News roundup: Library and Ecology jobs for teens, SIFF youth jury, Ghosts of Seattle past, Design Review Program recommendations, and consumer reimbursement for LCD overpayment

by | Mar 22, 2016

Here’s a long roundup of various city and neighborhood news:

Woodland Park Zoo recently held a naming contest for its baby gorilla. The winning name was Yola, which means “firefly” in the African language of Hausa.

The Greenwood Community Council now has a Facebook page. Subscribe to get notifications for meetings and events, and post your thoughts about the neighborhood.

The deadline to comment on the proposed development at 6726 Greenwood Ave. N. has been extended to March 30.

Seattle Public Library is looking for teens 16 and older for its Student Assistant Program. Applications will be available starting April 1 and must be received by 5 p.m. April 30. SPL is offering several workshops on how to apply. The nearest to our neighborhood is at the Broadview Library, 12755 Greenwood Ave. N., from 4-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19.

A lot of neighbors continue to be worried about home break-ins, especially after a brazen criminal was seen trying to kick down the door of a Crown Hill home a couple of weeks ago. Neighbors say the same man was spotted recently in Phinney Ridge. Has anyone else seen the man in the video?

SIFF Education invites youth ages 8-18 to participate in its Films4Families and FutureWave juries during the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival.

The Films4Families Jury is reserved for students between the ages 8 – 12 and the FutureWave Jury is reserved for students between the ages of 13-18. Selected Jury members will be expected to watch up to eight feature films during SIFF 2016 (May 19 – June 12) and deliberate with their peers to select the best film for their age group in the Festival.

Perks include free admission to see select features during the Festival, two additional vouchers for the Festival, and two vouchers for SIFF Cinema year round.

Jury Application deadline is Thursday, March 31 at 5:00pm. More details and the downloadable application forms are available at: https://bit.ly/OFgdZK.

Washington Department of Ecology is hiring teens for summer jobs. The 70 chosen teens chosen will be assigned to one of six crews based in King, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

In 2015, Ecology Youth Corps crews picked up 1.1 million pounds of litter and cleaned 5,244 miles of roads statewide. Since 1975, the program has hired more than 12,000 Washington teens, offering them work experience, a summer job, and the chance to preserve Washington’s natural beauty and protect our state’s environment.

Teens chosen for EYC will work up to 37.5 hours per week, either 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. four days per week. Participants will work one of two sessions: June 28 to July 22, or July 25 to Aug. 17, and will earn $11 an hour.

Applicants must be ages 14-17 as of June 28. Applications are due by April 13 and are available through area school counselors or online.

A group called Ghosts of Seattle Past is putting together an anthology and art installation about all the places in Seattle that have been lost to development: gathering spots, restaurants, shops, art venues and community institutions. “As a multimedia, multi-voice community project, we’re looking for essays, people to interview, or any artwork or photography we can print to help preserve our collective memories,” according to the press release. You can submit your memories online through their website.

A reminder that the “Threadcycle” program accepts damaged clothes and linens that can be recycled instead of just thrown away. You can take ripped and stained clothes, worn shoes and singles of normally paired items like socks to any Threadcycle location. The closest locations to our neighborhood are Goodwill, Value Village and Northwest Center. The only items not accepted are textiles that are wet, mildewed or contaminated with hazardous materials.

The Council for Textile Recycling estimates that up to 95 percent of the clothes, shoes, and linens that are thrown in the garbage could have been reused or recycled and turned into new products:

  • Stained, holey t-shirts can be turned into industrial wiping rags.
  • Worn out jeans can be recycled into fiber and made into home insulation.
  • A variety of items can be recycled into fiber to create sound-proofing for household appliances.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently announced that consumers can file for a share of $63 million in a price-fixing enforcement action against nine LCD manufacturers who conspired to significantly overcharge for LCD screens on electronics, driving the price up by as much as 20 percent.

Washington consumers and businesses that bought televisions, monitors, notebook computers, color-screen cell phones, or color-screen iPods that contained a flat panel screen may be eligible for a refund.

Eligible consumers include those who:

  • Purchased an LCD flat panel product between Jan. 1, 1998 and Dec. 1, 2006;
  • Resided or had headquarters in Washington at the time of purchase;
  • Purchased the LCD flat panel product from a retailer or someone other than the manufacturer of the component screen; and
  • Purchased the LCD flat panel product for their own use and not for resale.

Products containing an LCD flat panel during the relevant time period include most televisions referred to as LCD or LED TVs, flat-screen monitors, notebook computers, color-screen cell phones purchased beginning in 2004 and color-screen iPods.

The amount consumers and businesses could expect to receive will vary depending on the product(s) purchased. The maximum is $108 per LCD television, $70 per flat-screen monitor and $75 per notebook computer, with lesser amounts for color-screen cell phones and color-screen iPods.

Consumers must submit a claim form online or by mail. Claim forms are available atwww.lcdsettlement.atg.wa.gov, or by calling 1-866-778-9468. The deadline to submit a claim is June 17, 2016.

Consumers are not required to submit documentation when they file a claim. However, they may be asked to verify their claim during the claims audit process, especially for claims involving a significant number of purchases. This will happen later in the process, and not at the initial filing.

Seattle’s Department of Construction & Inspections and Office of Planning & Community Development have released new recommendations for the Design Review Program. The public can comment on the draft recommendations through April 8.

The Design Review Program began in 1994. Since then, the Design Review Board has improved over a thousand development projects! The program and its boards review multiple aspects of private development projects in Seattle, including:

  • The overall appearance of the building
  • How the proposal relates to adjacent sites
  • Pedestrian and vehicular access
  • The unusual aspects of the site, like views or slopes
  • Quality of materials, open space, and landscaping

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