ParentMap is hosting three regional Preschool Preview events this year, including a North Seattle/Shoreline event next Tuesday (Jan. 10, 2012), 5-8 p.m., at Shoreline Community College (16101 Greenwood Ave N).

More than 30 preschools and organizations will be at the event, including Associated Recreation Council, Mighty-O Donuts, North Seattle Catholic Schools, Seattle Creative Kids Preschool, North Seattle Community College Co-operative Preschools, Nurturing Knowledge, Montessori Garden, SAGA School, and Villa Academy.

In addition to learning about various preschools and chatting with program staff at the fair-style event, ParentMap is offering families the opportunity to pre-register for complimentary 15-minute consultations Anoo Padte of Art of Education.

Free childcare, provided by A Nanny for U, will be available for attendees.

Attendees are asked to RSVP.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2012.

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Post tags: kids, schools, shoreline

Wondering what was up?

All we know at this point (thanks, West Seattle Blog!) is that they were connected to a private party.  According to KING 5, they originated in the Shoreline area.  My Green Lake tipsters reported seeing them from as far away as Wallingford.

Did you snap any pictures or video of the fireworks?  Know the story behind them?  Drop us a line.

Update, 11:25 p.m. – Thanks to commenter Lisa H for pinpointing the location of the fireworks show to Blue Ridge.  This jives with some earlier information from Josh Maher that the show appeared to be originating in Carkeek Park.

Update, 9:30 a.m., Sunday – My Ballard reader rexjak posted the following video of the show in the My Ballard forum:

And, we have a bit more information from My Green Lake commenters:

Cliff writes, “the fireworks were launched from a barge or boat on the water (Puget Sound), approximately just west of 127th Street NW (just north of Carkeek park).  This was a large, carefully coordinated display,” and Chris says the show lasted 25 minutes.

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

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Post tags: noise, party, public art, shoreline

Getting There: When will I-5 project in North Seattle be complete?

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Question:

Misty Willits asks when the DOT is planning to complete the repaving project on Interstate 5 north of Seattle. “The grooves in the pavement actually cause the wheels on my car to jog side-to-side to such a degree that it is difficult to steer. It feels very similar to hydroplaning, which leads me to believe this will be incredibly dangerous when the rains start. What is the ETA?” she asks.

Answer:

Bronlea Miller, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Transportation, has the most recent update (seattlepi.com wrote about the project earlier this year and the noise complaints it was drawing from North Seattle residents who live close to the freeway):

“We are on track to finish the Seattle to Shoreline pavement repair project by the end of December. There are a few areas along southbound I-5 between Northgate Way and the Ship Canal Bridge that have not yet been ground down across all lanes. In these areas, vehicles slightly shift, especially when crossing over into a lane that has not yet been fully ground down,” she says.

“These ridges will be removed as the grinding in each section is completed. In addition, whenever crews working for WSDOT finish grinding a section of I-5, they measure the pavement roughness to make sure there are no remaining bumps. If one is found, they then grind it down,” she says.

“Grinding down the lanes on I-5 extends the life of the freeway by smoothing out the ruts. Grinding also helps prevent skidding by adding texture to the roadway. The textured, longitudinal grooves help drain water, preventing it from pooling on the surface. Less water on the surface actually increases safety for all drivers by helping to prevent hydroplaning,” she says.

[seattlepi.com]

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

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Post tags: I-5, noise, northgate, shoreline, traffic

Nearby events:

Wallingford:  This year the Argosy Christmas Ship™ will stop just offshore at Gasworks Park on two separate occasions:  Tuesday, December 1st,  the Snohomish County Windjammers will be serenading Lower Wallingford from 8:20-8:40pm.  Wednesday, December 23rd is the Finale concert, sung by the Seattle Girls’ Choir.

Wallingford: Wallyhood’s Wallingford Senior Center Auction on-line fundraiser auction is closing tonight (Sunday) at midnight.

Wallingford: On Saturday, December 5, Caspar Babypants will be performing at Alphabet Soup Books.

Shoreline:  The Jillian Graham Band will be playing at the Laughing Ladies Cafe on December 12th at 7:30 p.m.

Public art:

Wallingford:  Wallyhood spotted some excellent yard art in front of a house on Latona Ave NE, between 40th and 42nd.

New businesses:

Wallingford: Paron’s Closet, the new kids’ consignment boutique in Wallingford Center, will be holding a “Grand Opening” on Saturday, December 5th with freshly baked cookies and sparkling juice.

Eastlake: Serafina’s new restaurant space, Cicchetti, opened on Tuesday at 121 E. Boston St.

Bargain alert:

Northgate: On Wednesday, December 2nd at the Northgate Community Center there will be a free Fraud Protection program for people over the age of 50.

Crime watch:

Wallingford: The Tully’s at 2100 N 45th St was, rumor has it, robbed at gunpoint last weekend.

Wallingford: More details are available about last Saturday morning’s robbery at Verity Credit Union, located at 4545 Stone Way N.

Wallingford: There were two reports of robberies and attempted robberies last weekend.

Crown Hill: A woman was stabbed last Sunday near Holman Road and 90th.

Kinda Crazy:

Wallingford: Lots of people were asking strangers for cell phones in lower Wallingford yesterday.

Wallingford: At least two different women are going door-to-door in Wallingford with a suspicious spiel.

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

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Post tags: northgate, shoreline, wallingford

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

SEATTLE – The city of Seattle has taken action against the operators of five Aurora Avenue motels that have been the scene of drug-use, prostitution and other illegal behavior. Last week, the City Attorney’s Office filed 152 criminal charges for various tax violations. In addition, the motels are behind in utility payments.

Outreach workers were dispatched today to offer motel vouchers and relocation assistance to eligible individuals staying at the motels.

The properties are: Seattle Motor Inn, 12245 Aurora Ave North; Wallingford Inn, 4453 Winslow Place North; Italia Motel, 4129 Aurora Ave North; Fremont Inn, 4251 Aurora Ave North; and Isabella Motel, 4117 Aurora Ave North.

Dean and Jill Inman are the corporate officers and directors of the Seattle Motor Inn Inc., Isabella and Italia, Inc., Fremont Inn, Inc. and Wallingford Inn, Inc. The Inman’s oversee direct operations of their 5 motels.

The motels are frequent crime scenes. In 2008, there were more than 460 calls for police service for the five motels:

• Wallingford Inn: 82
• Fremont Inn: 110
• Isabella Motel: 31
• Italia Motel: 80
• Seattle Motor Inn: 160

Officers routinely confiscate drugs and drug paraphernalia in the motel rooms and former motel employees have reported widespread drug use. In April 2008, officers made 32 arrests at the Inman motels. Officers seized 11.7 grams of marijuana, traces of heroin, 42 grams of cocaine, some liquid cocaine, 4 drug scales, and numerous items of drug paraphernalia – in just a 16 day period.  Robberies and assaults have also occurred.

Since 2005, Seattle Police and City Attorneys have met with the owners to discuss criminal activities in and around their motels. After promising to take action, they continued to ignore the problems. In fact, in 2008, a sign was posted in the office window of the Isabella Motel warning residents to not cooperate with the police or City Attorney’s Office.  This behavior stands in stark contrast to the positive relationship developed between other area motel operators and city officials.

Besides public safety concerns, the corporations controlled by the owners have fallen in arrears in utility payments and city taxes.  The City Attorney’s office has filed 152 criminal charges for various tax violations such as failure to file and failure to pay the business tax and employee hours tax.  The City Attorney’s Office also filed a criminal charge against the manager of the Seattle Motor Inn for failing to comply with laws requiring motels to copy the identification of guests paying with cash.

The total amount of tax owed has not yet been determined.  Those charges are pending.

In addition, the city is initiating action to revoke the business licenses of the motels based upon failure to comply with the tax requirements.

Earlier this week, the city sent notices that electricity service to the motels will be stopped unless payment is received.

The actions taken against these five Aurora motels represent the first steps in an effort to force positive change on these properties and improve the neighborhood.

[Office of the Mayor]

Why are there so many motels on Aurora Avenue? Monica Guzman asked Leonard Garfield of Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry:

If a street could get an award for most motels, it would likely go to Aurora Avenue. Why? From at least 1913, Aurora Avenue was the major north-south arterial through Seattle for travelers en route north to Canada and south to California. In the 1920s, roadhouses and inns for weary car travelers became the most familiar feature of the strip. But the motel-ificication really took off in 1962 when the world was beating a path to Seattle’s door to see the wonders of Century 21, otherwise known as the Seattle World’s Fair. With Mom, Dad and the kids packed into the station wagon, and dog-tired from crossing the plains on the nation’s primitive interstate system, the motels on Aurora with their kitschy neon signs and ample parking seemed like a home-away-from home. In later years, the same motels have welcomed prostitutes and the temporarily homeless along with other travelers, and Aurora Avenue continues to be a well-traveled route and a well-worn place to rest for the night.

– Leonard Garfield

Learn more about Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry at seattlehistory.org.

[The Big Blog]

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

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Post tags: 1910s, 1920s, 1960s, aurora, crime, fremont, historical, local businesses, shoreline, wallingford