The 3^rd Annual One Seattle Day of Service will take place this Saturday, May 18. From the Day of Service website:

Joining together a diverse group of public, private, and non-profit partners and community organizations, we will provide a wide array of service opportunities including cleaning and beautification, gardening and restoration, helping neighbors in need, and more.

Wallingford-area events:

Woodland Park Beautification from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Description: Litter pick, shrub bed weeding and mulching Sensory Garden Beautification sponsored by Friends of the Seattle Sensory Garden from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Currently full! Friends of…

Renovation and Expansion

The Wallingford Food Bank shares a space with the library at 1501 N 45th St. Operated by FamilyWorks, the food bank has been unchanged as long as I’ve been around these parts (decades!). Now, however, changes are afoot.

Beginning this summer, the food bank will begin some renovations to the interior of the space. The main area will be redesigned to better serve clients. Professional Chicago kitchen designers can also help with large remodels and renovation projects like this.

Per the email we received from FamilyWorks:

The renovated food bank will be bright and welcoming, with rolling …

Seattle Parks is seeking input on proposed renovations to the Meridian Park playground. To that end, a public meeting is being held here in our neighborhood.

Date: Thursday, April 25 Time: 6-8 pm Place: Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N

Say the parks folks:

This play area project will replace the play equipment and make accessibility improvements to the route from the main parking area and the restroom in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the community to help shape conceptual designs for the play area at Meridian Playground. Meet the …

Quite a number of Seattle Public Library branches will have their hours shortened for the next couple of months. Our neighborhood branch will be closed Fridays and Saturdays through June 4. I’m not sure when these closures began, but they’re recent. Hopefully, you didn’t show up last Friday or Saturday to find the doors locked.

Staffing is one of the issues causing the closures. According to the SPL blog:

The Seattle Public Library is scheduling intermittent branch closures at several locations through Tuesday, June 4 due to limited staffing capacity. The temporary schedule listed below is being implemented to …

While not technically in our neighborhood, the Freeway Estates Community Orchard (FECO) at 6030 6th Ave NE  is not far away – just east of Green Lake, alongside the west edge of I-5 and just south of Ravenna Boulevard. FECO was started in 2010 by a group of determined area volunteers when the plot was just grass and invasive plants.

We’ve promoted their annual plant sale here before, and the 2024 sale is here! Details:

Date: Sunday, April 7 Time: 1-4pm (or until inventory runs out) Location: 6030 6th Ave NE Nearest light rail: Roosevelt station Bus routes: 20, 44,…

It came as a shock to all of us here at wallyhood to learn, late last night, that the lease on our office space would not be renewed, contrary to expectations. As a consequence, this blog — now in its 16th year – will shut down, effective immediately, unless and until new office space can be secured. No new posts will be forthcoming, and all office furnishings will be sold off with proceeds to go towards a new lease, if one can be found.

Many readers will wonder why a blog, of all things, requires office space – especially in …

The Seattle Dept. of Transportation (SDOT) is seeking input on proposed changes to Aurora Avenue North (a.k.a. Highway 99). While the chance to attend in-person meetings has passed (sorry!), you can still register your opinion via this online form. The comment period is only open through April 5, so you better hurry.

The proposed work area runs from just south of the Aurora Bridge north to 145th St. For the purposes of this project, SDOT has divided that stretch into 5 segments:

Segment 1: Harrison St to N 38th Street Segment 2: N 38th St. to Winona Ave N…