are already running about as frequently as you can on our narrow roads and in traffic, as evidenced by the way the buses will bunch up together at peak times.

So I'... (more)

John Hayes nailed it in the Leschi community forum last week: "Someone violated us."

Someone from outside our neighborhood, from outside Seattle, drove here on Halloween night and murdered one of our cops with a military assault rifle. Not a gangster, not a drug dealer, but an educated man with access to too much firepower and a detailed plan for murder.

The fact is that violent crime is way down around here. There were 29 homicides in Seattle in 2008. Five of those were in the East Precinct, which is less than our per-capita share. With just seven weeks left in 2009, there's been 17 homicides across the city (a 30% decrease), and the murder of Officer Brenton was only the third in this part of town. Compare any of those numbers to other large cities across the nation, and it's clear that Seattle, the East Precinct, and the Central District are very safe places to live.

And the improvement goes beyond violent crime. For example, last year you could drive past 21st & Union or 28th & Jackson any time of the day... (more)

Well... I've decided to vote for Mary Bass. I really hope that she starts listening to her public and is willing to work with the rest of the board early when big decisions come up to try to get some positive incremental change. Kay Blum... Well she's simply not very realistic and doesn't seem to understand the limitations of the job. As a parent I feel that this position is more about her than the kids. I think that at best she will find herself quickly marginalized just like Mary with her go her own way approach, and at best she will just do more harm. I Also don't feel that she is qualified to represent the most needy children in the district in underpriveliedged and special needs students. This has been a hard choice but one I had to make. Ther is still lots of work to do and I encourage all of you to be active. This is important to the whole community.   Don't forget to vote! Andre

There are not many decisions on your ballot that are as easy to make as voting yes on Proposition 1 to renew the Housing Levy in Seattle.  The Levy has been around for 28 years and has created thousands of affordable apartments for Seattle's most vulnerable residents like seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families.  Many of the Central District's long time residents have benefited from the Levy's emergency rental assistance program that keeps families from becoming homeless. For the price of two cups a coffee a month you can help provide over 1,850 homes that will be affordable for the next 50 years.

Housing affordability is a major social justice issue that effects the Central District in very real ways.  I hope you all will vote yes on Prop. 1 and go out of your way to tell a friend to do so also.

You can go to http://www.yesforhomes.org for more information.

To convey meaningful information on the lives of youth, what medium should be used? This is a familiar question that many parents face. For our family, taking into consideration each young person's unique way of interfacing with the world was important for our choice of schools -- and also for our choice of extracurricular activities as both should provide appropriate learning environments to maximize our children's strengths and improve weaknesses.

We were successful in our search for schools, but found difficulty finding a good fit with after school programs. Some were too rigid, required too much of a time commitment for a busy family to undertake, or some other scheduling issue arose.  That changed when we found the "GirlPower" class by instructor, Tristan Elliot. Our daughters, in 5th and 7th grade, were immediately invested in their training as it helped them to discover their voice and their own "girl power."

Harmony Arts, the studio run by Tristan, very much embodies what we looked for... (more)

This election Referendum 71 asks voters to approve or reject the domestic partnership law that was passed this spring by the Legislature and signed by Governor Gregoire. Vote "approved" on Referendum 71 to preserve the domestic partnership law. Every Vote Counts!

Are you registered to vote? Is your voter registration address current? If not, act now! Monday, October 5 is the deadline to register online or by mail if you want to vote in the statewide November 3rd election.

Register: https://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/secure/pages/Onlinevoterreg

Check address: http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/OSOS/VoterVault/Pages/MyVote.aspx

Ballots will be mailed out between October 14 and October 16. If you haven't received yours by October 20th, contact King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683).

Track your ballot! King County now offers a Mail Ballot Tracking system. Find out when your ballot was mailed to you, when King County Elections received your returned ballot packet, and when your signature was verified... (more)

We've got a burgeoning internet news market here in Seattle, and that means that there's a lot of folks scrambling on a day to day basis to fill the news hole. Some days nothing happens, and that makes it stressful for those of us that need to keep an audience engaged and entertained.

All news is somewhat iterative. You see something somewhere else, maybe look into it some more, and then are inspired to fit it into your beat or area of coverage. 

But there's a tradition in the internet world that didn't previously exist in print or TV. The internet allows this thing called links. They're simple to do and don't take much space. And the tradition has been that if you see something somewhere else and then write about it, you give at least a simple link and some credit to the place that inspired you. And especially if you see something and then use that research, how ever small, and just add your own words around it, you should definitely give credit where credit is due. Often it's called a hat tip, or H/T for... (more)

In July an anti-gay group submitted 137,689 signatures to the state to add Referendum 71 to the ballot in November. The state requires 120,577 valid signatures for the referendum to proceed. The state publishes daily updates on how their signature validation is coming along. These updates can be found at this Washington Secretary of State website. The current signature validation rate is 89.58% which is more than enough to get this hateful referendum on the ballot.

If this gets on the ballot please vote APPROVE to approve the domestic partnership bill passed by your state legislators to support equal rights for all. (Yes it is counter-intuitive that you need to vote approve for a referendum that you'd rather not vote on. Confusion is what the hateful anti-gays are banking on.)

Let's get the word out now as November is right around the corner. To support the domestic partnership bill please visit
Washington Families Standing Together.

Thank you!

Danny Westneat's column in today's Seattle Times discusses the plastic bag fee/tax proposal, on the ballot at Referendum 1.  A lot of coverage to date has focused on the involvement of the petrochemical industry, which has spent something in the range of $1.3 million on opposing the ban.

Politics make strange bedfellows, and in this case our local Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP) also opposed Ref. 1 based on what they see as a possible harm to low-income consumers.  Westneat spoke with their new executive director, Andrea Caupain.

"We wanted to get ahead of the issue and ask: How will this affect our clients, the low-income?" Caupain says. "We hadn't seen anyone look at this in depth, only people making arguments to support their side."

CAMP tried an experiment. Its food bank handed out hundreds of reusable canvas tote bags.

Patrons were told to use them when picking up food, and that the agency would stop providing paper or plastic bags due to the expense of the coming bag fee (this was back when...

Being vegetarian, Ethiopian is one of the friendliest ethnic cuisines for us to enjoy. We are longtime fans of Queen Sheba, but having heard good things about Adey Abeba, we decided to give this walkable restaurant a try yesterday.  Adey Abeba has nice curb appeal, and the inside has a cheery coat of light yellow paint.  Ethiopian art bedecks the walls and ivory cotton curtains with a subtle print drape windows left open to a gorgeous evening yesterday.  The restaurant gets its name from an Ethiopian flower, the Meskel Daisy.  Staples of a family-run ethnic restaurant abound at Adey Abeba: silk flowers, television tuned to Wheel of Fortune and occasional confusion during guest-host exchanges.  We each had a "Vegi Combination" ($10) served in the same platter which consisted of split peas sauce, red lentil hot sauce, shiro wot (ground peas spiced with berbere, seasoned with onions, garlic, and ginger), cabbage, salad and collard greens.  We did not spy alcohol on the menu, but... (more)

Yesterday CDNews World HQ was bombarded with several highly annoying press releases. The first, from county councilman Dow Constantine, announced that he would propose to move money from the county ferry district to support flood-control projects in the south part of the county. A later release from county executive candidate Ross Hunter blamed Constantine for ever supporting ferry funding in the first place, and also pushing that ferry funding go to flood projects in the Green River valley.

A little background: you, residents of Seattle's Central District, are already paying significant property taxes for both pedestrian ferries and south county flood control. Those are things that most of you will never see any benefit from. In the meantime, the county is getting ready to cut huge amounts of bus service and social services that we do use, and heavily rely upon, due to the overall economic downturn.

So county leaders: how about we take that ferry funding, which is transportation related, and use it to support... (more)