David Miller, of the Maple Leaf Community Council’s executive board, repositions recycling bins amid table setup for tonight’s Summer Social.

With five hours to go before this evening’s Maple Leaf Summer Social, the tables and tents have been delivered and folks are hard at work setting up.

The weather couldn’t look much better: Partly sunny and 70-ish degrees. (Not like the social three years ago, which was held on the hottest day in Seattle history - 103 degrees.)

Details of tonight’s schedule are here. Hours are earlier this year: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

There’s still time to stop by Aljoya Thornton Place tonight to learn more about the proposed community that will be sprouting up around the upcoming Northgate Light Rail Station.

An open house continues until 9 p.m., offering neighbors and commuters the chance to look at ways to develop the mixed-use community, as well as offering them the chance to make comments and mark the ideas they like.

Marshall Foster, city planning director for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, said we have a rare opportunity to decide how to create a community around the future light rail station.

Much of the focus is on the types of buildings people would like to see, and what they would like to see. Public art? A pedestrian bridge? Open space? Something you think nobody has even thought of yet?

Although DPD has a Northgate Station Area Development site that explains the project, the ideas the department is seeking comments on are not yet posted on the site. They hope to add those details and provide you the opportunity to comment soon. We’ll let you know if we learn more, too.

It was great meeting many of you at least year’s Maple Leaf Summer Social, when Maple Leaf Life was still just a few months old and unknown to many neighbors.

We’ll have a table again Wednesday, and hope you’ll stop by and tell us (us being co-editors Mike and Mai Ling) what you love most about living in Maple Leaf. We’re taking a page from our sister blog Queen Anne View, where attendees at a recent event were encouraged to snap a photo with an instant camera, then write on the bottom of the photo what they like best about their neighborhood.

We’ll provide the camera, markers and poster board, but you’re going to provide the creativity and love of Maple Leaf!

In addition to the 50 booths that will be at the Maple Leaf Summer Social, from 6:30-8:30 tomorrow night at the Maple Leaf Playground, 1020 N.E. 82nd St., a few highlights include:

• Frozen custard courtesy Peak’s Frozen Custard and ice cream sponsored by Maple Leaf Ace
• Marimba music from Tumbuka
• Music Center of the Northwest will have a small fiddle group composed of children who will play during Tumbuka’s 7:30 p.m. break
• There will be one face painter and two balloonists
• Seattle Electric Vehicle Association will have up to three electric cars to show off
• There will be greyhound dogs for adoption from Royalhounds.org
• UW Experimental College will have the class catalog with current offerings

Other tables to stop by include: (more…)

We’ve given you a few glimpses of the sculpture that is slated for the new Maple Leaf Reservoir Park. But attendees at the most recent meeting about the park saw more than just the design.

Since artist Patrick Marold explained a year ago that his sculture would use a stone from each of the reservoir’s water sources, the Tolt River and Cedar River watersheds, he since has found the boulders he’s turning into art.

(more…)

For this Wednesday’s Maple Leaf Summer Social, bring yourselves, kids and dogs - and something else: A donation - food or money - for the North Helpline food bank.

The social runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (note the earlier start time) at Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, Roosevelt Way Northeast at about Northeast 82nd Street. Among the 40 or so 50 tables will be one with donation barrels for and information about North Helpline.

The food bank, which serves northeast Seattle including Maple Leaf and Wedgwood, is struggling to meet vastly increased needs with decreased donations.

A plea last month brought in enough food to meet demand, but only temporarily.

“Today, my food bank manager conducted an inventory review and while we will get through the next few weeks, things look dire thereafter,” Amy Besunder, director of North Helpline, emailed today.

“In just 24 months we have seen a 63% increase in our client base and in August, a new (Seattle Housing Authority) building for 100 low-income families will open on our block. We are looking forward to having more affordable housing for struggling families, but I am definitely losing sleep in terms of thinking about my food stock and increased demand.”

She listed her needs for the next few months, and what it would cost if the food bank had to buy the food instead of getting it through donations.

140 cases of Apple Juice $1,277

½ Tomato Sauce and ½ Diced Tomatos @ 70 cases each $1,747

140 Cases of Pork and Beans $2,218

70 Cases of Tuna $1,277

1/3 Chicken Noodle Soup, 1/3 Tomato Soup, 1/3 Vegetable Soup 140 Cases in total at $2,100

140 Cases of Ramen Noodles at $840

140 Cases of Spaghetti $2,436

140 Cases of Mac & Cheese $1,344

100 Bags of 50# Rice $2,150

Total: Over $17,000. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of money to spend so if you can get the word out that those are our needs, it would be great,” Besunder said.

Don’t want to lug food to the park?

You can donate at the North Helpline, 12736 33rd Ave. N.E., or at barrels at these businesses:

• Cloud City Coffee

• Wedgwood Alehouse

• Meadowbrook Community Center

• All that Dance

• Walgreens Drug Store,14352 Lake City Way N.E.

• Mieko’s Fitness Club

Want to learn more about the proposed design for the new Maple Leaf Play Area that will replace the current Maple Leaf Playground at 1020 N.E. 82nd St.?

Just like last weekend (except this time with sun!), Donna Hartmann-Miller, an executive member of the Maple Leaf Community Council, is making the rounds at Maple Leaf cafes Saturday to answer questions and help community members make their opinion heard on the proposed designs. Tomorrow, July 23, she’ll be at:

• Blue Saucer, 9127 Roosevelt Way N.E., from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Cloud City, 8801 Roosevelt Way N.E., from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m.
• Cafe Javisti, 8410 Fifth Ave. N.E., from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Hartmann-Miller and other members of Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park also will be available to answer questions at next week’s Maple Leaf Summer Social, from 6:30-8:30 Wednesday, July 27, at the Maple Leaf Playground, where you’ll still be able to fill out and turn in a comment form on the proposal.

Couple of updates to neighborhood news today.

• The new sign at Pandora’s Adult Cabaret, 8914 Lake City Way N.E., is slowly going up. Yes, it does say “Work Hard, Play Hard.”
• One reader Tweeted: “Any reports of yard flower theft in the hood? Someone snagged some roses out of my front yard And then a few moments later: “And now I feel like a crotchety mean neighbor for tweeting that. BUT SERIOUSLY PEOPLE.”

If you’ve always wondered what goes on behind the closed doors of a fraternal club such as the Eagles, your wait soon will be over.

Fundraisers, concerts and more are planned for the Great Room at the new Eagles Mother Aerie One at 8201 Lake City Way N.E.

After months of construction and preparation, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Mother Aerie One has opened its social club in Maple Leaf at 8201 Lake City Way N.E., and it’s inviting you and your neighbors to attend its upcoming grand opening Aug. 27.

Although the club is private, the public is invited to the grand opening, and Mother Aerie One President Dan Kerege, pictured below, says potential members are always welcome to make an appointment to stop by and learn more about the club.

The aerie, which actually is the original Eagles aerie nationwide, recently moved from its longtime home in Georgetown and is gradually settling into Maple Leaf.

“We wanted to move to a more family-friendly neighborhood,” said Kerege, who added that the closest other aeries are in Shoreline, Bothell and Ballard, giving them a big open space where they could find potential new members.

Because yes, membership has been dwindling, which was another reason Mother Aerie One moved from its 24,000-square-foot former bowling alley in Georgetown to the 10,000-square-foot former location of the fabric store In the Beginning.

But with a newly remodeled building in a completely new location, members are optimistic they can begin to grow their membership once again. (more…)

Well, we have some good news, and some bad news about the upcoming opening of Flying Squirrel Pizza Co. at 8310 Fifth Ave. N.E.

And the bad news isn’t so bad. Although the opening of the pizzeria originally was slated for April before it got pushed into July, the company tweeted yesterday that we only have a little to longer to wait:

Looks like late august. Lots of city code approvals to go through with the new build-out.

But if extra time means they’re also putting some extra care into improving the former location of A New York Pizza Place, it’s also a sort of good news.

As evidence, yesterday @flyingsquirrel also posted the photo at right via the tweet:

The drywall crane has landed at Maple Leaf! Starting to look like a restaurant…

And on their Facebook page, they’ve posted a photo of the pizzeria’s new oven:

Hello Maple Leaf….here is your oven. We’re getting there…

The best news yet: Flying Squirrel may not physically be open, but they’re already a part of the Maple Leaf community and plan to be at the Maple Leaf Summer Social from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at Maple Leaf Park Playground, 8801 Roosevelt Way N.E.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Saying a “technicality” would likely make any legal action unsuccessful, the Wedgwood Community Council announced Wednesday night it would not pursue a suit against the city over permits for Pandora’s Adult Cabaret.

Like the Maple Leaf Community Council, which also declined to sue, the Wedgwood council believes the city improperly issued permits for the strip club at 8914 Lake City Way N.E., on the line between the Maple Leaf and Wedgwood neighborhoods.

In a post on its website Wednesday night, Per Johnson of the Wedgwood council noted that city requirements make the issue complicated. “The case that we would be required to make before a King County judge would be difficult to explain in this format.

“So, in an attempt to keep our explanation simple, we decided that while we felt confident in presenting a strong defense of our contention with the city’s inaccurate interpretation of the code, we felt equally strong that we would not be given the chance” due to contention over a 21-day time limit on such suits.

Therefore, we unfortunately determined that this technicality would likely prevent us from ultimately being successful in court.

We are encouraged that the owner of Pandora’s Adult Cabaret reached out to us earlier and has told us that he would like to be a valuable part of the community. We will continue to work with the owner if/when issues arise to resolve them amicably.

The council also released an emailed letter it received Tuesday from Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s office. The letter again declines to revisit arguments over the strip club’s permits.

This report live from the scene from correspondent John Wolff.

No lives were lost nor injuries reported when a powerful aerospace vehicle collided with high-voltage Seattle City Light power lines at Northeast 97th Street and 8th Avenue Northest at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 20.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the north Seattle area suffered no interruption in electrical power. The accident was attributed to unexpectedly high winds during an experimental rocket launch. One Maple Leaf resident is missing, but “He’s probably still walking the dogs,” said a concerned neighbor.

Authorities issued the customary blandishments that no radiation was released, and there was no danger to the public.

“The best-laid plans of mice and men, and Cub Scouts,

“Gang aft agley

“And leave us nought but grief and pain

“For promised joy.”

(Editor’s note: With apologies to Robert Burns.)

The Maple Leaf Community Council at noon today announced it will not attempt a lawsuit against Pandora’s Adult Cabaret.

The strip club opened this month at 8914 Lake City Way N.E., on the line between the Maple Leaf and Wedgwood neighborhoods, and the community councils of both wrote the city to say they believe the club’s permit was improperly issued. The city disagreed.

The issue has generated considerable discussion, with well over 200 comments on the Maple Leaf Life and Wedgwood View neighborhood blogs and their Facebook pages. Meanwhile the club’s doors opened, and the club posted on its Facebook page: “Ladies- We need dayshift Entertainers! We’ve had customers everyday this week waiting for us before the club opens at 1pm, need more girls so we can start opening at 11am! The money’s been fantastic, just need more of you!”

Both the Maple Leaf and Wedgwood councils considered a lawsuit, but in a vote on Tuesday evening the executive committee of the Maple Leaf council said “no” by a 4-3 vote as “Executive Board President Joshua Newman proposed the following motion: ‘I move that MLCC should cease exploring or considering a lawsuit against the City of Seattle over the permitting of Pandora’s Strip Club.’”

In today’s email David Miller, a member of the executive committee, explained that due to timing issues, including a 21-day time limit on lawsuits, success seemed unlikely.

“That 21-day period passed before anyone in our community learned of the issuance of the permit,” Miller wrote, and although courts have made timing exceptions that might apply, “filing a lawsuit after July 25 would almost certainly erase any remaining (slim) possibility legal action against the City’s decision would be heard on the merits.

Since community individuals and businesses have inquired about legal action, we felt it important to quickly communicate the MLCC Executive Board’s vote so individuals and businesses can make their own decisions in the few days remaining before July 25.

We will continue to work with other community councils, Maple Leaf residents, and Maple Leaf businesses concerned about ongoing activity at the location of the adult cabaret.

(In a related matter, the strip club opening up the street at the former Rick’s, 11332 Lake City Way N.E., now has a new name: DreamGirls at Ricks.)

The newsletter of the Maple Leaf Community Council comes out four times a year and is hand-delivered to about 4,000 homes and businesses in the neighborhood.

Now the council is looking for more hands.

“We have several open Maple Leaf Community newsletter routes for those interested in helping keep the neighborhood informed,” emails the council’s newsletter team. It says the average delivery time for each route is around a half-hour, which sounds about right. (I deliver 30 copies along 12th Avenue Northeast and it takes around 20 minutes.)

Here’s where help is needed with delivery:

• 1st Avenue Northeast, between 85th-92nd (30 copies)

• 5th Avenue Northeast, between 78th-85th (30 copies)

• 14th Avenue Northeast, along Maple Leaf Park (40 copies)

• 98th Avenue Northeast, between Roosevelt-15th (45 copies)

• 2nd Avenue Northeast, between 82nd-90th (60 copies)

• 2nd Avenue Northeast, between 90th-92nd (14 copies)

“Those last two routes can be combined or split into smaller ones upon request. The one with 60 copies would be an especially great help; it has a lot of stairs,” the team writes. The council is also looking for volunteers to drop off bundles of newsletters so the route folks can deliver them.

If you can help, email: Sydnie.Sliker (at) mapleleafcommunity.org

You can read the current newsletter, which has a lot about next Wednesday’s 16th Annual Maple Leaf Summer Social, here. And here are photos from last summer’s social.

It’s been 10 days since readers alerted us to car thieves in the neighborhood. At that time we said auto break-ins or thefts happened more than once every other day since June 1.

Now we can make that more than a car EVERY day.

This afternoon Calvin emailed:

I’m one of at least two people who had their cars burglarized last night (July 18) on 8th Ave. Northeast. When a police officer came to investigate the burglary of my vehicle, another person arrived who stated their car had also been entered and had valuable items stolen.

In my case, one item was stolen. The thieves attempted to steal the car stereo, but seem to have given up after damaging it.

In both cases, there were no apparent signs of entry. Residents should take caution and avoid leaving cars unlocked or windows down, and not leave valuable items in their vehicles overnight.

We’ve attached the police crime map for cars over the last 10 days. (Calvin and Co. from last night aren’t on there yet.) As before, the solid cars are stolen cars; the ones with the white dot were broken into (car prowls).

How many crimes it shows here depends a bit on how you count and where exactly you think Maple Leaf is.

But if you look at the diamond formed by Northgate Way, Lake City Way, Banner Way and Interstate 5, the map shows seven stolen cars and six car prowls reported from July 9 to July 19. (Some of the icons represent more than one crime. For example, the solid car icon near Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 86st Street represents three stolen vehicles.)

Add in Calvin’s report and you get a total of 15 cars stolen or broken into here over the last 10 days.