Residents of a home near the Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N., reported that a person posing as a Seattle Parks and Recreation employee tried to solicit money for a teen program.The parks department warns residents that its employees do not solicit funds, and the act is illegal. Residents are encouraged to call 911 if anyone knocks on their door to ask for money for the parks department.
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, Laurelon Terrace condominium owners voted 120-3 in a straw vote in favor of the tentative sale of their building for $93 million - a value calculated at more than 2.5 times the market value of each owner's unit. As Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center, 4800 Sand Point Way N.E., hopes to expand 1.5 million square feet over the next 20 years (doubling the number of current hospital beds). The hospital has been purchasing individual condominium units to its immediate west since last fall.While most residents are satisfied with the price at which their units will sell (one-bedroom units with a market value of $241,000 would be sold for slightly more than $600,000), some longtime residents are concerned with the perils of moving, especially with the hefty price tags that some Seattle-area condos come with."It is a very fair price, though a lot of us aren't thrilled with having to move," said Allene Caddy, 62, who first moved into her condo in 1978 as a single mother. When she first caught word that Children's Hospital's plan to expand included her condo building last August, she stood against it, but she has since changed her mind. "It will be rough for a lot of people, especially those older than me," she said. "We've known that they wanted the land. The writing is on the wall."
Children in 45 area schools are turning dollars into deeds through Penny Harvest. Last fall students in the Seattle/King County area went door to door with bags and sacks, collected pennies in classrooms, pooled them in schools and rallied to collect $64,333.73. Now, through student-led Philanthropy Roundtables youth will convene to assess community needs and allocate the money into grants to community groups that they have selected. "Students became enthusiastic about brainstorming ways their contributions of pennies could help others. Socially, every child felt important and able to help make a difference no matter how many pennies they were able to bring in for the harvest," said Carol Anderson, a teacher at Lawton Elementary School.
The city announced at a Feb. 25 public meeting that progress has been made in developing plans for uses of Fort Lawton property when it becomes surplus, and those plans include housing for the homeless. "We announced Monday [Feb. 25] that the Seattle Housing Authority was selected to be our lead developer," said Linda Cannon, deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. Also selected for the development team were the YMCA, the Archdiocesan Housing Authority, the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation/Alesek Institute, Habitat for Humanity, the Homestead Community Land Trust and the Cascade Land Conservancy, according to city documents.
What do Blue Highway Games, Hilltop Yarn, Queen Anne Books, Queen Anne Manor and Video Isle have in common beside their Queen Anne locations? Each business is serving as a host organization for students through the Successful Schools in Action Work Experience Program.
Queen Anne builder Todd Masch-medt has taken issue with Queen Anne & Magnolia News coverage of complaints lodged by neighbors of his condo project at 1413 Third Ave. W. ("Contractor on Queen Anne project leaves legacy of complaints," Feb. 27). Describing himself as "a standup guy" who bent over backwards trying to accommodate concerns from neighbors to the north and south of the project, Maschmedt also refutes the allegations made by the neighbors. The Department of Planning and Development authorized him to cut down the large maple tree, the contractor said, adding that the tree was 10 to 12 feet away from where he needed to hook up utilities. It was Bill Ames, a Seattle Department of Transportation arborist, who told him move the utility hookup even farther away because of potential damage to the root system, Maschmedt said.
Queen Anne builder Todd Maschmedt has taken issue with Queen Anne & Magnolia News coverage of complaints lodged by neighbors of his condo project at 1413 Third Ave. W. ("Contractor on Queen Anne project leaves legacy of complaints," Feb. 27).Describing himself as "a standup guy" who bent over backwards trying to accommodate concerns from neighbors to the north and south of the project, Maschmedt also refutes the allegations made by the neighbors.The Department of Planning and Development authorized him to cut down the large maple tree, the contractor said, adding that the tree was 10 to 12 feet away from where he needed to hook up utilities. It was Bill Ames, a Seattle Department of Transportation arborist, who told him move the utility hookup even farther away because of potential damage to the root system, Maschmedt said.
Cub Scout Pack 70/72 announces its Pinewood Derby racing winners by den. Best in Show for the Pack for Car Design: 1st place, Adam Paganelli (Wolf); 2nd, Denver Turner (Wolf); 3rd (tie), Ben Asher (Webelo 1) and Luke Anderson (Tiger)
Robert and Natalie Atkinson don't have to worry anymore about paying for their two children's college tuition when they're old enough to go. Considering that Elizabeth is 7 and Elliott is 9, that's quite an accomplishment for the Queen Anne couple. But they haven't won the lottery, and they're not super-rich. Instead, the Atkinsons are taking part in the Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program, which was started in Washington state a decade ago. Here's how it works, according to Whitney DalBalcon, GET's associate communications director. Parents buy credits, 100 of which will cover one year of tuition, and 400 of which will pay tuition for a four-year degree, she said. Individual credits currently cost $74 apiece, and 400 of them will pay for $100,000 worth of tuition by the time children go to college, "assuming tuition continues to increase at its historical rate of 7 percent a year," DalBalcon explained. The accounts can also be used to attend out-of-state schools or trade schools, she said.
The Bartell drugstore chain opened its 56th store on Monday, March 5. Located on Upper Queen Anne at 1929 Queen Anne Ave. N., the store is on the first floor of the Eden apartment house across the street from the Metropolitan Market.At around 13,000 square feet, it's about a third smaller than the existing Bartell in Lower Queen Anne, and the new store closes a circle in a way. Company founder George H. Bartell lived on Queen Anne Hill and raised his family there when he started the business in 1890, noted George D. Bartell, a third-generation member of the family and the current chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
I first met Fardosa when she had just arrived in this country. At that time her young face reminded me of a theatrical mask for Tragedy: shock and dismay as well as pain and suffering registered there. I later learned she came from a remote village in Somalia, had never seen a city before and had spent a year in a Kenyan refugee camp. She had no family left, apart from a brother in Seattle, and had been sent here to live with him and his wife.
In our increasingly self-absorbed world, where stopping to help someone in need becomes breaking news, and where we're desensitized by a media cacophony of crime and violence, events that restore our faith in humanity are, if rare, welcome. Such an incident occurred the day Marvin went missing. You may recall Marvin Ragland's story in the Magnolia News. He's the senior gentleman with a passion for classical music and Mexican food - eating two meals a day at Magnolia's El Ranchon Mexican restaurant, and becoming something of a local celebrity.
The Northwest Horticultural Society (NHS) reached new heights this year with its brilliant garden installation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The theme was "Eat Your Vegetables." They produced three different garden scenarios: a patio/deck kitchen garden, a container garden suitable for condo dwellers and a formal French potager. It was a show-stopper.
No columns I've written in my five-plus years spouting off in the News have gotten the attention of more folks than the three or four epics I've typed about pedestrian safety — and lack of same — in our city and neighborhoods.It is a problem that is finally gaining more and more attention in the world at large. As it should. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a pedestrian is killed in the United States every one hour and 50 minutes. A pedestrian is seriously injured every nine minutes.
It didn't make any local media reports. But Friday before last, a deal was struck in the state legislature that could fundamentally change how elections are held in Seattle. The deal concerned two identical bills with different numbers that had been overwhelmingly passed by the Senate (29-20) and the House (56-38). Because the bills had different numbers, one had to be passed by the other chamber, by last week, in order to be forwarded to the governor's desk for her signature. And the Senate version, championed by the venerable Sen. Rosa Franklin, won out. (It's amazing how much of Olympia's legislative process comes down to personalities. It's like middle school on steroids.) Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign it into law. Oh, the bill? It would allow local jurisdictions (cities or counties) to hold referenda on the public financing of elections. And Seattle is at or near the top of the list of Washington cities likely to put such a measure on the ballot in November 2008.