Categories

Archives

Spaghetti Feed and Auction to Benefit North Help Line Food Bank

(click on image below to enlarge)


The Lake City Lions are helping the North Help Line put on a Spaghetti Feed:

Saturday, April 25th
5:30 to 7:30 PM
Lake City Community Center
12531 28th Ave NE
(next to the Lake City Library)

Dinner is $25.00 per person.

There will also be entertainment and both a silent auction and a live auction.

Spring break science experiment

Our kids were on spring break last week and we all had a good time seeing each other. One of the things that we did together was make a bottle of Diet Coke explode by adding Mentos:








Design Review Board Votes to Recommend Design for Pinehurst Safeway

The Northeast Design Review Board Final Recommendation for the Pinehurst Safeway is available here.

The design was approved by a 3 to 2 vote subject to the following recommendations:

  1. Wrap transparency around corner at 15th Avenue NE and 123rd NE and add additional visual interest at this corner.
  2. Provide DPD with schedule of delivery and trash collection hours allowable for the site.
  3. Add taller plantings at the rear for the Urban Garden to provide better screening for the parking lot. Relocate proposed trees from inside the seating areas to areas in between the seating areas such that they alternate in relative location with the street trees.
  4. Refine the design for the façade along 15th Avenue NE to better establish the “village” street concept by introducing varied window treatments and materials to more clearly differentiate between “storefront” elements.
  5. Simplify materials pallet by reducing (or eliminating) the use of stone and employing increased and varied use of brick.
  6. Increase landscaping (taller and denser) on all blank wall facades for better softening effect.
  7. Explore the possibility of adding some transparency on the 16th Avenue NE façade while minimizing any light spillover that may affect adjacent residential uses.
  8. Add more pedestrian lighting along NE 123rd and 16th Avenue NE; add downcast lighting on parking lot wall along 16th Avenue NE; add step lighting on stairway accessing parking lot on 16th Avenue NE.
  9. Employ the use of a greater number of native species in landscape areas where long-term survival will be best.

Nick Licata: Candidate for Seattle City Council Position 6 (incumbent)

Note: In the interest of helping Pinehurst neighbors to learn about the candidates who are running for local office in 2009, I invited all candidates to submit information about them and their campaigns to post on the Pinehurst Blog. This is the third post in the series.


A TALE OF TWO TREES

– By City Councilmember Nick Licata

Sometimes it’s the little things that make me glad to be a public servant.

It was approaching eight o’clock in the evening at the City Council’s Budget Hearing. What once was a chamber packed with over 200 people, now held fewer than a dozen. We were closing in on three hours of citizens pleading their cases. We, as Councilmembers, were trying to figure out how to cut over $20 million from this year’s budget; one that had already been approved. We would be taking things away from people. Which constituency would receive cuts? Our youth, our elderly, our disabled, our neglected neighborhoods, our over taxed local businesses?

One of the last citizens to approach the podium was Tammara Stroud, a Queen Anne resident who had not come as a member of any group, but rather as a lone citizen. With a slight look of befuddlement, she spoke briefly. In a rather matter-of-fact manner, she posed a question to us.

Why was the city giving her a $1,000 that she did not want? It seems that she had planted a couple of ornamental trees in her parking strip about a year ago in celebration of her wedding anniversary. She had received a permit from our Department of Transportation and selected the type of trees from a city approved list.

So where was the problem? As her story unfolded, it turned out that she had received a letter from our Department of Parks informing her that her trees would have to be removed so that a different type of tree could be planted in conformance with an adopted 1986 boulevard tree plan.. In exchange for the inconvenience she would receive a check for a $1,000. She did not want the money; she only wanted her trees. She had been sitting in the audience and listening to all of the critical services that were threatened and she did not feel that this was a good use of taxpayer’s money. She finished speaking by asking if anything could be done. The trees were scheduled to be removed the next day, Friday.

I sat there, on the dais, along with the other Councilmembers, somewhat overwhelmed after listening for hours about the various needs brought before the Council. Most of us, I would say, were perplexed by this particularly odd situation. As she walked away, one of us, it may have been the Chair, thanked her and said that the Council should look into this matter.

As she left the chamber, I thought to myself, this isn’t right. I should be able to do something. There were only a few more speakers left. I fought the urge to dramatically jump out of my seat and walk down into the public section to demonstrate my sympathy in front of the Council.

I couldn’t do it. It would have broken the decorum. In the fleeting seconds that went by, I reflected on a conversation I had with my wife the day before. We had been discussing an article about how strong the need was in all of us to conform to the expectations and behavior of a group we belonged to. A number of social experiments had been conducted over the years proving that it didn’t take much pressure, the tiniest bit, to get an individual to conform to the group norm. It seems, down deep, we all just want to get along, even if it means jettisoning our own beliefs or denying some evidence that lay before us.

Meekly I slide off the dais and exited the side door. I decided to meet her outside the chamber but my exit was on the far side of chamber’s exit, so I had to scurry around the chamber room hoping to catch her before she descended a long flight of stairs down to the lobby and left the building. As I rounded the chamber room and looked down the cascade of limestone steps, I caught sight of her ten paces from the door. I didn’t recall her name, a horrible shortcoming for a politician, and relied on that old standard refrain for getting someone’s attention: “Hey,” I yelled out. No luck. She reached for the door.

I had to be more direct, “Hey you,” I shouted again, It worked. She turned, saw me and smiled. I got the details and promised that I would do something. She reminded me that the trees were to be removed tomorrow morning. I went to back to my office, called the Park’s Superintendent’s office, and left a message. The major thrust was something along these lines, that this was a minor thing but one that could get bigger, since KING TV had already been out to her house about this snafu. In light of the snow removal media coverage, the Mayor and Councilmembers, didn’t need another media blast on how our priorities were a bit screwed up.

The next morning I called Tammara and told her that I had left a message with the Superintendent. She said the Parks crew was next door working, her yard was next. She had told them that she had talked to a Councilmember about the situation, hoping that that might delay their work.

I called the Superintendent again. He was out and his deputy Christopher Williams was in a meeting, did I want him called out of the meeting? Yes, that would be a good idea. I know the Deputy. He is a charming and competent person. I explained the situation. He thought it over and said he would need to talk to his staff and find out what it was all about. I told him that the removal was scheduled that morning and they were one yard away. He assured me he would get to it.

I called Tammara, got her answering machine and left an update. A little later Christopher called back and said that they would wait until the Superintendent returned on Monday. Tammara called back to say that the Parks crew had driven away to come back after the weekend.

Monday morning I reached Parks Superintendent Timothy Gallagher. We talked about the situation, I pointed out how this would be such a minor deviation from the tree plan and how it just would not be a good use of taxpayer’s money given these tight times, particularly in light of how this particular incident had gotten some TV coverage. He agreed to hold off doing anything until he could review the situation. By the end of the day the two ornamental trees remained planted and secure for the rest of their natural life.

Later that week one of my assistants opened a letter and found a note of thanks and a check. My assistant had been out sick and was unaware of this little incident. Scratching his head at our staff meeting he wanted to know why we were receiving a check for $973.76 made out to Tammara and her husband.

Well, I explained it’s about a tale of two trees.

Learn more about Nick at http://www.nicklicata2009.com/.

Draft Agenda for our May 4th Pinehurst Community Meeting

Below is a draft agenda for our quarterly Pinehurst meeting. We are in the process of finalizing it and confirming guests. We will post the final agenda this week.

Draft agenda:

1. Crime prevention and Block Watch – Diane Horswill, Seattle Police Department North Precinct Crime Pervention – 15 min

2. 15th Ave Bridge Rehabilitation Project – Seattle Department of Transportation presentation – 10 min

3. Introduction of Michael Neguse and Tsegay Berhe of Eritrean Kidisti Selassie Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Pinehurst – 5 to 10 min

4. Jennifer Wieland and/or Barbara Gray present on the draft Pedestrian Master Plan (that will be released May 1st) – 15 min

5. TBD

6. Candidates who are running for Seattle City Council and other local positions have been invited to attend the meeting to learn about Pinehurst issues and to talk with community members before or after the formal meeting.

*Olympic Hills Residential Burglary Report: March 2009

I don’t always receive the Olympic Hills residential burglary report, but did receive it this month. Olympic Hills is generally north of 125th, south of 145th, east of 15th and west of Lake City Way.

3/04 2000blk NE 133rd reported at 12:00PM, the resident was gone for a couple of hours during the day, when she returned she discovered that the back door had been kicked in, electronics and cash were among the items stolen

3/17 13700blk 26th NE reported at 5:26PM, the residents were gone all day, when they arrived home they found their back door had been kicked in and the house rifled, a laptop and camera were stolen

3/17 2400blk NE 133rd reported at 5:34PM, the residents were gone all day and when they returned they found that their front door had been kicked in, unknown items stolen

3/23 2200blk NE 145th reported at 11:36AM, the resident left the house in the morning and got a call from her alarm company at 10:40AM saying that the motion sensor for her alarm had been tripped, she went home to check the house, a window screen was broken and a window forced open, it is unknown if the burglar made entry, no property was missing

3/23 3000blk NE 140th reported at 4:18PM, the resident was away from his apartment for a couple of days, when returned he found the kitchen window broken and his belongings scattered around, he was not sure if anything was stolen, this property is under foreclosure and the building mostly vacant

*unofficial stats

Poll results: What do you want to talk about at the next community meeting?

Trees
7 (30%)
Campers
13 (56%)
Letters
1 (4%)
Other
2 (8%)

Pets of Pinehurst: Charlie the Good Dog

Well. After our old (19 years old) dog Wilke, died in September 2008, Michael and I took advantage of the freedom from elder-dog care to take a trip to Maui. Having gotten THAT out of our system (Maui in February was wonderful, by the way), we began looking for our next doggie companion.

I’m pleased to introduce Charlie.
Our cats got over hating him in record time.

Charlie is about a year old and extremely gentle and calm and good on the leash.

We’ve learned that he can run faster than any of the other dogs at the dog park!Unlike our OLD dogs, Charlie has long legs and we have lost a fair amount of food from the counters and table when we forget to put things away and leave him alone for too long (we’re working on getting him crate trained). So far, we’ve also lost 4 socks, a harness, several tupperware containers and a stuffed toy that a good friend of mine sewed for me!
We love him a lot and are SO glad that he is with us. Look for us walking in your neighborhood between 5:30-6:00 am most mornings (yes, the cat comes with us). (And no, I’m not making any particular fashion statement – it’s just early in the morning – you’re lucky if I’m not in pajamas!)

We found Charlie through Petfinder.com — this seems to be the place where every shelter and every rescue organization in the area lists the dogs that they are working with.

Charlie was rescued from a kill-shelter in Pasco, WA and when we found him, he was being fostered by Zephyr in Bellingham. Zephyr was helping out the Saving Great Animals rescue group because all the foster situations in the Seattle area were full due to the Snohomish Co. puppy mill bust.

The volunteers who rescue dogs and foster them until they find their “forever home” are really doing amazing work. If you think you might be able to help, I would strongly encourage you to contact the Seattle Humane Society to see how you can get involved.

If you would like to see your pet (real or imaginary) featured in the Pets of Pinehurst column, please send an email and photos to ehas2dogs@gmail.com.

TOWN HALL: Visioning Seattle’s Transportation Future

What will Seattle’s transportation landscape look like in 20 years? How will we move people and goods, manage congestion, and cut our emissions? As the city and the Puget Sound region grapples with the many transportation challenges ahead, now is the time to have this discussion. On the heels of the stimulus package, plans are underway on how to spend future federal highway and transit dollars in the next reauthorization of federal transportation legislation later this year. Transit demand continues to skyrocket while operating revenues are plummeting. How do car sharing, walkable and bike-friendly communities, and transit work together to form a new vision for transportation?

Join us for a special interactive town hall discussion with our panelists:

Jan Drago, Chair, Transportation Committee, Seattle City Council
Kevin Desmond, General Manager, King County Metro
Chuck Ayers, Executive Director, Cascade Bicycle Club
Carla Archambault, General Manager, Zipcar Seattle
Eric dePlace, Senior Researcher, Sightline Institute
Carla Saulter, Transit advocate and author of the Bus Chick blog on Seattle PI.com

WHEN: Friday May 1, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
WHERE: Bertha Knight Landes Room, Seattle City Hall, 5th Avenue between Cherry and James St. (please note change in venue)

This special town hall is brought to you by
Transportation Choices Coalition, Futurewise, WashPIRG, Sierra Club Cascade Chapter, Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Transit Blog, and Zipcar

Little Brook Park – Earth Day clean up party! 4/18