Pinehurst Seattle

January 2013 Pinehurst Crime Map

Here is a limited picture of Pinehurst property crime for January 2013. You can see ALL the types of crime at http://web5.seattle.gov/mnm/policereports.aspx. Choose North neighborhood and dates January 1 – 31.

Schools Levies on Seattle Ballot

We recently received ballots in the mail for the renewal of two property-tax levies. The levies, which are the only measures on the ballot, will help bridge state funding gaps and support facility improvements for Seattle Public Schools.

These levies, if passed, would have a significant impact on the Pinehurst neighborhood because they would fund two new, expanded replacement school buildings on the sites of Olympic Hills Elementary and Pinehurst Elementary. They would also provide for earthquake safety improvements for Jane Addams, Rogers Elementary, and Sacajawea Elementary buildings.

Ballots are due Tuesday, February 12th. Here are additional details about the levies:

Continue reading Schools Levies on Seattle Ballot

School Capacity Management Plan Approved

At a special School Board meeting 1/31/2013 it was decided that, for next year, students from John Rogers, Sacajawea, and Olympic Hills attendance areas will not be assigned to a “comprehensive” middle school in the Jane Addams building (which does not yet exist); they will instead keep their current Eckstein assignment. Entrance to the Jane Addams K-8 program will remain voluntary for at least next year.

There are no firm details as to how the new Jane Addams Middle School will be implemented in 2014-15. It is possible that it may start out as a co-location with the K-8 program (the new K-8 building, planned to house approx 700 kids at the Pinehurst site, is not scheduled to be completed until 2016). There is also the possibility that the K-8 program will be placed in interim housing until their building is ready, as co-location of the two programs in one building (for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years) is estimated to require 11 portables added to Jane Addams, and this would strain the core resources of the building. There are several possible implementation schemes for Jane Addams Middle School. Everything for 2014-15 and beyond is up in the air at this time, and we may not know anything concrete about 2014-15 until late this year. Continue reading School Capacity Management Plan Approved

Kids Art in Pinehurst Pocket Park

This month’s art on display at the Pinehurst Pocket Park is by Jordan. She drew it at last year’s Pinehurstfest. Looks like the feisty flying squirrel is all ready for a big slice of that birthday cake! This art is in the kiosk in the park at NE 117th St and 19th Ave NE. Thanks for your wonderful picture, Jordan!

If you would like to submit your child’s artwork for the Pocket Park, please email nancy@pinehurstseattle.org. We’ll put it on mat board donated by FRAMEIT Ltd, 539 NE Northgate Way (moving soon to 10712 5th Ave NE).

Little Free Library Update

Recently there have been some newspaper and magazine articles about the Little Free Libraries in Seattle. Here is an update on one of ours, at 2024 NE 113th St.

In short, it is running gang-busters. Just last night someone, who was out walking his dog, was perusing it by flashlight. I check and tidy it up almost every day and I do believe that at LEAST one person a day uses it. The comment book is full of enthusiastic missives. Walkers seem delighted to discover it and vow to return with books.

If there is one somewhat unmet need, it’s for kids and youth books.

It seems to be a truly valued neighborhood feature. It is wonderful how the community is supporting this little library. Some days the box will be bulging with books. More rarely there will be gaps in the shelf and I’ll add some from my stash. Once in a while I’ll swap books with the ‘little free librarian’ of another box in town. Only the size of the box limits the quantity of books. Everyone seems as eager to donate books as to take books. It’s a wonderful thing.

So thank you, Pinehurst and Victory Heights, for using and contributing to this resource! And remember we also have the library across the street from the Pinehurst Pocket Park (west edge).

If you have a Little Free Library in the neighborhood you’d like featured, please contact nancy@pinehurstseattle.org.

Fire Station Open House February 9th

Numerous Seattle Fire Stations will host open houses February 9th, from 10 am to 1 pm. In our area, here are the participating stations:

Lake City Fire Station 39 – 2806 NE 127th St

Northgate Fire Station 31 – 1319 N. Northgate Way

Stop by a station, talk to firefighters and check out the fire trucks. This is part of Seattle’s annual Neighbor Appreciation Day, so it’s a great opportunity to thank them for their service to the community!

Feb 9 Neighbor Appreciation Day

February 9th is Seattle’s 19th annual Neighbor Appreciation Day. It’s a day to reach out and express thanks to those who live or work near us. One way to do that is to send an ecard. You can do that here, and include kids’ artwork from prior years, including the image on this post.

You can also celebrate by planning neighborhood events for that day, such as a potluck, local walk, plant some trees, a litter pickup party.

We should also remember our local merchants. They’d probably be tickled to get some thank-yous!

Victory Heights Community Council Meeting January 15th

The Victory Heights Community Council is re-forming after a many-year hiatus. The next meeting is Tuesday, January 15th at 7 PM. It’s at the pre-school co-op in Victory Heights Park, 1737 NE 106th St.

Draft bylaws will be discussed and adopted, and trustees and officers will be elected. It’s a great time to get in on the ground floor of this neighborhood organization. The council will be considering many ideas, such as neighborhood traffic improvements, fun activities, etc.

Because neighborhoods are informal entities that define their own borders, some of us live in both Victory Heights and Pinehurst – see VH’s boundaries below. We lucky ones can belong to both councils!

For more information, and a copy of the draft bylaws, go to the Victory Heights Blog. There’s a link to the blog on the right panel of this blog under the heading Blogroll —>

North Precinct Advisory Council Minutes – Jan. 2013

This month’s special guests were from the SPD Arson/Bomb Squad. They described the activities of the squad, demonstrated one of their robots, and showed us their 90 pound bomb suit. Dennis, the bomb dog, demonstrated his sniffing skills. He can identify 19,000 substances!

See minutes on that topic and other public safety news from the North Precinct here.

Pinehurst Pets – Henry & Hazel

Henry and Hazel – Pinehurst’s cute little Corgis. You may see Henry and Hazel out in the neighborhood on their daily walks. They’re Cardigan Welsh Corgis – with huge bushy tails that are usually wagging happily when they see other dogs and people on their walks (Henry the black one is extremely friendly and loves to say hi to everyone canine or human – Hazel is a bit more shy and will hang out on the sidelines while Henry and his people socialize). They are an entirely different breed than their cousins – the Pembroke Welsh Corgis who have docked tails.
Feel free to say hi to their people – Matt and Elizabeth!

If you would like to see your pet featured in the Pinehurst Pets column, please send a photo and a story about your pet to nancy@pinehurstseattle.org.

Pinehurst Seattle

Categories

Archives