A man is in critical condition after he was apparently struck by a vehicle this afternoon (Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011) at N 79 St. at Aurora Ave N, KIRO 7 reports:

The man, in his 20s, suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center after rescuers performed CPR for about a half hour, the [Fire] department said.

KIRO 7 has photos of the scene here.

Medics were first called to the scene at 3:29 p.m.

At 4:00 p.m., the Seattle Department of Transportation tweeted that the northbound and southbound lanes of Aurora Ave N were blocked by emergency vehicles; at 4:51 p.m., KOMO Newsradio tweeted that lanes in both directions at Aurora and N 80th were still blocked. PhinneyWood reported that Seattle Police are diverting traffic onto Green Lake Way.

Eyewitness Sheryl Stich, who was driving on Aurora Ave N at the time of the incident, says that a fire hydrant was knocked over, apparently as a result of the crash.

Update, 9:37 p.m.:

From the SPD Blotter:

Vehicle/pedestrian collision in North Seattle

Posted by Detective Jeff Kappel

On December 27th at approximately 3:28 p.m. officers responded to 911 calls of a vehicle/pedestrian collision with injuries in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North.  Preliminary investigation indicates that a male pedestrian in his 20′s was walking northbound in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North on the east side sidewalk.  An adult male driver was also traveling northbound in the 7900 block of Aurora Avenue North in a Jeep SUV.

For reasons yet to be determined, the driver veered off the roadway and onto the sidewalk.  The driver struck the pedestrian who then struck his head on a steel-beamed store sign.  The vehicle continued on, striking a fire hydrant and coming to rest after striking a telephone pole head on.

SFD medics responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.  The driver was not injured and declined medical attention.

Officers interviewed the driver and released him from the scene pending further investigation.  There were no citations issued at the scene, which is standard procedure in serious traffic collisions requiring extensive follow-up investigation and collision reconstruction.

Northbound Aurora Avenue was closed to one lane of travel for approximately 90 minutes while officers and detectives conducted their on-scene investigation.

Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, traffic

Nancy Johnson, who lives near Aurora Ave N & N 68th St, wrote to tell us about an attempted burglary that took place at her home on Thursday morning (October 13, 2011):

I was home and heard strange noises coming from the basement, went down there and didn’t see anything amiss, then saw a man walking through my backyard and out the gate heading south in the alley. I thought that he must have been a meter reader…. but he was dressed in a long black coat, black gloves and a black wool beanie type hat. Medium build about 6′ tall, I couldn’t tell what race he was.

This morning [Saturday] I found a broken window next to the basement door and I realized that the sounds I heard were probably from the door being pushed and the window being broken.

If you have any information about this incident, please contact the Seattle Police Department’s North Precinct at (206) 684-0850 and reference police report #11-337968.

For information about crime prevention or to schedule a free home security assessment, contact Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston at (206) 684-7711.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, crime

Image credit: Frederic Humbert

Many thanks to Peter Monaghan, Australian-born Green Laker, for alerting us that the Kangaroo & Kiwi Pub (7305 Aurora Ave N) will be showing live telecasts of the Rugby World Cup semi-finals tonight and tomorrow night (Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011).

From Peter:

Hordes of fans from the four remaining competing nations will be there, and the Saturday night game (begins 1am, Sunday, Seattle time) will be particularly interesting, as it pits longtime rivals, Australia (the “Wallabies”) and New Zealand (the “Kiwis” who are worth seeing just for their game-preceding performance of a traditional “haka” war cry in the face of their opponents). Typically, Australian and New Zealand fans are dire enemies, but at the Green Lake pub, they come together in a camaraderie that would be unlikely in the Antipodes.

New Zealand is favored, although they’re weakened by injuries, while Australia is surprising, as it went into the tournament with no great expectations. New Zealand is not at all assured of advancing to next week’s final.

The Kangaroo & Kiwi will be packed tomorrow night, as most likely it will be for tonight’s game (also 1am) in which France, brilliant but erratic, takes on Wales, the surprise team of the tournament, big, fast, and powerful.

There sometimes is a modest cover charge for these big telecasts. That will be worth paying, just to see what a crowd of rabid rugby fans from Australasia is like.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, bars, local businesses, rugby

Green Lake’s Dry Cleaning Station (7404 Aurora Ave N) has closed.

Yesterday (Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011), customers’ items that had been left at Dry Cleaning Station were moved to Dry Cleaning Solutions, in Burien (15712 1st Ave S).

Dry Cleaning Solutions is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. The shop can be reached at (206) 243-9400.

According to Dry Cleaning Station customer Chris Cerman, no advance notice was given to customers that their belongings were being moved more than 16 miles south of where they were originally dropped off for cleaning.

All dry cleaning has been removed the Aurora location.

Shallina Lakhani, owner of Regency Cleaners, had been operating Dry Cleaning Station for the last couple of years, according to property owner Virginia Roberts.

The Green Lake dry cleaner had very poor yelp reviews. “They destroyed (shrunk by over 40% and it now has a fowl odor) my silk comforter and the owner is refusing to address the issue,” yelp reviewer Susie H. wrote in June.

“The woman at the counter was sympathetic and told me that my missing pants were probably sitting on a shelf at the plant, and the workers were just too lazy to clean them,” reviewer Christy A. wrote last October. “She said she didn’t know how they stayed in business.”

According to Roberts, Lakhani was two months behind on rent. “I kicked her out at noon today,” Roberts says.

The 1089 sq. ft. property, which shares a parking lot with PCC, is located between St. Andrews Bar and Grill and Wireless Toyz. It is currently for lease and is available immediately through McKee Properties. The space, which was extensively renovated in 2004, includes a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.

The property has been in Roberts’ family for many years. Her grandfather, Homer MacDonald, a prominent Seattle banker at the turn of the last century, originally owned the building.

Roberts says that the building, which at one time housed the Lion’s Lair Tavern, used to be a center for crime. However, she says, things have turned around since St. Andrews Bar and Grill opened in 2006. According to Roberts, the bar is a popular destination for several police officers that are friends with the owners.

For more information about the space for lease, contact McKee Properties at (650) 269-8611.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, local businesses, real estate

In May, Kerry Fowler put together a poll to gauge the community’s opinions about the N 63rd St underpass mural.

“It’s amazing that the mural at 63rd Street and Aurora lasted as long as it did without vandalism. But now it’s an eyesore and it’s time to reclaim that space for our community,” the introduction to the poll read.

Kari Boiter, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, has signed on to help with the effort and is organizing a community meeting to discuss securing funding for the refurbishment of the murals.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011 in Room 3 of the Phinney Neighborhood Association‘s Phinney Center (6532 Phinney Ave N).

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, painting, phinney, public art

The film features Green Lake resident Stephen Measures, as well as some of Stephen’s favorite neighborhood haunts, including Beth’s Cafe (7311 Aurora Ave N) and the Kangaroo & Kiwi Pub (7305 Aurora Ave N).

Mayor Measures was made by Type Face Productions (Denise Doherty, Piper Hanson and Adam Knight) for the 2011 Doc Challenge, “a timed filmmaking competition where filmmaking teams from around the world have just 5 days to make a short documentary film.”

The film’s music was by Aaron Cherof, with lyrics by Roger Waters.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, film, local businesses, local personality, restaurants

According to 911 logs, one fire engine was dispatched to the gas station at 5:23 p.m.

Mitch Spute was at the gas station following the crash. “Somehow the driver, headed west on N 85th St, crossed the east lanes,” Mitch says. “He went through bushes and landed there. AMR [American Medical Response] took him away.”

At 5:39 p.m., Mitch tweeted the following pictures:

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, traffic

Callers reported seeing the person as far south as the 5500 block of Aurora Ave N and as far north as N 68th St, where he was detained by police.

One man told police that “he observed a male standing in the northbound lanes of travel while he was driving his vehicle on Aurora Av N. [He] stated that he swerved to avoid the male, who appeared to be holding a large stick or bat. He stated that the male threw the item, which struck his vehicle on the passenger side front fender, denting it.”

The driver positively identified a suspect that had been detained by police as the person who had damaged his vehicle. The suspect was then arrested and taken to King County Jail.

An officer observed a piece of wood in the roadway around the area of N 65 St and Aurora Ave N that “appeared to have been a 2 x 4 or similar piece of wood. It had been run over several times by vehicles, and did not have any evidentiary value.”

A second victim later reported that she too had been driving northbound on Aurora when she had swerved to avoid hitting somebody standing in the road. The person struck her windshield with “some sort of stick or bat,” shattering it.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, crime, traffic

At 8:40 a.m., Sarah Heath, a.k.a. North Seattle Sarah, tweeted “Wanna be in a movie? Get to greenlake, the aurora side,” along with this twitpic:

At 11:17 a.m., “jbcraver” tweeted that she was filming an infomercial at Green Lake Park. She attached a picture of a man using exercise equipment.

And, at noon Jason Roberts tweeted the following:

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, tv

The coffee shop will celebrate along with neighboring new businesses Motion Boardshop and The Guitar Store at the 84th St Grand Opening Block Party.

The three businesses are all located on the 8300 block of Aurora Ave N.

The party on August 6 will feature free string changes, skateboard bearing packing, door prizes, a BBQ and special deals. There will also be a live performance by the pop rock band Open Blue.

The event is free. Food donations for the Greenwood Food Bank will be collected.

Related:

Read about Motion Boardshop here.

Read about The Guitar Store here.

Read about Boardroom Cafe here.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: aurora, bargain alert, coffee, local businesses, music, party