Mug Makes Towering Impression

She graces every Starbucks product, from sacks of coffee to travel mugs.

So it made sense that when Starbucks undertook a $30 million renovation to its headquarters south of the Kingdome, completed this month, the famous coffee siren logo would be included.

Sure enough, the siren’s crown, wavy tresses, eyes and half her nose peek from the top of the building’s central tower.

It’s tall enough to allow her to top the southern skyline of the city viewed from major roads sweeping in and out of town.

The tower section of the old Sears building, built in 1915, was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River in its day. Skyscrapers have long since left the tower many floors below their summits. But they don’t have the building’s retro charm.

Or a mermaid on the roof.

Locke casts vote

Gov. Gary Locke stopped by the state headquarters for the stadium campaign Friday to drop off his ballot, marked yes, and buck up a handful of volunteers working the phones.

There was some irony in watching the governor ensure the hardy souls broiling under TV lights that their efforts were crucial to the campaign. No mention was made, except in jest, of the campaign’s spectacular finances.

“I know money is tight, so you can take the stamp off and use it for something else if you want,” Locke said as he handed over his ballot.

Billionaire Paul Allen has already spent $5 million on the referendum, a state record.

Locke next dialed up voters from a list given to him by the campaign, urging them to vote yes and tell their friends and neighbors to also.

After the governor’s appearance at headquarters, Seattle Mayor Norm Rice was scheduled to stop by a campaign party featuring Sea Gals and Seahawks players.

Bringing up the cost of the stadium project, a cool $327 million in public funds, seemed downright grumpy in such a party atmosphere.

“I keep trying to tell people: Money isn’t free,” sighed Rep. Brian Thomas, R-Renton, chairman of the House Finance Committee, and a stadium opponent.

Skateboard park success

Behind a chain-link fence by a busy downtown street in Seattle is a teenage paradise: a 24-hour skateboard park.

Spokane residents wondering if kids will really use the Lilac City’s first skateboard park need only the briefest glance at Seattle’s ramps, jumps and way cool boarders enjoying themselves.

Opened in 1993, the park has been a hit ever since, said Beau Fong of the Seattle Center, which operates the park with a nonprofit group.

On a recent summerlike afternoon, none of the boarders wore knee pads, elbow pads or helmets as they surfed the asphalt and challenged metal ramps and chutes. They swooshed through the air, landing with triumphant thwacks.

Park operators leave injury prevention to the kids. “We encourage protection, but we don’t require it,” Fong said.

Over in Bellevue, they take a more conservative approach to things, including skate parks.

Everyone’s charged a fee to use the skateboard park. And nobody is allowed in the park without suiting up in protective gear, including a helmet.

The Spokane skate park, expected to open by the beginning of the school year, won’t charge a fee or require protection.

“We aren’t looking for a lot of control. We want to provide access,” said Taylor Bressler of the city parks department.

The park, planned near Lewis and Clark High School, will feature concrete forms in the shapes of half-pipes, pyramids and ramps. Construction should be under way by mid-August.

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