Spring Clean

Spring Clean, April 5 – May 31, is Seattle's premier clean up event and part of Mayor Greg Nickels' Clean and Green Seattle Initiative. Now in its 22nd year, Spring Clean provides opportunities for citizens to clean up Seattle's public open spaces of their choice with city support.

More details from the City website, or just download the registration form, and away you go. Project ideas on the website: you're welcome to use this blog to recruit others, publicize your ideas, etc.

Leaves in street: City can help you help yourself!

I was alarmed by the huge piles of leaves in nearby gutters: way too many to dispose of in my household "clean green" pickups. Wrote to the City and learnt of a new Adopt-A-Drain program to help groups of neighbors use City supplied tools to bag leaves, which are then removed by City trucks.

I will apply for a set of equipment, and encourage you to do so for your street (or you could come and borrow "mine").

Andrew Taylor

The City's full-time drainage crew is still out there working to remove leaves from the gutters but unfortunately they can't keep up with the number of drains, etc. In the end of October the City launched a new Adopt-A-Drain program which aims to help support volunteers/ neighborhoods that are doing exactly what you are doing. This program was established to help provide folks with the supplies needed (rakes, gloves, bags and free pickup for people who get the yard waste service) to keep the drains clean/clear of leaves.

If you have any questions about the program or would like additional information please get back in touch.

Gretchen Muller
Environmental Outreach Program Mgr.
206.684.0570 Office

Two Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend Events

1) The next MaDCAP neighborhood cleanup will be Saturday, November 17th, beginning at 10:00 am and ending at 11:30. The positive changes in the neighborhood of late allow for a later start time and an earlier finish as we've found there just isn't as much to clean up. We will gather in the open space behind the Prince of Wales apartment building at 1818 20th Ave. Starbuck's coffee will be available beginning at 9:40. The MaDCAP cleanup is designed to bring together committed neighbors interested in bringing about positive change to the area. Being a presence on the street while keeping the neighborhood clean is our goal. We hope you can take the time to join us.

2) Sunday November 18th is the LAST Broadway Farmers' Market of the 2007 Season. Here's a list of what will be available.

The Broadway Farmers Market takes place every Sunday, 11 am - 3 pm, from May 13 through Nov. 18, in the lot behind the Bank of America at Broadway & E. Thomas. The market is operated by the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening Washington's small family farms.

Hello Market Shoppers! This Sunday is the LAST MARKET DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING – and the last market day of the 2007 season. Stock up with winter squashes, potatoes, apples, onions and other long-storing produce (keep in a cool, dark cupboard or cellar – check out the links below if you’re inspired to learn more and plan on saving money by buying in bulk from local farmers).

There are plenty of winter greens and vegetables to choose from, for side dishes, raw salads and soups (and remember, left-over soup freezes easily for use at a later date).

Other great stuff to get: local honey, pastries, fresh pasta, delicious salmon, cheeses, meats and eggs (YES, we’ll have eggs on Sunday!). If you don’t see what you’re looking for, be sure to ask at the market info tent – market staff are knowledgeable and it can be surprisingly easy to miss something, even when you’re sure you’ve seen every market stall.

Adopt a drain -- or just help keep them clear

(stolen from Capitolhillnews)
It's that time of year when the leaves combine with the rain and create clogged drains around town. Even on top of our hill there can be problems with puddling. What can you do? The City of Seattle has organized a program called Adopt a Drain where you can sign-up and then be the recipient of tools to help keep your designated drain/s clear.

Learn more and sign up via the City's website at:
http://tinyurl.com/35porl

Even if you don't want to commit to be a fully designated storm drain steward, feel free to help keep area drains clear and flowing.

"Volunteers are only asked to remove the matted leaves from the tops of the drains. If the drain is still clogged even after you’ve removed the matting, then call our drainage problem hotline at (206) 386-1800 to report it. Do not try to unclog the drain. Removing matting is safe, but clearing out a deep clog requires special expertise."

For More Information
The Adopt A Street/Drain team is ready to help you with your questions, please call the 24-hour hotline at (206) 684-7647 and leave a message or e-mail adoptastreet@seattle.gov .

Neighborhood featured in SPD Newsletter

Below is an excerpt from the Sept. 16th Seattle Police Department "Report to the Community", which came with the Sunday newspaper, and is now available online.

EAST PRECINCT

In the East Precinct, it was another kind of outreach. In the Miller Park neighborhood, particularly the intersection of Madison and 21st, precinct officers joined forces with neighborhood Blockwatch groups and various agencies to address the lawlessness and drug-dealing that had made the neighborhood unsafe.

Police arrested the hardcore lawbreakers and entered them into the criminal justice system. But in addition to more assertive policing, officers tried something completely novel: they set up a kind of outdoor “street school” in which free classes were offered to neighborhood denizens. The classes, which took place in an alley every Tuesday afternoon, offered lessons on everything from how to get a job to learning how to take care of one’s vision. The classes provided a way for people in need to “connect” with people who could help.

In the long run this dual approach, enforcement and education, improves safety and security.

At the same time the street school was in session, police worked with the liquor control board to shut down a local tavern that had become a magnet for drug dealers and buyers and an assortment of other lawbreakers. With the tavern closed, the trouble-makers jailed and the needy given help, residents reclaimed their neighborhood.

Capt. Paul McDonagh, recently promoted to command the East Precinct, credits Lt. John Hayes and Ofc. Tyrone Davis for bringing about the transformation. Said McDonagh: “They have done a lot of good work out there.”

Farewell Dan Okada; Welcome Tienney Milnor

Our neighborhood has benefited for many years from the City Attorney's "Precinct Liason Program". Assistant City Attorneys, assigned to the East Precinct, have been invaluable in dealing with Liquor License applications and renewals, Good Neighbor Agreements with bars and minimarts, and many other services they can tell you about.

Dan Okada has been our attorney for several years: his masterpiece, for which we will be always grateful, was the negotiations with the owner of Club Chocolate City, which resulted in that bar relinquishing its liquor license. Dan has now returned to prosecuting cases for the City. He has our eternal thanks, although he (very ethically) refused our small gift at a recent cleanup.

His replacement is Tienney Milnor, who worked alongside him for a couple of months to learn the ropes. The City's directory is outdated: Tienney and Dan have essentially swapped jobs and offices, but the links still show their old phone numbers.

Tienney's already hard at work attending neighborhood meetings, and is working on the public safety issues at the 23rd & Union shopping area - things got bad there about the time that Club Chocolate City closed, although the crowds hanging out in the two areas seemed different.

Do contact Tienney (206-684-4375, tienney.milnor@seattle.gov ) if there are public safety issues that might benefit from her help. And don't be shy about dropping Dan a note to thank him for all his help.

Offical Neighborhood motto revealed

Life in our neighborhood remains "stranger than fiction". Deano's Grocery Store is a prime example. The store's window has in the past been observed to be decorated with a post-it note offering the services of a (presumably) nearby woman, and still advertises the interestingly named "Pimpjuice" energy drink.

Recently I noticed this carefully printed, meticulously applied sign displayed on the window. It's a quote attributed to the existential German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." Yes, we have a mini-mart with existential leanings.

It confirms, yet again, my belief that our official neighborhood motto should be:

"You couldn't make this stuff up"

Need further proof? Consider the following. For about a year now, we've been helped in our efforts by Lt. William Edwards of the Narcotics Division. He always appeared in plain clothes, presumably due to the nature of his work. We were therefore surprised when he turned up at the March 17th MaDCAP street cleanup in a Police Uniform!

We were even more surprised when a passer by proceeded to sell some crack right next to him. Yep, sold crack next to a Police Officer in uniform!

Say after me: "You couldn't..............

MaDCAP neighborhood cleanup Saturday, March 17th

The next MaDCAP neighborhood cleanup will be Saturday, March 17th beginning at 10:00 am and ending at noon. We will gather in the open space behind the Prince of Wales apartment building at 1818 20th Ave. Starbuck's coffee will be available beginning at 9:45. The MaDCAP cleanup is designed to bring together committed neighbors interested in bringing about positive change to the area. Being a presence on the street while keeping the neighborhood clean is our goal. We hope you can take the time to join us.

Notice from jon vandemoortel

Pictures: August '06 cleanup, First (March '05) MaDCAP Cleanup