Government

Timeout to say THANK YOU, on behalf of the Schulte family (UPDATES)

April 7, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 17 Comments

What follows is a compilation of the ways that neighbors and local businesses have helped the Schulte family since Monday, March 25.

We do not claim to know every story of giving surrounding the days and weeks after the tragedy, but this post is our attempt to list as many as we can.

If we’ve left anything out, feel free to leave your stories of kindnesses and thanks in the comments below.

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During the last week of March, in the first days after the tragedy, local businesses stepped in and donated food to the family:

Grateful Bread (7001 35th Ave NE) donated sandwiches, salads and soup on March 28.

Eat Local (nearest location at 503 Broadway E on Capitol Hill) donated six meals to the family on March 28.

When we found out that Karina’s birthday was on March 28 (mentioned by Schulte family friend Adrienne Bergman on one of the medical fundraiser sites for the family), we contacted Trophy Cupcakes (Northeast Seattle location in University Village). They graciously and swiftly donated a dozen cupcakes, which we were able to get to the family at Harborview Medical Center that day.

Cafe Javasti (8617 35th Ave NE in Wedgwood and 8410 5th Ave NE in Maple Leaf) donated pastries and coffee for breakfast on March 29.

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After the first few days of meals were covered by local businesses, Wedgwood resident Jess Creach set up a site for the Schultes at Take Them a Meal. People interested in helping the family with food can sign up for a specific date and meal (lunch, snack, dinner), which can be delivered in advance to the Sand Point Community United Methodist Church for pick up.

At the time of this writing, the meal calendar for the Schultes was full through April 27. So far, 61 different people have signed up.

You can still sign up, too, if you’d like.

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By the time we contacted the manager of Sand Point Metropolitan Market (5250 40th Ave NE), Mark Marsh, on Thursday, March 28, his store had already contributed flowers to the memorial site and food for after the prayer vigil.

On Friday, March 29, his store began taking donations at their checkstands from community members. Marsh told us on the morning of Friday, April 6 that the total amount donated by community members at their checkout stands so far is $7,434.00. This total does not yet include the $1,000 that Metropolitan Market will also be donating on top of that.

With the hope of reaching $10,000, the store will continue taking donations at the registers for one more week, until Friday, April 12.

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Thank you to Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Car Free Days, Eckstein Bikes, the Wedgwood Community Council, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, and anyone else who helped organize the Memorial Walk on Monday, April 1.

Thank you to the Seattle Police Department for closing off roads and providing an escort during the walk. And thank you, Mayor Michael McGinn, for attending.

Thank you to the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts location for supplying participants of the Memorial Walk with doughnuts and coffee. And thank you for the use of your property as a gathering, starting, and ending point for that walk.

Furthermore, Top Pot, thank you for walking, too.

Wedgwood Top Pot manager Jennifer Surbaugh and one of the owners of Top Pot, Mark Klebeck, on the walk.

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Other local fundraising:

The Wedgwood Safeway (7340 35th Avenue NE) donated a gift card for $100 on March 28. Also, thanks to Bridgette in the floral department for donating buckets and food for flowers left at the memorial site.

The employees at the Wedgwood QFC (8400 35th Ave NE) made a donation to one of the funds for the family set up at the Wedgwood branch of HomeStreet Bank on March 28.

The Van Gogh Coffeehouse (8210 35th Ave NE) donated all their tips from Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, for a total of $786.48.

Cooper’s Alehouse (8065 Lake City Way NE) set aside 25% of their sales on Wednesday, April 3 for the Schulte family medical fund, and donated over $500.

Thank you to the (as of the publishing of this post) 989 people who donated $59,492 to the medical fund for Karina and Baby Elias that friends of the family Adrienne and Brett Bergman set up.

Thank you to the people who have contributed to both the Karina & Elias Ulriksen-Schulte Medical Fund (currently at $7665.00) and the Dennis & Judy Schulte Memorial Fund (currently at $645.00). These funds were set up at the Wedgwood Branch of HomeStreet Bank by Per Johnson, President of the Wedgwood Community Council, after we learned the names of the victims.

UPDATE (11:12 AM): We’ve been told by Per Johnson that the online amounts for the funds at HomeStreet Bank are only the online totals. “There have been a ton of people who have donated in-person to the tune of $5000,” Johnson says.

We’d also like to thank the staff of the Wedgwood Branch of HomeStreet Bank for all of their assistance.

UPDATE (1:38 PM): We’ve learned that the Wedgwood Drama Studio also donated money to the Schulte family. You can read about the studio’s mission here.

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Bike to Bryant was started around 2007 by parents of Bryant Elementary students. The group’s goal is to encourage families to walk and/or bike to school together on a more regular basis.

This year’s big spring ride, scheduled for Friday, March 29, was almost canceled, in light of the tragedy. But organizers went forward with the ride and turned it into a moving memorial to the Schulte family. One hundred and fifteen riders participated. A moment of silence was observed at the start, and $106 was collected for the Karina & Elias Ulriksen-Schulte Medical fund.

Also, the Seattle Police Department provided an escort for the group, and closed down 35th Avenue NE during the ride to school.

Police closed down 35th Ave NE for the annual Spring Bike to Bryant Elementary ride. Photo by Car Free Days, used with permission.

Police closed down 35th Ave NE for the annual Spring Bike to Bryant Elementary ride. Photo by Car Free Days (carfreedays.com), used with permission.

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Thank you to National Barricade (6518 Ravenna Ave NE) for donating use of some of your street signs (a pair of SLOW DOWN and yellow pedestrian signs) at both the east and west ends of NE 75th Street (at approximately 27th and 34th Avenues NE).

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Thank you to the community members who attended the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Spring Community Meeting on Tuesday, April 2. And thank you to the officials who attended or participated in some way, including (alphabetical by last name):

Rachel Cormier Anderson (City Attorney’s Office)

Nancy Bolin (View Ridge Community Council)

Tim Burgess (Seattle City Council President, mayoral candidate)

Dongho Chang (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Sally Clark (Seattle City Council President)

Captain Robin Clark (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Rebecca Deehr (Mayor’s Office)

Dr. Beth Ebel (Harborview Medical Center)

Senator David Frockt (46th Legislative District)

Beth Goldberg (Mayor’s Office)

Peter Hahn (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Beth Hester (Mayor’s Office)

Gina Iandola (HomeStreet Bank)

Sherri Kokx (Eckstein Middle School)

Officer Eric Michl (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Sergeant Dianne Newsom (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Representative Gerry Pollet (46th Legislative District)

Tom Rasmussen (Seattle City Council)

Sergeant Don Smith (North Precinct, Seattle Police Department)

Peter Steinbrueck (mayoral candidate)

Eileen Whalen (Harborview Medical Center)

Thank you also to the staff of the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, the respective board members of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association and Wedgwood Community Council, and Jenny Frankl with the Department of Neighborhoods for help making the meeting happen.

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Thank you to the two women on 33rd Avenue NE who, very late on the night of Tuesday, March 26, worked together to scrub NE 75th Street clean with soap and water, and their own loving hands.

Thank you to the three neighbors on 33rd Avenue NE who made the two white crosses for Judy and Dennis Schulte at the memorial site, added on Friday, March 29.

Thank you to the sixth grade class in one of Seattle’s middle schools who wrote a card for the family.

Thank you to Lacia Lynne Bailey for taking on the role of caretaker for the memorial on the corner of 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street. Thank you for respecting every last flower petal, slip of paper, and stuffed animal left at the site, in honor of the victims.

Blow drying wet bear before gets bag rain gear & back to growing memorial for #DUIseattle tragedy http://t.co/3JySngOTrH

— Lacia Lynne Bailey (@GoatGuild) March 28, 2013

Thank you to Judy’s Truffle, for being such a comforting (and fuzzy) presence at the memorial site, hugged and cried upon by countless people.

Sweet little Truffle seems to be bringing love to #DUIseattle memorial site while I clean it up a bit http://t.co/WIgrJq2Y8j

— Lacia Lynne Bailey (@GoatGuild) March 28, 2013

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And finally, some thank-yous from the Schulte family, conveyed through Lisa Schulte (wife of Mike Schulte, a cousin of Dan).

Here are some thank you’s the family would like mentioned locally!!

Addy and Brett Bergman (set up the donation site)
Pastor Cathy and Sand Point Community United Methodist Church
The awesome neighbors and dear friends of the family including Daniel and Jennifer, Trevor, Felipe and Indre
Seattle Fire Department and EMTs
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways walk coordinator
EMI
Wedgwood/Ravenna Community, Jess Creach, Per Johnson (Wedgwood Community Council) & Rebecca Nelson (Ravenna Blog)
Harborview doctors and nurses
Seattle Children’s Hospital (Karina’s work)
Colehour and Cohen (Dan’s work)
Sand Point Metropolitan Market
All the incredible people who have donated time, money, food etc.

Lisa has acted as the main point of contact with the family during the last two weeks, and we (and other community members and organizations) are very, very thankful for her and the role she has played.

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RBCA community meeting on crime/NE 75th Street (LIVE COVERAGE)

April 2, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 17 Comments

Our live coverage of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association Spring Community Meeting will be posted below starting around 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 2.

You may download the agenda here (62 KB Microsoft Word document). Or refer to the abridged version posted below:

7:00 PM: Moment of silence (Lead by Virginia Gunby, RBCA Board Member, Transportation Committee Chair)

7:05: Welcome (Sarah Swanberg, Outgoing RBCA President)

March 25 vehicle/pedestrian double fatality collision on NE 75^th Street

7:10: Traffic & pedestrian safety, DUI enforcement & prosecution

Seattle Police Department

Captain Robin Clark, North Precinct

Sergeant Don Smith and Officer Eric Michl

Seattle City Attorney’s Office

John Schochet, Deputy Chief of Staff

Rachel Cormier Anderson, Criminal Division Attorney

Jana Jorgensen, North Precinct Liaison

7:30: Report from Harborview

Eileen Whalen, Executive Director, Harborview Medical Center

Dr. Beth Ebel, Director, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center

7:50: NE 75^th Street improvements

Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer, Seattle Department of Transportation

Peter Hahn, Director of Transportation

8:20: RBCA business

Sub-committees to address traffic, safety, DUI issues in Ravenna-Bryant

Election of RBCA officers

8:40: Q and A with local leaders

City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office
Senator David Frockt

Filed Under: City Council, Crime, Live Coverage, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Meeting between city, neighborhood representatives yields NE 75th St improvement plan

April 2, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

In the early afternoon of Monday, April 1, before the Memorial Walk for the Schulte family, neighborhood groups, pedestrian/bicycle safety advocates, and staff from Eckstein Middle School, gathered at Eckstein (3003 NE 75th St). They met with representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the Mayor’s Office, and the Seattle Police Department and discussed plans to improve the safety of NE 75th Street.

MCI_memorial07

The Mayor’s Office met with SDOT several times throughout the last week, and developed a list of planned improvements and actions for NE 75th Street (4 KB PDF; presented to the assembled groups that afternoon), including:

• Installing a flashing school zone beacon on Northeast 75th Street in front of the school

• SDOT will begin the process of evaluating and potentially installing a school zone speed camera on Northeast 75th Street

• The crosswalk at Northeast 68th Street and 25th Avenue Northeast will be remarked with fresh and highly visible paint

• The intersection of Northeast 68th Street and 25th Ave Northeast will be evaluated for a traffic signal

• SDOT will install new pedestrian countdown heads [crosswalk signs with timers] at 75th Street Northeast and Northeast 31st Street

• SDOT has already installed pedestrian countdown heads at 75th Street Northeast and Northeast 35th Street

The timeline for these improvements shows a tentative completion date of August 2013 (just before Seattle Public Schools are back in session for the 2013-1014 school year).

Filed Under: Construction, Crime, Eckstein Middle School, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

Hundreds walk to remember, honor the Schulte family (PHOTOS)

April 1, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 14 Comments

Walkers gathered under the swaying palms of the Wedgwood Top Pot before setting out.

Seattle Police Department officers wait to escort everyone down local streets. Local traffic was blocked as the group walked to and the memorial site.

Seattle Police Department officers and their rides wait to escort everyone down local streets. Local traffic was blocked as the group walked to and the memorial site.

Pedestrian and cyclists, young and old, the sighted and the blind all participated, and fueled up with coffee and doughnuts beforehand, provided by Top Pot.

This walker in orange was one of three I noticed walking with a white cane. She is pictured with her ASL interpreter (the woman in orange is Deaf-Blind).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (1 of 6).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (2 of 6).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (3 of 6).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (4 of 6).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (5 of 6).

The walkers spread out to cover 35th Avenue NE on the way to the memorial site (6 of 6).

A cameraman films the start of the walk on 35th Avenue NE.

The group walks west on NE 73rd Street, after turning off 35th Avenue NE.

Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn (center, light blue shirt) walks with Schulte family members down NE 73rd Street.

More walkers heading down NE 73rd Street.

Here the group is shown walking north on 33rd Avenue NE, taking the approximate route the family took on Monday, March 25. On the left side, Lacia Lynne Bailey, Judy’s Truffle (the baby goat), and some Schulte family members and friends stand where Bailey chatted with the Schultes one week ago. She was the last person to speak to the family before they attempted to cross NE 75th Street.

More walkers heading up 33rd Avenue NE, to the memorial site.

33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street. Some family members stand together on the right, behind the main crowd.

Bailey talks to Dan Schulte, husband of Karina and father to Elias, who are both still at Harborview Medical Center. They are flanked by a female neighbor from the immediate area and two of Dan’s cousins.

Members of the Schulte family, gathered in front of the memorial. Hundreds of neighbors and complete strangers have stopped by throughout the week to pay their respects, Bailey told us. She has been tending the site daily ever since people started leaving flowers, notes, or other tokens after the tragedy.

One of the Seattle Police Department officers who escorted the walkers to and from the memorial site looks on.

“Look out for pedestrians.”

After spending some time at the memorial, the walk heads back to the starting point, heading east on NE 75th Street, before heading south down 35th Avenue NE.

Mayor McGinn talks with Dongho Chang,(Chief Traffic Engineer for the Seattle Department of Transportation) at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street.

Before starting down NE 75th Street with his family, this dad said to his small son, “This is the one time we’re walking in the street, buddy.”

Mayor McGinn with Bailey, and Judy’s Truffle. Bailey has added to the baby goat’s original name in remembrance of Judy Schulte.

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My thoughts, from Sunday, March 31:

Tonight I met 2 of the 3 makers of the Schultes’ white crosses at #75th. One made them, one painted them white, one did the calligraphy.

— Ravenna Blog (@RavennaBlog) April 1, 2013

All three cross makers, neighbors of the young Schulte family.
“Neighbors are our geographic (not genetic) family.” – Lacia (@goatguild)

— Ravenna Blog (@RavennaBlog) April 1, 2013

The cross painter, husband of the calligrapher, still has white paint on his fingernails…

— Ravenna Blog (@RavennaBlog) April 1, 2013

…like I think many of us carry the tragedy on our hearts.
Because this happened to our neighbors. Our family.

— Ravenna Blog (@RavennaBlog) April 1, 2013

Thoughts from a run through Wedgwood,View Ridge, past Sand Point Comm UMC, to the memorial on 75th. (We’re all much closer than we think.)

— Ravenna Blog (@RavennaBlog) April 1, 2013

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Community meeting on Tuesday to address crime, NE 75th Street safety issues (UPDATES)

March 31, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment

The spring community meetings of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA) are used to elect new board members, inform the community about any local, recent concerns, and perhaps have a guest speaker from the City Government.

The RBCA Spring Community Meeting this Tuesday, April 2, will feature officials from at least six City departments, including the Seattle Police Department, the City Attorney’s office, and Harborview Medical Center. The meeting will take place in the gymnasium of the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Avenue NE) from 7-9 PM.

Our LIVE COVERAGE of this event will be HERE (page will go live on the afternoon of April 2 prior to the meeting.)

RECC3

The list of confirmed attendees includes (via the RBCA homepage):

Council Member Tom Rasmussen will be coming with Eileen Whalen, Executive Director of Harborview Medical Center and Dr. Beth Ebel, Director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center.

From the Seattle Police Department, North Precinct Captain Robin Clark will be there to introduce Captain Mike Nolan from the SPD Traffic Section. DUI enforcement experts will also be on hand to answer any questions/concerns the community may have.

Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer from the Seattle Department of Transportation will be there to address improvements that can be made to NE 75^th. The Director of Transportation Peter Hahn will also be in attendance.

Members of the law department from the City Attorney’s Office will attend to discuss the prosecutorial side of DUIs.

The Mayor’s office will also be on hand, should you have questions for him.

Gina Iandola, Homestreet Bank’s Wedgwood Branch Manager will also be there should you want to donate funds. You can read more about ways to donate on Wedgwood Community Council’s website.

The Mayor’s office staff members attending include:

Beth Goldberg, City Budget Director
Beth Hester, Director of Public Affairs and Management
Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office lead on their Road Safety campaign and on the new school road safety initiative

Everyone is welcome to attend. We also expect a large number of Wedgwood Community Council board members and neighbors to attend.

We have spoken with the staff at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center about the meeting, and have been told that the gymnasium will be in use up until the 7 PM meeting start time. Neighbors: Please come prepared to be patient and/or help set up some of the approximately 200 chairs available for seating.

UPDATE (Monday, April 1): Senator David Frockt (D) representing the 46th District is also scheduled to attend.

The agenda order appears to be: SPD and the City Attorney’s Office, then CM Rasmussen, Senator Frockt, and Harborview, and then the Department of Transportation at the end.

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Also, to further inform the officials attending Tuesday’s meeting, you may want to contact them in advance with your questions and concerns (or later, if you still have questions/concerns):

[NEW] Senator David Frockt (D), 46th District: (206) 729-3225 and email form

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Transportation Committee Chair: (206) 684-8808 and tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

Eileen Whalen, Executive Director of Harborview Medical Center: (206) 744-3036

Dr. Beth Ebel, Director of of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center: (206) 744-9430 and bebel@uw.edu

North Precinct Captain Robin Clark: (206) 684-0850 (N. Precinct front desk) and Public Information Officers (206-684-5520)

[NEW] Sergeant Dianne Newsom, North Precinct Community Police Team supervisor: (206) 684-0794 and dianne.newsom@seattle.gov

[NEW] Sergeant Don Smith, Traffic Section supervisor, Seattle Police Department

[NEW] Officer Eric Michl, Traffic Section/DUI Squad

Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer from the Seattle Department of Transportation: 206-684-5106 and dongho.chang@seattle.gov

Peter Hahn, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation: 206-684-5000 and peter.hahn@seattle.gov

City Attorney’s Office: 206-684-8200 (Civil main phone number), 206-684-7757 (Criminal main phone number), kimberly.mills@seattle.gov (Communications Director)

Beth Goldberg, City Budget Director: (206) 233-7115 and beth.goldberg@seattle.gov

Beth Hester, Director of Public Affairs and Management, Mayor’s Office: (206) 684-3493 and beth.hester@seattle.gov

Rebecca Deehr, Mayor’s Office lead on the Road Safety Initiative: (206) 233-2662 and rebecca.deehr@seattle.gov

Filed Under: City Council, Civic Envolvement, Crime, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Wedgwood, Wedgwood Community Council

One Week Later: A Memorial Walk for the Community (UPDATE)

March 30, 2013 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

The Seattle Neighborhood Greenways group, along with other members of the local community, has coordinated a Memorial Walk on Monday, April 1, from 4-5 PM.

That date and time marks one week from the day that Judy and Dennis Schulte lost their lives while crossing NE 75th Street at 33rd Avenue NE with their daughter-in-law, Karina Ulriksen-Schulte, and her then 10-day-old son, Elias. Mother and son are still in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center.

All four were struck by a drunk driver traveling over the speed limit westbound on NE 75th Street just after 4 PM on Monday, March 25.

street_sign_75_33

The circular walk will start and end* at Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts (6845 35th Ave NE), stopping at the memorial site in between.

*UPDATE: The direction shown on the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways map may not be correct — The walk may instead start west on NE 70th Street, later mimicking the walk north along 33rd Avenue NE that the Schulte family made together.

View Memorial Walk for the Schulte Family in a larger map

For those whom mobility is a problem, the plan as we know it is to be gathered at the memorial site (33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street) at 4:30 PM.

From the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways event page:

You can bring flowers. Or bring canned food to leave at the site that will be taken to the University Food Bank. Dennis and Judy Schulte, who were killed on Monday, had a passion to provide food for at-risk children.

A Facebook event page has also been set up.

Mayor Michael McGinn will be participating in the walk along with several other Mayor’s Office and City Hall staff members. The Seattle Police Department will also be present.

Schulte_memorial_Mar291

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Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Velo-Mayor with Vegetables

December 15, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

This is a picture of the mayor riding away on his bicycle with a bunch of carrots:

McGinn_carrots

Mayor Mike McGinn was in our neighborhood on Saturday, December 1 for a “Tour de Ravenna” and a town hall at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center. This picture was taken after the last stop on the tour (the Ravenna Community Garden) where he was presented with a bunch of carrots grown there.

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.

Filed Under: Mayor's Office, Moment of Ravenna Zen, Ravenna, Ravenna Zen, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

City Hall Chapel Cam live streaming on Sunday; watch it here

December 8, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 2 Comments

UPDATE (Sunday): Today’s events are also being live-blogged on the marriage.seattle.gov site.

And if you have an iOS device (and the Seattle Channel live feed below is causing you trouble), KIRO 7 has another live feed that should work for you.

____________________

One hundred and forty weddings are scheduled for City Hall this Sunday, December 9 — the first of their kind in Washington State, thanks to the passage of R-74 which legalized gay marriage.

Four chapels have been made available inside City Hall (for those who RSVP’d in time) for weddings after the three day marriage license wait period. And outside city hall, there’s a party. For everyone. Via married.seattle.gov:

Come join the celebration at City Hall Plaza from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Fourth Avenue downtown between James and Cherry streets.

Congratulate and admire the newlyweds coming down the steps from City Hall and enjoy food trucks, coffee and festivities. Don’t miss this historic day in Seattle!

For those of us in the rest of the city unable to make it down to City Hall to take part in the celebrating, the Seattle Channel has a solution: “You can follow the day’s progress by watching livestreams of City Hall lobby and of the procession of new married couples exiting City Hall towards the plaza,” says the city’s marriage website.

Says the Seattle Channel: “We’ll have two views: a wide shot of the lobby with ceremonies in progress and close-up coverage with commentary from newlyweds via our ‘couple cam.'”

On Sunday, grab a box of tissues, and enjoy:

And if you ARE downtown — either for the parties or for your own wedding — learn how to share wedding day/celebration photos with the city here.

And if you’re from Ravenna, we’d love to hear about your special day, too.

Filed Under: City Services, Events, Families, Government, History, Live Coverage, Updates, Video

Mayor McGinn in Ravenna for tour and a town hall (LIVE COVERAGE)

November 30, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson Leave a Comment
As a part of the Engage Seattle initiative, Mayor Mike McGinn is coming to the Ravenna neighborhood for both a tour and a town hall with residents on Saturday, December 1.

The town hall/Q&A portion will be held in the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center gym (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) from 11 AM – noon. Everyone is welcome to attend. The mayor, members of his staff, and representatives from various city departments will be on hand to answer questions.

Prior to the town hall, from 10-11 AM, the mayor, members of his staff, and select community leaders and members will be touring parts of Ravenna both on foot and by bicycle (the latter for the first time for this type of event). Ravenna Blog is along for the ride, providing live coverage, and speaking at a couple of the tour stops.

Live coverage of the tour and the town hall can be found below, once the event starts. The Seattle Channel has recorded previous town halls in other neighborhoods, and should they do so for ours you will find the video embedded in this post once it becomes available.

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Cowen Park, Live Coverage, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna Park, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Department of Transportation

RECC hosting Seattle Animal Shelter cat adoption event this Saturday

November 10, 2012 by Rebecca Nelson 1 Comment
You know what’s nice on cold days like this? A kitty.

And U CAN HAZ one today, at the Seattle Animal Shelter cat adoption event on Saturday, November 10, from 12-3 PM, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE).

Click the image to view at 100%.

Cats available for adoption at this event have been living with foster families, who will be on hand to answer questions about the personalities of their charges.

Both cats AND KITTENS will be available at this event.

KITTENS.

You can learn more about a few of the available cats on Petfinder, like…

Patrick here, and…

Pepper (on the left), and…

Abby. RAWR, girl.

The event is put on by the Seattle Animal Shelter’s foster care program and their event partners, Alley Cat Project.

Filed Under: City Services, Events, Government, Ravenna, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center