Espresso Stand Going In Italian Spaghetti House Lot

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Ryan


Today, a new espresso stand was being built in the parking lot of the closed Italian Spaghetti House property on Lake City Way. Headrush Coffee hopes to be open for business by June 1st said owner Zach Head, who will run the stand along with his brother. The free-standing building won’t need any plumbing and will tap electricity directly from the main power line. Head negotiated using the disused space, a deal by the new owners of the property to make some income from the empty building and surrounding lot which they purchased earlier this year after the restaurant closed in 2011.

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Kingfisher Clean Up

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Ryan

Lynnette Spear helps pull invasive ivy around Thornton Creek


On a beautiful Sunday morning in May, half a dozen or so Victory Heights residents hiked into the Kingfisher Natural Area (better known to most people as the Thornton Creek green belt) just south of 17th Ave NE to pull invasive species of plants. Future work parties are scheduled for May 20th starting at 10 AM. Come, get involved and see an unspoiled part of the city amidst the towering pines.

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Thornton Creek Work Parties Begin This Sunday

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Ryan

Green Seattle Partnerships announced work parties, Walking Under the Owls, on Thornton Creek (or its new designation, Kingfisher Natural Area) starting this Sunday, May 6th at 10 AM. Activities, which are open to all ages, include removing invasive species in a part of the park to be determined, and possible native specie planting. As well as complete enjoyment of the bird songs, flowing water and hard working friends… (the weather forecast for Sunday looks promising too).
It will run until noon, and then future work parties will continue every other Sunday through June (May 20th, June 3rd & June 17th) at the same time, 10 AM.
Volunteers should bring hand tools, gloves, eye protection, and water.
Meet at the creek where it intersects with the 17th Ave NE trail (see map). You can park near the trailhead located at intersection of 17th Ave. NE & 104th St. Note that 17th Ave is only accessible from the North and East.

For more information, contact Lynnette at Lynnettes@me.com or Rick at  therickrc@hotmail.com.
 

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More Resources For Bill Pierre Properties Development

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ryan

In addition to the meeting planned on May 19th to discuss the future development of the Bill Pierre properties in Lake City, there will be a chance to meet the team informally this Thursday, and a new blog has started.
May 3rd at Kaffeeklatch, 12513 Lake City Way NE, at 7 PM, Douglas Park Cooperative and Families for Lake City are hosting Marty Curry and UW interns. They will conduct  mental mapping exercises to help focus their vision of Lake City.
The same team have started also a blog, Lake City Way Visioning Project.
The meeting on Saturday, May 19th opens for registration at 8:30 AM and begins at 9 AM at Nathan Hale High School. Help come up with ideas for what should be done with the Bill Pierre properties and how it will impact Lake City Way for years to come.
 

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Northgate Way @ 5th Ave NE Closing This Weekend

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ryan

Pinehurst Seattle reports that the intersection of NE Northgate Way and 5th Ave NE will be closed mornings this Saturday and Sunday to move utilities in preparation for construction work. Read the full article.

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Wind Gusts Bring Down Nest, Kill Hatchlings

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Ryan


Wind gusts of up to 30-40 mph Monday dislodged a small bird nest from a tree on the 2000 block of NE 100th St. and killed three hatchlings. The weather service predicts the winds will gradually diminish tonight into Tuesday.
 
 

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Thornton Creek Alliance Meeting Highlights

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Ryan


Thursday night, the Thornton Creek Alliance met at the Meadowbrook Community Center for their general meeting and election. Highlights included a presentation by Rianne BeCraft from the National Wildlife Federation who talked about Certified Natural Habitats. This program is about changing the areas around our properties (everything from backyards to small parking strips) to be more plant and animal friendly with water sources, ground cover, food sources and sustainable gardening practices. Not only can residents get certified but entire communities can get together and be recognized.
This was followed by a short speech by Shoreline City Councilman Will Hall who announced that just that day Sound Transit had voted unanimously on the alignment for the Link Light Rail from Northgate to Lynnwood. Work would begin in 2017 and be completed in 2023, with the line running up the east side of Interstate 5 with two stops in between.  The planned stop at NE 145th Street was of particular interest to the TCA as Thornton Creek crosses directly under the freeway at that point at Jackson Park Golf Course. There is a movement to persuade Sound Transit to move the stop to NE 155th Street, and members were encouraged to contact the agency and express their opinion. For his part, Hall’s mantra was, “Change is scary.”
An e-mail from Greg Stevens, Seattle Public Utilities Senior Civil Engineer, was read. The Meadowbrook Pond Dredging and Improvement project is supposed to start this summer as well as the Thornton Creek Confluence. However he added they were “struggling with some permitting challenges that are putting our project schedule at risk” which might move one or both of them to summer 2013.
Closer to home in Victory Heights, Lynnette Spear reported the segment of Thornton Creek that passes through our area between Lake City Way and Northgate Way (officially designated the Kingfisher Natural Area) will have work parties on Sunday mornings beginning May 6th. We’ll post exact details as they are announced.
Elections were then held for various offices with 1 and 2 year terms, although no candidates were opposed and were voted in unanimously by the members present. Ruth Williams is taking over as President, Dass Adams as 1st Vice President, Frank Backus as Memebership Vice President and Tom Cunningham as Secretary.
Find out more about the Thornton Creek Alliance on their Facebook page, as they are still sorting out their website and obtaining a permanent URL for it.

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Place of Towering Firs Blog Archives Added

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Ryan

Prior to the Victory Heights Blog’s existence, you might have visited Lynnette Spear’s Place of Towering Firs blog. Lynnette is involved with the Thornton Creek Alliance and has helped organize the Victory Heights Garden Walkabouts for the past three years. She updated her blog frequently up until January of this year but recently has not had the time to work on it. After a joint meeting yesterday with Harriet Sanderson, one of the main promoters of Place of Towering Firs, it was decided to add their content to the Victory Heights Blog so residents can find all the information and articles in one central place. Thanks, Lynnette and Harriet, for being so generous and helping our blog grow and be a part of the Victory Heights community.
Visit our archives to view past articles, just click on the date on the right side of the site.

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Visit the Victory Heights Blog Facebook Page

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Ryan

As we are tweaking the blog to its new home here on victoryheights.org (coming soon: the e-mail notification button so you can receive alerts for new posts like on the old site), please visit our new Facebook page and click “Like.” If you are on Facebook this is the easy way to see when new content has been added to the blog and add your own comments. The folks over at the Pinehurst blog tell me they get five times the amount of feedback on Facebook than ever post comments directly on their blog. Which is understandable, nearly everyone checks Facebook every day, but can’t always remember to visit a blog.
Don’t forget we have a Twitter feed too: http://twitter.com/victoryheights2
If you have suggestions or ideas for the site, send me to me: victoryheights@aol.com.

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98th Street Retaining Wall Gets Temporary Repairs

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Ryan


The retaining wall above Thornton Creek on the north side of NE 98th Street had temporary repairs done to it on Thursday by employees of Seattle Public Utilities. A source said the wall had “somewhat failed” and the repairs were being done to reinforce it until city engineers could come up with a more permanent solution.

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