The Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce will host a State of the Port luncheon on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Port of Seattle building.With a new CEO and two newly elected commissioners, the Port is headed into a new era of environmental stewardship and social responsibility, including creating ways to benefit Seattle's small business community. Port Commission President John Creighton will address these and other topics during his presentation.
Permit Applications: 1405 Dexter Ave. N. (3008264) for a Land Use Application to allow an eight-story building containing five live-work units and 53 residential units above. Parking for 58 vehicles to be provided below-grade. Existing minor vehicle repair shop (Seattle Automotive) to be demolished. Written comments accepted through Wednesday, Feb. 20.
The city awarded Precision Earthworks LLC a contract the last week in January to build the Counterbalance Park: An Urban Oasis in Lower Queen Anne, said Patrick Donohue, the Seattle Parks and Recreation project manager. Work by the Mukilteo company is expected to begin within the next two or three weeks and should be completed by spring or early summer, he said.
A consultant team hired by the city to come up with potential sites for a new Fire Station No. 20 was supposed to have a short list of likely locations when it held the second of two public meetings on Feb. 5. The short list included four sites out of 42 studied on a long list, but the short list and most of the long list had to be dropped the day before the meeting when the Fire Department and Fleets and Facilities came up with three new "threshold criteria."One of the threshold criteria was that existing response times for Fire Station No. 20 be maintained or improved, a requirement that was among the original criteria. But the other two threshold criteria were deal breakers. One was that a new station couldn't be located on 15th Avenue West, and the other was that a new station could not be located west of 15th, noted Peter Folkins from the New Ventures Group. The short-list locations were either on 15th or west of the arterial, he said.
Obama clear winner at Blaine caucus The eyes of the nation-and the world-were on Catharine Blaine School Saturday as close to 1,400 Democrats from 26 precincts in the 36th District favored Barak Obama over Hilary Clinton by more than a 3-1 margin. The 36th District covers Queen Anne, Magnolia, Belltown and parts of Ballard, and the district as a whole gave Obama the nod over Clinton 75 percent to 23 percent, said Janis Traven, who ran the Feb. 9 caucus at Blaine, where Obama won with 74 percent of the votes versus 25.6 percent for Clinton. Gov. Chris Gregoire also made an appearance at what turned out to be a standing-room only event, and the neighborhood caucus was covered by numerous local TV stations, Northwest Cable News, CNN and reporters from Kenya, the Ivory Coast, Libya and Norway. "It was stunning," Traven said of the huge turnout at Blaine. Around 600 Democrats showed up for the last Blaine caucus in 2004, and Traven said she was expecting maybe another 400 on top of that would show up this time around.
"Diary of the Dead" is the latest installment in horror filmmaker George A. Romero's series of zombie dramas ("Night of the Living Dead," the original "Dawn of the Dead," etc.). A bleak, as well as scary, addition to cinema's zombie canon, "Diary" suggests, more intensely and creatively than its predecessors, that there is something democratizing about a plague of the living dead.If people all over the world are rising from their graves to kill the living, and the newly dead in turn rise and do the same, doesn't that equalize everyone, everywhere, no matter our fleeting, mortal differences? As one terrified voice-overheard squealing over a radio during a tense scene-puts it, the issue for humanity, when the dead are roaming wherever they please, is no longer the sanctity of borders between people; it's the disappearance of the border between life and death.
Virtuoso guitarist Andre Feriante makes a habit of celebrating Valentine's Day with a concert.This year marks the versatile Feriante's 10th anniversary performance at Nordstrom Recital Hall. As part of his program, "Best of Feriante," he's performing a special salute to the great Andres Segovia.Often called the "People's Guitarist," Feriante's fan base ranges from society sophisticates and classical aficionados to Latin devotees and jazz hipsters. But if you're tempted to dismiss him as a "classical stuffed shirt," forget about it. Feriante combines his guitar talent with a spontaneous sense of humor. His deep brown eyes twinkle with mischief and mirth, along with the spiritual passion he feels for his art. 
A lovely production If you love Jane Austen, you're going to adore Book-It's production of "Persuasion." It's a period-perfect recreation of English country society in the early 18th century, the genteel Elliott family, and especially of the lovely and lovesick daughter, Anne. If you have never read "Persuasion," you would be wise to pull up a synopsis of the story from the Internet and review it, as well as the list of characters before you go. Austen's novels include large, extended families and their many friends. Those who come to this production with no preparation will be like first-time opera-goers who haven't read the libretto: You're not going to get it all. And because most of the actors play two or more roles, the possibility for confusion is even stronger.
Still needs nurturing to thrive As Valentine's Day approaches, even the most hardened heart harbors hopes of love and recollections of the one who got away, the one left behind or a brief encounter who remains unforgotten. "By the Waters of Babylon" is an intimate, two-character play of wounded hearts and shattered souls, penned by Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of "The Kentucky Cycle." Like a great love, Schenkkan's play comes with enough metaphoric possibilities to feed a hopeless romantic for weeks. Well, at least for two hours, as tragedy and passion entwine, choking and embracing each other simultaneously.
Seattle Opera presents "Tosca" at McCaw Hall on the University of Washington campus on Saturday, February 23. Giacomo Puccini's opera is one of the top 10 most performed operas in the Western world; truly opera in the grand manner based on a highly melodramatic play entitled La Tosca by French dramatist Victorien Sardou. Sardou's period piece had all the advantages of being set in an exciting historical period, namely the French invasion of Italy by Napoleon, the battle of Marngo and the conflict between the Royalists and Republicans. The action takes place in and on historical sites that are still in existence to this day. Set in Rome circa 1800 during the Napoleonic invasion of Italy, the heroine, Floria Tosca, is in love with Mario Cavaradossi, a revolutionary painter who is desired and pursued by the evil police chief, Baron Scarpia, amid political intrigue, action and suspense.
Seattle Pacific University women's basketball player Libby Magnuson has been recognized for her outstanding performance both in the classroom and on the court and has been named to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII College Division women's basketball team as a second team selection.Magnuson, a senior and native of White Bear Lake, Minn., sports a 3.83 grade point average (GPA) as a visual communications major. She is averaging 7.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. She is second on the team in steals (2.3 per contest) and three-point shots made (21).
With only five games left in regular season, SPU women's team knocking on door of undefeated record The Seattle Pacific University Lady Falcons passed their sternest test last week to remain undefeated (20-0) for the season, and cementing their supremacy atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. On Feb. 7 the SPU women faced the 20-2 University of Alaska-Anchorage on the Seawolves' Wells Fargo Sports Complex before a packed house primed for revenge. Having barely got by the Seawolves, 58-55, when the two teams met in Seattle, the women from lower Queen Anne knew they would be in for a battle. They were not disappointed. The Seawolves bested the visitors inside and out to lead 26-10 with 11:09 remaining in the first half. But Anchorage's overzealous defense sent SPU to the foul line repeatedly, and the Falcons converted 13 of 14 opportunities to claw their way back to a 40-40 tie by halftime.
The Scientology Environmental Task Force took to the street on Saturday, Feb. 9, in celebration of the city of Seattle's 14th annual Neighbor Appreciation Day.Roy Street received a thorough cleaning under gray skies and some drizzle by the group of 21 volunteers. The task force recently was recognized by Mayor Greg Nickels for its work with Seattle Public Utilities' Adopt-A-Street program.
Frank and Jeri Cranney have announced the engagement of their daughter, Melissa DeLaurentis, to Scott Reynolds of Boise, Idaho. DeLaurentis, a longtime resident of Queen Anne, is a graduate of Franklin High School. The couple plans a 2008 wedding in the Seattle area.They will reside in  Boise.
Still needs nurturing to thrive As Valentine's Day approaches, even the most hardened heart harbors hopes of love and recollections of the one who got away, the one left behind or a brief encounter who remains unforgotten. "By the Waters of Babylon" is an intimate, two-character play of wounded hearts and shattered souls, penned by Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of "The Kentucky Cycle." Like a great love, Schenkkan's play comes with enough metaphoric possibilities to feed a hopeless romantic for weeks. Well, at least for two hours, as tragedy and passion entwine, choking and embracing each other simultaneously.