Ravenna

A Ravenna resident’s perspective on NE 75th Street

April 14, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 18 Comments

On Wednesday, March 27, Ravenna resident Megan Watzke shared her thoughts on NE 75th Street with members of the NE Seattle Moms Yahoo Group (a private Yahoo group of which I am a member [added April 26 for clarification]).

After I read her words, I thought the community-at-large might like to read them as well. Watzke agreed, and here they are:

My feelings about this are very strong because my partner and I live with our three small children in our house that has its side facing NE 75th St, but I will try to be as objective as possible in my comments.

In the past year, I have contacted SDOT, the Mayor’s Office, and the offices of the members of the Seattle City Council who serve on the transportation committee regarding 75th. It’s no secret to those of us who live near this street – or those who even travel on it occasionally – that people drive recklessly and dangerously on this road.

The response from SDOT has been, at best, muted. They claim that it is technically wide enough to be a 4-lane road. They also claim that recent studies do not show a problem with speeding on 75th. Without this proof, there is little, the officials I spoke to say, that can be done.

If you have ever walked along 75th or even poked your car out slightly to make a turn onto it, you will have experienced how dangerous it is to have four lanes of traffic on the road. The cars traveling closest to the sidewalk are often just inches away from the parking strip or curb. While this is anecdotal, cars often seem to be traveling much faster than the unmarked speed of 30 mph.

My feeling is that one of the worst aspects of 75th – in particular the stretch between 35th Ave NE and 12th Ave NE – is that it is unclear whether the road supports one or two lanes of traffic in each direction. This leads to confusion and bad driving, with people passing on the right, weaving in and out of the “lanes,” and more. This ambiguity is dangerous and maybe, as we have all heard about tragically in the past couple of days, even deadly.

SDOT claims that 75th needs to be the way it is for the exodus of UW football games. I don’t believe that this reason – that only applies to a handful of Saturdays each fall — warrants keeping the status quo. They also claim that it is understood that arterial roads have a speed limit of 30 mph. I would bet significant money that most drivers who use this road would *not* know this.

At the bare minimum, I feel there should be lane markers to designate the supposed two lanes of traffic. Better yet, let there be a dedicated and painted bike lane and a parking lane as there is on stretches of NE 65th St and other nearby roads. Undoubtedly, there are other traffic solutions to correct the situation on 75th that a professional traffic engineer could provide. The important thing is that something needs to be done.

I hope that the city takes some sort of action as soon as possible. I ask that each of you who feels like this road is unsafe takes the time to make a phone or write an email to SDOT and/or the Mayor’s Office to encourage this to happen. My partner and I have taken to parking our car on 75th when the parking restrictions allow it to force cars into one lane. While this makes us feel mildly better, it certainly does not fix the problem. Until the city does something, consider parking your car there as well when possible. Ask your neighbors to do the same if you live nearby.

I love living in NE Seattle. It is a wonderful and welcoming community. We knew we were signing up to live on a busy road when we bought the house. We accept this as part of living in a rich urban environment. I do not, however, accept living on a dangerous and now fatal road. Please join me in demanding some sort of change so that we may all have a safer neighborhood for everyone.

Best regards,
Megan Watzke (and Kristin Crymes)

Megan Watzke, her partner, Kristin Crymes, and their three children live in North Ravenna. Watzke is the press officer for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the co-author of “A Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos.” (She happens to be doing an author event at Ravenna Third Place Books on Thursday, April 25.)

Watzke and Crymes have started a “Make NE 75th St Safe” Facebook page to help gather people interested in the cause.

And don’t forget: There are three community meetings about NE 75th Street coming up where residents can share their frustrations about and ideas for the arterial, as well as discuss these issues with SDOT staff.

Filed Under: Ravenna, Traffic

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Stylish Stone People

April 13, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 3 Comments

stone_people_20th

On the east side of 20th Avenue NE, between the Ravenna Park Bridge and NE 65th Street, lives a stone family. They like to dress up when the weather is good. Who doesn’t?!

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: Moment of Ravenna Zen, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna Zen

New eats and treats coming soon to Northeast Seattle (UPDATE)

April 12, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 24 Comments

Our favorite kind of news? NEW RESTAURANT NEWS.

And we have LOTS.

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Coming soon, to the old Pied Piper Alehouse space (2404 NE 65th St) is…

…a Patty’s Eggnest.

There are currently nine Patty’s Eggnest locations in Washington State, all of which are independently owned and operated. Patty’s specializes in breakfast. So much so that their Eggs Benedict have their OWN MENU. NINE different kinds, people.

Here’s more about their menu, from the About page:

We serve delicious, hearty meals made to order and made from scratch with fresh, choice ingredients. In a comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere, we’ll be happy to fill your table with home-cooked breakfast favorites. Fresh-squeezed orange juice, Swedish pancakes, scrumptious scrambles, and hearty chicken-fried steak are just some of the dishes that we feature on our menu at all locations. We also feature tasty lunches, like hot delicious sandwiches, big burgers with seasoned fries, and fresh salads. For several of our locations, we are open for dinner hours as well, serving fresh roasted turkey dinners and soup made-from-scratch.

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Headed into some of the new restaurant space in the new south building at University Village is a new restaurant by Beecher’s Cheese Head, Kurt Dammeier: Liam’s.

Via Eater Seattle, Dammeier says:

We’ll serve all Northwest wine and our basic food I describe as ‘upscale homestyle’ — mostly dishes that are familiar or reasonably familiar to a suburban crowd, but made better.

Dammeier is also the guy behind Pasta & Co., which already has a home at University Village.

That same Eater piece claims that “a Joey’s and a Din Tai Fung will also be moving in.” That’s a lot of restaurants. But with 24,626 sq. ft. of restaurant space available in that new building, anything is possible.

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Over in the Laurelhurst direction, Bill the Butcher is getting a new, unlikely neighbor:

Vegan bakery next to butcher. Keeping the 98105 weird – twitter.com/floraandflying…
— Nazila Merati (@floraandflying) April
11, 2013

Violet Sweet Shoppe, a vegan bakery and cafe, plans to open along NE 45th Street in May. If you’d like to help them along, financially, they’ve got a Kickstarter going.

I can’t believe it’s not butter.
(Cake picture courtesy Violet Sweet Shoppe.)

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The old Casa D’Italia location (2615 NE 65th St) has been leased again, to a business under the name “Conception Hermosillo” (according to records with the Washington State Liquor Control Board).

But this is about all we know so far. TO BE CONTINUED.

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The overlap section of a hypothetical Northeast Seattle Venn diagram of “Cloud City Coffee” and “Magnuson Park” will be excited about this last one.

Another find from the Washington State Liquor Control Board’s list of new liquor license applicants: CLOUD CITY SAND POINT.

O RLY? What’s the address? “6327 NE 74TH ST?”

View Cloud City Sand Point location? in a larger map

Hey, that’s inside Magnuson Park! What’s that address look like right now?

Oh my.

Let’s zoom out.

I don’t think it’s ready yet, do you?

Another one for the TO BE CONTINUED pile. We’ll contact Cloud City and Seattle Parks and Recreation on this one and report back.

UPDATE (5:35 PM): We’ve heard back from one of the Sand Point Tennis Center managers, Scott Marshall, who said, “Cloud City will be the cafe operator inside of our 6-court building. We are extremely excited about this partnership.”

Learn more about the Sand Point Tennis Center being built at Magnuson Park here.

Filed Under: Construction, Food, Laurelhurst, Magnuson Park, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Ravenna, Restaurants, Sand Point, University Village, Updates

Next step in NE 75th Street improvements? YOU.

April 12, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

On Monday, April 1, the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) shared a NE 75th Street Improvement Plan they had been working on since the tragic events of March 25.

Part of that plan was a timeline for this improvement work (PDF), and it is time for Element Number 2: Issue Identification and Outreach.

Intersection of 25th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street, looking east.

This is where YOU come in.

SDOT has set up three meetings in neighborhoods along NE 75th Street at which residents can share their frustrations about and ideas for the arterial, as well as discuss these issues with SDOT staff.

There are three dates for residents to choose from. Please attend whichever date fits your schedule.

Tuesday, April 23rd, 6-8:30 PM, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE)
Thursday, April 25th, 2-4 PM, Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)
Wednesday, May 1st, 7-9 PM, Calvary Christian Assembly (6801 Roosevelt Way NE)

View NE 75th St Community Meetings w/SDOT in a larger map

After these community meetings, the next step on the NE 75th Improvement Timeline is taking community input, combining it with collected traffic data, and coming up with a conceptual design to bring back to the community.

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Construction, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Department of Transportation, Traffic, Wedgwood

Memorial service in Indiana for Judy and Dennis Schulte (UPDATES)

April 10, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

Judy and Dennis Schulte, with Baby Elias. Photo provided by the Schulte-Dwyer family.

A statement from the Schulte-Dwyer family, regarding Judy and Dennis Schulte’s memorial service at at Western High School in Russiaville, Indiana today (Wednesday, April 10):

Our family would like to thank everyone for their support during this time of trial. People from all over the world have helped with their prayers, kind words and financial support. We would especially like to thank the communities of Seattle, Santiago de Chile, Kokomo, Russiaville, and the rest of Indiana.

The loss of Dennis and Judy Schulte leaves a void in our lives that can never be filled. They were parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, brother and sister, teachers, leaders and friends. No words can express our grief, but we will choose to honor their lives by continuing the incredible example of humanity and love they demonstrated. We are pleased to announce that, in their honor, the Judy and Dennis Schulte Scholarship for Future Educators has been established for students at Kokomo, Western and Northwestern High Schools.

If we can learn anything from this tragedy, it is that the choices we make daily affect the people around us. Every person must have accountability and a responsibility to their fellow citizens. Living in a society requires each of us to consider others and how our actions might impact their lives. Dennis and Judy were perfect role models for us all in this regard. Their sincere, empathetic, and compassionate attitudes toward others is evident in the community response to this senseless accident and the many stories they leave behind.

Dennis and Judy’s daughter-in-law, Karina, and grandson, Elias, have made some progress in their recovery and our family is encouraged. We feel they are both now in stable conditions but there is certainly a long road of recovery before them. We are grateful for the doctors, nurses and entire staff at Harborview Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Their dedication and care for Karina and Elias has been extraordinary. We take comfort in knowing Karina and Elias are receiving the best care available.

Many people have asked how they can help. First, we would ask that you continue to remember us in your prayers. If you wish to help out financially for our on-going medical and family needs, you can donate at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/aTM78. You can also follow the progress of Elias and Karina at Caring Bridge: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/karinaandelias

Thank you.

An NBC-affiliate in Indianapolis had a camera at the services today, and was planning on including some footage in their 11 PM EDT newscast. We’ll post it here, once it’s available.

UPDATE (7:54 PM): WISH-TV out of Indianapolis has a short piece about today’s service online. Sounds as though Seattle relatives and friends who stayed behind were able to “attend” the service via Skype.

Kokomo couple remembered

UPDATE (Thursday, April 11): WTHR, another TV station in Indianapolis, also reported on yesterday’s memorial service:

13 WTHR Indianapolis

And the Kokomo Tribune has a story on the memorial services as well, starting with these words:

Dennis and Judy Schulte were more than educators. They were parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors.

That’s how they were remembered Wednesday evening as hundreds of family and friends gathered in Western High School’s gymnasium to mourn the popular teachers.

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Arraignment of DUI homicides suspect on Thursday (UPDATE)

April 9, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 31 Comments

On Wednesday, April 10, Judy and Dennis Schulte’s memorial services will be held in Russiaville, Indiana at 7 PM EDT, in the gymnasium at Western High School.

On Thursday, April 11, Mark W. Mullan will be arraigned on two charges of vehicular homicide and two charges of vehicular assault in Seattle, Washington at 8:30 AM PDT, in Courtroom 1201 at the King County Courthouse.

What follows are the details of the Monday, March 25 multi casualty incident at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street taken from the Seattle Police Department’s case investigation report.

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Northeast Seattle resident Mark Mullan, 50, was driving his black 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup westbound on NE 75th Street just after 4 PM on Monday, March 25, when the vehicle struck four pedestrians crossing 75th at 33rd Avenue NE.

Just prior to that time, Judy and Dennis Schulte (68- and 66-years-old, respectively) were crossing NE 75th Street at 33rd Avenue NE northbound with their 33-year-old daughter-in-law, Karina Ulriksen-Schulte, and their 10-day-old grandson, Elias. Ms. Ulriksen Schulte was carrying her newborn son in a sling-style carrier across her body.

Witnesses accounts suggest that Ms. Ulriksen-Schulte was crossing 75th just ahead of Mr. and Mrs. Schulte, but reversed her course in the roadway as she noticed Mr. Mullan’s vehicle approaching.

Approximately 12 feet from the north side of the intersection, the right front corner of Mr. Mullan’s vehicle struck all four pedestrians.

Mrs. Schulte was thrown some 70 feet from the area of impact. She and her husband died of their injuries at the scene.

Ms. Ulriksen-Schulte and her infant sustained life-threatening injuries and are still in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center.

Mr. Mullan brought his vehicle to a stop an estimated 150 feet west of the collision site.

During questioning by officers, Mr. Mullan claimed that he did not see the family crossing NE 75th Street in front of this vehicle because of the sun. He also said that he did not attempt to stop his vehicle until after he “felt the bump.”

Preliminary analysis of sun angle positions (from the horizon and Mr. Mullan’s heading) are listed in the case report, as well as a initial speed calculation of Mr. Mullan’s vehicle of within 10 MPH of the posted speed limit of 30 MPH.

Mr. Mullan admitted to officers at the scene that he had consumed alcohol prior to the incident. A responding DUI/DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) officer witnessed several signs of impairment, including intoxicants on his breath and bloodshot, watery eyes. Furthermore, upon testing Mr. Mullan with several standard field sobriety tests, the DUI-DRE officer described Mr. Mullan’s impairment as “obvious.” A breath test at the scene indicated a breath alcohol level of 0.22.

As a condition of his guilty plea for a December 2012 DUI incident, Mr. Mullan was ordered to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle (the same black 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup). No such device was found in his vehicle at the scene on March 25.

Mark Mullan was arrested without incident and booked into King County Jail. His bail is set at $2.5 million.

We will update this post on Thursday morning as Mullan enters his pleas to the charges of two counts vehicular homicide, two counts vehicular assault, and one count reckless driving.

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Mark Mullan, left, the repeat drunk driver accused of killing an Indiana couple and critically injuring their daughter-in-law and infant grandson at a Wedgwood intersection, is arraigned Thurs., April 11, 2013, in Seattle on two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. At right is Mullan's defense attorney Jesse Debow. Judge Ronald Kessler is at center. Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times

Mark Mullan (left), Mullan’s defense attorney Jesse Debow (right), and Superior Court Criminal Judge Ronald Kessler (center), at Mullan’s arraignment hearing on Thursday, April 11. Mullan pleaded not guilty to all counts. Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times

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UPDATE (8:58 AM): Mark W. Mullan has pleaded NOT GUILTY to all counts.

The next step for prosecution and defense is the case setting, which is scheduled for May 23.

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Roosevelt “lake” views headed down the drain as reservoir empties (UPDATE)

April 9, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 17 Comments

Ravenna and Roosevelt neighbors near the Roosevelt Reservoir were told (via mail, around Saturday, April 6), that not only was the reservoir disconnected from the city’s water system on Monday, April 1, it will soon be drained…and stay that way, for two years.

Roosevelt Reservoir, by neighbor Jenifer Gonzales.

The clock started ticking for all of the city’s open reservoirs back in the mid-1990s with the passage of an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This amendment “added new requirements related to annual water quality reports, operator certification requirements, system capacity, and source water assessment and protection.”

In 2004, the Seattle City Council approved a plan to fund the covering of four of the city’s reservoirs at a cost of $150 million.

Then, in 2006, a federal law “required all uncovered drinking water distribution reservoirs to either be covered or treated to a high standard.”

Of the city’s open reservoirs, six have now been replaced with underground structures: Magnolia in 1995, Lincoln in 2004, Myrtle in 2008, Beacon in 2009, West Seattle in 2010, and Maple Leaf in 2012. All but the Magnolia site were transformed into parks by various Seattle Parks and Recreation levy funds.

There are four above-ground reservoirs remaining: The Bitter Lake, Lake Forest Park, Volunteer, and Roosevelt Reservoirs.

Volunteer Park Reservoir in 2008, by Flickr user stevevoght.

Floating covers have been installed at the Bitter Lake and Lake Forest Park facilities, and will remain through the operational life of these two reservoirs.

As for the Volunteer and Roosevelt Reservoirs, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has started testing them for potential decommissioning:

To perform the tests, the reservoirs were taken out of service on April 1, 2013. While out of service, Roosevelt Reservoir will be kept drained, while Volunteer Reservoir will remain full with water and continue to be a water feature at the park.

The reservoirs will remain disconnected from the City’s drinking water system throughout the two-year test. During this time, SPU will study the impact the out-of-service facilities have on Seattle’s overall drinking water system, make evaluations and determine whether the reservoirs can be permanently taken out of service.

If SPU finds that the reservoirs are no longer needed, the costs saved by not having to replace them with covered storage facilities would run between $10 and $50 million dollars. Each.

If and when SPU decides the Roosevelt and/or Volunteer Reservoirs ares no longer needed, public process would then kick in, and neighbors would have a say in their futures.

Until then, enjoy a nice, tall glass of (c0vered) Maple Leaf Reservoir water, now flowing out of our taps.

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For more information on the Roosevelt Reservoir decommissioning test, visit the Reservoir Covering Project page on the Seattle Public Utilities website.

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UPDATE (Thursday, April 18): At least one neighbor of the Roosevelt Reservior has asked SPU “Why us?” And here is the reply by Bill Wells, Senior Engineer of the Drinking Water Division:

We had to make a difficult decision in weighing the benefits of keeping Roosevelt Reservoir full versus the additional costs to the customers of Seattle. We estimated that it would cost an additional $100,000 each year (about $200,000 in total) to keep the reservoir full during the two-year decommissioning test.

The costs to keep Roosevelt filled and maintained are significantly more than that of Volunteer. This is because Roosevelt Reservoir is a 50-million-gallon reservoir – more than twice the size of the 20-million-gallon Volunteer Reservoir.

Another key factor in the decision to refill Volunteer Reservoir is the park’s historical landmark status, of which the reservoir is a contributing feature.

We wish we could maintain water in both reservoirs throughout the two-year test period, but in the end we decided it was in the best interest of the city as a whole to keep Roosevelt Reservoir empty throughout the testing period.

Filed Under: Government, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Public Utilities, Updates

Family Movie Matinees at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

April 8, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment

The Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Avenue NE) has added a few movie matinees to their schedule that may be of interest to you and your toddler/preschooler.

RECC_movie_matinee

All movie dates are Fridays, with a start time of 2:30 PM, and include popcorn and coloring sheets.

April 12: Brave (PG), 93 minutes

April 26: Ice Age: Continental Drift (PG), 88 minutes

May 17: Born to be Wild (G), 40 minutes

The event is free (with donations accepted for refreshments).

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

Timeout to say THANK YOU, on behalf of the Schulte family (UPDATES)

April 7, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 17 Comments

What follows is a compilation of the ways that neighbors and local businesses have helped the Schulte family since Monday, March 25.

We do not claim to know every story of giving surrounding the days and weeks after the tragedy, but this post is our attempt to list as many as we can.

If we’ve left anything out, feel free to leave your stories of kindnesses and thanks in the comments below.

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During the last week of March, in the first days after the tragedy, local businesses stepped in and donated food to the family:

Grateful Bread (7001 35th Ave NE) donated sandwiches, salads and soup on March 28.

Eat Local (nearest location at 503 Broadway E on Capitol Hill) donated six meals to the family on March 28.

When we found out that Karina’s birthday was on March 28 (mentioned by Schulte family friend Adrienne Bergman on one of the medical fundraiser sites for the family), we contacted Trophy Cupcakes (Northeast Seattle location in University Village). They graciously and swiftly donated a dozen cupcakes, which we were able to get to the family at Harborview Medical Center that day.

Cafe Javasti (8617 35th Ave NE in Wedgwood and 8410 5th Ave NE in Maple Leaf) donated pastries and coffee for breakfast on March 29.

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After the first few days of meals were covered by local businesses, Wedgwood resident Jess Creach set up a site for the Schultes at Take Them a Meal. People interested in helping the family with food can sign up for a specific date and meal (lunch, snack, dinner), which can be delivered in advance to the Sand Point Community United Methodist Church for pick up.

At the time of this writing, the meal calendar for the Schultes was full through April 27. So far, 61 different people have signed up.

You can still sign up, too, if you’d like.

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By the time we contacted the manager of Sand Point Metropolitan Market (5250 40th Ave NE), Mark Marsh, on Thursday, March 28, his store had already contributed flowers to the memorial site and food for after the prayer vigil.

On Friday, March 29, his store began taking donations at their checkstands from community members. Marsh told us on the morning of Friday, April 6 that the total amount donated by community members at their checkout stands so far is $7,434.00. This total does not yet include the $1,000 that Metropolitan Market will also be donating on top of that.

With the hope of reaching $10,000, the store will continue taking donations at the registers for one more week, until Friday, April 12.

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Thank you to Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Car Free Days, Eckstein Bikes, the Wedgwood Community Council, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, and anyone else who helped organize the Memorial Walk on Monday, April 1.

Thank you to the Seattle Police Department for closing off roads and providing an escort during the walk. And thank you, Mayor Michael McGinn, for attending.

Thank you to the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts location for supplying participants of the Memorial Walk with doughnuts and coffee. And thank you for the use of your property as a gathering, starting, and ending point for that walk.

Furthermore, Top Pot, thank you for walking, too.

Wedgwood Top Pot manager Jennifer Surbaugh and one of the owners of Top Pot, Mark Klebeck, on the walk.

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Other local fundraising:

The Wedgwood Safeway (7340 35th Avenue NE) donated a gift card for $100 on March 28. Also, thanks to Bridgette in the floral department for donating buckets and food for flowers left at the memorial site.

The employees at the Wedgwood QFC (8400 35th Ave NE) made a donation to one of the funds for the family set up at the Wedgwood branch of HomeStreet Bank on March 28.

The Van Gogh Coffeehouse (8210 35th Ave NE) donated all their tips from Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, for a total of $786.48.

Cooper’s Alehouse (8065 Lake City Way NE) set aside 25% of their sales on Wednesday, April 3 for the Schulte family medical fund, and donated over $500.

Thank you to the (as of the publishing of this post) 989 people who donated $59,492 to the medical fund for Karina and Baby Elias that friends of the family Adrienne and Brett Bergman set up.

Thank you to the people who have contributed to both the Karina & Elias Ulriksen-Schulte Medical Fund (currently at $7665.00) and the Dennis & Judy Schulte Memorial Fund (currently at $645.00). These funds were set up at the Wedgwood Branch of HomeStreet Bank by Per Johnson, President of the Wedgwood Community Council, after we learned the names of the victims.

UPDATE (11:12 AM): We’ve been told by Per Johnson that the online amounts for the funds at HomeStreet Bank are only the online totals. “There have been a ton of people who have donated in-person to the tune of $5000,” Johnson says.

We’d also like to thank the staff of the Wedgwood Branch of HomeStreet Bank for all of their assistance.

UPDATE (1:38 PM): We’ve learned that the Wedgwood Drama Studio also donated money to the Schulte family. You can read about the studio’s mission here.

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Bike to Bryant was started around 2007 by parents of Bryant Elementary students. The group’s goal is to encourage families to walk and/or bike to school together on a more regular basis.

This year’s big spring ride, scheduled for Friday, March 29, was almost canceled, in light of the tragedy. But organizers went forward with the ride and turned it into a moving memorial to the Schulte family. One hundred and fifteen riders participated. A moment of silence was observed at the start, and $106 was collected for the Karina & Elias Ulriksen-Schulte Medical fund.

Also, the Seattle Police Department provided an escort for the group, and closed down 35th Avenue NE during the ride to school.

Police closed down 35th Ave NE for the annual Spring Bike to Bryant Elementary ride. Photo by Car Free Days, used with permission.

Police closed down 35th Ave NE for the annual Spring Bike to Bryant Elementary ride. Photo by Car Free Days (carfreedays.com), used with permission.

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Thank you to National Barricade (6518 Ravenna Ave NE) for donating use of some of your street signs (a pair of SLOW DOWN and yellow pedestrian signs) at both the east and west ends of NE 75th Street (at approximately 27th and 34th Avenues NE).

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Thank you to the community members who attended the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Spring Community Meeting on Tuesday, April 2. And thank you to the officials who attended or participated in some way, including (alphabetical by last name):

Rachel Cormier Anderson (City Attorney’s Office)

Nancy Bolin (View Ridge Community Council)

Tim Burgess (Seattle City Council President, mayoral candidate)

Dongho Chang (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Sally Clark (Seattle City Council President)

Captain Robin Clark (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Rebecca Deehr (Mayor’s Office)

Dr. Beth Ebel (Harborview Medical Center)

Senator David Frockt (46th Legislative District)

Beth Goldberg (Mayor’s Office)

Peter Hahn (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Beth Hester (Mayor’s Office)

Gina Iandola (HomeStreet Bank)

Sherri Kokx (Eckstein Middle School)

Officer Eric Michl (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Sergeant Dianne Newsom (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Representative Gerry Pollet (46th Legislative District)

Tom Rasmussen (Seattle City Council)

Sergeant Don Smith (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Peter Steinbrueck (mayoral candidate)

Eileen Whalen (Harborview Medical Center)

Thank you also to the staff of the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, the respective board members of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association and Wedgwood Community Council, and Jenny Frankl with the Department of Neighborhoods for help making the meeting happen.

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Thank you to the two women on 33rd Avenue NE who, very late on the night of Tuesday, March 26, worked together to scrub NE 75th Street clean with soap and water, and their own loving hands.

Thank you to the three neighbors on 33rd Avenue NE who made the two white crosses for Judy and Dennis Schulte at the memorial site, added on Friday, March 29.

Thank you to the sixth grade class in one of Seattle’s middle schools who wrote a card for the family.

Thank you to Lacia Lynne Bailey for taking on the role of caretaker for the memorial on the corner of 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street. Thank you for respecting every last flower petal, slip of paper, and stuffed animal left at the site, in honor of the victims.

Blow drying wet bear before gets bag rain gear & back to growing memorial for #DUIseattle tragedy http://t.co/3JySngOTrH

— Lacia Lynne Bailey (@GoatGuild) March 28, 2013

Thank you to Judy’s Truffle, for being such a comforting (and fuzzy) presence at the memorial site, hugged and cried upon by countless people.

Sweet little Truffle seems to be bringing love to #DUIseattle memorial site while I clean it up a bit http://t.co/WIgrJq2Y8j

— Lacia Lynne Bailey (@GoatGuild) March 28, 2013

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And finally, some thank-yous from the Schulte family, conveyed through Lisa Schulte (wife of Mike Schulte, a cousin of Dan).

Here are some thank you’s the family would like mentioned locally!!

Addy and Brett Bergman (set up the donation site)
Pastor Cathy and Sand Point Community United Methodist Church
The awesome neighbors and dear friends of the family including Daniel and Jennifer, Trevor, Felipe and Indre
Seattle Fire Department and EMTs
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways walk coordinator
EMI
Wedgwood/Ravenna Community, Jess Creach, Per Johnson (Wedgwood Community Council) & Rebecca Nelson (Ravenna Blog)
Harborview doctors and nurses
Seattle Children’s Hospital (Karina’s work)
Colehour and Cohen (Dan’s work)
Sand Point Metropolitan Market
All the incredible people who have donated time, money, food etc.

Lisa has acted as the main point of contact with the family during the last two weeks, and we (and other community members and organizations) are very, very thankful for her and the role she has played.

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New collaborative play equipment debuts at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

April 4, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 3 Comments

There’s some brand new fun to be had at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and it’s called Imagination Playground.

New-to-the-RECC coordinator Tim Ewings puts together a sample structure while a Ravenna Blog staffer looks on.

Perhaps, as a younger person, you enjoyed playing with Tinkertoys. Now imagine how much fun it would be if those Tinkertoys were HUGE and made of lightweight foam.

That’s what this stuff is like.

Pieces come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, some pock-marked with holes for adding foam tubes and connecting with other pieces.

The community center debuted the new play set, a purchase by previous coordinator Terri Burns (who is now at the Yesler Community Center), on Thursday, with cupcakes, juice, and coffee (for the grown-ups).

The pieces all fit *just so* inside one of two wheeled carts (both with diagrams like that above taped to their sides).

The playtime was free for the inaugural construction session, but will cost the usual drop-in fee of $3 per child in the future.

A separate “pint-sized” engineer area was set up with more basic pieces on a foam mat.

If you and your tiny engineers would like a turn at some constructive playtime, Imagination Playground will be waiting for you in the gym on the following days:

Thursdays, April 4 through June 13, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM for kids ages 1-5
Saturdays, April 6 through June 8, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM for ALL AGES

This was a “gas station” that a boy had put together…

…and here it is, back to its component parts, ready for its next pint-sized engineer.

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center