Snippets from the food & drink scene

Deli: moving from "too weird" to "family friendly" ?The rumor was circulating earlier this month that Park Place Deli was up for sale, a story that seemed all too likely. Over the past few months we'd been getting reports of strange and inappropriate behavior by the deli's staff, which apparently included their yelling at each other and sometimes at the customers.  In fact the atmosphere in the place had apparently deteriorated to the point...

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The new floating bridge gets real

If the building of those giant pontoons in Grays Harbor didn't make us take notice, and if the the recent though belated imposition of tolls on the 520 floating bridge didn't wake us up to the fact, then this week's announcement from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) should bring the reality of the situation into sharp focus for us all: the building of a new floating bridge across Lake Washington is soon to begin. And...

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There's a new vet in town

Teri Byrd sells her practiceWithout fanfare or even a public announcement of the fact, ownership of Madison Park Veterinary Hospital changed hands on Tuesday morning and Dr. Barry Katz, having just arrived on the scene from Atlanta, took charge. The clinic's four-year owner, Dr. Teri Byrd, apparently decided to sell her practice in February but did not want that fact generally known. We understand that she didn't tell many people of the...

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Eagles return to Broadmoor

When Eddie, one of Broadmoor's breeding pair of bald eagles, died in a tragic mishap on the floating bridge last summer, it was unknown whether his mate would return to the nest that they had shared for many years. She definitely did disappear from the scene, but there was good reason to hope for her return.  In cases such as these, we were told, it is typical for the female to leave the area in order to search for a new mate.  If...

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One dangerous intersection

This is the intersection of E. Madison Street and 37th Avenue E., located adjacent to the southeast corner of Broadmoor's enclosing wall.  It was at this intersection that on a rainless morning last September a student riding his bicycle to McGilvra Elementary was hit by a car and seriously injured.  Police reportedly determined that the driver of the vehicle was not at fault since the driver, when stopped at the stop sign facing south...

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Happy Birthday, President Madison

It's a tradition for us to take note each year of the anniversary of the birth of our Fourth President, James Madison, for whom---at least indirectly---Madison Park was named.  As we've previously detailed, we might just as easily now be living in Monroe Park, but Madison Park it is and presumably shall always be.This date marks the 261st birthday for President Madison, and 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of his second election as president...

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February Police Blotter

An unusual month for assaultsIt's not typical for Madison Park to be the venue for multiple incidents of assault during any given month, but there were no fewer than four assaults in the neighborhood during February.  The first incident was a bar fight on the night of February 1 on the 4300 block of E. Madison St.  Property was damaged in the fight and the assailant was identified.  The police have referred the incident to the City...

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Arrivederci Ropa Bella

Though the big sale sign hanging below the awning doesn't hint at the fact, a much smaller sign in the shop window confirms a sad truth: in very modest-sized type are the words "Ropa Bella is closing."  All furniture and fixtures, mannequins included, are for sale.  So the end is near for the long-running women's clothing shop that has struggled over the past couple of years to find its place.A Madison Park mainstay for over two decades,...

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Emergency floating bridge repairs necessary

Work to begin Friday on corroded cable, plus there's a scheduled bridge closure this weekendAn important underwater cable which connects to the westernmost pontoon on the south side of the SR 520 floating bridge was discovered to be severely damaged today, necessitating emergency repair work which will begin early tomorrow morning.  Divers who conducted a routine inspection of the bridge found that corrosion and stress had caused a connecting...

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One tough neighborhood?

Another business foldsWord on the street last week was that Spa del Lago had closed up shop, so we decided to check the story out (that's generally a good plan of action before reporting rumors).  The Spa's website, however, is still up and functioning, with no notice of any closing. The voice message on the Spa's phone line, meanwhile, does not mention that the place is out of business. So we concluded we'd better head down there and get to...

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What's new at McGivlra?

It's been some time since we last covered what's going on at our by-many-beloved neighborhood elementary school, John J. McGilvra. Our last coverage, in fact, was in December when we reported that McGilvra had again been given the highest quality-education rating by the School District. It was just about this time last year, however, that we reported something that was quite controversial: the fact that the District had reneged on its ten-year-old...

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