Twitter Feed Round-Up for August 14

August 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Ack! It’s been a while. Time for another Ravenna Blog Twitter Feed Round-Up.

[If you can’t understand why people find twitter to be so fascinating/addicting, I made a comment last night about seeing lots of police cars go by on NE 75th St, and then watched the whole Wedgwood QFC shooting story unfold, in near real time, on twitter. Beat that, local TV news.]

Most recent at the top:

  • Sand Point @MetMarket now carrying California Olive Ranch olive oil. As local an olive oil as you can get, for now. #climatechange
  • There’s also a depressing University Link Light Rail Countdown Clock. 2268 days, 15 hours, 46 minutes and counting. Oy.
  • The @seatransitblog post on PSRC funding recommendations includes a pic of the Roosevelt Light Rail Station: http://bit.ly/bZRT28
  • You CAN download an “I vote!” icon, however. They know you miss that sticker. http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/widgets.aspx
  • Ballots need to be in the MAIL by tomorrow: No drop-offs at Neighborhood Service Centers. Can’t tweet your choices to @kcnews, either.
  • Eight chickens for everyone! As long as they’re ≥10 feet from primary residential structures, and aren’t boys.
  • Recycle week. Yay.
    Seattle can drop trash to every other week as long as recycling becomes weekly.
    IMHO.
  • @sallybagshaw is now following us. Triple word score! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDcem5dpFwY #harassingnewestfollower
  • Also, NE 45th St Viaduct Project: the flickr set – http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdot_photos/sets/72157624263204995/
  • SDOT Update: 22nd Ave NE to NE 45th St to reopen by Saturday! SDOT still on track to reopen the NE 45th St viaduct by September 10!
  • Dahl Park Wading Pool closes for the year on Thursday, August 19th (last day). “But MOOOOOM (and @SeattleParks) – Summer just started!”
  • Story on @Crosscut about Sisleyville and development – Roosevelt’s dilemma: How should a neighborhood grow? http://tinyurl.com/3xj5m45
  • 50 facebook followers! Number 50 is the guy who needs the garage. Really gotta find him a garage now.
  • McSweeney’s (John Flowers) recommends “The Newspaper” as best e-reader on the market. Hats! http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2010/8/11flowers.html
  • Field trip! Gonna ride the light rail to Columbia City, get ourselves some Tutta Bella, South. Can’t wait until 2020 for lunch today.

My personal favorite:

  • Driving by 15th Ave NE & NE 65th St this morning, my TWO-AND-A-HALF YEAR OLD asks when those buildings will be torn down. #Sisleyville
Filed Under: twitter round-up Tagged With: , , , ,

Bluegrass at the Scarlet Tree TONIGHT

August 13, 2010 by 2 Comments

I’m a sucker for local bluegrass bands, probably because my brother was in one (The Dustmakers). I enjoyed going to his shows…and hearing his horrible, horrible banjo jokes.

Gentlemen Buckhunters: Quite possibly the Old Spice Guys of bluegrass (judging from this picture anyway)

So when we got an email from Gentlemen Buckhunters about their show tonight near our neighborhood (The Scarlet Tree, 801 NE 65th Street, 9pm), I said I’d be happy to promote it on the Ravenna Blog.

Plus, they said they’d plug the blog from the stage! How cool is that?!

From the event’s facebook page:

This Friday, Gentlemen Buckhunters is opening a show at the Scarlet Tree. This is our second time playing at this venue, and we’re really excited to play there! We’re opening for Big Medicine. This will be a good show! Check out ours and Big Medicine online!!

Go to Gentlemen Buckhunters’ SoundCloud page to check out their sound (I’m partial to Drinking Dark Whiskey [ha ha]). They’ve also got a video teaser on facebook. To give main act The Big Medicine a listen (band members include brothers Chad and Nathan Jackson of Local 808 and Drop Six), hit their myspace page.

I’m a sucker for local bluegrass bands.  Probably because my brother was in one (The Dustmakers), and I enjoyed going to his shows…and hearing his horrible, horrible banjo jokes.
Filed Under: Events, Restaurants Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

got garage?

August 12, 2010 by 1 Comment

Kevin Colbert could sure use your help, especially if you live close to 21st Avenue NE and NE 70th Street.

the search area

For the past two years, Kevin’s been renting a garage near his apartment to store and work on his motorcycle and a project Jeep. But the people he rents from are moving, and so must he.

If you have or know of a garage nearby that Kevin could rent, you can contact him by email at (colbertkt [at] gmail.com) or by phone (335-9979).  He could provide some references, if rent money alone is not enough to persuade you.

[Note: My father’s first child was a 1956 Willys Jeep pick-up that we still use to go to the dump and to cut down Christmas trees. Had to try and help Kevin out!]

Filed Under: Everything counts in large amounts Tagged With: , , ,

Wacky Western Wednesday TOMORROW at the RECC

August 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Fantastic (and Cheap) Family Fun at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) continues with Wacky Western Wednesday!

From the Summer 2010 Seattle Parks and Recreation catalog (pdf):

Wacky Western Wednesday
Ages: 12 & under
Attention cowboys and cowgirls! Throw on your best western attire and cowboy duds and head on over to the community center! Eat some good ol’ fashioned cowboy chow, and come ready to party like cowboy, minus the campfire! Special guests include a mobile petting zoo (complete with a pot belly pig, goat, donkey, chicken, and bunnies) and pony rides on miniature and regular horses!
8/11 Wed Noon–2 p.m.
Activity Fee: $3

Did you see that?! Pot belly pig! Bunnies! And horses! And CHOW…all for three bucks.

We say: YEE HAW.

Filed Under: Kids, Seattle Parks and Recreation Tagged With: , , , ,

Ravenna Avenue Sidewalk REPAIRED

August 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Can’t use the sidewalk quite yet — the cement was still firming up as we walked by this afternoon — but here it is, in all its glory:

The whole scene, from the middle of Ravenna Avenue.

See where those troublesome roots were?

Close-up of the chopped tree roots.

Now, THAT is what I call FLAT.

“Will the cutting of the roots affect the tree?” you may be wondering. I do not know the answer to that, but I suppose time will tell.

Filed Under: Everything counts in large amounts Tagged With: , , , ,

OMG we’re TWO!

August 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Ravenna Blog is TWO years old!

Technically, this happened on August 8th, but I didn’t notice until today.  I have been spending most of my online time these days reading HyperlocalBlogger and migraine entries on medical sites (I believe those two are unrelated).

There have also been lapses and sputters in our coverage of Ravenna related events, so I don’t feel as thought it’s been a FULL two years of blogging, but celebrating the anniversary of the first post feels right.

There shan’t be a party, and NO GIFTS, PLEASE, but I have a few gifts (thanks) of my own to dole out (in no particular order):

  • THANKS to We [Heart] Food for finding us in the early days and making the blog’s first comment,
  • THANKS to Annie Price and Glenn Roberts for being our first interviewees,
  • THANKS to Amy, Susie, Hanna, Mai and PATTY for their hyper-hyperlocal support,
  • THANKS to the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association for their substantial online presence, and to Jim O’Halloran for his emails,
  • THANKS to those of you who have send in questions and topics for us to blog about (KEEP IT UP),
  • and thank YOU for reading this!

________________

Some old, notable posts to peruse:

  • Welcome to the Ravenna Blog! (August 8, 2008) The first post!
  • You may now commence the fun. (September 9, 2008) Official dedication of the new playground at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center.
  • Neighborhood 911 (October 15, 2008) Fire at a multi-unit building. I’ve made the decision to not report on all the fire and police stuff that goes on (important stuff, yes, but not the kind of blog I’m going for here), but when you see a house ON FIRE a couple blocks from your house, you go check it out, right?
  • Ravenna: Now with twice the blogging (at least) (February 24, 2009) Ravenna Nation joins the hyperlocal blog community. RN ran on the Neighborlogs blog platform and was set up to be a much more open and collaborative way of blogging about the neighborhood. I wrote a bit for it, as did others. But, sadly, RN is no more. [The twitter feed is still around, frozen in time, and, creepily enough, the last tweets had to do with the blood found in Ravenna Park while Maurice Clemmons was still at large.]
  • The REAL Ravenna Blog – if only (August 25, 2009) Oh My God Seattle (now Berlin) wrote a hyperlocal blog parody, and used Ravenna as the neighborhood. I laughed and laughed.
  • Mission Statements (April 13, 2010) Mission statements for the blog as well as a good list of the local blogs ’round here that I follow (and you should, too).
  • Busy Weekend – Athletic Edition (April 29, 2010) Post about events around here and the UW (Friday Night Lights, Opening Day, Windermere Cup). Really, just an excuse to post that picture of the Elvis Boat the Bremerton Yacht Club made.
  • Twitter Feed Round-Up (May 22, 2010) The first. I do more tweeting than I thought I would (life with a toddler makes it easier to bang out 140 characters than blog posts), so these are my attempts to bring non-tweeters up to speed (with the least perishable tweets, anyway).
  • Restaurant Inspection Round-Up REDO (May 31, 2010) A retraction post, of sorts. Deciding to rank restaurants based on my faulty perception of how the King County scores said inspections caught Chris’ (We [Heart] Food) eye, and he called me on it. Never again!
  • June 9, 2010. My Green Lake and I badger a poor woman into starting a Roosevelt Neighborhood Blog. She hasn’t been the same since.
  • Low flyers in Bryant? (June 16, 2010) Karen in Bryant submitted a question about a low flying plane over her house, and I was able to answer it! Well, tell her who to call to report it, anyway.
  • Uniformed Help on the Viaduct Detour Route (June 17, 2010) First reader submitted picture and tip!
  • Yoga on the Patio: Interview with Annie Price of RTPB (June 30, 2010) First interview! Thanks again, Annie!
  • July 2010. Yeah, the whole month was notable, primarily for all the Sisleyville posts. Co-interviewed Glenn Roberts (with Roosiehood), co-posted a letter (with Roosiehood) for readers to send off to City Councilmembers, live-tweeted two City Council meetings…goodness.

Here’s to two more! At least. 🙂

Filed Under: metablog Tagged With: ,

Just kidding! NEW EIS Deadline: September 1

August 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The deadline has been extended!

From RNA Land Use Committee Chair Jim O’Halloran:

I’ve just received word from Shelley Bolser at DPD that the deadline for submitting comments on the scope of the EIS  (Environmental Impact Study) for redevelopment of the Sisley properties has been  extended from today (Aug. 4) until Sept. 1 – a full four weeks.  The reason given was to provide more time for the community to understand the 6 different alternatives and other information which may be available to inform your comments.

I think its good to have more time, and I am encouraged that DPD is taking steps to accommodate more input from the Community.  Please know too, that DPD Director Diane Sugimura has agreed to a meeting this month with land use representatives from both the Roosevelt and Ravenna neighborhoods.  Clearly this is the result of community concern over the format of the July 21 scoping meeting.  What’s more, Director Sugimura has expressed an apology for “what did not work” at the July 21 meeting, and promised a further response.

I especially like that second paragraph. I can’t help but think that the flood of emails to City Councilmembers the past couple weeks had something to do with this. Good work, folks!

Filed Under: Meeting

One More Deadline (for now): EIS Scoping Comments

August 4, 2010 by 2 Comments

Excerpt from a email from the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association’s Jim O’Halloran:

RDG Contract Rezone EIS [Environmental Impact Survey] Scoping – As encouraging as it is to win the Comp Plan battle, there are other efforts which need our attention.  Tomorrow (Aug. 4) is the deadline for input to DPD on considerations in the Environmental Impact Study.  Yes, it’s complicated.  And this is not so much a matter of maximum volume of input, as it is making sure that DPD considers the right issues and alternatives.  You can find a pre-addressed form for your comments here:  http://rooseveltseattle.org/Documents/Blank%20RDG%20%20EIS%20Scoping%20Comment%20Form.pdf Some additional information is available here:  http://rooseveltseattle.org/rdg.aspx

What I would suggest you do, seeing as the deadline for comments is TODAY, is email your comments directly to Shelly Bolser, Senior Land Use Planner at the Department of Planning and Development (DPD). Use the format of the RNA’s pdf above, and send it to shelleybosler@seattle.gov. Make sure you include that project number (3010100).

________________

On a related note, I just found an RSS feed for the DPD’s Northeast Seattle project design review schedule! Subscribe!

Turns out, there’s a meeting on August 16th concerning the stuff happening at 2028 NE 65th Street (those houses just West of the Herbalist on NE 65th).

Filed Under: Everything counts in large amounts

Note from Councilmember Clark

August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Received the following email from Councilmember Sally Clark not quite an hour ago. If you’ve been looking for a summary of all the City Council action on the RDG comp plan rezoning EIS COBE RNA ETC stuff, then read on:

Thank you for writing to me regarding the Roosevelt Development Group’s (RDG’s) proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment.  I’m sorry for the generic response, but this particular amendment generated a lot of emails. (Good job!)  This is the quickest way to respond to everyone.  Please email me back if I didn’t answer a question related to your particular comment.

Yesterday the Council voted to exclude RDG’s amendment for further consideration this cycle. This confirmed the proposal I made, and the Committee on the Built Environment approved, last week. Your near-unanimous community feedback and advocacy was instrumental in this decision.

As you know, the conversation regarding Roosevelt’s zoning future has become a bit complicated with 1) The zoning proposal from Roosevelt’s Neighborhood Plan Update  2) RDG’s Environmental Impact Statement work, and 3) RDG’s Comprehensive Plan amendment to adjust the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and the Roosevelt Urban Village boundary.  Councilmembers have been able to engage in some of these conversations (1, 3), but have needed to exclude ourselves from others because of the “quasi-judicial” status (2).  It’s been frustrating to not be able to engage in a fuller discussion of zoning ideas. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through land use changes for Roosevelt.

To be clear, Monday afternoon’s vote isn’t meant to signify that the City Council isn’t interested in seeing zoning action taken in Roosevelt.  The new light rail station presents great opportunities for people to live near transit and for the broader community to enjoy benefits new development should be expected to bring.  Roosevelt has supported that vision by advocating for the best station location and for smart land use changes in the core around the station. The community’s neighborhood plan update, submitted in 2007, included rezone proposals working their way through review at the city’s Department of Planning & Development.  I’m eagerly awaiting delivery to Council. Concurrently, we have the environmental review of the RDG possibilities taking place and expected to wrap up next year. Ideally, full consideration of the neighborhood plan update zoning proposals and the finished EIS will shape a proposal for the RDG properties that meets the needs of all parties.

However, as chair of the Council’s land use committee, I know it won’t be that easy. Rising land values, housing affordability, demand for transit, demand for great parks, demand for safe, walkable, attractive business areas, and sustainability — Roosevelt, like every other neighborhood, struggles with all this and more.  I appreciate you taking the time to advocate.  Please feel welcome to write about this or any other city issue in the future.

Sincerely,

Sally

Filed Under: City Council, Updates

Seattle Night Out TONIGHT

August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Tonight is the 27th Annual National Night Out, and Seattle is once again celebrating the event.

Throughout the city there will be streets closed for block parties and bouncy houses (well, we know of ONE in Tangletown, and it sounds FUN), and other community-building, crime-preventing  events. Visit the Seattle Night Out homepage for more info.

I know of at least one block party here in Ravenna (at 70th and 23rd) and there may be others. Let me know where they are, and I’ll add them to the post.

And even if your block has nothing planned for tonight, the good folks at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center have you covered.

From the Parks and Recreation Summer 2010 catalog (emphasis mine):

National “Night Out”
All Ages
“Night Out” is a national crime prevention event. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our community. It is a great chance to learn about crime prevention, while also celebrating your community and spending time with your neighbors. Meet firemen and policemen and explore a real fire truck and a police car!
Location: Ravenna-Eckstein CC
6–8 p.m. Activity Fee: Free

Yes, we’ll go check it out for the toddler, but maybe I’m pretty excited to see the fire truck, too.

Filed Under: Events, Kids, Seattle Parks and Recreation
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