27 Feb Pioneer Square in the News

Cat People – Fictilis is your new favorite gallery (The Stranger)
Fictilis is sent from heaven. It’s an 8-month-old, artist-run gallery in Pioneer Square that currently has a bunch of cat faces on display.

SocEnt Weekend: Business Ideas That Can Make a Difference (Xconomy)
The event kicks off Friday evening at the Hub Seattle, a co-working space in Pioneer Square aimed at people tackling social issues. Mayor Mike McGinn is expected to speak, and there are all-star mentors, prizes for the winners, and some entrepreneurial lessons during the program.

Which Seattle neighborhood are you most like? (Big Blog)
Pioneer Square: I know, I know. When you were young, people were different. There were lumberjacks and prostitutes and a bunch of floods. We’ve heard this one before, Grandpa. [editor’s note: I don’t get it…]

Rising gas prices just another chance to milk the masses (Seattle Times)
Groundhog Day, Part Deux: Emboldened by the smattering of applause after his recent proclamation that the city will defy all known laws of physics by aiding and abetting the world’s first “self-funding” pro sports arena, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is expected to announce plans to revitalize Pioneer Square via the installation of self-cleaning toilets. Oh, wait; we already took a bath on that idea, too.
[editor’s note: I don’t know what this reporter is talking about… there is no one talking about self cleaning toilets in PSq. We are working on getting a staffed public toilet, but not a self cleaning one]

The Arena proposal: Oh, what a lovely donnybrook! (Crosscut)
In the basketball and hockey proposal, Seattle has the high-stakes, long-drawn-out conflict it loves to wallow in. Here’s a rundown on the major issues and how they will shake up Seattle politics.

Mushrooms Bloom From Discarded Coffee Grounds in Pioneer Square Storefront (Voracious)
Olson Kundig Architects’ “Mushroom Farm,” a Pioneer Square storefront that’s been deputized for an urban agriculture experiment, is supposed to foster grand questions about community, sustainability and design. But mushroom farmer Alex Winstead, who’s supervising the operation, says many project participants have voiced more prosaic concerns.

Mushroom project teaches warm, sticky lesson in climate change (KOMO News)
What happens when a rag tag group of interdisciplinary professionals gets their hands on a grant aimed at conservation and sustainability? Fungus happens. Well, mushrooms to be exact.

Seattle Mardi Gras celebration is now dead and gone (Examiner)
I officially declare Seattle Mardi Gras as dead, dead, dead. The politics of the city wanted it dead and it took years for it to happen, but politics won. This was a giant revenue source for badly hurting retail operations throughout Seattle, not just Pioneer Square. If Seattle’s elected officials were smart they could have turned this day into something a little more retail minded.