Oops!

Driver gets off trackIn fairness, it was a very rainy afternoon yesterday, with lower visibility than usual. Also, part of the roadway was missing. For the driver of this vehicle, reportedly an elderly woman (though she disputes the description), the combination of unusual factors was unfortunate. This was the scene in front of Broadmoor at about 5 pm, after the car entered the construction zone.  The driver was apparently unharmed, though perhaps...

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Art Walk: Year 4

Bronze casting by Richard RhodesArtists and their fans celebrated the start of Madison Park's Art Walk 2013, Friday, with a reception at Starbucks and an evening of leisurely paced art viewing. More than 40 artists, most from Madison Park and surrounding neighborhoods, are participating in Art Walk this year, with their art on display in 33 neighborhood shops, offices, and restaurants through October 6.Art by Barbara Noonan at The Guest HouseThis...

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August police blotter

There were three residential burglaries, two stolen cars, three car prowls, and one case of shoplifting reported in Madison Park during August.A brazen forced-entry burglary occurred on August 7 at a home on the 1400 block of 37th Avenue E. The homeowners reported that the perpetrator(s) had kicked in their front door, gained entry to the house, and stole an Xbox video game console, MacBook laptop, and a Wacom interactive pen display. The victims...

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The Crepe Myrtles dazzle

Late summer is the time of year when Madison Park's Crepe Myrtles are at their showiest.  The lush-blooming trees, which line the final block of E. Madison Street, get a lot of commentary from visitors to the neighborhood, and workers in the business district's shops and restaurants are often asked, "What kind of trees are those?" Lagerstroemia (the tree's horticultural name) is a native of tropical and subtropical Asia and Oceania. On a sunny...

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Renting Madison Park

As we reported earlier this year, Madison Park has a surprisingly high proportion of rental properties, fully 42% of the total housing units in the neighborhood.  This statistic comes from the most recent U.S. Census, which unfortunately does not provide any breakout showing the various proportions of houses, condos, and apartments that make up this rental inventory. So we decided to do some research on the kinds of rentals that are available...

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Russian consular residence draws a crowd

Anti-Putin rally gets a lot of drivers honkingIt's unusual for protesters to invade the neighborhood, but on those rare occasions when it happens, it's always one of the national-bank branches or the "Russian Consulate" that's the target. Today it was the Russians turn again.The protest was part of the "Global Speak Out for Russia" campaign which is designed to focus attention on Russian President Vladimir Putin's anti-gay legislation, which recently...

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September events

Art Walk returnsThis will be the fourth year for the Madison Park Art Walk, which begins with a public reception at Starbucks at 6 pm on Friday, September 13.  More than 30 "Madison Park artists" are expected to exhibit this year, with art on the walls of various neighborhood shops and restaurants through October 6.  This year there will be a kid's day art walk, an awards program, an art history lecture and art seminars as part...

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Keeping up

Bar Cantinetta enters the sceneThe pre-opening party for Madison Valley's newest restaurant was packed on Thursday evening, perhaps demonstrating the neighborhood's pent-up interest in having a Tuscan-style eatery close to home. We noticed a fair number of Madison Parkers among the crowd.  Described for some reason as a "boozier version of Cantinetta" by food blog Seattle Eater, Bar Canintetta is intended to be both a good neighborhood...

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A plea for safer crossings

Several dozen concerned members of the community turned out yesterday morning for a "vigil" to focus attention on the need to make our streets safer for everyone who uses them, whether pedestrian, biker, or vehicle driver. The catalyst for the event was the recent pedestrian/cyclist accident in the crosswalk at E. Madison near McGilvra Boulevard, which left one man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. It was noted during the vigil that the...

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And speaking of safer crossings...

AfterRedesigned intersection open in time for schoolIt only took construction crews two weeks to reconfigure the north side of the intersection of 37th Avenue E. and E. Madison Street.  The new and much improved meeting of the roads began receiving vehicular traffic on Friday.The redesign was prompted by an accident at that location two years ago, when a boy on his way to school at McGilvra Elementary was struck by a car. The driver said that...

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