Belltowner

Japanese 'street food' coming to Belltown

2008-08-27T17:12:54Z

Workers are cranking out the finishing touches on Kushibar, 2319 2nd Ave., putting it on pace for a mid-September opening.

I didn't see a menu, but I understand it, Japanese street food usually means grilled stuff like yaktori, or fried/baked dumplings and perhaps noodles. There's plenty of sushi to be had in Belltown, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some of that on the menu as well.

The restaurant includes enclosed seating looking out on 2nd Avenue on one side, and a parking lot on the other.

Check out the view from the Four Seasons

2008-08-26T13:57:37Z

A little to our south, the Four Seasons & Private Residences is taking shape and you can see pictures here of the view from a $15.8 million condo with separate quarters for the staff.

Real Estate agent James Stroupe took the pictures at 99 Union St.

The Belltown tie-in is that Kerry Sear, owner of Belltown's Cascadia Restaurant, will be the executive chef for the new Four Seasons ART restaurant.

Get a free cookie at Macrina

2008-08-25T21:15:30Z

It's Macrina's 15th anniversary on Wednesday and they're giving away free brown sugar shortbread cookies to customers at their Belltown and Queen Anne shops.

They'll also be selling their crusty Italian-style Giuseppe bread for $2.15 for a week starting on the 27th. Their Belltown location is 2408 1st Ave. Given there's something free to be had for the first 600 customers, look for the line out the door.

If you're planning on making the rounds Wednesday, the Queen Anne one is located 615 W McGraw St., which I had to hunt down on the Internets, since as far as I can tell, it's not listed on their site.

Update: I stand corrected. As Macrina Fan points out, it's on their Cafes & Catering tab. My bad.

Find your former HS BFF next door

2008-08-25T19:30:42Z

...or at least the company that will help you locate that former high school friend/flame.

Classmates.com is moving its headquarters and about 240 employees from Renton to a new office building at 333 Elliott Ave. W. early next year.

Classmates is known for those nearly inescapable ads of people with regrettable high school photos, or the improbable combination ads of a hunky guy with an aforementioned photo asking, "They got married?" Well, that "couple" in this photo only got as close as working together at Classmates a few years back.

Monorail back in service

2008-08-24T21:14:45Z

The Monorail is running again after a leaking air valved was replaced, but the PR black eye will take a while to heal.

Yesterday's shutdown forced emergency workers to remove people from the train, some via fire ladders. The Seattle Times print editions had a headline that fairly screamed, "200 rescued from monorail." Ouch.

Speaking of rescue, if you feel a riff coming on about the monorail vote, insert it here.

Monorail comes to halt - again

2008-08-24T00:25:48Z

Some sort of mechanical or power problem stopped the Monorail in its tracks at 5th and Lenora this afternoon.

Firefighters using ladders helped passengers from the Red train, the same one that had been idled for a week for ... wait for it ... an electrical problem.

It'd probably be a bigger deal for those of us who live around here if not for the fact that no one who lives around here uses the tourist short line.

Hit the beach at Sandfest

2008-08-23T15:17:30Z

Stroll over to Westlake Park today to check out gravity-defying giant sand sculptures.

The event also includes other activities and music. It runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. While it's free, donations for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Puget Sound are accepted.
Photo credit Joe Mabel.

Woman raped near Pike Place Market

2008-08-22T16:31:53Z

A woman says she was raped - for hours - in an alley near Pike Place Market as she was on her way to a job interview Saturday afternoon. WTH is going on in Belltown? Where are the police? Where were the good Samaritans? Unbelievable.

Urban Fashion Network party Friday

2008-08-21T19:23:01Z

... at Belltown's Karma Lounge from 6-10 p.m.

There will be drinking, dancing, and dessert. DJ Darnell Sue will spin tunes and there will be drink specials as well as happy hour pricing and gift bags for the first 50 people.

Tickets are $20 at the door (cash only) which includes two drink tickets. Or you can buy tickets online.

Several local designers and businesses have donated items for a $1 raffle, of which a portion of the proceeds will go to a local charity.

Urban Fashion Network's goal is to feature up-and-coming designers, bridging the gap between independent designers, boutiques, events and consumers.

Could the driver of pedicab accident be the fall guy?

2008-08-19T19:00:03Z

After the tragic pedicab accident that happened in Belltown on August 6, many people blamed the driver. New information in an article in The Stranger is revealing however, that the pedicab company may be at fault. A former employee of the Cascadia Cabs company says in reference to the company's owner, Ryan Hashagen, "I've been reading what Ryan has been saying to the media and I want to say the other side of it... He's blaming the driver when I think that there are poor management practices that are actually to blame for the accident."

The former employee who asked to remain anonymous goes on to say that the company doesn't provide enough braking mechanisms on its pedicabs, relies on inexperienced bikers, and is insufficiently thorough in safety training. Not only that, but apparently the pedicabs have only a simple braking mechanism which is a metal bar connected to a leather strap. There are no hand brakes on the pedicabs.

When the owner of Cascadia Cabs was told of the former employee's complaints, he said, "Our company policy is safety first. We have a motto. That is, 'Be safe, have fun, and make money.' ...[Drivers] are not allowed to leave the shop with nonfunctioning brakes."

He also went on to say that drivers are told to avoid hills like the one that played a role in the tragic crash. Hashagen explained that all their drivers receive extensive training and are told, 'If you can't go up it, don't go down it," However the company's former employee insists, "They do do a very short training, but they never tell you not to go down hills."

What do you think?

'Safer streets initiative' preview planned for today

2008-08-19T18:44:15Z

This is great news. It sounds like our neighborhood crime complaints are being heard. The PI is reporting that today councilman Tim Burgess will preview plans for a broad "Safer Streets Initiative". The initiative would target graffiti offenders, prostitution, open air drug markets, aggressive panhandling and business owners who knowingly permit crime on their property. Tim plans on discussing these ideas during the City Council's Public Safety Committee meeting today.

Although a spokesman for Mayor Nickels said he had not yet seen the Safer Streets proposal and could not comment, let's hope he puts these ideas into action once he does see them and that this is the first step in changing things around.

New tower may have outdoor theater

2008-08-19T03:37:12Z

A residential tower planned for 2116 Fourth Ave. may include a rooftop cinema that will project movies onto a rooftop screen.

"We took our inspiration from the great Seattle tradition of outdoor movies in
Fremont and the Seattle Center," Hal Real Estate Investments President Dana Behar is quoted as saying in a press release.
It's an interesting ammenity, considering the parcel is next door to Cinerama.
One other thing. Perhaps given the uncertainty in the real estate market, the company has not decided whether the roughly 360-unit building will be apartments or condos.

Manslaughter charges in Belltown

2008-08-15T22:55:35Z

First-degree manslaughter charges have been filed against two men suspected of a fatal beating that occurred on 3rd ave. in Belltown back in May. The victim, 51-year-old Vance St. Clair, was found semiconscious with head injuries on May 20. He died soon after on June 2. Witness accounts and video surveillance led police to determine that the two suspects chased, tackled and beat St. Clair.

17 year old Rory Koerber, and 23 year old Donald A. McKnight, are being held in King County Jail on $250,000 bail and will be arraigned in King County Superior Court Aug. 28.

Sad news. I've had it with all the violence.

Belltown Methfest 2008

2008-08-14T20:11:45Z

Forget Hempfest, tonight is "Methfest" at the Rendezvous Jewelbox theatre. Says the Seattle Weekly of the event, "Methfest is not a drug binge, but a collection of bands that provide the perfect soundtrack to inhaling noxious chemicals into your lungs. Unlike Methfest's herbal brother, there are no wafts of patchouli or dancing, tie-died flower children. Consider Methfest to be Hempfest's worst nightmare."

Sounds like something I just might miss myself, but if dark heavy tweeked out tunes are your kind of thing, the party starts tonight Thursday August 14 at 10:30pm.

Click here for more information.

Alleged gay bashing in Belltown

2008-08-13T22:02:31Z

Local filmmaker and city council candidate Grant Cogswell and a friend were attacked on 3rd ave. in Belltown last Friday August 8 in what appeared to be a gay-bashing. Although Grant and his friend do not consider themselves gay, Grant's friend was dressed in drag for an event at the Free Sheep Foundation which led to a verbal attack from a group of nearby men. Grant says the men called them "F*cking faggots". This led to a string of insults exchanged back and forth between both groups and eventually to a physical confrontation. Grant and his friend were taken to the hospital where Grant received five stitches in his cheek, and doctors found that one of the bones around his eye socket had been fractured and his front teeth badly chipped. Grant's friend only suffered scrapes and bruises.

Grant says the man who kicked him was about 5'8 and Hispanic, wearing a white T-shirt. He says the attacker was accompanied by two tall black men, one of whom was wearing a blue jacket, and a tall white man with brown hair. Grant, who used to live in the neighborhood, says he's never seen anything like this happen.

It seems these days it doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, black, white, short, or tall. People are getting beat up in Belltown. Most of the beatings seem to be happening around that magical hour of bar close. My advice? Once you leave a bar at night, avoid conversation with anyone in the street and just go straight home.