Support Olympia Newswire

Real Change has formed an editorial partnership with the start-up journalism project Olympia Newswire to cover critical stories during this year’s state legislative session.

The project aims to cover stories that wouldn’t be otherwise told: of the challenges to public education, to a sustainable tax system, to social programs on income and health care.

If you would like to support this project stop by B&O Espresso on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and make a donation to the project. Get more event information here.

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CD Forum presenting "Ruptured Calypso" at Erickson Theatre

The Central District Forum is presenting the West Coast premiere of Cynthia Oliver's Rigidigidim De Bamba De: Ruptured Calypso on February 19-20 at the Erickson Theatre Off Broadway, located at 1524 Harvard Avenue.

The dance event, co-commissioned by the CD Forum, is a full night of calypso dancing as the dancers cross cultural, geographical and imaginary boundaries.  The performance also features the performers havigating their regional styles with the voices, stories and dances.

There will also be Q&A sessions with Oliver and her dancers after each performance.  Oliver will also conduct a technique class, incluenced by Afro-Caribbean and Africanist aesthetics, on February 20 from 10-12. 

The hottest new music is on hold

Seattle gave the world Muzak, but we’ve come a long way, baby. No longer will you hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or even Kenny G when your call to the City of Seattle is put on hold.

The city’s arts and IT departments have replaced snooze-inducing tunes with sounds from local artists like Kristen Ward and Pearl Django through a new program called OnHold.

A recent random listen yielded no head-banging, but the new, unfamiliar music definitely helped pass the time.

You don’t have to hold the line to hear it; you can download a podcast anytime.

The playlist rotates quarterly—almost enough to make you tell Pandora to put a lid on it.

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Because you never know....

Get prepared by joining the Capitol Hill Preparedness People! The group is hosting a Neighborhood emergency preparedness planning meeting on Feb. 11, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Office Nomads, 1617 Boylston Ave.

The meeting agenda includes:

  • Introductions
  • Complete the State of Washington "Map Your Neighborhood" exercise
  • Begin forming neighborhood response teams
  • Collectively determine topic for next meeting

Every household will leave feeling empowered, and get to take home their completed "Map Your Neighborhood" reference flip chart.

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"Jacked Camera Benefit"--because crackheads steal from nice people

A special benefit is planned for Saturday, February 6 at the Canoe Social Club at 7th and Jackson in the International District.

The event, which will include performances by headliners The Kindness Kind as well as The Braxmatics and Jose Bold featuring John Osebold and Kirk Anderson of Awsome, is to benefit local photographer Victoria Lahti, who had over $9000 of professional equipment stolen on New Year’s Day from a Capitol Hill location.

She is an up-and-coming photographer, having worked with City Arts Magazine, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Sound Magazine, Seattle Magazine, New Century Theatre Company, Seattle Shakespeare, Book-It Repertory Theatre, ACT, Seattle Rep, Seattle Childrens Theatre and many other local companies.

In addition to music, there will a raffle and a silent auction. The raffle will have products and gift certificates donated by local companies and the auction will be for works donated by local artists.

The concert and auction event is open to all ages with a $10 cover.

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Man sued over photos of public art on Seattle streets

Public art in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood is at the center of a legal copyright fight.

The Dance Steps on Broadway consists of eight different stations, each of which features its own dance step and its how-to.

Mike Hipple took photos of those steps, and he's now being sued for the photos that earned him $60.

"A large majority of the images were out of focus," Hipple said. "And you can see some of the dance steps, I think, maybe there were a handful of them (photos)."

Out of focus or not, Jack Mackie, the man who sculpted the Dance Steps of Broadway sued Hipple, claiming the photographer side-stepped his copyright.

"my agency, at that point, told me that they had complied with his wishes and had destroyed the images. There was no copies (sic) available," Hipple said.

But that hasn't stopped Mackie's lawsuit, even though many consider the Dance Steps as a part of the quirky vibe of Capitol Hill.

"You walk over'em all the time. You see people participating in the dance steps all the time. People are taking pictures of the people participating in the dance steps all the time," said area resident Kevin McDonald.

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Check out Mudhoney for FREE!

This Monday, Feb. 8, Neumos is hosting a free show with local music legends Mudhoney!

Just order a Ranger IPA at Moe Bar and you'll get a ticket to get in early.

Show is 21+ and doors are at 9 p.m. Support from Sleepy Sun.

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Is crime up on the Hill?

Seattle University's student publication The Spectator is reporting that crime is up on its campus and around Capitol Hill. Here is their article on the issue:

Both Public Safety and the Seattle Police Department reported an increase in crime on and around the Seattle University campus for 2009.

According to Public Safety case logs, criminal offenses—ranging from malicious mischief to burglary and assault—were up 22 percent on campus in 2009. Public Safety reported 802 incidents in 2009 as compared with 674 incidents in 2008. The offense with the greatest increase in incidents was auto prowl, increasing 46 percent from the previous year.

Twenty-two percent fewer narcotics offenses were reported in 2009 and noncriminal incidents (which include accidents, false alarms and medical assists) decreased by 8 percent.

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A peek at your local speakeasy

The prohibition of alcohol in the U.S. lasted for 14 years, from 1919 to 1933, but that didn’t stop people from drinking! Those truly devoted to the art of imbibing took up in “speakeasies”—night clubs that bootlegged and sold alcohol illegally in an act of opposition against prohibition.

While alcohol is legal today, the speakeasy continues to exist in modern times, albeit in a less authentic and more gimmicky fashion.

At Seattle University’s campus paper The Spectator, reporters delved into the whimsical world of speakeasies on and near Capitol Hill.

Here is what they discovered:  

Tavern Law - 1406 12th Ave.

Tavern Law is a dizzyingly angular watering hole. Walking in from 12th Avenue is like falling into the middle of a packed dining room. There’s a bar-like nook to the right of the entrance, a communal table shoved behind an awning on the left, a slightly more spacious “dining” area down a curving walkway, and a half-oval bar smack dab in the center of the locale’s main room.

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Seattle Using Radar to Save the Trees

You've seen these roots outside Holy Names... Seattle is using radar to help save trees and protect roots - the same radar used to find survivors in the the Haiti rubble... check it out tonight.