Beautiful Weekend for an Opening Day of Boating Season!

Posted on May 7, 2012 by ktiernan

This Saturday marked a day much anticipated and celebrated by Puget Sound waterfront lovers everywhere; the opening day of boating season this year landed on Cinco de Mayo and we had beautiful sunny weather and coronas clinking in the air to send the boats away from the docks. Whether you have a boat or not, most Seattleites appreciate a beautiful day spent out on Lake Washington. The Opening Day Paradeon Montlake Cut was an excuse for many to get outdoors and come together and celebrate that Seattle is actually a city with one of the highest number of boats per capita in the country!

photo courtesy of mynorthwest.com

Whether you’re in the market to buy or simply to enjoy the perks of having a friend or colleague with a boat, spring in Seattle has finally arrived and people are hopeful it will stick around.

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Mother’s Day is Right Around the Corner: Best Gift Ideas!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by ktiernan

Do you find yourself stumped every year, scrambling around to try and find the perfect gift for your Mother, who seems to already have everything you can imagine? Do you wind up getting something safe and uninspiring year after year, resorting to a 99 cent card and hand written poem you have stored on your computer’s hard drive?  I can safely assume we’ve all been guilty at one point in time of last minute shopping when we’re down to the wire and wind up with an impulse buy, maybe something that you yourself would enjoy a little more than Mom. This year it might be time to plan a week or two ahead, and get your Mother something unexpected. Here is a list of things you might find inspiring to get for her this Mother’s Day weekend:

1. Is she a fabulous cook? Whether she needs it or not, a cooking class from Seattle Hipcooks in South Lake Union might be the perfect treat.

2. Does your mom love jewelry and recycling? why not get her a recycled sterling silver necklace from Uncommon Goods.

3. Is she a tech whiz? If your mom has had her new Ipad 3 longer than you have, get her a new Mother’s Day inspired Ipad case!

4. Is she hopelessly in Love with Seattle? Get her something personally homemade from Etsy!

5. Is she remodeling? The new West Elm in Seattle is full of inspiring decor she’ll love, or grab her a giftcard.

6. Every Mom appreciates a good musical; take her to the theatre! The 5th Avenue’s summer schedule is out now.

7. Does she have a green thumb? Whether she does or not lend her a hand! Help her garden grow by getting her the best fragrant plants in her garden.

8. Still stumped…check her pinterest account and see what she’s pinning these days, or if she has a wishlist board waiting for you!

9. Or if you’re on a budget, here is a list of free Mother’s Day activities from CBS that you can take her to and enjoy a day just the two of you.

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Help Give the Tigers’ Lair a Remodel at Woodland Park Zoo

Posted on May 2, 2012 by ktiernan

The Tiger and Sloth bear exhibits at the Woodland Park Zoo haven’t seen any updates in the past 60 years and it’s about time they received some  fresh new interiors! The Zoo is planning the biggest design they’ve seen since the 1990s and plans to build a brand spankin new state-of-the-art exhibit for the Malayan Tigers, sloth bears, small clawed otters, birds, and much more over two acres long! This new exhibit is also hoped to shed light on the crucial need for tiger advocates to help save wild tigers, whose future is unknown and at risk.

Donate towards the Malayan Tiger Habitat, photo courtesy of the Woodland Park Zoo

If you’ve been to the Woodland Park Zoo, and love to see the animals they host living in comfort, the Zoo would like to extend a little encouragement for you to pass along the word that the Zoo will need the community’s help in funding this new sanctuary for their furry friends. The Zoo is currently running a campaign, asking friends to pledge $10 a person, “Give 10 For Tigers” and encourages everyone who donates to ask ten friends to pledge as well. They have $200,000 left to raise in order to hire builders and start construction and every dollar donated is a step closer to their goal. If they raise $100,000 by midnight on May 25th, a local family has even graciously pledged to donate the other $100,000 necessary to fund the new tiger palace! If you’d like more information on how to donate, please visit the Woodland Park Zoo website.

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Construction Scheduled for Mercer Street Next Week

Posted on April 27, 2012 by ktiernan

This week the Seattle Department of Transportation issued a statement indicating that there will be nighttime lane closures for the East end of the Mercer project beginning next week. Drivers can expect delays starting Monday evening, and here is the scoop on whats happening:

One Northbound turn lane  onto Fairview Ave N will shut down at 8PM Monday April 20th, and Crews will work through the night until 6:00am Tuesday morning. The closure will give construction crews the opportunity to install an underground pipe across Valley Street at Boren Ave N.

On May 2-3 closures will happen between 9th Ave N and Westlake Ave N, ad westbound Broad st will be closed at night again, between 8:00pm-6:00am. Commuters traveling West on Valley street will be detoured North on Westlake to 8th Ave N then South on 9th Ave N to reconnect with Southbound Broad St. Be prepared for delays next week, and please find the full construction report here.

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Center for Wooden Boats Opens 2nd Store in Lake Union

Posted on April 23, 2012 by ktiernan

The folks over at the Center for Wooden Boats announced that they will be opening their second store front next weekend next to gasworks in the North Lake Union neighborhood. They plan to open the facility on the old Metro Transit property at 1475 N Northlake Place and have been in the construction process for quite some time now. The grand opening is planned for Cinco De Mayo, and owners say that the new facility is mean’t to be a workshop and warehouse, where historic boats will be brought for some much needed tender love and care; better known as restoration.

At this time the property is land based only, but plans for future public access to the waterfront are in the works. There will be a public showing of the facility on Saturday May 5th from 10am-2pm.

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Celebrate Earth Day This Weekend!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by ktiernan

The Wallingford Chamber of Commerce is helping the Wallingford neighborhood celebrate Earth Day this weekend with it’s much anticipated 3rd annual “Operation Beautification Wallingford” on Saturday. The clean up crews will be gathering from 11am to 2pm around the Wallingford Center to begin cleaning, and will also host face painting, a bake sale and live music. If you’d like to help beautify the neighborhood but aren’t able to work outdoors, you can donate items to the bakes sale! All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Wallingford Community Senior Center and the Chamber for their endeavors and dedication to keeping the community clean, and to “eat, live and work well.” If you’d like more information on volunteering in and around Wallingford for Earth Day, please find more information here.

Photo Courtesy of theCrimsonCrow.com

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Famous Sculptor of Fremont’s “Waiting for the Interurban” Dies at 86

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Casey Losh

Most know the Seattle sculptor Richard Beyer for his public artwork: “Waiting for the Interurban.”  The Fremont sculpture features five adults, one with a baby in her arms, and a dog with the face of the Fremont civic leader who opposed the placement of the statute.  The sculpture has delighted Seattlelites on the corner of North 34th Street and Fremont Avenue North since 1979.

Madrona LibraryMany probably do not know of Beyer’s other work such as the well-endowed bull sculpture commissioned by the city of Ellensburg or the Seattle neighborhood of Madrona’s artwork The Peaceable Kingdom in front of the Madrona Library on 33rd & Union.  Like the face of the dog in Fremont, Beyer’s artwork often had hidden meaning beyond what the naked eye would first glean.  For example, the aluminum sculpture in Madrona was to show how the Seattle neighborhood could live together as one in some turbulent time in its history.  The theme is roughly based on biblical passage, Isaiah 11:6-9, with each animal representing a part of Madrona: the pig = the police, the panther = the Black Panthers, the wolf = the aggressive street youth, and the sheep = the neighborhood elderly.

Beyer shaped creative art that could be enjoyed by everyone.  Click the link to read more about Beyer’s life in the Seattle Times.

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Men Posed as Construction Workers Steal Metal from Old SLU Building

Posted on April 12, 2012 by ktiernan

Police have stated that a group of men dressed as construction workers have been stripping and stealing nearly $40,000 dollars worth of metal from an older building in South Lake Union. The group has managed to walk away with copper pipes and aluminum strips from the building which is located on Fairview Avenue North and Thomas Street. The stolen goods are not only worth thousands of dollars, they are also crucial for power. The thieves reportedly shut down power to the building while stealing, and are most likely selling the scrap metal to scrapyards around the city. Police have stated that most metal recyclers are not required to report purchases, which makes it very difficult to track metal theft. There have been no reportings of the scrap metal thieves thus far, for more information on this topic, view an extended article here.

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Downtown Could get First Public Elementary School in Years

Posted on April 9, 2012 by ktiernan

After months of discussions between city planners, business developers and school district officials, the school district administrators have acknowledged the need for a school in Northern section of downtown Seattle, and have agreed to participate in a feasibility study. Discussions in the early stages have stressed how the building would be financed, where it would be located, when it would open and which grade levels it will hold. In the Seattle Public School’s next construction levy, there are plans to open a 500 student elementary school in the South Lake Union area by 2019. According to the Seattle Times, the $32 million proposal is enough to build the school, but not necessarily enough to buy the land to put it on in the neighborhood. Developers have sought property donations for the project, but nothing has been set in stone just yet. For more information on this project, visit Komonews.

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Hop Around Seattle: Best Easter Events this Weekend

Posted on April 6, 2012 by ktiernan

The Easter Bunny has been heavily sought out, and spotted at several locations around Seattle, such as the Westfield Mall, Northgate Mall, Bellevue Square, and even Yuen Lui! Spring has finally snuck up on us, and with the beginning of the season comes  a heavy influx of pastel cardigans, and alot of tooth aches from too much jelly beans, and impulse cadbury egg purchases. We all love watching the little ones run around filling up their baskets with eggs on a wild goose chase, but here is a hand full of activities for the whole family to partake this Easter weekend.

Snohomish Easter Parade
The Parade kicks off at 11am, with ample time for church goers to stop by on their way home.

Egg Hunt at Woodland Park Zoo’s Bunny Bounce
9:30-2pm, Along with the egg hunt, there will be Easter arts & crafts, events are free with Zoo admission, or membership. Guests can also watch zoo animals receive their own Easter basket of treats!

Seattle Easter Swing Dancing

West Coast swingers will be flocking to the spring Easter swing dance event this weekend, filled with dancing, $20,000 in prizes, and private lessons!

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