More Bike Lanes

As part of the city's Bicycle Master Plan, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is proposing to narrow Fauntleroy Way Southwest from four car lanes to three, and to add striping for bike lanes and sharrows from Southwest Alaska Street to California Avenue Southwest, a stretch of about 11 blocks. Downsizing Fauntleroy (or, depending on your perspective, expanding it for cyclists) has been, predictably, controversial.

SDOT is holding an open house on the proposal on Monday, December 1. Ironically, the agency decided to hold its meeting at what may be the toughest spot to reach by bike in all of Seattle—High Point Community Center, 6920 34th Avenue Southwest, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. ERICA C. BARNETT

Fewer Schools

A North Seattle K-8 alternative school may rename itself after President-elect Barack Obama in an effort to attract new students and avoid possible closure.

"We're getting bad vibes throughout the community... saying [AS#1's] ... going to be closed," says AS#1 parent Lara Grauer. "It would not be easy to close a Barack Obama school," she says.

However, efforts to rebrand the school may be in vain. The Seattle School Board is meeting November 25 to announce planned school closures, and AS#1 is apparently on the list. While community outcry has kept the district from closing other North Seattle schools in recent years, even Obama might not be able to save AS#1. JONAH SPANGENTHAL-LEE

Cheaper Condos

On December 13, 15 units at the Press Condos on Capitol Hill will be auctioned off, including nine that have been sitting unsold since the development was converted from apartments to condos in 2006. "The seller is just trying to get rid of them all," says Calvin Lee, a receptionist for Kennedy Wilson, the California-based company running the auction. "He has a bunch of loans he needs to pay off."

A spree of condo conversions has displaced thousands of renters over the last four years, but now building owners are auctioning condos below market rates. Starting bids for two-bedroom units at the Press will begin at $210,000, roughly half the initial listing price. DOMINIC HOLDEN