August / September 2005

Eastlake Shake - Something for Everybody

Persistence And Trust Produced I-5 Noise Walls

Official Name is I-5 Colonnade

Entering Eastlake—What Should the Signs Say?

Volunteers needed for Community-Buidling

The Eastlake Shake (8/20) is a Community-Building Event of ECC and Eastlake Community Land Trust

City School Board candidates debate at October 11 ECC Annual Meeting

Land Use Projects Featured at Sept. 13 Meeting

Plants Need Water in Hot Summer Months

Emergency And Police Numbers

Classified Ads

PUBLIC EVENTS

Thur., August 4 - Public meeting, Re: Design Presentation for a Multi family Project to be located at 1520 Eastlake. 7–8 p.m., Location: REI, S. Con ference Room, 222 Yale Ave N. Questions call: S/I Eastlake 425-452-3776

Sat., August 13 - Good Turn Park work party 1-3 p.m., Martin street-end at 3149 Fairview Ave. E. Info: 860-3866

Sat., August 20 - Eastlake Shake neighborhood festival, noon to 10 p.m., 2500 Franklin Av enue East (between Seward School and Rogers Playfield.) See article.

Sat., August 27 - Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between Eastlake Ave. and Fairview Ave. at Shelby St.) Info: 328-2161

Tues., Sept. 13 - Public meeting on land use projects in Eastlake, 7-9 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School, 2500 Franklin Avenue E. See article.

Sat., Sept. 17 - Good Turn Park work party, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Martin street-end at 3149 Fairview Ave. E. Info: 860-3866.

Sat., Sept. 24 - Fairview Park work party, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between Eastlake Ave. and Fairview Ave. at Shelby St.) Info: 328-2161.

Tues., Oct. 11 - ECC annual elections meeting and forum –candidates for City Council and School Board will debate and field your questions, 7-9 p.m., TOPS-Seward School, 2500 Franklin Ave. See article.

August 20 “Eastlake Shake” Festival — Something For Everybody

Don’t miss it Saturday, August 20 when Franklin Avenue East between TOPS-Seward School and Rogers Playfield is transformed into the third annual Eastlake Shake neighborhood festival. Below are the highlights. For more details, see the program/insert accompanying this newsletter; and also available in the Seattle Weekly in areas close to Eastlake.

Bands. This year’s Eastlake Shake music stage features an unprecedented selection of the best Seattle bands, playing from 12:30pm to 9:30pm. Here’s the line-up, booked by Eastlake resident Spencer Looney (svlooney@yahoo.com for questions/press inquiries or to help with stage/bands).
EASTLAKE SHAKE 2005 MUSIC LINEUP:

12:30pm: WESAFARI
1:30pm: OPTIMUS RHYME
2:30pm: SPANISH FOR 100
3:30pm: THE LOOK
4:30pm: RA SCION
5:30pm: PISTOL STAR
6:30pm: LOVE HOTEL
7:30pm: THE WESTERN STATES
8:30pm: SLENDER MEANS

Beer garden. Nurse some long cold ones at the ever-popular beer garden, this year enhanced by a nearby barbecue.

Booths. Enjoy a wide variety of booths providing food, arts and crafts, and health and neighborhood information. ... continued on page 2
Yoga. Start the day right with free training in yoga relaxation and exercise techniques led by Eastlake Yoga, 9 to 10:15 a.m. in Rogers Playfield.

Children’s activities. Children of all ages will enjoy fun and entertaining play activities, noon to 6 p.m. There’s also the possibility of a day care area for those with young children. For information: Scott Pattison, 920-6648 or events@eastlakeshake.com.

Pet parade. Any pet (even a virtual one) is welcome. Costumes (whether for pet or owner) are welcome, but not required. Gather at 11 a.m. in the north courtyard of TOPS-Seward School (near parking lot) for a march around the block and then across the stage, ending by 12:20. Questions: cleman@oo.net or 720-4792.

Tennis. Test your skills at the Eastlake tennis tournament, on the courts at Rogers Playfield, noon to 6 p.m. Information: Scott Pattison, 920-6648 or events@eastlakeshake.com

Kickball. After a summer of kickball matchings between teams sponsored by local businesses, the Eastlake championship will be determined in an exciting finale, 3-6 p.m.

Sponsors. We thank the many sponsors whose financial support makes the Eastlake Shake possible. They are all listed on the Eastlake shake web site, in the program/insert and on a big map being put up all over the place.

Volunteers are the heart of the Eastlake Shake, and some are still needed on the day of the event, August 20. To volunteer for that day, or to help plan next year’s event, e-mail to volunteer@eastlakeshake.com. For further information about the many faces of the Eastlake Shake, check out the web site at www.eastlakeshake.com.
See you on August 20!

Persistence And Trust Produced I-5 Noise Walls

By Colleen McGrath, ECC President

On June 22, I was happy to represent Eastlake at a ceremony celebrating completion of the noise walls on the east side of I-5 and beginning the noise walls on the west side. This long-overdue project was achieved by our state legislators as well as by decades of effort by community volunteers.
The original plan called for noise wall construction on both sides of I-5 at once. When WSDOT insisted on doing one side at a time, Eastlake engaged in an act of neighborliness, delaying the start of the Boylston walls so that Harvard Avenue on the east side of I-5 would be completed first. ECC placed its faith in the legislature to provide additional funding for the rest of the noise walls. Rep. Ed Murray has been successful and for this we applaud him. Our fear now is a state initiative, on the fall ballot, that could take away the money now slated for our noise walls, as happened once before.

ECC President Colleen McGrath with House Speaker Frank Chopp and
Transportation Committee Chair, Rep. Ed Murray

I-5 as it now stands could not be built under current environmental and land use rules. Large parts of Eastlake were lost to the freeway, which has left our neighborhood with a noisy and filthy barrier. Yet Eastlake has been among the last to receive noise abatement funds. Since its founding in 1971, ECC has worked steadily for noise walls. In fact, when in 1991 then-ECC President Chris Leman was doing outreach along Boylston, longtime resident Charles Sawyer said, “I certainly appreciate your efforts to get these walls. However, I don’t expect to live to see them.” That seems to have been the case for Mr. Sawyer and for many others in our neighborhood.
We welcome construction of the new noise walls, and are working to find funds for retrofit of the I-5 ship canal bridge for noise reduction. As a Boylston Avenue “front liner” I deeply appreciate the efforts of Rep. Murray (nearby resident on North Capitol Hill) and of volunteers like Jules James, Chris Leman, Wes Larson, Jay Wakefield, and Ted Lane to obtain the funds. Generations of volunteers have made the noise walls a reality instead of a dream.

Jules and Alex James being interviewed by KOMO radio at the noise walls groundbreaking

Official Name is I-5 Colonnade,
But $$ Still Needed for Plants & Bike Trails

The new park under I-5 is scheduled to open in October, and in July the Superintendent of Parks decided that the name will be I-5 Colonnade (although probably most of us will continue to call it Colonnade Park). We were disappointed to hear recently from Seattle Parks Department project manager Andy Sheffer that there will not, after all, be funds for plantings in most of the park. At least the Park Dept. will complete a planting plan, so if money does materialize, we can grab it.

The mountain biking parts of the new park are on terrain so steep that they are useless for other park uses. The Eastlake community appreciates the mountain biking community’s commitment to raise $270,000 privately, leaving more public funds for the rest of the park. Although $120,000 has been raised so far, another $150,000 is needed. Tax-deductible donations (checks made out to BBTC) may be sent to Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club, P.O. Box 21288, Seattle, WA 98111 (questions: 206-524-2900 or justin@bbtc.org).

Entering Eastlake — What Should the Signs Say?

Eastlake lacks a sign welcoming people to the neighborhood. The signs cost $300 each, and donations may be sent to ECC Sign Fund, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102. Around the city, a lot of the signs are plain and lack illustrations. Can Eastlake’s sign be more distinctive in its words and look?
Please write in your suggestions, to Susan Savelle at Bridge Blond Salon, 2373 Eastlake Ave., Seattle 98102 and by e-mail to cleman@oo.net.

ECC Needs Volunteers & Donations (and a 5-Drawer File Cabinet)

The Eastlake Community Council builds community and enhances the neighborhood only with your help. We are all-volunteer, so cash donations go a long way. Thanks again to Gilmore Research for donating a filing cabinet for our archives. Does anyone else have another spare filing cabinet (especially the five-drawer letter-size type)? And we need your volunteer effort in any of the following:

(1) Join the ECC board (nominate yourself or a friend—resumes needed now).
(2) Help with the Eastlake Shake, our August 20 festival
(3) Organize a tour of Eastlake homes, gardens, businesses, boats, etc.
(4) Organize an Eastlake auction or a neighborhood-wide day of yard sales.
(5) Weed in parks or organize new tree-planting efforts (see calendar for work parties)
(6) Help clean up a street—especially Boylston, which suffers from freeway debris.
(7) Review proposed land use projects and help ECC respond
(8) Help make Lynn Street between Boylston and Eastlake avenues safer and more beautiful
(9) Distribute the Eastlake News on your block or nearby
(10) With latex and plaster (provided), make a cast of the plaque on the southwest corner of the University Bridge. It dedicated the bridge’s original name as the Eastlake Avenue Bridge.
(11) Help organize a block or dock watch for crime prevention and disaster preparedness.

Interested? Write to ECC, 117 E. Louisa Street #1, Seattle 98102, cleman@oo.net, or phone 720-4792.

The Eastlake Shake (8/20) is a Community-Building Event of ECC and Eastlake Community Land Trust

The Eastlake Shake neighborhood festival is again a joint event of the Eastlake Community Council and the Eastlake Community Land Trust. Both are neighborhood-based organizations that build and promote community and engage volunteers toward that end. A high priority for them is to have programs and events that, over the course of the year, serve and involve the neighborhood’s many age-groups, including people in their twenties and thirties, children and youth, the middle-aged, the retired, and everyone in between.

Eastlake Community Council. Founded in 1971, ECC is one of Seattle’s most active neighborhood associations. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, or owns property in the Eastlake neighborhood. The first-listed purpose in ECC’s articles of incorporation is to “foster and encourage a sense of community among people who live and work in the Eastlake community.” Events are a central means to that end, and ECC has put on many neighborhood festivals, banquets, pot-lucks, picnics, softball games, clean-ups, cruises, walks, dances, concerts, holiday parties, art shows, auctions, rummage sales, and other events, and of course hundreds of public meetings on a wide range of topics. .

Eastlake Community Land Trust. Founded in 1990, ECLT exists to protect the interests of renters and to preserve and reclaim Eastlake’s historic economic diversity. The Land Trust is seeking an apartment property to be operated with permanently affordable rents. In Eastlake’s hot housing market, properties often sell soon after (or even before!) being listed. Thus the Land Trust appreciates the opportunity to make an offer before a property goes on the open market. As ECLT is tax-exempt, the donor of properties can realize significant tax advantages. If you have or know of a candidate property, contact board member Paul Hanson, 260-1912, paul.kari@mac.com.

ECC and ECLT deeply appreciate the hard work of the hundreds of volunteers who produce the Eastlake Shake and make it the best neighborhood festival in Seattle. In an event with so many volunteers, it’s hard to single out a few, but we cannot go without mentioning the leadership and hard work of Peter Jostrom, Ryan Murphy, Spencer Looney, Tim Smith, Becki Chandler, and Ashley Campbell. We welcome your comments on this year’s Eastlake Shake and suggestions (and offers of volunteer time) for next year. Letters may be sent to ECC, 117 E. Louisa #1, Seattle 98102. E-mail: cleman@oo.net.

Seattle Prep students who did a lot of
weeding at a recent Fairview Park work party

City, School Board Candidates Debate at Oct. 11 ECC Annual Meeting

ECC’s Tuesday, Oct. 11 annual meeting (7-9 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School) is your chance to quiz City Council and School Board candidates about their views on issues (and we’re also inviting the Mayor and his opposition). Write down your questions, which will be read to the candidates by volunteer moderators. The meeting begins with the ECC annual meeting and elections. It’s not too late to volunteer yourself or a friend for nomination to the ECC board of directors. Send resume to ECC, 117 E. Louisa #1 or cleman@oo.net.

School Board member Sally Soriano
meets with local residents about their
children’s lack of access to a nearby school

Pete’s Super (58 E. Lynn St., 322-2660) has a long history of neighborhood involvement, dating back to the early 1970s when its founder led the creation of Lynn Street Park (and a generation here called it “Pete’s Park” in his honor). Pete’s has great employees, always ready with a smile and a quip and help of one kind or another. And last month, Pete’s and its current owner George Kingen made the largest unsolicited, unrestricted donation—$1740—that the Eastlake Community Council has ever received. George writes that “these funds are donated in appreciation of the many outstanding services” that ECC provides for the Eastlake community. He knows that as an all-volunteer organization, ECC gets a lot of mileage out of each dollar it receives. Thank you so much, George and Pete’s, for the vote of confidence.
Every time your columnist enters the Areis Building, he finds another very special business. Riehl Construction (2366 Eastlake Ave. #437, 322-1144) excels at unique, stylish commercial and residential projects such as 1924 First Avenue, Rhodes Masonry, the Members Club at Aldarra, and the late, lamented Gravity Bar. They’ve done some amazing custom staircases, storefronts, and interiors. And on your way in to look at the photos, be sure to drop by Cards, Gifts, Etc. (2366 Eastlake Ave., 329-9202), which now carries women’s watches along with its classic collection of cards and gifts.
We will have more in the next issue about Neptunes Juice (www.neptunesjuice.com) opening in August at 2501 Eastlake Ave. #B. … Because of delays in the redevelopment of its building, Porta Greek Taverna (2245 Eastlake Ave.) will remain open through August. … Next door, it looks like Hines Public Market Coffee will also continue through August, but on the espresso machine a note says, “Questions: Where? When? Retail? Roasting? Who knows. Refer to eight-ball.” And there is an arrow pointing to a fortune-telling eight-ball! … A hopefully only temporary good-bye to both businesses! You will be missed.
Moxie Media (2021 Minor Ave. E., 322-6108) is a well-regarded campaign consulting firm whose clients include City Council, School Board, and Port of Seattle candidates, as well as Mayor Greg Nickels. … At the suggestion of Eastlake News distribution volunteer Bob Margulis, the Seattle Times restaurant critic visited Burrito Express, 2701 Eastlake Ave. E., 838-7090) and loved it. She wrote: “We can thank owner Robert ‘Roberto’ Abergel, a French-Italian character-and-a-half” who “offers a world of terrific quick-service Mexican fare.”

Mention in this column does not imply endorsement by the ECC, writer, or editor. Send your news to Chris Leman (cleman@oo.net) or c/o ECC, 117 E. Louisa St. #1, Seattle 98102.

Land use projects featured at Sept. 13 meeting

ECC’s Tuesday, Sept. 13 public meeting (7-9 p.m. at TOPS-Seward School, 2500 Franklin Ave. E.) will focus on land use projects, starting with a presentation about the Wards Cove redevelopment on Fairview north of Hamlin. We will also hear the latest on the Bar-Mart redevelopment, and the new residential and business project on the east side of Eastlake Avenue between Galer and Garfield streets, as well as the Mayor’s proposal to reduce parking requirements and allow ground-floor residences in neighborhood business districts. For information about the meeting or to volunteer for the ECC land use committee, contact committee chair and ECC board member Carsten Stinn, teamenzo@hotmail.com.

Plants Need Water in the Hot Months

Some of Eastlake’s trees and shrubs are really suffering from the heat and drought. A dish pan in the sink is a great way to save water, and outdoor plants don’t mind a little soap. If you see a tree suffering from lack of water, mention it to someone at that address, and if necessary take action. Street trees are on public property, and there’s no public purpose served in letting them die.

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Emergency And Police Numbers

911 Crime, fire, health, or other emergency in progress
684-4071 Harbor Police
684-8763 Illegally parked or abandoned vehicles
684-5740 Investigations of burglary and theft
684-5797 Narcotics investigations
684-0330 Domestic violence
625-5911 Crime problems not requiring an immediate response
684-7717 Advice on setting up a block watch

Classified Ads

Quiet Rental Wanted (including separate space in home) wanted as second, part-time residence. (206) 417-0689

2 White boards, like new, 36” x 48”, Aluminum frame, $15 each. (206) 720-4547 (leave message)

Eastlake News - a publication by the

Eastlake Community Council
117 E. Louisa Street, #1
Seattle, WA 98102-3278

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Usch Engelmann. Please contact Usch at uengelmann@comcast.net . We welcome any comments, articles or images for possible publication.