CENTRAL DISTRICT - It is the ultimate irony. After centuries of evolution in the technology of clearing fields-from slash-and-burn agriculture to hand-held scythes to the brute force of motorized bulldozers-a Vashon woman has discovered an ecologically and financial sound method of brush removal that is old as life itself.She uses goats.Anyone driving Dearborn Avenue on the afternoon of Friday, May 25, will have been greeted by a sight worthy of a Twilight Zone episode: a herd of some 90 goats munching away at the brambles on a quarter-acre parcel of urban property where townhouses are scheduled to go up.<br
The City of Seattle installed a new billboard along Rainier Avenue S. - just north of S. Walker Street - urging drivers to slow down. According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, more than 600 crashes occurred along the Rainier Corridor last year. The billboards will simply read, "slow down."
Flames began devouring a single story home at 1927 Bayview S. on Saturday, May 19, and prompted a rush of 911 calls from nearby Beacon Hill residents. The home's owner, Danny Moore, who stated he has lived in the house for four years with on a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Section-8 lease. Fire investigators have blamed the blaze on an unknown arsonist. The damage to Moore's home has been estimated at $120,000.
GEORGETOWN - The Georgetown intersection of 12th and Airport Way will see an influx of people, music, and culture when the second annual Georgetown Music Fest kicks off this weekend, June 2-3. The brainchild of organizers Stefan Schachtell and Chris Beno, the event has evolved into a two-day love affair for an underdog neighborhood and a spotlight on the city's perpetually burgeoning local music scene.
There's a lot of car talk lately in the South End.Rides have disappeared from private homes, public streets, mechanics' shops, parking garages. Thugs recently assaulted a businessman at a grocery store lot, who reportedly told his attackers, "I have a gun and am going to shoot you!" The two ran to a waiting white sedan, it sped off.Some cars are targeted because they're easy to steal. They may end up parked elsewhere with little damage, or totaled in accidents, or rebuilt at chop shops.
It feels like months since I last sat down to write a column. It hasn't actually been that long, but it feels as such. Erik, my editor, sent a list of suggestions that I might cover; those ranged from neighborhood characters to the upcoming Georgetown Music Fest or one of the other wonderful events happening in the neighborhood. As much as I want to write about one of those worthy items, they aren't my world, at least not right now.My world is consumed with trash, garbage, and, specifically, waste management. How we can reduce and/or divert our waste? The topic might not be fun, but it is important, so bear with me.
King County prosecutor Norm Maleng once remarked that justice did not always mean obtaining a criminal conviction.It was the remark of a just man.When Mr. Maleng, a longtime Magnolia resident, died Thursday, May 24, of cardiac arrest, shock waves radiated through the neighborhood, the city, the county and the state. Mr. Maleng was one of the most respected figures in this state's criminal justice system.
Jin Pak, owner of the PIP Printing store located on the eastern-most edge of Fremont, doesn't like his view much. "It's a pit," he said, and he means that literally. Quality Food Centers (QFC) owns the property between North 39th and 40th streets along Stone Way North, across the street from Pak's business. QFC recently completed Phase One of this long-awaited project, which included excavation and shoring up of the site, and created a very large hole.QFC public-affairs director Kristin Maas has begun notifying neighbors that the hole may be there for a while.
A recent meeting of the Seattle Astronomical Society on the UW campus featured guest speaker Michael J. Laine, founder of the LiftPort group. During the last five years Laine and his company have been developing the outline for an elevator to help transport large cargo loads into space.
For more than a century, the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory has offered astronomy fans a look at the stars. The second-oldest building on the University of Washington campus, it has operated continuously since 1895 and does so without using electricity.Every first and third Wednesday of the month, the observatory has an open house. Free to the public, it includes lectures by undergraduate UW astronomy students, as well as viewings on the building's telescope.<br
King County prosecutor Norm Maleng once remarked that justice did not always mean obtaining a criminal conviction.It was the remark of a just man.When Mr. Maleng, a longtime Magnolia resident, died Thursday, May 24, of cardiac arrest, shock waves radiated through the neighborhood, the city, the county and the state. Mr. Maleng was one of the most respected figures in this state's criminal justice system.
■ Korean War veteran Howard DeRusha (at right, in suit) pays his respects to the Parade of Colors ceremony during the Memorial Day commemoration at Evergreen-Washelli's Veterans' Memorial Cemetery. (See ADDITIONAL PHOTO for more)
As Seattle's Pride weekend nears, activity surrounding Capitol Hill's Queerfest is becoming more frenetic as organizers are bustling to make the second annual local event in Volunteer Park memorable, inclusive and even fun.But first, some of the same organizers have to put together the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community's fourth annual Fruit Bowl awards this weekend at Seattle Center's Fisher Pavilion, honoring outstanding activities of and contributions to the community.
It's no secret that Capitol Hill's density makes creating much valued open space a difficult proposition. But the value of adding more parks to the urban mix was codified years ago in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan. One stated goal in the plan was adding two small parks, one east and one west of Broadway.Efforts at finding a park location west of Broadway proved fruitful. A parcel used as a Metro transfer station along Bellevue Avenue East was originally slated to be converted to park use.
Pasquale Santos, with his dogs Rufus and Mac Daddy, blends in with the dancing figures in front of the constructions site of Brix condominiums along the 500 block of Broadway East.