Regarding the Alaskan Way Viaduct: I admire the mayor for telling the governor, "Tear down this wall." So I will vote "no" on No. 2 on the upcoming (March 13) ballot.But I am also opposed to "tunnel lite," so I will vote "yes" on No. 1. Why? To paraphrase James Carville, Clinton campaign advisor in 1992: "It's the capacity, stupid."Voting yes on No. 1 is the only option voters have to send the message: "Don't reduce the traffic capacity on the viaduct now or in the future."
Engine 25 shines up a cloudy afternoon behind its new quarters at Fire Station 25 at the corner of 13th Ave. E. and E. Pine St. The new engine can pump 2,000 gallons of water per minute and has more horsepower to navigate the grades on Capitol Hill. The new engine also boasts a siren that sounds like the traditional "growler" motor sirens of days gone by.
When an out-of-town art geek drops in and says, Take me to the works of Tobey, Callahan, Anderson and the other usual Northwest School suspects - what to do?The Seattle Art Museum has never been a go-to place for the Northwest masters. The 90-minute drive to La Conner and its estimable Museum of Northwest Art, on any given day, will yield a better shot at looking at their works than SAM.
Jason Anfinsen is grinning his Cheshire Cat grin. "I see myself as a professional noise maker," he said. "While I might not make a ton of money, I can certainly make a lot of noise."He's soft-spoken, though he can fill a room - or a stage - when he wants. But Anfinsen, a Capitol Hill resident since moving to Seattle nearly two years ago, makes noise in a variety of ways. He's an arts impresario of sorts, and he wears many hats. Theater actor. Improv artist. Stage director. Show producer. And, lately, even author.
The Pork Filled Players rather optimistically suggest allowing 15 to 20 minutes to find parking outside the Northwest Actors Studio (NWAS). After spending some 45 minutes wandering around the Pike/Pine corridor on a wet Friday night, I returned to home and resolved to see their latest production another night.I've loved this troupe of Asian-American actors since they first started popping up in fringe festivals and late-night cabarets back in the 1990s. Fast, sassy and often with a lot of say hidden under their punchlines, they launched a whole tribe of Asian-American actors onto the Seattle scene. Such actors are often underutilized and ignored, but that's another story.
It is next to impossible not to have a visceral reaction, either to the animated gallery owner or the ebullience of her inventory. The combination art and clothing gallery at Marina Park is an absolute mirror of Isabel - just Isabel - unique, philosophical and opinionated.The Spaniard is fluent in English (in addition to many other languages), and spent the last 15 years inNew York running a successful boutique. She has been in Kirkland for just over a year."When I got here I saw MP3 players and all the technology craziness," she says. So she seized the opportunity and designed functional clothing; she points to a special pocket in the belt loop for an amplifier for performers and musicians.
Kirkland is now the owner of a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), a speed-limited battery/electric vehicle (usually 25 miles per hour) restricted by law to operation on streets with speed limits not exceeding 35 mph. The new NEV is a zero emissions vehicle, has a 50-mile range, and is plugged in overnight to re-charge its batteries at a cost of about 40 cents per charge.
An ad in the paper caught my eye the other day: "Hurry in," it urged, "Just in time for Spring-Save $20! Now only $59.99!"The ad was trying to sell a skateboard that normally sold for $79.99.Eighty bucks for a skateboard? My first board was a length of two-by-four with a flattened-out, metal-wheeled, strap-on roller skate nailed to one side. (Do they even make those kind of roller skates any more?)br>"Hey Lou, what's this?" I remember asking my buddy some 40 years ago, as we were stowing our wet suits in the trunk of his car after a day of surfing."It's a skateboard," Lou explained. "I've watched some of the guys from Newport riding them in the parking lot. It gives ya something to do when the surf's flat.
When I was a child there were three times a year that really stuck out. I loved the first day of a new school year because I got to wear my new school clothes. Christmas, because I got to eat Christmas cookies. And the last day of school, because it meant sun was coming in two more months.But now I have one more time of year to add to my ever important calendar of events. Tax time. It always feels like tax time. Actually, it feels like tax time comes around more then Christmas.Being a bookkeeper, I deal with the everyday worries of clients trying to prepare for their accountant and year-end taxes. I hear on a regular basis: "I will never do this again! I am going to be organized next year."
BIGGER THAN JESUSMarch 15-16, 8 p.m. Two thousand years after his death, Jesus continues to be a potent and controversial figure, inspiring both devout worship and incalculable violence. Who was Jesus? Was he the Son of God or just another prophet? A politically correct social worker or the Messiah? This challenging new one-man show features the trademark humor and intelligence of Rick Miller as he grapples with these thorny questions.
LIFE PURPOSE II: ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS, MARCH 10, 2 P.M.Presented by psychotherapist and life coach Robin Morris. Create a strategy to support your goals, then turn it into a step-by-step plan for success. Stay connected to what makes you happy and enjoy the process of making goals and dreams come true by creating a daily rhythm of success. All are welcome.
In an effort to move away from a strictly art-centered event, The Kirkland Gallery Association has decided to rename its monthly evening Art Walk to Kirkland Second Thursday.ne fairly substantial change is that the association decided to truncate the hours to from 6-9 p.m. to 6-8 p.m., with the understanding that the galleries will stay open if the situation warrants. In other words, no one will be asked to leave at 8 if they're still shopping. Parklane Gallery, an artist-owned cooperative, has decided to retain the original time structure of 6-9 p.m.
It's hard to miss the new building on the corner of Broadway and East Pine Street. Resting adjacent to the Egyptian Theater, the five-story structure cuts a prominent figure on one of Capitol Hill's busiest intersections.
This much is true: All the new development springing up on Capitol Hill is changing the neighborhood. Change is inevitable, of course, but many fear it's not for the better as high-priced condos replace cheap rentals and chain stores start to take over spaces once occupied by funky businesses.A perfect - and painful - example of the trend can be found in the 500 block of East Pine St., where a new six-story, 160-unit condominium with ground-level retail will wipe out four bars, Bimbos Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen and a clothing boutique.
Seattle Out and Proud (SOAP) will produce a Seattle Pride march and festival Sunday, June 24, with the march in downtown Seattle and the one-day festival at Seattle Center. The announcement comes after news that SOAP owed the Seattle Center more than $100,000 put the annual Pride celebration in doubt.