Last year, the block of buildings on Eastlake that housed Hines Public Market, Porta, and Bandoleone was emptied out and fenced off. As a neighborhood, we were pretty irritated–we don’t have many restaurant options over here, and even fewer decent coffee choices. (Pouring salt in that particular wound, Tonx has recently informed us that Hines won’t ever be coming back. They’re moving to Vancouver. I’m the saddest girl in Eastlake.)

So. They closed down our restaurants in September, put up a fence, and then did nothing. The building has sat there for months, being empty and a sad reminder that it used to be full of great things and will eventually probably be turned into condos and fancy retail spaces.

Today, I was on my way down to Louisa’s for my weekly French lesson–where they really do know my order by heart, and miss me when I’m gone–and I noticed that the fence has been extended to the street and the trees condemned. It also looks like doors and windows have been removed and debris piled around the holes. I can only assume that this means the construction is coming, and that by the end of the year my favorite bar will be full of button-down-shirt wearing condo owners every night, not just on the weekends.

I know that things have to change in my neighborhood, to gentrify, but I don’t have to like it.

As you probably know, Seattle’s Only ____, the Stranger fills its V-Day issue with little lovenotes submitted by readers. When the big day comes around, don’t look stupid when your crush looks through the paper for your message only to find nothing. Sure, you can fake it by searching through the ads [mb] to find meaning in Valentines for others, by others, but why spectate? The deadline for submission is 3 February [stranger].

So. You still have time to come up with something meaningful or clever, but time is running short to nominate Seattle’s Sexiest people for the same issue. This year when you’re sending the editors your thoughts about Seattle’s finest bartenders, baristas, and polar bears, don’t forget about the webloggers you want to win. Sure, the Washington Post proclaimed that “hottie bloggers” are on their way out to make room for “hottie economists” [#], but on a good hair day, in the right light, and after a couple of drinks there are plenty of weblog geeks that can hold their own against economist nerds. Nominate your favorite Seattle Metroblogger by e-mailing sexiest@thestranger.com by Wednesday at 5 pm. Time is running short so hurry up!

It’s another week of Grey’s Anatomy [abc], now with more Golden Globe winning Sandra Oh!

This week is short on Seattle skyscapes, but is full of little local shout outs, some more misguided than others. There are way too many things going on: a fingerless guitar player stars in an afterschool special, George meets a flirty old lady who bolsters his Irish confidence, labor politics ensue, Bailey is forced to face the reality of the infant growing in her uterus, Alex gets an envelope, Japanese competitive eaters descend upon Seattle, Isabel and George stand their ground over the out of control dog situation, Sandra Oh and Meredith engage in a bit of deception. That’s because the episode theme today is LIES. Hammer anyone?

After the jump, the full report on the latest at Seattle Grace.
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First, you’re admitted into the Smith Tower by the doorman. If you pass inspection, the security guy masquerading as an elevator operator opens the elevator’s sliding glass door and gate and closes it behind you. You watch 34 floors whisk by you in a rush, before the elevator slides to a stop.

Then, you climb two flights of stairs to the 37th floor. You’re now in the Smith Tower penthouse, the only private residence in the entire building.
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Even though I was curmudgeonly the other day about people swarming the city with Seahawks mania, I certainly don’t mind other people enjoying themselves. I understand the camaraderie, the mass mentality of being in a bar with others who are all rooting with you, the chance to lose oneself in a larger cause. I understand because I’m a baseball fan. This twelfth-man mania might not make much sense to me, but when the Mariners are in the World Series, you’ll hear me whooping from here.

Tonight, I did hear people whooping from here. I knew the game was going on, but I wasn’t aware of the score. Late in the evening, I was on the phone with a friend, when I heard screaming. High-pitched, warbling screaming. Repeatedly. Now, I live at the top of Queen Anne, so this doesn’t happen often. Alarmed, I looked out the window to see what crime was being committed. When I didn’t see anything, I wondered if the neighbors downstairs were having a nasty fight. Then, I noticed the repeated screaming seemed to be male, and it was joined by three or four other voices, all exulting, and perhaps a little drunk.

Then I understood. The Seahawks must have won. And they did.

i’ve never seen Seattle act like this, especially on the top of Queen Anne. Wonders never cease.

Go team?

The famous retired jersey.

Well I’ll be damned – I honestly didn’t think the ‘hawks had it in them. And I can tell the game just ended (34-14) – I don’t think I’ve ever heard Seattle so loud, with cheering, and honking, and general glee. Hot damn, you guys… the 12th man indeed.

Congratulations!

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of crushed dreams and missed opportunities. Alas, Washington’s 2007 state quarter-dollar will not feature George Washington on both obverse and reverse sides. The design candidates have been narrowed down to the final three, none of which embraced the possibility of a two-headed coin.

From the thousand plus submissions [mb], three options survived: one completely boring quarter by committee, another that’s slightly better than mediocre, and another that’s too quirky to survive the final judgement by the governor, who apparently has the final say in the matter of how the rest of the country will come to view our fair state on their laundry money. The Post-Intelligencer is running a non-scientific online poll to get a sense of public support for each design [#].

While your vote may not be completely meaningless, now is the time to draft a letter to the Governor Gregoire [wa.gov] to stop the awful design¹ before it’s too late.

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1. In case you can’t tell, the “awful design” is the one with the state outline covered with clip art. It could be made worse only by including the “apple maggot quarantine zone” sign among the state icons.

The owners of the two 13 Coins restaurants in Seattle have sold them to an investment group. [Times] Their first order of business? Remodeling the South Lake Union location to freshen up its look. Both locations will remain open.

13 Coins was a landmark in Seattle culinary history, bringing a 24/7 gourmet restuarant into a town where your only decent late night meal option was Dick’s. It’s hard to believe that a mere twenty years ago Seattle was not a restaurant town, especially when you consider the variety of quality nosh you can get just in Belltown.

Okay, I’ll admit it, just on the eve of The Big Game: I really can’t stand football.

Watch it all you want. Have all your parties on Sunday. Talk about it on every bus ride and in every grocery store line and on nearly every radio station. But please don’t ask me to participate.

I know that I’m only protracting the Seattle stereotype of bookish sorts who stay at home in the rain and watch a dvd from Scarecrow. But seriously, I’m a little frightened by how much the Seahawks are dominating everything. The annoucement board at the lunchroom of the school where I teach contained an intricately drawn logo in blue and green, and then: Go Seahawks!” Right next to the announcement that we were eating turkey sandwiches today.

And truly, I had no idea what the big 12 flag was on the top of the Space Needle until someone explained it to me this morning. Honestly, I thought it was some sort of televangelist flyer for awhile.

Okay, I’m being a curmudgeon. But please. Could we have another conversation?

The Olive Way corridor of Capitol Hill always in some weird state of flux. Over the past few months, there was an antiques market exodus, Coffee Messiah just closed, and Sal’s Barbershop (where I never had occasion to get faded, yo.) is in hibernation pending a new location. On the other hand, there are still signs of life: Pretty Parlour opened, Dinette took over the Local Cafe space, and King of the Hill Hillcrest Market appears to be rising from the ashes of last year’s [2004] fire.

Another good note is that the hidden-away Crawl Space Gallery continues to be unconventional with artist-run exhibitions. Tonight marks a re-opening of the gallery after a December facelift hiatus. In addition to the fancy new drywalls, they’ll be celebrating with an opening reception for the latest installation of transforming sculptures from Shawn Landis:

. . . By furnishing the gallery as a home living space, and enshrouding it in nylon fabric, the artist utilizes industrial fans and vacuums to allow and refuse viewers access to the rooms. Viewers are able to lounge in the living spaces during deflation and are gently forced to exit the rooms as inflation begins.

Get “fooled” and “un-fooled” starting on Saturday with an opening party at 6 pm. Expect general merriment, seeing and being seen, et c. until at least 9 pm; the installation itself will stick around until 12 February.

(via the new local/global lifestyle/blog, the Brain Tru$t [#])