Stories

Put on an orange vest and join your neighbors to make Greenwood look fantastic!  After a summer of festivals and fun it's now time to clean-up the litter.  Join Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) for its 38th neighborhood cleanup.  Meet your neighbors  Saturday, September 11th at the new Green Bean Coffeehouse, 8533 Greenwood Ave (the old McDonalds)!  The Green Bean has generously offered free coffee and pastries 9:30-10:00am.  After coffee and treats then we'll head out for the cleanup 10:00-11:30am.  We'll clean roughly 80th to 90th Streets, Aurora to 3rd Ave NW.  But you can clean wherever you think needs it the most!  Meet at the picnic tables outside the Green Bean.  We bring all the equipment and the city takes care of the free disposal of garbage.  This is a family-friendly activity.  Come join us!  For more information, contact Cindy Potter, gaingroup@gmail.com. 

Hey folks,

Plan for northbound travel delays this Sunday on State Route 99 approaching the Aurora Bridge in Seattle.

On Sunday, Aug. 22, crews working for WSDOT will close two of three northbound lanes on SR 99 across the Aurora Bridge from 6 a.m. to midnight. This is the second of four straight Sunday closures on the bridge. Crews are removing and replacing more than 1000 rivets for the construction of a fence to deter suicides on the bridge. 

Travelers should expect congestion and delays approaching the bridge. Drivers can help keep traffic moving by

• Using I-5 to travel north.
• Riding the bus or carpooling.
• Reducing, postponing or combining trips.
• Using northbound SR 99 early in the morning or late at night when traffic is typically lighter.
• Checking traffic conditions before getting in your car.  Check SR 99 traffic at web5.seattle.gov/travelers and I-5 traffic at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle, and tune into radio traffic reports.

You can expect these closures on the final two weekends:

Sunday, Aug.... (more)

Opportunities to laugh in another language in your own town don’t happen every day.  Hosting a foreign exchange student doesn’t either, but we have a few students coming in the fall that are looking for host families.  Why not open your home to a high schooler from a different country and learn about their culture while sharing yours.  Host families are asked to provide a bed (shared room okay) and meals eaten with the family. Students have their own monthly spending money for all personal expenses, full health insurance, and good English skills. They mainly want to be a part of an American family while they are studying at  High School for the school year.  

We have students from Italy, China, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Ecuador, Belgium, Kuwait, Bolivia and more.

Email me at washingtonstudentexchange at gmail.com if you would like this experience.  

Three types of summer camp at Magnuson Park at Sandpoint

Come enjoy all that traditional day camp has to offer with the YMCA! We have weekly themes which will include games, crafts, activities, and field trips and more!

Whatever your sporting interest, come to Magnuson to learn, practice, and enjoy a week full of activities!  Basketball, Soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee are just a few of the themed weeks we offer - come check it out!

Specialty Camp is unlike any other camp!  Your kids will have the oppotrunity to go scuba diving, cycle with Cascade Bike Club, cook with PCC, and much more!

June 28

Vist ysummer.org for more information! Or e-mail me at ushagaga@seattleymca.org

Around 70 people gathered last night to see the unveiling of north Seattle's latest mural.  The artists, Zach Bohnenkamp, John Osgood and Kevin Sullivan from Seattle Mural Art, worked with the community to come up with a general design and then let their artist juices flow.  The result was a beautiful 6 panel work which is displayed in a currently unoccupied commercial spot at 7615 Aurora Ave.  The project was supported by local organizations G.A.I.N. (Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors) and Sustainable Green Lake as well as by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.  THANKS! 

This project mimics a similar and quite successful program in the neighborhood of Columbia City.  The hope is that this, and upcoming similar projects, will help Seattle embrace Aurora as a thriving place for businesses and better welcome the local community to walk, bike and shop along the avenue.



CALL TO ARTISTS- 46TH ST. MURAL PROJECT:

A mural to bridge the Fremont and Wallingford communities in Seattle, to bring a positive visual message to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists traveling under Highway 99 (Aurora Ave.) at N. 46th St.

Our goal is to oversee the creation of a mural as a positive expression of our community and to bring people together from the local neighborhoods in the process.

The selected artist(s) will coordinate execution of their design with Urban Artworks (www.urbanartworks.org) who will serve as project manager. Urban Artworks will execute the actual painting of the mural. We are looking solely for a design from the artist.

LOCATION: North side of underpass at N. 46th St. at Aurora Avenue North–Hwy. 99–in Seattle, WA 98103

SITE: A long wall divided in to 3 sections that taper on both east and west ends– mural design also to include 9 columns that stand in front of the mural wall.

Dimensions–approx. 4500 sq. ft. total (see attached pictures + diagram):

West section: approx.1000 sq.... (more)

DeShawn "Cash Money" Clark, a gang member from West Seattle who trafficked women on Aurora Ave N, has been convicted of 6 out of 9 charges and will face 13 1/2 to 18 yrs in prison.  Aurora|Seattle highlighted the Seattle Times article on 10/22/09, see the latest updates below.

DeShawn "Cash Money" Clark, a 19-year-old pimp, has the dubious distinction of being the first person in the state to be convicted at trial of human trafficking. A King County jury of four women and eight men Tuesday found Clark guilty of six charges, but acquitted him of three others.

Clark was found guilty of second-degree human trafficking, first-degree promoting prostitution, two counts of commercial sex abuse of a minor, unlawful imprisonment and conspiracy to promote prostitution.

He was found not guilty of a second count of second-degree human trafficking, as well as charges of second-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

...

See more at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2... (more)

The Seattle Times shed some light on the otherwise protected and dark work of pimps in Seattle through convicted felon Mycah Johnson.  Mycah, testifying against 19 yr old ganster DeShawn "Cash Money" Clark, describes how they profile girls, psychologically warp their minds and sell them a dream... which in the end is simply prositution. 

To get a girl to prostitute herself, a pimp must first "sell her a dream" by confessing his love and promising her a future.

But of course, he doesn't really mean it, said Mycah Johnson, a convicted pimp and admitted gang member who Wednesday testified in King County Superior Court against the man he says taught him how to pimp out young girls.

"Most girls are insecure," said Johnson, the 20th witness to testify against DeShawn "Cash Money" Clark, 19, an alleged member of the West Side Street Mobb who is on trial on charges that include promoting prostitution, human trafficking and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

"Do you look for girls who are insecure?" asked...

On Friday, September 18th, people all across the nation will take to the streets to turn car spaces into people spaces. In Seattle, Feet First is leading the charge by making it relatively cheap and easy to get street use and meter permits.  On Capitol Hill, People's Parking Lot (a.k.a. the Keith Harris Conspiracy) and the Capitol Hill Community Council have stepped up to make Park(ing) Day 2009 even better. 

People's Parking Lot and the Capitol Hill Community Council are hosting the first ever Park(ing) Day Seattle Prize.  A group of local journalists (is Aurora/Seattle interested?), unemployed artists, and other disreputable neighborhood-types will be recruited to the judging caravan, which will wind its way throughout Seattle in search of the finest park to grace a parking spot. The winner will receive a super-secret fabulous trophy and an equally fabulous prize.  The awards ceremony will take place at 6pm at Park(ing) Day Central Park on 500 E Pine.

Are you tempted by the visions... (more)

From today's PI: http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/174710.asp

Why are there so many motels on Aurora Avenue?

Driving down Aurora Avenue, it's impossible not to notice the motels.

For decades the north-south artery has been packed with cheap places to spend the night, some more reputable than others.

But what made Aurora Seattle's motel strip?

This question has a history, and Leonard Garfield of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry has the answer in our fourth installment of Ask MOHAI:

A proprietor of the Green Lake Motel on Aurora Avenue walks through the parking lot of the vacated building after the state Department of Health suspended its license in 2008. (Andy Rogers/Seattlepi.com file)

If a street could get an award for most motels, it would likely go to Aurora Avenue. Why? From at least 1913, Aurora Avenue was the major north-south arterial through Seattle for travelers en route north to Canada and south to California. In the 1920s, roadhouses and inns for weary car travelers became... (more)

Hi there,

I've taken pics of a bunch of Aurora motels...I still have to post a lot of them, but here is what I have so far.  Hopefully they'll help out the site a bit.  Feel free to use them, just give me credit. :)  http://www.flickr.com/photos/bh88keys/sets/72157603867005483/

Brian

www.flickr.com/photos/bh88keys