This is the last week to get things done at the library before budget cuts force the entire library system to shut down until after Labor Day. The Queen Anne Branch and all other branches of the Seattle Public Libraries will close on Monday, August 30th and reopen Tuesday, September 7th.
During the closure most library services will be unavailable:
No materials will be due and no fines will be accrued.
The last day to check out Library items before the closure is 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.
No book drops will be open. Do not leave books and materials outside Library locations during the closure. The book drop at the Queen Anne Branch will close at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28th and reopen at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7th.
Limited access to the online catalog. Patrons will be able to search the catalog and check their Library record but will not be able to place holds on items. No staff will be working to process the thousands of books and materials that customers normally put on hold.
Limited access to the website (www.spl.org). The online calendar, databases, downloadable books and media, digital special collections, podcasts, SPL Mobile app and blogs will be available, but other online information and features will not be available. No staff members will be working to maintain the site or troubleshoot problems.
No Library computers will be available. You will not be able to reserve a computer for the week the Library system is closed.
No access to Wi-Fi.
No book group kits will be sent, received or returned during the one-week closure. Kits will be sent to libraries as usual on the last Wednesday of the month, Aug. 25. Kits not available then will be sent as soon as possible after Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6.
No programs or events in Library meeting rooms.
No TeleCirc, the Library’s telephone circulation service.
No Quick Information telephone service.
No Text a Librarian, e-mail a librarian or chat with a librarian.
No Mobile Services.
No parking in Library garages. The Central Library, Capitol Hill Branch and Ballard Branch garages will be closed.
1) No further charges will appear on your credit card and all credit card information will be destroyed.
2) No memberships will be transferred. We are working out deals with all the other local health clubs to assist in an easy transition to another club. Please keep your Om keytag, this will be your proof to the other club. If you do not have it anymore, your contract will work too.
We have contacted one clubs, so far, that are offering discounts at this time (we will contact the rest Friday, July 16th and will post thereafter)
LA Fitness- 1 month free trial (no obligation to join). We are working on the details regarding membership dues. LA Fitness’s dues are around $65/monthly however we are going to get them down to Om’s membership dues. You will probably have no enrollment/processing, as well. You are invited to try out LA Fitness, to make sure that you like their club and that they are convenient for you. LA Fitness is Currently having a member’s Summer Party this weekend so stop by and check them out. They are committed to welcoming all former Om members.
3) All outstanding dues/fees are in the processed of being refunded. Insurance will be processing this so it may take time. Refunds will be issued in check form and will be send to the address on file.
4) Any personal belongings in the lockers has been itemized and placed in storage. If you have any personal belongings that you want back, email (info@omqueenanne.com) your locker #, lock #, and your mailing address. If you do not know your locker/lock #, provide a description of the belongings in the locker and we will do our best to find it. If you have already sent an email requesting your personal belongings, we have received it and will be processing it shortly. If we have any questions, we will contact you.
Om’s closure attracted the attention of the local TV media, who contacted the owner for an interview on Friday. For more information on the water damage that led to Om’s closing, watch this KOMO4 report:
Those of you who are members of the relatively new Om Lifestyle & Wellness have probably already heard the news: the Lower Queen Anne gym has closed its doors. For good.
Om, which has been closed for the past week and a half due to water damage, was expected to reopen yesterday, Monday, July 12, as per a message on the its website. However yesterday afternoon a mass email was sent out by the owner to the gym’s members (myself included) announcing that the closure would be permanent:
Dear Om Members,
First, I apologize for the delayed communications regarding the current issues with the club. We have not been able to access any of our databases in order to contact anyone. As most of the older members are aware, Om has sustained multiple incidents of major water damage over the past 9 months, as well as, constant water leaks that continue to destroy the facility. We have been trying to work with the landlord, Archstone Smith, over the past several months in order to resolve these issues as well as the underlaying issues of the structure damage to the building. Archstone has refused to adequately address these issues.
This has forced Om to make a decision in the best interest of our members and the business. We have decided the only available alternative is to shut down the club and transfer all membership to another local club.
We will have further information available, today or tomorrow, regarding the membership transfers.
It is with much disappointment that we had to come to this decision, however, we did not have any other real alternative. I understand that some members are upset with the past and current issues, and if it was under my power, this would not happen.
I greatly apologize for this inconvenience.
Ryan Matthews
Om Lifestyle and Wellness
I haven’t heard anything else, but will keep the community posted on which gym Om will be transferring its memberships to, if there will be refunds, and how members may go about retrieving any personal items that may have been left inside the gym (as we’ve heard that all of the equipment has already been removed from the building). If you have any more information or are a member who would like to share your questions or concerns, please comment below.
Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be closing the two right-hand southbound lanes of 15th Avenue West, from West Emerson Street to just south of the Emerson Street Overpass, between 11 p.m. on Monday, July 5 and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6 so crews may install a License Plate Reader (LPR) camera.
According to SDOT, the camera will enhance and expand SDOT’s existing system, and will be used to provide travel times for key corridors. All license plate data is discarded once the travel time information has been recorded, SDOT said.
During the closer, one southbound lane on 15th Ave W will remain open. The work will not impact the on-ramp from West Emerson Street. An area will also be reserved for Metro Transit to access the bus stop just south of Emerson on 15th Avenue West. Uniformed officers will be on site to help guide traffic.
Two more Parks and Recreation furlough days are coming up this week and next, on Friday, May 28 and Tuesday, June 1, as part of ten unpaid off days City of Seattle employees are taking this year due in an attempt to help fill the budget gap.
Seattle Parks and Recreation has worked hard to schedule furlough days in a way that has the smallest possible impact on customers, and that provides as much coverage as possible. Parks will not take furloughs in July and August – the peak season for park users.
The following facilities and services will be closed on Friday, May 28:
Grounds maintenance
Community centers (except child care and late night programs, which will still operate)
Swimming pools
Environmental Learning Centers
Lifelong Recreation (except Food and Fitness programs, which will still operate)
Business Service Center
The following facilities and services will be closed on Tuesday, June 1:
Administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration)
Planning and Development Division
Magnuson Park office
All Youth Violence Prevention Initiative sites, also known as Extended Hours Program sites, will furlough today, Wednesday, May 26. In addition, all facilities will be closed on Monday, May 31 for Memorial Day. On both furlough days there will be no trash pick-up, and no bathroom cleaning or maintenance. Park maintenance staff will be on duty on Memorial Day to empty trash cans and clean restrooms.
“We’ve done everything we can to limit the impacts of the furlough on our patrons, customers and visitors; however, the public will experience parks with diminished maintenance on Friday, May 28,” said Christopher Williams, Acting Superintendent. “If park patrons encounter overflowing trash cans, we encourage you to pack out your own trash. We are asking the community to help us keep our parks clean on the few days this year that we are not able to clean them ourselves.”
The Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for most of Saturday and Sunday for its semi-annual inspection. Both decks of the viaduct will be closed from the Battery Street tunnel to Spokane Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. During the closure, WSDOT and SDOT will coordinate maintenance and preservation work. The Washington State Department of Transportation says to “expect increased congestion on all major north-south routes during the closure and plan accordingly – leave early, carpool, vanpool or take transit. Watch conditions at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or get voice-activated driver information on 511.”
Seattle Parks and Recreation is taking another furlough day this Friday, March 12 to help fill the budget gap. That means all community centers, swimming pools, and environmental learning centers will be closed. (Child care and late-night programs will still operate at the community centers.)
On Monday, March 15, Park Department administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration) will be closed.
Golf courses will operate as usual, as will the Seattle Aquarium.
It’s Presidents Day which means schools, post offices, government offices and some liquor stores are closed (except the Queen Anne store and these (.pdf) others, which are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Most banks are also taking the holiday and parking on city streets is free. Transfer stations are open though, and Metro is also running on their “When no UW” schedule.
When trekking out and around Queen Anne next week, keep in mind that SDOT has planned repairs on several bridges surrounding the neighborhood that may delay your commute on and off the hill.
The westbound, left lane of the Emerson St. overpass at 15th Ave W will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19 to Saturday, Jan. 23, so that crews may repair a concrete deck. From 9: a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19 through Thursday, Jan. 21 the traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on the Queen Anne Bridge while crews make concrete repairs. The northbound, right curb lane of the Fremont Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20 for maintenance work. And finally, from 10 a.m to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20 through Friday, Jan. 22, and Monday and Tuesday of the following week, Jan. 25 and 26, the southbound, right lane on the Ballard Bridge will be closed for guard rail repairs.
Although SDOT has set the schedule, these dates and times are subject to change “in the event that other unplanned, urgent needs arise.”
The game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos is expected to bring 45,000 to Qwest Field on Saturday night. The game starts at 7:30 p.m., so watch out for pre-game traffic.
Expansion joint repairs on the Aurora Bridge will kick traffic down to one lane each way on Sunday night, from 5 p.m. to midnight., and two lanes each way from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the rest of the week. More on that here.
The Battery Street Tunnel on the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for cleaning of the stormwater collection and treatment systems between 10 p.m. on Sunday, August 23, and 5 a.m. on Monday, August 24. Detours will take traffic off the Viaduct at Western Avenue, and then back on the 99 just past the tunnel.
At 7:30 p.m. on Sunday over 400 participants will gather for the LakeUnion 10K race. The race starts and finishes at Westlake Avenue N and Aloha Street, and goes clockwise around Lake Union on sidewalks, bike trails and streets. Although there will be no street closures, traffic is expected to be congested around the lake-side course.
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Those of you who are members of the relatively new 