Tag Archives: MLK

As Central District businesses mark Black Black Friday, The Postman vows return and expansion in 2024

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The Postman’s indefinite closure will end with the Central District small business’s owner Keanna Pickett vowing to overcome fear and expand at MLK and Union.

“Despite the challenges faced, The Postman remains committed to the community it serves,” Pickett said in an announcement earlier this week reported by Converge Media. “We have actively been a part of finding solutions to the issues of gentrification and gun violence that have plagued our neighborhood.”

CHS reported here in October as Pickett decided to close the mail services shop after early morning gunfire shattered the business’s windows on the anniversary of the shooting that took he life of her husband D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. outside the business a year earlier.

Keanna Pickett is now vowing to reopen and grow The Postman with a new, larger space in the same building and and expanded services including work space and inclusion in Amazon’s hub system. Continue reading →

Puppies, live music, and beer — Boneyard indoor dog park and tavern coming to the Central District

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Dogs love beer including this good one we spotted at Chuck’s (Image: CHS)

The Central Seattle dog park experience is about to change with the addition of Boneyard, an indoor dog park and tavern set to join S Jackson.

Dagmar Rehse, dog lover and Boneyard owner, wanted to create a way for Seattleites and their furry friends to spend and enjoy time together away from their homes — even when it is raining cats and dogs in the city.

“Nine months out of the year you see these dog owners going to dog parks and suffering in the elements to let their dogs play,” Rehse said. “I wanted to create something more comfortable for the humans while their dogs are frolicking around.”

The new space at the corner of 26th and Jackson will be an indoor dog park and tavern, with boarding and doggy daycare for the dogs, and a bar for their owners to play “drink” at. While Rehse doesn’t live in the area, she did notice that the dog friendly neighborhood was missing this kind of hangout. It is also in an area beyond the higher rent neighborhood cores where the rent on a 3,267-square-foot space needed to give rover room to run pencils out.

And while there are many dog-friendly drinking venues around the Central District and Capitol Hill, the Boneyard is the only one centered on making a great, safe space for canine companions. It will also offer something no other beer hall around can offer — fur baby babysitting for dog owners who want a break while they crack a cold one.

Boneyard will be the first space that Rehse has opened, built by her love for dogs and a wish for a place where dog and owner can enjoy themselves together outside of their home. Continue reading →

Support for The Postman after gunfire damages Central District mail shop on anniversary of owner’s shooting death — UPDATE: Indefinite closure

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(Image: @Omarisal)

Gunfire shattered glass Friday morning on the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of business owner D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. at MLK and Union. Teens with a more recent beef may have been responsible.

Police were called to Pickett’s mail services shop The Postman early Friday after reports of multiple gunshots just before 5 AM. Arriving officers found shattered windows but no injuries. According to East Precinct radio updates, witness reports described three male teens fleeing southbound on foot on MLK after the shooting. There were no reported arrests. Continue reading →

Central District’s Powell Barnett Park makes short list as Seattle finally ready to add two new off-leash dog areas

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At the E Cherry “pop-up” dog park

The Central District’s Powell Barnett Park has made the short list for much-awaited new off-leash dog areas in Seattle.

The MLK Way park is the only District 3 location to make the list of nine final sites being considered after years of process by Seattle Parks. The final candidates joining Powell Barnett on the list include the Discovery Park North Parking Lot, View Ridge Playfield, East Queen Anne Playground, Ravenna Park, West Seattle Stadium, Brighton Playfield, Lincoln Park, and Othello Park.

CHS reported here on the high demand for Capitol Hill dog families that has turned Cal Anderson and Volunteer Park into sometimes rogue off-leash areas and the long process from the city to study and designate new sites. CHS also found one Central District dog park opened on the down low by an area developer on property awaiting future construction.

The parks department says the Powell Barnett site would be the lawn area on the north end of the park near its Play Area, Comfort Station, Basketball Court, and Wading Pool. Continue reading →

The Postman reopens at MLK and Union

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KeAnna Pickett reopened Central District mailing services shop The Postman Wednesday just over a month after her husband was gunned down outside the MLK at Union business.

“We made it!!,” the Postman’s announcement reads. “We are finally back open.”

D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. was gunned down October 19th outside the mailing services shop he opened KeAnna in 2018. The father, business owner, and youth football coach was 31. D’Vonne Pickett told CHS in 2018 his grandfather served as a mail carrier for the USPS in Seattle for nearly 40 years and was an inspiration for the store. Continue reading →

Mayor comes to Central District to call for support in battle against a ‘surge in graffiti in Seattle’ — UPDATE

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Repaired and restored (Image: Fat’s Chicken & Waffles)

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell will come to the site of widely condemned act of vandalism to a Central District mural Thursday to make the case for spending on new resources including a dedicated clean-up team to address what the mayor says is a “surge in graffiti in Seattle.”

Harrell Thursday is scheduled to appear outside MLK and Cherry’s Fat’s Chicken & Waffles where CHS reported in February on artist James Crespinel’s work to restore his mural of Martin Luther King Jr.  The large mural on the side of the building had been targeted during the city’s MLK Day celebrations with spray painted vandalism critical of the civil rights leader’s role as a centrist.

The mayor’s appearance is part of his push for new funding to combat graffiti and vandalism as the Seattle City Council works to finalize his 2023 budget proposal with bids to step back on reforms including spending to create a larger SPD and a controversial plan to redirect funding from the city’s big business tax from COVID-19 recovery, housing, and the Green New Deal to patch up the city’s general fund. Continue reading →

Business owner shot and killed at MLK and Union — UPDATE: Arrest

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A memorial has been formed outside The Postman

Pickett

A man was shot and killed near MLK and E Union Wednesday night in the Central District.

Police were sent to the area after multiple 911 callers reported gunfire just before 6:30 PM.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene to a report of a man down with a gunshot wound to the abdomen at the address of The Valley Apartments and multiple businesses including Joyce’s Market and The Postman “mail and business” shop.

SPD said the victim was transported to Harborview where he died. Continue reading →

Grocery Outlet will be Capitol Hill/Central District collection point for pilot to test new option for plastic film and bag recycling

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(Image: King County)

A pilot program will create a new option for putting tough to recycle plastic wrap and bags to use and keeping them from gumming up Seattle’s waste systems.

The just launched effort will add a new drop-off location to the MLK Grocery Outlet along with grocery stores around the county to collect the wraps, films, and bags to be turned into into recycled plastic pellets by British Columbia-based recycler Merlin Plastics. The pellets can be used to create new film packaging and are being tested for other uses. Continue reading →

Artist restores vandalized Central District MLK mural

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Artist James Crespinel and his son Nick. Thanks to Converge Media for providing this picture to CHS.

The vandalized mural of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has been fully restored and is ready, again, to “do what it’s supposed to do” at the Central District corner of MLK Way and E Cherry.

Artist James Crespinel returned to restore his work that has been part of the corner across three decades before it was marred with spray painted vandalism during this year’s MLK Day holiday and spoke with Converge Media about the importance of the mural as he put the finishing touches on the wall after ten days of work. Continue reading →

City offers help restoring Central District MLK mural

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The vandalism was covered by a coat of light blue paint (Image: CHS)

The community responded quickly to cover some of the damage. City Hall says it will help restore the neighborhood art after the Central District mural of the slain civil rights leader at MLK Way and E Cherry was defaced headed into Monday’s holiday.

Mayor Bruce Harrell says the city will offer its help in restoring the MLK mural after someone vandalized the artwork on the outside of the building home to Fat’s Chicken and Waffles. Continue reading →