Jeopardy! Champion Takes Over Bookstore on Greenwood Ave N: PhinneyWood reports that in June, Tom Nissley and his wife, Laura Silverstein, will be taking over ownership of Santoro's Books and changing the name of the bookstore to Phinney Books. Congratulations to Silverstein and Nissley; we'll be stopping by to check out the space in June.

Artist Trust Executive Director Out: In a surprise announcement, Artist Trust said this afternoon that Margit Rankin has resigned as executive director. She was only there two years. According to the press release, "Board president Susan Wagner noted that even though the organization and Rankin have decided to part ways, the departure is amicable.” The board will be “looking deeper into the roles and structure of Artist Trust” before beginning a search for Rankin’s replacement in June, hoping to hire by fall.

Today in Other Personnel Changes: Ryan Boudinot announced this morning that Rebecca Brinson has become Managing Director of the Seattle City of Literature Project. Boudinot writes that Brinson is "just who we needed to turn the Seattle City of Literature Project into a formal organization." The next step for Seattle's UNESCO City of Literature bid comes in November, when we'll find out whether our application has been accepted.

Today in Even More Personnel Changes: As of April 1, curator Jessica Powers has joined The New Foundation Seattle as associate director. Along with Yoko Ott, Powers will steer the organization into its first public venue for exhibitions and events. It's scheduled to open in the fall, located in the middle of all the galleries in Pioneer Square. Powers is a smart and decent person who's brought good art into this world at TARL, Hedreen Gallery at Seattle U, Path With Art, and Western Bridge. Yes!

Belltown Soon to Be Less Bad: Thanks to hard work by a neighborhood committee that began wayyyyy back in 1998, there will be a four-block park along Bell Street stretching from First to Fifth avenue, a green space in the middle of one of the densest places in the city. Public art on the site is Souvenir, a series of four bronze sculptures by Sheila Klein, who lived and rented her first studio in Belltown in the 1980s. The grand opening for the art is 2 to 5 pm April 12. Klein also happens to have a gallery show up this month. It opens tomorrow during Pioneer Square art walk. In the meantime, enjoy this slice of the new park:

Part of Sheila Kleins art at Bell St. Park.
  • Courtesy of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture
  • Part of Sheila Klein's art at Bell St. Park.

Socialism and the City: Tonight at 7 pm, Northwest Film Forum will be screening Bogotá Cambió as a part of the Red Renewal: Seattle’s Socialist Spring. Bogotá Cambió is about how the capital of Colombia was transformed from a dangerous city to one of the leading examples of a happy city by an unprecedented succession of brilliant and innovative mayors. The key to this transformation was placing the concerns of the public over those of the elite. The message? Democracy is not just about voting but creating urban spaces and forms of transportation that meet the needs of the many.