Some Seattle streets will be closed to car traffic in August and September, as part of a city initiative to encourage more bike and pedestrian traffic.

In Capitol Hill, both 14th Ave. E., and the Volunteer Park Western Loop will see closures. The city will shut down traffic on 14th Ave. between Volunteer Park and Republican St. for the Peace Concert in the Park on Sun., Aug. 24 from 12-6. The park loop will be closed on weekends- i.e. Saturdays and Sundays- from 9-5 from Aug. 9-Sept. 27; additionally, it will be closed on Mondays from 9-7 from Aug. 4-Sept. 29. I’ve heard rumors that some of the reasoning for this is to help cut down on the not-so-subtle prostitution that happens at Volunteer Park, but then again, it seems unlikely since they’re only closing it until 5 or 7 p.m. depending on the day of the week. (see more at Capitol Hill Seattle)

Additionally, Rainier Ave. S. will see a closure on Aug. 31st from 3-6 between Orcas and Alaska streets. (More on this from the Rainier Valley Post) According to several sites, the mayor is hoping that this will increase foot traffic to local businesses, and create a street-party atmosphere in Seattle neighborhoods (#) like Rainier Valley.

Of course, Alki Ave. in West Seattle will be closed from 12-6 on Sun., Sept. 7. West Seattle Blog reports that Car-Free Day in Alki won’t be entirely car-free- a lane will be left open for the Water Taxi, as well as local residents (hear that, CeRo?)

And, in addition to the Volunteer Parks street closures, the Parks Department will be closing off roads in several other Seattle parks, including the Seward Park Upper Loop Road (Thursdays from 10-9, Aug. 7-Sept. 25, and weekends from 9-6 from Aug. 9-Sept. 27) and Lake Washington Boulevard (Thursdays from 10-4, Aug. 7-Sept. 25, and weekends from 9-6 Aug. 9-Sept. 27). Lake Washington Boulevard will also see Bicycle Sunday on Aug. 31.

By the way- one commenter also left us a note that Critical Mass rides take place the last Friday of the month, and leave at 5:30 from Westlake Center. A smaller group leaves from Red Square in the U-District to meet up with the folks at Westlake.

So, if we haven’t confused you enough regarding street closures and bike traffic, you may want to check out the Seattle Times article, the Seattle Parks Department’s site or the City of Seattle’s site about street closures for more detailed information. Enjoy your walking and riding!

flyer by lele, via our group pool [#]

• I’m sure that Omaha had a music scene before Conor Oberst, but most of us didn’t know about it. Since he became indie-famous for being a prolific and wonderfully angst-filled teen, he’s gone on to become almost mainstream-famous as his albums, mostly released with a rotating cast of bandmates as Bright Eyes, grew deeper, more intricately orchestrated, and wider in scope. People compare him to Bob Dylan and name him the songwriter of 2008 [rollingstone] and it doesn’t sound completely insane. While all of this might sound painfully overwrought, it’s actually incredibly enjoyable and Oberst is a consistently entertaining performer. Now touring in support of a project that is also himself and a band of friends playing slightly rootsier songs recoreded in Mexico, Conor Oberst and the Mystic River Band will be playing a free in-store show tonight at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne followed by one at Neumo. Catch him in one of these venues, since his tours typically alternate between big and small showrooms. With DCI, 8pm, $25. [neumos]
• Former Murder City Devil, current Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death leader and antique seller Spencer Moody is playing a night of Vaselines cover songs for one night only. What else could you possibly need to know? Free, small donation recommended. [mcleodresidence]

photo via rocky votolato [myspace]

Rocky Votolato is on his way back home to Seattle for a little break between touring the west coast and spending time with the better-informed audiences of Europe. The former Waxwing frontman and current member of the Barsuk roster is playing a show with Owen (perhaps the softest loveliest pillowtop Kinsella-brother spin-offs) on Friday night. Thanks to our pals at Neumo’s, you might be able to soak up an evening of songwriters making quieter departures from their more aggressive pasts.

Send an e-mail to seattle.metblogs at gmail.com and you’ll be entered to win a pair of tickets. I’ll pick a winner by the end of the day; entries with fascinating trivia included might have a higher chance of being selected.

Don’t want to try your luck? Advance tickets are $13, 8pm. With Nazca Lines. [neumos]

This is truly the best place in the world to live. We have mountains. We have rivers. We have camping, hiking, bicycling, and beaches. This weekend I went rafting for the first time, off in the far reaches of Washington State on the White Salmon River.

I love water like nothing else. We arrived at Husum Falls in time to watch plenty of rafters heading over this class IV waterfall. We traveled 5 miles upriver to BZ Corner to the launch. From there, a series of class III and class IV rapids keep riders on their toes, with space in between to admire the beautiful scenery.

Nearing the falls, our guide (who is also incidentally my sister’s new boss) had us practice maneuvers until he felt satisfied that we could handle it. Approaching the falls, the first thing I noticed was the crowd of spectators on the bridge and banks lining the river watching the carnage. Paddling furiously up the falls, Mike yelled “Down!”, we grabbed the rope, wedged ourselves between the seats, and took a deep breath.

It feels like 30 seconds go by before the water closes in over your head. The water seems to have a mind of its own, grabbing at you, trying to pull you out of the boat. A gallon of water is forced up the sinuses and you can’t tell which way is up. All in all, it only took 6 seconds from the top of the falls until the raft pops back out of the water, at least according to the video I saw afterward. We made it clean through this time, coming out of the water in time to hear the cheering of the crowd.

We ran the route a second time, though we weren’t as successful with the falls this time around. We missed the correct alignment by just a few feet, but it was enough to flip the raft. Luckily, we had someone running safety and he tossed us a line. Even experiencing the carnage firsthand, I loved every minute of it. If you haven’t been before, there are plenty of more-local places to go. Suggestions for a really great section of river? Let me know in the comments.

robin pecknold, of fleet foxes, at the capitol hill block party.

• Fleet Foxes, who drew an enormous crowd to their afternoon set at the Block Party including messes of kids in trees, inspire bromances in Portland. I’m not the only one in love with Carrie Brownstein’s NPR ‘blog, right? [monitormix]
• Even “hipster bravers” showed up for FF, but they soon left for fancy food offsite. [chtriangle]
• Lineout readers have chosen their favorite photo and it is Jaguar Love. [lineout]
• They may not be the Sonics anymore (see what happens when you click www.nba.com/sonics), but they’re taking Squatch with them. [citizenrain]
• Oh, and a reminder that we’re still on the lookout for a few new writers. [seattle.metblogs]

Have you always wanted to attend an opera but were afraid to buy a ticket for fear you wouldn’t really like it? Opera isn’t really considered popular music in America and a lot of people who might like it are intimidated by the thought of going to see a show with they’re unfamiliar, especially since a common conception of opera-goers is that they’re an elitist bunch who aren’t going to be friendly to newcomers. Wednesday afternoon, July 30, the Ballard Branch of the Seattle Public Library will be hosting Seattle Opera Guild’s Theodore Duncan as he presents a preview of Verdi’s Aida, one of opera’s best loved classic works, coming soon to Seattle.

Can’t make the afternoon preview? Head to the North East branch in the evening for a repeat of the preview.

photo by smohundro via our group pool.

Those are some awesome clouds behind the Wallingford neighborhood’s identifying mark.

Thanks smohundro for dropping this into our group pool!

No matter what you think of Starbucks, it’s never good news when a company announces job cuts of around 1,000 people. In a letter to employees, CEO Howard Schultz announced the job cuts, which include about 550 layoffs (the rest will come from natural attrition). About 180 of those positions will be in the Seattle area both at the SODO headquarters and another regional office in the area. This is after February job cuts numbering 600 (220 through layoffs).

They are also closing a number of stores in Australia and laying off 685 workers there as well.

The full story is in the Seattle Times.

Now I personally don’t drinks Starbucks coffee. I don’t much like the taste and given the choice, I’m going to pick a fair or direct trade coffee bean that I know was roasted recently. I could even joke about the fact that there are some intersections downtown where even recently released Mariner (and now Yankee) Richie Sexon could hit a baseball from one store to another. All right, maybe Sexon couldn’t do it. Vidro?

However, not only do I hate to see anyone laid off, but there is one circumstance where I will patronize a Starbucks. When I travel, I often find myself without a car in an unfamiliar location, and while locating an independent coffee shop with fair trade coffee is incredibly easy in Seattle, it isn’t very easy in say, Orlando. Starbucks is predictable and dependable. I know when I walk into a Starbucks, that I can order my triple iced Americano and it will be pretty much the same triple iced Americano I’d get at any other Starbucks.

Hopefully Schultz knows what he’s doing. What do you think? Does he?

Edited to add: And in other Starbucks News, My Ballard has an interesting post on Starbucks’ acquisition of Clover. Apparently they are refusing to sell any more Clover machines to any independent coffee shop. This is one of those moves that prompts all of the Starbucks hate that runs rampant in this town. I have to admit, given how much I love my Clover coffee, this really frosts me as well.

kick ass fantastic photo by Cap’n Surly [flickr] from our group pool [#]

There were several reasons why we chose Alki Beach as the setting for our first apartment in Seattle, including:

1. Walkable market (of course it closed the day before we moved here)
2. Great bars (they’re okay)
3. Lots of food choices (we hardly ever eat here any more)
4. Great view (okay, that one is still valid)
5. Fun beach activities, including one Seattle Music Festival ostensibly held in August which hasn’t occurred since 2004.

Now that’s not to say there aren’t great things in West Seattle, because there are and we do like living over here. However, we are a little less starry-eyed about our chosen locale these days and a little more get-off-my-lawn-ish.

Anyway. About that music festival, I started to wonder if it was ever going to happen again and so I started to poke around. The non-profit behind the Seattle Music Festival, Northwest Program for the Arts’ (NPA) Web site claims they are still planning a 2008 festival:

The Next Seattle Music Fest will be held August 10, 11, and 12, 2008

but clearly that is not happening. That is, after all, next week. So, putting on my Nancy Drew hat, I called the phone numbers that were listed on the site, only to find out that both have been disconnected. How curious.

The Internet reveals that at some point NPA got completely sidetracked by raising money for the refurbishment of the Statue of Liberty on Alki [sl, wsh]. Funneling their fundraising efforts towards that project seems to have derailed at least a couple of years of the festival. However, last summer, the NPA’s part of the fundraising was finalized and the continued funding of the statue was taken over by a non-profit (Sealady.org) dedicated solely to that goal. Also around that same time – and the time the recast statue was replaced [wsb] – the head of NPA, Adam Sheridan, stepped down and was replaced by Ezra Graziano and Holly Santos. Since then, which was around September of 2007, there has been nothing. No updates, no news from NPA or any of our local papers.

What gives? Shall I call some meddling kids and have them find out if Old Man Wickles is keeping the beach fest-free? Who has the scoop?

photo by scarequotes [flickr]

Hang onto those reusable grocery bags. That 20-cents-per-bag fee was approved by City Council today, so guys like me who forget to bring their grocery bags with them to the store or market a lot are going to be contributing to the local civic revenue stream.

Meanwhile, for those with access to yard waste cans, the recyclers would really like you to be tossing your food scraps (vegetables, bread, pasta, eggshells, coffee grounds, but no meat, chicken, or dairy) and “food-soiled paper” in with the yard waste every week. (There’s been talk of requiring that, too, in the not too distant future.)

All very well, but how do you bag the stuff? Plastic bags won’t work.

Seattle Public Utilities hasn’t updated their web site in awhile, and they’re still claiming that biodegradable bags aren’t acceptable. Actually, that’s wrong. Cedar Grove, the composter, says you can use any of the bags from these manufacturers to bag up your food waste.

Then there’s the smell problem. For those who don’t want to haul every meal out to the yard waste bin, you might want to invest in a small kitchen bin with a lid to keep the odor down. You can buy a $30 model with a charcoal filter at Metropolitan Market, or something a lot cheaper. The coffee grounds will help to keep the smell down, too.

Hat tips to the P-I and LJ user maarten.