Two women were robbed at gunpoint while walking near Seattle Center last week. Just after 2 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31, two women were reportedly walking to their car, in the 2700 block of 4th Ave, where they had turned from Cedar Street, when one of two suspects walking behind them moved in front of them and demanded they give him their money, according to the police report.
At first the two victims didn’t believe the suspects were actually robbing them, the report states, asking “Are you serious?” At this point the second suspect responded “Yes, give me your money. He has a gun,” and the first suspect displayed a handgun. Both women then gave their purses to the suspects, who ran off to the north toward Seattle Center.
The victims immediately left the area and called police. Neither victim were able to describe the first suspect in much detail. The second suspect was described as a “light skin male” wearing a dark hoody. SPD officers conducted an area check with little success. Officers checked the block for potential security cameras – none appeared at surrounding apartment buildings, and those from the Fisher Interactive Network building across the street appeared to have a blocked view.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is hosting an open house on the Mercer West Project from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8 at Seattle Center’s Rainier Room, located within the Northwest Rooms Plaza.
At the meeting representatives from SDOT will discuss the preliminary designs for the project, including information on the underpass at Aurora Ave and the two-way conversion of Roy and Mercer streets between 5th Ave N and Queen Anne Ave N. SDOT will also present recommendations for West Mercer Place and West Mercer Street, based on evaluation of the alternatives and input from stakeholders.
The SDOT project team will be availableto solicit ideas from the public and answer questions attendees may have about current preliminary design concepts for the following:
A wider Mercer Underpass at Aurora Avenue North;
Converting Mercer and Roy Streets from one‐way to two‐way operation;
And improving intersections, street connections and bike access.
From SDOT:
The Mercer West Project would complete the City’s vision for a direct, two‐way connection between I‐5 and Elliott Avenue West, continuing where the Mercer East Project leaves off. The proposed improvements include:
Widening Mercer between Dexter Avenue N and Fifth Avenue N, including the underpass at Aurora to provide three lanes in each direction, left‐turn lanes, wider sidewalks, and a bicycle path;
Converting Mercer Street to two‐way operation with two lanes in each direction and turn pockets between Fifth Avenue N and Queen Anne Avenue N;
Converting Roy Street to a two‐way street with one lane in each direction and bicycle lanes between Fifth Avenue N and Queen Anne Avenue N;
Creating a new Sixth Avenue N connection between Mercer and Harrison Streets; and;
Closing Broad Street to re‐connect the street grid between Ninth Ave N and Fifth Ave N.
The Gates Foundation‘s new Lower Queen Anne campus opened to the public on Saturday, welcoming the community to the headquarters of one of the world’s largest charitable organizations.
The $500 million, 12-acre site across from the Seattle Center was designed to resemble arms reaching out to “the world’s most vulnerable people.” The organization has spent more than $24.8 billion on different causes throughout the world, with most of that spent on global health initiatives, according to the Gates Foundation Website.
A private party celebrating the opening of the three-year construction project was held on the evening of June 2, with Bill and Melinda Gates in attendance.
The foundation’s staff was spread out in five leased buildings throughout the South Lake Union area, but they’ve been moving into the new campus since early May. About 1,200 people are currently working at the center.
It’s Memorial Day weekend, which for many Seattleites is synonymous with the city’s annual Northwest Folklife Festival, now in full swing at Seattle Center.
The festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, chose to have a Bulgarian theme for the 2011 festival, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find all of your favorite cultural, ethnic, musical and artistic events, alongside a few new ones. One of the elements new to the festival this year is the “Indie Roots” stage, which according to The Seattle Times, intends to highlight “kinship between traditional folk music and Seattle’s burgeoning “neo-folk” indie movement”.
Also new to the festival this year: a Living Green Courtyard, located in the Alki Court on the northeast corner of Seattle Center. For more information watch the following news clip about the garden:
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday. Check out The Seattle Times lineup preview here. The full festival schedule can be found at the Folklife festival website here.
Parking is always packed around the festival, so it’s recommended to carpool or take public transportation when possible. Metro will be offering cash-only shuttle service to and from the festival on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Other routes will operate on holiday schedules on Sunday and Monday. More information on the Folklife shuttle here.
In advance of construction time SDOT is inviting the public to learn more about the project, including information on traffic detours and area impacts throughout the construction period, from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, May 26 in the Elliott Bay Room of Homewood Suites, located at 206 Western Ave W, near the overpass site. From SDOT:
SDOT project staff will be available to explain design and construction details, and answer questions. There will not be a formal presentation, so participants may show up any time between 5 and 7 p.m. Complimentary parking underneath the Homewood Suites building is available by checking in at the front desk and obtaining a key card to enter the secure parking garage.
When the overpass is completed it will provide access over the very busy Elliott Ave W and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad tracks to Myrtle Edwards Park. It will also serve as a connection for bicyclists, part of a future Lake Bay Loop – a planned bicycle route that will run between South Lake Union, Seattle Center and the existing bicycle trail in Myrtle Edwards Park.
The project, part of the Walk, Bike, Ride initiative and funded by the Park Levy I and II, grant funds from the Puget Sound Regional Council and King County, and private donations, is estimated to cost a total of $10 million.
City officials may soon be cracking down on prostitution activities in the stretch of land just east of Seattle Center – the area known as “The Track” along Mercer between 5th Ave N, Lenora, and Westlake, which has become a prime target for gang activity and recruitment into prostitution, according to a report by SeattleCrime.
Documents from the City Attorney’s Office, obtained by SeattleCrime, indicate that officials are interested in creating a new Stay Out of Area of Prostitution (S.O.A.P.) zone in the area. From SeattleCrime:
The S.O.A.P. zones allow courts to require people charged with prostitution to stay out of high-prostitution areas–primarily around downtown–while they await trial or following their release from jail.
The city already has seven S.O.A.P. zones set up around town. According to the report, officials would remove the zone around E Pine to Pike from 10th Ave to 9th Ave., and create a new zone around The Track, where several gang members involved in pimping young women were arrested last year.
Staff from the City Attorney’s Office are scheduled to appear in front of a judge to ask for the S.O.A.P. zone expansion on Friday. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. You can read the full story at SeattleCrime.
Just after midnight on Saturday, May 14 a 15-year-old girl was stabbed outside the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, according to the Seattle Police Department. A crowd of some 200 people had gathered at the Center for an all city dance, during which police witnessed several disturbances. From the SPD Blotter:
As officers were attempting to disperse the crowd, they were advised of a stabbing incident that occurred inside the large crowd. A juvenile female reportedly got into a fight with another female, who subsequently stabbed her in the abdomen.
Officers were able to locate the victim and call in the Seattle Fire Department, who transported her to Harborview Medical Center where she underwent surgery, according to the report.
The Seattle Police Department also located the knife they believe was used in the attack and submitted it into evidence. No suspects were taken into custody, but SPD detectives say they are currently investigating several leads.
May 21st is Seattle Works Day, in which 1,500 volunteers will be participating in 32 different service projects throughout Seattle from noon to 3:30 p.m. That’s 5,000 hours of service in a single day, organized by the nonprofit Seattle Works.
The volunteers converge at Seattle Center immediately following the projects for an after party hosted by Seattle Works following the service projects. Last year 81% of participants said that they were inspired to do more in the community as a result of Seattle Works Day.
Seattle Works is still accepting teams and individual volunteers – please visit www.seattleworks.org or contact Kathleen Weber (206-324-0808 or kathleen@seattleworks.org) to learn how to get involved!
The exhibit is slated to be built just west of the Space Needle on the site of the Fun Forest pavilion. The plan calls for a glass atrium of about 5,600 square feet to be constructed on the east side of the pavilion, according to the DPD decision. The building will also be renovated to add about 3,350 square feet of floor area for retail and lobby space, and about 250 square feet for an entry vestibule. In addition, a garden and walkways will be constructed in the exhibit’s accompanying outdoor spaces.
The application was approved on the condition that construction activities other than that taking place within enclosed floors will be limited to non-holiday weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to reduce the noise impact of construction on nearby properties.
Any appeals of this decision must be received by the Hearing Examiner no later than May 19. For instructions on how to appeal a land use decision, visit this DPD web page.
Great City Attractions, a British company that operates observation wheels in Asia and Europe and had planned to transport, construct and operate the wheel at Seattle Center has met trouble securing liability insurance for the ride, according to a report by The Seattle Times. This would have been the first wheel the company constructed in the United States. From the Times:
“We’re still talking with Great City, but we’re looking into other options as well,” Dauost said. The Center’s master plan calls for an iconic ride to replace the carnival rides and arcade games that operated at the site.
According to the report, Seattle Center representatives became concerned over Great City’s difficulties in securing arrangements for the wheel over the past couple of month when the company asked to push back the opening from April to July, and later told officials that the wheel would meet further delays due to the royal wedding in London.
Seattle Center officials were hoping to bring the giant observation wheel to the campus as a tribute to the carnival spirit of the original World’s Fair, with a futuristic design that looked to the years ahead for the campus and the city surrounding it. The ride, which was supposed to run through October 2012, was projected to attract half a million visitors per year.
But even if the Seattle Center cancels its plans to bring an observation wheel to the campus, the city may be getting one soon in a different iconic location – Pier 57 owner Hal Griffith is currently in the midst of getting the necessary permits to bring a similar Ferris wheel to the city’s waterfront, according to the Times report. Read the full story here.
See ratings and reviews of
Two women were robbed at gunpoint while walking near Seattle Center last week. Just after 2 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31, two women were reportedly walking to their car, in the 2700 block of 4th Ave, where they had turned from Cedar Street, when one of two suspects walking behind them moved in front of them and demanded they give him their money, according to the police report.
May 21st is 
