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Download Free e-books from the Library
E-books are rapidly becoming the way people read books, witness the popularity of the Apple I-Pad, Amazon Kindle, and various smart phones. The Seattle Public Library has a fairly large selection of e-books that you can check out / download without going to a branch. Videos and music can also be downloaded.
Check it out, so to speak, at the Broadview Branch. Once you get the software set up — a few clicks — you can enjoy books, video or music on your computer or portable device. Save a tree, and some gas, go digital.
Man’s body found along beach
Submitted by KOMO Staff on Monday, September 6th, 10:19am
Seattle police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found on the beach about one mile north of Carkeek Park on Monday.
Police spokeswoman Renee Witt said a woman walking on the beach discovered the body just before 9 a.m.
The dead man appears to be in his 40s, Witt said, but he has not been identified and it is not clear how he died.
The man was wearing a hospital gown, but “at this point we don’t know how the body got there,” Witt said.
Detectives are collecting evidence in the area.
Looking for something to do this Labor Day weekend in Broadview?
Consider a hike in Carkeek Park.
There are about five miles of trails winding through the woods. Over the past ten years many volunteers have worked to much improve the trails. Trail maps are available on the kiosks. The photos show a new trail that volunteers built this year, connecting the Environmental Learning Center to Piper’s Creek Trail. You don’t have to drive two hours to hike in the woods and enjoy nature’s beauty.
Have a safe and fun weekend.
◊photos djohnson
BITTERLAKE P-PATCH WINS 1st PLACE TROPHY IN THEIR CATEGORY
On Wednesday, July 28, 2010, our Bitterlake P-Patch participated in the 60th Annual Greenwood Seafair Parade. This years theme was “Greenwood Has Talent.” Our Bitterlake P-Patch entry exhibited the amazing talent of Green Thumbs and the transformation of a pickup truck into a rolling P-Patch.
Gloria was the skilled copilot/navigator and because of her I didn’t rear end the Ballard Eagles Girls Drill Team nor did I run over our marching tomatoes. Gloria’s internal GPS navigated us to the parade’s finish while giving the Green Thumbs Up sign and responding back to her numerous friends along the parade route.
Ellen, aka Red Tomato, high Green Thumbed practically every child along the parade route. They loved her enthusiasm and great smile and anxiously waited to be high Green Thumbed by her. There were a few who just couldn’t wait for Ellen and ran out to the street to greet her.
Margarita, aka Russet Potato, was truly Hollywood material wearing the latest in burlap potato sacks. Among props of potatoes, corn, and tall Shasta daisies, Margarita gave the Princess potato wave with style and grace.
Darcie, aka Red Tomato, did what appeared to be a Red Tomato two-step to the rhythm of a band ahead of us. Amazingly, Darcie was able to high Green Thumb the crowd while doing this innovative two-step. Darcie is the Haute Couture of Green Thumbs. She did a fantastic job creating our Green Thumbs that received so much attention.
Mark, aka Red Tomato, tends to be low key but soon found his niche in entertaining the thousands of parade attendees. The crowd seemed to love and respond to him. This experience possibly could foster a potential 2nd career for Mark.
Jim, rival to Seattle’s famous “Bill the Beer Man,” was the ultimate crowd pleaser. Jim looking dapper in his green shirt, farmers hat and scarf, exuberantly worked both sides of the street getting Green Thumbs Up and loud cheers from the crowd. Jim captivated the attention of all. Jim was the official P-Patch parade entry photographer and his great pictures can be see on at jimbobrewer@gmail.com
If ever there were a perfect gathering of P-Patch persons to represent us before thousands of appreciative parade watchers, Jim, Mark, Darcie, Margarita, Ellen and Gloria were just that—–perfect! A gigantic GREEN THUMBS UP to them for their dedication, enthusiasm and for an undertaking well done. Appreciation also goes to those who participated at the signage work party. Those signs that they created contributed to our winning a First Place Trophy. Special thanks to Rob who supplied us with paint and art paper
Until our next successful endeavor, Lee
sent in by Stacey V. Brotherton
Firewood on the Move
A homeowner in Broadview heard a loud crash 10:30 AM on 2nd and NW 105th. Investigating the sound the owner finds a firewood delivery truck in the yard. The truck was delivering wood across the street. The driver was not inside the truck when it started rolling across the street, crashing through the fence and hitting the house.
The homeowner feels sad that her antique birdbath was between the home and the truck but feels very lucky that no one was hurt.
Alert: Proposed Change to Seattle Tree Regulations
The Seattle Department of Planning and Development issued proposed new protection and development regulations on July 14, 2010. Recently I attended a DPD presentation to Seattle Great City, where the city presenters reviewed their study which showed the on-going loss of tree canopy in Seattle. The proposal—an update of the city’s existing tree regulations—is aimed at increasing Seattle’s total tree cover from 22.9 percent to 30 percent by 2037. Tree loss has been especially bad in predominantly low-income areas like Southeast Seattle. In the Broadview-Bitter Lake sector, the tree canopy loss was reported to have increased 0 – 2% from 2002 to 2007. The bright green areas often reflect the increase planting and growth of street trees in the right of way.
Summarizing an excellent article in the Seattle news website, Pubicola.com, the proposal would:
- Require people who tear down existing houses or build new ones to get a specific number of “tree credits” by preserving existing trees or planting new ones. The tree credit system would also apply to institutional buildings in single-family zones.
- Require land owners in multifamily and commercial zones to meet so-called Green Factor requirements for planting or keeping trees (another complicated formula, this one aimed at retaining trees, which you can read about here).
- Make it easier for developers to get exceptions to land-use rules if it means preserving an exceptional (very old or large) tree. Currently, getting land-use exemptions to save old trees can add as much as six months to permitting for a project.
- Eliminate the requirement that land owners preserve all exceptional trees. A “permanent exceptional tree protection requirement would be extremely burdensome for the few people who actually have exceptional trees because it would allow no flexibility to manage trees that may outgrow their space or prevent light access, gardens, or other uses and would be a major incentive to cut trees before they grow to become exceptional,” the city’s tree report says.
- Additionally, the city is considering: Requiring developers to get a “maintenance bond” to ensure that they actually plant trees at new developments, and allowing homeowners to contribute to a new tree fund instead of planting or keeping trees.
The proposal is not supported by many on the City’s appointed Urban Forestry Commission, who think the proposal is too weak, too complicated and will not adequately protected at large and Exceptional, heritage trees. We recommend you read the full the article, see the graphics and excellent discussion in the Publicola website on 8/25/10- here’s the link:
http://www.publicola.net/2010/08/25/seattle-wants-to-make-cutting-down-trees-more-complicated/.
Here’s a link to the proposed DPD regulations:
http://www.publicola.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/dpdp019340.pdf
The City is hosting an open house on the proposed changes on September 21st at the Bertha Landes Room of City Hall, (open house is 5:30 – 7:30, with the presentation starting at 6:00 pm.)
Linden Design Update
On August 20 the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) project team for the Linden Avenue N Complete Street project held an open house at the Bitter Lake Community Center to update the community on the latest version of the design for the street improvements. Project manager Connie Zimmerman and project design engineer David Vijarro described changes added to the project based on feedback from the design open house in 2009.
The changes include:
- Placed both bicycle lanes on the east side of the street, buffered from traffic. This is new to Seattle but is used successfully in other cities.
- Added a sidewalk on the west side of Linden between N 128th St. and N 130th St., for better access to the Interurban Trail at N 128th St.
- Added a crosswalk between the Bitter Lake Community Center and the east side of Linden at N 131st St, for access to the stores in the shopping area east of Linden.
- Added a sidewalk on the west side of Linden north of N137th St., for a more direct route than the current sidewalk.
- In addition, the design pictures included more detail about landscaping with street trees, and parking for cars.
Connie Zimmerman explained the funding situation. Currently there is enough funding in the budget to construct the improvements from N 130th St. to N 135th St., approximately $4.8 million. The current project schedule would finish constructing that segment by the end of 2012. Construction of the other segments would depend on when funding became available – it is estimated that the cost to construct the remaining blocks would be $7.5 million. During the question and answer period the point was made that right now the 2011-2012 City budget is being put together, and if you want the rest of Linden improvements constructed now is the time to contact the mayor and city council members urging that.
To get up to date information on the project visit http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/linden.htm You can also subscribe to e-mail updates at this site.
Two Missing Cats
Earlier this Summer a resident on North 144th was awakened at 3AM by three Raccoons inside their house who had gained entry through a pet door. The resident’s Brown and Black tabby cat is now missing along with a small long hair cat named Miss Chiff or Chiffer from the same neighborhood. In the same area last week a small dog was attacked by a Mother Raccoon at 5PM as neighbors fought off the Raccoon with a rake and a garbage can. The Raccoons were filmed in a neighbor’s tree after the incident:
In North Broadview Neighbors have lost pets to Coyotes in years past. Even in the most urban of settings, Raccoons live side-by-side with humans. Most of the time we aren’t even aware that they are there. One lesson to be learned from these horrible incidents are that we should not take the safety of our surroundings for granted.
Follow these tips to prevent conflicts with Raccoons this time of year while mothers and babies are out looking for food:
* Before you let your pet outside quickly check your yard for Raccoons or other animals. Think of it as similar to looking both ways before crossing the road.
* Securely cover your compost and garbage cans.
* Feed pets inside or bring in the dishes immediately after pets are finished eating.
* Close and lock pet doors at night.
* Harvest ripe fruit and vegetables and pick up fallen fruits right away.
* Securely cover your compost and garbage cans.
* Feed pets inside or bring in the dishes immediately after pets are finished eating.
* Close and lock pet doors at night.
* Harvest ripe fruit and vegetables and pick up fallen fruits right away.
for more information http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/pub.php?id=00630
