Ada’s Restaurant & Bar is opening at 5910 Phinney Ave. N., where Santa Fe Café used to be. It will serve American food with a rotating menu and hopes to open in February. We’ll let you know when we find out more info. (Thanks to Jeff for the tip and photo!)
Glittersweet, which sells sparkly handbags online and out of Phinney Books, is closing down. (Glittersweet owner Laura Silverstein co-owns Phinney Books with her husband, Tom Nissley.) So all Glittersweet bags are now on sale and the discounts will get deeper until all inventory is gone.
Chaco Canyon Organic Café at 8404 Greenwood Ave. N. is launching a new weekend brunch menu. Brunch will be served from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in addition to the café’s regular menu.
An online business community and mobile app has just launched in Greenwood and Phinney, along with Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square and Ballard. Townsquared had already launched in San Francisco, Oakland and New York. It is designed to help small businesses connect and share resources with each other, including marketing, crime and neighborhood updates.
The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s annual auction is coming up on May 7. The theme is “Set Sail for Phinney.” It’s the PNA’s biggest fundraiser of the year. If you or your business want to donate an item or gift certificate, you can fill out a donation form online.
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has moved to Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave., 4th Floor. All phone numbers remain the same.
The city is opening up its budgeting process to youth through the Youth Voice, Youth Choice Assembly, a series of seven meetings throughout the city, including one from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Greenwood Library 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. Youth are invited to help the city decide how to spend $700,000.
Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a new Participatory Budgeting (PB) Initiative from the City of Seattle. PB is a democratic process where community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget that focuses on engaging people who have not historically been involved in government or budget processes.
Youth Voice, Youth Choice involves four steps. First, community members will come up with ideas for public projects they would like to see in their communities. Second, youth volunteers will turn those ideas into concrete proposals with support from the Department of Neighborhoods and City staff. Third, Seattle youth will vote for the projects they would like to see implemented in their communities. Fourth, the winning projects will be funded and implemented by the City of Seattle and other local agencies.
Seattle Police Department is now accepting applications for the 2016 Spring SPD Community Police Academy. The Academy meets Thursday evenings from 5:30-9:30 p.m. from March 17 through May 26. It’s free. Application deadline is Feb. 5.
The Community Police Academy is an eleven-week program designed to educate community members about the operations of the Seattle Police Department, while also giving the Department an opportunity to obtain valuable feedback from the community. The purpose of the Community Police Academy is to increase understanding between the Seattle Police Department and the community members of Seattle through education and interaction.
Community participants will become familiar with various facets of the Seattle Police Department and gain insight into law enforcement’s role in the criminal justice system and the daily work of police employees. With increased understanding, Seattle’s community and police can work together and achieve realistic solutions to neighborhood problems relating to crime, fear of crime, and neighborhood decay. It is hoped that increasing community awareness will respond to some of the myths and images of law enforcement and provide a realistic view of police procedures.
Seattle Neighborhood Group offers free crime prevention presentations throughout the city. Topics include how to prevent theft, what thieves look for, transportation safety, what to do if your car is stolen or vandalized, tips for calling 911, how to recognize and report suspicious activities, and identity theft and fraud.
Metro Transit has adjusted the volume level of internal stop announcement external route and destination announcements on all buses.
Metro is implementing external announcements at all bus stops served by two or more routes, and has phased out external announcements at bus stops served by just a single route. Consistent audio announcements are required by federal law and help to provide independence to riders with vision impairments or other disabilities.
Improved stop, route and destination announcements will meet or exceed Federal Transit Administration requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act and better serve all riders who use the Metro system. The changes address an FTA audit that found Metro did not meet stop and route announcement requirements.
Since November, Metro has implemented comprehensive on-board stop announcements on 100 bus routes, with more to be phased in during the coming months.