Zoka's Queen Anne coffee roasting facility. Photo courtesy Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company.

On Sept. 9, 2011, Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company received a warning letter from the Public Health Service of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The letter related to an April 2011 inspection of Zoka’s coffee roasting facility in north Queen Anne.

During the April inspection, FDA investigators documented serious violations of FDA’s “Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods,” including a failure “to take effective measures to exclude pests from the processing areas and protect against the contamination of food on the premises by pests.” Rodent excreta pellets and insect larva were found in the facility.

The letter from the FDA did not make mention of the Green Lake Zoka (2200 N 56th St), and Washington State Department of Health restaurant inspection records do not indicate any history of rodents or insects at the Green Lake Zoka.

Earlier today (Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011), Zoka posted several current pictures of their roasting facility on their Facebook page. You can view the whole set here.

The company also sent the following letter to the community:

September 29, 2011

Zoka Coffee Roaster
Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) Letter

To our valued customer, friends and members of the community,

Several media outlets have reported that we have a mouse issue. We want you to know we do not.

We had an issue that has been remedied, and it was an anomaly. This is the first time we have had an incident of this nature. We have always scored high on our inspections by the Washington Department of Agriculture (WSDA). And, five months after the incident, we received 93 out of 100 from the WSDA on a follow-up inspection.

Clean facilities and strong business practices are what we pride ourselves on. That is how we have built our business over the past 15 years. We also believe in clear and concise communication. This letter is intended to set the facts straight on what the Seattle PI reported on its blog today.

You should know that we addressed the issue as soon as we saw evidence of a mouse and that we have been in full compliance with the FDA throughout the process. The sad part of this entire situation is that the FDA has not provided accurate information in return.

The facts:

• April 11, 2011 – We noticed mouse activity in our production facility. We dealt with the issue right away.

• April 15 – A random inspection of our facility by the FDA included notes about the mouse activity. The random inspection was the result of a new food safety act that required more inspections, but did not include budget for them to assist in providing counsel or assisting with solutions. That inspection sparked an investigation by the FDA. After the investigation, it was our understanding that the FDA would follow up with the WSDA. The WSDA is the routine inspection agency for our plant.

• On April 16th – Once we realized the extent of the issue we voluntarily shut down our production facility for 3 days and we put in ALL of the corrections that the FDA/WSDA required, and we implemented the ones they suggested but did not require.

• April 16th-18th – We re-sanitized our 10,000 square foot facility from top to bottom. We verified that there was no more mouse activity.

• April 18 – The WSDA cleared us and we began to roast again.

• April 18th – The WSDA noted that we had done an amazing job cleaning and correcting our issues.

• September 9 – The FDA posted a report on its website that paints a very disturbing picture of what could be happening at Zoka Coffee. We did not know the letter would be posted. We received the letter ourselves on the September 12th. We have been told by the WSDA they had provided all pertinent information that Zoka Coffee Roasters was in compliance of the request of the FDA at the time of the corrections and the FDA has not responded or used that information.

• September 14 – WSDA came back for an inspection and we scored 93 out 100.

Once again, we want everyone to know that Zoka has a long track record of exceeding health requirements and that we addressed this issue upon immediately finding out about it. If you have any questions about this information, we invite you to visit our facility or visit http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150308784871555.344815.304116271554&type=1.

We are open to the public. Feel free to drop by:

1220 West Nickerson St
Seattle, WA 98019
Open from 9AM until 5PM, Monday-Friday

Thank you again for your support and respect of a true and fair process. We look forward to serving you!

Sincerely,

Jeff Babcock
Zoka Coffee and Tea
Managing Partner

Disclosure note: Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company is a My Green Lake advertiser.

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

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Post tags: advertiser, coffee, health, local businesses, queen anne

Artists and events will be scheduled geo-chronologically, south to north, along the west side of Aurora.  The route is 4 miles long and ends with a 9 p.m. lake swim near the Green Lake Bathhouse (7312 West Green Lake Dr N).

Event Curator A. K. Mimi Allin invites you to “contribute your own study along the way or join in at the start or end for a purifying dip in the water or write a letter of instruction or forgiveness and tie it to the Aurora Bridge.”

Forgiveness, like art, is a process and not an event. As artists, we pave the way for forgiveness. “Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it,” said Mark Twain and Dag Hammarskjöld said, “Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean.” The artist sees, but can also make new.

Courtesy A. K. Mimi Allin | Click to enlarge

The day’s schedule:

*9AM International Fountain at Seattle Center – Preparing to Forgive -  1

9:15 Seattle Center – Aslı Omur-Dellinger – 2

9:30 Sheer Water Promenade outside McCaw Hall – Kate Taylor Frew – 3

10AM Corner of 5th & Mercer – Lyn Coffin (30 mins) – 4

*10:30 Caffé Vita 813 5th Av N – Short Break -  5

11AM Aurora | SR99 from Aloha St to Aloha Inn – Sarah Miles (1 hour) -  6

11:30 Northeast Queen Anne Greenbelt – A K Mimi Allin (30 mins) – 7

12PM Hillside Motel | 2451 Aurora Av N – Lainne Dexter – 8

*12:30 Aurora Bridge | SR99 span of bridge – Letter & Instruction Writing – 9

1PM Aurora Bridge | SR99 north end – Jean Hindle (30 mins) -  10

2PM Fremont Troll under Aurora Bridge | N 36th St – Maureen Freehill (1 hour) -  11

3PM Left off Aurora at N 41st to 4128 Fremont Av N -  Delilah Flynn (1 hour) – 12

*4PM Paseo Carribean | 4225 Fremont Av N – Long Break – 13

5PM Aurora from Thunderbird Hotel (aka Fremont Inn) to 58th St – Lydia Swartz (1 hour) – 14

6PM Overpass connecting Woodland Park Zoo & Woodland Park – Betty Jo Costanzo (30m) – 15

7PM Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker | 65th & Aurora – Tribute to VD (15 mins) -  16

*8PM Green Lake Speedway | Clockwise from Bathhouse – Final Forgiveness -  17

*9PM Green Lake Bathhouse | 7312 West Green Lake Dr N – Purifying Swim – 18

* A star denotes a participatory event to which anyone may contribute
→ Indicates a moving study as opposed to a stationary one

An ambient study is being conducted throughout the day by artist/videographer Danae’ Clark

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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Post tags: aurora, fremont, public art, queen anne, swimming, wallingford

The Queen Anne Creeper has been described as a white male with a goatee who drove around Queen Anne in a stolen vehicle, stopping to ask women along the streets for the time or for directions to Magnolia.  In some of the instances he made suggestive and inappropriate sexual comments to the women.

While most sightings of this man were in Queen Anne, we heard today from My Green Lake tipster Ann that the police are interested in hearing from people in other neighborhoods who may have seen him.

Ann writes:

If you have information or an incident that was not previously reported please contact Officer Arulaid. You can call 206-684-8996 to talk to someone at SPD or email him directly at spd6750 [at] seattle.gov. If in the future you should see [the suspicious man], please call 911.

The police are really just trying to pinpoint all the areas he was circling. Queen Anne and Magnolia were the known ones but there may have been others and they want to know.

Thanks for the heads-up, Ann!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2010.

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Post tags: crime, queen anne

Nearby events:

Wallingford: Those awesome folks over at Wallyhood are holding an online fundraiser auction, with all proceeds to go to the Wallingford Community Senior Center.  They are currently soliciting donations.

Wallingford: The Wallingford Chamber of Commerce and Wallingford Community Council are also planning a fundraising event for the Wallingford Community Senior Center.  The Soup and Bread Fundraiser will be held this Thursday, November 19th.

Greenwood: On Saturday, December 5th, there will be a community breakfast at the Greenwood Senior Center (525 N 85th St), followed by a leaf & litter cleanup focusing on Greenwood Ave and neighboring streets.

Lake City: Two Dog Yoga is hosting its 18th annual Thanksgiving Day yoga benefit on Thursday, November 26th.

New businesses:

Wallingford: Wallyhood reviews Avila (1711 N. 45th Street), a new restaurant which opened on Tuesday.

Wallingford: A new cafe, Cafe Appassionato, has opened on the northwest corner of Stone Way and 45th.

Bargain alerts:

Wallingford: Not a Number Cards and Gifts (1905 N 45th) is celebrating its 5th anniversary.  If you buy four items this week, you get a fifth free (of equal or lesser value).

Queen Anne: To celebrate its back bar turning 100 years old, Tini Bigs is running some great drink specials on November 18th and 25th.

Crime watch:

Wallingford: A woman was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday night near Stone Way and 36th.

Wallingford: A trash can was torched at Meridian Park.

Greenwood: Residents packed the Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church on Wednesday evening for a community meeting with city fire and police officials concerning the string of arsons in the Greenwood neighborhood.

Shoreline: A fire ripped through a warehouse at at 170th and Aurora on Friday morning.  Police arrested the suspected Greenwood arsonist at the scene.

Kinda crazy:

Wallingford: Wallingford resident Paul Dorpat is complicit in the Ivar scandal.  Wallyhood’s imagination runs wild.

Queen Anne: A woman and her dog were attacked by a racoon.

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: aurora, greenwood, lake city, queen anne, shoreline, wallingford

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: bargain alert, capitol hill, lake city, local businesses, queen anne, restaurants, wallingford

Local Politics:

Wallingford: The North End Candidate Debate, held at Lincoln High School on October 13, is now available online.

Wallingford: Wallyhood has created a handy Voter Guide Round-Up.

Queen Anne: Susan Hutchison, candidate for King County Executive, speaks about Boeing’s exit from Seattle.

Nearby events:

Wallingford: Ivar’s Fall Cider Celebration is on November 12th.

Greenwood: The “Aurora Elephant” will be raised at Aurora Rents around 8:30 or 9 on Monday morning.

Greenwood: The Greenwood Wing Dome will be donating a portion of their sales today, until 9 p.m., to the Greenwood Fire Relief Fund.

Lake City: The Seattle Mennonite Church is holding an international gift sale on November 13th and 14th to support Ten Thousand Villages.

Pinehurst: Everyone is welcome at Victory Creek on Sunday, November 8th.  Neighbors will be removing invasive plants, mulching, planting native species, and cleaning up the litter in the park.

Maple Leaf: Attend a presentation on Thornton Creek Watershed history on November 12th.

New and expanded businesses:

Wallingford: Izilla Toys, the well-known Capitol Hill toy shop, will be opening a “Holiday Annex” in Wallingford Center starting November 2nd.

Greenwood: Couth Buzzard Books is reopening at a new location: 8310 Greenwood Ave.

Greenwood: Discussion continues in the community about Fred Meyer’s plans to rebuild.

Northgate: New Japanese restaurant Setsuna has opened.

Closed business:

Queen Anne: Opal Bistro closed yesterday.

Bargain alerts:

Queen Anne: Free basketball referee clinics are being offered by Seattle Parks & Recreation the week of November 2 and December 7.  Trained students and adults can earn $20 per game, accrue high school community service hours and support youth basketball at Queen Anne Community Center.

Wedgewood: Visit Wedgwood Elementary this week for it’s annual used book sale.

Crime watch:

Wallingford: A bunch of oxycotin was stolen from Bartell Drugs by a guy in wrap-around sunglasses.

Wallingford: A dude in a bathrobe has been seen peering (that’s peering, not peeing) into houses.

Greenwood: The Seattle Fire Department has determined that the fire that took out four businesses on N 85th St was arson.

Maple Leaf: Three kids rob a man at gunpoint.

Kinda crazy:

Eastlake: A pizza shop owner apologizes to the Eastlake community for his role in importing Canadian marijuana into the U.S.

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: greenwood, lake city, maple leaf, northgate, pinehurst, queen anne, wallingford, wedgwood

A Fire Strikes Four Greenwood Businesses:  Phinneywood did an amazing job covering the horrible fire that hit Greenwood early Friday morning.  Their coverage began with breaking news updates and video of the fire, and they continue to cover the effects of the fire on the Taproot Theatre, Green Bean Coffeehouse, PAWS Cat City and the community as a whole, as well as to explain the cleanup and wall-stabilization processes.  Information about a relief fund can be found here.  What caused the blaze?  Phinney Ridge Seattle speculates that arson was at play.  Lastly, we direct you to this heartfelt post from Aurora|Seattle.

Halloween activities: 10/30: Northgate, Lake City, Meadowbrook (Lake City), Magnolia, and Ballard and Loyal Heights. 10/31: Sandpoint and Ballard. (Also: Day of the Dead at the Phinney Neighborhood Association, 11/6).

New businesses, expanded businesses, and closed businesses: LTD Bar + Grill (a sports bar) and Finch & Sparrow (a clothing boutique) are newly open in Fremont.  Paron’s Closet (a children’s consignment boutique) is opening soon in Wallingford, and the Wallingford QFC is still undergoing renovations.  Blue Sky Bridal (an eco-friendly bridal boutique) has recently opened in Phinney Ridge.  Tara Academy of Irish Dancing and Sandra Coan Photography have set up shop in Greenwood, and the Pig ‘n Whistle has new owners.  In Ballard, a new bar called Shelter has opened and the EZ Wash Coin Laundry has closed.

Bargain alert: Check out a series of free children’s concerts in Northgate and a free workshop on home insulation in Wallingford.

Crime watch: There have been a series of break-ins at medical and dental buildings across North Seattle, including in the neighborhoods of  Greenwood, Queen Anne, and Eastlake.  In addition, Jupiter Recording and  Julia’s in Wallingford were robbed.  A 19-year-old man was stabbed in the neck in Maple Leaf and two neighbors came to blows (and then brought out a knife and handgun) in Queen Anne.  A car was broken into in  Greenwood, and a man tried to break Greenwood Hardware‘s window with a beer bottle and a garden pot.

Kinda crazy: A peek into the mind of an Aurora pimp, and the awesome Greenwood Reaper strikes again.

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: aurora, ballard, greenwood, lake city, magnolia, northgate, phinney, queen anne, sand point, wallingford

The proposed new Seattle Public Schools attendance boundaries have got everybody talking: Wallingford, Phinneywood, Fremont, Eastlake, Laurelhurst, Pinehurst, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard …

Candidates for Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council are doing the rounds: see them Tuesday in Wallingford. They’ve already made stops in Ballard, Eastlake, and Northgate, where Mallahan was a no-show.

New and expanded businesses: Avila Restaurant in Wallingford, Sasquatch Studios, Tara Books (a South Indian publishing co-op) and Ken’s Market on Phinney Ridge, The Washington Federal Savings and Loan in Ballard, Whole Foods in Magnolia.

Closing: The Fridge in Ballard.

Bargain alert: Free chicken wings (if you slap a Wing Dome temporary tattoo on your face…) at Greenwood’s Wing Dome, a free public performance of ”Super School” at the Greenwood Library, a free workshop to help parents support children in math at the Lake City Library, and Seattle Public Utilities is lending out free neighborhood drain cleaning supplies.

Crime watch: An employee is stabbed at The Matador Restaurant and Tequila Bar and a man threatens his neighbors with a gun in Ballard, a cat is killed in a hit-and-run accident in Phinney, a pit-bull owner allegedly stands by while his dogs attack other dogs at Magnuson Park, and a kid with gun shoots at cars in Lake City.

Of special interest to Green Lake: Green Lake “option school” AS #1′s P.E. Teacher wins an award and Northeast library patrons have headed back to their own branch.

Kinda crazy: An inert hand grenade is found in Wallingford and a car snaps off a fire hydrant in Greenwood.

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: animals, ballard, bargain alert, crime, fremont, going out of business, laurelhurst, library, local businesses, local politics, magnolia, northgate, phinney, pinehurst, queen anne, restaurants, schools, theater, wallingford

• While the their library was closed for renovations, many Wallingford residents were heading up to the Green Lake library.  The party’s over: the Wallingford library is open again.




• Businesses come:  a new Wallingford tanning salon, a Mini dealership in Lake City, a new cafe in Fremont, a fabric boutique in Magnolia.

  Businesses go:  Wallingford’s Winchell’s Donuts and Rancho Bravo (temporarily), Magnolia’s Go Legs Cycle Studio, Select Hair Salon in Laurelhurst, Tigertail in Phinney, the Crown Hill QFC.

  Businesses expand:  Greenwood’s Fred Meyer and Taqueria Tequila (maybe), Phinney’s Ken’s Market.

  Businesses move:  Sitka & Spruce in Eastlake (rumor has it), Phinney’s Rising Stars.




• Lake City Live reminds us that today (Monday) is the deadline to register online or by mail if you want to vote in the statewide November 3rd election.




• Crimewatch: Car prowls and graffiti in Fremont; burglaries in Magnolia, a creepy guy lurking around Laurelhurst; an armed robbery at the Ballard Radio Shack; an assault on a cabbie in Queen Anne.




• The preferred design for improvements to Greenwood Park will be unveiled tonight (Monday) and a community forum to talk about the possibility of a new neighborhood park in the Ballard urban village is being held tomorrow (Tuesday) night.




• Ravenna Nation reports that the Ravenna Third Place Book Club is reading Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson, this month. The meeting is on October 28th at 7pm.




• The Zoo’s Pumpkin Prowl is from 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 23-25.  Tickets go on sale today.

Fellow bloggers: let us know (tips@mygreenlake.com) if there is anything in particular that you would like us to highlight next week. xox

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: ballard, coffee, crime, fremont, greenwood, lake city, laurelhurst, library, literary, local businesses, magnolia, parks and rec, phinney, queen anne, ravenna, restaurants, wallingford, zoo

Spidey is in town filming The Details, an indie black comedy with a 2010 projected release.

Film extra “bugzrrad” posted the following to the IMDb Boards at 3:06 p.m.:

just got back from filming a few scenes during a basketball game at the greenlake rec center (i’m a benchwarmer extra). dennis haysbert and tobey maguire were there. dennis is pretty much a pimp, but tobey seems like kind of a doober; he doesn’t really talk to anyone all that much. he’s pretty damn good at basketball though!

[IMDb Boards]

The details on The Details, via Variety Magazine:

Maguire joins Elizabeth Banks in the pic about a struggling married couple who, already struggling with issues like infidelity and whether they should stay married, see their lives further complicated by ravenous raccoons burrowing under the sod in their back yard. A disagreement over how to dispatch the pests creates a chain reaction of mishaps that include a murder by bow and arrow.

Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Anna Friel round out the cast and Laura Linney is attached to play an eccentric neighbor.

[Variety]

Director Jacob Estes told Monica Guzman:

“We were looking for the kind of city all our characters would live in. The main couple is sort of progressive, cultured. Then on top of that there’s a very eccentric character played by Laura Linney who would have also been attracted to Seattle,” he said.

“On top of that, the film commission was very generous with us, very helpful. And on top of that, when we walked around the streets looking at locations, everyone was very friendly, there was a great film community we could work with and a very experienced local crew.”

[The Big Blog]

Dennis Haysbert, who played President David Palmer on 24, has this to say about the film:

“Just say I meet Tobey Maguire at a pickup game on a basketball court and we became friends,” he said. “If you ask 30 different people what this movie is about you’ll get 30 different answers, depending on where they’re at in their lives.”

[Seattle Metropolitan Magazine]

Filming has previously taken place in Montlake, Queen Anne, Belltown, and the Skagit Valley.

Thanks to Jenny for the tip.

© for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2009.

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Post tags: basketball, belltown, celebrities, film, montlake, parks and rec, queen anne