Thanks!

Jen

Fans have a blast on road — Festive atmosphere in Seattle, with only hint of mischief (The Province)
Those travelling from Vancouver were instructed to stay away from the bars around Qwest Field before the game, and to arrive at the game two hours early. Many, though, ignored those requests and discovered they were more than welcome at the watering holes in and around Pioneer Square.

Seattle’s Best Art for Out-of-Towners (Seattle Weekly)
Depending on your visitors’ schedule, try to coordinate your tourist-art safari with summer’s remaining three First Thursday art walks (July 7, Aug. 4, Sept. 1). Making the Pioneer Square circuit of galleries will lead inevitably to the Tashiro Kaplan Building, the quickest and most efficient introduction to the diverse styles of Northwest contemporary art, presented buffet style.

Comcast wants to serve Pioneer Square startups, bids on city broadband project (GeekWire)
A few weeks ago, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn stood on First Avenue and asked Internet service providers to step up to help bring high-speed Internet to the Pioneer Square neighborhood. Now, one of the biggest providers in the state, wants to help deliver.

Comcast bids to bring high-speed Internet to Pioneer Square (TechFlash)
Comcast has submitted an application to the city of Seattle to provide broadband Internet service to Pioneer Square. Two weeks ago, Mayor Mike McGinn announced a plan to bring fiber-optic Internet service to four blocks of First Avenue South between Cherry and South Jackson, an area known for both attracting a growing number of tech companies and extremely poor Internet access.

Seattle murder conviction tossed out over ‘racist’ comments (Seattle Times)
The state Supreme Court has thrown out a man’s murder conviction in a 2006 gang-related shooting in Pioneer Square, ruling that the prosecutor who tried the case resorted to “racist arguments” to attack defense witnesses.

Seattle police to step up patrols on summer weekend nights (Seattle Times)
Starting Friday, uniformed Seattle police officers will be on the streets until 4 a.m. every Friday and Saturday until sometime in September, providing a visible police presence in neighborhoods where people tend to congregate on hot summer nights.

“Hooray, You’re Gay” Music Video from The Juliettes (Windy City)
The official music video release party is set for June 16th in Seattle at the Pioneer Square location of 88 Keys, a local Seattle club and supporter of live music. The show is all ages, doors at 7pm, $10, with a portion of each ticket being donated. 100% of the net proceeds from downloads of “Hooray, You’re Gay” will be donated to the It Gets Better Project which funds organizations that support equality education and at-risk gay youth.

Vendor of the Week: Larry Felder (Real Change News)
He stays mostly on the corner of Yesler and Western, in Pioneer Square near the waterfront, where he’s been selling for the past eight months or so. While I stand there with him, he greets his customers politely and courteously — doesn’t ask them to buy a paper, doesn’t push his product. It’s all, “How are you doing, ma’am?” and “Have a beautiful day!” It’s all smiles with Larry, all the time.

BLOGS

Dinner & a Movie: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a… (Voracious)
Nearly everything at Delicatus is delicious, including the oyster chowder and Seattle Cure (cured albacore tuna bresaola, salmon lox, shaved red onions, sweet peppers on a toasted panino roll with lemon-caper aioli).

Seattle 2012 High School Senior – Leah (Alante Photography)

I also apologize for this super late notice about a Pioneer Square Residential Council get together. I posted about the PSqRC back in February, and got a lot of interest from the neighborhood.

So a few of us decided to organize an informal get together so that we can meet other residents. If you’re a Pioneer Square resident, and interested, here are the details:

When: Tuesday, April 5th at 5pm (to around 7pm?)
Where: a local resident’s condo — 97 S Jacksons #406 (enter off the alley)

Hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at psqresidents@gmail.com.

Crosscut has just posted an article titled: Pioneer Square parking: Did city just put neighborhood at a disadvantage?

“(Derek) Shankland’s bigger issue is with extending the meter hours from 6 to 8 p.m. in Pioneer Square. Not only does he believe that this will affect people’s decisions about where they will shop or enjoy happy hour, it will be a burden on the restaurant employees in the area. Waiters and bartenders tend to arrive for work between 4 and 5 p.m. Having them pay for an additional two hours of parking may not seem like much to a planner in the Seattle Municipal Tower, but it is a big impact for a group of people who have had a hard time getting through the recession.”

And to add a little perspective to the issue from the resident’s side:

“Residents at the meeting had some interesting perspectives as well. Jenn Stellflug has lived in Pioneer Square for six years. She brought up the idea of establishing a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) for the Square. This would provide Pioneer Square with the neighborhood status that it deserves. She was told by SDOT that RPZs are not allowed in the Downtown Core. But who thinks Pioneer Square is in the Downtown Core?”

This week, I’m posting about another way for people who live and work in Pioneer Square to get involved.

The Alliance for Pioneer Square has adopted a 4-point Main Street approach; a tried and true model for economic revitalization that is used across the United States. A big part of the model is to set up various committees that are led by board members and volunteers, with the support of the staff at TAPS.

The committees have been up and running for a number of months now, and as a co-lead on the Promotions Committee, I can verify that they are in full swing, and a great thing to be a part of. We’ve had a number of business owners and residents get involved in the Promotions Committee, and share talents and resources to come up with some exciting activities for 2011.

But not to just plug the Promotions Committee, here is a snapshot of all four committees:

Promotions
Forge a positive image through advertising, retail promotion activity, special events, and marketing campaign. Creative, organized and energetic members are a must!

Economic Restructuring/Business Development
Help expand our retailers and recruit new ones in response to today’s market. This committee works to sharpen the competitiveness of business enterprises.

Design
Get Pioneer Square into top shape by creating an inviting atmosphere through historic preservation, window displays, signs, landscaping and more.

Organization
A successful program is the result of a strong organization. Fundraising, public relations, and volunteer recruitment are all tasks taken on by the Organization Committee.

If you don’t have time to get involved in a committee (which meets once a month – see the calendar for more info), you can volunteer for events, become a member of the alliance, or sign up for the monthly newsletter to find out more information. For more info on joining a committee, or getting involved, email Lisa – lisa@pioneersquare.org.

(imagine a poster of Uncle Sam pointing at you. Or maybe Doc Maynard would be more appropriate. Although I doubt people know what he looks like, so revert back to imagining Uncle Sam).

A new Pioneer Square Residential Council has been formed to give the residents a voice. Although all most of us love this neighborhood no matter what, the reason for forming the group is to give a united voice to some of the issues that we’re currently facing (parking rates, downtown zoning, SR99 tunnel, lack of sun, etc.).

The founding members of the group include: Lynn Claudon, Anne Fennessey, Ann Rowe, Jan Drago, Tija Petrovich, Shelby Brammer, York Wong, and Jen Kelly (me).

We hope to meet around once every month or two in an informal setting (read: party) to gossip about all of Pioneer Square’s secrets. I’ve seriously learned more about the crazy things that happen in this neighborhood in the past month than my whole 1 1/2 years of writing the blog. And then, as necessary, we will reach out to the group to find out the majority opinion on current issues that we want to take a stand on.

If you’re interested in getting involved, meeting other residents in the neighborhood, and sharing your opinion about the issues that affect the residents, please send an email to: psqresidents@gmail.com.

Reminder 1: My posting will become more sparse as Christmas gets closer [sorry].

Reminder 2: I will not post at all from the 21st – 27th as I am partying in my home-country of Pennsylvania! [where we will have snow that puts yours to shame]

Reminder 3: The Deck the Balls auction is happening now. Make sure you stop by Tats, Delicatus, or Built Burger before close of business tomorrow to bid on an ornament.

Reminder 4: If you shop in Pioneer Square (participating merchants) tomorrow evening and spend at least $25, you’re eligible for tons of prizes, including an iPad! Did I mention you can also get a free photo with Santa?

Reminder 5: Lock your car during Holiday shopping + don’t leave anything valuable that people will want to steal. Have I mentioned my car was broken into during the summertime? At Laurelhurst Community Center? Don’t assume there are “safe areas” where it’s ok to leave things in your car (locked or not)

Reminder 6: There are lots of exercise spots in Pioneer Square to help you not gain 15 pounds during the holiday break (Seattle Fitness + Exercise Space are two that I know)

My OCD-side was hoping I could stretch this to 10 reminders, but ran out, so you’ll have to make do with 6.

On a sidenote: I try to not post many things that are personal on this blog, but to continue with my post of reminders and irrelevant information, you should all know that I totally missed celebrating The New Pioneer Square‘s one year anniversary [three months ago]. Pretty lame, right?

Even though I thought it should be acknowledged, by the time I was one month late, I was too embarrassed to say anything. Apparently at three months, the embarrassment fades. And I figured this was the best place to put it (since many of you probably stopped reading after I made fun of your snow).

So:

New Years Resolution #1: Write better posts

New Years Resolution #2: Feature more businesses

New Years Resolution #3: Keep #1 + #2. And also lose 15 pounds.

And since I sometimes feel like I’m writing this to myself, and wish I had even more interaction with the residents of this neighborhood, here’s a resolution for some of you:

Your New Years Resolution #1: Comment more. Or at least email me with info or businesses you’d like featured. Or join the promotions committee and help us plan fun events for the neighborhood. Or just email me your cool ideas and lets collaborate to see if we can make it happen.

The rest of you are pretty good at sending me info, and it is always much appreciated!

Sound Transit and the City of Seattle will be holding an open house at Seattle’s Hong Kong Building at the Summer Festival on Saturday, July 10th to discuss recent developments and the next steps involved with constructing the First Hill Streetcar line connecting the Capitol Hill and International District LINK Light Rail stations.

The Seattle City Council has approved the First Hill Streetcar with a segment along Jackson St. through the Chinatown/International District neighborhood.

The latest visualizations for the Jackson St. portion of the route will be on display at the open house for viewing and commenting by the public. City representatives will be on hand to answer any questions regarding this portion of the route as well as the line in general.

WHEN / WHERE
11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Saturday, July 10th
Hong Kong Building
511B Maynard Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98104
For directions click here.

For maps, news, or more info, you can always go to First Thursday’s website.

1. April Fool’s Day & The Feast of Fools!
   6:30 – 8:30 pm, free
   Teatro ZinZanni will perform at Caffe Umbria (320 Occidental Ave S). “With a nod to an ancient tradition of reversing roles for one day a year, the Feast of Fools puts a zany twist into the Art Walk this April Fools’ Day as Teatro ZinZanni artists converge at Caffe Umbria.”
2. Caffe Vita + Pizzeria Napoletana All Day Fundraiser
   “All food and beverages are free but they’re happily accepting donations – ALL the money goes to 4culture so don’t be stingy!” (source)
   6am – 11am
   *Free drip coffee.
   11am – 4pm
   *Free small pizzas from Pizzeria Napoletana
   6pm – 8pm
   4Culture Hosts a free performance by the TARANTELLAS
   8pm – 10pm
   A series of performances by some of Seattle’s favorites Tretn (Head Like a Kite / Fresh Espresso) and New Guarders Thomas Hunter (Kay Kay / Wild Orchid Children) and Fatal Lucciauno (love that guy!). Free food, drinks and music for the 21+ crowd
3. Seattle Art Museum – Toy Box Trio
   5:30pm – 7:30pm, free
   Toy Box Trio combines concertina, toy piano and tuba to create sounds evocative of dusty music boxes and haunted carnivals.
   SAM invites the entire family to explore art and experience a variety of cultures on the first Thursday of the month, when the museum comes alive with music and activities tied to our diverse collections.
4. Elliott Bay Cafe Wine Tasting
   5pm – 8pm
   Come out to The Elliott Bay Cafe (101 South Main St.) in Pioneer Square this Thursday, to meet some of the personalities behind 509 Wines.

You can also check out Joey Veltkamp’s Guide to First Thursday Art Walk, Regina Hackett’s First Thursday Suggestions, or if you’re bold, you can go and print off the First Thursday Walking Map and explore all of your options.

The link below is for a map given out at a public safety meeting (are you seeing the value of coming to these yet?):

bicycle route

Sergeant Paul Gracy handed these out to let people know what Bike Sergeant is responsible for what area. I’m not sure what it is with people doing ridiculously long things (see this ridiculously long acronym), but the suggested email address for the Bike Precinct guys is: SPD_West_Precinct_BikeBeats@Seattle.Gov. Sergeant Gracy pointed out that concerns sent here are not a replacement for calling 9-1-1, but suggest to use this more for general concerns you see in your area.

Pioneer Square Community Association has also set up an email address for people to report safety concerns: safety@pioneersquare.org. They will be able to take the information you send them and coordinate with local law enforcement to answer concerns.

Still, I repeat: not a replacement for calling 9-1-1.

Here are some other suggestions for safety in the city:

• Call Utilities if trees are blocking street lights
• It’s already over, so remember this for the future: vote for the right person (although I like McGinn, the police were backing Mallahan because he claimed to be stricter when it comes to enforcing laws)
• Ask Terrie to come and do a meeting with the people in your building to teach them how to dial 9-1-1 (apparently it’s still a difficult concept)
• Be a good witness if you see a crime– give 9-1-1- operator detailed information, don’t be anonymous, text, email, anything
• Don’t do drugs
• Try not to shop at Saveway — I tried it once, and I think it definitely compromises your safety.

I was really nervous about calling 9-1-1- the first time I saw someone doing drugs, but they are used to it, and just ask for where you saw it, what you saw, and a description of the person. Although they probably won’t be arrested, there will be a record that shows the trouble areas and more cops may be allocated to the area.

p.s. why did I put a picture of the firemen statue at the header? Just a reminder of another person that keeps you safe. Weren’t you feeling a little bit safer when you realized they were stationed (firmly) in P²?