The Seattle Department of Transportation is pushing to finish several new blocks of sidewalk as part of its Safe Routes to School program. Work is now taking place near Northgate Elementary School, on First Avenue Northeast between North 117th and 120th streets. While crews are installing the sidewalks, curbs, gutters and curb ramps on the west side of First Avenue, southbound traffic on First Avenue is detouring as needed to Meridian Avenue North, and on-street parking is restricted.
The Seattle Department of Transportation has finished upgrading the electrical and mechanical systems on the north half of the Fremont Bridge. Work has now started on the south half. The temporary bicycle ramp on the bridge's north side will remain in place until next spring so that a construction truck can park where the permanent ramp is located. There is no available space on the south side of the bridge to park the truck.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has secured $24 million in the 2008 fiscal-year federal budget for Sound Transit's University Link light-rail extension. The funding is part of a Congressional funding bill headed for White House approval. The funding would apply against the $750 million Full Funding Grant Sound Transit is seeking for the University Link. This light-rail segment would be funded by the federal grant and existing local tax dollars.
Touring holiday light displays with family and friends is one of the most popular activities of the season, and South Seattle is no exception. Click the FULL STORY link for an account from Seward Park resident, and photographer, Leilani McCoy:
On Sunday, Dec. 9, the Southeast Seattle Senior Center pulled out all the proverbial stops and hosted their annual Santa brunch from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The family event featured an elegant buffet meal including eggs benedict, salad, meatballs, pancakes, fruit, Danish pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit and much more. There were three helpers affiliated with Santa Claus and representing the cultural diversity of the South End on hand to speak with the neighborhood children and their families about Mr. Claus' upcoming annual flight of generosity.
According to Washington's Better Business Bureau (BBB), the toy industry spends an estimated $300 million a year on safety testing and inspection of toys, and approximately 3 billion toys are sold in America each year. So far this year, more than 20 million toys have been pulled off shelves as a result of more than 60 recalls. This is more than twice the number of alerts the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) issued last year. Perhaps even more concerning is that, according to the CPSC, less than 20 percent of recalled toys make it back to the manufacturer for proper disposal or repair.
And the Queen Anne Helpline needs your help once again. Many local families and individuals simply do not have the warm clothing to help them through these cold, wet winter months.Merrill Gardens at Queen Anne has responded to this need by conducting the "Knock You Socks Off!" clothing drive now through Dec. 31. Warm winter clothing items may be dropped off at their lobby at 805 Fourth Ave. N. After you knock your socks off, you may leave them along with your donated hats, gloves, mittens, ponchos, umbrellas and warm coats in their lobby - or drop them off at the Queen Anne Helpline Office, 311 W. McGraw St., between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Michael Yasutake and the Emerald City Jazz Ensemble played to the crowds gathered for the inaugural Southeast Seattle International Festival held at The Citadel near South Othello Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South on Sunday, Dec. 9. Organizers Quan Tran and Linh Thai created the event to encourage lasting community and cultural unity along the MLK corridor, and area seriously affected by the Sound Transit Light Rail construction.
One of the tenants at the Lumen condominiums at 500 Mercer St. leaked an internal e-mail to the News last week that painted a dire financial picture of a project that includes a QFC on the ground floor. Alan Winningham - who has been managing the project as a principal with Landstar Real Estate LLC - stressed at a meeting last weekend with the tenant-owners that most of their worries were based on inaccurate information or had been taken care of, he said. "It was unfortunate, because I think it created an anxiety that was unnecessary."Still, the e-mail lists 23 areas of concerns: some minor but many major.
It might strike some as caffeine overkill, but manager Angela Billington says it made perfect sense to open up a new Peet's Coffee & Tea outlet at a corner where a Starbucks and a Tully's already battle for supremacy and where the neighborhood-based Caffè Ladro is just two doors down.
"History is more or less bunk," Henry Ford once said. The old lion lived to regret that comment, as well he should. Anyone opening the big and beautiful "Magnolia: Making More Memories" will be reminded that history, first and last, is people and their stories. It's amazing, really, that a dedicated group of volunteers - in this case the Magnolia Historical Society - has produced such a book, weighing in with 392 numbered pages between its hard covers. Led by project manager Monica Wooton, "Making More Memories" is the follow up to "Magnolia: Memories and Milestones," published by the Magnolia Community Club in 2000.
The 43rd Legislative District Democrats will hold a blowout in a good cause (or not, depending on political persuasion) this Friday, Dec. 14, from 7 to 10 p.m. It's their Annual Holiday Party, which this year has a new agenda and a new name: Democrats on Fire: Our Road Forward. This biggest fundraiser of the year is dedicated to raising money to hold the February 2008 Precinct Caucuses, which will help decide Washington's Democratic choice for president.
The news on recycling is a mixed bag. Although Washingtonians sent a total of 5.3 million tons of waste to landfills last year, we recycled 43 percent of municipal waste. At the same time, we had success diverting other materials, such as construction and demolition debris, raising the total statewide "recovery" of materials from 47 to 49 percent. Standard recycling by households and businesses in Washington held mostly steady, at 43 percent in 2006, down just one percentage point from 2005, according to new numbers compiled by the state Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). That accounts for more than 4 million tons of recycled material. <br
The Ward Johnson Winery on Elliott Avenue West, which we wrote about in our Nov. 14 issue, isn't the only family wine business that's making a name for itself in Queen Anne. Located in Ben Ridgway's garage on Second Avenue North, the Queen Anne Winery is also making inroads in the competitive field. The Metropolitan Market carries his brand, along with a couple of neighborhood eateries such as the Bricco and the Queen Anne Grill, and the Uptown QFC in Lower Queen Anne just signed on as a customer as well, Ridgway said.
The deal to sell property that includes the Metropolitan Market on top of Queen Anne Hill may not have closed yet, but the owner of the neighborhood grocery store would like to be part of the new project. "We're very excited that Joe [Geivett] is buying the property, and we're very hopeful we can work something out," said Met Market owner Terry Halverson. As it was for the grocery store when the Cox family first started talking about developing the property a few years ago, cost is still an issue.