Rebecca Nelson

Flue fire gets the works on the fourth

July 5, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

A full Seattle Fire response filled the streets near the intersection of 25th Ave NE and NE Blakeley St shortly before noon on Wednesday, July 4.

Photo above taken from the east side of 25th Ave NE looking north. Photo courtesy Thomas Field.

A small fire had started in a cooking flue extending from the roof of the multi-story, multi-use building at the northwest corner of the intersection.

Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department shared the details (via email):

At 11:45 a.m. a 911 call came in to the Fire Alarm Center reporting smoke coming from the roof of a building in the 5100 block of 25th Avenue NE. Dispatchers sent a full-response which involved 6 engines, 2 ladder trucks and a medic unit, an aid unit and other apparatus.

University District’s Ladder Company 9 arrived first and ran an aerial to the roof to investigate the source of the smoke. Firefighters used thermal imagers to detect the fire was confined to a flue at the roof. Crew used water from their pump cans which are basically large fire extinguishers to knock down the fire.

After some investigation, firefighters learned that residue had built up in the flue and caught fire. The owners of the flue were advised to clean the pipe regularly.

Filed Under: 911, Photos, Ravenna, Restaurants, Seattle Fire Department, University District

Happy Independence Day

July 4, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

Here are some city legal fireworks for you to enjoy today.

Filed Under: Holiday

Two blown transformers heard to be blamed for NE Seattle power outage (UPDATES)

July 3, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 3 Comments

UPDATE (2:58 PM): A quick check of the outage map reveals everything back to normal.

UPDATE (2:08 PM): Outage down to approximately 1,200 customers now.

UPDATE (1:03 PM): outage is down to approximately 1,800 customers Mostly in the Matthews Beach/View Ridge area of the map below affected.

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No, it’s not a comment on any Michael Bay movies — it’s a power outage.

Seattle City Light outage map screen grab from 12:45 PM.

More info on the Seattle City Light’s Power Lines blog:

Seattle City Light crews were responding to a power outage Tuesday that affected about 3,600 homes and businesses in the Ravenna, Roosevelt, View Ridge and Wedgwood neighborhoods of northeast Seattle.

The outage started about 11:20 a.m. A cause was not immediately known. An initial estimate for restoration of service was set for 3 p.m.

The general boundaries of the outage were NE 94th Street on the north, NE 65th Street on the south, Roosevelt Way NE on the west and Lake Washington on the east.

As of this posting, the cause is listed as “tree,” and the restoration time is estimated at 3:00 PM.

As we were calling the North Precinct about the dangerous traffic conditions at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St — signals are out and many drivers on NE 75th St are not noticing and treating as a four-way stop — the officer on the other end of the phone blamed the outage on two transformers lost from the tops of poles, but we haven’t had confirmation of the exact cause from Seattle City Light.

Filed Under: Bryant, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Power Outage, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle City Light, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Updates, View Ridge, Wedgwood

July Story Time schedule for the Northeast Branch (plus library history) UPDATE

July 2, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

Here is your Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave NE) Story Time schedule, courtesy the Children’s Services Librarian, Erica Delavan:

Toddler Story Time
(Geared for ages 1-3)

Thursdays, July 5, 12, 19 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.
(No story time July 26)

Preschool Story Time
(Geared for ages 3-5)

Tuesdays, July 3, 10, 17 at 10:30 a.m.
(No story time July 24 or 31)

Pajamas & Puppets
(All Ages)
Wednesday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m.

And since we’re on the topic of libraries, did you know that the Northeast Branch started as a humble deposit station at 6259 33rd Ave NE in December of 1945? And that the building at the library’s current location was designed by the primary planner and principal architect of the Seattle World’s Fair?

Read all about it (and see some pictures of the older incarnations) at HistoryLink.org (“North East Branch, The Seattle Public Library”).

Fellow local site and Seattle Times Local News Partner, the Montlaker, sent us the link to the Pacific Coast Architecture Database listing for Paul Thiry, the aformentioned designer of the Northeast Branch building. Over his lifetime, Thiry designed 55 structures, including the Frye Art Museum, the Washington State Library in Olympia, and, for the World’s Fair, the Washington State Coliseum (now Key Arena).

Filed Under: Kids, Northeast Branch, Northeast Seattle, Story Times

Plastic bag ban (and paper bag fees) headed to EVERY retailer near you

June 13, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 6 Comments

You’ve got even more motivation to remember your own shopping bags now: Plastic bags will soon be banned, and paper ones will start to cost you, beginning Sunday July 1.

Why ban single-use plastic bags? Seattle Public Utilities has your answer (from this Bag Ban for Shoppers FAQ):

Lightweight plastic carryout bags are commonly found in litter and escape into our waterways where they remain as a pollutant forever. Fish and other marine animals commonly mistake pieces of plastic and bags for food. When plastics break down into smaller and smaller pieces, those microscopic particles may also be consumed by small animals in the oceans and enter the food chain. Because of plastic’s persistence in the environment, the City believes the use of throw-away plastic products should be minimized.

The Seattle City Council unanimously passed Ordinance ordinance number 123775, banning single-use plastic bags and imposing a 5-cent fee on large paper bags, on December 19, 2011.

The fee will not be collected from customers using vouchers or electronic benefit cards from state or federal food assistance programs such as Women, Infants and Children (WIC) or the Washington State Food Assistance Program (FAP).

A similar bill passed by the City Council in 2008 was repealed by voters in 2009. This earlier version of the bill charged a 20-cent bag fees to retailers, the proceeds of which would have gone to the city. The new 5-cent fees go instead to the retailers.

Seattle Public Utilities has a series of FAQs about the ban that should answer any question that you may have about the impending bag ban.

Just don’t forget to *WASH* your reusable bags occasionally. Nobody likes the norovirus.

Filed Under: Businesses, City Council, Food

June Story Time schedule for the Northeast Branch

June 11, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

With all that liquid sunshine coming down outside, surely you and your little one(s) need some indoor fun.

With that depressing realization in mind, here’s the June Story Time schedule for the Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave NE), courtesy the Children’s Services Librarian, Erica Delavan:

Toddler Story Time (Geared for ages 1-3)
Thursdays, June 14, 21, 28 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.

Preschool Story Time (Geared for ages 3-5)
Tuesdays, June 12, 19, 26 at 10:30 a.m.

Pajamas & Puppets (All Ages)
Wednesday, June 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Furthermore, the Summer Reading Program has begun, and as of noon on Friday, June 8, had 575 kids signed up. When 10 books have been read, enrollees can choose a book from the Prize Book Cabinet AND a pass for four kids and two adults to visit the Burke Museum (good between July 1 and August 31. Read more about the Children’s Summer Reading Program here.

BUT WAIT — there’s MORE.

There is a Summer Reading Program for adults as well. For every three books you read and review (online, in the Seattle Public Library’s system), you are entered to win a free Kindle.

And MORE.

Teens can partake of the fun as well. Here’s more information on the Summer Reading Program for Teens, for those of us aged 13-18 years.

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Seattle Public Library

Community meeting Tuesday night spotlights public safety (UPDATE)

June 4, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

UPDATE (3:39 PM): The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association twitter feed reports that “N. Precinct Lt. Rasmussen, or Captain Robin Clark, to attend tomorrow’s meeting and answer questions about the shooting.”

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Tomorrow night’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association community meeting focuses on different aspects of public safety, and includes both Councilmember Bruce Harrell and North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston as featured speakers.

The meeting takes place Tuesday night, June 5, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and starts at 7 PM.

Other speakers include Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation at Children’s Hospital (speaking about Greenways), and Laurie Ames from the Department of Neighborhoods (speaking about Neighborhood Matching Funds).

You can see the full agenda here, on the RBCA website.

Filed Under: City Council, Crime, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Sunday evening Cafe Racer/shootings events, and beyond (UPDATE)

June 3, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

You can’t throw a rock these days without hitting a memorial or benefit for victims of last week’s/this year’s violence, and that is exactly how it should be: So much love and support in the community right now, the very air is thick with it.

Tonight there are a number of events around town that we mention below. For events beyond this weekend, we urge you to bookmark this post on Roosiehood (“Benefits and fundraisers for victims of Cafe Racer shootings”), and/or join the Cafe Racer Benefit Facebook group.

UPDATE: There is also the newly started website, Cafe Racer Love, keeping track of events and benefits.

Interfaith Prayer and Procession for Healing
Saint Mark’s Cathedral (1245 10th Ave E)
6 PM
Service begins at the Cathedral Nave

The Church Council of Greater Seattle, Saint Mark’s Cathedral, and St. James Cathedral invite you to an Interfaith Prayer and Procession for Healing. The service will begin at Saint Mark’s Cathedral at 6 p.m. We will then proceed in a peaceful procession to St. James Cathedral (9th Ave. and Marion St. – downtown Seattle), where the service will continue and conclude shortly after 8 pm.
We invite all to come to join in prayer, song and community for any part of this gathering. Please bring a candle which will mark the light of hope in which we walk.

Sunday Night Folk Review
Pies and Pints (1215 NE 65th St)
8 PM

Tonight’s regular Sunday Night Folk Review will also be a benefit for the victims and families of the shootings.

Racer Sessions
Alley behind Cafe Racer (5828 Roosevelt Way NE)
8 PM

About the Racer Sessions (website):

We collectively organize weekly sessions for new, experimental music. The purpose is to give musicians of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to interact and inspire each other, while establishing a community-accessible home for our music, which would otherwise only exist in classrooms, basements, outer space etc.

Every Sunday, at Cafe Racer, the curator of the week will debut a piece of new music, which will be followed by a free improv session based mostly, partially, or not at all on the music that was presented.

No curator this week, but the Sessions go on.

Filed Under: Events, Restaurants, Roosevelt, University District

Video and impressions of Thursday night’s “Walk for Love”

June 1, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

We were able to catch a bit of last night’s “Walk for Love,” organized by Lucia Neare’s Theatrical Wonders. Below is video of the walk as it traveled down 12th Ave NE from the starting point at Cowen Park (5849 15th Ave NE), and a bit of the music heard in one section of the walk (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in the style of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole).

As we joined the walk, we took to twitter to share the walk route, pictures, and our impressions. (Forgive us our misnaming the event occasionally.) Seattle P-I photojournalist Josh Trujillo was also present, and we have included some of his pictures as well.

Filed Under: Cowen Park, Events, Restaurants, Roosevelt, University District, Video