Rebecca Nelson

Roosevelt Station Construction Update Open House (LIVE COVERAGE)

January 29, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 5 Comments

The buildings on the Roosevelt Light Rail Station construction site are no more, and it’s time to talk next steps with the neighborhood.

Sound Transit is holding a construction update open house tonight, Tuesday, January 29, in the Roosevelt High School Library (1410 NE 66th St) from 6-8 PM (presentation begins at 6:30 PM).

From the Northgate Link Extension update (via email):

Sound Transit is hosting an open house on Jan. 29 to discuss details of:

Utility work planned in 2013 and early 2014

Update on other construction work

Promoting the local business district

Seattle City Light staff will also be on hand to answer questions about upcoming power line and pole work.

You can find more information about the Roosevelt Station here.

~~We will be at tonight’s meeting, and will be reporting on it LIVE right here.~~

UPDATE (Wednesday): Unfortunately, none of our one-and-a-half hours of presentation notes were save in the post! However, Sound Transit has emailed us a PDF of the presentation slides (click on the picture below to download).

Roosevelt Station Construction Open House presentation (2.8 PDF)

Roosevelt Station Construction Open House presentation (click to download the 2.8 MB PDF)

Filed Under: Businesses, Civic Envolvement, Construction, Light Rail, Live Coverage, Meeting, Roosevelt, Roosevelt High School, Sound Transit, Updates

Ravenna-area public school tour dates for new kindergarteners

January 21, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

The first day of the 2013-2014 school year is still months away, but open houses at area elementary schools for incoming kindergarteners have begun.

What follows is a list of schools in the Seattle Public School District that Ravenna neighborhood students can attend, and the dates and times of their upcoming open houses. We are happy to include information for local private schools if it is available — just let us know in the comments below.

To search for your address’ specific attendance area schools, enter your home address into the Seattle Public Schools address look-up tool. And if you are curious about the transportation zones around these schools, they can be found here (listed as 2011-12 school year; Thornton Creek and Jane Addams not available).

Wedgwood Elementary (2720 NE 85th St)
Thursday, January 24, 6:30-8 PM

The tour will start in the cafeteria with an introduction by the principal of Wedgwood lasting 10 to 15 minutes, followed by parent volunteers escorting families around the building. At 7:15 pm, families will reconvene in the cafeteria where the principal will field questions for 15 to 20 minutes before closing. Please note Wedgwood will not be hosting tours during the school day in order to minimize disruptions and maintain a quiet, distraction-free learning environment for our students. If you have any questions about daytime visits, please contact our Administrative Secretary, Joann Sparks at 206-252-5670 or josparks@seattleschools.org.

Ravenna Blog staff will be attending.

Bryant Elementary (3311 NE 60th St)
Thursday, January 31, 6:30-8 PM

No RSVP necessary.

Green Lake Elementary (2400 NE 65th St.)
Tuesday, January 29th, 6-7:30 PM, in the library

6:00-6:15 pm – WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
6:15-6:40 pm – GENERAL QUESTIONS FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS & PRINCIPAL
6:40-7:15 pm – TOUR OF SCHOOL
7:20-7:30 pm – CLOSING IN LIBRARY

For questions, please send an email to Caroline.

Thornton Creek School (7711 43rd Ave NE)
Thursday, January 31, 7-8:30 PM, and MANY daytime tour dates

The daytime tours will start off with a brief introduction about the school from principal John Miner, followed by a brief question and answer session. Parent volunteers will then lead small groups in touring the school and visiting some classrooms. The evening open house will include a brief welcome from the general and special education kindergarten teachers, an introduction to the school from principal John Miner, and a question and answer session. Visitors will also have an opportunity to tour a few classrooms and talk with current parents.

Ravenna Blog staff will be attending the evening open house.

Jane Addams K-8 School (11051 34th Ave NE)

Evening Sessions will start in the auditorium:
Wednesday, February 13 at 6:30 PM for All grade levels
Thursday, February 28 at 6:30 PM for Middle School information only

Morning Sessions will start in the Library:
Wednesday, February 13 at 8:30 AM
Thursday, February 21 at 8:30 AM
Wednesday, February 27 at 8:30 AM
Tuesday, March 5 at 8:30 AM

Pinehurst K-8 School (11530 12th Ave NE)

No information on school tours at this time.

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Disclaimer: This is our first real foray into the World of Public Schooling with children of our own (Intern No. 1 will be attending kindergarten this fall). We appreciate any and all information, encouragement, and/or advice you more experienced Northeast Seattle parents may be willing to share with us as we start the journey. We, personally, have not attended elementary school in…a long time, and a few things may have changed between then and now. A few.

Filed Under: Bryant Elementary School, Families, Green Lake Elementary, Jane Addams K-8, Kids, Meeting, Pinehurst K-8, Public Schools, Ravenna, Thornton Creek, Wedgwood Elementary School

UW Light Rail Station show-and-tell tour (PHOTOS)

January 16, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 20 Comments

On Friday, January 11, I was invited to a tour of the University of Washington Station (UW Station). While the station is still under construction, it is over the halfway mark, and both on-time and under-budget.

WHY tour the UW Station, which will be two stops away from Ravenna’s closest station, in Roosevelt? Turns out, the designs for underground portions of both stations are similar (though the UW Station is at a larger scale):

Click the picture above for a larger version of the graphic.

UW_Station_tour21

Prior to heading down into the station, everyone on the tour had to don the collection of safety gear pictured above.

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Start of the tour view, looking north across the top of the UW Station. Husky Stadium is on the right.

UW_Station_tour19

Out of the elevator, down on the platform level. We walked north along the northbound side of the platform to the presentation area.

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The group standing on the platform at the base of the north-facing escalator (not yet installed; same with all escalators), listening to King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Larry Phillips talk about the station.

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Platform level again, taken to the right of the previous picture, looking down the southbound side.

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And the other side, on the northbound trains side.

UW_Station_tour11

You can currently find a little sky from nine stories down on the train platform.

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Q13 ~~drops the mic~~ sets the mic down carefully.

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Gaggle of Sound Transit folks, plus Seattle Transit Blog’s Bruce Nourish at the far right.

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Cienna Madrid of The Stranger takes notes while Ellen Banner, photojournalist for the Seattle Times, takes some shots.

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Media getting more info on the station construction progress from University Link Executive Project Director Joe Gildner.

UW_Station_tour13

YOU ARE HERE.

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Next stop, the area above the platform level, where the first set of escalators meet. This shot is taken from the south end of the station, looking back north towards the south-facing platform escalator (middle) and the two escalators which will carry people up and down from ground level.

UW_Station_tour02

Scaffolding was removed from much of the station, the exception being the southernmost portion. Bit of a Steampunk Mines of Moria vibe, with metal columns extending in every direction.

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Another view of the scaffolding.

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Past all the scaffolding, at the southern end of the station, we reached an overlook of the tunnels leading to and from the Capitol Hill Station. Northbound is on the left, southbound is on the right.

UW_Station_tour03
Close-up of the southbound/Capitol Hill Station tunnel entrance.

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Close-up of the northbound tunnel exit.

UW_Station_tour09
And my favorite picture of the set.

Notice the pinkish-red cross in the center of the wall. Bruce Gray,Sound Transit Media Relations, told me that that cross is the spot where a tunnel boring machine, starting from the Roosevelt Station construction site, will enter the University of Washington Station (northbound side), connecting the Northgate Link to the University Link.

The cement block partial wall that you can see on the left side of the photo will continue over and meet up with a similar bit of wall on the other side. This wall will be in place as the UW Station

UW_Station_tour01

Climbing back out into the daylight.

For more pictures and information from this tour, please visit:

Montlaker: UW Station starting to take shape
Seattle Transit Blog: Nine Stories Beneath the Ground (the back of my head is visible in a few of these shots, thanks Bruce)
The Stranger: A Photojourney: Nine stories underground, the University District Station [sic]

Many thanks to Sound Transit’s Bruce Gray for the invite.

Filed Under: Light Rail, Photos, Sound Transit, University District, University of Washington

Soup Swap event at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center on January 26

January 2, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

The high feasting holidays are over, and the leftovers are gone (or should be).

What culinary escapade should you try next? How about a SOUP SWAP?!

Join us at 3 PM on Saturday, January 26, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) for this hopefully-to-be-annual event.

Cooked soup by La.Catholique (via Flickr)

All you need to do is bring from one to six quarts of soup (frozen) with you on Soup Swap day, and you’ll go home with an equal number of different soups to enjoy throughout the winter.

We’ll also be giving away a few loaves of locally-made bread to go with those soups.

For some more detailed Soup Swap directions, you can visit the National Soup Swap how-to page.

And if you need any recipe ideas, let us know in the comments below: We’ll help you out!

Here is a rather delightful video about a Soup Swap event in Seattle from 2011, when this particular group was celebrating their 13th annual swap (WOW):

We’ll also be collecting for the Northwest Help Line Food Bank at this event, so if you have any extra cans of food that you couldn’t fit in your soup, be sure to bring them with you.

Filed Under: Events, Food, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center holiday Play Space and Tot Gym schedule

December 24, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

Parents of tots, we have a Christmas present for you.

Did you know that the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6545 Ravenna Avenue NE) is OPEN on Christmas Eve? OH YES, oh yes.

The community center’s Play Space is open from 9:15 AM – 5:30 PM. And we can tell you, from personal experience, sending the small, unruly ones down there with a parent to get their wiggles out before dinner, is a FANTASTIC idea.

It’s only three bucks a kid. (But they could charge 10, and it’d still be a great deal.)

BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE!

Here’s the Play Space and Tot Gym schedule through Saturday, January 5, 2013:

Play Space

Christmas Eve: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 26th: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 27th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 28th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 29th: 9:15 AM-1:30 PM

Monday the 31st: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 2nd: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 3rd: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 4th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 5th: 9:15 AM-4:30 PM

Tot Gym

Wednesday the 26th: 10:15 AM-2 PM
Wednesday the 2nd: 10:15 AM-2 PM

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Open/Closed, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Candy Cane Lane 2012 (PHOTOS)

December 20, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 8 Comments

The Ravenna Blog staff walked Candy Cane Lane (NE Park Rd) on Thursday evening, and took a bunch of pictures (some with rather long exposures).

Enjoy.

Filed Under: Events, Families, Kids, Photos, Ravenna, Traffic, University Park

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Velo-Mayor with Vegetables

December 15, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

This is a picture of the mayor riding away on his bicycle with a bunch of carrots:

McGinn_carrots

Mayor Mike McGinn was in our neighborhood on Saturday, December 1 for a “Tour de Ravenna” and a town hall at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center. This picture was taken after the last stop on the tour (the Ravenna Community Garden) where he was presented with a bunch of carrots grown there.

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.

Filed Under: Mayor's Office, Moment of Ravenna Zen, Ravenna, Ravenna Zen, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

City Hall Chapel Cam live streaming on Sunday; watch it here

December 8, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

UPDATE (Sunday): Today’s events are also being live-blogged on the marriage.seattle.gov site.

And if you have an iOS device (and the Seattle Channel live feed below is causing you trouble), KIRO 7 has another live feed that should work for you.

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One hundred and forty weddings are scheduled for City Hall this Sunday, December 9 — the first of their kind in Washington State, thanks to the passage of R-74 which legalized gay marriage.

Four chapels have been made available inside City Hall (for those who RSVP’d in time) for weddings after the three day marriage license wait period. And outside city hall, there’s a party. For everyone. Via married.seattle.gov:

Come join the celebration at City Hall Plaza from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Fourth Avenue downtown between James and Cherry streets.

Congratulate and admire the newlyweds coming down the steps from City Hall and enjoy food trucks, coffee and festivities. Don’t miss this historic day in Seattle!

For those of us in the rest of the city unable to make it down to City Hall to take part in the celebrating, the Seattle Channel has a solution: “You can follow the day’s progress by watching livestreams of City Hall lobby and of the procession of new married couples exiting City Hall towards the plaza,” says the city’s marriage website.

Says the Seattle Channel: “We’ll have two views: a wide shot of the lobby with ceremonies in progress and close-up coverage with commentary from newlyweds via our ‘couple cam.'”

On Sunday, grab a box of tissues, and enjoy:

And if you ARE downtown — either for the parties or for your own wedding — learn how to share wedding day/celebration photos with the city here.

And if you’re from Ravenna, we’d love to hear about your special day, too.

Filed Under: City Services, Events, Families, Government, History, Live Coverage, Updates, Video