White Center Now: The blog about White Center

As I write this post, the venerable Chicago Tribune and the Lost Angeles Times teeter on bankruptcy.  The New York Times Company (NYT) plans to borrow up to $225M against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building to ease a potential cash flow squeeze. The NYT company has over $1B in debt. Both Seattle papers, The Seattle Times and the Post-Intelligencer, are announcing that the “dead tree edition” will be smaller in size, and presumably in content.  All of the foregoing papers, and many others, have already made painful cuts to their staffs and likely will continue to make further cuts.  Despite these losses, the online versions of all of these newspapers are enjoying more views than ever.  There is no shortage of people wanting to read the news, it just so happens that online traditional media have not found a business model that monetizes these online eyeballs.

I for one, read far more newspapers now than I ever did when you had to buy your newspaper in print form.  Paradoxical.  I leave it to others to put forth the reasons and why-fors of this financial crisis in traditional media.  But one thing I would add, traditional media have been very slow to adapt to changing technologies.  As early as the mid-90s anyone with any sense knew that the future lay online.  Yet it took well over a decade for most newspapers to recognize the need for an online presence.  Even then, they still failed to fully comprehend the trends in social media and the net.  The irony is that you can read the NY Times technology section to catch up on web trends and wonder if the editor is also reading the same section.  I suspect that there is a means vs. substance disconnect in journalists, especially the old school types.   Whatever it is, they better catch one quick cause they are dying a slow and painful death.

Big Brother Big Sister is having their “Big Night Out” Today.  Full Tilt is donating 30% of the days till to them. So are a number of other businesses in the area. Follow the link below to find some place that interests you.

http://www.bbbs.org/site/lookup.asp?c=guLUJbMRKtH&b=4696831

Many of the businesses will have represententive from Big Brother on hand to answer any questions that you may have.

On December 2nd Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound are hosting Big Night Out, a fundraiser for the orginization taking place at area retailers, restaurants, bars, and bowling alleys. Full Tilt will be hosting an event that night for Big Brothers Big Sisters, but in the meantime they are looking for some local help.

Lamonte’ needs a big brother. If you can help, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound today at 877-700-BIGS or www.bbbsps.org.

“I want a Big Brother to hang out with, have fun, and learn how to play sports with.”

– 7 year old Lamonté

Lamonté is an outgoing, energetic 7 year old who lives in White Center with his mom. Because he does not have any siblings or a father figure in his life, Lamonté’s mom is looking to find a good role model for her son through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound. Lamonté loves sports, and he says that he is looking forward to learning how to play sports and going to sports games with his Big Brother. Lamonté is also interested in animals, computers, art, and music. When he signed up to become a Little Brother, Lamonté said, “I want to see how it feels to have a Big Brother.” Lamonté’s mom says that she knows it’s hard for her son to grow up without a dad or siblings, and she wants someone in his life that he can look up in addition to her. If you have a few hours on the weekends to hang out, play catch, or go to the zoo with a local child like Lamonté, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound today at 877-700-BIGS or www.bbbsps.org.

The White Center Community Development Association and Trusted Advocates will host the 2008 Community Summit this Saturday, November 8th at Mount View Elementary School.  The event starts at 8:00 am and ends at 3:00 p.m.  Please come and offer your input on the future of your community.   Mount View is located at 10811 12th Avenue SW.

This year’s community summit will gather families, government agencies and local community-based/non-profit organizations in a fun family-friendly environment.  Live cultural performances, ethnic foods, door prizes and children’s activities are just a taste of what the summit has to offer!

Come learn about the issues affecting your community and how you can be involved in a positive way.  There will be info booths and workshops on health, education, jobs, housing, annexation, immigration and more.  Translation services will be provided in Cambodian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Tigrinya, Somali, Amharic, Samoan, Arabic and English (other languages upon request).  Childcare will be provided.

For more info:  Ebony Davis: (206) 694-1082 ext.  168 – ebony@wccda.org or Ian Dapiaoen:  (206) 694-1082 ext. 175 or ian@wccda.org.

There is an interesting theory making the rounds in financial circles.  The thinking is that the more Starbucks locations a place has is correlated to the degree of financial distress.  The correlation is not with coffee, as countries with venerable coffee house traditions, Italy and Brazil, have not been hit as hard by the financial meltdown.  According to Daniel Gross, the author of the Starbucks theory:

My tentative theory: having a significant Starbucks’ presence is a pretty significant indicator of the degree of connectedness to the form of highly caffeinated, free-spending capitalism that got us into this mess. It’s also a sign of a culture’s willingness to abandon traditional norms and ways of doing business (virtually all the countries in which Starbucks has established beachheads have their own venerable coffeehouse traditions) in favor of fast-moving American ones. The fact that the company or its local licensee felt there was room for dozens of outlets where consumers would pony up lots of euros, liras and rials for expensive drinks, is also a pretty good indicator that excessive financial optimism had entered the bloodstream.

The theory has some appeal for independent coffee houses, such as Cafe Rozella.   Unlike Starbucks, you will find few independent coffee houses in the lobbies of financial skyscrapers.   But, there is an interesting backdrop to this theory and White Center.

Sometime back, while White Center struggled to right itself financially, a play was made to get Starbucks to open up a location in the heart of White Center.  In fact, the Walgreens Superstore at 16th and Roxbury contains the appended building designed to lure Starbucks to the neighborhood.   Starbucks corporate staff studied the area and decided that there simply weren’t enough greenbacks floating around to justify a store in the area.  We, at Cafe Rozella, only became aware of the Starbucks machinations after launching our coffee house.  Had Starbucks opened a corporate coffee house in the middle of White Center would it had speeded up gentrification?  Would it have driven up home values to unrealistic heights only to see them crash with the real estate bubble?  Certainly, it appears that White Center and its surrounding environs have mostly been spared the overvalued real estate crisis overtaking the rest of Seattle.  Perhaps we should be thankful that Starbucks took a pass on WC and drink a toast to Cafe Rozella.

(Picture is from New York Times website)

The New York Times Travel Section celebrates the quirkiness of Seattle’s Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods, in a piece entitled, “A Seattle That Won’t Blend In.” It probably goes without saying, that once the literati celebrate a place’s Bohemian character, the place is no longer Bohemian and likely has gentrified to the point of gentility.  True Seattlelites, as the late Emmett  Watson of lesser Seattle might have noted, know that one is more likely to find Adobe geeks, PCC yuppies and trophy wives getting botox shots in Fremont than they are to find witches, hippies and beats.   But so be eat.  Let the tourists have Fremont and Ballard.

At Cafe Rozella we like to riff on the old Fremont, by saying that White Center is the “new” Center of the Universe.  In some sense, we do carrry the torch of real quirkiness, as affordability, ample bars and coffee houses feed the artitistic temperament.   And as we well know, The New York Times is not going to be celebrating our charms anytime soon.  So on this night of witches, warlocks and saints, drink a toast to the White Center that IS before we toast to the White Center that WAS.  Cheers!

I just noticed a new salon opening up on Roxbury. Right now there is just a small sign in the store front, but I was able to track down the owner.

It’s Casanova, a full service salon for Men. Owner Neyirys says, “It is a full service shop for men manicure, pedicure, massage, hair cuts, braids, shaves, facials, shoe shining, all services exclusively for men. It will open mid-November and we will rent chairs and also hire.” It is near the corner of Roxbury and 16th, next to Pho 54 on Roxbury.

At this point they are still in the construction phase, but I will post pics as things progress. They have a limited website up at the moment. casanovallc.com

There may not have been a lot of vendors, but the ones that were there were great! And they’ll be back tomorrow. Check out my new work shoes, only $15!

Here are some pics from the Zapotec Weaving exhibit and sale at Cafe Rozella going on today.   Drop by – great rugs.  Wonderful cause:  direct to producer sale!

Looking at Oaxacan rugs

Click pic to play video

We got that video inside the old Southgate Skate Center in White Center around noontime Friday, where crews are working hard to get it ready for the debut of the White Center Swap Meet next Saturday-Sunday. They had planned to put up almost 100 stalls this weekend, but do note that staffer Mandel Medina told us sellers will need to bring their own tables. The stalls will be movable, workers say, to configure the fully renovated space (including restroom upgrades!) for other events. Swap Meet hours for starters are 1-7 pm Saturdays (starting 10/4), 10 am-4 pm Sundays (starting 10/5).

Ok, so I promised sometime back to do a rundown of all the great places where you can get a Vietnamese Sandwich, which, next to Ramen, is the poor student’s sustenance.  There are as many Vietnamese Sandwich shops, as there are Pho shops and Asian markets, in White Center – which is to say alot.  So, rather than run down the list, I will share my personal favorite.  For my money, the tastiest Vietnamese Sandwich is, without hesitation, served at Banh 88.  The meat is always excellent, the dressings are fresh and the bread is always toasty fresh.  Load up some Vietnamese garlic hot sauce and you have a piece of heaven for a mere $2.75.  My personal favorite is the barbeque pork sandwich but all the sandwiches, including chicken, beef and vegetarian fare are excellent.  Nikki, the amiable proprietor, is an excellent cook and demands nothing less of her staff.  I have never been disappointed with any meal from Banh 88.  

I must add that besides the Vietnamese Sandwiches, Banh 88 does a full array of great Vietnamese salads, curries and noodle dishes.  This is the place to go with a crowd of people and try everything on the menu.  The curry dishes are likely the best in Seattle.  You can find Banh 88 at 9418 Delridge Way SW (98106), phone 206.768.9767, it is located just south of where Delridge and 17th Ave. SW diverge.  Hours are 11 am to 8:00 p.m.

That said, I invite cognerati to comment on their favorite White Center Sandwich Shop.  

Just in. Someone stole the Village Green sign from the corner of Roxbury Ave. SW and 26th Ave. SW (Safeway block). The sign chained to the tree and whoever took it SAWED off the leg and Stole the sign.

If anyone sees a sign around – probably lying on the side of the road somewhere…or being reused as a ‘newly made over’ sign- please contact Vera at Village Green. These signs are not cheap and for a small business owner it’s quite a hit (speaking from experience). Someone also had to have seen this event take place…sawing wood takes a minute or two… Contact for Vera at Village Green Perennial Nursery
10223 26th Ave SW
Seattle Wa. 98146
206-767-7735

Anyone seeing the sign or the person(s) who took it, please call!

That’s Patricia Julio, neighborhood-revitalization director for White Center Community Development Association<, at last night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting; she and WCCDA’s neighborhood-revitalization program manager David Daw were there to update HPAC on some of the many things WCCDA is up to, including the latest on the Cultural Center at St. James Place, and revitalization work in the WC business district — here are the toplines: Read the rest of this entry »

A customer walks into Cafe Rozella and before I have chance to say anything he blurts out, “so, how many times have you been robbed?”  I stuttered, “What?”  He replied, “This is such a dangerous neighborhood, you must be robbed all the time.”  I got his order and looked him over:  silk pants, expensive sport shirt, Italian loafers — looked like a salesman.  “None,” I replied.

Ruminating for a minute, I said, “actually this is a very safe neighborhood.  Crime statistics show this is much safer than most other urban Seattle neighborhoods.”  Yeah, but you have so many creeps around here… blah, blah, blah… he stammered on.

“Where do you live?” I asked him.  “White Center,” he said with a laugh.  When he saw that I wasn’t in on his joke, he mentioned the very same neighborhood that I live in.   Now, I could clue this fool in, but I knew that he had a bagful of prejudices and preconceptions that no amount of small conversation would alter.

I thought about all the Rozella regulars who make this their second home:  tradespeople, programmers, biotech scientists, teachers, counselors, government workers, students, writers and artists.  Does this guy have a clue about the richness and diversity in this community?  I’ll admit that, as with any urban neighborhood, there are a fair number of street alcoholics who wander around like extras in the Blade-Runner movie.  But what of all the families walking to buy groceries at the Asian and Latin American markets?  Are they invisible?  Only to those too blind to see.

My dad was a mechanic and hence I relate well to people who do the complex jobs known as the trades.  God has a special place for the grace of those who work with their hands.  I love these people and they represent the best of our community.  And what of the artists who struggle to fulfill a vision — that takes courage.

All this went through my mind from that small exchange.  And the guy didn’t even leave a tip.

It took me a while to actually stop into this place. I had been to the Be’s Diner in West Seattle years before, and I kind of knew what to expect, but running an ice cream shop has left little time in my day to go out and eat.

So this morning I gave it a try. The place is huge, bright and clean. I never went in when it was Doc’s or Entourage, but the new owner told me she had to do some remodeling and a lot of cleaning. The food is great. Nothing fancy, and who needs fancy from a diner. I had pancakes and eggs, a giant plate of food for $4. You can not beat that. The pancakes were perfect, and the eggs grease free.

They have a large menu, and are doing breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is just what White Center needed. They have been open a week today, so go check it out.

I know this is rather old news, and the rain has really cleaned up the air in the past few days,  but I went and read up on it this evening after seeing all the black soot that washed off the front of my store.   Most of this study has to do with South Park and Georgetown, but given our proximity, I doubt the pollution knows to stay in that area.

My favorite line from the PI article is; “At Capital Industries, a Georgetown metal fabricator closer to homes than the airfield, the computer model predicts a rate of 600 cancer cases for every million people exposed. “. I don’t like those odds. I mean 600 per million is small, except that is 600 people that are going to die for no good reason.

First link is a PDF of the actual report the second is an article in the PI.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/374066_badair08.html?from=wtnews

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/Duwamish_Valley/Duwamish_Valley_%20HC%207-14-2008.pdf

Be’s just opened on 16th in the old Entourage space. It is the same folks who have the Be’s on California. I will post some pics and a review soon.

Now you can say you’ve seen a 200-pound halibut. Posing with it, Seattle-based fisherman Bill Curtin, husband of Village Green Perennial Nursery proprietor Vera Johnson. He’s back home from fishing in Alaska, and Village Green is selling some of the catch – plus inviting you to a halibut barbecue next month. They’re also selling red snapper (rockfish) – we stopped by for some today and followed Bill down to the basement freezer:

More of the story, just ahead: Read the rest of this entry »

That’s Big Al himself, Alejandro Brown of Big Al Brewing, which opened this afternoon at 9832 14th SW in the former home of Pacific Rim Brewing. This is definitely a place for beer lovers, because that’s all Big Al is selling — beer; don’t wander in thinking you’ll find a burger too. Starting at 6 tonight, Grand Opening Night will be celebrated with live music and raffles. Welcome, Big Al!