Spring AND Summer Parks and Recreation Brochure now available

Yes, it is only February 15, but it’s time to think about signing you and the kids up for spring and summer activities at community centers and pools across Seattle.

Spring/Summer 2013 Parks and Recreation Brochure, Northeast Seattle (click to download the 3.1 MB PDF)

Spring/Summer 2013 Parks and Recreation Brochure, Northeast Seattle (click to download the 3.1 MB PDF)

Registration for spring quarter classes starts March 12.

Registration for summer camps starts April 4.

And registration for summer quarter classes starts May 21.

Soup Swap event at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center on January 26

The high feasting holidays are over, and the leftovers are gone (or should be).

What culinary escapade should you try next? How about a SOUP SWAP?!

Join us at 3 PM on Saturday, January 26, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) for this hopefully-to-be-annual event.

Cooked soup by La.Catholique (via Flickr)

Cooked soup by La.Catholique (via Flickr)

All you need to do is bring from one to six quarts of soup (frozen) with you on Soup Swap day, and you’ll go home with an equal number of different soups to enjoy throughout the winter.

We’ll also be giving away a few loaves of locally-made bread to go with those soups.

For some more detailed Soup Swap directions, you can visit the National Soup Swap how-to page.

And if you need any recipe ideas, let us know in the comments below: We’ll help you out!

Here is a rather delightful video about a Soup Swap event in Seattle from 2011, when this particular group was celebrating their 13th annual swap (WOW):

We’ll also be collecting for the Northwest Help Line Food Bank at this event, so if you have any extra cans of food that you couldn’t fit in your soup, be sure to bring them with you.

Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center holiday Play Space and Tot Gym schedule

Parents of tots, we have a Christmas present for you.

Did you know that the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6545 Ravenna Avenue NE) is OPEN on Christmas Eve? OH YES, oh yes.

The community center’s Play Space is open from 9:15 AM – 5:30 PM. And we can tell you, from personal experience, sending the small, unruly ones down there with a parent to get their wiggles out before dinner, is a FANTASTIC idea.

It’s only three bucks a kid. (But they could charge 10, and it’d still be a great deal.)

BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE!

Here’s the Play Space and Tot Gym schedule through Saturday, January 5, 2013:

Play Space

Christmas Eve: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 26th: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 27th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 28th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 29th: 9:15 AM-1:30 PM

Monday the 31st: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 2nd: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 3rd: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 4th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 5th: 9:15 AM-4:30 PM

Tot Gym

Wednesday the 26th: 10:15 AM-2 PM
Wednesday the 2nd: 10:15 AM-2 PM

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Velo-Mayor with Vegetables

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.

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

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.

Parks and Recreation NE Winter Brochure now available

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Winter 2013 Brochure is out! You can find hard copies in your local community center, or click the image below to download a copy of the NE Seattle edition (2.1 MB PDF).

Click the image to download the Seattle Parks and Recreation Winter Brochure for NE Seattle (2.1 MB PDF).

Some highlights/items of note:

  • The course brochures hereafter will be published only twice a year: One issue for Spring/Summer, and another for Fall/Winter. This is a cost saving decision.
  • Summer is a looooong ways away, but the information about Summer Camps for 2013 is included in this Winter Brochure (open registration begins on February 5, 2013).
  • Two new classes of note at our Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center are Introduction to Improv (to be taught by a “seasoned member of the Jet City Improv cast,” and Adult Salsa Classes.
  • One special event to note is a SOUP SWAP* happening on January 26 (National Soup Swap Day, of course). You bring six quarts of frozen soup, and you go home with six different quarts of soup! Ravenna Blog itself (myself? herself?) is hosting this one, and we’ll have more information on this event as the date approaches. The event is free, minus the cost of whatever homemade soup you’re swapping.

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*The first official Ravenna Kale Festival** event!

**More on this later as well.

RECC hosting Seattle Animal Shelter cat adoption event this Saturday

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.

 

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Ravenna School Reds

Autumn has definitely arrived: The days are shorter, weather has turned rainy and blustery, and ZOMG look at the trees!

These beauties live on the backside of the Ravenna School Apartments (6545 Ravenna Ave NE), and they are among my fall favorites in our neighborhood.

SO RED.

Jealous much, evergreen?

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.

Community meeting Tuesday night spotlights public safety (UPDATE)

UPDATE (3:39 PM): The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association twitter feed reports that “N. Precinct Lt. Rasmussen, or Captain Robin Clark, to attend tomorrow’s meeting and answer questions about the shooting.”


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Tomorrow night’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association community meeting focuses on different aspects of public safety, and includes both Councilmember Bruce Harrell and North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston as featured speakers.

The meeting takes place Tuesday night, June 5, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and starts at 7 PM.

Other speakers include Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation at Children’s Hospital (speaking about Greenways), and Laurie Ames from the Department of Neighborhoods (speaking about Neighborhood Matching Funds).

You can see the full agenda here, on the RBCA website.

Shooting at Cafe Racer in Roosevelt (UPDATES)

UPDATE (Thursday, May 31): Around 10 PM last night, the suspect and a fourth victim at Cafe Racer were reported to have both died of their injuries. Here is the AP story.

As of this morning, the only survivor of the shootings at Cafe Racer, Leonard Meuse, has had his condition upgraded from critical to serious. He is expected to recover.

UPDATE (5:46 PM): Many news outlets, including this one, had erroneously reported that the suspect had died of his injuries. He is, in fact, alive and continuing to receive treatment at Harborview (via the Seattle Police twitter feed).

UPDATE (5:02 PM): Seattle Police has confirmed that the suspect in the Cafe Racer shootings has died from his self-inflicted gunshot wound. Reported in error.

And they also confirm that the shooting at 8th and Seneca this morning is connected to the suspect.

More on all of that in the Seattle Times (“Suspect in Seattle slayings kills himself”).

And also at the Seattle Times, some good news: The chef at Cafe Racer, who was among those shot this morning, is doing well.

UPDATE (4:34 PM): Just as we were receiving reports of officers arresting someone in the vicinity of 47th Ave NE and Roosevelt Way NE, there are now reports that the suspect in the Roosevelt shootings was found in West Seattle. When approached by officers, he then turned the gun on himself. Police are saying that this individual was suspected in the shootings in Cafe Racer, but are not commenting on his condition at this time.

More detail from the tail end of the Mayor’s news conference by Assistant Chief James Pugel: Plain closed officers in West Seattle recieved images of the suspect as they were patrolling. One officer identified the suspect and called in uniformed officers to assist. Suspect saw the uniformed officers closing in, knelt down in the street, and shot himself in the head.

Our friends at the West Seattle Blog will have more information on this latest shooting (37th Ave SW and Raymond St) at their website.

UPDATE (4:12 PM)Assistant Chief of the Seattle Police Department, James Pugel, spoke during the Mayor’s live conference this afternoon. Below is the summary:

Just before 11 AM, two 911 call came in: One saying shots fired at 59th and roosevelt, the other transferred to fire, “Dual distpatch” occurs, and both police and fire are dispatched to the scene, arriving at the same time. Police find five people down inside, and no suspect on scene. Two victims were dead at the scene, the others were triaged and transferred to Harborview. Dectectives, gang units, homicide and robbery, UW police, SPD officers on loan to the FBI all showed up to the scene. The area was canvassed, and a K-9 unit was called in. Evidence recovery is ongoing. Pictures from the scene have now been release. He has not been positively identified yet. The 8th and Seneca shooting call comes in around a half hour later.

UPDATE (2:42 PM):Seattle Police department reports that another of the shooting victims has died. Speculation online is that the victims are members of the band God’s Favorite Beefcake, but this is unconfirmed at this time.

UPDATE (12:56 PM):More to add to suspect’s description (via Casey McNerthney’s twitter feed):”New detail about North Seattle shooter: police say his black and white has a white collar. Has dark shirt over it.”

UPDATE (12:30 PM): Vis Casey McNerthney’s twitter feed: “Police telling Ravenna residents to stay inside, not open their doors as search for shooter is nearing second hour.”

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Seattle Fire and police responded to a shooting at Cafe Racer (5828 Roosevelt Way NE) right around 11 AM.

20120530-130147.jpg

GREG GILBERT / Photo courtesy THE SEATTLE TIMES

Two of the five shooting victims have died, both male. Three other victims include a woman, all of whom have been transported to Harborview Medical Center. The Associated Press reports that all three are in critical condition (12:37 PM, via twitter).

Suspect is still at large. His description is “Suspect is a wht man, 6’1, very thin, curly light brn hair, wearing a white & brn plaid shirt, a long sleeve shirt, and dark pants” via the Seattle Police Department Twitter feed.

Area schools and community centers are on lockdown or operating normally with doors locked.

Updates can be found at the links below, and on our twitter feed, as news develops: