These awards are handed out every year in recognition of the top-performing schools across the state, selected based on statewide assessment data collected over three prior consecutive years and analyzed using a school Accountability Index (.pdf). (Read up on the methodology here).
You can read more about the achievement award in the state’s award letter to John Hay here (.doc).
Metro Transit is gearing up for possible snow this afternoon by chaining up buses and planning to move from regular routes to snow routes.
Metro buses will move to snow routing as travel conditions change. When buses move to snow routes, it will be announced through Transit Alerts and on the Metro Online website. Check the status for your route before you travel.
Metro is using an online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service. All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on the online map. Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing.
People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account.
Expect buses to be crowded and significantly delayed when on snow routes and travel is difficult. Also, many people may leave work early today, so take that into consideration in deciding when to travel. Metro encourages people to limit travel if possible if roads become snowy and icy.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is planning changes along Dexter Avenue N between Roy Street and Fremont Avenue N in 2011. This project is funded by the “Bridging the Gap” transportation levy approved by Seattle voters in November 2006 and is expected to help ease congestion caused by car, bus and bicyclist overlaps. This project will also improve the pavement condition by repaving the street.
Specifically the work is expected to:
Install a buffered bike lane on each side of the street
Remove the two-way left turn lane
Provide dedicated left-turn lanes at busy intersections
Provide dedicated load zones for businesses that need them
Provide in-lane bus stops to improve transit speed and reliability
Install dedicated bus islands
Install street lighting upgrades
Construct new and upgraded curb ramps
Construct sidewalk improvements
Install drainage upgrades
Roadwork is scheduled to begin in March and will begin just across the Fremont Bridge, spanning Fremont Avenue N (Fourth Avenue N) to McGraw Street. That phase is expected to last 2-3 months.
During construction, you can be expected to experience lane closures, left turn restrictions, pedestrian detours, parking and loading restrictions and instances of weekday and night work.
For more information on this project, visit the SDOT web site.
While there were only a few hours of stop-and-go snow flurries on the hill yesterday, with little stick, forecasts (from the Weather Service, Cliff Mass, and KING 5) for today are all calling for anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of snowfall in the Seattle area. As a result, a winter storm watch took effect beginning at 4 a.m. this morning.
In preparation for a big snowfall today, the City of Seattle has also activated its snow plan. Early in the morning, ten snow plows hit the north end of the city. At 9 a.m., the Seattle Department of Transportation went into “full 24-hour response plan to keep roads open, buses moving and critical emergency services accessible,” Rick Sheridan of SDOT writes. More from the release:
The response plan calls for deploying 30 trucks with plows, which will be prepositioned throughout the city in key locations such as elevated structures and certain trouble spots on major arterials. The department starting pre-treating major roadways with salt brine this afternoon in preparation for the storm. Additional details concerning SDOT’s response will be forthcoming as more information about the impending storm becomes available.
SDOT also reminds property owners that they are responsible for the sidewalks in front of their properties.
Mayor Mike McGinn says this storm could be like that of November 22, 2010. “Because Wednesday afternoon’s commute is expected to be difficult,” McGinn writes in a statement, “It may be a good day to work an alternate shift, telecommute or make other travel arrangements if possible.”
Metro Transit is also urging passengers to be prepared for the snow.
Wednesday’s snowfall may start out light in some areas, but transit users should plan ahead for bus trips that could be disrupted, delayed, and on snow routing. Even though weather in the morning may not be bad in your area, you should leave from a bus stop or park-and-ride that also has service when buses are on snow routes in case travel conditions deteriorate by the afternoon commute.
The Seattle alternative band will advance to the finals to compete against the upcoming winner of round one and upcoming round three, EMP announced Tuesday. Second place went to Kirkland hip-hop duo Kung Foo Grip, who competes with the other two runner-ups for the wildcard spot in the finals by an EMP’s Youth Advisory Board vote.
The third round of the semifinals will be held this Saturday, February 26 at EMP’s Level 3. Performing will be:
Tickets are $10 for the general public and $7 for students or EMP members.
The three winners of the semifinals and the selected wildcard band will advance to the finals at EMP’s Sky Church on March 5. The winner of the Sound Off! title will receive a performance slot at Bumbershoot 2011, a live on-air performance on 107.7, studio time and gear from KORG.
Sound Off! supports the local underage music scene by giving young artists from different backgrounds a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come together and play their original music in a positive, all-ages atmosphere.
The Cave Singers will be performing a free, live, all ages show at their record release party at Easy Street Records tonight. The Seattle-based band’s third and latest album on Jagjaguwar, No Witch! came out today.
Curious about their tunes? Check out the video below of The Cave Singers performing on KEXP last August, or just swing by Easy Street at 20 Mercer Street to partake in the festivities.
It’s snowing in Queen Anne, as of 1:20 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, but before you get too excited, the snowfall is not expected to stick. For the last week, forecasters have been predicting snow. Well, it’s here, at least for now.
According to the National Weather Service, “expect brief and local accumulations of slushy snow to occur through early Wednesday morning. This is likely to occur on hills above about 500 feet this morning and above 300 feet tonight and early Wednesday morning.” A “winter storm watch” is in effect from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning. A winter storm watch means conditions are favorable for severe winter weather.
UW Atmospheric Science professor and weather blogger Cliff Mass is predicting that this storm will dump two to five inches of snow in north Seattle. “Good news for commuters and SDOT tomorrow,” Mass writes, “Temperatures will remain above freezing, SO NO SOLID ICE LAYER like Nov 22, 2010.”
The Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) and Uptown Alliance rummage sale you’ve been hearing so much about lately is happening this weekend, from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27, at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne.
The organizations has collected tons of unique and interesting finds up for grabs at the sale – everything from a portable picnic table that folds up into a suitcase, to a men’s tuxedo, vintage wedding dress, swanky suede roller skates and more. Swing by to dig in and search for some second-hand treasures during the following hours this weekend:
Friday, February 25 from 4 to 8 p.m.–Preview Event
Saturday, February 26 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.–Sale all day
Sunday, February 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.–Close-out sale
Rummage shoppers should be sure to have cash in hand–the group will not be able to take credit card purchases. Check out the event’s Facebook page here.
Wednesday will be the last day the store will be renting out movies and games. Starting this Friday, February 25, the store will begin liquidating all of its stock, including DVDS, games, film posters and other paraphernalia, candy and snacks, and all other merchandise, according to an employee who spoke to us on the phone this morning.
“Ballard and Capitol Hill are staying open, but they’re closing five stores in our district, and unfortunately we were one of them,” the employee said.
The employee estimates that the store’s last day will be around April 10. Until then, Blockbuster will continue to mark down merchandise to clearance prices as it approaches the final day.
What will this most recent closure mean for the Lower Queen Anne business district, which is still hurting from the closure of the Uptown Theatre right across the street in November and a number of other retail shutterings over the last several months? We’re following up with Uptown property and business owners to see how these recent closures are affecting both business and the face of the neighborhood. Look for that story soon.
On 2/20/11 at approximately 3:00 a.m., officers responded to 8th Ave N and N Aloha to a report of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers found an adult male victim with a gunshot wound to his back.
Seattle Fire responded and treated the victim, who was later transported to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.
The suspect is at large and described as a black male wearing all black.
It is unknown what precipitated the shooting but one witness stated that the victim was involved in an altercation earlier in the night at a different location.
The Office of Economic Development’s Only in Seattle initiative will expand to include Queen Anne and six other neighborhoods, Mayor McGinn announced last Wednesday.
The program is receiving an additional $40,000 from the City of Seattle as part of the Seattle Jobs Plan’s $1 million investment in neighborhood business districts, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. In addition to Queen Anne,Belltown, Capitol Hill, Greenwood-Phinney, Madison Valley, South Lake Union and the University District will be included in the initiative.
The initiative “highlights the hidden gems of shopping and dining in Seattle’s neighborhoods” with a website and online, print and transit advertising.
Inspired by the “buy local” movement, the city’s Office of Economic Development (OED) worked with local business owners and neighborhood leaders to develop a campaign that would inspire people to discover and explore new neighborhoods and businesses that make up Seattle’s diverse retail community… The Office of Economic Development promotes a healthy business environment for neighborhood business districts and business organizations, and works to help grow and strengthen the business community in Seattle neighborhoods. The Only in Seattle campaign is only one of numerous OED-funded projects and activities that improve business districts.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase all of [Queen Anne businesses’] unique offerings not only to Queen Anne residents and other business employees in the area, but to people who live outside of the area whether they’re coming into the area as tourists or from the greater Seattle area,” said Director of Marketing for the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Mary Chapman. “What we would really like to capitalize on is getting people to frequent our businesses regularly, not just come in on a one-time thing because you randomly found it, but purposely knowing what businesses are available in Queen Anne and coming to shop there frequently.”
In anticipation of the 2011 Only in Seattle marketing campaign’s expansion, the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce applied to add Queen Anne into the program.
“It was through the collaboration that we already had with the Department of the Economic Development that we filled out the paperwork and were accepted, so we’re extremely happy about that,” said Chapman, adding, “Involvement with the chamber means that we can go out and act on [Queen Anne businesses’] behalf both in terms of getting city dollars spent in our neighborhood and in terms of doing more public relations outreach in helping people in our community know about their businesses.”
She said that all of the new neighborhoods to be included in the 2011 campaign are going to receive contacts within the next month to get the research started for the marketing campaign. In the coming weeks the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce will begin the data collection for the Only in Seattle marketing team.
The Only in Seattle marketing campaign began in November of 2010 with five Seattle neighborhoods: Ballard, Columbia City, Georgetown, Rainier Valley and West Seattle. The Seattle Jobs Plan was launched in August 2010 to encourage sustainable development and shared prosperity in the region.
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