Residents who live in Lower Queen Anne may be affected by a couple of upcoming planned power outages in the area. Seattle City Light has scheduled two power outages in order to repair damage from the outage on the Seattle Center campus last month, the first of which will be held on this coming Thursday, April 22 from 12 to 7 a.m. No date has been set yet for the second power outage yet, though according to Seattle City Light, it is planned for sometime in mid to late May.

The primary feed line has been out of service since the March outage, and so the Seattle Center campus has been running on the secondary (back-up) feed. These two planned outages will promote the replacement of one of the aging primary feed lines.  Two outages have been planned because of the size and scope of the issue.

The affected outage area will be within the following borders: Mercer Street to the north; Denny Way to the south;  5th Avenue N to the east; and 1st Avenue N to the west.

Residents within this boundary, but outside of the Seattle Center campus, who may be affected by the planned outages should have received notification letters from Seattle City Light. Seattle Center will be providing temporary exterior lighting on seven on-campus locations during the outage “to provide some level of light and safety,” according to a notice from Seattle City Light.

For more information or to address questions and concerns, contact Seattle City Light Communications and Public Affairs representative Mark VanOss at (206) 684-3279.

Cake-baking expert Kaysie Lackey opened her brand new Queen Anne bakery, The People’s Cake, located at 177 Western Ave W, earlier this month, and already she’s garnered attention from some of the biggest names in the food world–including the Food Network.

Last week Lackey was a contender on the Food Network’s ‘Extreme Villain Cakes’–a show that challenges four cake designers to create the most original, dark, cake-made villains they can think up–and she won!

Four cake designers tap into their dark side as they create original villains and tell their stories in cake. The cake designers also need to make their creations move or spin or shoot fire — making for a truly extreme competition. The competitor who can wow the judges with both the story and the special effects will take home ten thousand dollars.

The $10,000 prize wasn’t too shabby either!

Lackey’s going to be on KING5′s new show, New Day Northwest, taking about the competition and baking a cake for the crew today, Tuesday, April 20. Tune in to Channel 5 at 11 a.m. to catch a little cake action.

(Photo courtesy of The People’s Cake Facebook page).

King County has issued a warning to pet owners in response to a suspected outbreak of canine distemper, an extremely contagious and incurable viral disease, in raccoons.

Photo taken in Ballard on Sunday from the deck of Nic Launceford’s apartment on NW 59th. More photos can be found here.

“King County residents are reminded to avoid feeding wildlife, keep domestic pets away from wild animals, and be sure their pets’ vaccinations are current,” a release sent by the county, PAWS and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife states. Samples from a raccoon in Bellevue have been sent to Washington State University for testing.

Although humans and cats cannot get canine distemper, it is highly contagious among dogs and other animals. “Dogs are normally vaccinated against canine distemper, but the disease has become generally uncommon and some pet owners are not getting their pets vaccinated,” said Dr. Sharon Hopkins, the Veterinarian for Public Health – Seattle & KingCounty. The release goes on to say, “Distemper causes encephalitis, inflation of the brain, in animals. Infected animals may have runny eyes and stagger, tremble, foam at the mouth or snap, according to veterinarians. Daytime activity by a raccoon does not necessarily indicate the animal is sick.”

This is particularly important as there have been a number of incidents of raccoons attacking domestic animals, and in some cases their owners, in Queen Anne over the last year. Pet owners, especially those with smaller animals, are advised to vaccinate their pets against distemper and be extremely cautious when leaving them outside unsupervised.

Have you seen lost a Yorkshire Terrier wandering around Queen Anne this afternoon?

A two-year-old Yorkie named Maybe has been missing for the past few hours and was last seen on the staircase at Galer St., between 8th and 9th at approximately 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. Maybe’s hair is cut long and she is wearing tags. If found, please call the number on Maybe’s tags or (206) 271-5749.

Update 4/20 9:35 a.m.: Maybe made her way home last night at around midnight, as is safe and in good shape.

David Hoffman, a 17-year-old Ballard High School junior and lifelong Queen Anne resident, first picked up one of his dad’s cameras two summers ago. Though he’d never taken a photography class before, David quickly became enamored with taking pictures. “From that day forward I carried it with me every day, all summer,” he said.

Since that day almost two years ago, David has spent his spare time experimenting with photography techniques and developing a unique style. Even now, he is entirely self-taught, though you wouldn’t know it to look at his work, currently on display at Muse Coffee Co., located at 1907 10th Ave W.

“Some of these photographs I didn’t even think about–I just did them,” he said. “Most of it was experimenting and a couple of other things I read up on.”

The 13 photographs on display at Muse show some of Seattle’s most beautiful scenic views, many of which David shot right here in Queen Anne utilizing a number of techniques, including one called high dynamic range (HDR).

HDR photographs are able to show a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest elements of the image through a merging of multiple shots–David usually uses four or five–taken at different settings and then placed over one another using photography software. This allows photographers to be able to accentuate the light of the sun, the color of grass, the sky, and a scene’s shadows in one dynamic image.

Though he’s only be doing photography seriously for a year and a half, David hopes his new hobby turns into a future career; as he prepares to apply to colleges next year, David says he is looking at schools that have strong programs in his two major interests–photography and Political Science.

David’s prints are available for $80 (print only) and $150 (print with mat and frame) and will be on display at Muse through the end of the month. You can check out more of his work on his Flickr page. Every month Muse showcases a different local artist, many of which live in Queen Anne, by putting their work on display at the neighborhood coffee shop for the entire month.

(Photos courtesy of David Hoffman).

This Friday, April 23, Whole Foods will be hosting a Sustainable Seafood and Wine Pairing at 5:30 p.m. at its Interbay location. The motto: “Let’s retake our plates.”

Every bite has a story, and we believe in supporting sustainable food choices. Join us for a delicious sampling of Sustainable Halibut and Sustainable Wines. Our Seafood guru Charley will demonstrate how to cut a fresh, whole halibut and cook it. Sample the tasty halibut with Sustainable wine pairings selected by wine guru David. Become educated about the importance of sustainable seafood through MSC Certification and the Marine Bay Aquarium rating system, as well as sustainability and wines.

The event costs $10 and reservations are required. Attendees may sign up in person with customer service or email Amy at amy.martinic@wholefoods.com.

Just a reminder that the 36th District legislators Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson and Rep. Reuven Carlyle are hosting a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. tonight, Monday, April 19, at the Q Café, located at 3223 15^th Ave West in Interbay.

At the meeting Kohl-Welles, Dickerson and Carlyle will be discussing the 2010 legislative session and how current legislation will affect the 36th District, which includes Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, Belltown, Fremont, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood and Blue Ridge. There will also be time set aside for a Q&A with community members. More information here.

Longtime Uptown staple, Counterbalance Bicycles, announced this weekend that after ten years at the bottom of Queen Anne hill, it is moving from 2 W Roy St and consolidating with its other location in the University District.

The signs were removed from the building yesterday, Sunday, April 18 and the following message was posted on the door for customers:

Their other location, at 2943 NE Blakeley St in the University District, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Although the staff has already closed the doors to the Roy St. location, they will be returning bikes brought in for service to customers throughout the week. For more information, call the main store at 206-922-3555.

Queen Anne residents who live near SR-99 are in for a month of ruckus. Planned construction on the Aurora Bridge ‘suicide fence’ will start at 9 p.m. tonight, Monday, April 19 and go until 5 a.m. the following day, Sunday through Thursday, for the next month.

Two lanes of traffic will be closed across the bridge during construction. WSDOT has said the work will be so noisy, they’ve offered free industrial strength earplugs to residents who live nearby. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, you can do so by calling 206-267-6019 or emailing phippsg@wsdot.wa.gov with your name, address and number of earplugs needed. Track construction of the nine-foot safety fence through the WSDOT’s project page.

At approximately 2 a.m. this morning, Saturday, April 17, SPD officers were called to the parking lot of a nightclub in the 2000 block of Westlake Ave N for a reported robbery, according to the blotter.

The caller stated that he was confronted by four Hispanic men who demanded money from him. Officers were already en route to this location for another robbery call with the same suspects. In that case, one of the suspects struck the victim while the other displayed a handgun.

According to the report, SPD officers arrested the two suspects, 19 and 20 years old, at the scene and later booked them into King County Jail. From the blotter:

It appears that the suspects were waiting in the parking lot of the establishment looking for people to victimize.

Looking for some fun things to do in Queen Anne this weekend? We’ve got tons of ideas!

Friday, April 16

• Spend the weekend learning about all things Pop at the EMP’s 2010 POP Conference. Schedule info here. All day.
• Be the first to taste Queen Anne’s newest restaurant, Tenoch Mexican Grill, which opens at today! 5 to 10 p.m. All-ages.
• See Exene Cervenka perform at Easy Street Records. 6 p.m. Free. All-ages.
• Attend a book signing, reading and Q&A with Queen Anne resident Heather Davis, author of new YA novel The Clearing at Queen Anne Books. 6:30 p.m. Free. All-ages.
• Catch some live music by Nicholas Lowery, Norman Baker and Sarah Schmidt at El Diablo Coffee. 8 p.m. Free.
• Learn how to be a successful musician at Queen Anne resident and producer Loren Weisman‘s release party for his new book, “The Artist’s Guide to Success in the Music Business” at Tini Bigs. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Saturday, April 17

• Check out the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival at Seattle Center’s Center House and Fisher Pavilion. All day. Free.
• EMP 2010 POP Conference. Schedule info here. All day.
• Play ball at Opening Day for the Queen Anne Little League at Big Howe Playfield. There will be activities, games & snacks! 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. All-ages.
• Fight childhood hunger “one cookie at a time” at the local food bloggers’ Great American Bake Sale at the Uptown Metropolitan Market. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Shred your old tax documents for charity at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway (benefiting the Queen Anne Helpline). 12 to 4 p.m. $10 suggested donation.
• More live tunes at El Diablo Coffee, with a performance by Brad Benefield. 8 p.m. Free.

Sunday, April 18

• Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival at Seattle Center’s Center House and Fisher Pavilion. All day. Free.
• EMP’s 2010 POP Conference. Schedule info here. All day.
• Take the kids (2 to 8 years of age) to Queen Anne Books‘ monthly picture book read-aloud, Storytime with Charles! 2 p.m. Free. Kids/families.

Know of any events in the neighborhood we missed this weekend? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com or comment below to add them to the calendar!

Have a wonderful weekend Queen Anne, and be sure to enjoy the sunshine!

Opening Day of the Queen Anne Little League is tomorrow, Saturday, April 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Big Howe Playfield. There will be lots of food, activities, and of course, a little game playing.

The day will start with the Aquafina Pitch, Hit and Run. The Opening Day ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. Check out the full baseball and softball team schedules here.

One of Queen Anne’s newest restaurants, Zaw will also be participating in the game day fun, providing BBQ pizza snacks at the park all day long. The seasonal and local bake-at-home pizza place will also be donating $5 from every large pizza sold before 5 p.m. on Saturday to the QA Little League.

Longtime Queen Anne resident Loren Weisman is a music producer and consultant by trade. Over the years he’s worked with countless artists on hundreds of albums, tours and productions–and if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that you don’t have to be a rock star to be a successful musician.

Such is the premise for Weisman’s brand new book, “The Artist’s Guide to Success in the Music Business,” a how-to guide to establishing an affluent career in the music industry by bypassing the difficult road to rock-stardom.

“A lot of people think you have to be a rock star to be a successful musician,” Weisman said. “It’s not true. You can make $100,000-$200,000 a year…you just have to know how.”

“The Artist’s Guide” released today, and to celebrate Weisman will be hosting two launch parties/signings around town tonight, Friday, April 16. The first will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library downtown, 1000 4th Ave (in the Wright and Ketcham Meeting Room, #2 on the 4th Floor).

For night owls and those looking to celebrate a little closer to home, the second release party will be held from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Tini Bigs, located at 100 Denny Way.

Congrats Loren! Read up on “The Artist’s Guide” here.

International District lunch spot, Tenoch Mexican Grill, has been slowly moving into the old Vincenzo’s building, at 2232 Queen Anne Ave N., since December. And after many delays–they were originally slated to open in late January/early February–we’ve got the scoop: Tenoch will be opening its new location at the top of the hill tonight!

According to Laura Lugo, the daughter of owner, Tenoch will be open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. every day (possibly excluding Mondays) beginning tonight, Friday, April 16, and will be beginning lunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily sometime mid-next week.

“We’re still deciding whether or not we’re going to open on Mondays,” Lugo said. “We’ll probably open this Monday and see how busy it is.”

The ID Tenoch is only open for lunch, and the lunch menu at their new location will be the same, said Lugo. The dinner menu, however, will explore “more traditional Mexican dishes” than the current lunch offerings, including chiles rellenos, tortilla soup, a variety of salads, and more traditional variations on enchiladas and other dishes.

Some items, like quesadillas, will be on both menus, but the dinner option is “going to be more authentic,” according to Lugo.

Heading to Tenoch tonight? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

Queen Anne-based author Heather Davis celebrated the release of her first novel, Never Cry Werewolf, written for young adults 12 and up, with a launch party at Queen Anne Books back in September.

Tonight Davis will return to QA Books to celebrate the release of her second novel, The Clearing, which went on sale on Wednesday, April 12. Here’s the book synopsis from Heather’s website:

Amy, a sixteen-year-old recovering from an abusive relationship, moves to the country to start a new life with her aunt–all she wants is for everything to be different. In the clearing at the back of Aunt Mae’s property, she makes an amazing discovery—Henry, a boy stuck in the endless summer of 1944. Henry and his world become Amy’s refuge and she begins to learn that some moments are worth savoring. But when the past and present come crashing together, both of them must find the courage to face what is meant to be, even if it means losing each other forever.

Though this will be Davis’ second published novel, she’s written another five unpublished manuscripts over the years, geared towards adults rather than YA readers. Back in September Davis told us that The Clearing is a bit more serious than her first YA book, Never Cry Werewolf, and is written for a slightly older age group (the 14s and up).

Congrats to Heather! Read more about her here and here, and check out her blog here. The event tonight starts at 6:30 p.m. and includes a reading, signing and Q&A. Queen Anne Books is located at 1811 Queen Anne Ave North, at the top of the hill right next to El Diablo Coffee.

Exene Cervenka will be doing a free, all-ages show at Easy Street Records (20 Mercer St.) at 6 p.m. tonight, Friday, April 16. Cervenka is most known as the lead vocalist in the 1970s LA-based punk rock band X.

She told Easy Street:

Remember those free ‘Green Kitchen Kits’ a few Neighborhood Service Centers around town were going to be giving away beginning today, Thursday, April 15? Well, they sure were popular because they’re all sold out!

The closest participating service centers to Queen Anne were the Central NSC (2301 S. Jackson Street Suite 208), the Ballard NSC (5604 22nd Ave NW), and the University NSC (4534 University Way NE). The centers opened at 9 a.m. this morning to exchange customer coupons for kits. According to reports from our sister sites, Ballard ran out of their stock–100 kits–within 30 minutes of opening. The University district ran out within 50 minutes.

One reader, Patty, had been excited about the program and was disappointed when she found out the kits has run out.

The neat program failed to meet the public expectations—-the kitchen kits were gone by 11am and the compost by 2:00pm.  They wasted a lot of peoples time and fuel running to opposite parts of town to collect them. Turns [out] not to be very free.

Seattle Public Utilities posted this information in regards to the program:

Due to unprecendented popular demand, supplies of the free green kitchen kits offered by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) were exhausted this morning.

SPU distributed 1,000 kitchen collection kits in the first two hours of the giveaway.

SPU customers can still take advantage of the “Compost Days” compost giveaway and pick up two free bags of compost with the coupon that appeared in the spring edition of the utility’s CurbWaste & Conserve newsletter.

For more details, visit www.CGCompost.com or call 1-877-SOILS-4U.

SPU apologizes for any inconvenience caused to its customers.

Did anyone manage to get a kitchen kit? Was anyone turned away? Comment below.