Have you seen Brewster? This adorable puggle was last seen on Tuesday afternoon on the corner of 1st Ave N and Galer.

He has a microchip, but no collar, and is greatly missed by his owners. If you or anyone you know has any information about Brewster’s whereabouts, call 206-617-2235, or respond to the posting in the forum.

Update 11: 20 a.m.: Bewster’s owner has just notified us that he’s been found and is on his way home now.

If you’ve been by the 5 Spot lately, you’ve probably noticed its new cuisine theme–Tornado Alley. The Queen Anne restaurant, which often changes its regional culinary focus (and decor to match), got some flak from the Seattle Weekly for sticking with its Tornado Alley theme in light of the recent tornadoes that have devastated the south.

Though the 5 Spot says it will not change its Tornado Alley theme, it has launched a fundraiser to help relieve some of the damage caused by the recent storms. Beginning yesterday and continuing every Tuesday through June 13 the restaurant will donate 25 percent from the sales of all of its Tornado Alley menu items to the Hackelburg Elementary School in Hackelburg, Alabama, which was destroyed in the recent storms. Though others buildings have been standing in as makeshift classrooms for the school, the funding will go toward replacing textbooks and other items blown away or destroyed, according to Seattle Weekly.

In response to the Seattle Weekly posts, the 5 Spot and its parents company Chow Foods released the following statement about its choice:

When planning our menus for 2011, we thought that in wanting to feature the foods of the Heartland to include the Dakotas, Nebraska and parts of other mid-western states, the common denominator would be the region commonly known as Tornado Alley. Little did we know the devastation from these wind-related events would be the worst on record since the 1920s with, to date, over 400 weather-related events in the U.S. with no sign of abatement.

While these recent tornadoes technically took place outside of Tornado Alley (it’s known as Dixie Alley), we cannot ignore the hardships facing our fellow citizens from these devastating storms in the South. So, we want to help those who aren’t able to help themselves, mainly the children of Hackleburg, Ala.

The fundraiser will conclude on June 13, when the 5 Spot’s regional menu switches once again.

It seems that after less than a year under the leadership of Tate Loftin, Coe Elementary may have a new principal, though mums the word from the Seattle School District on the change.

According to Mary Cropp over at the SeattlePI, an  interim principal, Terry Acena, is already in place at Coe, and both Acena and SPS Executive Director of Schools for the Central region Nancy Coogan will be attending a meeting at the school for parents and incoming families on Thursday, March May 12 in which they will “briefly discuss the recent changes in leadership and outline a course for the future of Coe.” The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Coe Library.

For more information, contact the Coe PTA directly through the organization’s website.

We’ve just caught wind of some more details from a daytime home invasion in Queen Anne last week in which robbers held the 74-year-old resident at gunpoint while searching her house. According to a report by SeattleCrime.com, the two robbers may have targeted the wrong house. From SeattleCrime:

Just before 9:00 am on May 4th, two armed men burst through the back door of a home on 10th Ave W and W Fulton St.

When the 74-year-old victim spotted the men in her kitchen, one man pulled a gun and told her to tell them where her safe was.

The woman said she didn’t have one, and told the suspects they “must have the wrong house.”

As the suspects searched the house, they told the victim “they were sorry, but times are tough” and promised they wouldn’t hurt her if she didn’t give them any trouble, a police report says.

The men were carrying plastic zip ties, but did not tie the woman up during the robbery.

Police say the suspects rummaged through the woman’s home for about a half-hour. At one point during the robbery, the victim’s phone rang, and one of the suspects ripped the phone line out of the wall.

The suspects eventually fled the home with jewelry, money and two “family guns,” the report says.

The Department of Planning and Development approved the land use application for the Seattle Center‘s Chihuly glass art exhibit last week.

The exhibit is slated to be built just west of the Space Needle on the site of the Fun Forest pavilion. The plan calls for a glass atrium of about 5,600 square feet to be constructed on the east side of the pavilion, according to the DPD decision. The building will also be renovated to add about 3,350 square feet of floor area for retail and lobby space, and about 250 square feet for an entry vestibule. In addition, a garden and walkways will be constructed in the exhibit’s accompanying outdoor spaces.

This closely follows last month’s approval of a lease agreement to bring the Chihuly glass art exhibit by the Seattle City Council.

The application was approved on the condition that construction activities other than that taking place within enclosed floors will be limited to non-holiday weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to reduce the noise impact of construction on nearby properties.

The environmental impacts of the proposal were previously stated in the Addendum to the Final Environmental Impact Statement Seattle Center Master Plan released February 17.

Any appeals of this decision must be received by the Hearing Examiner no later than May 19. For instructions on how to appeal a land use decision, visit this DPD web page.

This month’s Uptown Alliance meeting is happening this Thursday, May 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lower Queen Anne Metropolitan Market restaurant space on the far west side of the store.

Among the hot topics this month is the issue of Metro’s RapidRide D line, which aims to connect neighborhoods in heavily used traffic corridors with frequent and fast connections. The RapidRide D line is scheduled to come to Interbay and Lower Queen Anne in 2012.

Take a look at what’s on the agenda this month:

• Greetings and introductions – Approve minutes
• Honoring Uptown Alliance Founder, Janis Ford
• RapidRide D-Line stops

1. West Mercer Street stop consolidation
2. Pedestrian crossings at West Mercer stop
3. Parking loss on West Mercer St.

• Report on pending Small & Simple Grant Application supporting the outreach phase of planning for the Uptown Triangle, bounded by Denny, Broad, and Aurora.
• Committee Reports

1. Parks
2. Events: A drop-in public meeting space store front for Uptown
3. Planning & Transportation: Meeting with Exec. Dir. Kate Joncas of Seattle Downtown Assn. re/urban decay issues.

• New Business: bring your own topics and comments.

The next Uptown Alliance meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, also at the Lower Queen Anne Metropolitan Market. For more information, contact Rick Hooper at Nsilberg@silberg.net,  or John Coney at djohnconey@aol.com.

The Queen Anne Rotary Club is hosting a document shredding event from 10 a.m. to 1  p.m. this Saturday, May 14 at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway, located at 2100 Queen Anne Ave N.

The event, which is being held by the Queen Anne Rotary Club, Safeway, and SEADRUNAR Recycling, is completely free, though donations of non-perishable foodstuffs for the Queen Anne Helpline will be accepted.

Members of Coe Elementary’s “Team CoeBotics” will also be on hand at the event to talk about the program with the community. CoeBotics will soon be traveling to Legoland in California to represent Washington state in the national team competition of robotic technology, design and function. This event gives the community an opportunity to meet the team members, learn about this educational extra-curricular program, and learn how to help support the them.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has rescheduled road work to lay new asphalt along Dexter Ave N for this week, on Tuesday, May 10 and Wednesday, May 11, weather permitting. From SDOT:

Traffic will be limited to one travel lane in each direction from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. On-street parking will be restricted. Drivers should expect additional traffic congestion and delays and are advised to consider using alternate routes. Uniformed police officers will be present to keep traffic moving at the intersection of Westlake Avenue N and Dexter Avenue N. Bicyclists will merge and share the lanes with vehicles on Dexter or they may use the sidewalks or alternate routes.

After repaving, SDOT will install new bus islands, a buffered bike lane, and new traffic markings and street channelization, as part of an ongoing effort to improve traffic congestion caused by car, bus and bicyclist overlaps along Dexter Ave N.

The repaving phase of the project is expected to be completed in early May. The entire project, which will extend from Fremont Avenue North to Roy Street, will be completed in September of this year. Read more about the project at the Dexter Paving website.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is seeking your input on how to preserve and develop soft surface walking, hiking paths, and trails.

Take this short survey to share your vision for the Seattle Parks Trails Program. Questions include How do urban trails improve your life? and What would make the trails feel safer for you?

The Parks Department said in a press release, “Trails and related activities rank high on the list of activities that Seattleites enjoy, and the public survey will provide essential direction in how Parks protects and improves these assets.”

Comments will be accepted until Thursday, May 12, 2011.

Appropriate to the recent “green” holidays, the May Queen Anne Community Council meeting dedicated much of its time to guests speaking on behalf of trees and forests last Wednesday night.

Kay Napton, a member of the Seattle Planning Commission and FOLKpark, spoke on the need of FOLKpark to raise money to fund their $1.5 million project.  The amount raised from grants, about $850,000, falls well short, said Napton. She asked the QACC to help broaden FOLKparks breadth of contacts, such as leaders in the community and environmental groups, that can help raise the remaining funds needed to renovate Lower Kinnear Park.

Plant ecologist Michael Yadrick spoke about the Green Seattle Partnership and their efforts to enhance the tree canopy across the city. He said the organization was six years into its 20-year plan to reforest 2,500 acres, which include the Northeast, Southwest and Kinnear Park Greenbelts. Much of the work is done through volunteers, and Yadrick said Green Seattle Partnership will be looking to engage and recruit citizens in the area to be involved in the reforestation process.

Queen Anne resident Judy Leshner spoke about her development of Queen Anne tree tours based in part on the work of Arthur Lee Jacobson and his book “Trees of Seattle.” Leshner has created five self-guided Queen Anne tree tours to date, but still needs to finalize the tours by verifying some of the information with an arborist.

“I wanted to come up with something that was of interest and use to the Queen Anne community,” said Leshner. “As a former school teacher, I thought would be interesting to school children … and to those in the community and outside, who may go to businesses once they’re here.”

Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Mary Chapman said she was interested in putting Leshner’s tree tours on her organization’s upcoming “Visit Queen Anne” website. She was also given ideas by council members on grants and city and organizational contacts.

Apart from the Earth Day and Arbor Day concerns, the transportation committee report headed by committee chair Glenn Avery discussed two letters addressed to SDOT and other interested parties that was passed in a vote at last week’s transportation committee meeting. Both letters were also passed by the council.

The first letter stated several points, including: QACC’s approval of SDOT’s alternative 5 for West Mercer Place; that the project be done this year; that the BAT lane south of West Mercer Place on Elliot Avenue West be converted to general traffic; and that SDOT conduct studies when finished extending the turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West to find out whether the desired results were achieved.

The second letter addressed West Mercer Place and the Mercer West Project more generally. It asked for comprehensive planning for pedestrian safety and movement throughout the Mercer/Roy corridor, as well as planning for parking requirements to sustain area businesses; the incorporation of crosswalks and traffic lights at Fourth Avenue West and Mercer Street and other corners where needed; three lanes each way on Mercer Street under the Aurora Avenue North underpass; the exclusion of in-lane bus stops on Mercer Street unless there are additional unblocked lanes; no construction to take place while the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement, including the Viaduct demolition, is underway; and comprehensive review of the project when it’s finished to find out whether it’s working or if it needs changes.

In addition, another “stronger” letter specifically addressing parking in Uptown with respect to the Mercer West Project will be written.

Councilmember Kirk Robbins also spoke about the possibility of Lake City’s temporary tent city moving to one of two sites in the Magnolia/Queen Anne area. The mayor convened a panel that picked seven possible sites for a permanent tent city, said Robbins, including one at the West Yard down on the waterfront and another on a Seattle City Light site in the West Dravus Street area of Magnolia. All of these sites are “back on the table,” and the evaluation process by the Seattle City Council was extended into July, said Robbins. QACC Chair Ellen Monrad said that they will continue to monitor the city’s decision making on the permanent tent city, and council members floated the idea of writing a letter.

Sixty-three Dearborn Park Elementary School fifth graders got a chance to see what it’s like to go to college on Wednesday, spending the day at the Seattle Pacific University campus with a 17-year-old alumna of their school and recently admitted SPU student Christine Palpalotoc, who will be starting at the college in the fall.

Palpalotoc spent the day showing the kids from Dearborn around SPU and talking to them about what first led her to think about attending college. She is one of the first Dearborn Park Elementary School graduates to be admitted to SPU.

As part of SPU’s “go to college” day program, the fifth graders were divided into pairs and accompanied by an SPU education student. Throughout the day the kids got to participate in an investigative science activity, an information hunt at the SPU library, attend a music class and physical education course, and get the true college dining experience at SPU’s “all you care to eat” dining hall.

The day concluded with a presentation entitled “College Is a Plan, Not a Dream,” and a chat with Palpalotoc.

This was the seventh annual SPU “go to college” day, sponsored by the SPU School of Education, alongside the Lilly Foundation, and with contributions from a number of on campus groups and organizations.

Emerald Bay Equity’s land use application for its Seven Hills Apartments project at 1919 Queen Anne Ave. N. was approved by the Department of Planning and Development last week, giving developers a green light to move forward with the project.

This is the latest development in the long-stalled project since the public design review meeting back in January. The approved land use application for the apartment complex across the street from the Upper Queen Anne Metropolitan Market consists of a four-story structure containing 57 apartments, over 8,180 square feet of ground level retail space, and parking for 68 vehicles to be provided below ground. The existing structures will be demolished.

Seven Hills Apartments is slated to begin construction late June, said Emerald Bay Equity principal Joe Geivett.

This project is one of several in the area by Emerald Bay Equity. Eden Hill, completed in 2007, and the Sweetbrier building, completed in 2009, lay directly to the north of the coming Seven Hills Apartments.

Emerald Bay Equity also submitted a land use application for the the Metropolitan Market redevelopment, the final of four mixed-use projects EBE is managing on the hill, last Thursday. The application calls for a four-story, 112 unit residential building with about 30,000 square feet of retail and parking for 202 vehicles below ground at 1900 Queen Anne Ave. N. Redevelopment for the Metropolitan Market is anticipated to begin in 2012, according to Geivett.

Community members interested in making a public comment on the project or appeal of the DPD’s decision may submit comments to the hearing examiner no later than May 12. All comments must be made in writing and delivered either in person to the hearing examiner’s office on the 40^th floor of Seattle Municipal Tower at 700 Fifth Ave. or by mail to the City of Seattle Hearing Examiner, P.O. Box 94729, Seattle, WA 98124-4729.

Starting today, residents and businesses can opt-out of receiving phone books and junk mail.

A look at the discarded phone books, courtesy the City of Seattle

Last fall the city became the first in the country to allow residents and businesses to opt-out of receiving certain things to their homes – including phone books and junk mail.

Today the city launched a new online registry to make the process easy. “We heard from hundreds of people who are frustrated with the system of receiving multiple phone books every year and requested a reliable way to stop the waste. This is it,” said City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Chair of the Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods Committee and sponsor of the opt-out legislation. “The new system provides real accountability — phone book companies must to comply with peoples’ choices or face penalties.” Those penalties are as steep as $125 per phone book if delivered to a residence or business that has opted out.

The city says this move will stop an estimated two-million yellow-pages phone books from hitting the recycling bin, saving taxpayers about $350,000. “According to the U.S. Postal Service and Seattle Public Utilities research, Seattle homes and businesses receive an estimated 17,500 tons of unwanted paper in the form of junk mail and yellow pages phone books, approximately 100 pounds of waste per household, each year,” a release from the city states.

If you want to opt-out, you must do so 30 days before the scheduled delivery. Dex Pages plans to deliver next month, register by May 16th to opt-out.

The opt-out site is here, which includes both phone books and junk mail.

Seattle police are looking for two suspects who reportedly held a Queen Anne resident at gunpoint while robbing her home this morning. According to the SPD Blotter, officers were called to the 1000 10 block of Fulton Street at the top of the hill at approximately 9:19 a.m. this morning, Wednesday, May 4.

The victim, a 74-year-old woman, told police that the two suspects, who she didn’t know and are described only as “possibly Asian or Latino males” in the report, entered her residence through an open back door at around 8:30 a.m. From the report:

The victim stated that the suspects had plastic ‘zip-ties’ with them, and one of the suspects was armed with a small black pistol.

The suspects held the victim at gunpoint inside her residence. The suspects went through the victim’s residence, taking a large amount of jewelry, cash and two firearms.

The victim, who was not injured in the robbery, called 911 after the suspects left. SPD officers conducted an area search for the suspects, canvassing the surrounding area for other potential victims and evidence of the robbery, but were unable to locate the suspects, or any evidence or witnesses. If you have any information about this crime, please contact SPD immediately.

The West Precinct of the Seattle Police Department has recently reinvigorated its foot patrol team in an attempt to both curb crime, and build lasting relationships with the communities they police and the neighbors that live and work in them. Take a look at KOMO4′s story on the newly expanded SPD walking beat:

Capt. Joe Kessler, who took over the West Precinct back in October, reinstated the foot patrol unit, dedicating some 32 officers to walking beats in communities within the precinct, up from one eight-officer team in years before, according to KOMO4.

What do you think about the expansion of the foot patrol program? Do you think the Queen Anne community will benefit from having dedicating officers on regular walking beats, or do you think SPD should be putting its resources into other programs and services to better serve the neighborhood?

The Queen Anne Community Council is holding its monthly meeting at 7:15 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, May 4 at Queen Anne Manor at 100 Crockett Street. And for the first time in months the West Mercer Place debate is not a headlining topic for the meeting – just last week the QACC voted to endorse one of five alternative plans SDOT presented to the community for the project. Here’s a look at what items are on the agenda this month:

• 7:30 p.m. – Adoption of Agenda; Approval of Minutes; Treasurer’s Report
• 7:35 p.m. – Open Forum – Comments
• 7:45 p.m. – Queen Anne Tree Tours- Judy Leshner
• 8:00 p.m. – Green Seattle Partnership – Michael Yadrick, Parks
• 8:20 p.m. – Committee Reports

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

• 9:25 p.m. – New Business
• 9:30 p.m. – Adjournment

Upcoming community meetings:

• District Council: Monday, May 9, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
• Parks Committee: Tuesday, May 10 – Queen Anne Manor 7:30 p.m.
• LURC/Planning: Monday, May 16 – Queen Anne Manor 7:00 p.m.
• NAC: Wednesday, May 18 – Port Headquarters, 4:30 p.m.
• Transportation: Wednesday, May 25 – Queen Anne Manor, 7:30 p.m.
• QACC: June 1 – Queen Anne Manor 7:15 p.m.

The QACC would like to remind meeting attendees to please sign in at the front desk when they arrive at Queen Anne Manor. The meeting will be held in the social room this month. To get there take the elevator at the end of the hall down to the basement. The social room will be at the end of the hallway on the left-hand side. Attendees are also reminded to please leave the building as soon as possible after the meeting in order to not disturb QA Manor residents.

Last year Interbay was on the short list to become a semi-permanent home for Nickelsville, Seattle’s roaming tent city, but Mayor McGinn would like to see the residents move to SODO. That may not happen and according to Publicola, Interbay may be back on the list. The nearly 100 people must move on May 15th from their current home in Lake City. The group spent several months in Magnolia before moving along to the University District.

Queen Anne View has partnered with the Common Language Project and the Entrepreneurial Journalism class at the University of Washington. In this multi-media presentation, Katie Melton, Ann Trigg and Allison Barrett go inside Nickelsville to learn more about the group.

Continue reading: Nickelsville a city on the move

French exchange program Monde Nouveaux is looking for host families in the Queen Anne area to provide home-stays for students studying English this summer. Students range in age from 14 to 18 and want to live like an American teen for three weeks during June, July and August. Host families do not need to know French. For more information contact Jamin Henderson at j.henderson33@hotmail.com or 360-661-0552.

A group of student filmmakers from The Center School here in Queen Anne won the 48-Hour Film Off at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) this past weekend, earning along with the title, more than $3,500 in prizes.

The victorious team from The Center School competed against teens from seven other western Washington state high schools in the fifth annual NFFTY festival, founded by Ballard High School alum Jesse Harris.

The student filmmakers were given 48 hours to produce a three minute film from start to finish. The assignment was to produce a movie on the theme ”Show us your Jam,” incorporating a musical instrument, a scene of artistic inspiration, and the line “behind the performer.”

The Center School team filmed all day in Magnolia. While most teams went the expected route and made films with musical themes, The Center School team took the assignment literally and made a movie about jam – with hilarious results.

The movies were shown at the SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, and the winning entry was announced to a packed house. The Center School entry, “Jam the Jam,” was the favorite of both the audience and the judges.

The Center School was awarded $2,500 for the school’s film program, which is under the direction of Ms. Erin Katz. In addition, senior and Magnolia resident Riley Moffitt, who was the film’s primary writer, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to The Prodigy Camp, a screenwriting program for promising teen filmmakers. Team members also got an assortment of other merchandise including a GoPro “wearable” video camera for the school film program.

The movie is not yet available online but we will provide a link when we get one from the filmmakers. Congratulations to The Center School for their big win!