Summer closure of Lake Wa Blvd - Get your comments in now

Well that meeting happened, and it appears the idea is still alive and kicking.  A flyer sent to residents says:

At its June 26 meeting, the Board of Park Commissioners will discuss the proposal for this summer's closure of selected park roads and make a recommendation to the Superintendent.  We welcome your written testimony for the Board's consideration until the June 26 discussion and recommendation via e-mail, fax, U.S. mail, or hand delivery.

When's the deadline?  This wednesday at 5 pm.  Send an email to Sandy Brooks, fax it (do people still use fax?) to "Attention: Sandy Brooks" at 206 233 7023, or send it to Sandy Brooks at 100 Dexter Ave N, seattle, wa 98109.

And if you don't remember what they're proposing, from July to September this year Lake Washington Boulevard, from Mount Baker beach to Seward Park, would be closed to car traffic one weekend day each week (in addition to the regular bicycle saturdays/sundays, presumably meaning two weekends a month there would be no traffic on the boulevard either day) plus every thursday as well, to coincide with bicycle thursdays at Seward Park.

Personally, even though I drive on the boulevard every day, I support it.  Other routes are available for cars, and perhaps it might just encourage me to work from home one thursday, or (gasp!) ride my bicycle.

Expanding opportunities to bicycle the boulevard

This just in:

LAKE WASHINGTON BOULEVARD SOUTH
COMMUNITY MEETING
Regarding Proposal to Expand Opportunities to Bicycle the Boulevard from Colman Park to Seward Park

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites you to a community meeting to discuss "It's a Walk in the Park," a proposal to increase opportunities for everyone to have car-free use of our parks one weekday and one weekend day each week May through September.  This would expand both the number of days and the distance of current closures of Lake Washington Boulevard for Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays.

This proposal is part of the City's campaign to Give Your Car the Summer Off, a component of the Climate Action Now initiative.

Please join us at this meeting to learn about the proposal and provide input to help Parks understand the needs of participants and neighbors.

Meeting Information
Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center
Upstairs Meeting Room (Please note that this is on the 2nd Floor)
3800 Lake Washington Boulevard S

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
6:30-8:30 pm

If you are unable to attend the meeting or have additional comments, we
encourage you to send comments to Karen Tsao, by email to
karen.tsao@seattle.gov or by post to 100 Dexter Avenue N, Seattle,
WA98109

I know the Stranger suggested this in their review of the SETS (well, they had a slightly more "modest proposal"), but I like this idea!  Shutting it down more often, especially once a weekend, is great - much more predictable for everybody involved, including motorists in the neighborhood.

Go to the community meeting and make your voice heard.  Even better, check out the beautiful new digs of the Mt Baker Rowing and Sailing Center!

Columbia City and the Southeast Transportation Study

It turns out that the Seattle Department of Transportation has a draft transportation plan out for review right now, and they're looking for public comments.  It also turns out that the comment period closes May 31st.  Time to get cracking and take a look at this!

The press release provides a bit of context:

[...] a draft transportation plan developed to serve as a blueprint for improvements in Southeast Seattle over the next 20 years. The plan is part of Mayor Greg Nickels’ Southeast Seattle Action Plan and contributes to the goal of improving public safety and transportation financing and programming. The study area is bound by city limits to the south, I-90 to the north, I-5 to the west, and Lake Washington to the east.

The draft transportation plan itself is at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/ppmp_sets.htm

The highlights just from the executive summary contain some insights into the type of projects detailed in the full report.  From the executive summary:

Columbia City already has many of the transportation improvements that make a great place: wide, well-maintained sidewalks, street furniture, curb bulbs, and pedestrian lighting.  But for many hours of the day, Rainier has high volumes of quickly-moving traffic. [...]

Key projects include:

• Convert travel lanes along Rainier Ave S from four lanes to three lanes to slow traffic, improve safety, and create a pedestrian-friendly area.
• Add or improve pedestrian crossings on Rainier at S. Genesee St., S. Oregon St, and 39th Ave. S.
• Improve S. Alaska St. between the Columbia City Station on MLK and Columbia City at Rainier for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders.

[...] Nearly half of all the projects recommended in this study are on Rainier; a few others cross Rainier or connect to it.  The number one focus of these projects is safety. 

The first and the last item particularly got my attention.  In fact, I am very curious what they were planning on S Alaska St, as I've talked about this before myself.

So, I first dug into the Alaska St "connection" between Columbia City and the new Link Light Rail station:

• Pedestrian improvements, including "pedestrian scale lighting", and a landscaping buffer between the sidewalk and moving traffic.
• "urban design elements" are added to pedestrian crossings at 35th ave S.

That's it.  Just those two.  I certainly like them, especially the landscape buffer for pedestrians, that's perfect.  But I was really hoping for both a dedicated bike lane in each direction (much like the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan recommends) and zoning changes to further encourage development along this stretch for pedestrian friendly businesses.  It wouldn't be a landmark district, but it would be a great pedestrian corridor - imagine Columbia City Station as being the Seattle Cuisine stop.  Right from the train you can walk past all sorts of interesting restaurants and shops.  Beatwalk would be even more wildly popular if this happened.

Interestingly enough, the report notes "S Edmunds St., two blocks south of Alaska, has been identified as the pedestrian connector between the Columbia City Station and the Columbia City business district and has been improved with streetscape amenities to enhance the pedestrian environment."  I suppose that makes sense, although S Edmunds in my opinion doesn't have quite the potential to be a pedestrian friendly business corridor linked to Columbia City like Alaska St does.

Secondly, what about the lane reductions?

There is a long section on this talking about Rainier in general which is very interesting.  Some salient points:

• Rainier, mile for mile, is one of the highest collision corridors in the city, averaging nearly 50 collisions per month, including 37 where someone was either killed or disabled.
• Most collisions occur on clear days in daylight hours, with most drivers being sober.
• On street parking demand is high, but drivers often park over the curb due to perceived narrow lanes, which leads to damaged curbs and reduced/uninviting pedestrian access.
• Over 11,000 people a day get on and off Metro's bus service on Rainier
• Average daily vehicle volumes on Rainier range from between 42,000 at the north end near Davenport to 18,000 at the south end near the city limits.  The entire length is classified as a "principal arterial", even though the street type varies considerably along the corridor.

There has been a lot of pressure for some time now apparently to do a 4 lane to 3 lane conversion along Rainier, with it being the top recommendation in the 1999 neighborhood plan for Hillman City, Columbia City, and Genesee.  Most other business districts along Rainier have given the message that if the conversion is "good enough for Columbia City" it's good enough for them.

So what's the plan?

• Between S Alaska St and S Cloverdale St, convert Rainier to a three lane configuration.  One lane in each direction, center turn lane, and left turn pockets at intersections where appropriate.  Support parking, bus stops, loading zones, etc.
• Further study, including a block by block design study, to extend this reconfiguration all the way south to the city limits.

All I can say here is, yes!  Yes yes yes!  I love it!

Finally, the pedestrian improvements.  Almost all of these are geared towards slowing traffic down and making it safer with easier access for pedestrians.  Almost all of the recommendations are of the same type, just applied to specific intersections.  For example, at Rainier and S Genesee, the recommendations include:

• Removing the free right turn lanes for folks westbound turning north, and for folks northbound turning east.  Make the turns sharper so cars have to slow down more, and remove the pedestrian islands so visibility is improved.
• Add on street parking on Genesee itself to slow traffic down, and remove on street parking north of Genesee on the east side of Rainier to make lives easier for busses.

These types of traffic calming improvements are handled at each of the intersections noted in our neighborhood.  All in all, good things - travel times for cars are increased only slighly (measured in low single digit minutes for a trip from Renton to downtown), while pedestrian safety and the overall "walkability" of the neighborhood is greatly improved.

Get your comments in at the URL above, and do it before the end of the month!

Captain Columbia City coming out of dry dock

Haven't posted a lot here lately.  Actually, haven't posted much at all.  That's not exactly intended, work has managed to get far too much of a hold of me lately.

I have to admit though, when I started this blog I had hoped to be in a much more regular rhythm then I have found myself in reality.  I had grand visions of actually being able to post an article a day, or perhaps one every two days, but looking back, the times I've actually managed to stick to that schedule have been few and far between.  Sometimes this didn't work just because I got busy with my paying job, and this necessarily had to take a back seat, other times my self-imposed requirement to post only when I had real neighborhood news caused me to slow down.

I still think getting into a rhythm is important, and I've decided that perhaps I just need to scale back my expectations a little bit.  So, starting this week, I'm going to go for a slightly more simple goal - one post a week.  This is obviously a bit of a slower pace, and I'll see how this goes.  I'm sure I might miss even this relaxed schedule every now and then (vacations happen), but I think this should be an attainable goal.  I'm also going to relax my requirement on having "real neighborhood news" a little bit as well.  I'll still strive for this, of course, but I won't think twice if I post every now and then about something completely unrelated.

So, with that, I'm considering this a bit of a new beginning.  One post a week, on topics related to Columbia City and environs, from Rainier street east to Seward Park.  I have a couple of post topics that have been swirling around in my head for a while now, and I'm always looking for new ones (captaincolumbiacity@gmail.com), so I hope you'll join me for the ride.

And perhaps, just perhaps, one of these days I can get the long promised hand drawn image of the Captain I requested from a friend of mine, and actually give this blog a bit more of a unique look to match our unique neighborhood.

Not dead! At least not yet

Oh woe is the Admiral and I.  It has been a new year of sickness, and this latest flu is a doozy.  Having way laid yours truly for about a week, it has now gotten it's grips on the Admiral.

I wonder - anybody know any good doctors in Columbia City?

Not that that will help now, mind you.  We are already laid low with the American Gladiator of disease laughing at our pathetic spandex clad defenses, unable to resist the onslaught.  But who knows.  Perhaps when it progresses to the point where I actually think my staircase is my own personal pyramid tower, and that jumping down that in a single bound is something any gladiator can do, I should know who to call, dontcha think?

Geez, even my posts don't make that much sense.  Ugh.

The sad, sad southeast schools

The Seattle Times has an article today on the sad state of enrollment in our very own southeast schools in Seattle.  It has very depressing comments such as

Of 1,645 Seattle Public Schools students for whom Rainier Beach was the closest high school in 2006, only 247 attended the school

and

As Julia Hibarger circled the fair, she found herself cornered by teachers and administrators eager to tell her the benefits of their schools. Her son, Dexter, starts kindergarten next year. She took their zeal with a grain of salt, she said. Some of their efforts were so desperate she found them a little sad.

The Seattle school district is planning on some big investments in the schools in the area to try and draw back the kids.  From the sounds of it, they've got a long road to travel.

Read the article here.

Red Light Cameras and Columbia City

The city seems to be all abuzz about the new red light cameras.  But at least for us, this isn't new news - we've had a red light camera since the original four were put in back in mid 2006.

So while we keep our camera at Orcas and Rainier, are any of the new cameras coming to our 'hood?

The answer is no.  A lot of them are either up north or in west Seattle.  The closest new one to us will be at the corner of South McClellan street and MLK.  The next closest one will be at Rainier and South Massachusetts street - a ways away.

Extend the landmark district? What?

Ever fearless "Anonymous" posted a comment in reaction to my last post:

#2 expanding the landmark district?

This makes no sense. What are the historically significant buildings you want to include?

Revisit this

"The Columbia City Application Review Committee and the City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board are charged with maintaining the historic character of Columbia City, ensuring that the architectural integrity and aesthetics of the buildings and landscape are preserved."

Yes, yes, ok, technically you're correct.  If I was going for historically appropriate buildings (or even just more age-appropriate buildings) I suppose I would have suggested areas even further south, perhaps near Orcas.  However, the basic point I was making is simple: the landmark district, from a business point of view, is a raging success.  We should be encouraging further business development and revival along Rainier Ave further south, not encouraging the business zone to "widen" into the neighborhood.  Ideally the business development aspects should be completely separate from the landmark district preservation efforts, but unfortunately they're closely intertwined in Columbia City.

The problem arises because the Columbia City Business Association only encourages business within the landmark district.  See this proposal for an example of how they think -

It has been a key goal of the Columbia City Business Association to "widen" the district by promoting commercial activity up the commercially-zoned side streets, east and west of Rainier Avenue.  The existing historic-style pedestrian lighting is very important in defining the business district and supporting its landmark status.

So if the only way to get the support of the business association for more development along Rainier (as opposed to moving into the residential areas) is to enlarge the landmark district, then so be it.

Anonymous also made the point of density (which yes, Seattle desperately needs more of) and a strategy for businesses along the light rail line so whatever develops there doesn't cannibalize Columbia City.  So far, judging from the development that's taking place near MLK & Alaska, we're getting the residential density without any extra commercial zoning, which is perfect.  But I wonder if the business association has a plan for how to link the light rail stop with Columbia City?

Perhaps, if they're really really intent on turning residential areas commercial, they could work on having Alaska between Rainier and MLK zoned commercial and added to the landmark district?  I'd love to see shops from Lucille all the way up Rainier to Alaska, and from there to the light rail stop.  I'm sure all the people moving into those developments along MLK would like that too.

Welcome to the new year

Hope everybody's holidays were good ones, and that they're recovering successfully from the various food comas that were inevitably induced over the past few weeks.  The admiral's and my recoveries are coming along nicely - that 23 pound turkey from Bob's Locker Meats was a great Christmas dinner, and is holding up well in the turkey soup.

While year end is traditionally a time to build the all important lists looking back, and the new year is the time for resolutions, I've decided to combine the two in the Captain's top ten list of things I'd like to see in Columbia City in 2008:

1. A new home for the Columbia City Farmers Market in the school parking lot right across the street from it's current location.
2. Expansion of the Columbia City Landmark district.  Expanding it further east all the way to 39th ave S would be nice, but even more importantly, expand it further south along Rainier.  An eventual plan to get it all the way to Orcas would be awesome, but starting with getting it to S 42nd or Lucille would be great.
3. More new businesses opened along that expanded Landmark district.  There's only so much packing that can go on between Angeline and Hudson, and it's silly that businesses are opening up along side streets now just to be closer to "the action" then opening up along the main drag.  For example, consider Verve - great place, but what a silly location.  Wouldn't it be much nicer if the next block south of Tutta Bella was "annexed" for the next layer of great new businesses?
4. While I'm on the subject of great new businesses, how about a local independent coffee shop?  I've been sampling the coffees of Columbia City lately (more posts on this soon), but it's be great to have an even greater number of places to drink.  Yes, I'm an addict.
5. Another business related one - a hardware/kitchen store.  I know Lowe's is pretty close by, but I miss Hardwick's.  The kitchen gadget store down in Madison Park was also comfortably neighborly.  Need something like that here.
6. A whole lot of new faces at the Mt Baker Rowing and Sailing Club.  Don't be thrown off by their name - they're actually really close to Columbia City!  They just finished their expansion, and they're looking better than ever.  I love to see the city invest in our part of town - maybe it's time to learn how to sail this year?
7. I'd like a new forum for business news to rise up.  Now that the beat is gone, we need a new way to hear all the gossip about who is moving in and who is moving up.  How can I get connected?  Rob, help me!
8. I want the Audubon center in Seward Park to be successful.  Have you seen the bald eagle nests at the south end of Bailey peninsula?  Great spot for the city and the Audubon society to team up.
9. The admiral is a devotee of hollandaise sauce - so a breakfast place that serves a good eggs benedict is a must.
10. The seafair hydroplane races to be a bit more of a benefit to our neighborhood.  They come in every year, blow the rooftops off of our houses and jam up our streets, and then leave, but it seems they don't really add much to our neighborhood.  As a simple idea, wouldn't it be nice if every business in Columbia City was allowed to open a small booth to serve spectators along Lake Washington Boulevard?

Ok, so what did I miss?  What do you want to see in Columbia City this coming year?

The Beat Goes On - in a wikli kind of way

That bastion of Columbia City business news has come to a close.  "Get the Beat" is shutting down it's electronic distribution in favor of the wiki.

I have to say, I'm sad to see it go.  The Wiki is pretty awesome, but it contributes in a different way to the community.  I think there's always room for an additional outlet for solid reporting, news and views from a consistent involved voice like the Beat.  Ah well, in all things change is constant I suppose.

I republish the last edition of the Beat in full below.  RIP the Beat - long live the wiki!

Columbia City News

"Get the Beat" gives way to the Wiki... Bowing to the power of our wonderful "Columbia Citizens' Wikli" (http://ColumbiaCitizens.net/wikli:current), this will be the last edition of the Get the Beat electronic newsletter. Your editor has enjoyed trying to keep you informed about goings-on in the business district, but there's nothing like the power of the Wikli's multiple voices to provide the real scoop. And, the Wikli's calendar is all you need to figure out what your future holds. Plug in, be thoughtful, be honest, be caring.

Business Association names Angies' as 2007 recipient of "Good Neighbor Award"... It is surprising how few Columbia City businesses bother to sweep the sidewalk in front of their establishments each day. Tutta Bella, Columbia City Bakery, and Columbia City Fitness are a few of the ones that do. But nobody takes their responsibility more seriously than Angies', which is fortunate, because Angies' customers generate one heck of a lot of litter every night. Dan and Suki, the owners, make sure the sidewalk and alley are carefully swept every day, and they were recognized at the CCBA's December meeting with a certificate of appreciation "for demonstrated community spirit".

CCBA names new officers for 2008... At its December meeting, the CCBA membership voted in Bull Stewart (Columbia City Fitness) as president, Jim Orrey (Washington Federal) as vice-president, Laureen Kelly (Einstein Signs) as secretary, and Pam Stokes (Hasegawa Family Dentistry) as treasurer.

Last Loft offers lodging in Columbia City... it is a fully-furnished, two-level, loft-style apartment available for stays as short as 7 days. Designed for your out-of-town visitors, it can accommodate up to 4 people. Call 922-3656 to inquire about availability.

Special Holiday Offer: Owners Zeke and Kidia of Tagla at 4423 Rainier Avenue S is offering a special Holiday discount through December 31st(2007). Get the fabulous combination plate for only $9.95 and add a meat dish for only $5.00 more. For those that love Ethiopian food this is a very special deal. For those who have not tried this wonderful food this is a great opportunity. Call 206-721-3355 for pick or reservations.

That's it... see you on the Wikli!

Perhaps wait another week before swimming

It's been a week now since the rain storms of early December. I just saw this article in the PI recently that talks about something that seemingly happens every big storm each year - raw sewage was sent directly into Lake Washington, including right near our very own Seward Park. Check it out.

This made me curious, and so I tracked down a map which shows all of the combined sewer overflow locations in our neighborhood - it turns out there are a few along our stretch of Lake Washington.

Perhaps wait another week for all that sewage to get eaten by the algae before going for that Christmas swim...

New sidewalks in Columbia City

Another interesting article in the local rags recently - the Seattle Times reports that we're getting new sidewalks in Columbia City!

Actually, that article is almost exclusively about the sidewalks that are going in on Alki, but if you look at this graphic, you can see that on Rainier Ave from S. Hudson St to S. Ferdinand St. we'll be getting new sidewalks put in.

Also interesting was this map of the sidewalk situation in Seattle.  Columbia City seems to be about average - not quite all red like north Seattle, but not a perfect grey either like capitol hill.

Bus Route 7 Lawsuit Reaches Court

The Seattle Times has an article detailing an incident that happened on the number 7 bus at Alaska and Rainier back in early summer 2005, and how a court case that arose from it is just now going to trial.

The lawsuit seems to be primarily geared against the city, since none of the people involved in the assault were actually caught.

I must admit, I've never really thought highly of the number 7 route.  Perhaps that route is cursed.  It's almost always late, it's the only bus route in Seattle that I've ever felt unsafe while riding on, it's a milk run that stops at every . single . bus . stop along the way.  It's a little better since it was split in two a few years ago and now doesn't run all the way up into north Seattle as well, but still.  Perhaps I should go ride the 300 series that serves north Seattle (particularly Aurora) to put things in perspective, but then again, perhaps I should be able to feel safe in all metro buses, regardless of route.

The admiral and I are more fans of 39 or 34.  39 especially offers a fast, no stops, efficient route into downtown.  And we're really hoping that when the rail starts up, a lot of these bus routes will be reconfigured to be feeders towards light rail. Then perhaps the 7 will completely go away, and the curse along with it.

SPD South Precinct Newsletter

Normally, the south precinct is pretty good about updating their homepage to include a link to their latest community newsletter.  But it appears that they're a bit behind the times at the moment, even though they sent out an updated newsletter late last week. 

While we wait for that link to update, here are some quotes from the latest and greatest:

A pattern of actual or attempted sexual assaults against Asian women
has been noted in the South Precinct area. They date back several
months, the most recent occurring the morning of November 28th. The
frequency of the assaults has increased, as has the level of
aggression as the suspect has progressed from groping from behind to
attempting to drag the victim away to continue the sexual assault.

The assaults have most often occurred as the women have exited a Metro
bus and are on their way home or on their way to the bus in the
morning. The suspect has attacked along routes served by the Metro
bus routes of the 7, 32 and 36.

[...]

The suspect has been described as a black male, late teens to early
30s, 5'9", thin to medium build, medium to dark complexion. The
suspect often wears a hooded sweatshirt or otherwise attempts to
conceal his face. As the suspect often attacks the victims from
behind, distinct suspect information has been lacking because often
the victims do not get a good look at the suspect.

An additional complication we face is that many of the victims have
been reluctant to speak with detectives in the Sexual Assault Unit to
provide further information. In some cases, where the suspect grabbed
the woman's rear, the victims didn't feel it was serious enough to
report because "all he did was grope me. No big deal"

Yowzers.  Whoever this guy is, he's a moron.  It's moments like this where I wonder how life would be different if schools taught kids (particularly girls) basic self defense as part of physical education.  A quick knee to the groin a few times in a row would hopefully start to discourage this dimwit.

Ladies, if you see somebody matching this description, call 911!  The police are obviously trying hard to track this guy down.  And if you get groped, report that too!  Groping, given the current climate, is no questions an assault.

PS.  The admiral was nice enough to point out that my previous post was riddled with excellent displays of kul speling and goodly grammar.  Ummm...yeah.  Sorry 'bout that.

Being Strategic with our parks

Remember that good old Pro parks levy that we, as a city, agreed to impose upon ourselves?  You know the one - it was funded to the tune of 198.2 million dollars and was used throughout the city to acquire new greenspaces and renovate existing ones.  Some of the work in our own neighborhood included:

• Landscaping and pathway improvements to Columbia Park.
• Seward Park had it's former garage renovated into an Activity room for recreational and environmental education programs
• The main Seward Park Annex building was renovated in conjunction with the Audubon society, with a lease signed allowing the Audubon folks to occupy a portion of the building for 10 years with an option to extend for another 10
• The rainier playfields had pathway improvements, as well as some landscaping
• Lake Washington Blvd between Mt Baker swimming beach and Seward Park had a bunch of improvements, including a crushed rock path to replace the old dirt path, and some pretty major renovation of the parking lot at Stan Sayres to improve drainage.
• Graham hill school saw it's play area revamped, replacing all of the old asphalt with grass and a bunch of play equipment
• And of course one of the first projects to get funded by the Pro Parks levy, the complete re-working of Genesee playfields, turning one of the grass fields to turf, adding some pedestrian pathways and crosswalks.

Well the funds are starting to run out, and the city is trying to figure out what's next for it's parks.  It's starting a review of what's formally titled the "Seattle Parks and Recreation Strategic Business Plan".  They're not looking for input on specific projects so much as trying to decide what types of investments they should focus on.  For example, do you find the swimming beach at Seward park more important than the running trails along Lake Washington?  Or maybe you're more into quiet corner parks where you can sit and read like Columbia Park?

Either way, now's your chance to give some feedback.  Easiest way to is spend 5 minutes filling out their survey or (even better) you can attend one of the public meetings.

Be heard and make our parks better!

NOT a whole lot of shakin' going on

First there was an article in the PI about a month ago that detailed the latest research into what areas of Seattle are at greater risk of damage in an earthquake.  They generated this lovely map:

And of course that map is lovely since you'll see that good old Columbia City and points east to Seward Park are all at "Low" risk (well, "Low" relative to the rest of the city.  Presumably "High" when compared to the earthquake risk in someplace like Kansas City).

Now, there's a new article over at Crosscut that asks geologists the $1000 dollar a month question - insurance, or not?  Interestingly enough, most of the answers are "no".  But then again, most of the people asked also chose their house specifically to avoid dangerous areas such as slopes and the duwamish valley.

The Admiral and I have earthquake insurance (even with the 10% deductible).  Perhaps we should reconsider this, especially given that we're in the excellent "Low" portion of the city.  Do any of you have earthquake insurance?

Dear Thief,

Posted around the neighborhood for the past few weeks has been this wonderful gem of a note:

Dear Thief,

When you broke into my home Friday and stole my laptop computer, you stole not just a piece of electronic gear.  You stole hundreds of hours of my work held in the files on it.  I am asking for you to return my laptop, and more importantly, to give me back my work.

I imagine to you this laptop is just a source of some quick cash by selling it, or a toy to play DVDs, surf the internet, or email your pals.  To me it's a tool for work and a reservoir of my efforts.  I am a radio producer.  There are hours of irreplaceable audio recordings that I was editing into radio pieces; stories about activists and community members, stories about immigration and about the environment.  The laptop holds letters, research documents, project histories, contact information.  Some of these documents cannot be recreated at all and some cannot be recreated without a great effort.  The computer will be hard and expensive for me to replace, but all the work on it is the real valuable part to me.  This is the greater loss to me.  You stole a treasure that is worthless to you

You know the house where this silver Toshiba Satellite M45 came from.  Please bring it back.  You did a very bad thing to come into my home and steal.  Please make it right.  You can leave it on the front porch.

PARENTS,
If your son has recently acquired a laptop he does not have the personal resources to buy for himself, please help him to learn to do the right thing.  Please help him to return my laptop, and repair this loss.

I dutifully sat at a corner and read the entire thing (and, I have to admit, I took one of them down so I could transcribe it here.  Sorry 'bout that).

This entire message is great.  I can only imagine how cathartic it was to write this.  I wonder if it actually worked?  It'd be a great end to the story if the poster actually managed to get the laptop back.

Hate Crime in Seward Park?

Or bored teenagers who are displaying an incredibly huge amount of awful judgement?

Normally the monthly updates from the Seattle Police Department South Precinct are kind of, well, boring.  There's not a lot of "interesting" crime that happens around here when compared to other districts.  A lot of theft (burglary, non residential burglary, etc) but nothing really heinous.

But this past week the south precinct newsletter came out, and the entire newsletter, which is sent to all residents of the 32 square mile south precinct, dealt with one set of incidents which took place early in the wee hours of November 1st in Seward Park.

This past Friday, four incidents of malicious harassment were reported
in the Seward Park neighborhood. Two vehicles owned by African
American men were spray painted with derogatory language towards
African Americans and profane language. A car belonging to the wife of
one of the men was also tagged with derogatory language. At a third
household, profane language was sprayed on their boat that was on a
trailer in front of the home. At a fourth household, a Star of David
was spray painted on a car belonging to a Jewish family.

The report goes on to try and downplay the severity of this:

Not a Pattern, Trend or Epidemic of Hate
Incidents of hate crimes, malicious harassment, and racially motivated
hate graffiti are extremely rare in our city and even more so in
southeast Seattle. In the 17+ years I have worked for the Police
Department, I can only recall a handful of incidents where racist,
anti-religious or anti-gay literature was strewn about in the South
Precinct. To my knowledge, nothing like this has been reported in well
over five years.

This is not an epidemic. We do not have crowds of racist groups
operating in our South end neighborhoods.

...

Don't let fear and suspicion win. What I know about this neighborhood
is that these neighbors are very well connected with each other. They
have one of the highest Block Watch participation rates of anywhere in
the city. They have one of the lowest crime rates in the city.

And it goes on.

I'm sure we all know that hate crime is just not appropriate, any which way you slice it.  Bigotry is the domain of small minds, and everybody's lives would be much improved if we were all open to the wonderful diversity of life.  Heck, this is one of the main reasons the Admiral and I chose to live in this neighborhood!

That said, I'm curious if the number of people who live in fear of hate crimes is so high that it warrants the south precinct devoting an entire newsletter to the topic.  Personally, I wouldn't say I live in fear at all.  I worry about crime and such, especially having been a victim of it myself in the past, but racially motivated hate crime?

I'm willing to bet that the people who did this were probably kids who, as I mentioned above, displayed an extraordinary amount of incredibly wrong judgement.  They should be caught and disciplined, and more to the point taught why what they did was extraordinarily wrong.

But should the neighborhood get all nervous and start worrying about a hate crime spree?  I don't think we're quite at that stage yet.  It's good to see that the SPD is very sensitive to the topic, making me hope they'd be all over the problem, but even they think there is nothing systemic to worry about here.

So please, if you're out there and you're worried about hate crime, don't sound the alarm quite yet.  Join your blockwatch, lock your doors - but keep talking to your neighbors, and keep introducing yourself to new faces.  I love meeting new people in the neighborhood, I'd hate to see worry, distrust, and fear close up the connections that make this neighborhood great.

Market Scarcity in Columbia City

Tonight was the last farmers market of the season for the Columbia City Farmers Market. Seeing as how it was halloween, there were lots of little princesses and robin hoods and butterflys wandering about, and the market vendors were in good spirits.

I dropped by myself (the admiral does love her Andouille Skagit River Sausage) and managed to catch Karen, the Columbia City Farmers Market coordinator. We talked a little bit about the market and what's happening, and she let me in on the current scoop:

• The market is going to stay where it is for at least the next year, if not the next two. After two years, it's definitely moving.
  
• This past year, they actually switched over to renting their current location. They're renting it from the landlords of the Columbia City Plaza, who in turn have a lease from the old landowners. The market had to pass on this rental cost to the vendors, which were (understandably) not too pleased (traditionally the market has used the parking lot rent free).
  
• Of course, Columbia City Plaza was sold to a development firm on the east coast recently, and so when the Plaza owners lease expires early next year, they'll sign a new one with the new owners. The new owners are planning on putting in a mixed use retail & condo development, but they realize that the planning & permitting process will take years, so they've very kindly offered the current space rent free for the next two years while the permitting process takes place.
  
• The market is already looking for alternate locations though. Their rough boundaries are east to Seward Park, north to the intersection of MLK & Rainier, south to Rainier Beach, and west to the eastern bottom of Beacon Hill. They started out from a list of possible locations that was literally 50+ long, and quickly whittled that down to roughly 5 (they need a big space (current parking lot is 1900+ square feet), power and lighting). The current favorite is in fact the school across the street from the current location - it's undergoing renovations now but hopefully will be ready in two years.
  
• If a new location is found, the market might move in one year rather than two to try and get situated early. But so far, they're still on the search.
  
• They do have a preference to stay in Columbia City. One option was the parking lot of the grocery store at MLK and Rainier, but they're not a big fan of it since at that point it's not really the "Columbia City" Farmers Market anymore.
  

So it's good to know the market is in good hands and actively planning contingencies.

Other than a good chat with Karen, other interesting little tidbits learned include:

• There were a LOT of kids in the commercial district. A LOT. So many that I overheard several say that the candy from the businesses had run out by 6:30. Wow. Gotta get there early I suppose.
  
• I visited Villa Victoria for the first time for a little take out Mexican food (I thought the place was named "Tamales" from the huge sign in their window, but the Admiral corrected me). Villa Victoria is just off the main strip on the first floor of the new mixed use developments across from the Shola Grocery. I picked up a tamale and a little square of what I like to call "Mexican Lasagne" and it was good. Wow. At 6:30 no wonder they were already out of every single kind of burrito they offer except for tofu. If all their food was that good, I'll be a regular. Good stuff.
  

That's all for now. Happy Halloween!

A diversion into real estate

The crime statistics generated a few different responses, and I intend to dig into those some more.  Unfortunately my computer just recently went to the recycling center in the sky, so blogging is a bit difficult at the moment.

I did want to point out a couple of interesting articles that have floated past me recently though, all related to real estate in our neck of the woods.

First off, according to the good folks over at NWMLS (via Redfin), we are the lucky ones who live in South Seattle:

While the entire city’s closed sales are still at 8.40% increase in median price over August 2006, South Seattle leads the pack in growth, at 27.23% over August 2006. The number of closed sales in the area are way down, but what’s selling is obviously higher priced than a year ago.

27%.  Wow.  Maybe it's because we're soon to be only 18 minutes away from Westlake station?

What seems to be even more impressive is that we're seeing that 27% increase in value despite some trashy yards that seem to inflict Rainier Valley more then others:

Overall, the department issued almost 2,500 citations and notices of violations between January 2006 and the end of this July -- many for the same properties.

An analysis of weed and junk violation data from the 19 months preceding Aug. 1 showed that West Seattle residents were cited 419 times for deviating from city standards -- by far the most of any Seattle neighborhood as defined by Metro King County.

But that neighborhood is also the largest, according to county definitions. If neighborhood size is taken out of the equation, a smaller portion of Rainier Valley had the highest density of violations with 95, followed by Columbia City with 87 and Rainier Beach with 55. Greenwood came in fourth with only 38, and the Central District neighborhoods, including First Hill, Madrona and Madison Park, together rated fifth with 267.

Messy yards perhaps, but maybe that just makes the houses without the messy yards that much more valuable!