Featured Stories

A portion of the "Awake to a New Aurora" mural.

The mural, which is the first of two joint mural projects initiated by Sustainable Green Lake, Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN), and the City of Seattle, will be revealed along with free pizza, soda, and a...

Join Seattle City Councilmember Sally J. Clark for a special Committee on the Built Environment meeting on:

Rowhouses, Apartments & Townhomes – New Rules for the Road

Saturday, March 20

10 a.m. – noon...

SeattleCrime.com is reporting that the man who was arrested following a sexual assault at an Aurora motel last week never regained consciousness and died on Friday after being taken off of life support.  Though SeattleCrime.com reported that medics were called to remove Taser barbs from the suspect and that a Seattle Police Officers Guild was on the scene, the information released by the SPD has not yet commented on these reports, stating that indeed the man resisted arrest, but that he was subsequently transported to Harborview Medical Center due to a suspected drug overdose....

Check out this Seattle Times article from the weekend in which Hugo Kugiya takes readers on a rather delicious tour of some of Seattle's more hidden eateries, including Aurora's own, Paladar Cubano.  Interestingly, Paladar Cubano was the first restaurant ever reviewed on the Aurora|Seattle "Reviews" page.  For a while it was the only restaurant reviewed... until reader "kateinbitterlake" added multiple reviews recently.  Thanks, Kate!

Kugiya has some great things to say about Aurora food:...

You've heard the police report about what happened last Sunday night at an Aurora motel.  Now Karen Cirulli, a community organizer along the Aurora corridor, salutes the brave motel manager who broke up the sexual assault and subdued the suspect until police (lots of them!) arrived:

This past year I have been delighted to meet new faces on Aurora, some of whom have become friends. Samantha is one of those folks that I have had the honor of getting to know. "Sammie" is a twenty-something...

The Aurora Traffic Safety Project announced today on their Facebook page that the left turn signals from 80th St. onto Aurora are now up and running!

The Project's Public Task Force reported that drivers often made risky left turns at this intersection. This put both drivers and pedestrians at risk - especially students walking to Bagley Elementary School. Thanks to the Aurora Traffic Safety Project, drivers now have a green arrow allowing them to make this turn without putting the pedal to the metal and putting...

Here's an update about a story we've been tracking from the SPD Blotter:

On March 2nd, the suspect wanted for the assault of a Seattle Police officer in North Seattle on February 10th, was taken into custody  in San Diego, Californina, as he was attempting to cross the border back into the United States from Mexico.  The Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (PNWFAT) worked tirelessly in their pursuit of  Steve C. Hyatt.   The PNWFAT is a U.S. Marshals-sponsored...

The 46th Street Mural Project just opened its survey of the Fremont and Wallingford community surrounding the mural site. To take the survey, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7GSHTZR

At least thirteen police cars were parked outside the Everspring Inn at 82nd and Aurora just after 11 p.m. Sunday.  Officers were milling around and conversing in small groups.  They told Aurora|Seattle that "a disturbance occurred" and that is all they can share at this time. 

Meanwhile, the folks over at SeattleCrime.com are gathering details, saying that a man was seriously injured by a police taser.

Mayor Mike McGinn's Youth and Families Initiative community meetings, which were kicked off a week ago at the Rainer Community Center, will continue this week on Monday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in our neck of the woods at Northgate Elementary School.

According to the invitation extended to Seattleites on McGinn's website, the series of meetings have been convened around the city because, "The children and families of our city are facing many difficult challenges. As a community, we need to talk about what we want...

Aurora|Seattle partner, the Seattle Times, reported yesterday that the half-developed apartment building at Aurora Ave on 72nd Street known as the Tyee condo project has been sold to GramorDevelopment:

A half-built apartment building on the site of the landmark Twin Teepees restaurant near Green Lake has a new owner, who says it plans to resume construction and have the 24 units ready for leasing by June.

...

Join artists Susan Brown, Todd Lown and Kristen Ramirez, finalists, for a COMMUNITY CONVERSATION about THE 46TH STREET MURAL at the Aurora underpass.

TUESDAY, MARCH 2ND 6:30-8:30
FREMONT ABBEY ARTS CENTER
4272 Fremont Ave N | www.fremontabbey.org
 ...

A few months ago we reported on the new Aurora Traffic Safety Project billboards located on Aurora at 47th Street and 107th Street.  While these billboards had to do with combating speeding on the corridor, the next billboard campaign will aim to reduce distracted driving and remind drivers to expect pedestrians.

According to the SDOT blog, which gives a shout-out to Oprah's "No Phone Zone" pledge website, billboards stressing the themes of distracted driving and pedestrian safety will appear on Aurora Avenue...

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) got the word out early this week to residents on streets neighboring Aurora Avenue about the SR 99 Intelligent Transportations Systems Project.

The project, which is a joint effort of WSDOT and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), involves the installation of "Intelligent Transportation Systems," such as traffic cameras, new signal timing equipment including traffic sensors, and overhead electronic message boards.  According to the project...

Our next door neighbors over at Phinneywood alerted us to this:

The Seattle Department of Transportation will close the right hand, southbound lane of the Aurora Bridge on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day to repair the exterior surface of a bridge column.

So if you’re heading downtown, be prepared for some slowdowns.

An interesting letter to the Editor over at shorelineareanews.com proposes that the Shoreline City Council change the name of their section of Highway 99 from Aurora Avenue to Shoreline Boulevard.  Among the advantages cited for changing the name are the following:

The name change gets rid of the old negative connotations associated with the name of Aurora.

It will be an aid to Economic Development.

It will strengthen the sense of Community.

It will tie in with the new City Hall

It will tie in with the work being done to create a new “ City Center.”...

From SeattleCrime.com:

A man and a woman were attacked on Aurora over the weekend by a group of men who were apparently out looking for a prostitute.

The man and woman were walking home on 107th and Aurora at 11:00 p.m. on February 12th when a a silver 4 door sedan circled the block and pulled up alongside them.

...

As our partner site, the Seattle Times, reported earlier today, the Seattle Police have released the photo of man who was charged last Friday with assaulting an officer following a car chase turned foot chase that began near Aurora Avenue North and 90th Street.

Seattle police are asking for the public's help in locating Steve C. Hyatt, who was charged last week with assaulting a police officer and attempting to disarm her following a Feb. 10 pursuit in North Seattle....

Aurora|Seattle has been tracking the Aurora Traffic Safety Project for quite some time, but we don't catch everything!  Thanks to our neighbor blog, MyGreenLake, we were reminded about an event taking place at the Aurora PCC (okay, it's usually known as the Greenlake PCC) this Saturday, February 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m..

According to the SDOT blog, 

The Aurora Traffic Safety...

From the SPD Blotter:

On 2/10/10, at approximately 12:45 a.m., an officer attempted to contact the suspect on a traffic violation in the area of 90th and Aurora Av N. The suspect, described as a white male in his 20’s, refused to yield to the officers lights and sirens.

A very brief pursuit ensued and was quickly terminated.  Moments later, the suspect crashed into a...

The Seattle Times reported earlier today that police arrested a man just after midnight on Monday morning at the 8900 block of Aurora for firing a pellet rifle repeatedly from a rooftop towards signs across the street.

For the complete story, go here.

According to an aware neighbor and an SDOT confirmation, the Seattle Department of Transportation has begun the process of installing left-turn signals for vehicles turning from 80th Street onto Aurora Avenue.  The process will also include the installation of new control boxes and a replacement utility pole "arm" for one that was repeatedly damaged by passing vehicles.  If the installation process continues as planned, the signals should be functioning by March.

In an email to Aurora|Seattle, Cindy Potter,...

If your driving or walking or bus riding happens to be bringing you through the intersection at 85th and Aurora, just be aware that there is a temporary slowdown while some changes are being made on the wiring and the switches for the intersection's traffic lights.  Police officers are in the middle of the intersection directing traffic, so watch out!

In their most recent newsletter, GAIN announced a meeting intended to gather information from the public that will be used as part of the search process for a new police chief:

Mayor McGinn has appointed 26 people to serve on the search committee for a new police chief.  Cindy Potter from GAIN is one of the members of this committee.  As part of the process the committee is asking the public for input on what criteria you want used in evaluating candidates.  The committee...



CALL TO ARTISTS- 46TH ST. MURAL PROJECT:

A mural...