Hey there birthday boy

The best kind of community is the one that celebrates together - all ages, all occasions, everyone welcome. Greetings from the lovely community of Downtown Renton - where a birthday becomes a celebration of friends and cake, with excellent coffee to top off the taste buds.

Ron Hughes, with family and friends at Liberty Cafe this very morning.
Happy Birthday, Ron

Liberty Cafe
926 S. Third Street
(425) 235 - 1400

Got plans?

Tonight you could go out and hit three of the coolest local hangs, get your entertainment groove on and have one great night out. Let's start with a relatively new Open Mike Nite program at Liberty Cafe, hosted by KT and Hoops which begins at 7 ish. I cannot believe how much incredible talent there is hiding away here in the burg. This is the third week of this happening, and it is happening.

Then, mosey on over to DC's Bar and Grill for Trivia Night at around 8pm. The buy in is a couple of bucks per person and the winning pot has not been under a $100 bucks for awhile. This attracts a fun and boisterous crowd, and there is liquor and good beers on tap to boot. Yes - it is good.

Then, you have the Karaoke and Open Mike Night at A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub. I have noticed that once KT and Hoops have finished up at Mike's Liberty Cafe, they scoot over this way. Let the fun continue and keep it all within a couple of blocks.

Localized fun at it's best.

Liberty Cafe
926 S. Third Street
(425) 235 - 1400

DC's Bar & Grill

907 S. Third Street
(425) 255-2511

A Terrible Beauty Irish Pub
201 Williams Ave. S.
in the DTR
(425) 227 - 3396

Cupcakes and the Art or War

Local Cupcake Queen and frosting artisite, Crystal Roberts helps dream up the lovely delicacies that go along with a cup of coffee and a smile at Common Ground Coffee and Cupcakes in our lovely Downtown Renton.

When she puts on the apron - you know she means business!



Common Ground Coffee and Cupcakes
900 South 3rd Street
Renton, WA 98057-2710
(425) 235-1717
Get directions

Frustration and a fight

The City of Renton Facebook page warned us that Monday, March 1, was our day to be over the loss of our independent library service and accept the KCLS annexation that Renton recently voted upon and lost, by a mere 53 votes, in an expensive special election. The Seattle Times finally got wind of the fight and wrote about it on that very same deadline day, and Celeste Gracy at The Renton Reporter followed suit the next day, catching up on the now presented legal case that the opposition to Prop 1 have put forward. The Save our Renton Library folk want you, the Renton citizenry, to weigh in and fight. It just isn't over.

It could be that the loss of the library to an organization that only shares a name with King County, but is in no way affiliated, will cost us more money than we were lead to believe. It could be that Renton City Council seems to underestimate our need for due process and correct facts and questions why they can so easily decide to spend $130,000 on a special election, not send out the voter pamphlets until the populace was already receiving their voter pamphlet, include a biased flyer in with our utility bills and call this fair play. It could be that this is just part and parcel of a direction that our fair city is just not willing to continue to take when it comes to deciding issues of community interest, and that our city leaders may not in fact be the embodiment of the "Live, Work, Play" motto of Renton that they purport to uphold.

Loss of the library downtown branch- under KCLS seems inevitable. Renton hopes to annex Fairwood (already a member of KCLS), move the present library in it's site over the river at the edge of Liberty Park and use this building for some fish hatcheries project (wow! hey they already have something like that 20 minutes away in Issaquah!) Oh, and then maybe our downtown library branch moves to Fairwood or elsewhere, living our Downtown Renton community without one more important and viable service. You know, the type that defines and fleshes out an active downtown. I am soooo tired of our DTR being shafted at the expense of The Landing or the suburban sprawl.

You can still be heard: The City Council members are here to be spokespeople for our city. An agenda that is responsive to all of our needs.

Public Disclosure Commission - Doug Ellis ellis@pdc.wa.gov 360-664-2735
Don Persson, City Council President Dpersson@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501
Terri Briere, City Council Tbriere@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501
King Parker, City Council Kparker@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501
Greg Taylor, City Council Gtaylor@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501
Rich Zwicker, City Council Rzwicker@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501
Randy Corman, City Council rcorman@rentonwa.gov 425-430-6501

3/4 UPDATE: Now even The Renton Reporter wants to tell us to "get over it". Sorry, Dean - just like yourself, we are ALL entitled to out own opinion.

Early Morning Abstractions

Live, Work, Play - Renton, shunned by many over the years for being at the wrong end of the lake, is one great place to live. Just take a look at my early morning abstraction distractions.

A little leftover Spring showers.

Green grows everywhere here.

Water pockets.

Abstracts in green and red. Good Morning, Renton!

A man and his dog

When a door closes, a window opens somewhere. Last year, on the hottest day our community has known, Phil Johnson lost his best buddy - his dog. Me Oh My had been given to him some years before, and was Phil's constant companion. The heat and strife ended up putting Phil in doctor's care as well.

But, as you might remember from this blog posting, the community rallied and got a sweet bundle of white fur to act as a new lifeline and friend for Phil. Lucky Johnson 13 is a breed of dog known as a "Coton Du Tulear". He was a rescue dog and is an example of true happiness and joy. Lucky brings a smile to anyone's face - he is just happy to see you everyday. He brought Phil even closer to a local, downtown community that didn't know him enough, and would have been heartily sad if they hadn't been given the chance.

Phil and Lucky became instant friends, and the bond has just grown. Phil has medical conditions that necessitate he use a motorized wheelchair more often than not, and Lucky loves a good ride. Having a dog brings Phil outside, helps with the exercise that he can do and brings him into the fold of the friends that frequent the area of South Third Street.

Many of you had asked for a follow-up story on Phil and Lucky from this posting last year. Here is your answer - neither of them could have gotten any luckier. Well matched, they are a team that spreads camaraderie and smiles. Together, they make the days worth living. As a team, they have become special friends to many.

These are the kind of stories that you want to hear about.

Dog Day Afternoon

The Dining Dog Cafe & Bakery in Edmonds offers canine lovers yet another way to party with their best friends - doggy style. This restaurant is completely for the dogs, offering a full course meal served on gold charger plates and special plush, low dog couches with a few regular chairs thrown in for the human species as well. It is a place to have a meeting or gathering for like minded animal lovers, or just a place to take your furry side kick for a taste treat.

Located in Firdale Village, this little cafe has been featured on the animal channel and I hear, soon to be a focus on a food network show. A meeting of small dog owners brought me and my friend, Sue Rider, with her furry crew to this little known destination. Having read about it a couple of times in the local rag, I was curious to see how the other half would be treated ala dining dog.

With a full scale repast comprised of starters (sliced hot dogs with cheese and another course of pate topped biscuits), a cocktail of yogurt and pumpkin, an entree of freshly cooked chicken breast with vegetables and a desert that resembled my other favorite food, cupcakes, I was left wishing that I was dining alongside my companions as well.

Dorothy Moore, owner, loves to cater to her clientele and the whole atmosphere is loving and comfortable. Every patron gets a pet and a bit of lavishing from Dorothy upon arrival.

These taste treats signal the end of the meal and are made on the premises. If you, as the human, want to eat as well, feel free to bring along your own snacks. You will wish that you did - the whole experience makes see how dogs so easily come to begging at the side of the table.

The Dining Dog
Cafe & Bakery
9635 Firdale Ave. Edmonds
425.314.4612
www.diningdog.com