Police Blotter 12/30/10

Very few crimes were reported in the neighborhood during the past three weeks. Although there were two car prowls and a case or two of graffiti, major criminal activity was limited to just one boat theft and two burglaries.The most notable burglary occurred at the Seattle Tennis Club on Friday, December 10. Early that evening, several STC members reported to staff that personal items of theirs had been stolen from the men’s locker room. One...

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November Real Estate Report

Madison Park hangs toughWe’ve seen a fair amount of gloomy commentary in recent weeks about the state of the Puget Sound real estate market. An email we received from Redfin earlier this month, for example, described sales volume in Seattle as “dead as a doornail” during November. That’s harsh, but not entirely inaccurate. The number of closed sales in November was down 32% from the same month a year ago, and in our part of town (Capitol Hill...

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Washington Park Playfield project wins out

. .As we reported in April, Madison Park was one of several contiguous neighborhoods that jointly won the CleanScapes 2010 Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards competition. The Thursday pick-up area, which includes Madison Park, had the greatest reduction in non-recycled waste during the competition period. As a result, Madison Park and the other winning neighborhoods were each asked to submit proposals for a neighborhood project to be funded by...

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Christmas ships arrive with perfect timing

The rain had stopped only minutes before, and the breeze had calmed. The sky was dark and the air crisp. Indeed, conditions were perfect for reflecting the lights and resonating the sounds of the arriving flotilla of Christmas ships as they made their way into Madison Park waters late yesterday afternoon.The beach crowd of several hundred, mostly decked out in rain gear and toting umbrellas, had lucked out. The boat display was joyous and colorful...

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Tolls coming to a bridge near you

For several months, the State’s Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has wanted us to do a posting about tolling on 520. We’ve resisted until now because there’s already been a lot of press on the subject and we’ve had plenty of other issues to cover here at Madison Park Blogger. But the new tolling will directly impact almost all of us here in the Park, and we’re getting close to the day when we’ll have to start paying up. So we thought it would...

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Madison Park in the media

Seattle Magazine’s Best of 2010 issue, out last month, apparently gives the nod to only one business with Madison Park connections, Hopscotch Tees. It’s a small, year-old personalized clothing creator and retailer, the brainchild of Madison Park resident Shana Perrina. Hopscotch focuses on customized t-shirts for both children and adults.Although not technically located in Madison Park, Madison Valley’s Luc is cited as a Madison Park restaurant...

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Short takes No. 11

The case of the vanishing swingsThe big swing set in the play area of Madison Park was suddenly missing its swings last week, though the cause was not immediately evident. On Wednesday, however, an explanation was provided by the parks department, which reported that it had removed the swings due to safety concerns.It seems that during a routine safety check, an inspector detected that the swing set’s top rail, which is twelve feet high, tends to...

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Madison Park Blogger builds readership in India

This is the city of Madurai in the teeming state of Tamil Nadu, Southern India (or at least we assume it’s teeming). Tamil Nadu is one of several Indian locales—Uttar Pradesh being another—that a savvy new crop of Madison Park Blogger readers (and commentators) call home. In a minute we’ll get to how our blog achieved this surprising (if unlooked for) market penetration on the Subcontinent. First, however, a few words about our success closer to...

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Police Blotter 12/5/10

Madison Park is becoming one tough neighborhood. Or, to be more precise, it’s certainly getting rough and tumble if you’re an on-street solicitor trying to work the Park. First came this summer’s incident involving the panhandler (and former Real Change newspaper vendor) who was beaten up for “begging” in the neighborhood. Now comes a report that a Real Change vendor was assaulted in front of Bert’s last month.In that incident, which occurred on...

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How the election played out in Madison Park

For the most part, the posting of political yard signs in Madison Park, other than in support of the occasional school levy, is something that is just not done. So it was noteworthy during this last election cycle that a fair number of “No State Income Tax” signs suddenly sprouted up around the neighborhood. We noticed that a “Defeat 1098” sign was prominently placed in front of Broadmoor by somebody on one day, only to be unceremoniously yanked...

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The newest thing in the neighborhood

Opens tonightWhen we wandered by the place this afternoon, they were cooking away madly, getting ready for Madison Park Conservatory’s opening at 5:30 this evening. Chef Cormac Mahoney admitted to being both excited and stressed, hardly surprising given the logistical requirements of getting a new restaurant properly launched.Judging by the turnout for Saturday’s open house, there’s certainly a lot of buzz surrounding the Park’s newest eating establishment....

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Lowballing in an unsettled market

By Bryan TagasHome sellers—and many real estate agents—hate to even hear the term lowball offer, let alone be the recipient of one. But there’s anecdotal evidence that as buyers have tried to gain an advantage from the dysfunctional nature of the residential real estate market, lowballing has been on the rise.There are no statistics that confirm this trend, if it exists. That’s because there is no uniform definition of what a lowball offer is. One...

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Early snow 2010

National news coverage of the snow in Seattle last week included commentary by several weather experts predicting that our early snowfall could be a sign that the region is in for a cold and snowly winter. We’re a bit skeptical of weather predictions, for good reason, but it’s certainly better to be prepared for another snowstorm than to assume we’re only permitted one per season.It's certainly true that early snow planning by our Community Council...

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October Real Estate Report

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s just not over. The decline in activity in the local real estate market, that is. The October numbers released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for our area of town show sales, pending sales, and median sales values all down for the month, compared to October a year ago. And 2009 was hardly considered a good year in the local market.For MLS’s Statistical Area 390 (which includes Madison...

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Madison Park Conservatory ready to make music

Open house on SaturdayBy Bryan TagasBefore we get to the blah blah blah portion of this posting, let’s go directly to the reveal: Madison Park Conservatory, the latest culinary incarnation to inhabit the onetime Sostanza space, is going to have its soft opening on Tuesday; and in advance of that, the neighborhood is invited to tour the refurbished digs and meet the new restaurant’s team at an open house to be held this Saturday, November 27, from...

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