Today, while waiting for my lunch, the cashier said, "Our food truck was down in South Lake Union last week, and our cook saw a guy doing push-ups in the park while smoking and only wearing underwear."

"Now that kind of thing makes for an interesting neighborhood," I said. "Where did this happen?"

"In the People's Park," she said. "Near that halfway house."

Most of you probably didn't know there are halfway houses in South Lake Union. And I'd forgotten about their existence, too, despite the fact that a good friend used to work at one of them. I wonder how the new upscale South Lake Union residents feel about the halfway houses?

According to the Seattle Times, the for-profit mental health and addiction treatment provider Hanbleceya has, without public consultation, opened a treatment clinic and bought three homes and rented two others in Normandy Park. The company seems to be taking advantage of the vague definition of residential treatment, and Normandy Park citizens are understandably pissed and scared.

Take a look at the front-page photo of last Sunday's Seattle Times. You'll see a group shot of aggrieved Normandy Park folks. On the lower right is a blond woman aglow with fury. I don't know if she's right or wrong, but I think I love her.

Can I find that beautiful fury in South Lake Union? And will it be directed toward the halfway houses or against those who will eventually seek to move the halfway houses? recommended