Othello News, April 22, 2009
Othello News, June 12, 2009
Summer is Here
This year summer came in the first week of June. The thermometer shot up to around 90. Light rail test trains kept ringing their cherry bells up and down Martin Luther King way as folks paraded about in shorts. Temperatures have since since moderated some, but it’s still summer when we can sit comfortably in the parks through long daylight hours. No heavy jackets are seen as folks go about their business, going to work, pumping gas at corner mini-marts, some unfortunately dropping pop bottles and cigarette wrappers along the sidewalks, worrying about crime. Meanwhile the collective consciousness has begun to focus on a coming historic day in Othello.
Light Rail Opening
No matter what other concerns absorb them, most people seem to be aware that, after so many years of fighting the war about whether or not we will get light rail, after so many years of suffering and complaining about the impacts of construction, low tallies at the cash register, traffic jams on torn up streets, etc., the day will soon be here.
On that day, July 18, 2009, we will be able to walk up on the Othello Station platform, board a train, and ride up to Tukwila and/or down to West Lake Station for free, no fare required. Anticipating an influx of visitors, ONA is planning a celebration to call attention to its great pedestrian amenities, i.e., generous array of multi-cultural businesses, beautiful Othello Park. Othello Partners has offered the use of its big vacant lot in front of the Citadel for a fair. There will be refreshments, booths, live music, lion dancers, and more.
Clean and Green Seattle
On July 11th, a week before the big day, Mayor Nickels and many other city officials will show up in Othello Park and spread out with volunteers all along MLK to spruce up the corridor through which the train will run. That will be the staging of the 100th Clean and Green Seattle. (The first Clean and Green Seattle event was also in Othello Park.) The city will provide equipment, mulch, paint, etc. for us all to gather and work on projects to spruce up the neighborhood. No need to go off on vacation during July. You won’t want to miss what’s happening right here at home.