I'm not entirely sure about this blog's history with Shop Rite (sorry, CHS -- I didn't have time to fully vet you), but I'd like to open a new chapter.  I have been to Shop Rite 3 times in the past 4 days, and I love it.  Loads of wacky contact paper -- check.  A mop bucket -- check.  A yarn stash -- (OMG) check!  Heck, even the guys who worked there picked up on the fact that I was moving and let me take all of the cardboard boxes I could carry.  Is there something that I'm missing?  Do *we* love Shop Rite?  Hate it?

On Friday Afternoon I saw one of the most disturbing things I'd seen in a while. Walking down 15th I see a woman come out of the bar Liberty and scatter a handful of something on the sidewalk, then go back in to the bar. As I walked past I saw that they were pennies - lots of pennies. OK... As I walked on a man and a woman came past me - possibly homeless, certainly not well off judging by the look of them. I heard something and turned and the two of them were on their knees scrambling to pick up the pennies. It was like a couple of pigeons pecking at breadcrumbs that someone had thrown out for them. But these were PEOPLE... PEOPLE on their KNEES picking up pennies that someone else threw away. What was the woman from Liberty doing? Was this some misguided attempt to help homeless people? Was this some creepy spectator sport laid on for their patrons? Do they do this all the time? I was too creeped out to go back and ask - anyone got any ideas?

We heard this on the scanner today, and I rode over to get a look at the scene on 17th E where a big limb fell and hit one or two houses just south of John St. 17th is blocked off for that whole block while they wait for City Light crews to come out and turn off the power.

Fire crews on the scene told me that it the entire tree is rotting and at risk of falling. The city will need to hire professionals to come out and take the whole thing down. It wasn't clear when that might happen or if the power would be able to be turned back on before that.

Here's some leafy pics: (i couldn't get close enough to get a good angle)

The old tree is huge, and soon to be firewood:

Pike/Pine would surely scoff at the enthusiasm. But Fancy Pants & 15th Ave don't get live KEXP-rock music every day. So we have an ongoing tradition of getting excited when Sonic Boom announces an in-store NOT in Ballard (sadly, we didn't post about The Dutchess and The Duke performance a few weeks back). And, it's always cool when the rugrats can rock n roll too -- even with a performance as weird as the Tiny Vipers.

TINY VIPERS!
THURSDAY AUG 28TH!
7PM! CAPITOL HILL!
FREE! ALL-AGES!

Saw this colorful fellow while strolling around Tuesday night taking pictures of the various block parties on Capitol Hill. He was performing at the intersection of the Republican jog and 15th Ave. I asked him if I could take his picture and he nodded yes between puffs. I reached in my pocket to find some change for his box marked DONATIONS PLEASE. Unfortunately for me and lucky for him, all I had were ones. The dollar bill -- and this post -- are my donation but I'm not sure what the cause is.

BTW, by my quick estimation, flutist man out earns violin man by a factor of 5:1. And, for anybody wondering, yes, those are Fancy Pants, indeed.

Scary account from neighbor Jill. Crime is a part of living in the big, big city but have to agree with her that some of the violence we've been hearing about this summer seems extraordinary.

My friend was mugged a few feet from his place on 18th and thomas late last night. His head was smashed with a rock (trip to ER, stitches but ok) and his ipod stolen.  There were 4 witnesses, 2 of them chased the assailants and I believe all spoke to the police. They described the attackers as four black men in their late teens.

Apparently this attack was preceded by a shooting/and unsuccessful mugging (the victim didn't have anything to take) in about the same spot. The policeman I spoke to in the ER didn't have all the details yet and I'm repeating what he told me.

 

I'm not shocked by the robberies, but by the level of violence --for such small stakes. (Because they hit my friend first the ipod smashed to the ground with him, presumably broken).

Honestly, does every Group Health bus, Garbage and Recycle truck, and delivery truck have to use Howell between 14th and 15th instead of the wider Pine or John?  The traffic circle is destroyed because they can't make it around completely and the sound of engines revving up the hill at all hours all day long drowns out the sound of people inside my apartment talking.  Is there anything residents can do?  I understand that delivery drivers need to access units, but I see them all day long just using this street (and others) to cut through neighborhoods, avoiding traffic signals. 

OK, all you neighborhood Bjorn Borg wannabes, here's your chance. Hopvine is hosting a tennis tournament this weekend on Saturday, August 9th. Unfortunately, that's all we know at this point. The Hop has foregone Internet promotion for this year's tourney -- nothing on their Web site, nothing on their blog, nothing on their calendar -- in favor of a few posters on 15th Ave. Recommend you swing in to get the details. Assume they'll be holding the even at the Miller Community Center courts which this site says are made of Laykold. Learn something new every day.

The Hopvine's paper-driven approach does give us the opportunity to put the re-launched Capitolhillseattle.com calendar into action. You'll find the Hopvine tourney and more -- please feel free to add your Capitol Hill events to the mix. There are quite a few calendar and event systems already in the world so not hugely excited about adding yet another. But there does seem to be a need for one that has events like this tennis tourney, for example. So we'll...

In comments on yesterday's post about upcoming neighborhood block parties on Capitol Hill, neighbor Dawggy asks a simple question -- why don't we have a Capitol Hill parade?

I've actually been wondering why the entire area between say 15th and 23rd doesn't have a block party day geared to families and kids chock full of fun like with a parade, firetrucks, giant bouncy thingies, the works. It seems like every other neighborhood has one of these days during the summer but us. Seems like a no brainer. What gives?

We've written a little about this before -- Time to invent a new Capitol Hill parade. But I'll say that Dawggy's vision wasn't exactly what I had in mind. How to make the event more Capitol Hill? Or, am I being a "hipster" for thinking bouncy houses sound corny? And, should 15th Ave E. be the home for something like this or is it sacrilegious to talk about a Capitol Hill event not on Broadway?

One of things I was most looking forward to as a soon-to-be Miller Park resident was the QFC on 15th. See, as my co-kuer City Limits pointed out to me last year, the 15th Ave QFC carried the extra-scrumptious maple pecan Sweet Home Farm granola, while the Broadway Market QFC only carried the Honey Nut and Low Fat Raisin granola. It's so good that City invited me on special "uphill outings" just to stock up.

Lo, as a practice run over the weekend revealed, the maple pecan on 15th has gone missing! Is this a lease-breaker?

News flash -- there's somebody collecting signatures for a petition on 15th Ave. But this one's a little more notable than the typical signature collection effort. Still not sure if I believe them, but Loretta and Jeremiah claim to be collecting names for a petition to demand Starbucks keep its on-the-chopping-block 15th Ave E. location open.

When I asked them what organization they represent, Loretta said she's simply a concerned neighbor. When I asked them why not just go to Victrola, Jeremiah only rolled his eyes.

I don't get it. So I'm starting this petition against their petition. Please sign this post to encourage Starbucks to, indeed, close the 15th Ave E. Starbucks.

Thank you. Sorry, Loretta and Jeremiah.

Moving our old posts over to the new site has gone pretty well except for one irritating issue -- we haven't imported all the comments yet. So this cool oldie post about what you would open on 15th Ave is missing the best part -- your comments. We'll get that fixed eventually -- but the concept needs a refresh anyhow.

So, with the Starbucks body still warm but the spirit departed, what would you open on 15th Ave?

I'm not sure what I want yet but I've decided nothing obvious like another coffee shop, restaurant, bar or ice cream shop. Yes, I said no to ice cream. And, please, no Taco Del Mars.

2008-05-15 - 001 - Warrior Diet Originally uploaded by vmax137

Looks like 15th's oh so favorite frappicino stop is sliding into oblivion. http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/USStoreClosureInfo.pdf

I'm personally a little sad to see Starbucks go. I think there's a certain senior crowd that found it's corporate home amongst the ever rotating selection of whips, blends, fraps, shakens, and whatever other sugary mess of schultz they could dream up. Lets all look on the bright side and hope something with character finds it's way into the vacated space.

Hi all,

Dear 20-something girl in the blue scrubs on the corner of 13th and Howell,

Owing a small dog, such as your chihuahua, does not example you from the scoop your poop rule.  You own a dog, you need to carry bags to pick up their waste.  I stared at you long enough that you either turned around to avoid me or to pick up the waste.  I didn't wait around long enough to see, but I know you caught my meaning clearly.  

Sincerely yours, Fellow Pet Owner

On 14th Ave between Howell and Olive is a set of tables with free objects.  I've been observing this free table whenever I take my puppy out and today I actually spent a few minutes conversing with neighbors as they came to check it out too.  The table mostly has knick knacks, old mismatched dishes, a box of old flashlights, but a few items of interest that sparked conversation:  a child's plastic flute for example, was the center of much discussion.  Was it clean enough to possibly test it, or was it potentially too icky to be worth it?

It's amazing to me how often residents of a neighborhood will pass each other by without even looking at each other.  I've even used my dog as an excuse not to look at someone while walking around, watching him instead of meeting the glance of a stranger.  Lately I've decided to start saying hi to people in the neighborhood, or at least looking at them.  The reactions vary.  Some people look up, then glance away quickly.  Others stop to ask about my dog.  Others say hi and smile...

It would be ridiculous for this little site to declare The Stranger's online behemoth, The Slog, dead. But some part of what we once called Seattle's best blog definitely bit the big one last week -- and it happened right here on Capitol Hill.

On Friday, Slogger Lindy West posted this photo of a remarkable patron visiting Liberty. The post was a typical Slog job, setting the Segway man up for ridicule. The Slog comment crowd, as usual, went for it: I wonder, if the bartender were to - as one might expect he would do - punch this person in the face repeatedly, would he just keeping popping up for more like a Weeble? Because I would love to see that.

Typical Slog stuff, really. But this time, the nastiness got shoved right back in our Slog-loving faces. Out of the comment cesspool, came the actual story:

i met this guy at cal anderson park a few weeks ago while i was with a quadraplegic friend who uses a wheelchair that untilizes the same technology as this man’s segway. i also thought this man a lazy fool until...

JuneJuly2008 203
Originally uploaded by jseattle

Let's say you had a purple house on 15th Ave E. And let's say time and weather had conspired to fade the paint over the years so, really, the colorfulness had lost some of its charm. Let's say there is a certain palette that other more recently painted homes in the area tend to circulate within.

Let's say you decide to re-paint your purple house. What color do you choose?

If you really do live in the purple house on 15th Ave E, you choose, of course, purple. And that's why we love you.

It appears that the incoming dry cleaners at East John Court (15th Ave and E. John Court across from Group Health and Safeway) will be an environmentally friendly dry cleaner.

Contrary to what its name implies, dry cleaning involves washing clothes in a liquid solvent to remove stains. In about 85 percent of dry cleaning shops this solvent is perchloroethylene (or “perc”), a chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers both a health and environmental hazard. (Tree Hugger)

I am very interested in what this business constitutes as "green" and "environmentally friendly". At least on the surface, it appears that this dry cleaner is different than the standard shops.

It's HalfPintIceCream.com-- now they just need a 15th Ave. E address.

There's a group of kids at the corner of 14th and Denny selling cookies:  2 large or 3 small for a dollar.  They even have a few pieces of art.  If you see them, stop on by for a quick snack.

Passed by the new location of Zaw Pizza this morning, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) forgot my camera and couldn't take photos of the adverts on the storefront.  They also have an application for a liquor license on the front door.  Between Online Coffee's limited beer and wine selection, Poco's fancy wine selection, and Zaw, I may never have to go further than 2 blocks for a drink.

Don't do a lot of restaurant reviews here. First, reviews are ripe for overwritten ridiculousness -- each bit of poached muskrat was a mouthful of fantasy. I thought it would be more salty. Second, reviews, especially bad reviews are really hard to write.

So, let me off the hook easy here. Just take my word for it. Don't waste a meal on 15th Ave's entrant in the bland Mexican restaurant hall of fame -- Jalisco. We have tried it out of curiosity. We have tried it out of (relative) thrift. We have tried it out of sympathy. We won't make the mistake again.

The meat was watery, bland. The molten sea of beans and rice was monotony on a plate. The tortillas were soggy. The highlight was the unremarkable margarita and the salsa. Yum on the salsa. Nice work.

Hate to hate on a local business but in this case, it's fair. Some may say just set your expectations knee-high. Better, we think, to head over to El Gallito or to the Broadway outpost of local super chain Tacos Guaymas if you want to stay on the Hill. Taco Gringos...