If you've heard rumors about the demise of two North Broadway businesses, you've heard correctly. At the end of January, Da Lat, a popular Vietnamese restaurant, and the Elite Tavern, one of the city's oldest gay bars, will close their doors. Count it as a dose of sad news for the holidays.The closings continue a trend for the east side of the 600 block of Broadway East that began last summer when the Jade Pagoda closed for good. Soon after, the Glade grocery, a small convenience store several storefronts north, ceased operations. The end of the year also sees the closing of Jump Gourmet Espresso and Boma Fine Art, two small businesses located in the Diamond Parking lot on the south end of the block. The block is not owned by a single owner, so the change very likely does not mean the entire block will soon be turned into a large, mixed-use project like the Brix building now under way one block south. In a conversation last fall, Alan Jones, representing the ownership group that owns the building occupied by Thai Siam and the Asian Wok, said that the group has no plans to redevelop its property and has passed along assurances to that effect to the two restaurants.When the Elite and Da Lat close at the end of January, the block will be a very different place.
Many people on Queen Anne will be saddened to learn of the death of Terence Irvis, longtime aquatics coordinator at the Queen Anne Pool. He died of kidney and liver failure on Nov. 27, at the age of 42.Mr. Irvis worked for Seattle Parks and Recreation for more than 20 years, most of them at the Queen Anne Pool. Deborah Artis, president of the Queen Anne Advisory Council, met him in the 1980s when he was a lifeguard there. "He was wonderful," she said. "Very personable, outgoing and genuine."She worked with him closely over the years, always brainstorming. "He'd sit back, cross his arms, listen and think," Artis recalled. "Everything was 'can do' with Terence. He never said no to anyone's ideas, and he was very creative himself."<
The image of Magnolia in the collective consciousness, used to both positive and negative effect, is that of a serene small town existing somewhat apart from greater Seattle-a sort of suburban satellite of Mayberryish clean living and civic contentment, white picket fences and passers-by who tip the hat hello to all and sundry.Part of what feeds this notion is simply geographic fact: Magnolia, with its two points of ingress and egress, is something of an island, not quite unto itself but a bit isolated nonetheless. One doesn't just happen upon Magnolia while out on a drive; it is a deliberate destination, a place to go.Also, Magnolia is largely residential-and, with its stunning views and gorgeous old homes, largely upscale residential. Its relatively small retail core is compact. With its open sidewalks, charming storefronts and cozy atmosphere, the Village belies its urban setting; it feels like a small town, intimate and relaxed.
Brad Brotherton, Dr. Carver Gayton and William (Bill) Savoy have been appointed to the Moyer Foundation's board of trustees for 2007.Brotherton is the president of Brotherton Cadillac, Pontiac, GMC, located in Renton. When he became president of Brotherton Cadillac in June 2005, Brotherton added Pontiac and GMC to an already thriving Cadillac dealership, and became the fourth generation of Brothertons in the automobile business. He is a graduate of Washington State University.Dr. Gayton is the director of the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. Throughout his career he has been involved in various roles within the university, government and private sector.
Longtime Magnolian Vic Barry is finishing up two one-year terms as president of the Magnolia Community Club (MCC), and he can look back on some clear wins for a neighborhood organization that has been around since 1924."I think one of the biggest victories we can point to is keeping Southwest Airlines from flying into Boeing Field," he said of a contentious proposal that was roundly condemned by practically everyone except King County Executive Ron Sims.Southbound air traffic heading to the King County International Airport, as it's also known, is a sore point for Magnolians because most flights head directly over the neighborhood at relatively low altitudes, Barry noted. The main neighborhood complaint over the years has been jet noise, especially at night, and most agree that adding Southwest to the mix would have made the problem even worse.Proposals are in the works to route all air traffic over Elliott Bay instead of Magnolia, according to King County Council member and Magnolian Larry Phillips. But Barry sees a broader reason for the change.
Longtime Magnolian Vic Barry is finishing up two one-year terms as president of the Magnolia Community Club (MCC), and he can look back on some clear wins for a neighborhood organization that has been around since 1924."I think one of the biggest victories we can point to is keeping Southwest Airlines from flying into Boeing Field," he said of a contentious proposal that was roundly condemned by practically everyone except King County Executive Ron Sims.Southbound air traffic heading to the King County International Airport, as it's also known, is a sore point for Magnolians because most flights head directly over the neighborhood at relatively low altitudes, Barry noted. The main neighborhood complaint over the years has been jet noise, especially at night, and most agree that adding Southwest to the mix would have made the problem even worse.Proposals are in the works to route all air traffic over Elliott Bay instead of Magnolia, according to King County Council member and Magnolian Larry Phillips. But Barry sees a broader reason for the change.
Robert Nellams, the new director at the Seattle Center, was a bit late to his interview for this story. The problem: He was going to take the Monorail from the Westlake Mall back to the center, but he ended up hoofing it instead because the Monorail broke down.A 25-year employee of city government, Nellams took the breakdown in good stead, but fixing up the 1962 World's Fair-era transportation relic is only one of the issues he'll face as a replacement for longtime Seattle Center director Virginia Anderson.It was Anderson, Nellams said, who brought him to the Seattle Center in 1996 after working 14 years working as an accountant and financial analyst in what used to be the Department of Administrative Services.A Seattle native who lives in the Licton Springs neighborhood, Nellams spent a year-and-a-half as a division director for maintenance and operations on the campus, then took on the job as deputy director at the center. "So I've been at the center for over 10 years."He welcomed the change. "I knew I would much prefer working with people rather than working with numbers," explained Nellams, who got some invaluable training for his new position. "One of the things about working with someone as dynamic as Virginia, she really pushed all of us, especially me."
Time once again for saluting the year's Ten Best movies. Although 2006 brought a handful of terrific films, overall it seemed an off year for cinema: more movies than ever, but few that registered strongly. Those that did are remembered here. Both frequent News film critic Kathleen Murphy and I have slightly adjusted the lists we posted with MSN.com a couple of weeks ago (what with late-arriving beauties and memory tardily kicking in); if interested in reading more, go there and click on "Movies." Meanwhile ... pass the popcorn.
Sound Transit is building a key piece of its new 15.7-mile Link light rail line connecting downtown Seattle with Sea-Tac Airport. PCL Construction Services, Sound Transit's contractor, will build a light rail bridge over the I-5 freeway just south of Boeing Access Road. This bridge will connect the seven-mile Tukwila/Airport segment of the project to the Seattle portion.The light rail bridge will be built with pre-cast concrete segments placed by cranes as a "balanced cantilever." Two large bridge piers are already built, one on each side of the freeway. Beginning with the pier on the southbound side of I-5, giant cranes will hang the pre-cast segments one at a time on each side of the pier, to keep the structure in balance.
The Cleveland High School reconstruction progress as shown from the cockpit window of a passenger airplane at 900 feet navigating it's final landing approach at Boeing Field. Sparse holiday traffic flows to the west, down hill from the school.
According to officials from The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) there are about 540,000 people in Washington state who care for loved ones or care for friends with chronic illness or serious disabilities. With such a large segment of the population taking on such well-meaning and needed responsibilities, the DSHS has compiled a list of suggestions to help caregivers avoid holiday stress. This is a serious concern because consistently stressful situations can have dire physical and emotional consequences. When you are looking after others, taking care of yourself and your needs is essential to being able to provide care for them over time.
Welcome to your "smart" kitchen. Your oven mitt tells you if your casserole is cooked all the way through, and if not, it then tells you to put the food back in the oven - and for how long. Your "smart" refrigerator can tell you with 80-percent accuracy what's sitting on its shelves. And if you have tomatoes, an onion and some pasta, it also will suggest that you make spaghetti for dinner. Or, imagine waking up in the morning, your window blinds slowly rise and your lamps adjust perfectly. Freshly brewed coffee awaits you, along with just-baked muffins from your microwave. Sound a little out of this world? Well, maybe right now, but not for long, because a home with a high IQ isn't as far away as you might think.
The new year always turns thoughts to the new tax season, and when it comes to taxes there's no place like home to find shelter. Your home offers a score of tax deductions and credits designed to help offset the cost of housing and to keep the housing market fueled with new buyers. Some federal-level politicians would like to separate you from some of those benefits and they may or may not be successful, so take advantage of them while you can. Tips on tax breaksHere's a look at the Top 10 Tax Breaks for your home. Visit the Internal Revenue Service's website (www.irs.gov) for more details on each item. * Mortgage loan interest - The mother of all tax breaks, because interest is the largest portion of your monthly mortgage payment (especially in the early years of the loan's term). These deductions reduce your taxable income; therefore, you pay fewer taxes!
Safeway and the Seattle Police Department have been subject to criticism this year by a number of newspapers for a number of reasons. I have a complaint against them both.This past February a Seattle policewoman, being paid by Safeway as a Rainier Beach Safeway guard, detained me. She falsely accused me of "attempted" theft of a 50-cent Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper I had purchased from the nearby McDonald's.This foolish endangerment came not from a minimum wage, unarmed "guard." Instead, it came from a taxpayer paid, taxpayer trained, taxpayer equipped and taxpayer armed city employee who insisted she was right. She even convinced the clueless store manager she was right, citing "video evidence" which they wouldn't allow me to see. The policewoman said I could see it "at the trial."The cop and manager filled out a "trespass" paper banning me from all Safeway properties for a year. The document warned me that if I trespassed I would be prosecuted for "another crime." I refused to sign their false declaration, upsetting the policewoman. She snatched it away from me. While this harassement continued, the food I had bought from the Safeway Starbucks just before the incident unfolded sat uneaten, cold and partly spilled on a nearby surface: the result of a stupid destruction of customer loyalty as well as trust in the police department.
The saddest thing about growing older - other than physical drop offs and memory lapses - is coming to the awful realization that human beings seem to, more often than not, learn nothing instead of learning something productive or positive.On the cosmic level, for example, Christians and Muslims have been fighting over who is God and who owns God's turf (the so-called Holy Land) since the days of Richard the Lionheart - which, for all you computer-addicted folk who read nothing older than yesterday's blog, were in the 12th century.God, if there is an all-knowing, all-loving Creator, be He or She, named Jesus or Allah, is not going to restrict heaven/paradise to only "true" believers.Good in, bad out is the only logical solution, and even I - certainly no god - can see that clearly.