Say it ain’t so. In line with U District Advocates, Cedars of Lebanon, “the oldest restaurant on The Ave,” is perhaps changed by, of all issues, a McDonald’s. True, that is one thing moderately new on this metropolis, the place the conventional operating of issues is to offer small companies the boot for luxurious towers that provide hoity-toity eating. On this case, it is the opposite means round: as an alternative of going up, we’re happening to a joint that mainly does not actually serve meals, like Cedars of Lebanon, however one thing like what people are in The Matrix: batteries. If this unhealthy enterprise goes by way of, if we lose Cedars of Lebanon, a key a part of what for a few years was referred to as Little Lebanon (it included Flowers Bar and Restaurant and Samir’s Mediterranean Grill Lebanese Delicacies), for a Ronald McDonald, I am going “to throw up each my palms.”
Within the phrases of U District Advocates: “For a few of us, the introduction of a company chain restaurant, changing three unbiased, small companies with a block-wide façade, immediately throughout the road from the doorway to our major gentle rail station, could be very troubling.” Certainly, certainly. And, extra importantly, Cedars of Lebanon has top-notch gyros. As for McDonald’s, it’s a must to go all the best way as much as our huge and as soon as pleasant neighbor to eat at that place. Canada truly makes positive their Mickey D’s put actual eggs and pork of their breakfast sandwiches.
Beacon Hill additionally has some unhealthy information on its plate. Seattle Division of Transportation (SDOT) might lower down an entire bunch of giant, typically outdated Maple timber that line Beacon Avenue. This part of South Seattle demonstrates what Enrique Peñalosa, the previous urbanist mayor of Bogota, meant when he described a sidewalk as “family of parks—not passing lanes for automobiles.” Sadly, nonetheless, Beacon Avenue’s sidewalk is about to look much less like a park and extra like its reverse. After years of neglecting the road’s cracked and buckling sidewalks, SDOT is now confronted with a challenge that calls for a great deal of creativeness to resolve. Nevertheless it appears the division desires to take a straightforward (or extra “environment friendly”) means round the issue, which is the destruction of quite a few timber. And this destruction might start tomorrow.
Although SDOT claims it is making each effort to be clear, its press secretary, Ethan Bergerson, described the plan to me (it “will [get] began over the approaching weeks with the preliminary sidewalk repairs that may be carried out with out affecting timber”) in means that does not jibe with the announcement SDOT posted on suspect timber: “If the basis pruning wanted [for sidewalk improvements] doesn’t permit the tree to stay steady and viable, it might be essential to take away the tree inside 14 days of this posting.” The announcement was posted on February 27. That is two weeks in the past. Once I requested Bergerson if SDOT has ever thought of a challenge that might require the destruction of a lot of timber in North Seattle, I obtained no reply.
Seattle remains to be refusing to only die already. Actually, its county is rising prefer it’s the “2010s once more.” Seattle Instances‘ Gene Balk examined the info from the U.S. Census Bureau and located that “[the area’s] inhabitants grew by about 43,400 from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, for a development price of 1.9%.” That’s the type of enhance our metropolis noticed when Amazon seemed to be a UTFO (“Untouchable Drive Group”). King County now has a inhabitants of two.34 million.
After yesterday’s tipping down, Seattle will expertise a “‘grab-bag’ of climate.” Now we have entered that zone of confusion (“confusion de confusiones”) between the seasons. Anticipate days that behave like a nutter. Crying within the morning, laughing within the afternoon, screaming when coming into night, weeping once more all evening. So, it is not stunning that right this moment we might expertise “passing showers,” and “just a few thunder rumbles,” and a “breezy afternoon,” and the “occasional peeks of sunshine.”
Final week, two coyotes did a Bonnie and Clyde on Bellevue, experiences King 5. One in every of them was killed by the Washington Division of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW); the opposite remains to be on the run. Officers have linked each with “5 totally different assaults”—biting legs of residents; making an attempt to steal or stealing backpacks from defenseless schoolchildren. One of many coyotes even bit the hand of a child (they may always remember that horrible second of their childhood). King 5: “Officers are growing patrols in that space in an try to find the second animal.”
After the Hearth, the Rain: Southern California is getting heaps and much and means an excessive amount of of it. Evacuations and mudslides are simply across the nook. Nothing could be regular anymore. We solely stay within the extremes.
Tech billionaires at the moment are speaking about constructing their very own rattling cities. Cities that comply with their orders and money-fervid fantasies to a tee. No extra of this democracy nonsense; no extra “authorities oversight.” These can be Freedom Cities. However what might a Freedom Metropolis try this, say, Hudson Yards does not? Billionaires have already got every part. This isn’t our world; it is yours, all yours.
Possibly now is an efficient time to return to those highly effective strains by T. S. Eliot:
When the Stranger says: “What’s the which means of this metropolis ?
Do you huddle shut collectively since you love one another?”
What’s going to you reply? “All of us dwell collectively
To earn money from one another”? or “This can be a group”?
Seems like Seattle’s iconic billionaire, Invoice Gates, is giving up on all “that hopey, changey stuff” and, in response to the Seattle Instances, “retooling his empire for the Trump period.” Breakthrough Vitality, a forward-thinking local weather group he bankrolls, has introduced it is going the best way of our DOGE-slashed Huge Authorities: cuts, cuts, cuts, and extra cuts. It is now time for him to play catch-up with the leaders of his pack. He, too, should turn into a gora (a vulture capitalist); he too should stick his lengthy featherless neck into the rot of America. You see Beyoncé, because of this you need to by no means wish to be “a black Invoice Gates within the making.”
These VP eyes transpired in the course of the Irish prime minister’s White Home go to. The VP’s socks additionally made some noise.
JD Vance went heavy on the eyeliner this morning
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 12, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Let’s finish with this glorious poem by Badu on the significance of being woke (its on her slamming observe Grasp Instructor):
Even when yo child ain’t received no cash
To assist ya child, you
(I keep woke)
Even when the preacher inform you some lies
And cheatin’ on ya mama, you keep woke
(I keep woke)
Despite the fact that you undergo battle and strife
To maintain a wholesome life, I keep woke
(I keep woke)
All people is aware of a black or white, there’s
Creatures in each form and dimension
(I keep woke)
This Saturday, March 15, the Royal Room will have fun the music and wokeness of badass Erykah Badu with a band lead by Sheila Kay.
