14 Feb Pioneer Square in the News

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

From Sinister Brain:

NEWS

An arts and heritage super-agency? (Crosscut)
A bill in Olympia would create a Department of Heritage, Arts and Culture, embracing programs from historic preservation to film, archives, and tourism. Is it an idea whose time has come, or will it trigger an ill-timed turf war?

End of line for Pullman Shopper Shuttle bus (Seattle PI)
Pullman Transit Manager Rod Thornton told a city council hearing Tuesday only 12 or 13 passengers a day rode the 45-minute bus loop between Pioneer Square, senior living homes, and shopping areas. He says the Shopper Shuttle needed at least 30-to-40 riders a day.

Seattle Pinball Museum staying for good (Seattle PI)
Charlie and Cindy Martin opened the pinball museum as part of the Storefront Seattle Program, a fledgling effort to revitalize vacant spaces in troubled neighborhoods. The storefront program is designed to be a temporary fix for vacant buildings, but the Martins recently decided to keep their doors open indefinitely.

Seattle Business Owners Voice Opposition To Parking Changes (KiroTV)
“Anybody who looks me in the eye and says by raising the parking (rates) in this area is going to help my business — that person is a crazy person,” Ty Myers, owner of Fenix Tattoo and Piercing in Pioneer Square told KIRO 7 last week.

Re:Take: Transit on Third (Seattlest)
There’s been a transit connection on First from Pioneer Square to Pike Place for more than 120 years. To avoid the embarrassment of ending that run, Metro has decided to run the embarrassing Route 99 up First, and make it free for tourists.

Will parking rates be Seattle restaurants’ tipping point? (Seattle PI)
Belltown is one of the neighborhoods where the Emerald City is extending street parking hours to 8 p.m. The others are a virtual map of where we go to eat out: Downtown, the International District, Pike-Pine, Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, the U District and Uptown. Instead of heading to one of his restaurants, argued Douglas, patrons will be lured to “eat in Ballard or go for a hot night in Bellevue.”

BLOGS

The Democratization of the Hamburger (Voracious)
This week’s review takes on two of the newcomers to Seattle’s burger scene: Dope Burger and BuiltBurger. Read the article, try the burgers, and go vote for your favorite (BuiltBurger all the way!).
(another link/article here)