Belltowner http://www.belltowner.com/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:35:22 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Sunset from the sculpture park Check out this breathtaking photo taken by flickr user vmax137. Belltown's sculpture park is hands down one of the best spots in the city to catch a Seattle sunset. Wow.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/sunset-from-the-sculpture-park.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/sunset-from-the-sculpture-park.html photos sculpture park Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:35:22 -0800 Get informed about Battery street tunnel work Construction work to upgrade the north end of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct, including major renovations to the Battery Street Tunnel will be discussed at an open house scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday Oct. 16) at the Mountaineers Building, 300 Third Ave. W., Seattle. The tunnel work begins this fall and will result in closures on weekday evenings and up to two weekends each month. When completed, the short on- and off-ramps at south end of the tunnel will be closed to general traffic and converted to emergency access ramps.

This evening's meeting will touch on what this means for Belltown as well as information on the "Mercer mess" which no one is quite agreed on yet.

Click here for more info.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/get-informed-about-battery-str.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/get-informed-about-battery-str.html alaskan viaduct battery street tunnel traffic transportation Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:26:04 -0800 Would Belltowners use public bike share program? Europe is full of community bike share programs, from Barcelona's Bicing to Lyon's Vélo. The environmentally friendly free bike transportation is a fantastic idea. The idea has caught on in only a few cities in the U.S. including Washington D.C. Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina, and Ft. Collins, Colorado. Is Seattle ready for something like this? We consider ourselves one of the greenest cities. We're constantly complaining about the crappy public transportation, s maybe a bike sharing program is just what we need.

An landscape architecture student contacted us at Belltowner and asked what we thought about the idea. Would Belltowners catch on? How green are we really?

Hello Erica,

I am a landscape architecture student at North Dakota State University. We are currently doing our urban design studio project in Seattle; more specifically Lower Queen Anne. I don't really have a response to your specific issue with Mercer Street, but we plan to work with the Lower Queen Anne area to design a safe, accessible bicycle network system. Also proposing to impliment a goverment funded public bicycle sharing system with the intent to create network connections within the Lower Queen Anne area and beyond, reduce the reliance on cars in the area to relieve congestion, and thus will cut down the amount of carbon emmission generated by vehicular use, and it would also provide a cheap form of transportation easily accessible by all despite age or social class. Our intent is to also generate a 15-20 year plan to spec out how something like this would change/effect the area. Do you think something like this would catch on in Lower Queen Anne? And possibly catch on throughout the whole Seattle metro area? Please let me know what you think, or maybe write a blog on it asking people what their thoughts are. We are really interested in getting input from the people who live and care about this area. Thank you.

Zach Pleiss

So, would you be interested in a bike share program?

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/would-belltowners-use-public-b.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/would-belltowners-use-public-b.html bike commuting transportation Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:44:23 -0800 Police remain on the lookout for the 'Bam Bam Bandit' Last week Belltown's Washington Mutual was robbed by a man police are now referring to as the "Bam-Bam bandit." (Honestly, I thought they only came up with terrible names like that on television shows. I guess not.) It turns out Mr. Bam Bam is suspected of robbing over ten banks in the last month before hitting Belltown. His real name is Brandon White and Kiro news has the video scoop.

There is a $1000 reward for anyone that provides information leading to the Bam Bam Bandit's arrest. Know something? Call 253-591-5959.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/police-remain-on-the-lookout-f.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/police-remain-on-the-lookout-f.html crime washington mutual Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:28:41 -0800 Not a good time for Real Estate in Belltown Harbor Properties Inc. may pull out of plans to build several new Belltown apartments that were scheduled to be constructed next year. "We are not sure we can attract (investment) capital or financing for the next round of building in 2009," said Harbor CEO Doug Daley.

Harbor's proposed projects encompass nearly 1,000 apartment units sprinkled across the Belltown, West Seattle, Columbia City and the Central District neighborhoods of Seattle. Ouch.

Any Belltowners have real estate hardships of their own during this financial crisis?

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/not-a-good-time-for-real-estat.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/not-a-good-time-for-real-estat.html apartments condos real estate Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:48:42 -0800 The controversial Mercer street mess We all know how terrible it can be trying to get around the "Mercer mess" which is a total tangle of barriers and blockages. I avoid Mercer at all costs if I can. The dept. of transportation recently proposed widening Mercer between I-5 and Dexter Avenue North to include three travel lanes in both directions. Those lanes would be divided by a median of trees and with left turn lanes at many intersections. Both sides of the street would also feature a lane for parking, a path for bicycles and expanded sidewalks. SDOT believes it will provide a more direct route from I-5 to the Seattle Center, Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard and Magnolia.

Most neighborhoods however, are not too keen on the idea. Will the proposed plan actually work? Representatives of Ballard, Magnolia and Queen Anne, say the project will bring nothing but major inconvenience and traffic congestion.

The Mercer proposal has been controversial since it was first brought up by Greg Nickels in 2002. In fact, a study solicited by the city found that the proposal would actually increase eastbound travel times and would decrease overall capacity.

Many believe the project is pure vanity and completely useless. So the question is, will the project really reduce traffic and better connect neighborhoods? Or will it be a huge chunk of tax dollars spent on simply "beautifying" the neighborhood?


]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/the-controversial-mercer-stree.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/the-controversial-mercer-stree.html mercer street mess traffic Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:43:46 -0800 Entrepenurial teenager plans to open Belltown fashion boutique Go girl! This isn't something you see every day. The P-I's fashion section has the scoop on a girl only 19 years of age who plans to open a swanky Belltown fashion boutique by November. Brittany Sheft will call her boutique "Strut" and plans on selling hard to find items from Las Vegas to New York, giving shoppers a unique experience.

"I'm just really passionate about getting dressed. When I get dressed it's an art," says Brittany. "We're always looking for new styles. Seattle is kind of behind in fashion. Since we don't really have anywhere to shop here, and I'm so passionate about fashion, why not bring it here?"

Click here for more info on Strut.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/entrepenurial-teenager-plans-t.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/entrepenurial-teenager-plans-t.html fashion shopping strut Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:31:47 -0800 Belltown hookah bar sued I could have seen this one coming. Every time I walked past the "Zaina hookah bar" I scratched my head and wondered why I was seeing a hookah bar when smoking is illegal in bars in Washington. Apparently the owners didn't fear the no-smoking law.

Eventually a lawsuit was filed last week after several complaints from the public and warnings had failed to halt the smoking. The lawsuit asks to fine Zaina $100 a day until they comply with the law, which prohibits smoking and requires placement of signs advising customers of the ban.

"If I lose the hookah business, I'm out. I'm broke," says Shaher Abuelkhair, owner of Zaina. "I have kids. I have a mortgage. I have a lease. I can't just stop."

It's too bad, I feel for the guy, but the law is the law. He was pretty much asking for trouble don't you think?

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/belltown-hookah-bar-sued.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/belltown-hookah-bar-sued.html public health zaina Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:14:22 -0800 Belltown WaMu bank robbed On Saturday around noon, a man walked into Washington Mutual's Belltown branch and handed a note to the teller demanding money by claiming he had a bomb. He escaped by foot following the robbery. Police think the suspect may be guilty of robbing another bank using the same method recently. Luckily no one was hurt.

Poor WaMu, they just can't seem to catch a break.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/belltown-wamu-bank-robbed.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/belltown-wamu-bank-robbed.html crime washington mutual Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:14:16 -0800 'Cineroke!' at the Rendezvous Karaoke meets cinema making for a pleasant evening of "Cineroke!" Pick a song from your favorite movie musical and the scene is projected on the screen. Sounds pretty fun to me. Nothing like a little Yentl and some beer!

Cineroke is October 13 from 7 to 10pm and is $5. For more info click here.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/cineroke-at-the-rendezvous.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/cineroke-at-the-rendezvous.html bars clubs nightlife Rendezvous Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:13:04 -0800 Jesus makes an appearance in Belltown This painting of Jesus with gun has appeared on a wall in Belltown...

Interesting.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/jesus-makes-an-appearance-in-b.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/jesus-makes-an-appearance-in-b.html flickr graffiti street scenes Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:02:05 -0800 Former Lampreia restaurant up for sale The old Lampreia on 1st and Battery is for sale. For only $350000 you could have your very own high visibility restaurant in the heart of Belltown's restaurant area.

Perhaps this is a good new space for the new McLeod Residence? Hey, you could lay down a pretty swanky dance floor in that space...

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/former-lampreia-restaurant-up.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/former-lampreia-restaurant-up.html Lampreia real estate Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:43:22 -0800 Save your public library! We received an important message from the Friends of Seattle Public Library blog for all Belltowners:

Dear Belltowners,

The Friends of the SPL have an urgent request for support for the library. The library's collections budget has been severely cut in the Mayor's most recent budget. There is a 2.2 million dollar shortfall - this in the face of registrations that are up and a growing city population. The library's collection budget is still at less than 2002 levels.

The collections budget is what is used for putting materials on the shelves. When it takes six months to get a book that you are waiting for, the shortfall in the collections budget is the reason why!

The Friends are asking for support from the public to let City Council members know how important the library is. People can write letters, send emails, or best of all attend the Council meetings. We put out a call for support last year and it made a big difference.

Love your library! Click here for more details on how you can make a difference.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/save-your-public-library.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/save-your-public-library.html city council seattle public library Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:29:49 -0800 Raindrops on roses and rat traps in alleys This photo of a pile of rat traps in an alley behind First Avenue between Bell and Blanchard was posted on Belltown Messenger's flickr pool.

Eek.

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/raindrops-on-roses-and-rat-tra.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/raindrops-on-roses-and-rat-tra.html photos Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:34:45 -0800 McLeod Residence says goodbye Huge bummer! Belltown's swanky, hipster bar/gallery The McLeod Residence is shutting down on Oct. 31 due to failure to comply with fire codes. "We didn't know that much about owning a business and didn't look into it before we signed our lease. Somebody with experience would have had an architect look at the place." say the owners referring to the building not being up to code for the kind of business they have.

Shucks! It's sad to see them go as McLeod has proven to be a great addition to the Belltown nightlife scene. There is still hope yet however, word is they're looking for a new location. Maybe they should rent the space where the old Apartment bistro used to be??

]]> http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/mcleod-residence-says-goodbye.html http://www.belltowner.com/2008/10/mcleod-residence-says-goodbye.html art McLeod residence nightlife Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:20:21 -0800