Ladies, don’t forget about the second stop by the “Pink Tour” at Maple Leaf Ace Hardware, 900 Roosevelt Way N.E.

The first stop by the “Pink Tour” at Maple Leaf Ace Hardware was on Nov. 8.

From 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, women are invited to cruise the aisles for this after-hours event, with 5 percent of all sales benefiting the Susan G. Koman For The Cure.

Ace is asking women to RSVP in person at Ace or Reckless Video next door, or via email to mike (at) mapleleaface.com. Attendees must be 21 and older, as there will be complimentary wine and beer, as well as cheese, crackers and, of course, bolts.

A reader just emailed us to let us know about suspected car prowls and mailbox thefts overnight between Northeast 98th and 101st Streets.

There was apparently a slew of car prowls and mailbox theft along at least 98th, 100th, and 101st steets last night. I know this because my car was among the prowled (only CDs stolen, though), but we did find someone else’s mail in our car and noticed every mailbox on our block was left open this morning. Victims of mail theft may not know they have been victims yet. Thought your readers might like to know. People who have been prowled or had mail stolen should definitely report it, however. Low-dollar-amount thefts can be easily reported online here: http://www.seattle.gov/spd/report/default.htm

Did anybody else notice anything out of the ordinary last night?

Tomorrow, Dec. 3, you can both give and receive at Chipotle Mexican Grill, located on the west side of Northgate Mall.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, December 3, the restaurant is giving customers who donate four or more cans of food to Northwest Harvest a buy-one-get-one-free card.

Do you know of other area locations collecting food for Northwest Harvest?

So far, all we have is a list of places collecting for Toys for Tots, which includes:

• Edward Jones, at 9524 Roosevelt Way N.E.,
• Walgreens, 859 N.E. Northgate Way
• Wild Roots Salon & Spa, 8814 Rosoevelt Way N.E. and Northgate Mall
• Maple Leaf Grill (collecting for Treehouse for Kids), 8929 Roosevelt Way N.E.

We’ve just gotten word that the Dec. 10 tour of the Maple Leaf Reservoir will not be expanded beyond the original 100 participants as previously was expected (or perhaps it was just hoped!). The city found that liability and security issues associated with greatly expanding the tour made it unfeasible.

Because we received hundreds of emails from hopeful reservoir tourists, we’ve only notified the first 100 people who emailed us. Which means, if you didn’t get an email from us, we regret to inform you that you didn’t make the cut.

We also regret to inform all of you who tried to RSVP via Facebook that you also did not make the cut. The blog post specifically said that people were to RSVP via email, however, one reader pointed out that the Facebook post was a bit misleading. It stated:

On Dec. 10 we’ll be able to take the first 100 folks who respond underneath the new covered reservoir before it’s flooded.

Unfortunately, it appears that many of our Facebook readers took the “underneath” phrasing to mean that they should “respond underneath,” rather than that the tour would take them “underneath the new covered reservoir,” and we sincerely apologize for that confusion.

For those of you who can’t physically make the tour, we hope to be your eyes and ears underneath the reservoir. Check back Dec. 10 for as up-close-and-personal of a view underneath the reservoir as possible via a blog site, and thanks for all of your support!

It’s all about Santa this weekend at Northgate Mall. On Friday, Dec. 2, he’s even bringing the Mrs. for a story time from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

But kids don’t get all of the fun with Santa this weekend. On Sunday, Dec. 4, your pooch or other friendly pet is invited to sit with Santa to have their picture taken. From 6:30-8 p.m., Santa is “Calling all cats, dogs, other pets (and their owners)!”

Other holiday events this weekend include:

• Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m: Drop ‘n Shop: Here’s your chance to get some holiday shopping done without the kids! Drop your kids off for a safe and fun play time at the Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave N.E. We’ll have jump toys, gym toys, a holiday craft project and holiday movie for them to enjoy. We’ll provide pizza and juice for dinner as well! Cost is $30 per child; sibling discount is $25.
• Dec 4, 2-6 p.m. Home for the Holidays Gingerbread House Decorating Party: At this benefit at North Helpline Food Bank, 12736 33rd Ave. N.E., every family will have a station complete with their own gingerbread house, white royal icing and a selection of candy. Complimentary coffee, cookies and cocoa included in cost of event. Live holiday music and a chance to have your photo taken with Santa or you finished gingerbread house! Advanced tickets available for $35/household at Brown Paper Tickets or RSVP via email at [email protected]. Questions? Call 206-367-3477.

Editor’s note: Earlier editions of this post stated the wrong date for the story time with Mrs. Claus, and included information about the Macy’s “Believe” campaign that has been moved to Dec. 10.

The North Link light rain line might pop out of the ground further north into Maple Leaf, Sound Transit has announced.

The portal, which will bring light rail above ground to the Northgate station, was originally scheduled to emerge along Interstate 5 near Northeast 85th Street.

Now it might stay underground from the University of Washington until about Northeast 94th Street.

Sound Transit has a list of reasons this might be a better idea. But it also means a tunnel under more of the neighborhood. It’s recently been reported that the tunnel work can impact the homes above.

The new idea, according to Sound Transit:

• Avoids utilities conflicts near Northeast 85th Street
• Avoids impacts to the Northeast 92nd Street bridge across I-5
• Has fewer impacts to 1st Avenue Northeast
• Is a more efficient construction site
• Is expected to be similar in cost to the Northeast 85th Street option

See our tunnel portal fact sheet to learn more.

There is a meeting on the Northgate station on Dec. 8 at Thornton Place.

The Northgate location of MKG Martial Arts International is opening its heart and its doors with a unique opportunity for you to learn Middle Eastern dance while helping out a family our partners at PhinneyWood have been writing about.

This is from Doree:

Ruby Smith, the 17-year-old daughter of Couth Buzzard Books co-owner Theo Dzielak, is battling Burkitt’s lymphoma, and the community has rallied to support her family while she undergoes chemotherapy. To help pay her treatment expenses, friends held a musical fundraiser in October. And now others are hosting a music and dance workshop this weekend.

“An Introduction to Middle Eastern Music & Dance Workshop” is a family-friendly class for all ages and abilities. It will be from 1-2:30 p.m. Sunday at MKG Seattle, 10722 5th Ave. NE in Northgate. (MKG used to be located where the new Couth Buzzard is now.)

Organizer Charina Pitzel is a friend of Ruby’s family, and wanted to help out however she could. She asked award-winning Middle Eastern dance performer Elisa Gamalto lead the workshop. Gamal will be accompanied by world music band Hejira. Following the class will be an improv performance by Elisa and Hejira.

Gamal says that Middle Eastern dance is for everybody, including men and children.

“People tend to naturally think that bellydance is just for women, but ‘over there’ everybody does it. (D)ance is a universal language that we all share — a way to express and communicate joy with each other, and the arts of music and dance are a lovely way to bridge cultures.”

The workshop is free, with donations of any amount accepted.

For more information, check out the event’s Facebook page. And you can listen to a performance by Hejira here.

Happy Monday after Thanksgiving to all. (Who’s shopping online today?)

Over the weekend, in between celebration and cleanup, we started on the schedule for tours of the Maple Leaf Reservoir. Mai Ling already started emailing the first 100 folks we know we can take down inside on Saturday, Dec. 10. I plan to continue sending those emails today.

We still expect some way to take more than the first 100, but probably won’t hear back from Seattle Public Utilities on that until Tuesday at the earliest.

Once we hear, we’ll let you know.

Seattle Police report repeated gunshots were heard early this morning in just off 15th Avenue Northeast in Pinehurst.

At approximately 1:36 a.m., 911 callers reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing people running. According to witnesses, the suspect(s) fired from a Volkswagen Passat or similar type vehicle in the 12000 block of Pinehurst Way Northeast.

North Precinct officers responded and located two of the people seen running. They were interviewed by officers, but it was undetermined if they were the intended targets of the shots fired. Officers searched for the suspect vehicle, but it was not located. It does not appear that any victims were struck, nor was there any property damage located. Officers did recover a shell casing in the 11700 block of Pinehurst.

With our dedicated day of thanks behind us, it’s time to turn to the season of giving … and shopping.

On giving, we need your help locating Maple Leaf locations where residents can drop off donations for Toys for Tots, and a reader also has requested locations to drop off pet food.

Harald Kohl with Edward Jones, at 9524 Roosevelt Way N.E., already emailed us to says his office is collecting toys, and that Edward Jones in the Puget Sound region will be the largest supporter/sponsor of Toys for Tots this year. If you know of any other participating locations, please let us know and we’ll compile a list.

As for shopping, let this just be a reminder to all of you that although today is Black Friday, tomorrow is “Small Business Saturday,” so stop by your favorite Maple Leaf store to support them, and let us know which are your favorites and why.

Courtesy Dog Oasis.

Update 3 p.m.: Wow! We’ve had time to do a rough count - we had more than 100 requests before 8 a.m. By 2 p.m. we were north of 400 people who wanted to take the tour. And requests are still coming in. (Please stop now. We are for sure full.)

Here’s the good news: We’ve been talking all day with Seattle Public Utilities about whether we can expand this tour, either on Dec. 10 or at a later date. The answer appears to be yes - but it’s a guarded yes, as it’s tough to figure it out with Thanksgiving weekend looming.

So here’s our plan. We’re going to put all the requests we have in hand onto a spreadsheet. As we promised at 6:45 this morning, we’ll prioritize the first 100 folks who emailed us. We’ll let those people know that they are on the list by return email.

We’ll enter all the remaining responses, too - in order of when we got them. (We’ll try to sort out those of you who put your request in the comments below.) If we can expand, we’ll notify you, but it will probably be the middle of next week before we have details. We might have to recruit a few of you to help with the logistics.

Again, thanks for your support, for the neighborhood and Maple Leaf Life.

Update 9 a.m.: What a response! Requests for reservations are coming in faster than we can count them. Over 60 emails in the last two hours. I suspect we’re starting a waiting list. We’ll get back to folks, but it might take a bit. -Mike

Construction of the Maple Leaf Reservoir is almost complete. Courtesy Seattle Public Utilities.

It’s been well over a year since reader Greg Howard emailed us this question about construction at the Maple Leaf Reservoir:

“Has there been any discussion with the city to allow tours of the underground reservoir once it is completed? I personally find the project quite fascinating and it seems like it would be a once- in-a- lifetime opportunity to see it before it is put in use.”

We now have an answer. Yes.

Seattle Public Utilities and Maple Leaf Life are organizing a tour, for our readers and neighbors, inside the reservoir - perhaps Seattle’s biggest construction project - before it’s flooded.

The date is Saturday, Dec. 10. The time: 10 a.m. to noon.

The tour is limited to the first 100 people who respond by email to this invitation. There is no charge.

That Saturday we’ll take groups of 25 people at a time down inside the reservoir. Each tour will take about a half-hour. Inside, the project manager will describe the project and answer questions.

Bring rain gear and flashlights. (It’s not wet underground, but it might well be raining while waiting. There are lights underground, but we don’t want to risk a power outage. It is possible that really rotten weather might force us to postpone.)

There are long stairs with 48 steps going down beneath the covered lid. Wear sturdy walking shoes. It’s not possible to fit strollers or wheelchairs inside.

To register for the tour, send an email to “[email protected].” Tell us how many people you’d like to bring, and what time you’d like to come. The tour options are 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 11:30 a.m.

We’ll get back to you with details. First come, first served. And thanks for supporting your neighborhood, and Maple Leaf Life.

Underground at the Beacon Hill Reservoir, after it was covered, before it was flooded. Courtesy Seattle Public Utilities.

We received this email from Caroline, co-operator (with me) of the Maple Leaf Dog Oasis:

“Dear dogs of Maple Leaf,

“The Dog Oasis is sustaining nightly raccoon attacks and its operators have decided to bring in the treat jar at night for the foreseeable future to discourage the thieving varmints. Sorry!”

We appear to have successfully trained a family of raccoons to operate screw-on lids.

One friend has suggested we put an alphanumeric combination lock on the treat jar, post the combination on the oasis, and see how many weeks it takes the raccoons to learn to read.

Do you remember that day back in 1935, when two Seattle police officers were shot stopping a burglary at the Elk Tavern at 8904 E. Roosevelt Way?

Hmmm … me neither, but you’ll regardless enjoy the descriptive jaunt through a memorable day in Maple Leaf history from seattlepi.com reporter Casey McNerthney, which includes an 82-photo slideshow of Maple Leaf, past and present.

Maple Leaf’s maoStudios, located at 9220 Roosevelt Way N.E., has announced a raffle on its blog for a free business card design, plus two revisions. No cards are included, but they’ll help you find affordable quotes from area printers or coordinate with the right format for you to print them yourself.

Catch is, you only have until tomorrow, Nov. 23, to enter. To do so, go to the blog or email Andrea Jensen at [email protected] with your name, phone number and email address (none of your information will be shared), and write “entering business card design contest” in the subject line.

Good luck!