A group of 22 youth organizations recently presented a questionnaire to the candidates in the Seattle Mayoral and City Attorney races and the King County Executive race addressing issues important to area youth. In they mayoral race, McGinn responded to the questionaire and Mallahan didn't; in the city attorney race, Pete Holmes responded and Tom Carr didn't; in the King County executive race, Dow Constantine responded and Susan Hutchison didn't. No surprises here, but some fun trivia: the last show McGinn saw was Champagne Champagne and Zera Marvel; Holmes' favorite graffiti artists are Danny Melbihess, Joe Nicholl and Jeff Jacobson; Constantine's favorite local rap act (barring Sir Mix-a-Lot) is Common Market. You can read the complete Q&As here. And you can find the Stranger's Election Control Board endorsements (McGinn, Holmes, and Constantine, coincidentally) here.

Read about it HERE.

Dominic Holden has the story:

Earlier this month, the office of City Attorney Tom Carr warned Capitol Hill bar owners that police will approach apparently intoxicated pedestrians, ask them where they’ve been drinking, and try to shut down any bars they name. Many bar owners claim that menacing police patrols have already begun and that Carr’s latest crackdown appears to be politically motivated.

Bar and club owners have united to oust Carr—who is up for reelection after eight year in office—because Carr has protested liquor licenses, imposed onerous restrictions on upstanding businesses, and, most infamously, was a leading force in an aggressive 2007 anti-nightlife sting called Operation Sobering Thought. A campaign of organized harassment that cost the city tens of thousands of dollars, Operation Sobering Thought resulted in zero convictions and sparked an avalanche of bad press for Carr’s office.

A city attorney liaison who met with club owners "accused the bars of being responsible for a rising trend of assaults and robberies on Capitol Hill. People are being overserved, she reportedly said, and then assaulting and robbing people when they leave the bars. Carr, reached by phone after the meeting, repeated Milnor's claim that there is a problem with overservice and associated violence near the clubs on Capitol Hill."

Jumping ahead:

It is absurd to link bars to a spike in assaults and robberies on Capitol Hill, because assaults and robberies on Capitol Hill aren’t rising.

They’re going down.

Crime statistics from the Seattle Police Department, which track crimes monthly and are broken down by police beat, disprove the claims being made by Carr’s office. Comparing the most recent three-month period for which data is available—May through July of 2009—to the same three-month period last year shows no spike in assaults or robberies. In the three beats that include the Pike/Pine corridor and much of Capitol Hill and First Hill—within roughly a mile of all the bars in question—assaults dropped from 121 in 2008 to 119 in 2009. Robberies dropped from 23 to 21. Assaults and robberies are down or flat across all of Capitol Hill. Those aren’t significant declines, but they demonstrate the claims being made by Carr’s office are false.

The full story is HERE.

No surprises here. They're holding a fundraiser 5 pm next Wednesday at Moe Bar.

SNMA Announces Seattle City Council Endorsements and Fundraiser

Seattle, WA, October 16, 2009 — The Seattle Nightlife and Music Association (SNMA) has formally announced its official City Council candidate endorsements. A Happy Hour Fundraiser for the slate will be held Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at Moe Bar from 5 to 8 PM.

SNMA endorses Sally Bagshaw for position #4, Richard Conlin for position #2, Nick Licata for position #6, and Mike O’Brien for position #8.

Read the rest of the press release after the jump.

Oh dear. Look everybody, it's Hi-Caliber, the teabagging conservative rapper, with his, um, "hot" new track, Patriotic People. You will notice the limp-wrist motion when he talks about "livin' alternative":

I think it's safe to say that Hi-Caliber is not the new Dr. Dre.

Politics. Rock. Who are you gonna argue with? Krist Novoselic? Let's talk.

Photos by Kelly O; more after the jump.

Let's play a game of compare and contrast.

Today, Mike McGinn released a released a five-point arts and culture plan—including funding for arts and music education through the Families and Education Levy, a recognition that money for culture is an investment and not a handout (using some familiar language and figures), a pledge to fund individual artists, and backing for CODAC (a push to preserve arts spaces in gentrifying neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, which tend to lose arts spaces when the developers move in).

Dom's right—it's not city-shattering news, but it's specific and pointed in the right direction.

What does Joe Mallahan have to say about culture in Seattle?

Seattle could not be the great town that it is without our strong arts and cultural scene. As mayor, I will continue the city’s support of arts programs around the city, which leverage economic activity and increase the quality of life in Seattle. Support for arts, film, music and other cultural events will have an official place in my administration. Supporting arts is something we all need to do, especially the city, and I will continue to do that as mayor.

Well, that's nice. But... how? Willing to put any specifics on the table, Mr. Mallahan?

Seattle has a lot of artists and arts workers: employees of STG, the theaters, the ballet, the opera, the symphony, SAM, music venues, dance clubs, independent movie theaters, etc., etc. I'm guessing there are thousands of you out there—enough to throw a tight election.

Seattle also has a lot of arts money: board members and donors and subscribers who care about all those arts institutions.

Remember: You are a constituency. Ask yourselves throughout the next few weeks: Which candidate will represent your interests—the interests of culture and urbanity, which means money as well as quality of life and edification and, you know, fun—when he's in office?

UPDATE

Commenter Enigma says:

It's too bad the Stagehand Union followed the rest of the unions in endorsing Mallahan. Seems a bit misguided when the other unions only supported Joe cause of the tunnel, the Stagehands don't have much to gain out of that deal.

Brother-union solidarity has its place—but it'd be a shame if the stagehands threw themselves off a cliff for the sake of the trade unions. (And when was the last time the trades did theater workers a favor?)

A couple of bonus reader comments from this story on why organized labor has endorsed Mallahan, even though he comes from years as a vice-president at T-Mobile, a virulently anti-union business:

Oy! Considering I'm a former TMO worker (emphasis on FORMER), I dread Mallahan. If he runs this city like he ran TMO, we're in for a bad ride. TMO was the very definition of "ride employees until they break" and "no job is good enough."

McGinn needs to get his head out of his ass and realize he's wasting time pissing and moaning about a tunnel. It's NOT the biggest issue on the table for Seattle. Bread and butter issues like AFFORDABLE housing (not just yuppie condos), environment, and living-wage work need attention.

Because the unions are corrupt, out-dated and run by the very same yuppies Mallahan represents. The unions do not have the interest of their members in mind - they have their own interests in mind.

DON'T JOIN A UNION - FORM A UNION!

Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., City Attorney Tom Carr and challenger Pete Holmes will face off in Electionland to answer your questions. Here are the most popular questions so far:

Do you support WA Senate Bill 5615, which would reclassify adult possession of marijuana from a crime to a civil infraction? Why or why not?

Would you be for encouraging the WLCB to allow later closing times for bars?

How would you advise the police handle noise complaints on established bars and clubs by home/condo owners in new buildings?

You can vote "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on all the questions. And you can add new questions until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

The first of The Stranger's online candidate forums—in Electionland—will feature City Attorney Tom Carr versus challenger Pete Holmes. Read more about this contest and the other seven Electionland showdowns here.

At his Monday show at the Key Arena, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder said don't support King County Executive candidate Susan Hutchison, he said do support Dow Constantine, and then he croons some old-timey song:

Bravo for archaic rock prophets with a social conscience.

If elected mayor, Mike McGinn will collaborate with the Washington State Liquor Control Board to allow "bars and nightlife venues to stay open later with different closing times into the evening," he says. That would follow the lead of other cities that allow certain bars remain open past the state-mandated closing time of 2:00 a.m. Doing so would "cut down on incidents after establishments close." In a nightlife and music plan released this morning, McGinn laid out several proposals to keep the nightlife scene vibrant and safe. He notes that in 2008 Seattle's music industry created over 11,000 jobs and generated $90 million in local sales and taxes.

Performers and club operators "deserve a safe and supportive environment to earn their living," McGinn writes. To that end, he proposes increasing police patrols at "hot spots," acknowledging the raucous crowds that pour out of music venues and onto the street, such as in Pioneer Square. He also suggests maintaining late-night transit service for folks to get home until 3:00 a.m.

McGinn says that "new residential development must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments." The proposal appears to respond to recent complaints about historic nightlife venues from new neighbors. For instance, a woman who moved into a new building on Broadway and East Pine Street called police 500 times to complain about noise. And a woman who moved into a retirement home in Ballard called police about noise emanating from a nearby venue. A noise ordinance passed in 2007 penalizes bars and clubs that have amplified noise that is "plainly audible" from inside nearby buildings, even if the club was there first. While McGinn suggests new buildings must use soundproofing to block noise, he stops short of grandfathering in all historic nightlife venues to be protected from noise complaints from residents of newly constructed buildings.

Here's the full plan:

SEATTLE MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE POLICY

Seattle’s music scene is already nationally recognized and admired, and our many bars, nightclubs, and performers are essential revenue sources for the city. But it can be even better if the city helps continue its growth by encouraging it as we do other industries.

In 2008 alone, the music industry in Seattle directly created over 11,000 jobs, with more than 2,000 businesses generating $1.2 billion in annual sales, as well as $487 million in earnings. The industry also generated $90 million in state and local sales and B&O taxes.

Beyond revenue, our music scene also creates vibrant and active neighborhoods, with customers from bars and clubs patronizing other local businesses throughout the day and night.

Nightclubs, bars, pubs, and other music venues — along with Seattle’s many bands, DJs, and entertainers — deserve a safe and supportive environment to earn their living. Similarly, residents living near music venues have the right to enjoy their homes in safety and peace.

I believe that reasonable people can work together to develop rules governing nightlife and nearby development — rules that keep Seattle’s music scene thriving.

PUBLIC SAFETY

• In order to help ensure safety and peace around bars and clubs, late-night patrols should be increased in “hotspot” neighborhoods.

• To help cut down on incidents after establishments close, the city should work with the state Liquor Control Board to encourage staggered closing times.

• To help cut down on drinking and driving, transportation choices such as light rail, taxi service, and buses need to be accessible until at least 3 a.m.

NIGHTLIFE & DEVELOPMENT

• New residential development must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments.

• Any new development within the proximity of an existing bar or club should be required to build sound-proofing measures into their plans.

• To maintain an open dialogue between the nightlife community and the city, the Seattle Music & Nightlife Association should have quarterly meetings with the mayor.

ENCOURAGING MUSIC AND OTHER ARTS

• The Seattle Office of Film + Music must remain open and active.

• In order to help maintain an environment where Seattle’s music scene can continue to thrive, the Seattle City of Music Initiative must remain in place and will be improved upon through work with the Seattle Music Commission.

• To further encourage the arts, the next Families and Education Levy should include funding for music and art programs in Seattle public schools.

I've been posting updates on Slog about City Attorney Tom Carr's opposition to the Faire Gallery Cafe, a tiny arts and performance space on the west face of Capitol Hill, upgrading its alcohol permit from beer and wine to hard liquor. Carr sent an objection in June to the Washington State Liquor Control Board, which overrode him on August. But Carr indicted he would appeal the case to a state judge, thereby delaying the permit for up to nine months (a delay that Faire Gallery owner Elisheba Drayton said could cost her the business). Until recently, Carr said he was still considering the appeal.

But last week, the deadline passed to for Carr to take his anti-Faire Gallery crusade to court. I wrote about it over here, noting that Faire Gallery attorney David Osgood said Carr's office was "very distressed about all the press they had received." Well Carr was none too happy about that. So he left me this testy voicemail on Friday afternoon:

And here's the transcription:

Hey, Dominic. Tom Carr. I just read your crap about the Faire Gallery. Uh, do you really even care at all about anything remotely resembling the truth? [He leaves cell phone number.] The things that you are printing are just so absolutely ridiculous even for The Stranger’s standards. I’m outraged. Give me a call. Bye.

I posted this to Slog on Friday evening, but it deserves to be over here on LineOut. Carr has a thick resume pushing onerous nightlife policies—such as so-called "good neighbor agreements" and prosecuting bar employees—and he's up for reelection in November.

I called back Carr to find out what he was "outraged" about. Details of our conversation continue after the jump.

Young Iranians—normally fans of rock and hiphop—are flocking around classical Persian musician Mohammad Reza Shajarian. From the BBC:

His new-found following stems from the fact that he objected to the use of his songs to celebrate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as president.

Now online support is growing for his album Rendan-e Mast (Drunken Libertines), which he released on 29 August before embarking on a European tour of Germany, Sweden, France and the Netherlands, set to begin on 4 September.

The words "rend" (libertine or rogue) and "mast" (drunk or intoxicated) have positive connotations in classical - especially mystic Sufi - Persian poetry.

You can hear some of the new sounds of Iranian rebellion here: