Getting caught up

Graffiti epidemic angers property owners

Many neighborhood businesses and a few residential properties were hit by tagging "artists" on Thursday or Friday last week.  The above example, one of the worst, is at the bus stop next to Madison Park Hardware on 42nd near E. Madison St.  Among the neighborhood icons tagged were the cute red phone box in front of the former Best Buds shop and the not-so-cute "Black Hole of Madison Park" (Constance Gillespie's building next to the Bank of America).

Those who have experienced vandalism may report it using the Seattle Police's CORP (Community Online Reporting Program), but no one should expect much of a police investigation of this kind of criminal activity. That's just the way it is.

Another neighborhood business to exit

Ann Marie Lingerie (4000 E. Madison St.) is closing up shop later this month, at least at its current location.  Store manager Felicia Klabo tells us that Ann Marie may ultimately move to another physical location, but for the time being it's going to be exclusively an online merchant. The store is having a 50-75%-off moving sale, so those looking for the latest Hanky Panky nightwear or Prima Donna underwires should rush right down.

If you are among those who bemoan the loss of Madison Park's retail core, this closing is no doubt particularly sad.  Ann Marie has been one of the very few neighborhood clothing stores to survive (The Original Children's Shop being the only other). The store has been a neighborhood fixture for many years, but the current ownership of Nathalie Scandiuzzi began in 2011.

At the other end of "The Village," however, a new establishment opened during the last month, at 1928 43rd Avenue E.  City Sweats is another neighborhood spa, this one offering "Far Infrared Sauna Treatment, massages, Himalayan salt scrubs, Lymphatic Drainage and a full tonics bar menu."  Oh, and "chromotherapy."

Meanwhile, interior construction work is now underway at the old Mad Pizza location on E. Madison St. next to Scoop du Jour.  We see that "Vophan Restaurant & Catering LLC" has applied for a beer and wine permit for this location, but there's no official confirmation yet that this new entity is going to be providing the neighborhood with sushi. Nevertheless, it's a pretty strong rumor.  Further down the street, however, no work seems to be underway at the former Best Buds location, rumored to be the site of a future taco stand.

Finally, there's the HomeStreet Bank branch, still building away more than a year after the bank first took the space on.  As we understand the story, the hundred-year-old building turned out not to be in very good condition, requiring a lot of work that was not initially anticipated. As you can see (above), there's much to do before the branch can open sometime later this year.

Madison Park home wins prestigious award

A recently constructed "passive house" at 4211 E. Lee Street in Washington Park has won an American Institute of Architects National Housing Award. The award was established to recognize "the best in housing design and promote the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit and a valuable national resource."

The house uses 90% less energy for heating and cooling than is typical of conventionally built structures. NK Architects designed the home, which was constructed by Cascade Built.

Easter egg hunt this Saturday

Madison Park (the City park, that is) will be the scene of a mad scramble for easter eggs this Saturday.  The hunt will begin at 3:30 and continue until all the eggs are found or the parents get bored. There will be a "bunny petting lounge" and a "little ones hunt" as well.  Let's hope for sun.

Road-end death remains a mystery

Since the body of Michael Michel was discovered in a parked vehicle at the Lee Street road end earlier this month, his friends and family have been left to wonder how and why.  So far, the Medical Examiner has only been able to confirm that his death doesn't appear to have been a homicide, though the results of toxicology tests will not be known until September.  Perhaps then there will be some closure for those who knew Mike and for those in the neighborhood who have been affected by his death.

In the meantime, several people have made pilgrimages to the spot near the Lake where Mike died, leaving flower bouquets and, earlier this week, a toy fire engine. It seems that Mike Michel was a fireman (the picture above is taken from the union website of the Woodinville Fire Department) and had graduated from Mariner High School in Everett, where he apparently served as student body president in 1987. Many who knew him have left remembrances in a guest book affiliated with the Everett Herald's website.

Mike's mother, Sharon Sievers, made an appeal on this blog last week for information concerning her son's death, asking anyone who knew something to contact her (ssievers1190@gmail.com). But to date, no one has come forward.  "Michael was the absolutely wonderful son and I cannot say how I or his family feels except we are devastated," she wrote us in an email.  "My thinking is that he was there [in Madison Park] because he loved the beauty of the neighborhood, the area, the lake, and all that it surrounded.  He loved nature and all that it possessed."

She remains mystified by his death, noting that "according to [the Medical Examiner] it does not look like a suicide, but maybe an unfortunate accident."   When anything definitive is known about the cause, we will of course report it.  A memorial service has been scheduled for 3 pm on July 28 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2301 Hoyt Avenue, Everett.

Body identified, autopsy inconclusive

The man who was discovered dead in his truck at a Madison Park road end yesterday has been identified as Michael Westlake Michel. He was 42 years old and apparently lived in Everett.  It is not known why he was in Madison Park or how he came to die in the back seat of his vehicle, parked on E. Lee Street near Lake Washington.  Although the King County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on the body late this morning, the official word is that "the manner of death" and the "cause of death" are each "pending" at this time.

We followed up with the Medical Examiner's Office to determine exactly what that means.  We were told that tissues and blood samples will have to be analyzed, a testing process that is expected to take from eight to ten weeks.  The Seattle Police Department, to which we were referred, gave us this statement: "It is a death investigation and that's all we can say at this time."

[Photo, showing the police preparing to have the deceased's truck towed, by J. Waltz.]

Body discovered in truck parked at road end

Shortly before noon today multiple police and fire units descended on the E. Lee Street road end to investigate a report that there was a man lying in the back seat of a black Chevy Silverado truck, apparently deceased.  The discovery was a shock to many of us living in the area, who had been passing by the vehicle for days without investigating.  The truck was parked almost at the very end of E. Lee Street, just past 42nd Avenue E. and directly south of the Reed Estate.

Neighbors believe that the truck had been sitting there since at least July 1, prior to the Independence Day weekend.  For this reason, the body could not have been in very good condition when discovered, reportedly by a cable technician who had parked his truck near the deceased's vehicle.

Seattle Police confirmed to us that a body had been discovered and that the King County Medical Examiner would be undertaking a autopsy.  It does not appear that there was any foul play involved.  A neighbor who spoke to police officers at the scene learned from them that the body was apparently that of the truck owner, a young man in his 30s who lived somewhere outside of Seattle.  It is believed that he had not been reported missing.

The passenger-side window of the vehicle was partially open, as shown in the upper photo.  In defense of the neighbors who had not noticed anything amiss, however, it should be noted that the truck was parked directly next to a major sewer pumping station, which can at times be somewhat odiferous (it's located downstairs behind the white iron fence in the photo above).  Additionally, the body was not upright in the back seat but lying prone, as if the man had been sleeping there and simply never woke up.

The Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday morning, with the results available later in the day.

[Lower photo by J. Waltz.  Middle photo of the E. Lee Street road end from GoogleEarth. The upper photo of the vehicle, by an anonymous neighbor, was taken days before the body was discovered.]