Earlier, we noticed the closed doors of Opal and asked readers for information.  Thanks to Laura for posting a link to the Seattle Times article about the closing of this high-end restaurant.  It seems that owner Orrapin Chancharu shuttered Opal because business “wasn’t so hot.”

“We’d get some regulars, but they’d come in like two or three times a month — and it was a small group of people. I don’t think people are into fine dining,” says the woman whose 15-year-old Orrapin Thai Cuisine remains a solid fixture on the Queen Anne dining scene. “They don’t want to spend money.”

What’s next is yet to be determined.  We’re glad to know that another restaurant is being planned and not another caffeine stop.

The Goodwill Store on 8th Ave. and 65th now accepts electronics along with its usual donations.
A new program called E-Cycle Washington kicked off on January 1st that provides free recycling of computer CPUs, televisions, monitors and laptops. As of January 2009, electronics manufacturers are required to take responsibility for recycling their products.

Goodwill is the closest collection point for Queen Anne residents. Please note that computer peripheral devices such as computer mice, printers, copiers, scanners, keyboards, cell phones and all other electrical devices are NOT included in this recycling program. For more info, visit eCycleWashington.org.

As part of its ongoing outreach efforts to find suitable permanent homes for foster animals, the Seattle Animal Shelter hosts a cat adoptathon on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, at the Magnolia Community Center, located at 2550 34^th Ave. W. The event runs from noon to 3 p.m. and features numerous cats of different breeds.  More information is posted on the MagnoliaVoice.  Check it out!  Maybe Queen Anne will be on their list of places to visit.

The city has issued a high wind and heavy rain advisory until 10 a.m. Wednesday, and City Light is preparing for possible outages, so write down this customer service number now: 206-684-3000. For downed power lines, call 206-706-0051.

Stay safe during this time.  Read a few reminders on PhinneyWood, our sister newsblog.

For the second year, the Seattle Public Library is hosting Comixtravaganza, an all-ages, city-wide comics festival featuring a series of events at several branches and community centers. Throughout January, there will be nine spectacularly fun events about comics and cartoons for the 2009 Comixtravaganza at locations of The Seattle Public Library! Draw, read, watch movies and more! And don’t forget: There’s free food!

Family Toon-In will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8.

Sadly, the chic restaurant Opal on the top of Queen Anne Avenue and Boston has closed its doors as of December 31.  If you have a gift card from Opal, you are asked to leave a message for the management at (206) 282-0142.  A message on the restaurant’s answering machine revealed no other details regarding the closing.  Does anyone have other information?

It really can be confusing.  Yard waste or recycling?

According to Seattle Public Utilities, yard waste service including Christmas tree pickup finally resumed on a normal schedule for Seattle residential customers. Extra yard waste will be collected at no additional charge and you can recycle trees and holiday greens at the recycling stations through Friday, January 16. 

Uncollected recycling is supposed to be picked up by the end of today and the city says that most of Seattle’s garbage that was missed due to the storm has now been collected.

If your garbage has still not been collected, you can call Seattle Public Utilities at (206) 684-3000. Check the Seattle Public Utilities calendar for the current schedule.

This November, voters elected Reuven Carlyle (D) to the 36th District legislative seat. Carlyle ran on a platform of openness with the goal of becoming a “citizen legislator who listens well.” With that in mind, Carlyle has agreed to open a new and (we think) unprecedented line of communication: he’ll write about local issues right here on QueenAnneView and our sister blogs, encouraging your feedback and ideas. And yes, he’ll read the comments that follow. (Occasionally, we’ll invite other local leaders to write for QueenAnneView, as well.)

We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to engage your local legislator at a critically-important time. Without further ado, here’s Carlyle’s introductory post below, with a challenge for QueenAnneView readers…

I am so grateful for the invitation from our district’s premier blog sites to connect directly with you and to raise real deal public policy issues facing our district, city and state during the 2009 Legislative Session that begins January 12, 2009.

First, I want everyone to know how deeply honored I am to succeed Rep. Helen Sommers who has served our community with dignity for 36 years. When she first ran for the state House of Representatives in 1972 and knocked on thousands of doors, it was literally unprecedented for anyone who was a Democrat or a woman to represent our neighborhoods in state government. She broke the barriers on so many levels and deserves our appreciation for her moral leadership on so many issues.

Second, as I prepare to join Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson in Olympia, I’m pleased to announce I’ll serve on: Education Appropriations (writes the entire education budget from early learning through higher education); Higher Education (sets policy for all higher education including community and technical colleges, University of Washington and the other four year research institutions and lifelong learning such as workforce development); Technology, Energy and Communications (clear energy, broadband, telecommunications, IT and the full range of public and private sector technology issues). These committees represent my personal and professional experience and will allow me to tackle many of the pressing issues facing our community.

Third, my goal is, of course, not to waste this wonderful opportunity to engage with you directly. We are too focused on the future for these posts to be used as a shallow, rhetorical even patronizing lecture or self centered PR machine about my pet issues in Olympia. It is rather to challenge you to light up the comment section with thoughtful ideas, advice, insight, conviction, perspective and suggestions for ways to make Washington a better place. I want and need your passionate insights about the full range of issues we face. We have among the most educated, engaged, sophisticated and active legislative districts in the state. That’s why we live here and why we’re proud of our community. It’s your job as a citizen activist in the community to help us as your citizen legislators make a difference in state government.

In that spirit, I would like to issue a direct challenge: Share your very best idea for an actual piece of legislation that I should introduce to benefit our community. Your idea should be: a) grounded in good public policy that won’t embarrass you, me or our district, b) a thoughtful approach to a real problem or opportunity, c) somewhat within the larger realm of political reality, d) financially responsible during these very ugly budgetary times, e) meaningful in a genuine way to help build our community into the 21st Century. You only need to provide a few paragraphs of well reasoned description and I’ll have the professional legislative staff put ‘meat on the bones’ if that’s necessary. You might want to direct the Seattle Public Schools to reform their management practices, or to lower the Port of Seattle’s taxing authority, or reform the B&O tax for small business, or encourage cruise ships to use electric power instead of fossil fuels, or introduce a state income tax or regional tolling to pay for public transit and thousands of other ideas. You get the notion. It doesn’t have to necessarily be serious–humor has it’s place in politics– but it does have to be thoughtful and real.

As the late Tom Wales said, “Be engaged. Be involved in what goes on around you. Be present in your own life. Find something you believe in passionately and get into it. Get outraged. Take a stand.”

Your partner in service, Reuven.

Reuven Carlyle
State Representative-elect
36th Legislative District
carlyle.reuven@leg.wa.gov (live Jan. 12, 2009)
www.leg.wa.gov/house

Have a legislative idea to share? A comment? Post it below…

Update 6:45 a.m.The snow shifted to rain late last night, melting the vast majority of the 2-4 inches of snow on the ground in Ballard. While the side streets still have some snow, most of the main arterial routes are clear and wet (traffic cams). Metro is running at full strength with a handful of limited routes, and Seattle Public Schools are open, as usual.

The snow is sticking on the roadways, and we’re starting to work our way up to an inch on the ground. There’s now a “winter storm advisory” for 1-3 inches in the Seattle metro area. But it’s all supposed to turn to rain later tonight, leaving little to no snow on the ground by morning. If you’re curious about the details, Cliff Mass says it’s called “diabatic snow.” Stay tuned…

During one of our snow days, I was introduced to Full Circle Farms,  300-acre certified organic produce farm in Carnation, Washington.  No, I didn’t actually go out to Carnation, but stopped by a local pickup spot in Queen Anne to help a friend of mine who couldn’t make it to the hill.

Full Circle Farm offers an assortment of fruits, vegetables and herbs through the Full Circle Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, your local connection to fresh organic produce.  How it works is simple.  You sign up for one of their produce options – a small, medium, or large box, delivered weekly or bi-weekly.  Then you find your pickup spot (Queen Anne is on their delivery list).  

And you receive organic produce all year.  Check it out.

The beginning of January is the perfect time to consider adopting a new resolution: more exercise.  Queen Anne rresident David Treadwell works for Microsoft and has created an innovative commuting regimen that incorporates both the bus and running.  He takes the bus across the 520 bridge span, but will run to catch the bus or run from the bus to Microsoft.  A feature story in the Seattle Times gives us quite an insight into Treadwell’s activities and quotes David,

“I seldom do a full bus commute these days I would rather be running than sitting on a bus.” 

Treadwell offers up several reasons for taking the bus and running such as saving money, taking care of your health, reducing stress with exercise, and doing something good for the environment.  For more tips from David, check out his blog.

What is your favorite exercise?

Many thanks to our Queen Anne View readers and a wish for a prosperous new year! (Terrific photo by Crashworks.)