Ye writes:

I am a new mom living in Maple Leaf (bought our house here in 2009, and had our son 6 10 weeks ago).

I am wondering if any blog readers know of a neighborhood moms group. So far, I’ve found a few “Northeast” Seattle moms groups via Google search, but they either do not include Maple Leaf, or are exclusively for stay/work at home moms while I plan on returning to work.

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

We don’t know of a local Maple Leaf moms’ group. Anyone interested can leave comments here, though.

Glassique, the architectural design studio that opened last August at 9634 Roosevelt Way N.E. appears to have shut its doors abruptly this week.

According to a sign on the door, Glassique is relocating to Northeast 135th Street and Aurora, next to Supersupplements, with plans to reopen by June 18. For more information, call 206-963-4400.

Expect the playground at Olympic View Elementary School to look a little different this summer.

Starting Monday, construction crews will build two noise walls there to shield neighbors from what’s coming next.

That would be 83 holes, each 350 feet deep, to place ground source heat pump tubes under the playground.

According to the Seattle School District:

The drilling process will result in some noise, but in an audio range that is physically safe for our ears and well within the City of Seattle noise ordinance guidelines. We will make every effort to reduce the noise during the project.

The plan calls for drilling to begin on June 25, and potentially run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays until mid-August.

The playground is to be restored in time for school next September. The heat pump equipment inside the school is to be installed during summer 2013.

For more information call or email Steve Cole, project manager, 425-503-3393 or slcole(at)seattleschools.org

We’ve heard from two neighbors this week about local crimes.

Emily reports a home burglary on Friday, June 1, at Northeast 102nd Street and Eighth Avenue Northeast.

“We just wanted the neighborhood to know,” she emails. “The backpack burglars are back.”

Eric reports possible car prowlers at 4 a.m. Friday.

“I let my dog out and as I did so a car stopped in front of my house at Northeast 91 Street and 17th Avenue Northeast. I yelled at them and they took off. I called for a patrol car.

“Reminder, just because it’s raining doesn’t mean the crime will stop.”

When we ran the Seattle Police crime map for the month of May, we found a half-dozen burglaries (stars on the map) and about 14 vehicles either stolen or prowled in Maple Leaf.

Our last crime report was in early May.

Update June 3: To learn about honoring the Cafe Racer victims, or donate to funds, click here.

A memorial trust has been established for Donald Largen, a 57-year-old saxophone player and urban planner who was killed Wednesday in the Café Racer shooting, friends have announced.

Donations are needed to fund funeral expenses and support his surviving partner, Glenna Wilson.

A story about Largen ran in The Seattle Times on Thursday.

Donald Largen, a 57-year-old urban planner who played the saxophone, was one of the four people killed in a Wednesday morning attack by a gunman who opened fire at the Cafe Racer, according to his mother, Betty Parker.

“He was a very loving, kindhearted man,” Parker said Thursday.

Largen was a Seattle native who graduated from Shorecrest High School and the University of Washington. He worked as an urban planner while simultaneously pursuing his love of music, regularly playing at cafes and friend’s houses whenever possible. He loved Costa Rica and visited as often as possible with Glenna. He was a resident of the Roosevelt neighborhood and was a regular at local establishments such as the Café Racer, Latona Pub, Big Time Brewery and Café Allegro.

Donations are welcome in any amount and can be made at any Bank of America location to the Donald B. Largen Memorial Trust Fund. All proceeds will be used to cover funeral expenses, with the remainder going to Wilson, Largen’s partner of 22 years. Separate funds are being created for the other shooting victims.

The Times is also reporting:

Victims of the Cafe Racer shootings will be honored at a gathering outside the cafe Saturday afternoon and at a benefit concert Sunday evening — and the cafe’s owner says he has decided he will reopen the business, but he does not know when.

Today’s memorial is at 12:30 p.m. The concert is at 8 p.m. Sunday on a stage in the alley behind Cafe Racer, 5828 Roosevelt Way N.E.

A registered nurse with 34 years of experience has opened a “patient advocate” business serving northeast Seattle, including Maple Leaf, Wedgwood and View Ridge.

Debi Quirk’s new business, RN Patient Advocates of Puget Sound, is part of a national health business trend giving patients somebody “in their corner” when it comes to navigating the often complex world of doctors and hospitals. Here’s an NPR story on the trend.

Quirk, who lives in Bryant, says in an email:

“We will collaborate with your doctors on your behalf, and help you to understand what is happening. You will know what your best treatment options are. You will not have to navigate through this alone. We are knowledgeable in all modalities, conventional, functional and integrative medicine. We can ask those questions that you do not know how to ask, and explain the answers to you and your family. You will have us by your side along with the most current knowledge and research, including evidence for best practice.”

Quirk, who spent 20 years teaching future nurses at the university level, recently completed extensive training in patient advocacy through RN Patient Advocates and the University of Arizona.

For more information contact: [email protected]

Disclosure: Quirk is an active volunteer with North East Seattle Together, a local senior non-profit. The author is on the board of NEST.

Stay close to home while entertaining the whole family today and tomorrow with two performances your kids won’t want to miss.

Tonight, Magician Jack Turk is performing at 6:30 p.m. at nearby Jane Addams K-8, 11051 34th Ave. N.E., in a fundraiser for the school. The family-friendly show includes magic tricks, juggling, puppets and more. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for children 3 and older, and children 3 and younger are free. Group discount prices are available at a cost of $25 for up to four people, or $30 for groups of more than four.

The fun continues tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. with Caspar Babypants and Kate Endle, who are adding a little music to the monthly free story time at Northgate Mall. Caspar and Kate will be reading and sharing songs from their books “Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight,” “My Woodland Wish” and “Who Hoo Are You?”, plus their newest book, “Augie to Zebra: An Alphabet Book.”

All ages are welcome; the first 25 Kidgits members receive a free Caspar and Kate book. Additional books as well as the new Caspar Babypants CD, “Hot Dog!”, also will be available for purchase after the event, when Caspar and Kate will be signing books. For more information on becoming a Kidgits member, go to Simon Guest Services at the mall. Annual cost is $5.

The Seattle Times is now identifying the shooter, who is said to have lived at Roosevelt Way Northeast and Northeast 47th Street, and quoting a family member saying he is mentally ill.

Update 5:15 p.m. Our news partners at The Seattle Times report:

Seattle police said they believe the same man was responsible for two deadly shootings in Seattle Wednesday.

The man fatally shot himself in the head on a West Seattle sidewalk as police closed in. Update 5:30 p.m. Shooter now reported in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center.

He is believed by police to have killed three people and wounded two others at Café Racer Espresso earlier Wednesday. A half-hour later, he shot a woman to death near Town Hall in the First Hill neighborhood.

Update 3:20 p.m. Police have released a surveillance video photo from inside Cafe Racer. They describe the suspect as a white male, approximately 30 years old, wearing a dark short cap, with well-groomed dark hair, a neat full beard, wearing a light blue jacket. He is considered armed and dangerous.

If you recognize this man, please immediately contact the SPD tip line at 206-233-5000 or call 911

Update 3:15 p.m. SeattlePI.com Tweeting: “SWAT Officers taking defensive positions now on Roosevelt south of NE 50th. Armored vehicle here.”

Police search for shooting suspect outside a Maple Leaf home in the vicinity of 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 85th Street. Photo courtesy of a neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous, but emailed: “The resident looked pretty scared when he answered the door. He left and was not a suspect.”

Update 1:15 p.m.The report that a suspect might be in the Maple Leaf neighborhood, two miles north of the shooting scene, was a false alarm. But police and TV crews remain on scene on 12th Avenue Northeast, just south of Whole Foods.

One neighbor said police, doing house-to-house searches, even searched his shed. Suspect now described as 6-foot-1, thin white male, plaid shirt and dark pants.

Elementary students visiting Roosevelt High School from Granite Falls and Edmonds were filing back into school buses under police guard. Cowen Park is not closed.

Update 12:51 p.m. KIRO is reporting: There are reports officers entered a house and cleared out neighbors two miles north of the shooting scene in the Maple Leaf area.

Follow this breaking news on Twitter here: #RooseveltShooting

Those helicopters you hear are hovering over Roosevelt Way Northeast at Northeast 58th and 55th streets. Three Two people are dead and two three injured, police report. Officers are searching for the gunman. For updates go to our news partners The Seattle Times.

The Times reports:

Roosevelt High School, Eckstein Middle School and Green Lake Elementary School have been locked down.

The Maple Leaf Community Council sent this to its email list:

Dear Neighbor -

There has been a shooting in the 5800 block of Roosevelt Way NE. This is nearly 20 blocks outside of Maple Leaf, but the suspect is at large and the Seattle Police Department is currently pursuing him northbound.

Suspect is a white man, 6′1, very thin, curly light brn hair, wearing a white & brown plaid shirt, a long sleeve shirt, and dark pants. Age is 30s.

If you see this man, call 911 immediately and stay hidden. DO NOT confront him.

From Seattle Police:

Around 11 a.m., several people called 911 and reported hearing gunfire coming from Cafe Racer at Northeast 58th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast.

Officers arrived on scene and found five people down inside the business.

The suspect in the shooting is a white male, 6’1, very thin, with curly light brown hair, wearing a white and brown plaid shirt and dark pants. Police believe he is armed and dangerous.

There is currently a heavy police presence in the University District, with K9, SWAT, Homicide detectives, crime scene investigators, and patrol officers all in the area working on the case and searching for the suspect.

As a precaution, area residents should keep their doors and windows locked, and to call police if you find any indications someone has tried to break in to your home.

If you have information about this case or the suspect, please call 911.

Outdoors NW magazine, which is based near Maple Leaf at 10002 Aurora Ave. N., #36, has been a popular print magazine for nearly a quarter-century among Seattle- and Portland-area recreationalists.

Now Outdoors NW is also gaining fans in the social media world, with plans to launch a Pinterest contest that starts tomorrow, coinciding with the release of its new logo, shown at right.

Users of Pinterest, a social media site that allows users to “pin” articles, photos and other links to their site, will be eligible to win a new outdoor bag by “pinning” their favorite from an outdoor bag review the magazine will publish tomorrow on its website, OutdoorsNW.com.

In a news release, the magazine explains that its social media efforts have been under way for some time:

Besides a continued web presence, Outdoors NW has embraced social media and taken it to a new level this year. To that end, they hired new editor and social media strategist, Hilary Meyerson, who oversees the social media channels as well as the print editorial. Meyerson has quadrupled the company’s Twitter followers since January, bringing in new readers and advertisers alike.

To get social with Outdoor NW, check out its sites on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

Once again, Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon is doing its part for the Spoke & Food “evening of dining and bikes,” an annual event created by Maple Leaf residents Garett and Heather Slettebak.

From 6-10 p.m. June 26, cyclists are encouraged to pedal to participating restaurants, including Snappy Dragon, 8917 Roosevelt Way N.E., which each have agreed to donate 20 percent or more of the evening’s proceeds to FamilyWorks Family Resource Center & Food Bank.

There are plenty of other nearby restaurants that are participating if you’d like to get in a bit more of a workout, which you can view on the Spoke & Food website.

Neighbors are invited to a meeting Wednesday night to learn about construction that will take place at Olympic View Elementary School this summer.

The school is one of three in Seattle getting a ground-source heat pump system, funded by levy money.

This system takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce operating costs of heating and cooling systems. This will also be a learning opportunity for students.

The public meeting is at the school, 504 N.E. 95th St., on Wednesday May 30 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Construction will be outdoors this summer and move indoors in summer 2013.

In addition, Seattle Schools earlier this month announced that Sandra Powell will become the school’s new principal on July 1.

Powell, most recently assistant principal at Nathan Hale High School, comes to Olympic View with 27 years of experience as an educator. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in New York City and a teacher mentor for the United Federation of Teachers/ Teacher Centers. She moved to Baltimore and served as the lead teacher at Moravia Park Pre K-8 Campus School.

Ms. Powell has also worked as the International Studies Coordinator/Director of Social Studies at Community School District 13 in Brooklyn, New York; English foreign language teacher at Suzhou Middle School, Suzhou, Peoples Republic of China; and a social studies lead teacher/global studies teacher at Benjamin Banneker High School in New York. Ms. Powell was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey.

She holds a Master of Science in Education, School Administration and Supervision from Johns Hopkins University and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has a Washington State Administrative Certification.

Update May 28: KOMO is reporting the victim has died.

Update 4:15 p.m. The Seattlepi.com is reporting that a new shooting in Greenwood makes this the most violent 4-day period here since 2008.

A man who operates a marijuana growing operation from his Pinehurst home was shot early this morning by a suspect who broke into the home, police report.

The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. in the 12300 block of 11th Avenue Northeast, police said. “The suspect was confronted by the adult male homeowner. The armed suspect fired upon the victim, striking him in the chest,” according to police Detective Renee Witt.

“He was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injures. The suspect is described as an Asian male, 20-30 years old, medium height, slim build, short black hair, wearing a dark jacket.”

While officers were on the scene a second homeowner called in a burglary at a residence near Northeast 125th Street and 12th Avenue Northeast, but police didn’t find that suspect either.

This spring we’ve received a raft of pleas to post requests for Maple Leaf families to host foreign exchange students.

Here are three such requests:

From Jodie:

CIEE High School students stay with their host families for one to two semesters while attending a US high school. The cultural exchange between your family and the student will help you both to gain a deeper understanding of human values that unite all nations across the world. By having these students live with American families, we break down the barriers that divide people, not only across international borders, but also within our own community. CIEE students have their own funds for school lunches, clothing and personal spending needs as well as medical insurance. Please call Leah at 855-247-7042 and make a difference in our world. Visit www.ciee.org to learn more about hosting.

From Sharon:

EarthCorps is recruiting homestay hosts for our 2012 cohort of young adult environmental leaders from around the world. EarthCorps (www.earthcorps.org) is a nonprofit whose mission is to build global community through local environmental service. This year’s group hales from: Laos, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, St. Lucia, Brazil, Russia, China and Guatemala. To learn more about becoming a host family, contact Su Thieda, EarthCorps Program Director ([email protected] or 206.322.9296 ext. 224). Meet our international participants here.

Our host families come in all shapes and sizes. Some have children, others do not. Some are younger, while others are more experienced. Some are extremely busy with many activities. Some families have big houses while many have small houses where exchange students share a bedroom with a host brother or sister. Some are single people, and others are unmarried partners. You must live within a 45 minute bus ride of EarthCorps office in Magnuson Park. Up to $350 stipend to offset cost of living expenses.

From Shawna:

Council for Educational Travel, USA (CETUSA) is a non-profit, global exchange organization that is looking for a family to open their home to Jonas, a 15-year-old German. Jonas will arrive in September 2012 and attend a local high school. He will return to Germany in June 2013. Jonas wants to spend his year abroad in Washington because he enjoys nature, the outdoors, and being near the water. Jonas loves to fish, sail, and swim. Jonas also enjoys skiing, camping, hiking, cooking, and biking. He is allergic to cats. Jonas has his own insurance and spending money. He doesn’t need a room of his own, as he could share with another child of the same gender. It is not necessary to have children at home to host. If you could open you heart and home to Jonas, or if you would like more information, call Shawna (CETUSA Community Coordinator) at 207.542.4179 or email [email protected]

If you’ve been missing the neighborhood sale that took place in summer 2010 at Blue Saucer, 9127 Roosevelt Way N.E., owner Billie Bryan is brewing up a new idea that nixes the garage sale items and instead features many of the unique handmade items offered at her earlier events. She tells us about the Aug. 19 “Pop-Up Open Market”:

I’m looking for lots of great crafts, collectibles and “junque”, much like the vintage sales and shabby chic markets and boutiques around the state such as “Ruffles & Rust” in Monroe, the Groovy Girlfriends Vintage Market in Lake City, and with a twist of perhaps Baked Goods, lots of jewelry and maybe some garden stuff and possibly early Holiday items.

It’s a new idea in a neighborhood that already has the an annual community-wide garage sale (which we still don’t have a 2012 date for), and is the original home of the Bumps & Babies Fair. But that doesn’t mean used items are out of running. Bryan adds that she hopes to see plenty of “stuff like cowboy boots and leather belts, vintage kitchen wares, linens, fabrics, aprons … ”

Sound like your kind of sale? Bryan is asking vendors to sign up for the Open Market at Blue Saucer. If you sign up, let us know what you’ll be selling so we can start tallying up a list for readers!

You might have seen the changes at Safeway - wine being shoved aside or restocked, with stacks of liquor under wraps nearby.

The wraps come off a week from Friday, on June 1.

“Starting June 1st check out our hot prices on a large selection of liquor,” according to a mailing Safeway sent out earlier this month. The nearest stores, on Roosevelt Way Northeast at Northeast 75th Street, and at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 124th Street, both have liquor displays ready to unveil.

The QFC at Roosevelt and Northeast Northgate Way also plans to sell liquor, an employee said.

The nearest state-owned liquor stores, at Northgate and University Village, will close next week.