Hempfest, random violence and a dog-loving good samaritan. Welcome to your work week, Seattle. more ›

It's a lively block, this stretch of Madison Valley: takeout pizza, takeout teriyaki, a dry cleaner's, a French bistro (Voilà!) a French creperie (La Côte), a fancy French dinner house (Rover's), an Asian cafe (Chinoise). There's vegetarian (Cafe Flora) a block in one direction, Spanish tapas (Harvest Vine) a block in the other. Good bread, too (Essential Bakery). There used to be a frame shop at the corner of East Madison and MLK; and you'd drive past it thinking it would be the perfect spot for a bar. more ›

• Whenever you feel the need for speed, don't be this kid. The 18-year-old Speed Racer-wannabe was caught on video speeding and weaving along northbound I-5 by the eyes up in the sky of Washington State Patrol's Smokey 3 aircraft.
• Despite the warnings that it's tough to open a bar, we hear more booze will be flowing in Cap Hill soon enough. CHS provides inquiring minds and thirsty palates with details of three bars opening around the 12th and Madison area.

Mackay Restaurants has closed its Tacoma seafood operation, known as Sea Grill. It was the sister restaurant to Seattle's Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70. A polite press release thanks Sea Grill's guests for their support and for "allowing us to help celebrate the pivotal moments and chapters of their lives." But memories don't pay the bills, and large, downtown restaurants like Sea Grill are particularly vulnerable to the current downturn. (Mackay's new El Gaucho Bellevue is hurting, too, but will do fine once Microsoft moves into the building.) A well-run chain like Mackay pays attention to every detail, from the cost of a napkin to the knot on the servers' bow ties; you can bet they know down to the penny how much they're making (or losing) on a daily basis, and they're unsentimental when it comes time to pull the plug. more ›

• Central District News has a post on "the CD by the numbers," which uses recent census data to shed light on just who calls the Central District home. Some of the information didn't surprise us. The highest average income in the CD is in Madison Valley--you don't say!
• So glad to see the DEA still drives Hummers to rallies at Catholic elementary schools despite the fact that we are in the midst of a global economic crisis and with the ever-rising costs of gasoline. Since the drug war doesn't cost us all enough already, the DEA's grand finale was landing a DEA helicopter on the school's playground. Because you know, Catholic elementary schools are a breeding ground for pre-adolescent crackheads.
• The Belltowner and North Dakota State University wonders if people would utilize a public bike share program if offered one. Hey, it works in Europe--why not here?

Rover's invited Seattlest to join in its 21st anniversary celebration, which could have also been called a foie gras fest, if you look at the menu down below. Seriously: four foie gras dishes? No problem. We always love a foie gras and scallop combination, and the seared foie gras with baked peach and blackberry gastrique was fabulous. more ›

They buzz, they flit, they fly. They dart, they dash, they zip. more ›

Late last night Seattlest caught up with the New York Times' article on Blue Nile, the Internet diamond retailer based here in Seattle. It's an interesting read even if, like us, you're not a huge diamond fan.

While Blue Nile has grown — and its stock has soared 54 percent, to $38.53 a share on Friday from $25 when it was first sold to the public in May 2004 — Main Street jewelers have seen their profit margins shrink and many of their brethren shutter their store doors. As a consequence, many retail jewelers refer to Blue Nile as the “evil empire” — or worse. more ›

Who are the 11:30pm girls?
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