The stage of the 5th Avenue Theatre is filled with glitz and glitter as a huge chorus of dancers/singers surround the leading lady in "Mame."It wasn't always so.
A man who lives in the 2700 block of 10th Ave. W. was the victim of a brutal home-invasion robbery early in the evening Feb. 17, and the original police report contained only minimal information about the three men who forced their way into his home. But just a few days later, police detectives determined that the crime wasn't a random occurrence. And in a highly unusual move, Cpt. Steve Brown, commander of the West Precinct, told The Seattle Times that the victim knew who his attackers were. Updates on cases are customarily handled by the police department's media unit, which is often unhelpful.
King County Metro Transit is reminding customers that bus fares for adults will increase by 25 cents starting Saturday, March 1. A two-zone trip taken during peak-commute times will now cost $2.25, a one-zone trip $1.75, and the off-peak fare will be $1.50. New monthly passes also reflect the increase.
Three high-end condominiums at 1413 Third Ave. W. have been completed, but the contractor, Todd Maschmedt of Maschmedt Design and Construction, has left some neighbors to the north and south of the site seriously upset over the way his construction crew allegedly damaged their property. The Queen Anne Community Council and the Master Builders Association have also weighed in on the issue, but there may not be much anyone can do about the problem, those involved say. It all started with an enormous maple tree on a city planting strip in front of the project, said Susan Carr, who lives with her husband, Ralph Levin, just to the south of the condo complex.
That the project will dramatically alter the Pike-Pine landscape is hard to dispute. A chain-link fence surrounds the former homes of the Cha Cha Lounge, Man Ray, the Bus Stop, Kincora's, Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen, as well as a clothing store and convenience store. While no architectural treasure, the block was a social hub in a neighborhood that largely welcomes an active and varied nightlife.
The Seattle Department of Transportation-the same agency that brought paid parking where there had been none before to parking lots off Westlake Avenue North and to Lower Queen Anne-is eyeballing other parts of the neighborhood for potentially the same treatment. SDOT spokeswoman Mary Catherine Snyder insists that paid parking is only one option among others such as installing two-hour time-limit signs, adding new loading zones and setting up new Residential Parking Zones (RPZs).
It was the last road trip of the year. With 23 games behind them-including a preseason win over the UW Huskies and two-hour practices nearly every day since mid-October-the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team might have been primed for a letdown.Far from it. The two wins the Falcons notched last week against Seattle University on Feb. 21 and Montana State Billings on Feb. 23 were not surprising, but the resounding nature of those victories was. The Falcon women are on a mission and playing their best ball of the season.
The accolades keep piling up for Seattle Pacific University sophomore Jessica Pixler as she was named the 2007 NCAA Division II USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country All-Academic Athlete of the Year, announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.The Sammamish native won the individual title at the Division II cross country championships in November, as well as both the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Regional individual titles prior to taking the NCAA crown. She led Seattle Pacific to a second place team finish at nationals, which was the highest finish ever for the school's cross country program.
Ballard High School assistant baseball coaches Moses Tovar-pictured above surrounded by players from Magnolia Little League AA and AAA divisions-and William Biehl have been teaching pitching skills to Magnolia's little league baseball players during clinics held at the Magnolia Community Center's main gym on Sunday afternoons. The final pitching for Magnolia coaches of AA and AAA will be held Sunday, March 9.
I am thrilled to see that our campaign to bring back the drive-up mailboxes has succeeded, though I find the pick-up time for the new, drive-up box at the north end of Magnolia Park on the corner of Howe and Clise Place regrettable. Essentially the postal service has replaced two heavily used, full-sized, drive-up boxes-with a morning and late afternoon pick up-with one box that is picked up at 12:30 p.m.
 The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, known for its world-class productions of the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, will present this week its Second Stage production of "The Gypsy Princess" by Emmerich Kalman, part of the Hans Wolf Memorial Operetta series established by the Society in 2007. "The Gypsy Princess" will run for three performances only-on Friday, Feb. 29; Saturday, March 1; and Sunday, March 2, at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave.
After more than a century, former jazz musician and longtime Queen Anne resident Rose Belland can still draw a crowd. Belland celebrated her 107th birthday on Jan. 12 with friends and family at St. Anne Nursing and Rehabilitation Clinic in North Seattle. "Rose's birthday is a big event every year," said Mary Ann Sedgwick, activities director at St. Anne. "Last year, about 65 people turned out for it." Belland requested her favorite - chocolate cake decorated with pink roses - but opted to skip the candles this year.
Constance Lynne "Connie" Hogan, a resident of Magnolia for 43 years, passed away Jan. 11 after a brief illness. She was 70. Mrs. Hogan was born in Rock Springs, Wyo., on Oct. 21, 1937, the second child of Albert and Mildred Strand. She was very proud of her Wyoming heritage. During her middle-school years, her family relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, where her father became the regional manager for the Union Pacific Railroad.
Of course the eternally golden Julie Christie should have gone home with Oscar last Sunday night, for her heartbreaking performance in Sarah Polley's brilliant "Away from Her." But Tilda Swinton's icy villainy in "Michael Clayton" can't be sniffed at - and you gotta love a Pre-Raphaelite beauty in avant-garde finery who managed to eroticize the rigid little statue by comparing its buttocks to those of her agent's. And wittily spikes suave costar George Clooney to boot.
Oscar turned 80 this past weekend, and I have to say the old boy was at the top of his game. Sunday evening's ceremonies found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences distributing its trophies equitably and pretty accurately among the key nominated films, with no unseemly sweep and nothing to get outraged about. Outrage would have had a hard time rearing its head in any event, since the nominees going in comprised a solid slate in almost every category. Sure, it was possible to name deserving performances and accomplishments that one would have liked to see included; the point is, there were few among the present nominees who didn't have credible claim to be there.