Upcoming Kingfisher Natural Area Work Parties

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Ryan

Photo courtesy Annie Fanning.

Photo courtesy Annie Fanning.


It’s that time of year again for volunteers to head down to Thornton Creek and help plant trees and clear out non-native plants. The Kingfisher Natural Area (KFNA) has had a terrific year thanks to the Maple Leaf-Victory Heights community and Green Seattle Partnership (GSP)! They’ve clocked over 200 volunteer hours during Fall 2013 and planted over 200 native plants and trees throughout the park with help from neighbors, local Boy Scouts, and Nathan Hale students.
Here are the dates and links to sign up:

Meet at the job box just inside the park on the Victory Heights side at NE 104th and 17th Ave NE. Dress in layers for the weather. Wear sturdy shoes — waterproof is always good. Long sleeves and long pants are recommended. Bring a personal water bottle if you have one. Snacks provided.

Volunteer hours are recorded and tracked providing GSP with community match for grants and our park with tools, plants, mulch, and other resources. (The more volunteer activity we post, the more resources our GSP-supported Natural Area receives.)

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Upcoming Events Schedule

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Ryan

Here are upcoming events and meetings around town you might be interested in:
Thursday, January 30: Thornton Creek Alliance Meeting. 7 PM, Meadowbrook Community Center, 10517 35th Ave NE. “Learn about important renovation projects, planting details, community benefits, and how you and your family can volunteer to get your hands dirty.”
Thursday, January 30: Parks Legacy Plan Meeting. 7 PM, Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave N. As the Parks Department works on its proposed ballot measure, the Lake City Community Center would like to see funding increased. Come show your support.
Friday, January 31: Chinese New Year. 7 PM, Lake City Community Center, 12531 28th Avenue NE. Demonstrations and a Chinese Lion Dance at 8.
Saturday, February 1: Hands-On Skills Fair 2014. 10:00 AM-5 PM, Meadowbrook Community Center. Presented by Sustainable NE Seattle. Skills include beer brewing, bike repair, gardening, sewing and more.
Sunday, February 2: SuperBowl XLVIII. 3:35 PM, Channel 13. Find a friend and cheer on the Seahawks versus the Broncos.
Wednesday, February 5: North District Council Meeting. 7 PM, Lake City Library. Representatives of the Lake City Farmers Market will be there.
Saturday, February 8: Feet First Second Annual Stairway Walks Day. 10 AM, Maple Leaf and Thornton Creek. Eighteen different tours are being given around the city simultaneously featuring different stairways. Here in Maple Leaf/Victory Heights: “We’ll visit Thornton Creek, the largest year-round stream in Seattle, which provides a central theme.  We’ll cross and re-cross it; view it bank-side and from tree-canopy height. And we’ll see how it’s been re-engineered by both humans and animals.” Lead by Ruth Williams, President of the Thornton Creek Alliance. The walk will take 4.7 miles, 326 steps down, 136 steps up. Cost is free although they ask a $5 donation per person. Space is limited, sign up here.
Saturday, February 8: Neighbor Appreciation Day. A citywide event sponsored by the Department of Neighborhoods.
Saturday, February 8: Passport to Imagination. 10 AM – 2 PM, Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave NE. An event for families and kids to inaugurate their new playgound.
 

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Answer Our Survey: How To Spend $50,000

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Ryan

As you have read here and here, CleanScapes has awarded a $50,000 prize to be used somewhere in Victory Heights/Pinehurst/Lake City/Maple Leaf/Northgate for improvement projects. The Victory Heights Community Council would like to hear from residents about what we should put our efforts into for awarding a project in our neighborhood (we may end up splitting money with other communities, it’s not all-or-nothing). We’ve created a survey after a brief brainstorming session and would like you to vote on your favorite proposal (or suggest your own!).
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L95XTCX
Thanks!

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CleanScapes Accepting Project Proposals Through April 15th

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Ryan

At last night’s meeting of the Victory Heights Community Council, representatives from CleanScapes described in detail the process of awarding the $50,000 our neighborhood (shared with Lake City, Northgate, Pinehurst and Maple Leaf) received for reducing our waste last year (down 8.37% from 2012–woo hoo!).
Read the full minutes from the January Meeting.
While anyone in Seattle can propose a community improvement project, it must be located in the “Thursday North” collection area and “visible and easily accessible to the public.” The deadline for proposals is April 15, 2014, and afterwards in May and June, a selection committee made of representatives from each neighborhood’s community council will make the final determination of which projects to award the money to. Full details about the selection process can be found here, and a FAQ is available from CleanScapes here. If you have any good ideas, please bring them to future meetings of the Community Council or submit them on your own.
Other business at the meeting included the Seattle Police Department’s Community Police Academy Program, a free series of 11 meetings on Thursday evenings beginning March 13th to help residents become “familiar with various facets of the Seattle Police Department and gain insight into law enforcement’s role in the criminal justice system and the daily work of police employees.” Applications to participate are due in by January 31st.  More info at: http://www.seattle.gov/police/programs/policeacademy/
There will be a meeting of the Parks Legacy Committee on January 30th at the Bitter Lake Community Center at 7 PM in order to show support for improved staffing and getting more funding for the Lake City Community Center which is in woeful shape. Currently Lake City is only one of three in the system not staffed by the Parks Department and is so outmoded that it has no sports courts and no elevator.
The Lake City farmer’s market is looking for support this summer (i.e. come and shop!) when it resumes on Thursdays in June with new 3-7 PM hours.
And plans are afoot to replicate the success of last year’s Neighborhood Night Out, scheduled for August 5th, 2014.
The next meeting of the Community Council will be on Tuesday, February 18th, 2014 starting at 7 PM at the Preschool Building in Victory Heights Park.

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Thornton Creek Gets NPR Shout-Out

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Ryan

Pb180388A story on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” today on daylighting streams mentioned Victory Height’s Thornton Creek. In the piece about efforts in Cincinatti to bring back an underground stream, they said, “It’s been almost seven years since Seattle spent $14 million to uncover Thornton Creek, it spurred $200 million in private development including a retirement community and a movie theater,” referring to Thornton Place at Northgate.  You can listen to the entire three minute story here.

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Does 20th Ave NE & NE 105th Street Need Traffic Calming?

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Ryan

Looking north at the intersection of 20th Ave NE and NE 105th Street

Looking north at the intersection of 20th Ave NE and NE 105th Street


A topic that came up during last month’s meeting of the Victory Heights Community Council was a proposal to do some sort of “traffic calming” [Seattle-ese for traffic circles, yield signs, or speed bumps] at the intersection of 20th Avenue NE and NE 105th Street (the SE corner of Victory Heights Park). The is where 20th Avenue “jig jogs” as it crosses NE 105th to 19th Avenue NE, an uncontrolled intersection with many blind corners. However, speaking with the residents whose houses surround the intersection found most felt nothing needed to be added.  “People are careful,” said Jim whose tan house can be seen in the photo, directly behind where northbound 20th Avenue “T”s out. His driveway is on the 19th Avenue side (facing the park), and although he always exercises a lot of caution when backing out, he thinks people slow down at the intersection.
Jerry, his next door neighbor, also doesn’t see the need for a traffic circle, although he pointed out he never lets his children cross the intersection without him present because of the blind corners. He wasn’t against a yield sign being put in.
His neighbor across the street was very adamant against putting anything in the intersection, particularly a traffic circle, saying, “I’d be against that.”
In fact, four of five of the neighbors I spoke with said they’d never seen an accident at the intersection and seemed to think it was okay as it was.
However this view was in contrast to Sarah, who has lived on the corner for three years, and reported several near misses and an accident a year ago in which a tow truck had been required. She was in favor of yield or stop sign going in.
The consensus definitely was against putting in a traffic circle, like the one that already exists just one block north at NE 106th Street, or the one soon coming a few blocks east at 23rd Avenue NE. But maybe we haven’t heard the last of this. Feel free to add your comments below.
Please take a moment to “Like” the Victory Heights Blog Facebook page.

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Victory Heights…On The Shore Of Thornton Bay

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Ryan

islandsWhat if the world’s ice sheet melted (à la Waterworld)? Unlike that movie, the entire Earth would not be flooded, but sea levels would rise 240 feet. What would this mean for Puget Sound and Victory Heights? According to this map titled “Islands of Seattle” developed by Jeffrey Linn, the waters of Thornton Bay would be lapping at our borders but we’d still (mostly) be on dry ground.  Check it out!
 

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Victory Heights Community Council Meeting January 21st

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Ryan

The first meeting in 2014 of the Victory Heights Community Council will be Tuesday, January 21st at 7 PM at the Co-Op Preschool Building in Victory Heights Park.  Among the topics that will be discussed is how to spend the $50,000 prize from CleanScapes (that we will be sharing with Maple Leaf, Pinehurst, Lake City and Northgate). A representative from CleanScapes is scheduled to come and tell us more about it.
Plus the usual discussions about crime, traffic, winter storms, and paying our bills. Everyone is invited, remember to bring your own adult-sized chair if you want, all the ones at the school are for kids.

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Holiday Garbage Collection Schedule

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Ryan

With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, trash collection in Victory Heights will be on Fridays for the next two weeks, December 27th and January 3rd.
And after the holidays, if you should notice a dead tree in your house (sorry, an old Jerry Seinfeld joke), the city says Seattle residents who subscribe to curbside food and yard waste collection can put their trees and greens out on their regular collection day at no extra charge from Dec. 26, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2014.
Multi-family buildings can put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge during this time.
Trees should be cut into sections of six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or non-plastic twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments in trees and wreaths must be removed.
Trees that are flocked and/or have tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. Customers will need to cut the tree into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $8.60. Plastic trees are not compostable.
Seattle residents can also drop off holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ North and South Recycling and Disposal stations from Dec. 26, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2013. The tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. The limit is three trees per vehicle. Only trees and wreaths without flocking or decoration may be composted free of charge.
The North Recycling and Disposal Station is located at 1350 North 34th Street. The South Recycling and Disposal Station is located at 130 S. Kenyon St. The stations are open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., other than selected holidays.
And speaking of the North Recycling and Disposal Station, it will be closed for two years after January 20, 2014 in order for a new station to be built in the same location. To learn more about the North Transfer Station Rebuild Project, visit the project website.
While closed, station users are encouraged to use the new South Transfer Station facility at 130 South Kenyon Street in South Park.

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CleanScapes Awards $50,000 Waste Reduction Prize To Neighborhood

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Ryan

CleanScapes (our garbage haulers) has announced the winners of their annual Neighborhood Waste Reduction Reward program. The neighborhoods of Maple Leaf, Lake City, Victory Heights, Pinehurst, Wedgwood won the 2012/2013 competition.
They will receive a $50,000 community improvement project selected by community representatives and funded by CleanScapes. In this annual competition, CleanScapes challenges the neighborhoods it serves to reduce their solid waste footprint.
Proposed projects must be easily accessible for active use by the public and can cost up to $50,000. To be eligible for consideration, proposals must be for a capital improvement project located in the winning neighborhood collection area.
The Victory Heights Community Council (along with I’m sure, the councils in Lake City, Pinehurst and Maple Leaf) will have to come up with something that will fit CleanScapes’ criteria. To be honest, I was unaware there was any sort of competition with other parts of the city (but, yea us!), and who wants to sneeze at $50,000 in free money?
Please take a moment to “Like” the Victory Heights Facebook page.

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