This story was sent to us by the editor over at our sister-site, Maple Leaf Life. While this particular scam didn’t take place in Queen Anne, there have been reports of similar scams being run in a number of neighborhoods around town, so we thought we’d re-post it here as a warning.

This tale of a current urban scam was sent in this afternoon by Myra. It’s virtually identical to one that our sister site My Green Lake reported on in September:

I live by Roosevelt & 75th. Around 1:30 today a man claimed that he and his boyfriend were new to the neighborhood and they were locked out of the house. He said his boyfriend worked for Microsoft and he worked for UW. He needed $3 to pay the locksmith, but his wallet was in the house and he was on his lunch break. I thought $3 was manageable so I gave it to him. Then he said he needed $13 and I said I didn’t have cash, but that my boyfriend would be home soon and I could ask him. He claimed his name was Patrick Lewis.

He said he would be right back with my cash. After thinking about it, I realized that the locksmith would have waited for him to get his wallet out of the house for payment. Or the locksmith would have billed him. Nonetheless, I was bilked out of a small bit of cash, but I thought I send a heads up to you since we’re in the same neighborhood.

Thanks, Myra. In the My Green Lake scam, the man supposed locked out asked for $75. Amy, the My Green Lake editor, noted the locked-out scam was reported in October 2008 in the Central District News.

The man introduced himself as a new neighbor living in the condos next door, which are actually townhomes. The man proceeded by saying that his partner is caucasian and works for Microsoft. Then he explained that he locked himself outside and needed to pay the locksmith $25 but he only had $21. He asked if my boyfriend could give him $4.

Local education non-profit Successful Schools in Action is looking for debate judges and timers for its tournament on Saturday, February 5.

The tournament takes place at Lawton Elementary on February 5 from from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.. No experience is necessary but you do need be at least 15 years old. All orientation materials will be sent by email, and a 30 minute training for volunteer judges and timers will begin at 8:30 a.m. on tournament day. Each judge evaluates two teams of two kids in two rounds.

SSIA also needs volunteers to monitor sign-in, snack table, and make copies as needed.  Volunteers can receive high school service hours.

Debate Club is made up of 4th and 5th graders from Blaine, Lawton, Coe and John Hay elementary schools. More details here.

If you are interested in volunteering, email marysteele@schoolsinaction.org to volunteer.

If you’re trekking around the hill today or have caught a glimpse out the nearest window, odds are you’ve noticed that it’s snowing here in Queen Anne. Though the temperature’s a bit too high for anything to stick (at 37 degrees as of 3:30 this afternoon), we’re seeing a pretty substantial mix of snow and rainfall in the neighborhood.

While no accumulation is expected for today’s snow showers, forecasters are looking ahead to Tuesday night and Wednesday, where a significant snow event could be in play.

As is typical here in Seattle, the forecast keeps shifting. At first, UW meteorologist Cliff Mass suggested it could be a historic snow event. Then he backed off as forecasts showed it heading north, perhaps into Vancouver. Now the Weather Service says the model has it shifting a little more south, which could bring 4 inches or more in the Seattle area. “It’s still way too early to know what scenario will play out,” says the Weather Service.

At this point we’re not sure what the snow-cast will look like this week on the hill, but if November’s snowfall is any indication, it might be a good idea to pick up a pair of chains for traversing Queen Anne’s slopes in advance—we don’t want a repeat of the vehicular carnage icy streets brought to the hill last time around.

Newly engaged Seattle couple Kate Donahue, 25, and Jesus Sanchez, 28, were killed from injuries sustained in a New Year’s Day attack while visiting family in Puerto Rico, according to the Seattle Times.

Jesus Sanchez and Kate Donahue

According to family and friends, Donahue, a popular nurse at Group Health, and Sanchez, a Boeing engineer, lived together with Sanchez’s roommate Rob McMurray, 25, in a condo in the Queen Anne neighborhood.

Donahue and Sanchez were severely injured in an incident on New Year’s Day at a celebratory family dinner. The two were in Puerto Rico to meet Sanchez’s family when, according to the Seattle Times report, Sanchez’s uncle, Justino Sanchez Diaz, doused the family with propane and torched the gathering. From the Times:

According to friends, the uncle had purportedly planned the gathering to mark the new year, two family members’ birthdays and the couple’s engagement. As the dinner got under way, he set the party ablaze with kerosene and a 20-pound propane tank, police said.

Police report that before the family gathering, Sanchez Diaz had covered the walls with gasoline and set canisters of fuel under nearby furniture, including the dining room table.

As the group sat down to eat, he came out with a tank of propane gas, doused the people with kerosene and set them on fire with a homemade torch.

Sanchez passed away Tuesday, January 4. At that time three other victims—Sanchez’s grandmother, cousin, and younger sister—had also passed. On Tuesday Donahue was airlifted in critical condition from Puerto Rico to the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Burn Center, where she passed away peacefully on Thursday, according to family members. Donahue had sustained burns on more than 80 percent of her body and was in a medically induced coma when her organs began to fail Thursday.

“She did go peacefully,” Donahue’s aunt Patrice Moore told the Times. “She was still unconscious … she was in no pain.”

The couple had planned to get married in Kerry Park this summer, according to KOMO News. “From what I’ve heard, he [Sanchez Diaz] did have some mental issues. I’m not sure what they were, but he’d never been aggressive before,” Moore told KOMO.

“It was something nobody expected,” local police Lt. Francisco Rosado told the Times. “We haven’t even had five murders in the last decade.”

Family members have not speculated on a motive, and police say Sanchez Diaz has kept silent and refused to eat since his arrest.

Read the full Seattle Times story here.

A PayPal account has been set up to gather donations to help cover the costs of medical care, transportation and funeral arrangements for Donahue and Sanchez. It is accessible through the “Support for Kate Donahue and Jesus Sanchez” Facebook page. As of 10:45 a.m. Friday $2,800 had already been raised.

A Wells Fargo bank account has also been set up to help with medical and funeral expenses. To make a donation, go to any Wells Fargo branch and ask to contribute to the Kate Donahue and Jesus Sanchez fund, or account #6174877891.

Donahue and Sanchez were regulars at the popular Lower Queen Anne dueling piano bar Chopstix. In fact the couple met there, and later got engaged there just a few months ago. You can watch the video of Sanchez’s proposal here.

Chopstix, located at 11 Roy Street, will be hosting a fundraiser to help raise money for Donahue’s and Sanchez’s families next week, at at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 13. The piano players will be donating all of their tips to the Wells Fargo account set up for the families, and Chopstix will be donating a portion of their sales that night to the fund.

Photos courtesy of the “Support for Kate Donahue and Jesus Sanchez” Facebook page.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) officials are scheduled to sign a contract with Seattle Tunnel Partners to design and build the much debated Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR 99) deep bored tunnel at 3 p.m. today at the Port of Seattle Atrium, located at 2711 Alaskan Way, moving forward with the controversial Viaduct and Seawall replacement project.

You can watch the signing streaming live here, courtesy of the Seattle Channel.

If you haven’t been following the Viaduct replacement project news as of late, here’s a quick update. Last month of the companies bidding for a contract to construct the project, WSDOT identified Seattle Tunnel Partners as the best value—with a proposed price of nearly $1.09 billion. From WDOT:

Total cost of the proposed bored tunnel is estimated to be $1.96 billion. This includes design, right-of-way acquisition, construction management, and more than $200 million set aside for risk. Also included in the $1.96 billion are separate, future construction contracts for roadway connections at the north and south ends of the tunnel.

The total cost of the Viaduct replacement project, however, is estimated at a much higher price: $3.1 billion.

Despite the contract signing, the project is no more popular. In a press release sent out today Move Seattle Smarter, a coalition of local organizations working to bring “honesty, transparency and accountability to the funding of this state transportation project,” and protect “Seattle’s priorities from cost overruns,” took a stand against the project.

The group is currently collecting signatures for the “Seattle Taxpayer Protection Initiative,” going before Seattle voters later this year.

“The State and Seattle City Council have made it clear that they intend to blindly plow forward no matter the cost,” Move Seattle Smarter spokesperson Drew Paxton said in the statement. “Our elected officials are displaying a blatant disregard for the potentially devastating financial implications of this project.  Given the devastating budget cuts that have already occurred at the state level, and the $4.6 billion deficit facing our state in 2011-2013, this is beyond irresponsible, it’s immoral.”

“It’s ironic that WSDOT will sign these contracts at the Port of Seattle Headquarters when the Port still has not presented a plan for how they will fulfill their $300 million commitment to the project.  What taxes will they raise?  What programs will they cut?  It’s astonishing that during these challenging economic times our elected leaders refuse to have an honest and open conversation about something as basic as how they plan to pay for a project with so much risk.”

While Mayor Mike McGinn is admittedly not a fan of the tunnel plan, he maintains that the city is committed to the project, and as the mayor he will work to execute it in the best way possible for the city.

Watch an interactive video on the project here. Follow the project progress at WSDOT’s Viaduct project website.

There have been a number of crime incidents here in Queen Anne over the last week, including 11 car prowls, four auto thefts, five residential and non-residential burglaries, and five cases of assault.

In the time between Thursday, December 30, 2010 through today, Thursday, January 6, 2011, one more serious home invasion involving weapons took place.

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve two men allegedly kicked in the door of a Lower Queen Anne apartment in the 500 block of 1st Ave N and robbed a man at gunpoint, according to the Seattle Police Department.

According to the incident report, the victim told police he was in his kitchen making something to eat when two unknown men (the first described as a Hispanic male, 5,8″,
approximately 230 lbs, with black hair tied in corn rows, the second a Hispanic male 5’8″, 200 lbs, with back hair) forcefully entered his apartment, both brandishing handguns.

The men then reportedly instructed the man to cover his eyes and lay face down on his bed while they looked throughout his apartment. When the suspects left, the victim contacted his brother, who also lives in the building, and used his phone to call police. According to the victim, the only missing items were his iPhone and a Fender bass guitar, worth a combined $1,900.

Despite the number of items of the crime map, SPD data show that total serious crime stats were down in Queen Anne overall in 2010 (and especially in the second half of the year), when compared to both 2008 and 2009.

Check more SPD crime stats citywide and by neighborhood here. More details on the other crimes that have taken place in the neighborhood recently can be found through the Seattle Police Department’s interactive crime map, which links to incident reports when available.

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw is looking for candidates to fill three vacancies on the Seattle Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee in the coming year. The Parks and Green Spaces Levy, approved by Seattle voters in 2008, has funded $145 million worth of community based projects and programs planned by the citizen advisory group. Here in Queen Anne the levy has backed the Kinnear Park enhancement plan, and allocated funds for a number of neighborhood P-Patches, to name just a few. View all of the projects the levy has funded citywide here (.pdf).

The job of the Parks and Green Spaces Oversight Committee is to help ensure the successful implementation of these projects and programs, and advise the Parks and Rec superintendent, the Mayor and City Council on levy-related issues. Applicants for the three volunteers positions will be reviewed Councilmember Bagshaw, who will then nominate a select few to be confirmed by the City Council.

The oversight committee meets regularly to:

• Advise on expenditures and allocations for each budget year;
• Make recommendations on implementation of particular projects and on any reallocations; and,
• Provide annual reports to the mayor and City Council on progress of expenditures and prepare a mid-point report to Seattle citizens.

Interested applicants should send a letter of interest and resume to the staff representative to the oversight committee Susan Golub at susan.golub@seattle.gov by January 31, 2011. While paper applications will be accepted, electronic submissions are preferred. Paper applications should be sent to: Susan Golub, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, 100 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109.

Councilmember Bagshaw is committed to promoting diversity in the city’s boards and commissions. Women, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and persons of color are highly encouraged to apply.

For more information contact Susan Golub at 206-684-7046 or susan.golub@seattle.gov.

If you were planning to head up the hill this weekend to see what documentary the Queen Anne Movie Guild is screening this month, you’re out of luck. The QAMG is taking a mid-winter hiatus from its Second Saturdays series this month. Usually the organization hosts a free screening of a different documentary monthly at the Queen Anne United Methodist Church, inviting the neighborhood to enjoy good films, snacks and community. The Second Saturdays series will resume next month (February 12).

A 30 x 58 foot American flag, dubbed the Patriot Flag, made its way through Seattle yesterday, where it made an appearance at Seattle Center, part of a 50-city tour that will end in New York City in time for the 10-year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks later this year.

One of our readers, Scott Comey, sent in these pictures taken of the flag, which was hung from two 100-foot aerial ladder trucks at the south side of the International Fountain Tuesday afternoon.

The flag departed for Providence, Rhode Island today. You can follow the flag’s progress here, or get more information on the Patriot Flag Project here.

Thanks to Scott for the pics!

The monthly Queen Anne Community Council meeting is happening tonight, Wednesday, January 5 at 7 p.m. at the Queen Anne Community Center. Enter through the north entrance of the building, between the CC and McClure Middle School.

In additional to the regular community updates, there are a number of interested items on the agenda this month, including a report on the Solarize Queen Anne project (more on that soon).

Take a look at the full agenda here:

• 7:00 p.m.: Adoption of Agenda, Approval of Minutes, Treasurer’s Report
• 7:10 p.m.: Open Forum—Comments
• 7:20 p.m.: Solarize Seattle
• 7:45 p.m.:  Report on budget and status of QACC and District Coordinator/New meeting location
• 8:15 p.m.:  Committee Reports

1. Communication—Michael Lapin
2. District Council—Mike Warren
3. Parks—Don Harper
4. Transportation—Glenn Avery
5. LURC/Planning—Craig Hanway
6. NAC—Kirk Robbins, Jim Smith, Glenn Avery, Don Harper
7. Social Issues—Kirk Robbins
8. Police & Crime—Allen Panich

• 8:45 p.m.: New Business
• 8:55 p.m.: Adjournment

The next QACC meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 p.m. at the Queen Anne Community Center.

The following QACC sub-committees will be meeting on these dates:

• Parks Committee: January 11, QACC, 7:30 p.m.
• LURC/Planning: January 24, QACC, 7:00 p.m.
• Transportation: January 26, QACC, 7:30 p.m.
• NAC: January 19, Port Headquarters, 4:30 p.m.
• District Council: January 10, MCC 7:00 p.m.

Here’s a great way to beef up your music collection for free — and it’s legal! The Seattle Public Library announced today that it now offers free MP3 music file downloads on its website through Freegal Music. From the press release:

Freegal Music is an online database that provides access to songs from Sony Music. The music files are DRM-free and do not expire, and are compatible with PCs, Macs, iPods, iPads and other MP3-compatible devices.

Seattle Public Library cardholders are eligible for three MP3 downloads per week. A library card number and PIN is necessary to access and download songs.

Freegal Music contains over 500,000 songs from Sony Music artists, including current hits like Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK,” classics songs such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” jazz standards like Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” and more. New music is added to the collection daily.

To view, browse and download music from Freegal, go to www.spl.org and click on “Library Collection,” then “Digital Books & Media” and scroll down the page to find the “Freegal Music Collection.”

Access to Freegal Music on the Library’s website has been made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation.

For more information, call The Seattle Public Library at 206-386-4636.

The Patriot Flag, a memorial flag that has been making its way across the United States since last September en route to New York City for the ten-year anniversary of 9-11 later this year, is stopping in Seattle today. The 30 x 58 foot flag will be flown at Seattle Center at 2 p.m. today, Tuesday, January 4, in honor of the victims of the 9-11 attacks.

Patriot Flag in Kotzebue Alaska, 33 Miles inside the Arctic Circle, on December 22, 2010. Photo by Captain Rudy Hecker, Kotezbue Fire Dept. Used with permission courtesy of Mitch Mendler of the Patriot Flag Project.

The flag will be hanging between two 100-foot aerial ladder trucks at the south side of the International Fountain at Seattle Center from 2 to 2:30 p.m. today. The public is invited to join in the ceremony and take pictures.

Sponsors Fed Ex and Alaska Airlines have provided free transportation for the 150-pound crate which houses the large flag. The Olympia Fire Department delivered the flag to the Seattle department yesterday. It will be sent to Providence Rhode Island on Wednesday. Follow the flag’s scheduled progress here, or get more information on the Patriot Flag Project here.

Potholes seems to be cropping up at an exponential rate lately. Just last week we reported a way for your to report problem potholes to the city for repair. In the meantime, however, the Seattle Times has created a map where community members can report potholes they’ve encountered.

As you can see from the above map, quite a few have been reported in Queen Anne already. In the parallel story, the Times reports that the Seattle Department of Transportation will be increasing its number of“Pothole Rangers” crews from the usual two or three, to nine to deal with the backlog of potholes citywide.

Check out the full map here. You can report potholes directly to the city online or by phone at 206-684-ROAD.

Local handmade ice cream maker Molly Moon‘s is going to be stationing a truck in Queen Anne for the whole month of January, starting this Wednesday, January 5. The truck will be parked outside Pizza Hut, at 2231 Queen Anne Ave N, from 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 12 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The truck, named Leo, will be parked in QA as part of the three-month campaign the ice creamery is running to decide where to open its third store—in Queen Anne, Ballard or Madrona. Want to cast your vote for Queen Anne? ‘Like’ the official “Bring Molly Moon’s to Queen Anne” Facebook page, which so far is in second place with 258 fans. Currently the Ballard page is leading, with 502 fans, while the Madrona page is trailing in third place with 156 fans.

Kids who visit the Queen Anne truck on Wednesday between 6 to 8 p.m. will receive a free kid-sized scoop.

With the new year upon us, I thought it might be nice to take a look back at the biggest stories here at Queen Anne View in 2010. Though Queen Anne View is just two and a half years old, in the 18 months I’ve been serving as its editor I’ve seen it blossom into a resource and forum for conversation and community building in the neighborhood.

In the last year Queen Anne View saw 485,568 visits to its site, and tons of new followers receiving our news through our Facebook and Twitter pages. Last year we asked you to vote on which stories of 2009 you thought were the most important. This year we thought we’d do a good ol’ fashioned Top 10 list. So without further ado, here are our Top 10 stories (in terms of pageviews) of 2010, No. 1 being the most viewed:

10. After violent assault last week, community members want to set up new Block Watch (March 2)

9. Uptown Theatre closing November 28 (November 18)

8. Where to view New Year’s Eve at the Space Needle (December 29)

7. South Lake Union height increases may block views for some on east & south slopes of QA (January 25)

6. Man down safely after climbing TV tower (July 15)

5. 5 Corners Mini Mart gets new signs, many in community continue to petition (March 8 )

4. New 5 Corners Mini Mart controversial with neighbors bringing issue to QACC meeting tonight (March 3)

3. Is former NBA star opening restaurant on Lower Queen Anne? (September 1)

2. Cars slip and slide down the Counterbalance (November 22)

1. Pet tragically electrocuted on Thanksgiving Day (November 27)

Happy New Year Queen Anne! We look forward to continuing to bring you the news in 2011—and as always, if you have any tips, comments or questions, feel free to email us at tips@queenanneview.com.