Just a quick note to let the blog readers know that some Seattle Bubble regulars have put together an “unofficial” south end Seattle Bubble Sunday morning, (March 15th) at 11:00 AM at the Columbia City Bakery (4865 Rainier Avenue South).
Hit the forums for more details. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, due to prior commitments at church.
Angie » Mar 13, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Thanks Tim!
Jordo » Mar 13, 2009 at 11:47 pm
RE: Angie @ 1 –
Good to know you got your priorities straight (with church and all)!
Jesus bless and thanks for the blog.
You are my other daily read!
Ray Pepper » Mar 14, 2009 at 12:20 am
Thanks for the timely notice! I’m still recovering from the last one……………
Tejas » Mar 15, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hummmm……March 15th?
Beware the Ides of March? Perhaps apropos for the housing market. “The Ides have come….but not yet gone.”
Angie » Mar 15, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Hey, we had great turnout (about 8 if I counted right) and terrific conversation! Thanks all who turned out.
We had a little walking tour of the main drag of Columbia City and I drove three attendees around for a while, checking out N. Beacon Hill, Mount Baker, and Columbia City.
Fun times were had by I all, I hope. I sure enjoyed meeting you all.
Eli had a suggestion that summer meetups could involve walking tours of various neighborhoods around the city. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Angie » Mar 15, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Hey, and Dave, looks like that bookstore you were wondering about is an African-American-focused bookstore. Doesn’t look like it’s necessarily Islamic in any way, shape, or form.
Wish I’d known this was grand opening weekend, we could have all gone in there and checked ‘em out. My kids and I will have to get over there soon.
David Losh » Mar 15, 2009 at 4:07 pm
RE: Angie @ 6 –
Is Islam a problem?
The neighborhood needs a Mosque and it should also have a Center for Islamic Studies.
In time my hope is that those things will come.
The great thing about the area is the influx of immigrants. That is what makes America great.
Ira Sacharoff » Mar 15, 2009 at 6:38 pm
David Losh asked: “Is Islam a problem?
The neighborhood needs a Mosque”
Islam is not a problem, but I think Medina needs a Mosque too.
David Losh » Mar 15, 2009 at 8:02 pm
RE: Ira Sacharoff @ 8 –
You’re missing the refugee center at Rainier Vista.
Many Muslims are among the refugess brought to this country. A part of the Rainier Vista project was the Refugee Center. That’s a part of the deal of the redevelopment of the area.
Had we walked another couple of blocks we would have been in an Ethiopian section. Ethiopia has been at war with Eritrea and Somalia. Refugees from all three countries are brought here, some Muslim, some Christian. We have churches, but few mosques.
Ira sacharoff » Mar 15, 2009 at 8:11 pm
RE: David Losh @ 9 –
There is a mosque on 39th avenue S at Juneau, between Rainier and Martin Luther King.
Angie » Mar 15, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Nothing wrong with it at all–as I recall we were talking about it when we were discussing the Halal restaurant and the assumption seemed to arise that it was a Muslim bookstore, which appears to be incorrect.
David Losh » Mar 16, 2009 at 9:05 am
RE: Angie @ 6 – RE: Ira Sacharoff @ 8 – RE: Ira sacharoff @ 10 – RE: Angie @ 11 –
How about Buddhist temples, how many in the area?
A good Muslim walks to the mosque, and Halal is the process of butchering meat according to custom.
Many people worked very hard to have diversity in Columbia City. Unfortunately speculators, and investors drove up the price of property to make it less affordable for those people new to this country.
That two block retail core is a prime example of store fronts that went up in rent. In time some equilibrium should return to the area.
truthtold » Mar 18, 2009 at 9:16 am
Crazy talk.
Columbia City was an undervalued neighborhood due to racism and redlining…
speculators and investors were natural influx in an undervalued neighborhood.
“Many-people-working-hard-for-diversity” is just gas…. sounds like a mayor’s
office, realtor crap, or thinly-veiled good/insipid goodness.
Square foot price was low and brought us running…and I guess you could say
that we were many-people-working-hard-for-di-ver-si-ty. Sounds nice, anyway.
blahblahblahblahblahblahblah. Historic apartheid disgrace made for an investment
opportunity. Period.
So what’s next, Hillman City?
Ira sacharoff » Mar 18, 2009 at 10:02 am
“So what’s next, Hillman City? ”
Skyway.
Not right away, but Skyway. Somewhat akin to Columbia City in the late 70’s, it’s getting the attention from citizens and elected officials that is necessary for transformation.