Pinehurst Seattle

Victory Heights Garden Walkabout May 2nd

Pinehurst and Victory Heights boundaries are a bit fuzzy north of Northgate Way….so here’s a fun Victory Heights event that started last year. Mark your calendar! And if you live in VH and have even a garden-in-progress, please consider adding it to the tour: VH2010GardenTour

Eric Madis’ April Shows and Classes

Pinehurst neighbor and Pinehurstfest organizer has some upcoming shows this month as well as a new CD available.

April 6-20 Beginning Blues Fingerstyle Class @ Dusty Strings (3406 Fremont N, Seattle, 206-634-1662) 7:45-8:45 PM
The next three Tuesdays, Eric teaches basic blues fingerpicking and two tunes from Piedmont and Delta blues.

April 10 – Elliott Bay Swing Quartet @ Vino Bella (99 Front St, Issaquah, 425-391-1424) 7:30-11:30 PM
Eric plays acoustic swing jazz with violinist Paul Anastasio, mandolinist Pete Martin and upright bassist Christy
Mooers at this elegant and warm wine/espresso bar! No Cover Charge.

April 16 – Brian Butler & Eric Madis @ Dusty Strings (3406 Fremont N, Seattle, 206-634-1662) 7:30-9 PM $15/13
Eric opens for his friend Brian Butler in this acoustic blues concert sponsored by Victory Music and Dusty Strings.

April 25 – Eric Madis & Pete Martin @ Empty Bowls Fundraiser Concert (10510 – 5th Ave NE, Seattle, 206-386-4283)
This concert is to benefit North Helpline Emergency Services & Foodbank, which serves greater NE Seattle, Lake
Forest Park & Kenmore. Concert features Jillian Graham Band (12-1:30 PM), Todd Christoffel (1:40-2:40 PM),
Eric Madis & Pete Martin (2:45-4 PM).

Here is what reviewers are saying about Eric’s new CD The Dues Will Never Be Paid in Full:

“Lovely modern blues playing linked back to the tradition….Madis delivers all the way.” — Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys

“…great, effortless guitar playing…love the slide work” — JW McClure, Victory Review

” …tremendous versatility on acoustic and electric guitar..considerable vocal talents…Very highly recommended.”
— Malcolm Kennedy, Washington Blues Society

This new CD is available at gigs, at CD Baby, or in downloadable, digital format from iTunes, Rhapsody, or any of your favorite online music outlets. For more information, visit the Records Page at: http://www.ericmadis.com

Mail Theft Warnings

I’ve received a report of mail theft on the corner of NE 117th St. and 17th Ave. NE on Sunday. They were apparently caught in the act and the incident has already been reported to the police.

We’ve already had quite a bit written on this topic in the past including a lot of helpful info on locking mailboxes. But this is yet another good reminder of why they can be a very good idea.
http://www.pinehurstseattle.org/2008/12/11/protecting-your-mail/

Treehouse Coffee breakfast special this weekend (April 3-4)

From Michele: “Finales Gourmet Desserts’ specialties were a hit so this weekend we will introduce new delights. Finales top seller- Chocolate Banana bread, Carrot bread made with organic carrots and their delectable Sourcream and Walnut coffeecake. Swing by and put in your two cents for which sweet breads and coffee cakes you would like to have waiting for you on Saturday morning. We have decided to veer from the predictable egg and cheese bake this weekend to cut some fresh fruit and layer it up in a granola and yogurt parfait. Have a great weekend everyone!”

Read more about Treehouse Coffee here and here.

Friday Mini-Updates

There are a lot of events coming up and I figured putting them all together was going to make this much easier.

First, PLEASE turn in your Census ASAP.
- If the form isn’t received soon they WILL be sending people door to door and that’s VERY expensive. If everyone across the nation mailed back their forms, taxpayers could reduce the cost of the census by about $1.5 billion.
Dick’s Should Be Opening Again Soon
- Lake City Live has an update on the “SUV Attack” on Dick’s
Forum on Thornton Creek Watershed on April 3rd (Flyer)

Hosted by the Pacific Science Center
Saturday, April 3rd, 2-4pm
Meadowbrook Community Center
10517 35th Ave NE>

Lake City Parks Meeting on April 7th (Flyer)

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the community to spend the evening of Wednesday, April 7 with Superintendent Tim Gallagher at the Lake City Community Center, 12531 28th Ave. NE.

The purpose of the meeting, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m., is to give the community an opportunity to talk with Gallagher and other Parks staff about how well Parks is meeting the needs of the community.

Mayor to Tour Lake City on April 10th

Mayor McGinn will do a walking tour of the Lake City urban village on Saturday, April 10, from 11:30am to 2:30pm. Community members will be welcome.

Thornton Creek Bridge Closure (Or Not…)

We covered the bridge rehabilitation project and metro re-routes but there’s another update now. Construction was supposed to start in March but it’s April Fools now and there have been some delays. They’re planning on giving plenty of notice before it does close but I didn’t want it to catch anybody by suprise.

Construction was expected to start in March 2010 but due to unforeseen circumstances within the Contracting Department the closure date of the bridge has been temporarily postponed. Two (2) weeks prior to the bridge closure Dynamic Messaging Signs, a notice to list serve participants and the website will be updated to inform the public of when the bridge will be closed. If you wish to be notified of the bridge closure date by e-mail, please contact Maribel Cruz, Project Communications at Maribel.Cruz@Seattle.Gov or by calling (206)684.7963. Construction is expected to last up to 11 months.

http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/bridge_rehab_15th.htm

Spring Clean

Spring Clean—held each year in April and May—is Seattle’s premier clean up event. Spring Clean provides opportunities for citizens to clean up Seattle’s public open spaces of their choice with city support.

Activities
Typical volunteer projects include litter pick ups, invasive plant removal, storm drain stenciling, graffiti removal, and general area beautification.

Free Help
City support includes planning assistance, gloves, safety vests, disposal bags, transfer station passes, and waste pick ups.

If you have a project that needs some clean up work, as long as it is on City of Seattle property, the City can help!

Sign Up
If you are interested in participating in Spring Clean, please complete and mail in the registration form (pdf) to be eligible for resource support.

To learn more about Spring Clean, please contact the Spring Clean hotline at (206) 233-7187.

Easy Riders Rides, Expands

We’ve covered the Seattle Easy Riders previously when Cindy talked at a Pinehurst Community Meeting last year. They’re starting again for the season and Cindy asked if we could post a reminder for everybody.

by Cindy Riskin, cindyri@q.com

Seattle Easy Riders–part of Cascade Bicycle Club oriented to the casual, noncompetitive rider–is starting its 2010 rides. In addition to the usual short, easy, and flat-as-possible rides, I’ll be running two other kinds of rides this year:

“Spokespeople Connector” rides: These rides will run from our area of North Seattle to adjacent neighborhoods, showing best routes and some little-known ways to get to places like Greenlake, Haller Lake, and even downtown. Hills may be involved.
These rides are based on the successful Spokespeople program, at http://spokespeople.us.

Longer Easy Rider rides: Participants have asked for somewhat longer–but still flattish–rides. So I’ll be looking for rides in the 15-30 mile range (when I can ride that far, myself).

To find out about all our rides, you can sign up for our e-mail list by e-mailing me, at cindyri@q.com.

You can also find Easy Rider rides listed
(a) on the Cascade Bicycle Club free daily rides page, at http://cascade.org/EandR/Activities_Calendar.cfm?query=cascadefreedailyride, or on
(b) http://seattleeasyriders.net (which will be up-to-date by the end of this week).

Bicycling from Pinehurst to the Burke Gilman Trail

Trying to find the elusive connection
by Cindy Riskin, cindyri@q.com

Anyone who’s tried to bicycle to the Burke Gilman Trail from Pinehurst or Victory Heights knows that it’s dangerous—or at least drudgery.

If you want to ride to the Burke Gilman Trail from our neighborhood, though, check out this SDOT map, which shows connections to the Burke Gilman Trail via roads from our neighborhood.

Note that I have not yet checked out these SDOT connections. I will, though, and anybody who wants a report—or who wants to come explore with me—can contact me at cindyri@q.com.

Other ways to get on the Burke Gilman Trail from here do exist, including:

Metro’s Route 75 bus (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s075_0_.html), which carries two bikes, maybe three) drives from Northgate Way directly to Magnuson Park, which is two blocks off the Burke Gilman Trail.
The reverse route is handy if you want to ride the Burke Gilman Trail but not ride the hills back up to our neighborhood on the way home.
So far, this route is the safest and easiest I’ve found.
You can bicycle to Matthews Beach Park via scary Sandpoint Way or your own personal route. I can’t say I recommend this approach to anyone but expert or suicidal riders.
You can slog up to Lake Forest Park via Lake City Way or hilly backroads. I recommend staying off of most of Lake City Way when you can.
You can find alternative but hilly routes on the King County Bicycle Map, available free at http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Roads/Bicycling.aspx.
You can load your bike onto the car (which isn’t so easy if your bicycle weighs as much as mine does—ugh). And so much for being green.

Help requested #1: If anyone else is familiar with good entries onto the Burke Gilman Trail from our area, please contact me.

Help requested #2: If you can figure out how to print out any part of this SDOT map with the street connections, in good enough fidelity that I could actually carry it as a minimap, please let me know.

The Fine Print:
I am a Pinehurst/Victory Heights neighbor (nobody’s sure which), owner of Riskin Writing & Editing, and a Cascade Bicycle Club certified ride leader.

Unless I list a ride as an official Cascade Bicycle Club ride, I am simply exploring. Nobody who rides with me on an unlisted ride will be covered by or connected to any bicycle club, organization, or insurer despite my Cascade involvement. I will not be legally responsible in any way for any other riders or equipment.

But we can still go for lattes and push our bikes up the really big hills.

New Kids’ Art at Pinehurst Pocket Park

We have our first submission of art for the park! Isabel is 8 years old. Here is her picture, titled “Bunnies Spring Picnic”. You can also see it in the kiosk at the park, at NE 117th & 19th NE. To submit art, email PocketPark@PinehurstSeattle.org.

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