Archives for November 16, 2010

Stay Safe: Out-of-Area Phone Contacts

November 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Welcome to the first post in a series on emergency preparedness by Ravenna Blog’s designated safety expert, Shannon (AKA safetygirl).

Shannon has been attending the Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) training sessions offered by the city, and she has graciously offered to share her knowledge with the rest of the community on the Ravenna Blog.

Shannon will be bringing us tidbits on emergency preparedness every Tuesday until she runs out of ideas (or the apocalypse occurs, whichever comes first).

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After a local emergency or a natural disaster, long-distance phone lines are more reliable than local lines or cell phones, which will be jammed with local people calling each other to get information.

Ask a friend or relative who lives outside of Washington State to be your family contact, and then make sure every member of your family has their number.

The Office of Emergency Management also reminds us:

The phone system will most likely become unavailable after a disaster, almost always caused by overuse of the system. Stay off all phones, both cell and land line phones, for at least 3 to 5 hours after a disaster, unless you need to call 911 for a life-threatening situation.

In the event of a local emergency like an earthquake, your family contact will become a relay point to share information with all your household members. If your household is separated during the emergency, which is likely if it takes place during a weekday, everyone will have a better chance of getting through to the out-of-area contact than to each other.

Remember, this plan depends on everyone having the contact’s phone number! Put it into your family’s address books, cell phones, or somewhere else accessible.

You can download a helpful PDF here.

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While you wait for tonight’s Crime Prevention meeting, a couple crime updates

November 16, 2010 by 2 Comments

Two Three bits of crime news for you this afternoon.

Charges filed for half of the Maple Leaf Six (updated)

Of the six burglars caught in the Maple Leaf neighborhood last week, three have now been charged by King County prosecutors.

From the article by Maple Leaf Life posted today (“One adult, two juveniles charged in Maple Leaf burglary”):

“We filed on the driver of the car … and the two juveniles who were caught in the house,” said Ian Goodhew of the prosecutor’s office. The student and two other juveniles were outside in a car “and did not actively participate in the burglary,” Goodhew said, but are still being investigated.

The three other teens have not been charged yet.

Seattle Crime also has a piece up about the three charged teens (“Three charged for Maple Leaf break-in…”), which includes this rather disappointing section (the Maple Leaf Life post alludes to it as well):

Police initially believed that the three teens–and three other teens who were caught with them and have not yet been charged–may have been connected with nearly 20 burglaries in the North Seattle area. However, department sources tell us that now, detectives aren’t so sure, and that police are having trouble connecting the teens to the other burglaries.

Drat.

UPDATE (10:56 pm): Casey McNerthney, the Crime beat reporter at the Seattle P-I, has an article on the arrests as well. Read it here.

Those Security System Solicitor Guys

A Monica in the neighborhood was wondering about those door-to-door home security system selling guys.  One had been to her house lately, and I’ve heard from several others in the comments of other crime posts about these solicitors.

Here’s what our North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator, Diane Horswill, had to say about them:

Some years ago ADT became a franchised company so some of the franchisees use sub contractors to do certain jobs.  When a concerned citizen calls the main ADT office to ask about these door to door sales, the employees are unaware of the subs so they tell them there are no ADT employees out soliciting.  Now that burglary reports can be viewed online and there are many blogs and websites on neighborhood activity it is not hard to find the hot spots.  So it is likely that this is what is going on.  I strongly recommend that people do not make a decision about an alarm (or anything else) from a solicitor.

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School closure links and info, at Roosiehood

November 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Looking for one-stop shopping for school closure links and information, with a side of humor?  Roosiehood’s got you covered with the latest post: Seattle Schools Snow and Inclement Weather Information.

As a SPECIAL BONUS, included in this post/guide are forecasts for your child’s emotional state depending on which school closure announcement is given by the school district.

For example:

No Delays/On Time: If schools operate on time, then transportation will operate on time (in which case, no announcement will be made).
Emotional Forecast: Children are unhappy. They get to see snow, but not play in it. You frantically check Cliff Mass’ weather blog to see if snow will dump in the afternoon, requiring a special trip back to the school to pick them up.

More at the site!

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15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Open House scheduled

November 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We all survived the NE 45th Street Viaduct Reconstruction Project. But there’s another BIG road project coming in early 2011 that we should all get informed about.

From an SDOT email:

Beginning in January 2011 the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will reconstruct most of 15th Avenue NE in the University District between NE Pacific Street and NE 55th Street. The roadway needs to be reconstructed to maintain an efficient and safe travel corridor for vehicles, pedestrians, and transit.

An open house to help neighbors learn more about the 15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Project is now on the calendar for Wednesday, December 8, at the University Heights Community Center (5031 University Ave NE), from 4-7 pm.

This project will be completed in phases, a block or so at a time (from NE Pacific St up to NE 55th St), and is projected to wrap up in October of 2011.  That is at least 10 months of construction on 15th Ave NE. You now have your motivation for attending the open house.

15th Avenue NE Reconstruction homepage

For more information on this project, visit the 15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Project site here.

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In related news, the contractor for the project has been selected (from same SDOT email):

SDOT recently awarded the construction contract for the 15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Project to Gary Merlino Construction, the lowest bidder. This contractor is experienced with the kind of work required for this project and has recently completed similar reconstruction projects in downtown Seattle.

And, because you can never start a project like this soon enough, some utility relocation work along 15th Ave NE will occur in December. Some southbound lanes south of NE 43rd Street will be affected.  Puget Sound Energy will be notifying property owners of service impacts before work begins.

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