Buy a latte today and feed the homeless this Thanksgiving

Today only - Cafe Lati will be donating all sales (and tips!) to the Lake City Food Bank. Located across the street from Nathan Hale High School, this small coffee shop is a great example of locally-owned businesses giving back to the community. Yesterday they posted this on their Facebook page:

The Food Bank had to refuse many families during last thanksgiving due to limited budget. We'll donate our time, sales, and tips, but we can't do much without you. We would love if you stopped by and purchased a cup of coffee tomorrow. Feel free to share this message. Seri, Maria, and I really hope to see you on Sunday!

So even though there is talk of snow, venture over to to Cafe Lati (11003 35th Ave NE ) for your cup of coffee and help others get a Thanksgiving meal at the same time.

Community meetings galore - tonight!

I'm excited about all the community organizing in NE Seattle lately.  From City transportation projects to resident-led community gardens, there are so many ways to get involved in what's happening in your neighborhood. Tonight alone, we have four meetings taking place:

Thornton Creek Alliance Meeting
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Lake City Presbyterian Church
3841 NE 123rd St., Room B-2

The Thornton Creek Alliance will be discussing the Hubbard Homestead Park, Thornton Creek Park naming, and their 2010-2011 Work Plan. Bruce Johnson, of the TCA Executive Committee, had these meeting details to share:

Bruce Hubbard will share his memories and his vision for this new park (near Northgate Mall) due to be completed this summer. Also, the Park Naming Committee wants your input. (What kind of name is Park #2, anyway?) TCA's general membership meeting is the place to meet neighbors, learn more about the watershed and the people & wildlife who live here, share your interests & concerns, find a committee to work on, and join a work party. It's free & open to the public, so invite your friends. Hope to see you there!

North Link Light Rail - final design discussion

5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Roosevelt High School Commons
1410 NE 66th Street

Thanks to the new Roosiehood blog for posting details about tonight's light rail design meeting. For those who don't know, the North Link is a 4.3-mile extension to the light rail system with stations at the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate. Tonight's presentation will share engineer drawings and recommendations and discuss what the next steps in the design will look.

Maple Leaf Reservoir Park meeting
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Olympic View Elementary
504 NE 95th Street

The final design meeting is tonight! For those of you following the progress of the new reservoir park, or those still interested in getting their two cents in, tonight is your last chance before the design schematic is approved.  Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park and the Maple Leaf Community Council have graciously sponsored professional childcare...so there's no excuse not to go.

Lake City Community Council meeting

Seattle Mennonite Church - community room
3120 NE 125th Street (Enter from parking lot in back.)

Tonight's meeting will be focused on neighborhood events that will support local businesses (The Restaurant Crawl), make the neighborhood safer and build community (Night Out August 3rd), clean up streets and raise awareness about the 33rd Ave NE Vision Project (fall workparty for 33rd Ave NE), and raise awareness about the new park (PARK-ing Day).

Farmers Market season has started!

After months of anticipation, the Lake City Farmers Market opened yesterday to excited crowds and an even more rare occurrence these days - no rain! I couldn't wait to get out of my Pioneer Square office and on the bus home so I could check out what opening day farmers had to offer.

Despite the winter-like weather we've been having, the start of the Farmers Market season signals that, indeed, summer really is here. I had to buy a couple beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Kittitas Valley Tomatoes since my own plants have yet to even send out a single flower and I couldn't pass up the Alm Hills pea vines.

Next week I definitely plan on sampling one of the newest additions to the market this year- Pan Africa. The deliciously intoxicating smell of African food followed me from from stand to stand and haunted me as I went home to a much more boring dinner. I will not pass that up again!

To get your farm fix, the Lake City market runs every Thursday from 3-7pm from now through October 7th. It's located next to the Library at NE 125th and 28th Ave NE. There is a free underground parking garage right next to the market on 28th Ave NE, and plenty of street parking on the surrounding streets.

If Thursday isn't a good day for you, try the Meadowbrook Farmers Market. Starting this Sunday, June 6th, and running until October 31st from 11am-3pm at the Seattle Waldorf School (2728 NE 100th St).

Wondering what's open/closed today?

Maybe it's this lovely winter-like weather we're currently having, but it seems like there are more people opting to stay in town this Memorial Day weekend instead hitting the open road.

In case you're wondering what's going to be open today, The Seattle Times has a great list of City and public transportation services closure information, here.

Shop Hyper-local in Lake City

I've been blogging a lot about Lake City and its need for revitalization. It's easy to sit back and expound lofty ideas for new local coffee shops and other attractive businesses but a far more difficult task to actually get them there. I'm far from being a city planner but I feel like I can say, with some certainty, that a first step to getting new - non-chain - restaurants, stores and cafes is supporting those the neighborhood already has.

With that idea in mind The Lake City Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Neighborhood Farmer's Market Alliance, is promoting an "economic revival program" called Lake City Market Days. Starting tonight it will run every Thursday, until October 7th, from 3-7pm. Participating restaurants include:

BEAN CITY COFFEE
MINOO BAKERY
THE EYESITE
EBITS PC LAPTOP
PONY EXPRESS
THAI ONE ON
GARCIAS VIDEO
PIZZA UNO
LAKE CITY GYRO
PACIFIC MARKET
EMERALD CITY TATOO
KILIMANJARO MARKET

During the promotion their will be some music at the park at 125th and Lake City Way and a chance for farmer's market vouchers:

Participating merchants along Lake City Way will offer a limited supply of "market bucks" which can be used as cash at the Lake City Farmer's Market. Free money in exchange for purchase!

Even though the Farmer's Market doesn't start until June 3rd this year, get out this month and explore a few of those independent businesses you've never tried.  

Anyone have recommendations for their favorite Lake City business?

Cinco de Mayo at El Norte Tonight!

I know what you're thinking: Cinco de Mayo is an amateur night full of drunken 21 year-olds. I agree. Apparently I'm now old enough where I stay as far away from the holiday, and it's drinking holiday-cousin St. Patrick's Day, because of the ridiculous people doing a little too much "celebrating" that night.

But this Cinco de Mayo is different. I will be out celebrating this obscure holiday at the new Lake City bar, El Norte.  Danae, over on Lake City Live, has been doing an awesome job tracking the trials and tribulations of Mr. Villa owner's trying to open - gasp! - a new bar in the neighborhood. Granted the previous bar in the El Norte space was the notorious Rose Garden. But how will we ever expect Lake City to grow and attract new, non-chain, businesses when the red tape is so thick? Also, have you been to Mr. Villa yet? If El Norte has even a little bit of the amazing food that they have at their, I will be so excited.

Alright, I'm off my soapbox - Come have a margarita with me tonight at El Norte (13717 Lake City Way N.E., Seattle, 98125). We can discuss what would be our dream businesses for the soon to be vacated Rick's strip club.

Save Seattle Parks and Community Centers!

Some readers may remember my previous post about supporting our parks at the last community meeting. Well, unfortunately the over $50 million dollar City budget shortfall has become a reality, Parks and Rec Superintendent Tim Gallagher has stepped down, and the department he leaves behind is likely to be one of the hardest him by cutbacks.

With such a large deficit community center closures and job cuts are inevitable. In NE Seattle alone we have community centers in Magnuson, Laurelhurst, Meadowbrook, Ravenna-Eckstein, and Northgate. These centers provide after-school care and teen programs, among other important services, that are vital to our city. Closing even one of these would have a significantly negative impact on our neighborhood.

New community centers, like Magnuson, are more likely to go first when compared to those that have been in the area for decades. Do you want to lose all the nature programming happen at that park? As Emily Bishton points out:

Ever since it opened in 2004, Magnuson Community Center has been creating nature programs to educate children and adults, and it has become an Environmental Education Center is all ways except an official title. Each year, its Coordinators and Advisory Council have continued to dedicate time and resources to keeping Magnuson Community Center on the leading edge of the children and nature movement. Its nature programs have grown to include a wide variety of choices for children ages 4-12, their parents and other adults, and teen service learning opportunities. These programs now comprise a major part of their community offerings, so closing Magnuson Community Center would be a devastating blow to overall nature education in NE Seattle.

 If you don't want to lose these community centers, attend the public hearing tomorrow and share your thoughts with Mayor McGinn and the City Council. The greater the voice, the greater the chance to keep the doors open.


Meeting Details:
May 4th
5pm: Sign-in
5:30pm: Public hearing
North Seattle Community College cafeteria
9600 College Way North, Seattle, 98103

photo courtesy of Wonderlane

University Heights Center Needs Your Vote

American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are giving away $1 million dollars to one historic building in Seattle and The University Heights Center is in the running. The Partners in Preservation initiative selected 25 projects that preserve historic places throughout the Puget Sound region and reflect the area's diverse heritage. The contest then opened up, at the beginning of April, to public vote for the winner.

Home to our much-beloved Saturday farmers market in the University District, many of you probably have been only in the parking lot of the University Heights Center; though the building itself is an important community center and historic gem.

Originally an elementary school, the building was built in 1902.  It still has all 240 original windows which now are in desperate need of repair from over a hundred years of use and Seattle rain slowly rotting them away. 


"They're just worn. In the Pacific Northwest, moisture eventually deteriorates wood," said Executive Director Dorothy Lengyel to King 5 News. "We have a special case of Seattle history. If we don't take care of it, we could lose her."

Cultural and education non-profit organizations call the Center home, as well as many community
classes that use the rental spaces. As a longtime non-profit worker myself, I've used the classrooms to hold trainings and orientations many times. The nominal rental charge makes the Center an ideal meeting place for those with a small budget.

People may vote once daily until the May 12th deadline so get online and show University Heights some support! Vote here: http://www.preservationnation.org/partners-in-preservation/seattle/vote.html

Waldo Woods Preservation in Jeopardy

Some of you may remember a post I wrote recently celebrating Maple Leaf's Waldo Woods being permanently preserved. Well it looks like that isn't quite the case now.  According to a press release from the Maple Leaf Community Council, all involved parties have signed the easement paperwork that will save the wooded area except Camp Fire Puget Sound.

Waldo Woods Working Group head, David Miller, had this to say about the latest events

I find it ironic that as Camp Fire celebrates its 100th birthday with a video packed with scenes of kids enjoying the environment and stating its focus on the environment that Camp Fire Puget Sound continues to block the community’s efforts at preserving Waldo Woods,” stated Mr. Miller. “I would hope those parents and kids who love both Camp Fire and the environment would contact Camp Fire Puget Sound’s executive leadership and tell them the continued blocking of the preservation of Waldo Woods is unacceptable.

For those who have questions or are interested in learning more about this preservation effort go to the Maple Leaf Community Council General Meeting tomorrow night (7-9pm) at Olympic View Elementary (5th NE & NE 95th).

Fill Your Bowl for North Helpline This Sunday

North Helpline is holding its very first Empty Bowls fundraiser this Sunday, April 25, from noon to 4pm at Northgate Community Center. Live music will be provided by the Jillian Graham Band, Todd Christoffel, and Eric Madis and Peter Martin. Soup has been donated by La Casa Del Mojito, Hudson, the Wedgewood Alehouse, Lake Forest Bar and Grill, and Blue C Sushi. In addition, local artisans will be onsite selling their wares with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit North Helpline.

What is an Empty Bowls event? For a donation, community members can come and choose a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted bowl, enjoy a simple yet delicious meal of soup, salad, and dessert, listen to local bands play, and meet other members of your community.

North Helpline has been tirelessly supporting Northeast Seattle for over twenty years by continuously developing services to support the growing number of people living at or near the poverty line in the area. With food requests up 32% over this time last year and requests for rental assistance/eviction prevention funds up by close to 40%, your support of them is needed now more than ever.

I'll be there - come join me!

Mayor McGinn to Tour Lake City this Saturday

All NE Seattle residents should consider attending this event so I'm re-posting my Lake City Live story here as well:

Ever since Mike McGinn stepped into the mayoral office three months ago, he has made it a priority to get out and tour different neighborhoods in Seattle.  His purpose, to learn about the issues and opportunities in different parts of the city. The walks started in the Pioneer Square/International District neighborhoods where over 70 people attended and discussed their concerns and ideas. I'm not sure what, if anything, came out of that walk and the subsequent ones that followed. But I can bet, at the very least, it increased the sense of community; something I think our area could use a little more of.

This Saturday, April 10th, the Mayor will tour our very own Lake City. This is an open event to public and residents are encouraged to attend and share their concerns about the neighborhood. Many thanks to Ed Pottharst, of the Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods, for sharing the following tour details:
People will have the chance to talk with Mayor McGinn at tour stops.  Most of the tour is walking.  The last two gathering places—Little Brook Park and Jackson Park House & Village (youth tutoring program) –are about a mile north of the earlier stops.  You are welcome to join Mayor McGinn on bike hops to these two places.

Support Your Parks Tonight

I posted this over on Lake City Live but I think it's applies to everyone in NE Seattle so I'm posting here as well!

With the City of Seattle facing a $50 million dollar budget shortfall this year, it's highly likely the Parks and Recreation Department will have to share in the budget cuts needed to make up for the huge loss. This is just one reason why it's really important to attend the Community Open House this Wednesday, April 7th from 6:30 to 8pm at the Lake City Community Center.

Wedgwood Vision Project Meeting - Part 2

Here's a meeting notice from the Wedgwood Vision Project. If you live in the neighborhood, stop by!

Wedgwood Vision Project
2nd Community Meeting
Saturday, April 10th 9:30am~12:30pm
Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (corner of 35th & 80th)

The first community gathering in January was a great success with everyone attending contributing to the Vision Project by voicing their opinions, wishes, and concerns about our neighborhood. Building on the first meeting, and together with the results of a neighborhood-wide survey which will launch soon,we will take it up a few notches and engage our community further in creating a future vision for Wedgwood.

The event will start at 9:30AM with a bagels and hot beverage social segment. Then get right into discussions and exercises led once again by Makers, our project consultants.

We hope to see you on Saturday morning April 10th!

Seattle's First Composting Toilet - Picaloo - is Open!

The Picardo Farm P-Patch's composting toilet is now open for business...no, literally. Dedication and unveiling ceremonies for the City of Seattle's first composting toilet took place today in Wedgwood.

Despite the chilly weather, a good-sized crowd cheered as Ciscoe, local gardening celebrity, cut the toilet paper to show the public restroom was finally ready.  The naming contest winner was also announced; Picaloo won out over Clivus, ePoo, Fecaltheque and Quadra-P.

Wondering why so much attention is on a bathroom?  Susie Rantz, from the Seattle-PI In North Seattle Blog, explains:

The Picardo Farm P-Patch has 220 garden plots and multiple gardeners per plot. Many of them tend the garden year-round, but water is only on for half the year, and there are no sewage or electrical hookups for a conventional public toilet.

For years, Picardo gardeners chipped in and leased a port-a-john. Although chained down, this unit occasionally was tipped over. Also, the Honey Bucket was only leased between April and October, leaving year-round gardeners limited options during the remainder of the year. While nearby Dahl Playfield has permanent public restrooms, they are locked up in November and not re-opened until the following spring.

For more details on Picaloo, read Susie's entire article here. Also, check out the City of Seattle's Picardo P-Patch page for more information on the huge garden/farm.

New Maple Leaf Reservoir Park Meeting - Save the Date

Some of you may remember my previous post about the art installation project being planned for the future Maple Leaf reservoir park.  For those not in the know, let me catch you up to speed. Seattle Public Utilities decided to cover all remaining open reservoirs in Seattle with an underground structure to improve the security and quality of the city's water.  The "reservoir lid"is covered with soil, grass and plants to make it a public green space.  In the case of the Maple Leaf reservoir, it will seamlessly fit in with the adjacent playground adding 16 acres of green space. 

Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park is inviting the whole community to come out to the next park planning meeting happening on Thursday, April 22nd. The Parks Department will present draft designs in order to get feedback from the public. For those interested in attending, the meeting will be held at Olympic View Elementary (504 NE 94th) from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

Want to add this save this date directly into your Outlook or other icalendar? Click on the NE Seattle Life events calendar button and you're all set! 

Food Packing Party at the View Ridge PCC Tonight

The PCC Food Bank Program is holding a volunteer work party at 7pm tonight  at their View Ridge store.  Everyone is welcome to help package bulk foods such as beans, rice, pasta and grains which will be given to the University District Food bank.

The bulk food is acquired through a few different ways of PCC shopper donations.  Each store accepts monetary donations to the program and has a food bin where patrons can donate non-perishable goods. However, the easiest way to donate is to bring your own grocery tote!  Each time shoppers reuse their bags, five cents is automatically donated to the fund. 

If you can't make it to the work party tonight, fear not; the event happens every other month until the end of the year.  For more information, contact PCC's Community Relations at (206) 547-1222.

Maple Leaf's Waldo Woods now Permanently Preserved

The Maple Leaf Community Council sent out a press release announcing the wonderful news that Waldo Woods has now completed the process of being approved as a conservation easement:

Ordinance 116794 was passed by the Seattle City Council Monday, March 8. Confirmation was received today that Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn has signed the legislation. This ordinance represents the last step in the process where the Seattle Parks Department takes possession of a conservation easement for Waldo Woods. The effect of the conservation easement is the permanent preservation of Waldo Woods, an urban grove of mature, native Douglas firs. 

Wondering what the heck is a conservation easement? Simply put, it's a legally enforceable preservation agreement between a landowner and government agency; in this case the two players being the Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder Day School and the City of Seattle.

Though this type of easement puts certain restrictions on land use by the owner, it doesn't make the property automatically available to the public. Luckily the day school has graciously agreed to make a portion of Waldo Woods available to the public so all may enjoy the 85-year-old forest.

Congratulations to the Maple Leaf Community Council, the Waldo Woods Working Group and all Maple Leaf residents who worked for over three years to save this important piece of city green space.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbaron/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Lake City Meetup Tonight!

I posted this over on Lake City Live but I would love to meet people from all over NE Seattle, so putting it up here as well!

Monica Guzman, the maven behind the Seattle PI's Big Blog, has been hosting weekly reader meetups for over a year now.  This week she's bringing it to Lake City! Join me and DanaeK, along with the entire Big Blog crew, at The Beer Authority tonight. It's a great chance to meet new people in the hood and have some fun!

Meet Up Details:
The Beer Authority
12716 Lake City Way NE
Wednesday, 3/10
5:30-7:00pm

Wedgwood Community Survey - What Do You Think?

Some of you may remember my previous post about The Wedgwood Vision Project and their plan to facilitate growth and development within the neighborhood, starting with a kick-off community meeting.  They seem like a dedicated group very interested in learning what the community thinks and would like done.

The Project is asking for more feedback, this time in the form of their online survey.  They are hoping to receive more input from Wedgwood residents to put towards building the future Wedgwood Vision Plan. 

For those interested, please take a few minutes and complete the survey: http://wedgwoodcc.org/survey/.

What Do You Want for Seattle's Kids?

One of Mayor McGinn's biggest inaugural projects is to address the challenges kids and their families are facing in Seattle right now with the Youth and Families Initiative.  As with other initiatives coming out of the mayor's office, the first step is starting a discussion. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention before but I swear I don't remember our former mayor taking so much time to get the public's opinion - it's definitely refreshing!

The Youth and Families Initiative will begin with five large workshops at community centers across the city.  NE Seattle residents can attend the group meeting on March 1st at Northgate Elementary, from 7:00-8:30pm.  Have a kid, or know one, in the public schools system? A sixth, youth-only, workshop will be held at City Hall on April 8th.

For those not able to make it to one of the workshops, the YFI is planning up to 100 Community Caucuses in an effort to hear from as many residents as possible:

Each Community Caucus will be an opportunity for a group that wants to make its voice heard to meet, with a facilitator, in a living room, coffee shop, community center—anywhere where people gather naturally in a community; the idea is that instead of asking you to come to us, we’re going to go to you to make sure that your voice gets heard. Each Community Caucus, like each small table at the large group workshops, will elect one delegate to send on to the broader Kids and Families Congress on June 5th at Seattle Center, so holding a Community Caucus will be a great way to ensure that your group’s voice is heard as the Initiative moves forward.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Initiative, please contact Sol Villarreal in the Mayor’s Office at sol.villarreal@seattle.gov or 206-233-2656.