Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) recently held a meeting at Cyndy's Pancake House in which they conversed with neighbors about their plans for an affordable housing development "with supportive services for homeless men and women living with mental illness" at the current Cyndy's property (10507 Aurora Ave) to begin in the summer of 2011.

But less than a year ago, Cyndy's was on the verge of becoming a strip club until the city declined to issue the prospective buyer, Bob Davis, the necessary permits - leading one Aurora|Seattle contributor to proclaim, "Pancakes Trump Strippers."

The Seattle Times is reporting today that a federal judge has ruled in favor of Davis, who filed a lawsuit against the city in 2008, "saying the city's failure to provide applicants with a deadline for obtaining a license violates the First Amendment protections of would-be club owners."  It remains to be seen whether or not the city will owe Davis any damages related to the loss of his potential business.

The...

Free trees available for your neighborhood through Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

Tree Fund celebrates 15 years of planting 20,000 trees

July 8, 2010 (SEATTLE, WA)— Community members can get free trees for their neighborhood through the Tree Fund, a program of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. It is an easy way for residents to beautify their neighborhood and help the environment, while connecting with their neighbors.

Groups of neighbors from at least five households living on a street or block can request from 10 to 40 trees per project. In addition, every participating household can have a fruit tree for their own yard. Information on how to organize your neighborhood, the selections of trees, as well as the application form, can be found at www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/treefund.htm . Deadline for applications is August 16.

This is the 15th year that Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is providing free trees through the Neighborhood Matching Fund&...

The Green Bean Coffeehouse, which was destroyed by arson last October, will be reopening this Friday morning at 7 a.m. in their new space at 8533 Greenwood Avenue.   

And it isn't taking long for various groups to host creative events in this coffeehouse and community space.  On Sunday, July 18, Artocratic, an online magazine, will be putting on the Food-As-Art Party:  

The Food-As-Art Party is in a few days, on Sunday July 18th.

We're starting on the early side because it's the end of the weekend. Try to get there between 5:30 and 6:00 so we can display all the creations before we dig into them. Sometime around 7-ish we'll start our Food-For-Thought Open mic. Anything you want to perform -- a poem, a song, a very short essay -- original or not -- is welcome!

We hope you are inspired, not intimidated, by this invitation to gustatory creativity! Bring anything that can be eaten, and call it art! If it's just not possible for you to bring something, we will enjoy your company in any...

SeattleCrime.com is reporting that a man was beaten into near-fatal condition outside an Aurora motel last night:

Police say a man was so severely beaten following an argument over drugs outside an Aurora motel that his injuries "could result in permanent brain injury or possibly death." 

Just before 9:00pm last night, police were called to a bloody scene outside of a motel on 44th and Greenlake Way N.

Officers found a man on the ground with a "golf-ball sized bump" on his head and a "significant amount of blood coming from his mouth," laying next to a silver-multi tool and a pair of shoes, a police report says.

"I heard the sound of him gargling his own blood," Officer Adam Beatty wrote in his report. "I feared he might suffocate and gently rolled him onto his side."

A woman at the scene told police the victim had been in a fight with another man, who had run across Aurora, jumped over the median, and fled southbound

Police reviewed security tapes from the motel and identified a suspect, who...

Aurora already has at least one place open 24 hours - the legendary Beth's Cafe.  But it might soon have a number of early morning destinations - and they'd be serving more than a 12-egg omelet.  As the Seattle Times reported earlier this week (see below), Mayor Mike McGinn is proposing letting bars staying open all night, or at least later than the current 2 a.m. closing time. 

Chris Dalton, owner of Beth's Cafe and the neighboring Duck Island Ale House, told Aurora|Seattle that he has a "neutral" reaction to the news.  He added, "I don't see keeping the Duck open later and my guess would be more regulation on those bars that do close later.  As to Beth's, could be a positive in that we wouldn't get slammed all at once and may end up with more biz overall. We'll see..."

What are your reactions to the Mayor's proposal?  Will you be showing up at Beth's at 3 or 4 a.m. instead of 2?  Or is this a non-issue for Aurora?

Letting bars serve liquor later or even all night is one...

SeattleCrime.com is reporting on a police bust at the recently reopened "Dancing Bare" near 105th and Aurora:

City officials say the Dancing Bare, on 105th and Aurora, reopened sometime in May—staff at the Department of Executive Administration did not have an exact date—after shutting down for about five years.

The building on 105th and Aurora has been licensed as an adult club since at least 1987, and was in operation until 2005, when they allowed their license to lapse. Although the club's small stage went dark, the adjacent adult book and video store—which are connected—remained open.

Last year, the business—which operates under the name Carnieville—filed to re-up their license.

When staff from the Department of Executive Administration went to inspect the business in March, it was still in a state of disarray. "It wasn’t even swept up," says inspector Michelle Crooks.

The club managed to get cleaned up and got their license back, and reopened in...

There's a great article over at the Fremocentrist about the work the Aurora Traffic Safety Project is doing to make Aurora safer.

The article highlights some of the efforts of the project so far:

Billboards along Aurora warn about texting while driving, speed limit enforcement and the need to stop for pedestrians.  Curb bulbs, channelization and signal light changes, and crosswalks have been planned.  Stepped up enforcement efforts have resulted in over 9,500 traffic infractions being written since June 18, 2009.  The steps may appear small, but preliminary data collected from June to December of 2009 shows the collision rate has dropped 30%.

And includes some great quotes from a conversation with Jim Curtin from SDOT:

Ultimately, though, the answers lie in the people who travel on Aurora.  “The leading contributing cause,” Curtin explained after reading collision reports, “is inattention.”  Second major cause has been ‘failure to yield’.&...

The life of the truck at 90th and Aurora operating as "Cubano Loco" was short-lived.  It is now the "Chunky Monkey".  Check out their website and a note from the new owners below.  Welcome to the neighborhood Lauren and Gabriel!

A few weeks ago we posted a rumor about the possibility of someone looking to develop condos at the former 1/2 Price Pots property at 8101 Aurora Avenue.

We were totally wrong about the condo thing - and are totally happy about that - because someone is getting ready to buy the property for an entirely different purpose.

According to some neighbors who have spoken to the current property owner, a sale is pending for the property to a man from Yakima who intends to operate a Farmer's Market at the site!  The market will sell 7 days a week, all year long.  In addition to having his own stand and renting space to other farmers, he plans to use the site as a central hub, including refrigeration, to store fruits and vegetables that will be sold at other sites around Seattle.

The sale is expected to be complete by the end of July and the buyer hopes to open the Farmer's Market within 3 months.  No changes are planned to the buildings on site beyond adding refrigeration to one building.  Tests are currently... (more)

The Seattle Police Department invites you to a North Precinct picnic this Saturday:

Calling all North Precinct residents!  On Saturday, July 10th from 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM the North Precinct (10049 College Way North) will be hosting a picnic to celebrate community, give you a chance to meet your local officers, and even take a precinct tour.  There will be food, activities and entertainment- including many activities for children.  This is an annual free event hosted by the Seattle Police Foundation.

Don’t worry, if you cannot make this precinct picnic, there will be others held at the Southwest, South and West Precincts all through the summer.  We hope to see you there!  The next picnic at the precinct will be hosted by the Southwest Precinct on August 21st.  

Marc Phillips offered a perspective about prostitution on Aurora  yesterday over at the PI:

The motels along the stretch of Aurora in North Seattle are hotbeds of crime and prostitution that suck the attention of the Seattle Police Department in a time of dwindling resources and budget cuts. Could legalization of the world's oldest profession breathe new life into the neighborhood and provide a tax windfall for the City?

While neighborhood residents have diligently worked to clean up the area through block patrols and increased vigilance resulting in numerous arrests, the area is still plagued with criminal activity centering around several of the "motels" along the strip and the crimes their location and condition encourage. A year ago the City launched a clean-up campaign centering on five motels owned by Dean and Jill Inman which in April resulted in a settlementregarding the Wallingford Inn, Fremont Inn, Seattle Motor Inn, Italia Motel, and Isabella Motel. The Seattle Motor Inn, a...

I meant to post this on June 30...  Eighty years ago the Seattle City Council voted in favor of extending Aurora Avenue through Woodland Park.  The Seattle Times vociferously opposed the move, and expressed it in their headlines, such as, "Friends of Playfields Deceived in Aurora Act."

Here's an excerpt from and a link to the HistoryLink essay:

On June 30, 1930, by a vote of six to two, the Seattle City Council approves an ordinance extending Aurora Avenue through Woodland Park. The Council majority follows the advice of city and state highway engineers, supported by Mayor Frank E. Edwards, that the multi-lane Aurora "speedway" is needed to provide a direct approach from the George Washington Memorial (Aurora Avenue) Bridge then under construction to north Seattle and beyond. The council decision to bisect Woodland Park's 200-acre urban wilderness triggers outrage among park supporters and other speedway opponents. With the vociferous backing of The Seattle Times, opponents gather sufficient signatures...

Last week we reported that Paladar Cubano at 90th and Aurora closed... but, then, the truck was still there.  One of our neighbors followed up on the story and got the scoop.  Thanks, Joe!

We're reported on wild rides on the 358 before, as well as the statistics of violence on the line, the third busiest Metro route in King County.  But yesterday an attentive 358 passenger emailed us this image.

An appropriate "commentary" on the nature of the 358?

An bad "joke"?

What do you think?

Goodbye to the much-loved cuban sandwich truck that has been stationed at 90th and Aurora for a little over a year.  The Seattle Weekly is reporting today that Paladar Cubano closed on Wednesday.  No explanation was given for the closure.

Here's hoping a taco truck takes its place!

The Studies in Forgiveness event will be taking place along Aurora Avenue this Saturday:  

STUDIES IN FORGIVENESS | Aurora Avenue 3 July 2010

Time Location Artist or Event Map Code

*9AM INTERNATIONAL FOUNTAIN Preparing to Forgive 1

9:15 SEATTLE CENTER Aslı Omur-Dellinger 2

9:30 MCCAW HALL Kate Taylor Frew 3

10AM 5TH & MERCER Lyn Coffin (30 mins) 4 

*10:30 Caffé Vita 813 5th Av N Short Break 5

11AM ALOHA ST →ALOHA INN Sarah Miles (1 hour) 6

11:30 NE QA GREENBELT A K Mimi Allin (30 mins) 7

12PM HILLSIDE MOTEL 2451 Aurora Lainne Dexter 8

*12:30 AURORA BRIDGE Span Letter & Instruction Writing 9

1PM AURORA BRIDGE North Jean Hindle (30 mins) 10

2PM FREMONT TROLL Maureen Freehill (1 hour) 11

3PM 41ST→4128 Fremont Delilah Flynn (1 hour) 12

*4PM Paseo 4225 Fremont Av N Long Break 13

5PM THUNDERBIRD MOTEL→68th Lydia Swartz (1 hour) 14

6PM WOODLAND OVERPASS Betty Jo Costanzo (30m) 15

7PM BLUE STAR MEMORIAL Tribute to VD (15 mins) 16

*8PM CIRCLE GREENLAKE...

Opportunities to laugh in another language in your own town don’t happen every day.  Hosting a foreign exchange student doesn’t either, but we have a few students coming in the fall that are looking for host families.  Why not open your home to a high schooler from a different country and learn about their culture while sharing yours.  Host families are asked to provide a bed (shared room okay) and meals eaten with the family. Students have their own monthly spending money for all personal expenses, full health insurance, and good English skills. They mainly want to be a part of an American family while they are studying at  High School for the school year.  

We have students from Italy, China, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Ecuador, Belgium, Kuwait, Bolivia and more.

Email me at washingtonstudentexchange at gmail.com if you would like this experience.  

The Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon is back again this year.  Runners will be making there way up Aurora Avenue across the bridge up to 39th Street, so all lanes will be closed for much of the day on Saturday.

According to the Times, other lane closures include:

• All lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Aurora Avenue North between Diagonal Avenue South and 39th Street.

• First Avenue South from South Royal Brougham Way to South King Street.

• Highway 599 northbound onramp from Interurban Avenue South and South 133rd Street.

• Interstate 5 northbound onramps and offramps to and from Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

• Southbound lanes of Fourth Avenue South from Airport Way South to South Jackson Street.

For more event details, check out the Seattle Times article.

As previously reported, there are plans afoot to convert Cyndy's House of Pancakes to supportive housing for formerly homeless people. On June 9, Bill Hobson, Executive Director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), went to Cyndy's and spoke to a group of concerned neighborhood residents.

DESC is a leading advocate of the philosophy of "housing first." Many other homeless housing projects insist that residents be clean and sober before moving in. (This practice is often called "creaming," which refers to the tendency to focus on the most treatable homeless populations.) On the other hand, DESC believes that agencies get better results if they provide housing first and then focus on the other social services. This approach is understandably controversial, but there is some pretty good empirical evidence from the New England Journal of Medicine and elsewhere that the strategy is generally effective.

Hobson began the meeting with some brief comments that summarized DESC's mission and a discussion... (more)

A message from Über Tavern:

First things first: Happy Birthday...to us. Über Tavern turns 4 years old this Saturday, June 26th.

Why not join us for a little something special?

Flyers Cab Ride on tap. We will be offering 4oz pours for $2.50!

- Starts at noon when we open, as long as it lasts. There are only 3 pony kegs in existence -- this is one of them. You can find out more about the beer HERE If you don't know about Cab Ride, it is a very special barley wine made exclusively for Über. Wood-aged x2, booze-aged x2:

- American & French Oak

- Booker's Cask Strength Bourbon & Laphroiag 10 Year Single Malt Scotch

- Base beer is 10.5%, based loosely on J.W. Lee's Vintage Harvest Ale

- Final strength after bourbon/scotch aging unknown

IN OTHER NEWS: We will be closed Sunday July 4th. We'll all be at the SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL BEERFEST that day. You should come join us!

See you under the bar,

Your friends at Über Tavern

SCAN (Seattle Community Access Network), which is located at 1125 N. 98th St. (just off Aurora), is holding a Sidewalk Sale of used computers and video equipment this Saturday, June 26, 2010, from noon-2pm. All equipment is used, sold as-is, and will be very inexpensive. SCAN  is Seattle's public access television station, www.scantv.org. Please, no early birds on Saturday and no phone calls. Cash only for purchases. Hope you'll come check it out.

The Poetess at Green Lake, A. K. Mimi Allin, has informed Aurora|Seattle that the application deadline for the Studies in Forgiveness|Aurora Avenue art experiment on Saturday, July 3 has been extended one week:

We currently have 13 excellent artists on board for the July 3rd event. In deference to the mighty work of the artists involved with the Solstice Parade, which took place on the day of our initial deadline, I have moved the deadline back by one week to Saturday 26 June. We are still accepting applications form interested artists. Thanks!

Aurora|Seattle received confirmation today from Rod Swift of JSH Properties, Inc. that a lease agreement has been reached with the new tenant of the former Stupid Prices building at 7906 Aurora Avenue.  

Aaron's rental, a rent-to-own store with over 1700 locations in the U.S. and Canada, hopes to open its doors by August 1.  Aaron's has a number of stores in the greater Seattle area, with its nearest locations in Burien and Everett.

The Aaron's promise is "your total satisfaction by always providing the highest level of service, a large selection of name brand products and the guaranteed low price."

And, yes, they do intend to paint over the infamous yellow exterior of the building!

Also, file this in the "neighborhood rumors" category - there are whispers that someone may be preparing the former 1/2 Price Pots lot for a condo development. (more)

From SeattleCrime.com:

The city called off plans to evict residents of troubled Aurora motel earlier today after the motel's owners caught up on a massive overdue water bill.

Police and Department of Planning and Development officials had planned to serve eviction notices at the Italia Motel on 41st and Aurora noon at today, after the city shut off water at the motel earlier this week.

However, right at the deadline last night, the motel's motrgage owner paid a past-due $7,000 water bill—much cheaper than the $3,000 the owners would have had to pay each of the tenants if they'd been evicted. It's unclear how many tenants are staying at the Isabella. The motel's phone appears to be disconnected.

The city has been working to close the Italia and four other Aurora motels owned by the Dean and Jill Inman since last year. In April, the city won their case, and the Inmans agreed to close, lease to a non-profit group, or sell the Italia and nearby Isabella—which, according to the city, had become...

It is indeed literally true that Aurora has got Green Lake's back - or is Green Lake's back - since good old highway 99 runs along the west side of the lake...

But it's also true that Green Lake has got Aurora's back - or at least its great neighborhood blog, My Green Lake, does!  Our friends over their have covered two Aurora-related happenings in the last two days:

Taco Express Truck Comes to [Aurora]

Vehicle Crashes Into Light Pole on Aurora