March Happenings

Those who feel they haven’t already heard enough about the planned replacement of the SR-520 floating bridge will have two opportunities in March to get the word directly from the Washington State Department of Transportation.   On March 9 (1-3 pm) there will be a public meeting on the subject at the University District Tully’s (4700 University Way NE), and on March 14 (11 am-1 pm) another such meeting will be held at Seattle Central Community...

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Merchants rally to McGilvra’s cause in March

If you thought that the recent dustup between the McGilvra PTA and the Seattle School District would lead to a decline in parental support for the School, it appears you’d be wrong.   The PTA is, in fact, about to embark on one of its most ambitious fund-raising efforts to date: a month-long partnership with local businesses to raise both money for and awareness of our high-achieving neighborhood public school.  The PTA hopes to benefit...

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Do bloggers get vacations?

Winter Sunrise in the Methow Valley by Paul Butler (Methow Valley News)In the nearly two years that we’ve been producing the Madison Park Blogger, we’ve never taken a vacation from the blog—until last week, that is.   Though we considered making an announcement of our planned hiatus, we thought better of the idea when we reflected on the fact that a blog is very much like Facebook or any other social networking site.  In other words, it’s...

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The last spec house in Madison Park?

About 18 months ago we reported on the decline of speculative building in Madison Park, noting that several single-residence developers then active in our market, including Chaffee Homes and Blueline Developers, had decided to stop building new houses here.  Other developers were scaling down operations or just finishing off their properties then under construction.   This shift was a big change from the previous ten years or so, when...

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Police Blotter 2/16/11

Here’s a story hard to believe.  For the three-week period, January 24 through February 15, there were no crimes in the neighborhood, or at least none that was reported to the police.   That’s the official Seattle Police map, above, showing a dearth of criminal activity for the period since our last Police Blotter posting.   Usually there are plenty of little icons on the map, representing three or four car prowls, a couple of breaking-and-entering...

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About those property taxes

We understand from the County Assessor's Office that the 2011 property-tax bills went into the mail starting yesterday, so the homeowners among us are just about to officially receive the bad news.  The local press has done a surprisingly good job this year of preparing the public for what's to come; so if you've been paying attention you already know that in spite of our generally lower property values, you are still likely to be paying much...

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Maison Michel decamps

We had hardly completed our posting about the new Bob Marley photo exhibit at antique store Maison Michel when we got word that the store had, in fact, closed its doors earlier in the week.  Maison Michel thus joins a lengthening list of departing Madison Park businesses.  The store had seen its share of troubles, experiencing a burglary during the summer of 2009, and a hasty departure last spring from its previous location in the...

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Starbucks to experiment with wine and beer

When we reported last summer that our biggest neighborhood coffee purveyor was soon to be renovated, we said patrons should expect no significant changes to the menu as a result of the revamp.  We noted that although Starbucks had recently been experimenting with evening wine and beer sales at one of its Capitol Hill locations, the company had no intention of extending the experiment to Madison Park.  We had that on pretty good authority.Within...

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February Happenings

It’s time again for the Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum to open its doors and get ready to celebrate the beginning of spring (so we hope). The Garden, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year, will emerge from its winter hibernation this Sunday with a traditional Shinto “Blessing of the Garden” ceremony and other opening events, which begin at 11 am. The Japanese Garden (shown above) is located at 1075 Lake Washington Boulevard...

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KeyBank crashes the ‘hood

On Monday, KeyBank will open the fourth bank branch to grace Madison Park, and the first new one to arrive here in several decades. Those hoping that the space vacated last year by Ropa Bella would be filled by small retail shops (or even a neighborhood sushi joint) will just have to suck it up and deal with the fact that the Village is becoming a little more financial hub and a little less boutique row.As we reported when the deal was first announced,...

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McGilvra prepares to move on

If they were hoping to hear that the School District would relent and not dramatically increase enrollment at McGilvra, those attending last week’s PTA meeting were quickly disabused of any such notion. School Board member Harium Martin-Morris was on hand to deliver the word from on high: the contract between the School District and the McGilvra PTA will be terminated and the School should expect as many as 300 students to be enrolled there next...

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Starbucks manager moves on

After eight years with Starbucks, four of them as manager of the Madison Park store, Iaan Hughes hung up his green apron yesterday afternoon for the last time and bid at least a temporary goodbye to all of the many friends he's made during his tenure here. Although Iaan says he's not sure what the next thing is going to be, we understand he is not hurting for potential employment opportunities. Why is he leaving? "It was time," he told us, noting...

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McGilvra grapples with a new reality

As we reported last month, enrollment at Madison Park’s John J. McGilvra Elementary School will be increased dramatically in coming years as a result of a recent decision by the Seattle School District to end a decade-long agreement with McGilvra’s PTA. That agreement, which had limited class sizes in the School in order to improve and sustain the quality of the students’ educational experience, was covered by a formal contract which still has another...

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