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A Free, Fun Activity in Broadview for Kids

Posted: October 21, 2010

It’s another rainy day. You’ve taken your 2 year old to the zoo. You’ve been to the aquarium. What else is there in Broadview that is close, and more importantly, free? Welcome to Wonderland. The Planned Learned Network (Wonderland) holds a free playgroup called Kaleidoscope for children ages 18 months to 5 years old at the Broadview Library Wednesdays from 10:30am – 11:30am. They have felt boards, play doh, arts and crafts, balls, puzzles, and an instructor who informally runs the playgroup. My daughter didn’t want to leave when it was time to go! She had already met a friend after playing for 10 minutes.

This is great service that the Seattle public library offers to neighborhood families. Most of the children in attendance were around 2 years old. This group gives us another alternative on Wednesdays without having to commit every week. With the economy in the state it is, it’s also nice to have a ‘free’ option. Plus, I like seeing my 2 year old play with other kids her age instead of always having to play with her sister’s friends. Check out the library’s website www.spl.org for more scheduling information.

Here is a person who brings meaningful ideas to our community.

by Susan George

Updated: October 21, 2010

This article was on the Seattle.gov web-site. I thought I would share this with our community. Richard is a strong activist with a big heart.

“Richard Dyksterhuis, a retired school teacher and principal, has been working for years with other neighborhood advocates on improving the walking environment in Bitter Lake and beyond. Recent housing developments have brought many more residents to the neighborhood, and there is also a large senior population in the area.

The Linden “Complete Streets” project (a project that serves all modes of transportation) exists in the nexus of a community center, new development, and a connection to the Interurban Trail. It will include new sidewalks, bike facilities, and a better roadway for everyone.”

Richard has worked long and hard enough for filmmaker Monteith McCollum to take notice and feature Richard and his activism in part of the documentary, “A Different Path.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f738y-5gDEA&feature=player_embedded

A great video.

Last night Broadview Community Meeting

by Dale Johnson

Posted: October 20, 2010

Councilwoman Jean Godden

An audience of about 40 neighbors gathered last evening to hear about the City of Seattle’s budget process from Jean Godden, Chair of the City Council’s Finance and Budget Committee. After a brief summary of where we are in the process at this point, Jean took questions from the audience about issues specifically related to our neighborhood. There was concern expressed about the Citywide focus on bicycle lanes while we don’t have sidewalks and sewers that are really user friendly. Councilwoman Godden did her best to field all the questions and encouraged the audience to attend the remaining budget hearing and get in touch with other Council members to make their concerns known.

Other topics included the lamented loss of our Northwest Neighborhood Service Center site and staff person when we are entering the Neighborhood Plan updating process as one of two neighborhoods in the City selected by the Mayor. Oversight from the Department of Neighborhoods and the Department of Planning and Development will be affected by layoffs. Concern was also expressed about the loss of Crime Prevention staff from our Police Department. Unfortunately, that case was further underscored by the breaking glass in the parking lot that included Councilwoman Godden’s car! We are all very sorry that this happened in our church meeting place’s parking lot.

Ed Mckeena

Also Ed McKenna was there a long-time Senior Assistant City Attorney. A community prosecutor, Ed works with police, business owners and community leaders to resolve disputes and help prevent crimes before they happen .

Ed is running for the seat currently held by Judge Edsonya Charles, the presiding judge on the Municipal Court.

North Seattle Burglary Report

by Will Murray

Updated: October 19, 2010

Residential burglars have been active in North Seattle neighborhoods this fall including North Beach and Broadview. On Tuesday evening during the Broadview Community Council meeting at Luther Memorial Church two cars had windows shattered with a backpack and briefcase stolen. One vehicle is owned by City Councilmember Jean Godden who was the guest speaker. Burglars have also gained entrance to homes through open and unlocked doors and have stolen cars and flat screen televisions. Many residential burglaries are occurring during daylight hours so residents are encouraged to call 911 to report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods. One resident called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle backed into their neighbor’s driveway and provided a license plate number to Police who then apprehended a serial house burglar.

North Precinct burglary detectives have also been busy this year filing 115 burglary cases in North Seattle which have lead to the arrest of 95 alleged burglars. North Precinct’s burglary clearance rate which is the measure of crimes solved by the police is well above the national average. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearance_rate

One North Precinct burglary detective will be shifted to patrol, three crime prevention coordinator positions cut and two victim advocate positions will be cut citywide in the proposed 2011/2012 Seattle budget. Neil Hansen who is the Crime Prevention Coordinator for North Seattle including Broadview recently received his 30 year Service Award although he has worked for the Seattle Police Department for 34 years. Neil organizes the Block Watch program and the annual Night Out to prevent crime and has received National Awards for theses programs. If you are interested in forming a Block Watch contact

Neil Hansen
(206) 684-4689 | neil.hansen@seattle.gov

http://www.seattle.gov/police/programs/blockwatch/default.htm

Community Council Meeting!

by Dale Johnson

Updated: October 18, 2010

Join us Oct. 19th at Luther Memorial Church 13047 Greenwood Ave N.

Social time 6:00 – 6:30 PM, program starts at 6:30 PM.

IT’S BUDGET REVIEW TIME…Join other members of our community in hearing about the major issues that are coming before our City Council’s Finance and Budget Committee from Jean Godden, Chair of that Committee. Our guest speaker is hearing a tremendous amount of concern from the active citizens who have studied what is in the Mayor’s proposed budget.

The Topic: 2011 MAYOR’S PROPOSED BUDGET: ISSUES AT MID-POINT IN THE REVIEW PROCESS AND WHAT COMES NEXT…

Jean Godden quit her job as a city columnist to run for Seattle City Council Position One in August of 2003. During her first four-year term she led the Council in stabilizing City Light’s finances, lowering electric rates by 8.4 percent across the board, and achieving three years of greenhouse gas neutrality–among other successes. She now chairs this critical committee that makes recommendations on all matters relating to the financial management and budget policies of our City.

Jean will be joining us as we meet and greet from 6-6:30. Bring your neighbors and join us for this important program!

Design Review for Cyndy’s Replacement

by Dale Johnson

Updated: October 15, 2010

An important design review meeting about the building to replace Cyndy’s House of Pancakes at N105th St. and Aurora Ave. N is being held on October 25. As reported earlier this year, the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) is proposing to build 87 units of low income housing on the site. Here is a link to the announcement of the design review meeting.

If you are interested in design issues for this development the design review meeting is a way to learn what is planned and, to some extent, influence the design.

The Rainy Season is Here!

by April Sotura

Updated: October 10, 2010

Fall 2010 has arrived and with it the rainy season. It is time to clear our storm drains and make sure that our downspouts are flowing away from our homes. However, for some residents this may not enough to keep their homes from flooding in the case of a storm event. These concerns are real; our neighborhood has well-documented problems with its sewage and storm water conveyance system, in the 2006 Wastewater Systems Plan. See chapters 6 and 7 for discussion of sewage backups, including references to areas in Broadview.

Some of you will remember the storm event of December 2007. It had a grave impact on Broadview residents who found their homes flooded with storm and sewage backups. Claims were filed with the City and many claims were denied. Residents were told that it was an unprecedented storm, a “100 year storm”, and were denied on that basis. However, common sense shows us that strong storm events are happening with more frequency.

A group of concerned neighbors formed the Broadview Taskforce on Sewage and Storm Water Overflow. With the support of the Broadview Community Council and local engineers, we began asking tough questions and demading answers about what is going on underneath our streets that is causing these back ups. In early 2010, in response to our concerns, the City made repairs to the corner of 115th and 1st Avenue, and to 105th. In July 2010, Seattle Public Utilites, led by Martha Burke, completed a two-year study of our area with recommendations and solutions. See the Study here. Three years later, we remain committed to working with the City and King County. We have made Broadview’s concerns, part of their agenda and we will continue to demand working and viable solutions for our neighborhood.

Broadview residents should not have to worry each rainy season about having sewage back ups’ in their basements. The City acknowledges the problems. However, the solutions to create a functioning sewer and storm water systems are both complicated and integrated. As residents of Broadview we need to keep vigilant, and demand that the City continue to address the issues of sewage and storm water overflows in our homes, our environment, our park, and our watershed.

Here is a video link to how Everett Residents have faced sewage and storm water overflow in their area.

Multi-Family Garage Sale

by Susan George

Posted: October 7, 2010

Christ the King Preschool are getting together this Saturday for a multi-family garage sale to benefit CKS preschool.

Address: 12002 Phinney Ave N [not at the school] Time: Oct. 9th from 9am – 3pm

Lots of items: Antique Dining Room table (w/ 3 leaves) and 6 chairs, Wood Patio Set (including a bench), 2 flat screen computer monitors, Crate and Barrel Wine Rack, Tons of kitchen items, lots of kids items, armchairs, vintage (1960’s era) chair, Clothing, rollerblades (like new),DVDs, VCR w/ movies, 2 tvs, shop vac, luggage and laptop bags, There is going to be tons of stuff with more showing up.

Harvesting Honey in Broadview Neighborhood

by Melissa Clauson

Posted: October 5, 2010

The process begins by removing the wax cappings that the bees place on each cell once the honey has cured to their satisfaction. After the cells are opened, the frames are placed into a centrifugal extractor, three at a time. The extractor is then cranked by hand for several minutes to extract the honey from the cells. The extracted honey then flows to the bottom of the extracting tank, where it will be released through a small gate at the bottom. The only processing that we do to our honey is to run it through a fine mesh filter to strain out any leftover wax and other solids prior to placing it into individual jars to share with our friends and family.

After all of the hard work is complete, we end the day with a wonderful meal featuring fresh baked cornbread – there is nothing better than your very own fresh honey, drizzled on home made corn bread still warm from the oven!

We owe all of this to our wonderful bees. Their hard work is difficult to even imagine and we are lucky that we are able to share the rewards in exchange for a nice place for them to live.

Thank you to all our neighbors who planted bee friendly flowers and didn’t use yucky pesticides.

Viewlands Elementary Re-opening

by Dale Johnson

Posted: October 1, 2010

I asked Peter Maier, Seattle School Board Director for District 1, for an update on the re-opening of Viewlands Elementary. Peter e-mailed me that there will be a school design team for Viewlands like for the other three schools, but it hasn’t formed as of yet. It will probably be formed in October.

Peter went on to state that the School Board approved the contract for the construction work at Viewlands and that the work should begin soon. Sand Point Elementary re-opened this fall on time, and he expects the same for Viewlands. Peter is working with the Seattle Council PTSA to see if a PTSA can be formed by in-coming Viewlands parents this year so that it is up and running by next fall. Any parent (for example of Viewlands Kindergartner who is at Broadview this year and will be in first grade at Viewlands next year) who is interested in the design team or the PTSA can contact Peter at peter.maier@seattleschools.org