This was posted this morning at the Maple Leaf Dog Oasis. Let’s get this dog home!

Take heed when you’re driving home this weekend. Starting at 10 tonight, the northbound I-5 off-ramp and Banner Way NE overpass at N 85th Street will be closed until 5 a.m. Monday.

According to the news release from the Seattle Department of Transportation, the closures are related to the road work that has been under way on 85th all summer:

These closures are necessary to complete roadway grinding and asphalt paving work on N 85th Street between Densmore Avenue N and I-5. Paving activities are scheduled to occur Friday night through Saturday morning (weather permitting) and will intermittently impact north/south access across N 85th Street at Wallingford Avenue N.

Drivers traveling on I-5 should use the NE 50th Street or N Northgate Way exits during the weekend closures. SDOT encourages drivers to continue following signed detour routes, plan ahead, expect delays, use alternate routes to and from I-5 and SR 99, and ride the bus, bike or walk when possible.

This weekend’s closures will occur simultaneously with other N 85th Street lane and I-5 on- and off-ramp closures that began earlier this month.

Metro bus routes will be affected by this work. Look for Rider Alert notices at the bus stops, see reroute information later this week on Metro Onlinewww.kingcounty.gov/metro or call (206) 553-3000.

The entire N/NW 85th Street Paving Project is scheduled to be complete by the end of October. This project is funded by the 2006 Bridging the Gap levy passed by voters, and makes much-needed repairs to the two-mile stretch of N/NW 85th Street between 15th Avenue NW and I-5, and Greenwood Avenue N.

A reminder that The Seattle Public Library is closed all of next week, and that local branches are closed today and Sunday.

That means if you need to visit a library nearby, Saturday’s the last day to do so until Sept. 4, after the Labor Day holiday.

The good news: This is the end.

Thanks to Seattle voters who earlier this month approved a $123 million library levy, this will be the last year the week-long closure is necessary.

Also, beginning next year all library branches will be open on Sunday, again thanks to the levy money.

This year, though, both the Green Lake branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N., and the Northgate branch, 10548 Fifth Ave. N.E., are closed today, open from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and closed on Sunday and until after Labor Day.

The main downtown Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., is open today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

More details are available at the library’s website.

Have you made your opinion known about the addition of bike lanes/elimination of parking on Roosevelt Way Northeast?

Presentation from Seattle Department of Transportation including comments from the Maple Leaf Community Council Executive Board.

A second open house is planned from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave. N.E., giving you one more opportunity to learn more about the current plans by the Seattle Department of Transportation and lodge your support/complaint of the proposal.

Summary of proposed changes from the news release:

• On-street parking would be restricted all day (“No parking anytime”) on the west side of Roosevelt Way NE from NE 75th Street to NE 85th Street
• 13 parking spaces would be restricted (“No parking anytime”) on the east side of Roosevelt Way NE near NE 75th Street and NE 80th Street to improve traffic signal operations
• 71 parking spaces would be retained on the east side of Roosevelt (which is more than enough to accommodate the peak demand for on-street parking).
• A dedicated bicycle lane would be added in the uphill (northbound) direction so that slower moving people on bicycles do not hold up traffic.
• Shared lane markings (sharrows) would be installed in the downhill (southbound) direction
• The new parking lane on the east side of the street would be wider than the current parking lanes
• The new bicycle lane would also serve as a buffer between parked cars and cars traveling on the street

Here are a few issues the Maple Leaf Community Council has with the current proposal:

(more…)

A memorial service was held this morning for a man known to generations of Maple Leaf residents, William Richard “Dick” Jackman, who co-founded what is now the Maple Leaf Pharmacy.

“Everybody knew him. Old-timers tell us stories all the time about how he delivered to their houses,” said Geraldine Crews, head technician at the pharmacy, 8830 Roosevelt Way N.E.

From his obituary in The Seattle Times:

He began work at Craigen Pharmacy in Seattle then partnered with Dave Richardson to open North Roosevelt Pharmacy in the Maple Leaf area. He became sole owner in 1973 and continued to run North Roosevelt (now Maple Leaf Pharmacy) until 1990. He is remembered as an earnest health care provider, beloved by his customers and employees. He often would get up in the middle of the night to deliver needed medications in an emergency.

A slide show of photos from his life can be viewed at the Acacia Funeral Home website.

“He was probably one of the most dedicated and caring pharmacists I’ve ever met,” said Bill McNary, now the owner of the Maple Leaf Pharmacy.

Jackman died June 25. He was 85 years old.

“Dick was the most ethical man I’ve ever met,” said Marlene Fiorito, who spent 46 years working at the pharmacy, beginning in 1953 when she was 15. “We were open seven days a week, until 9 p.m. at first,” she remembers.

Fiorito can tell rollicking stories about her years there with Jackman - including at least one robbery. “We really did care for one another.”

She said she remained at the pharmacy through several owners because they asked her to. “I knew all the customers,” she said. “I ended up staying my whole career.”

From the obituary:

He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Colleen, his children Robert (Janice), Richard (Sherrie), Ronald (Linda), Jeanelle Lund, William Jr. (Aimee), and grandchildren Will and Emma Lund, Gwyneth, James and Austin Jackman. Dick is also survived by brother, Don (Margrette), and sister, Gwen Buchan (Alan).

UPDATE: Even more noteworthy for many Maple Leaf residents is that COA just informed us that they had a break-in overnight: Photos.

COA Mexican Eatery & Tequileria has been tweeting about many changes at the year-old Maple Leaf restaurant at 7919 Roosevelt Way N.E., which recently hired a new head chef and revamped its menu.

Last month, owner Edgar Carreon announced a merger with Queen Anne’s La Luna that he tells us essentially makes the newer location “an extension of COA.”

According to an April post from our news partners at Queen Anne View, La Luna had also been only a year old when it sought a new beginning:

A reader stumbled across an ad on Craigslist, seeking a buyer for “everything… even the name and menu.” La Luna opened on April 15, 2011, in what was previously Flow Lounge.

Carreon tells us COA patrons are unlikely to be impacted by the change, but he has big plans for La Luna:
(more…)

Two items from our overnight email:

• Calvin reports numerous gunshots heard around 11 p.m. in Pinehurst, just northeast of Maple Leaf. “When I called in to the police they stated they’d heard several reports about it. I heard twenty to thirty shots in all.”

Anybody have more news on this?

• On a brighter note, Elise has a question about “random bunnies in Maple Leaf.”

Recently I’ve noticed a couple cute and friendly rabbits foraging on the corner of 17th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 91st Street. I saw them a few days ago in the late afternoon and tonight at around 1:30 a.m. One is large and brown and the other is black and a bit smaller.

They don’t seem to have any fear of people, so I worry they are escaped pets which may not know how to live safely out in the neighborhood. However, they are not amenable to being approached closer than about three feet, so maybe they’re wild and just hanging out. Neither have any indicators of being owned by anyone except for not acting feral. Keep your ears open for families missing their pets but please don’t call to get them rounded up by animal control. Thanks!

Saying that speeding drivers during school zone hours outside Olympic View Elementary School are among the fifth worst in the city, the Maple Leaf Community Council emails that the city intends to install a radar-operated camera to catch speeders along Fifth Avenue Northeast.

These units are like the automatic red light cameras, but focused on speeders. Those caught speeding will receive citations in the mail.

The radar cameras will be placed between the flashing “School Zone” lights. They should be installed, barring construction problems, in August or early September to be operational when the school year begins.

Olympic View is at 504 N.E. 95 St, between Fifth and Eighth avenues northeast. The statistics on speeding in a school zone came from the Seattle Department of Transportation, the community council says.

Celebrate the 2021 arrival of light rail to Northgate Station tomorrow at a groundbreaking of the Northgate Link Extension, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the former QFC at Northeast 66th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast.

A community kick-off celebration follows from 4:30-7:30 p.m., featuring:

• Live music by Roosevelt High School Jazz, Nu Klezmer Army, the Illicit Jug Cartel and the Rolling Retreads
• Face painter, balloon artist and train-themed bouncy house for the kids
• Link train photo booth – bring your camera or camera phone
• Zap Gridlock, Sound Transit’s traffic fighting superhero
• Project information booths – learn the latest on the station designs, public art, bicycle parking and access, current Sound Transit service and more.

You’ve probably figured out by now that avoiding Northgate is your best way to avoid major traffic woes this summer because of the NE Northgate Way and Fifth Avenue NE Intersection and Pedestrian Improvements Project. That’s not ending anytime soon.

Tomorrow the second phase begins, as the Seattle Department of Transportation builds a second left-hand turn lane for westbound traffic on Northgate Way turning onto southbound Fifth Avenue Northeast. This phase also includes extending the right-hand turn lane for northbound traffic on Fifth Avenue turning eastbound onto Northgate Way. Which means, one-lane travel will continue through mid-September as follows:

• Eastbound NE Northgate Way from Third to Eighth avenues
• Westbound NE Northgate Way from Third to Eighth avenues
• Northbound Fifth Avenue NE from just south of Key Bank through the intersection
• Southbound Fifth Avenue NE from NE Northgate Way to just south of Key Bank

Eastbound Northgate Way will remain one lane until project completion, which is scheduled before Thanksgiving. A news release from SDOT continues: (more…)

By now you may have heard of the rampaging raccoon bands attacking dogs and their walkers at North Seattle Community College. Our news partner The Seattle Times has the story here.

At the end of July, the college posted some 30 signs that read “BEWARE OF AGGRESSIVE RACCOON PACK” and hired a pest controller to set up five animal traps, said college spokeswoman Katherine Morse.

They’re still chasing the coons at the college, across Interstate 5 just west of Maple Leaf.

To the southeast, they’re still chasing the snake. That would be the six- to seven-foot albino Burmese yellow reticulated python on the loose in Cowen Park, at Northeast 61th Street and Brooklyn Avenue Northeast.

His name appears to be “Timid.” From Seattle Police: “If you see the python in your neighborhood, please call animal control at (206) 386-7387 or 911.”

Of less menace but more history, directly to the south the one-time home of Seattle author Betty MacDonald is being demolished. Paula Becker, a historian with HistoryLink.org, emailed us about it Monday.

McDonald, most famous as the author of The Egg and I, lived in the house in the 1930s. Becker wrote about the house, at 6317 15th Ave. N.E., here.

Finally, right here at home in Maple Leaf, KOMO has the story of Grandma Ada, who at age 95 is in her 20th year of volunteering at her alma mater, Olympic View Elementary School, 504 N.E. 95th St.

As a young girl Ada Snyder attended Olympic View elementary in North Seattle during the 1920’s. Today at the age of 95 she just finished up her 20th year volunteering there while working with students in Pam Heindl’s kindergarten class. Her loving, positive outlook and love for kids has kept “Grandma Ada” coming back.

The story is here.

You’re invited to help residents at Aljoya Thornton Place, 450 N.E. 100th St., celebrate the 25th anniversary of parent company Era Living from 4-6 p.m. tomorrow with a luau featuring:

• A menu including island-style, barbecued pork and tropical cocktails
• Entertainment by professional Hula dancers
• Traditional leis and outside island decor to set the scene

From a news release:

“In Hawaiian culture, the luau is all about gathering people together to celebrate and share community,” says Aljoya Thornton Place’s Life Enrichment Director, Megan Mummert. “At Aljoya, we want to share the spirit of family, or as the Hawaiians call it, ‘ohana,’ with our residents, neighbors and the broader community.”

Although the free event is open to the community, reservations are requested by calling 206-306-7920.

A neighbor emails that the Maple Leaf 7-Eleven on Roosevelt Avenue Northeast was robbed early this morning, and that he might have spotted the robber.

“There were about five squad cars around the store wrapping up their reports at about 4 a.m. The clerk told me the robber demanded cigarettes, cash, and scratch tickets, while flashing a gun that was tucked into his waistband. The clerk was in disbelief/shock but he’ll be okay.”

The 7-Elven is at 9126 Roosevelt Way N.E. The neighbor writes: “I may have unwittingly caught a glimpse of the suspect on my way there. A man started to cross the street then he saw me and quickly stepped back onto the sidewalk and continued on that side of the road. There was no traffic. I thought it was odd.”

The robbery has not yet shown up on the police crime map.

By MALI MAIN
UW News Lab

Construction on the Northgate Link Extension begins this month. Sound Transit will break ground Aug. 17 at a community celebration on the site of the future Roosevelt light rail station, at 12th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 66th and 67th avenues. During the next six months, Sound Transit will demolish the nearby QFC and surrounding buildings. Tunneling is not scheduled to begin until 2014.

Construction on the light rail between Capitol Hill and University of Washington started last summer. Along with it came the “Montlake Murmur.” Many Montlake, and some Capitol Hill, residents have complained to Sound Transit about loud noises and vibrations that seem to be coming from beneath their homes.

“You know when a car pulls up next to you at a stop light with the sub-woofer blasting and you can feel it as well as hear it?” wrote Montlake resident Kathleen Carroll in an email. “Well, imagine a gigantic sub-woofer going full blast running back and forth under your house!”

Carroll noticed a low rumbling just after construction started. Within a month, she said, the noise was “disrupting my sleep and rattling objects within my home.” (more…)

Robin writes overnight to say she and her husband found a lost dog about 8 p.m. at the corner of Eighth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 86th Street.

The dog is a (we believe) young very dark brown/black female pit bull with a slight white marking across her nose and white on her feet. She was wearing an army green studded collar with a City of Seattle license, but no info/name tag. She is an incredibly friendly, sweet doggie. We went door to door searching for her home or for anyone who could recognize her. Unfortunately, most people were not at home, and those who were did not know who she was.

They took the dog to ACCES - Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services - at 11536 Lake City Way N.E., where the vet could not find a microchip.

As Robin and her husband have cats, they left the dog at the vet. “Please, if you would, help pass on this info so we can try and get this sweet, sweet doggie back to her home.”