This is just a reminder that the Help for Haiti Rummage Sale, a joint venture between neighborhood schools Coe Elementary, John Hay and McClure Middle School, is this Sunday, February 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Coe gym (located at located at 2424 7th Ave W).
Donations of gently used goods to be sold at the rummage sale can be made from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Friday, February 5 at Coe and Hay, and on Saturday, February 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coe. All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross.
There will also be a bake sale at the rummage sale, headed by the folks at John Hay. Baked goods can be dropped off at Coe Elementary on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Parents and kids interested in volunteering their time at the bake sale should contact Kim Clements at 206-963-9589 or kclements@jasdesignbuild.com, or simply show up between 10 .m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. More information here.
To get involved, contact the following representatives:
John Hay: Susan Sweeney at susweeney@seattleschools.org and Lynn Baker at lybaker@seattleschools.org:
Coe: Becky Lederman at lederman4@msn.com, Lisa Cole at davidandlisacole@mac.com, and Stacy Lawson at slawson7@gmail.com.
McClure: Margarita Vanegas at mvvanegas@seattleschools.org.
General Information: Lindsay Foody at honeyfoody@yahoo.com, and Mimi Gan at mimigan@msn.com or (206) 390-2312.
At approximately 9:42 p.m. last night, Tuesday, February 3, officers responded to reports of an intruder in an Interbay residence, near the 2900 block of W McGraw St. According to the SPD Blotter, witnesses described the suspect as “a white male, mid-thirties, wearing a blue baseball cap and jeans.” In the time it took the first officer to arrive, another neighbor called in reporting that a person matching the description may have attempted to burglarize their home as well. SPD officers found the suspect (a 35-year-old man) in the backyard and took him into custody, and after being positively identified by the victims, booked him into King County Jail on Investigation of Burglary.
Update: SPD’s reporting of this crime having taken place in Interbay is incorrect. In fact the 2900 block of W McGraw St. is closer to Magnolia Village. Apologies for the error.
Local Queen Anne artist Abbie Berry has transformed the tree outside Bethany Presbyterian Church on Queen Anne Ave into and outdoor art installation she hopes will bring a little warmth to the neighborhood through the generally dark and dreary winter months.
The installation is called “Peace, Peace to Those Far and Near,” and features tens of sayings, ranging from scripture to quotes from literature and historical leaders, written on gold and silver paper (laminated to shield it from the rain) dangling from the branches.
“I do a new installation every couple of months,” she said. “It’s kind of like my art gallery!”
And though some of the sayings are from scripture, there are sayings from “Mother Teresa and Martin Luther…St. Augustine and C.S. Lewis, so there’s kind of something for everybody,” Berry said, many of which are non-denominational.
Berry designed the sayings to flutter in the wind and catch the eyes of passersby. “I wanted it to be interactive and touch peoples’ lives,” she said.
If you haven’t stopped by to take a look yet, it’s definitely worth it. “Peace, Peace to Those Near and Far” will be up for a few more weeks – Berry hasn’t decided on a definite end date yet. As for the future, she’s planning a much bigger “guerrilla installation” in a few months time.
You can see more of Berry’s work on her website and color consulting/interior design business.
You may have noticed a new BECU location in Lower Queen Anne over the last couple of months. The branch opened at 29 W Mercer St. back in December, and will be announcing its official induction to the neighborhood with a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, February 4.
To cement its commitment to the Queen Anne Community, BECU will also be making contributions to the Queen Anne Helpline, dedicated to providing social services and assistance to the surrounding community, and the Plymouth Housing Group, a neighborhood non-profit that works to provide affordable housing options for homeless and low-income people in the Seattle area.
On Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6 BECU representatives will be promoting the new branch by handing out $2,000 worth of $1 bills each day around Queen Anne. On Friday reps will be walking around Lower Queen Anne, near the Metropolitan Market, from 10:30 a.m. until they run out of cash. On Saturday they’ll be at the top of the hill, near the closed-down Blockbuster, starting at 9:30 a.m.
I spoke with CEO Gary Oakland earlier this week about BECU’s plans and why they chose to open the only new branch in 2009 right here in Queen Anne.
“It’s actually been someplace that we’ve been interested in placing a location for quite some time,” Oakland said, noting that the credit union has a large concentration of members in the area. “There’s not a great deal of credit union presence down there.”
Since opening on December 7, the new branch has signed up 167 new members. The credit union plans to plant routes in the area, according to Oakland, who said they are considering neighboring South Lake Union for another location.
What distinguishes BECU from your regular neighborhood bank? According to Oakland, “Essentially it just boils down to the fact that we operate as a cooperative model, based on members bringing deposits in, and the credit union being able to turn around and loan those deposits out to other members…All of the returns are returned to the members, either in the form of high deposit rates and lower loan rates or deposit fees.”
Several neighbors are calling on City Council, and specifically fellow neighborhood resident Councilmember Tim Burgess, to take action after a car accident early Saturday morning rehashes a two-year conversation concerning the dangers of one Queen Anne intersection – W McGraw Pl, specifically where it intersects with 1st Ave W and W Smith St.
Reader Julia Reitz wrote,
Yesterday morning (1/30/10), there was an accident at the intersection of 1st Ave W and W McGraw Pl (W Smith) in Upper Queen Anne. I don’t know the specifics but I heard a loud, awful noise from my living room and looked out the window to see a blue car had driven up and over the curb, onto the boulevard at the end of my street.
Julia also sent links to an album of pictures that her neighbor took of the accident and its aftermath, which clearly shows tire treads through the island and a sizable tree and two signs knocked over. (Maria Kaufman, who took the photos, gave us permission to re-post them here).
According to Julia, this accident occurred during daylight hours, at an intersection that her and many of her neighbors have been expressing concern about to City Council and SDOT for over a year.
Jedediah Kaufman is one of the neighbors who has taken to contacting local representatives concerning the intersection. Starting with an email sent to Councilmember Tim Burgess in October of 2008, Jed outlined the many problems contributing to the danger of the intersection, sighting his first hand knowledge as a resident living on the street and his medical expertise as a surgeon. Jed attributed the dangers where W McGraw Pl meets 1st Ave W to the following (taken from his letter):
Excessive Speeds Going Around a Blind Corner: Heading northeast on W. McGraw Place is a straightaway that encourages vehicles to speed up to 40-50 mph. There are no speed limit signs or impediments that slow vehicles down before the blind corner. And, cars heading west, away from QA Ave cross over the yellow lines as they speed, increasing the risk of a head-on collision with speeding cars coming around the blind curve.
Poorly Marked Handicapped Crosswalk at the Blind Corner: Heading east on W. McGraw Pl. towards QA Ave is the blind curve, at the apex of which is a handicapped crosswalk designated by two (2) small signs. There is no crosswalk paint, no lights, no speed calming measures, or any other early signage. Cars fail to stop for people attempting to cross at the handicapped crosswalk coming and going to Rodgers Park. In fact, they often HONK at people attempting to cross
with strollers or pets. Many elderly and young people cross here, those at greatest risk of being struck.
Multiple Entry Points Near Blind Corner: The north alleyways (at the end of 1st Ave W block, not shown on the map) exit just east of the blind curve, so vehicles going around the blind curve barrel into vehicles leaving or entering the alley (this happened a few months ago to our neighbor’s son). The alley is very steep, so you either proceed slowly, increasing your risk of being broadsided, or go quickly and bottom out your car.
Highly Trafficked Alley with Excessive Speeds: Proven by the City’s brief speed study, the alley (2400 block between 1st Ave W and QA Ave, exiting at the blind corner) has 30-40 vehicles each day, some travelling up to 35 mph. McCarthy and Schiering’s and A&J’s customers utilize the alley to avoid QA Ave traffic.
Drivers Ignoring the 1st Ave W. Stop Sign: With increasing usage of the QA Boulevard, pedestrians coming west nearly get hit because cars going East never look East, and the drivers almost always run the stop sign, treating it more like a yield. 1st Ave West enters at the blind apex
and it’s very difficult to see around the corner for cars heading west. A vehicle accident occurred there just last week.
Jed also included a lit of community members eager to take action to improve the safety of the intersection and a number of ideas for what could be done, including the installation of speed bumps and/or more warning signs along the roadway. He also included a link to the following video, created by a few neighbors who live near the intersection, that demonstrates the excessive speeds, blind corners, poorly marked crosswalks and overall dangers of this particular stretch of what is known as the historic Queen Anne Boulevard.
A few days later Burgess emailed Jed back, informing him that he had forwarded the letter to the director of SDOT and SDOT’s liaison the City Council. The next step, he said, would be waiting for SDOT to come back with an assessment. According to Jed, this never happened. Since the most recent accident on Saturday, Jed and his wife, Maria, have sent two more letters to Burgess, providing an overview of the issue, listing their past actions, and asking, again, for support and advice on how to move forward. They wrote (taken from one of their letters to Burgess),
We urge you to take action: The intersection needs speed calming measures (speed humps or other permanent, impactful speed-reducing measures–the occasional speed measuring device is ineffective), white striping at the crosswalks, and better signage.
We’re lucky that today’s accident wasn’t more tragic, and we’re looking to you and your team members to create a permanent solution quickly. Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to elevate the intersection’s priority.
Jed said all his messages went unanswered, so he moved on to contacting people in various city offices, where he was passed around. The only information he got were the results from a speed study done on McGraw Pl. and the alleyway behind it, indicating that that average speeds on this street were higher than the posted limits. He wrote,
Our alley had something like 35 cars per day using it at 19 mph average. Highest speed was 35 mph. This is paramount because the alley exit/entrance is directly in the line of the blind corner. People come around the Mcgraw Pl/ Smith street corner heading east at 30-40 mph or higher. Crossing midline and hit or nearly hit people leaving my alley. My alley which is being used by customers of several shops as a STREET. One block north Avg # is closer to 10 vehicles per day. All we asked the city to do is put in speed bumps or humps or chicanes in the street and humps in the alley. Even ones divided especially for water drainage.
According to Jed, the city responded saying that “pedestrian and bike safety would suffer due to visibility of the speed bumps,” a conclusion he finds ironic.
Bumps can be outfits with ultrabright reflective coating and City of Chicago saw dramatic drop in car vs ped deaths due to alleys by using these exact bolt down, water drainage friendly speed bumps. And Chicago gets some BIG storms and lots of melt off.
In the meantime, Jed, Maria and many of their neighbors hope to gather more community support behind improving the speeds, signage and visibility for pedestrians and drivers along W McGraw Pl near 1st Ave W and W Smith St. They encourage residents interested in the issue to contact their city representatives. (Try City Council, WA State 36th Legislative District democrats and republicans, and the Mayor’s office, etc.). See SDOT’s contact page for a list of direct contacts for street maintenance, signs, pedestrian safety and traffic studies. If you have ideas for improving this intersection, please comment below.
We’ve just heard that Macrina Bakery will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds from all of their locations today, Wednesday, February 3, to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. Macrina has three locations in Seattle, in Queen Anne, Belltown and SODO. The Queen Anne location is at 615 W McGraw St. They’ll be open until 6 p.m. today, plenty of time to buy some bread for a good cause!
Pottery Northwest, Lower Queen Anne’s own play ground for ceramic and pottery enthusiasts, is hosting the Resident Artist Director of the Archie Bray Foundation (a hub for ceramic artists all over the world in Montana) Steve Young Lee, at their studio this week.
The Archie Bray Foundation, approaching its 60th Anniversary in 2011, remains a crossroads in ceramics for artists from all over the world. Steve is guiding the Bray in exciting new directions both technically and aesthetically while continuing to host many of the best artists in the country as residents. The rest are here at PNW!
Steve will be giving an “image talk” on the Bray, as well as his own work on Friday, February 5 and Pottery NW from 7 to 9 p.m. The event is free and open to anyone interested in the ceramic arts. Pottery NW is located at 226 1st Ave N, one block south of the KeyArena.
On Monday, February 15, the 36th District legislators invite you to spend the day in Olympia. The day will start at 10 a.m. in Room ABC of the John A. Cherberg Building (driving directions, .pdf) on the Capitol Campus. Upon arrival, visitors will receive a legislative schedule for the day. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle will meet up with constituents at 1 p.m. in the same room to discuss important budget and legislative issues and answer your questions. For more information contact Adam Cooper at 360-786-7670 or Cooper.adam@leg.wa.gov. (Disclosure: Rep. Reuven Carlyle is a sponsor of QueenAnneView.)
This Saturday, February 6 marks Seattle’s 16th annual Neighbor Appreciation Day, a special day set aside to say thanks to those living next door, across the street and just around the corner, for the little favors they’ve done over the years.
To show their appreciation, many community organizations around town are opening up their doors to welcome neighbors, including Fire Station 20, which will be holding an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, inviting Queen Anne residents to stop by for a tour and meet the fire fighters.
The Uptown Alliance and Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce have put together another way to show your appreciation this weekend, with a community cleanup in Uptown from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Volunteers will be meeting at Counterbalance Park at the corner of Queen Anne Ave N and Roy St. Tools and Refreshments will be provided. Download the flier here. For details, contact Christa Dumpys at the Magnolia/Queen Anne Neighborhood Service Center at (206) 684-4812 or christa.dumpys@seattle.gov.
If you want to get involved in all the neighborly appreciation, the city recommends a few ways to add to the celebrations:
Organize a neighborhood event such as a block party, open house, potluck, or work party and post the event to their online calendar. Whether block-wide or just a few neighbors getting together, it will definitely show you care!
Pick up free Neighbor Appreciation Day greeting cards featuring winning artwork from the annual Neighbor Appreciation Day Student Art Contest. Or, download one of two digital E-cards and share it via email, Facebook, blogs, etc.
Attend one of the many community activities listed on the city’s online calendar. You can search events by neighborhood, making finding Neighbor Appreciation Day events easy.
Neighbor Appreciation Day fun fact: This annual event was started in Phinney Ridge, or as I like to call the neighborhood, Phinneywood!
First the signs in the window read “Watch for the Monkey,” Then the monkey told us to “Watch for the flow.” After months of debate as to what would follow the late Opal Bistro, which closed back on Halloween night, I’ve finally gotten to the bottom of the monkey mystery at the corner of Boston and Queen Anne Ave N. The former Opal Bistro has reopened as Flow, a 21 and over cocktail lounge.
I spoke with owner, Orrapin, who said that after two years in Queen Anne, Opal Bistro just wasn’t working.
“Fine dining doesn’t work up here,” she said. “I think in this economy anything that pricey just isn’t going to work. I’m trying to accommodate the community.”
Instead of closing up shop Orrapin, who also owns Orrapin Thai Cuisine next door, decided to reinvent the corner spot and make it into something new – a cocktail lounge with an array of drinks, small bites and a much cheaper menu.
Orrapin describes her vision for the new restaurant as “A place where you can have a drink, bring a friend over, have a small meal.” She decided to make Flow 21 and up because she says Queen Anne “has enough family restaurants.” She wanted Flow to be an affordable place for patrons to “wind down” after a long day.
The two level interior is decked out with tall tables, stools and creative couches, and is, as most lounges, dimly lit. Drinks range from $3 bottled beers to $10 for the pricier cocktails. The menu offers three salad choices, a variety of appetizers (or “small bites”) including seared scallops ($6) and lemongrass pork satay ($5), a handful of bigger meals, and a daily selection of desserts. The most expensive dishes on the menu? Grilled wild salmon served with sauteed veggies, and a 6 oz rib eye steak with sauteed mushrooms, both at $12 a pop.
Flow also has a happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. daily that boasts red and white wines for $4 a class, the cocktail of the day for $5, $3 garlic fries, and a $5 mini cheeseburger, to name a few.
Flow had its soft opening on Saturday, January 30. They’re open daily, from 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
As for the Monkey? Orrapin laughed as she explained the mystery behind the very demanding monkey hanging in the window all those months. “The monkey is my sign,” she said. “That’s me! Without using my name, when it said ‘Watch for the Monkey,’ it was saying watch for me.”
Tonight, Tuesday, February 2 Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Center are hosting a public meeting to discuss the Memorial Stadium deal and the proposed Memorandum of Agreement (.pdf) concerning the redevelopment of the site. Seattle Public Schools currently own the stadium, deeded to the district by the city for use as an athletic stadium in 1946, and has been in talks with Seattle Center for several years over an ownership negotiation.
Tonight’s meeting will go over the elements of the proposed agreement (MOA), which plans to turn the stadium site into a “green, integrated, multi-functional space that provides for year-round community and school activities” to be shared between the School District and Seattle Center.
Under the MOA, the City of Seattle would have six years to determine public and private funding for the Memorial Stadium site development. The Seattle School District would have priority use of the new stadium between just after Labor Day to just before Memorial Day, as well as for graduations held in June. For the remainder of the year the Seattle Center would have priority use over the stadium, which would be converted into a concert venue.
The MOA also tackles one controversial issue in the community – the Memorial Wall – calling for it to be preserved and moved to a “respectful location on the Seattle Center grounds, in consultation with veterans groups.”
In addition to owning the stadium, which many argue is underused, Seattle Public Schools also own a parking lost just east of Memorial Stadium on Mercer St. that would also be incorporated into the new green space, the details of which are still being negotiated between the two organizations. Under the proposal to be discussed tonight, Seattle Center would gain ownership of the existing stadium for the redevelopment and lease the parking lot from the School District for an estimated $2.5 million annually (plus escalation), over the next 60 years. Meanwhile, Seattle Center would handle the construction and operation of the new facility, which would include an underground garage, for the length of the lease, currently set at 99 years. When the new facility is completed, the existing garage would be torn down and Seattle Center would transfer ownership of half of the new garage to the School District.
“We are pleased to be working with Seattle Center and the City of Seattle to develop a plan for redevelopment of Memorial Stadium that provides a quality athletic stadium as well as a long term revenue stream for our District,” Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson said in a press release. “This project is an example of how two public agencies can work in partnership to create a much greater benefit to our students and community than either agency could accomplish in isolation.”
Tonight’s meeting will he held at 6:30 p.m. at Seattle Center (in the Fidalgo Room, at the northwest corner of Seattle Center, just south of Republican Street).
A few weeks ago we reported on some principal changes the Seattle School District has been planning for a few schools in the neighborhood, including the head of The Center School, who as of next Tuesday, will be leaving to co-lead Rainier Beach High School. Lisa Escobar, who has been at The Center School for three years, tells our news partner, the Seattle Times, that she’s not worried about the switch, and is enthusiastic that as a pair her and co-principal Dr. Robert Gary, the current Rainier head, they will be able to pave a new path for the school and its tumultuous history.
Seattle Times columnist Nicole Brodeur dedicated her column today to Escobar. She says that though the community members at Rainier are excited to have her joining the team, staff, students and parents at The Center School are upset to be losing their principal mid-year. Read Brodeur’s full story here.
This is just a reminder that the Seattle Public Library will be changing the operating hours at many of its branches across the city as of tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3, as a result of a $1.7 million cut to SPL’s 2010 budget.
The Queen Anne branch, located at 400 W. Garfield St, is currently open from 1 to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 8 .m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and is closed Sundays. Beginning tomorrow it will be part of a group of 15 Seattle branches operating under a new, reduced schedule, open only five days a week:
Monday & Tuesday: 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday & Thursday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
Other nearby branches that will also be operating under this new schedule include the Magnolia, Fremont, Green Lake and Wallingford branches. The Ballard library is the closest of 11 branches will still be open seven days a week, under a different reduced schedule. For the full list of branches hours and schedules, click here (.pdf).
The Ethnic Arts Connection, a free one-day celebration of the Northwest’s performing and visual artists, is looking for artistic performers for it’s biennial event on Wednesday, March 10 at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavillion. The event includes art presentations by regional and local artists working in “culturally specific traditions” and will include 15-minute juried performances, visual art displays and opportunities for booking and networking.
Ethnic Arts Connection is looking for performance and visual artists in a variety of ethnic, cultural and artistic genres. The application to perform or display artwork at the event is due tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3. For more information or to apply, download the performance or visual artist application here (.pdf).
Performing artists may apply for juried 15-minute performance showcases. Emerging visual artists can apply to display their artwork. Emerging artists are generally in the early stage of their career (five years or less) as an artist.
This will be the third Ethnic Arts Connection gathering. The last EAC day, in March 2008, brought together 225 artists, 75 performing arts presenters and 27 showcase performances. More information here.
Yesterday, Monday, February 1, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that the long-awaited construction of the south Ship Canal Trail has begun. The work will extend the multi-use trail along the south side of the Ship Canal between 6th Ave W and 11th Ave W (shown as “Contract 1″ on the map below), as part of the Bridging the Gap Levy, a 9-year, $365 million campaign to propel the city’s transportation effort forward through maintenance and improvement.
Construction of this project, which is also part of the Queen Anne Neighborhood Plan, includes the paving of the trail, the clearing and removing of railroad ties and rails, the installation of several low retaining walls, and the installation of a chain link fence and wheel stops.
The work is expected to be completed by mid-March, should not significantly impact travelers near the path. Work on “Contract 2″, which will link the trail from 11th Ave to Emerson St and Fisherman’s Terminal, is expected to begin later this year. According to Supervising Project Manager at SDOT Stuart Goldsmith, the second phase of the project cannot be completed “Until we can work out a construction schedule with BNSF Railway and get them to issue permits for the private utility line that needs to be relocated so that the tracks can be moved to make way for the trail.” SDOT says this will ideally happen sometime in 2010.
Once the both contracts along the Ship Canal Trail – a 3/4 mile stretch in all – are finished, SDOT says “A critical gap in Seattle’s urban trail system will be eliminated.” Finishing the Ship Canal Trail will complete the Queen Anne Bicycle Beltway, creating a bike path that encircles Queen Anne hill and makes biking from Redmond to downtown Seattle almost entirely on dedicated cycling paths possible.
We’ll keep you updated and the project progresses.
A Queen Anne man fought off two suspects who attempted to rob him at approximately 2 a.m. this morning, Monday, February 1 on the west side of the hill. According to an SPD report, the victim was driving home early in the morning when he noticed a black, 4-door 90s Honda following him and parking in a nearby lot when he arrived at his apartment, located in the 2200 block of 13th Ave W.
The report states that the victim was gathering items from his car when two masked men approached him and demanded money. The victim responded that he didn’t have any money, and struck and knocked down one of the suspects. The second suspect then attacked the victim, striking him multiple times with a closed fist, causing minor cuts. As this time the first suspect got up, and the victim knocked him back down again and turned on his car alarm, causing the suspects to return to their car and drive off.
Police are looking for the two suspects. The first suspect is described as a “dark skinned, male, 5’11”, 170″. The second suspects is described as a “dark skinned, male, 5’6”, 140.”
Pangolin Pictures has been hired by the Discovery Channel to produce a film about animal encounters. Justin, from Pangolin, emailed our sister site, MyBallard, after hearing about recent raccoon and coyote encounters in Ballard and Queen Anne. He wrote:
We are working on a film that will air on the Discovery Channel later this year about how animals and humans struggle to coexist in urban and suburban environments. This is NOT some sort of “When Animals Attack” show, it’s a serious natural history project, featuring biologists, animal experts, and people who have had encounters with these animals. The aim is to educate people on why these animals are showing up in their yards and what can be done to stay safe.
Here in Queen Anne we’ve had quite a few run-ins with raccoon and coyotes, but the folks at Pangolin Pictures are looking for stories involving other animals as well. “We are looking at raccoons, coyotes, poisonous spiders, snakes, alligators and fire ants. By all means if people have had dangerous encounters with coyotes or been bitten by spiders I would like to speak with them as well,” Justin wrote. Production will begin this month. Anyone interested in sharing a story, can email him at justin@pangolinpictures.com.
Ten years ago 88 people were killed when Alaska Airlines flight 261 crashed in the water off the coast of California. The plane was en route to Seattle from Mexico, carrying 47 passengers from the Pacific Northwest, including two Queen Anne families.
Yesterday, Sunday, January 31 marked the 10th anniversary of the crash, and to celebrate the lives of those lost, friends, family and neighbors held a memorial at Queen Anne’s Soundview Terrace Park, also known as Rachel’s Playground, named after one of the children on the flight. 88 candles were lit – one for every passenger on board, songs were sung and memories shared.
If you weren’t able to make it to the memorial, watch KING5′s video (above). Out news partner, the Seattle Times, also put together a place for mourners to share their memories and photos.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, February 6, Seattle’s fire stations will be opening up their doors in celebration of Seattle’s 16th annual Neighbor Appreciation Day. Residents are invited to stop by and tour their local fire station, meet the firefighters and learn about firefighting equipment.
Queen Anne’s Fire Station 20, located at 3205 13th Avenue West, was originally built 60 years ago. Back in October City Council voted to relocate the station to a larger space made up of two empty lots at 15th Ave W and W Armour St. to accommodate the modern day, technological demands of such a high volume station (Fire Station 20 serves Queen Anne, Uptown, Magnolia, Interbay, Ballard, South Lake Union and parts of downtown). Though the station has not yet moved, this may be one of the last chances to tour the old station.
Want to check out fire stations around town? Check other open houses throughout Seattle.
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