Expect some added traffic on the Alaskan Way Viaduct over the next three weeks due to various SDOT lane closures.

For the next three weeks, SDOT crews will be closing one curb lane at a time on the Viaduct Monday to Friday in order to clean the curb lane areas and perform maintenance work. The southbound curb lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. from Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27. The northbound curb lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. from Wednesday, April 28 to Friday, May 7.

Crews will also be closing the northbound, left-hand lane in the Battery Street Tunnel from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, and the northbound, right-hand lane from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22 in order to complete work on the tunnel’s sprinkler system.

The Seattle Mural, which stands just under the Space Needle at the heart of Seattle Center, was commissioned over 50 years ago to world renowned collage/mosaic artist Paul Horiuchi for the 1962 World’s Fair. For the past five decades Horiuchi’s Venetian glass mosaic mural has been a gathering place at the Center as the face of the Mural Amphitheatre, and an artistic landmark of the city.

(Photo courtesy of Neil B. Waller via his Flickr page).

Partners in Preservation, an organization dedicated to preserving historic places across the country, has selected the mural as one of 25 historic sites in the Seattle/Puget Sound area up for a restoration grant. Because Partners in Preservation doesn’t have enough funding to restore all of the sites, they’ve put the decision to the community, inviting Seattleites and visitors to share their personal stories, pictures and experiences and vote for which places they wold like to see preserved, guaranteeing restoration to the site that receives the most votes.

From April 15 – May 12, vote here for the places you would like to see receive preservation funding. Each person can vote once daily for any of the 25 historic places. The winner of the public vote is guaranteed to receive a grant, so your votes really do count!

(Photo courtesy of John Hubbard via his Flickr page).

In an email sent out today, Partners in Preservation talked about its vision to restore the mural in time for the Center’s 50th Anniversary:

The Seattle Mural – created in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair – is pushing 50. And to be frank, the mid-century, glass mosaic masterpiece that serves as a colorful backdrop for the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center is showing its age. Many of its pieces are missing, faded or cracked. It desperately needs a facelift.

With your vote, Seattle Center can revitalize this landmark artwork in time for the 50th anniversary of the World’s Fair.

Partners in Preservation is also hosting an open house at the mural on Sunday, May 2 from noon to 5 p.m. There will be live music, cake, a paper collage workshop for kids, and a display of 1962 World’s Fair memorabilia.

Read up on Horiuchi’s Seattle Mural here.

(Disclaimer: Parnters in Preservation is a sponsor of QueenAnneView).

Today may be tax day, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a bright side! A few businesses around town have offered special tax day deals to help ease the burden.

In Queen Anne:

• Get a free taco from Taco Del Mar. All you have to do is fill out the Free Taco 1099 Coupon and take it in to one of the two Queen Anne locations–12 Mercer St. and 1205 Dexter Ave N.–or any other around town.
• Bring in a reusable mug and get a free coffee at Starbucks all day today! The promotion is part of their corporate environmental campaign, The Big Picture: A Green Project. And the best part is, who doesn’t have a Starbucks in their neighborhood? (I know we do–at 2135 Queen Anne Avenue N, 1211 Dexter Ave, 305 Harrison St, 425 Queen Anne Ave N, plus kiosks at both the Upper and Lower QA Safeways and the Uptown QFC).

Around town:

• Get discounts and freebies at Cinnabon, P.F. Changs, McCormick and Schmick’s and more! Check out Monica Guzman’s report on the PI Big Blog for details.

Know of any tax day deals happening in Queen Anne or citywide? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com or comment below to share!

This is a reminder to fill out your 2010 Census form by Friday, April 16th.

The national average return rate is 67 percent. Queen Anne ranges from 66 percent in Uptown to 73 percent at the top of the hill and in North Queen Anne (interactive map here.) “Households that don’t mail back their census form by April 16 will be visited by a census taker, beginning in May,” Mayor Mike McGinn writes. He goes on to say,

A complete count of all Washingtonians helps ensure that we receive our fair share of federal funding – money we need for important services, such as neighborhood improvements, housing, transportation, schools and many other programs that matter to our community. Every year $400 billion is divided by the federal government among local governments based on the information collected by the census. That money represents crucial funding for vital community services such as transportation, health clinics, education programs, job training, child care, and more. But how much we get depends on how many people the federal government knows are here.

Federal law protects the information you put on your Census form and cannot be shared with anyone. If you didn’t receive a Census form, or if you can’t find yours, you can pick one up at the Ballard Library (5614 22nd Ave NW) or at the Ballard Community Center (6020 28th Ave NW).

At a press conference this morning the Pacific Science Center announced the return of the King Tut exhibit to Seattle, where it will kick off its West Coast premiere in 2012, coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of Seattle World’s Fair and the Center.

(Photos courtesy of the Pacific Science Center).

Governor Chris Gregoire, King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin, Group Health President and CEO Scott Armstrong, and PSC President and CEO Bryce Seidl were among those on the announcement panel.

The exhibit, which will run from May 24, 2012 to January 6, 2013, will feature over 100 artifacts–more than twice the number viewable the last time the exhibit came to Seattle in 1978–many of which have never before been seen in North America.

The panel emphasized the exhibit as a testament to Seattle, Washington and the region’s commitment to arts, culture, history, education and science, also noting the economic advantages it will bring in making Seattle a destination city.

“This is a really big deal for this community,” Gregoire said. “Only a handful of cities have had the distinction of having this exhibit and we’re thrilled that Seattle will be able to showcase it. That means that an entire new generation of students will be exposed to this history–not online, not on their iPhones–but right here, up close and personal at the Pacific Science Center. It also means tourists on the West Coast will make this exhibit and this great city a destination–so it’s going to be good for their minds and it’s going to be good for our economy. Just as well, Washingtonians old and young alike will get a fun reminder that science never stops. Since the last time the exhibit visited our state in the ’70s, the world’s scientists have learned a whole lot more than what they knew back then. So this exhibit will be larger than it was in ’78, reflecting our richer understanding of who this young Pharaoh was and the world in which he ruled. Of course, if there’s one place on earth that doesn’t have to be convinced that science is really cool, it’s Washington state.” You can hear the rest of Gregoire’s comments in the video (coming soon!)

According to Seidl, the exhibit will focus on the artistic, cultural and historic aspects of the artifacts on the floor, while being bolstered by special programs and films that address “the underlying science” surrounding King Tut–such as recent research into the cause of his death, now thought to have been due to a malaria infection further complicated by a broken bone–built into the programming.

(Photo credit: Ken Lambert, courtesy of The Seattle Times. Caption: This late 1970s bus banner advertisement for the 1978 King Tut exhibit at Seattle Center still hangs on a 1944 Pullman bus Metro uses for trolley excursions for the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association).

For more information on the history of the 1978 King Tut Seattle exhibit, and what to expect this time around, check out this story from our news partner, The Seattle Times.

Two dozen local food bloggers will be doing their part to help end childhood hunger “one cookie at a time” by participating in the Great American Bake Sale for “Share Our Strength,” a nationwide effort by the culinary industry to raise childhood hunger awareness through nutritional programming.

Spearheaded by Queen Anne’s own Frantic Foodie blogger, event organizer and all around food expert Keren Brown, the team of Seattle-area food bloggers will be hosting a bake sale full of treats of their own creation this Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lower Queen Anne Metropolitan Market, located at 100 Mercer St.

The following local food bloggers will be participating in the event: Gluten-Free Girl, Cakespy, Danatreat, Not Martha, Fresh Picked Seattle, A half cup.com, Pink Bites, Salty Seattle, Bring to Boil, Cornichon, The Old Hen, Northwest Stir, Mirrormirrorontheweb, Satisfythecraving, The Flying Salmon, Floraandflying, MusicandCats, Seattle Weekly, Chelsea Lin, City Search Editor, PurplehouseDirt and Teaandcookies.

Each blogger will be bringing two dozen cookies and their recipes to sell at the event so that “Readers and fans will have the opportunity to taste the baked goods from their favorite food blogs,” according to Brown.

All proceeds will support Share Our Strength and the organization’s work to end childhood hunger in America, specifically through assistance and funding for after-school and summer nutrition programs. “Summer is an especially difficult time, because the children facing hunger in America, nearly 17 million children, will no longer have access to the school-based meals they rely on,” said Bill Shore, executive director of Share Our Strength, in a press release this week.

Metropolitan Market will be providing free parking for bake sale shoppers. For more information check out Frantic Foodie.

Queen Anne Rotary will be hosting a Post Tax-Day Shredding Event for charity this Saturday, April 17 at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway, at 2100 Queen Anne Ave N.

For a tax-deduction donation (recommended $10 per banker-box), you can have your documents safely and securely shredded. All proceeds will go to the Queen Anne Helpline, a local non-profit with the mission “To promote personal dignity, self-respect, hope, and an independent quality of life to our neighbors by providing supportive social services to those who need assistance.”

Document collection will begin at noon, shredding will happen from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact James Gram at jimgram@windermere.com.

The inaugural Seattle Restaurant Week, described by organizers as “the biggest celebration of dining out that our region has ever experienced,” is kicking off this Sunday, April 18 when 106 of the best restaurants across town will offer 3-course dinners for $25 Sunday-Thursday until Thursday, April 29.

Not surprising, nine Queen Anne restaurants are on that list:

1. Betty Restaurant & Bar
2. Canlis
3. Crow Restaurant & Bar
4. emmer&rye
5. How to Cook a Wolf
6. Portage
7. Ten Mercer
8. Paragon
9. Via Tribunali

“Queen Anne is making a huge showing for Seattle Restaurant Week, drawing people from other neighborhoods and definitely keeping their own neighbors happy,” wrote SRW PR representative Heather Jensvold.

Take a look at the full list of participating restaurants, some of which will be offering $15 3-course lunch specials as well, here (.doc).

Seattle Restaurant Week is a project of the Seattle Restaurant Cooperative, a group of Seattle restaurateurs, and is being sponsored by our news partner, The Seattle Times, alongside many others. More information here.

The Seattle PI’s Monica Guzman is hosting the popular weekly Big Blog meet-up in Queen Anne this week, and has invited me to attend and partake in the conversation. The meet-ups serve as a casual forum for community members to get together and chat about Seattle news, events and on-goings in neighborhoods across the city. Each week Monica holds these meet-ups in different neighborhoods around town. The QA meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 14 at Crow, at 823 5th Ave. N, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Feel like chatting with Monica and me? Swing by and join in. It should be a good time!

The Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce, Uptown Alliance and Queen Anne Community Council are teaming up to host a Public Safety Forum at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, in the Rainier Room at Seattle Center.

Topics covered will include public safety, Block Watch programs,  graffiti reporting and more. Speakers and panelists include Sgt. Paul Gracey, Terrie Johnston and Commander Captain Steve Brown from SPD, Daniel Sims from Seattle Public Utilities, Council member and Queen Anne resident Tim Burgess, and Catholic Community Services representative Eileen McComb.

Nancy Guppy, the host and producer of Art Zone with Nancy Guppy (viewable on Seattle Channel and KCTS), will be the Master of Ceremonies for the event. Here’s what attendees can expect:

Sgt. Paul Gracy and Terrie Johnston of Seattle’s West Precinct will brief South Lake Union, Uptown, and Queen Anne neighbors on how and when to report suspicious or criminal activity to the Seattle Police Department.  They will explain how the Police respond to citizens’ reports. Learn about the actual crime levels in our Center City neighborhoods. Hear about the staffing that is now available for patrols in South Lake Union and Uptown/Queen Anne. Learn how you and your neighbors can participate in the Block Watch Program to discourage criminal activity where we live and shop.

Daniel Sims of Seattle Public Utilities will brief neighbors on when and how to report graffiti and how it can be removed promptly.

Hear presentations and interact with a panel which will include City Councilmember Tim Burgess who will explain how the City Council is supporting crime prevention, safety of the public, and improved civility on our streets. Captain Steve Brown, Commander of SPD West Precinct will show how police protection for Seattle’s citizens in being improved and will answer questions. Eileen McComb of Catholic Community Services will speak about the role of shelters in helping homeless individuals and families to fit into our Center City neighborhoods.

Community members are invited to comment on public safety and civility in the community at the forum, where they will be compiled and made available to City government.

El Diablo Coffee will be celebrating ten years on the hill next month, and to commemorate, they’ve decided to party all through May!

Beginning May 1, El Diablo will be introducing daily, weekly and monthly specials, including the “Diablito,” a new, limited edition concoction made from espresso and sweetened condensed milk.

For the actual anniversary, fittingly May 5th, i.e. Cinco de Mayo, El Diablo will be hosting an all day party!

Queen Anne Books will also be joining in the May celebrations for a few days, having a sale from May 5th to 9th, and the 1st annual “Galley Giveaway” with purchase. (Galley’s are free copies of books put together before final publication and handed out to reviewers–for some famous authors, these can be considered rare).

All the more reason to follow their devilish advice and consume lots and lots of coffee and cake in May! Happy ten years El Diablo!

(Thanks to Bruce for the tip!)

Portage is hosting a winemakers dinner this Wednesday, April 14 for Queen Anne’s own Ward Johnson Winery.

The dinner will start at 6 p.m. and will feature vintage “small batch wine” selections from Ward Johnson Winery co-owner Kurt Johnson. Portage has paired each wine with a different dinner. Check out the menu here. To make a reservation, call 206-352-6213.

Despite the fact that spring is teasing us with sunny days interspersed with the usual Seattle gray and showers (we should be used to it by now, right?), somehow this city is still beautiful!

I snapped this picture while walking down Queen Anne Ave N at Highland St. If you pass by, walk over t0 Kerry Park and enjoy the gorgeous, albeit gray, view! A few showers won’t stop us–we live in Seattle after all.

Taco Del Mar has just announced it will be doing its part to “ease your tax burden” by offering free tacos at all of its locations on Tax Day, this Thursday, April 15.

“A tasty taco served up in a beach-themed environment – at no cost – is the perfect way to put tax day behind you. This promotion was incredibly well received by customers last year and a fun way for our restaurant owners to bring in some new faces. This is a fiscal stimulus offer everyone can use and share with friends and family!” said CMO Elizabeth Andreini in a press release this week.

Want a free taco? Sign up at their website by filling out the Free Taco 1099 Coupon, redeemable at any Taco Del Mar. Here in Queen Anne we have two–at 12 Mercer St. and 1205 Dexter Ave N.

This past weekend the first seeds were planted at the newly born Gilman Urban Gardens, a 20-plot community built urban garden built into two large medians along Gilman Drive W. and 13th Ave. W.

Charlie Hoselton, the man responsible for organizing the garden development, sent over these pictures, taken on Sunday, April 11.

“Kristen and Dave planted our garden’s first seeds yesterday!  Lot’s of people are busy building their plots, of which 24 for plots have now been assigned,” he wrote. According to Charlie, there are only 5 plots left, so anyone interested in getting a spot at the garden should contact him as soon as possible.

So far the Gilman Urban Gardens have been primarily funded by the donations and out-of-pocket expenses of those with plots. However, Charlie plans to talk to the city about getting a sprinkler system put in, and is planning to apply for community grants to help improve the gardens.

“At some point in the next couple of months after the initial push to build the garden, I plan to apply for a neighborhood matching fund grant to help improve our site,” he wrote. “And hopefully get us the funds to add some nice elements to our site.”

Interested in claiming one of the remaining plots? Take a look at the user agreement (.pdf) and working site plan (.pdf). You can email Charlie at friendsofgilman.urbangardens@hotmail.com.

(Photos courtesy of Charlie Hoselton).

There has been much debate surrounding the liquor license application for the 5 Corners Mini Mart since the new store moved in at 309 W McGraw St. last month. Some Queen Anne residents object to the store, which plans to sell unfortified beer and wine alongside its current stock of cigarettes and a variety of grocery, bakery and household items. Others disagree, welcoming the new store to the Queen Anne community with open arms.

Though the liquor license application is still being reviewed, as of today, Monday, April 12, the 5 Corners has been issued a temporary 60-day permit to sell beer and wine while the Washington State Liquor Control Board comes to a final decision.

“The WSLCB Licensing and Regulation Director has not yet made a final decision on the 5 Corners Mini Mart application,” said WSLCB Communications Consultant Anne Radford. “The business was issued a temporary pre-approval permit today that allows them to sell beer and wine while they await a final decision. The permit is good for 60 days and the business may request two additional permits once the first one expires if necessary.”

We spoke with 5 Corners owner Steve Park who says he plans on having unfortified beer and wine available for sale by Wednesday, April 14, and said he would like to thank those in the community who have been supportive of the 5 Corners. Park has promised to not to sell fortified beer, wine and malt liquor at the store, compromising with community members and petitioners who object to the sale of fortified alcohol in residential areas.

Volunteers got together over the weekend at Counterbalance Park, at the corner of Queen Anne Ave N and Roy St, to work to better protect the park against vandalism.

Counterbalance Park was vandalized overnight back in February, when both concrete walls of the “urban park” were covered with red lettering almost 15 feet high. Alex Braun, the manager of The Willis condos that border the north wall of the park and the Barclay Court business building to the east, was able to remove the majority of the tags the next day.

However, because the park walls were only sealed up to 11 feet, it took another three weeks and a graffiti specialist to remove the final traces.

On Saturday morning a handful of volunteers brought paint, rollers, ladders and snacks to the park, where they painted the top half of both walls with a protective seal and then another coat of matching gray paint on top of that, in the hopes of protecting the park against future acts of vandalism.

This story is part of an innovative partnership announced today between the Common Language Project, University of Washington and Next Door Media. Read about the partnership here.

As zoo officials announced the closure of the popular Nocturnal Exhibit, thousands of people turned to Facebook to organize an effort to save it.

Photo courtesy Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo.

Thanks to Internet activism, the exhibit may not be closed forever, but a critical fundraising deadline looms. Click here to read “Lights out, Computer on.“

After a woman was assaulted outside her Lower Queen Anne apartment back in February, many neighbors got together to organize a Lower QA/Uptown Block Watch group to promote public safety in the community. The first meeting was held last Thursday, April 8, and organizer J.P. Flores says it was a huge success.

For those who couldn’t make it to the meeting, J.P. has put together a few notes on the topics covered and what the group plans to do next to bolster public safety and deter crime in the neighborhood, including weekly walks, building-specific Block Captains and mobilizing communication via social media. Take a look:

We had about 27 people show up for the meeting which I think was a great turn out! As Melanie said, there was a good energy and A lot of Great Ideas were presented as far as personal safety as well as improvements to the neighborhood. Just a few points were:

• A weekly walk is a fun constructive way to 1) keep a community presence on the street and 2) get to know your neighbors!
• 911 should be called if you want an officer to come out. Don’t be afraid to call, as this is a good way for the police to track crime trends in the area (this includes reckless driving, screaming people and so on).
• Neighborhood Block watch signs would be a great way to discourage criminal behavior in the area (Terrie suggested asking the businesses in the area if they would contribute in part or full for the cost of the signs as it is for their benefit as well).

Block Captains
Terrie spoke of block captains that would relay news or events to the people on their block, since we live in a neighborhood of condo and apartment complexes, we should have building captains like Terrie suggested. This person would relay any news about events we would be planning (weekly walks, or maybe even a yearly bbq for National Night Out) and address any issues relative to LQA safety. If you are interested in being a block captain please email me and we can discuss it one on one.

Social Media?
For anyone who uses Facebook or Has a Twitter account, I think a Facebook page for the LQA watch should be created that would post to your news feed as just another way to stay connected in our neighborhood and provide a more open forum for discussion. If everyone likes the Idea I will set one up.

The group has proposed weekly community walks, which would take place at 7 p.m. every Thursday. J.P. would like to hear feedback and suggestions on these proposals from neighbors and those interested in getting involved. You can contact J.P. at jflor84@gmail.com.