Police are looking for the driver of a vehicle involved in a hit and run on Dexter Avenue N Thursday that sent one bicyclist to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

At approximately 3:44 p.m. on July 28 police were called to Dexter Avenue N near N Thomas Street for a reported vehicle/bicyle hit and run collision. According to a report by a nearby witness, the vehicle was attempting to turn left onto Thomas from Dexter and sped up to make the turn before a line of oncoming cars approached, hitting the bicyclist crossing Thomas.

It was first reported that the bicyclist was fatally wounded in the accident, but police later confirmed that he/she was transported to Harborview Medical Center. From the SPD Blotter:

The involved motor vehicle fled the scene and remains at large.  The at-large vehicle is described as a brown, American-made SUV with tinted windows and a chrome roof rack.

Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

The Puget Sound Regional Council has secured $5.2 million in federal funding for transportation improvements in the Mercer Corridor, according to a statement released this afternoon. The PSRC says the funding will go toward constructing and improving bicycle lanes on Roy Street, and sidewalk and pavement reconstruction on Mercer Street.

“Helping communities secure federal transportation funding is one of the key roles of the PSRC,” said PSRC President Josh Brown in a press release. “This project rose to the top on its merits and can not only deliver improvements for the future, but help grow jobs in the near term.”

From the PSRC:

PSRC develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth, transportation and economic development planning within King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. The Council is composed of over 80 entities, including all four counties, cities and towns, ports, state and local transportation agencies and tribal governments within the region. In 2012, PSRC will select projects for the roughly $400 million in federal funds the region can expect to receive over the next few years.

Read more about the PSRC and its transportation improvement work in the region here.

A New York style pizza place is going into the Lumen building in Lower Queen Anne, in the same complex as QFC and Genki Sushi.

According to a notice on the door, New York Pizza & Bar is renting the space at 500 Mercer Street, Suites 2-4, and is currently doing construction in preparation for opening.

New York Pizza & Bar currently has two locations in Washington State – one in Bellingham and another in Lynden. We’re waiting to hear back from the owners on when they plan to open the new Seattle location.

* Thanks to Patrick and Jenn for the tip!

After a decade heading up Queen Anne-based non-profit Successful Schools in Action, which provides educational support, tutoring services and programs to seven public schools in the Queen Anne and Magnolia neighborhoods, executive director Lisa Moore is stepping down from her roll leading the organization.

“I am as passionate about the model and mission of SSIA as I have ever been, but after 10 years I’ve come to the difficult decision that it is time for me to seek new opportunities. I have seen how SSIA’s work has produced clear benefits to students, strong partnerships, and a community that is more engaged in and supportive of our public schools. I am extremely proud of SSIA’s accomplishments,” Moore said in a statement released Wednesday.

Moore will stay on to help SSIA through the coming transition period, while the organization’s board will meet to develop a plan to guide the next phase of SSIA.

“As a founder of SSIA and the only Executive Director in the organization’s 10-year history, Lisa has been an instrumental part of the core of the organization. Our success has been in large part due to her commitment to public education and our neighborhood schools. We will greatly miss Lisa’s leadership and vision,” SSIA Board President Steve Havas wrote in letter to supporters and friends of the organization.

Find out more about SSIA and the services it provides in our neighborhood here.

The Seattle Police Department West Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Francisco Tello sent the following note out to block watch captains in Queen Anne and Magnolia yesterday regarding the arrest of a suspect believed to be connected to a number of recent burglaries in both neighborhoods:

Good news! A suspect that is believed to be responsible for recent burglaries in Queen Anne and Magnolia has been arrested.

On July 18, 2011 at about 11:00 PM, officers responded to the area of Thorndyke Ave N and West Blaine Street to investigate a recklessly driven vehicle. With good vehicle description and direction of travel by the caller, the responding officers were able to locate the vehicle that crashed a few blocks away. The officers located the driver who was taken into custody. Further investigation by the officers revealed that the vehicle was reported stolen. West Precinct detectives processed the vehicle and found suspected stolen items taken from a previous burglary. Because of great work by alert citizens, responding officers and detectives, the suspect is in custody and facing multiple charges, including auto theft. The property found in the vehicle has been returned to the rightful owner, and no additional property has been recovered at this time. West Precinct detectives are still analyzing evidence to link the suspect to additional burglaries in the area and will contact victims once such evidence is received.

Notification of the arrest could not be sent earlier until West Precinct detectives collected sufficient evidence to file charges.

We would like to thank you and your Block Watch members for your collaboration during this latest burglary spree. We encourage you to keep your Block Watches active, and help your neighbors secure their residences if they need assistance.

Night Out is Tuesday, August 2. If you have not registered and wish to, visit our Seattle Police website. While visiting our website look at the Seasonal Safety link for tips on securing your residence.

Vendors, musicians and food lovers will be out in full force at both the Queen Anne Farmers Market and Interbay Farmers Market this afternoon. Check out what’s on the schedule for both neighborhood markets today.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market:

• 4 p.m. – In the Chef Tent: Chef Jess Dowdell, of Whidbey Island’s ca’buni cafe, a treasure tucked in the woods outside Langley, Wa.
• 5 to 7 p.m. – In the Music Tent: Jam out with the Canote Brothers. Brothers Greg and Jere play American Roots music with a little quirk! Fiddle and guitar, and a pair of great voices!
• 6 p.m. – End of Crockett Street: Market SURPRISE!
• Check out what’s fresh at the market this week here.

At the Interbay Farmers Market:

• There is no cooking demonstration at the Interbay market today, but they’ll be plenty going on and lots of fresh eats!
• Check out what’s fresh at the market this week here.

As always the Queen Anne Farmers Market will take place from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. The Interbay Farmers Market will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Interbay Urban Center, located at 1819 15th Ave. W.

A car ran through a planting strip, over a sidewalk and off an embankment this afternoon, smashing into a building at 333 Elliott Ave W., the home of Seattle-based Big Fish Games in Lower Queen Anne.

Though there is no official word yet on what caused the crash, the driver of the black Honda sedan was reportedly not injured in the incident.

A witness snapped this photo of the crash, and said this about the incident: “Excitement at my work… driver falls asleep, crosses 2 lanes of oncoming traffic, and crashes car into one of our buildings.” Whether or not driver did in fact fall asleep at the wheel is unknown at this time. We’re waiting on a call back from the Seattle Police Department’s public information officer for details.

* Thanks to Jai for forwarding along the photo!

While we await word on whether or not King County Metro will cut bus service here in Queen Anne, there is news about a number of proposed streetcar services in the works citywide, including one that would connect Lower Queen Anne to downtown, South Lake Union and First Hill, and another that would link downtown to Loyal Heights via SLU, Fremont and Ballard.

A preview of the report, which serves as a blueprint for the city’s transit planning for the next 20 years, was presented to the City Council’s Transportation committee on Tuesday. A draft of the full report is expected to be presented in September, according to a report by the SeattlePI.

According to the plan, two rail lines are considered to be the preferred option for transit in the “downtown connector,” which includes Lower Queen Anne.

Line CC1 would connect downtown with Lower Queen Anne via streetcar, while CC2 would run between downtown and South Lake Union via SLU’s existing rail tracks. From the looks of the map, it appears CC1 would run up 1st Ave N from S Jackson St. through Pioneer Square and Belltown to Queen Anne, with proposed stations at Denny Way and 1st Ave N, and potential terminal stations west of Seattle Center at 1st Ave N and Harrison, and at the base of the hill at Queen Anne Ave N and Mercer Street/Roy. Both the CC1 and CC2 streetcar lines would then connect to the South Lake Union Streetcar and forthcoming First Hill Streetcar, which is set to open in 2013.

The plans also outlines a Ballard streetcar line would cost about $327 million to build, including a new rail bridge across the ship canal (which would cost about $70 million) and a retrofitting of the Fremont Bridge (which would cost $10 to $12 million). Based on the map, it looks like the proposed rail line would run up and down 36th Street through Fremont en route to Ballard/Loyal Heights in one direction and South Lake Union/downtown in the other.

Of course, don’t get too excited, it’ll take a while to get this up and running. The entire plan is set-up to unfold over the next 20 years.

You can check out much more details on the plan via this PDF link.

“The businesses featured in the campaign all deliver one-of-a-kind experiences and range from wine shops to butchers to the home of one of the largest video collections in the world,” the press release read.

You can also follow Only in Seattle on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook.

Just one month after Nucleus hair salon shuttered its doors, a new business is opening up in the same Lower Queen Anne shopfront, and perhaps not surprisingly, it’s a restaurant. Mo’s Sub Co. will be “coming soon” to the space at 621 Queen Anne Ave N., according to the sign in the window, but beyond that little else is known.

There is currently no website or any online information for the business, and no permit applications have come through the city for that address. But whoever “Mo” is, we’re guessing he’s not from around here, considering the misspelling of Queen Anne (sans the last ‘e’) in the sign.

Still, in the current economy, where vacant storefronts have been sitting empty and idle for months at a time before a new retailer moves in (if ever – just look at both of Queen Anne’s former Blockbusters: the Upper location was left empty for almost two years before reopening as Umpqua Bank earlier this month, and the Lower QA location is still hollow from its March closure), it’s surprising to see a business closure turn around into a new opening so quickly. What do you think – is this a sign that things are looking up for Uptown’s business district?

• evo Unveils Obey/Shepard Fairey Art Wall
• Fort Lawton may become national park
• Hundreds gather in Ballard for Norway victims
• Fremont mother who lost children in fire files claim against Seattle Housing Authority
• Get your detective hat on to do the Gumshoe
• Garage transformed into sausage-making facility
• Local mother reports that son got Swimmers’ Itch in Green Lake on Friday

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting a petition to the Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) to create extended service hour areas within local jurisdictions on Monday. The proposal was originally proposed by Mayor Mike McGinn as part of his new Seattle Nightlife Initiative, which aims to maintain public safety and improve support for local businesses by providing greater flexibility to adapt to market demands from business district to business district.

“A vibrant, safe nightlife is good for business and good for public safety,” Mayor Mike McGinn said in a press release Monday. “The City Council’s approval of this resolution follows a broad public outreach over the past year about how extended liquor service hours should work in Seattle… I’m confident that by working together with the Washington State Liquor Control Board, we can achieve our goals of a more safe and vibrant city.”

The resolution launches a two-step process to extend service hours:

• The resolution asks the LCB to build a regulatory framework to consider and approve petitions from cities to allow extended liquor service.
• If these proposed rule changes are adopted, Mayor McGinn, the City Council, and the City Attorney can then work with the public to craft a specific proposal for extended hours service in Seattle.

A number of other local leaders have come out in support of the initiative, including City Council president Richard Conlin, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and City Attorney Pete Holmes.

“We believe that this initiative will strengthen public safety as well as promote a vibrant nightlife. We fully support this effort,“ Diaz said in a statement. Given that police resources are often challenged at Seattle’s blanket 2 a.m. closing time, many in law enforcement say this, along with other components of the Initiative, will help them maintain public safety and allow them to deploy officers more effectively. Last August the city passed another initiative aimed at helping combat difficult closing times allowing officers to dish out $100 tickets for fighting, threatening others, or making excessive or “unreasonable noise” in public areas between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.

“The City Attorney’s Office will work with the Mayor, SPD and the City Council to ensure that the proposed rule changes provide comprehensive safeguards that will ensure public safety,” Holmes said. “The extended hours program will succeed if we anticipate and plan for problems that may arise.”

According to the city, the rule change application will be submitted to the Liquor Control Board in the next few weeks, at which point the LCB will have 60 days to decide whether or not it will initiate the rule making process. Mayor McGinn says he is hopeful that the extended service hours proposal will be approved and ready for implementation in Seattle in 2012.

Commuters should expect even more lane restrictions along Dexter Ave N on Wednesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 28 of this week – SDOT and its contractor will be repaving the construction ridden thoroughfare between McGraw Street and Garfield on both days, weather permitting.

Crews will begin paving work at 7 a.m. on Wednesday on the west side of McGraw Street, moving south as work progresses. Work should conclude by 5 p.m. each day. From SDOT:

Shortly after paving is complete, temporary traffic markings and striping will be applied.

During working hours one lane in each direction will be maintained.  There may be times when traffic will be reduced to one lane for both directions with flaggers at either end.  Parking and loading zone restrictions will be in place near the work zone and its approaches. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

Also on July 27, Dexter Way North between State Route 99 and Dexter Avenue North will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This project is funded by the “Bridging the Gap” transportation levy approved by Seattle voters in November 2006.

To learn more about the Dexter repaving project, check out SDOT’s project website.

With national Night Out just around the corner, its time to start planning for your own block party, or finding a nearby event to attend. Lower Queen Anne will be celebrating neighborly love at its own Neighborhood Night Out event at Counterbalance Park on Tuesday, August 2, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Uptown Alliance is hosting the event. They’ll be snacks from nearby eateries, activities, clothing and food drives, and everything else you need to get to know your neighbors on a sunny (hopefully) August evening. From the Uptown Alliance:

This nationwide free event invites neighbors to meet in parks and on closed streets. A popular activity from the 2009 event, free “Bite of Uptown” food samples from local restaurants will be served on the hour.

Non-perishable food donations are requested for Uptown’s local food banks. The free clothing exchange is also returning. Residents bring clean, lightly used clothes and accessories to swap/trade. If you can use it, take it. No one is required to bring something or to take something. Remainders will be donated to local shelters. Board and card games plus storytelling will be available. Information tables from local organizations are included.

If you’d like to volunteer or lead an activity at Queen Anne’s Neighborhood Night Out, or just get more information, please leave a message for the Uptown Alliance at 206-499-2795.

The weather forecast has been calling for more clouds and cooler temperatures, but we weren’t expecting the booming thunder and bright lightning!

Thunderstorms in July? Just what we need! I understand that summertime rain happens, but we just got our sunny days back… OK, I’m done whining now. Here’s hoping forecasters are right, and we’re back to the warm summer sun later this week. In the meantime, here’s a look at the storm from the KIRO7 doppler radar as of 8:01 a.m. Looks like more rain is headed our way.

On top of that some folks over in Sunset Hill in Ballard have already lost power this morning.

The forecast, according to KING5, is still calling for highs in the 70s, with cooler temps later the next couple of days followed by clouds and sun.

The remaining staff of the SeattlePI, the web-only news site that has continued on after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its last paper edition in March of 2009, will now be moving out of the historic globe building on the city’s waterfront, according to a report by the Associated Press Friday.

* Photo by Joe Mabel, used with permission via Creative Commons license.

Over the years the PI globe has become a Seattle landmark, no doubt helped by its picture perfect location poised on the edge Elliott Bay and right next to Myrtle Edwards Park.

* Photo by and courtesy of camknows, via Flickr.

From the AP:

Hearst Corp. spokesman Paul Luthringer says the site’s lease expires on July 31, prompting a move to a larger space near the current location. He says the new building has the appropriate technical infrastructure, and he adds that the site will keep some office space at the building.

The 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased printing on March 17, 2009. A day later, seattlepi.com was launched.

At the time, questions arose about the future of Post-Intelligencer’s 18-ton rotating globe. So far it has stayed spinning atop the building, but three city councilmembers are pushing for the globe to be designated a historical landmark.

The Museum of History & Industry has also negotiated with Hearst about taking stewardship of the globe, but no agreement has been reached.

Oliver, an 11-year-old grey and white striped tabby, has been missing from his home in the 2100 block of 4th Ave W since Wednesday, July 20. His owners worry that Oliver, who is an indoor cat who doesn’t like being outside, is lost and either unable to find his way home, or too scared to try. Have you seen him? From Oliver’s owners:

He has a small head and a big body and has a weepy eye due to an infection. He is an indoor kitty and is lost. He doesn’t have a good sense of smell and most likely cannot smell his way home. He does not have a collar but is chipped. He meows a lot and is friendly. We miss him very much! If you see Oliver please call: 206-890-2172 OR 206-499-1908

“I know this isn’t “news” but we are so sad that he’s been gone so long,” Oliver’s owner Portia writes. “He’s an indoor kitty and very scared of the outdoors and we afraid that he’s out there and too scared to come home (he likes to hide).”

If you’ve seen Oliver or have an idea of where he might be, please call either number above.