The countdown to Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual Labor Day music festival, has officially begun. In anticipation of festival weekend, organizers will be revealing one artist signed on to perform at Bumbershoot every day through May, culminating with the final lineup announcement on June 1.

Bumbershoot is unveiling a new artist every day on its Facebook page. The first two artists to be announced this month are Wiz Khalifa (No. 3 on Rolling Stone’s Hot List in January 2011), and Hall & Oates (No. 99 on VH1′s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time).

For more information on the Bumbershoot, or to follow updates on the festival as it nears, check out the Bumbershoot website.

The Aurora Traffic Safety Project just keeps on making updates to Aurora Ave N in an attempt to improve safety through low cost engineering, enforcement, and educational efforts.

Starting today, SDOT will begin adding radar signs to Aurora at various locations. The Halladay Street exit from Aurora northbound Aurora will be the first to get a sign as they get rolled out one by one.

Other northbound radar sign spots include Prospect St, N 39th St, and at W Green Lake Way N. Meanwhile, southbound traffic will see these signs go up at N 48th St and near the Dexter Ave exit. These signs, according to SDOT, have been shown to reduce speeds by an average of three to five miles per hour.

Also coming soon will be reflective pavement markers between the dashed lane lines on the Green Lake curves of Aurora Ave. These lane markers are intended to reduce the number of vehicle versus jersey barrier collisions that occur in this stretch of Aurora by providing drivers with additional guidance through these curves.

More projects are coming soon to Aurora. Stay tuned to the SDOT Blog for more information, or, for a sneak preview, check out the Action Plan on our website: www.seattle.gov/aurora.

The third annual etsyRAIN Spring Handmade Craft Show is happening this Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Intiman Theatre, located at 201 Mercer Street. The event, which will showcase over 60 artists and their handcrafted creations, is happening just in time for Mother’s Day, but there will be crafty gifts appropriate for all kinds of occasions.

“There’s a tremendous national movement toward supporting “Made in the USA” merchants, and an equally voracious appetite, particularly in our region, for locally-grown produce through Farmer’s Markets or home delivery. Supporting local (and in many cases green) applies equally well to the local artisans who present their handmade crafts at art shows around town this summer,” writes local artisan Heidi Kappes Belinksy. “It doesn’t get much more local than the thousands of crafters who toil over their handmade clothing, jewelry, pottery, art and furniture than members of the national Etsy community.”

The first 50 people to get through the doors on Saturday will take away a swag bag filled with crafted gifts. See the full list of vendors who will be at the show here. Read more about the craft show here and here.

Beginning today and for the next six weeks 11th Avenue W between W Nickerson Street and W Ewing Street will go down to one northbound lane so that a contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) may relocate a water line needed before the construction on the final segment of the Ship Canal Trail begins.

From SDOT:

The change along this one block section of 11th Avenue W is necessary for safety reasons, while the roadway is temporarily narrowed. Local access will be allowed.

In March BNSF removed a set of railroad tracks in preparation for this utility relocation.  SDOT’s contractor will now install a new water line and complete earthwork for railroad track relocation.  The contractor will also remove the asphalt driveway, maintaining access with a gravel surface that will be adjusted throughout construction.  Following installation of the water main, BNSF will reinstall mainline tracks closer to the existing spur track.

For more information on the Ship Canal Trail construction project, see SDOT’s project website.

From the SPD Blotter:

On 4/30/11, at approximately 1:20 a.m., officers responded to the 2000 block of Westlake Ave N. for a shots fired call.  When they arrived there was a large disturbance in the parking lot.

Officers were ascertaining what was happening when they heard more shots.  A male was seen running from the area.  After the situation was under control, officers found a pistol (a reported stolen) and shell casings at the scene.

At approximately 2:10 a.m., officers were informed that an uncooperative gunshot victim had arrived at Harborview Medical Center (HMC).  Gang detectives went there to interview the “victim”.  The “victim” was the subject seen running away from the scene of the earlier shots call, he had a gunshot wound to his right thigh.

The angle of the GSW wound appeared as though the subject shot himself either when pulling out his gun or “re-holstering” it in his waistband.  The gun was handled for DNA.  The 22-year-old male was left at HMC for treatment.  Gang detectives will be conducting the follow-up.

There were no other reports of injured victims or property damage.