During November 46 incidents in Madison Valley were reported to the police, down a bit from October's total of 54. Burglaries also declined in number slightly, but small increases in robbery and aggravated assault balanced that decline.

1. Around midnight on Nov. 4 a resident of one unit in a duplex on 20th near Olive was awakened by noises coming from his kitchen. When he went to the kitchen he found two people who had apparently just entered through the back door. The two quickly retreated to a deck outside of the kitchen when the resident shouted at them, and while there they apologized and told him that they thought the duplex was unoccupied. When the resident asked them what they had taken, they said that they had not had time to take anything and then fled. The resident called the police and when they arrived they unsuccessfully searched neighborhood for the burglars. An inspection revealed that the burglars had removed a glass pane from next to the rear door and then reached in to unlock the door.

2. During the morning of Nov. 8 burglars gained entry to the parking garage of a building on Madison near 29th and stole items worth approximately $2000 from cars parked in the garage. Security cameras recorded the burglars, described as a white male about 6′ tall and a female about 5′3″, as they entered the building and the garage. The burglars apparently knew how to open the Knox box containing keys to the building because there were no signs that the Knox box had been tampered with. Police did not search for fingerprints because the video tapes showed that the burglars wore gloves.

3. At around 1 AM on Nov. 9 the resident of an apartment on 21st near John was awakened by noises, and when he got up to investigate he heard someone leave the apartment through the back door. Before leaving, the burglars(s) took a laptop worth approximately $900 that had been left on a table near the back door. Police found that the back entrance to the apartment was not secure and that there were no surfaces in the area that were suitable for fingerprints.

4. Sometime during the early afternoon of Nov. 12 a burglar entered a residence on 21st near Madison through a sliding window in a bathroom. Once inside the burglar found a set of keys belonging to one of residents and used them to steal that resident’s car. The burglar apparently intended to take two laptops as well, but ended up leaving them after deciding to take the car. Police found fingerprints at the scene.

5. On Nov. 14. a resident of an apartment building on 19th near Republican notified police that her storage unit in the building had been burglarized. She reported that she had last been in the storage unit on Nov. 8, and that since then someone had broken into it and stolen boxes filled with backpacks and polo shirts and also a case of wine. After discovering the burglary, the victim found that other storage units had been broken into and also found one of her bottles of wine in the parking lot. The police report does not give information about the losses suffered by other residents of the building.

6. On Nov. 15 at 4 AM police responded to an alarm that had been triggered at a business on Madison near 28th. When they arrived, they found that someone had tried but failed to break in through the front door of the business. The alarm apparently frightened the would-be burglar(s) away.

7. Sometime during the night of Nov. 27-28 a burglar entered a restaurant on Madison near 28th and took $200 from a cash register. The owner told the police that the restaurant had been locked at closing time the previous night, but there were no signs of a forced entry. Police found no fingerprints at the scene but the owner told them that it was possible that a surveillance camera recorded the event.

At approximately 5 PM on Nov. 6 a young male riding home on his skateboard near 23rd and Pine was hit in the back of his head and knocked over by group of teenage males who had been watching him. The teenagers then took his skateboard and fled. When the police arrived, they searched for the assailants and although they found suspects who matched the sketchy description given by the victim, the victim told them that the suspects were not the people who robbed him. Later the victim’s skateboard was found abandoned on 25th Ave.

Police were called to a residence on 24th Ave. E. near Harrison at about 5 AM on Nov. 3 to investigate an aggravated assault that occurred earlier that morning. Upon arriving they learned that a woman, who apparently had been staying at the residence for several days even though she had been told to leave, had earlier used a crowbar to smash the windows of a car that another woman living at the house had borrowed. When the second woman confronted the first, the latter told her to stay away and got into a black SUV. At this point to woman who had borrowed the car whose windows had been smashed tried to keep the woman in the SUV from leaving the scene. The woman in the SUV drove away anyway, striking the complainant in the process. The police report notes that the complainant did not appear to have been injured by the vehicular assault, and that she declined medical assistance.

On Nov. 14th at about 10:30 PM police were called to the Arboretum to investigate an aggravated assault that had just occurred close to the intersection of Lake Washington Blvd. and E. Arboretum Dr. When they arrived, witnesses told the police that they had seen a man hit another man on the back on the head with a pipe. After a little searching the police found two victims tending to their wounds in the men’s bathroom at the Washington Park play field. The victims told the police that they did not know their assailant, but that he had claimed that he knew them and proceeded to pepper spray them and then hit one of them on the head with a rock hammer. The assailant then fled north toward the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. The police searched unsuccessfully for the assailant and the victims were taken to the UW Medical Center after being examined by a unit from the Fire Department.

Lowell Hargens is a Madison Valley resident and former University of Washington professor of sociology specializing in the statistical analysis of data.

This year’s annual Christmas Ships event will be held on Sunday, Dec. 18, at the Madison Park Beach & Bath House. The celebration begins at 2 PM, and the ships sail at 3:30. Music, refreshments, and a bonfire are all part of the fun. The event is sponsored by the city and Madison Park businesses.

Catherine Nunneley is forming a Friends of Julia Lee Park Group. The group will meet a few times a year to help maintain the park, and to plant annuals in the spring and fall. If you’d like to learn more or help with this volunteer group please send your contact info to [email protected].

Thank you for your help and participation in keeping Madison Valley beautiful!

Here are the Council, OPCD and SDCI Land Use notices in the past three weeks for communities from 18th Ave. to Lake Washington and E Union St. to SR-520.

119 26th Ave E - Streamlined Design Review
Streamlined Design Review to allow a 3-story, four-unit townhouse structure with attached garages. Zone: LowRise-2, Steep slope, Potential slide area
Notice of Streamlined Design Review

115 26th Ave E
Land Use Application to allow two, three story, 2-unit townhouse buildings (four units) in an environmentally critical area. Covenant parking for seven vehicles will be provided on adjacent site at 111 26th Ave E. Streamlined Design Review is completed for both properties. Zone: Potential slide area, Steep slope (>=40%), LowRise-2
Notice of Application

107 27th Ave E
Determination of Non-Significance (no environmental impact statement required) on Land Use Application to allow three, 3-story single family residences in an environmentally critical area. Parking for three vehicles to be provided. Environmental Review includes future unit lot subdivision. Zone: Lowrise-1, Potential Slide Area
Notice of Decision

141 22nd Ave E
Decision to grant Unit Lot Subdivision to create four unit lots. This subdivision of property is only for the purpose of allowing sale or lease of the unit lots. Development standards will be applied to the original parcel and not to each of the new unit lots. Zone: LowRise-3, Urban Village overlay.
Notice of Decision

Resources

Land Use Information Bulletins
Property & Building Activity Interactive Map 
Design Review Board
Buildings in Design Review Map
Seattle In Progress

All SR 520 lanes and ramps between Montlake Boulevard and 92nd Avenue NE are scheduled to close from 11 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 12. The SR 520 trail on the floating bridge will also be closed.

During the closure, crews plan to:

• Begin removing the portion of the old westbound SR 520 off-ramp that extends over SR 520.
• Re-stripe lanes as needed.
• Pour concrete for the WABN structure's roadway deck.
• Adjust corridor lighting, signing and tolling equipment.

What to expect around the work site:

• Nighttime construction lights.
• Truck deliveries.
• Noise from construction activities as crews remove the old off-ramp. Crews may use impact equipment to remove the old off-ramp but will end all impact activities by 10 p.m. each day.

A temporary noise variance will be in place to complete this work. WSDOT inspectors will be onsite to verify that construction activities comply with our contract and the conditions of the city of Seattle noise variance.

Several years ago now, Pippa Kiraly had a remarkable experience. Accompanied by her brother, she went hiking in the Himalayas. Although for most of us a trip to the Himalayas would be remarkable enough, for Pippa it was a miracle. Pippa has experienced a life-long battle with severe, life-threatening asthma. This condition would have made such an adventure impossible to even contemplate for most people living with asthma. However, acting upon the advice of her doctor, Pippa participated in a specialized breathing program that has set her free of most asthma symptoms and medications.

The program that assisted Pippa to this state of freedom is known as the Buteyko Method of Breathing Modification. During an intensive ten hour, five-day course, she learned to modify her breathing patterns such that within a few months she was untethered from her “rescue” inhalers. With the help of her doctor, she was then able to taper off the steroids that had controlled her life. The process took 10 months which is much longer than most for most people due to the many years of disease. Pippa estimates that14 years ago she was saving over $3,000 a year in drug and prescription insurance costs.

Pippa was so enamored with this breathing modification program that she decided to take an advanced teachers’ course. She is now a certified Buteyko Educator. It is a joy for her to teach others how to free themselves from the stress of asthma and other breathing difficulties.

Care giving comes naturally to Pippa. Originally from England, she was trained as a nurse in London. After immigrating to America in 1959 and marrying, she settled down to be a wife and mother. Her husband, Bill, a violist, was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra. Drawing from her innate writing skills, she became a freelance classical music critic for the Akron Beacon-Journal. She thrived in this environment.

In 1991, following the death of her husband, Pippa relocated to Seattle. She immediately felt at home in our Pacific Northwest. Originally, she was recruited to write an article for the Seattle Youth Symphony. She continued her journalism career with the Seattle P.I., Seattle Times and, for several years, the Seattle Weekly. Twice a month she submits previews and reviews for City Arts. Far from a lucrative income source, Pippa receives complimentary tickets and a small stipend. It doesn’t matter. She loves it. “2016 has been an especially stellar year!” she exclaims. “There are many wonderful events each week. I limit myself to two per week to prevent feeling jaded by too much to take in”.

In addition to her writing career, Pippa has been a long time volunteer with Providence Hospice of Seattle. Initially she specialized in bereavement counseling listening to each individual over a period of 13 months.  Both her nurses’ training and the personal loss of her husband provided her with the skills necessary to assist others through this difficult passage. She is considered to be one of the most committed and skilled bereavement volunteers at Hospice of Seattle. These days, she assists with Camp Erin, the summer bereavement camp for children as well as in ongoing Grief Support services for both children and adults.

At home, Pippa is a dedicated gardener. Her garden is fairly bursting with abundant produce. “This year I grew a row of immense purple cabbages and quantities of zucchini and summer squash as well as trees-full of blue plums and apples. For the first time I took some baskets of produce to St Mary’s Food Bank on 20th south of Jackson and felt so pleased!”

Pippa’s passion, the Buteyko Method of breathing modification, has ignited a new career path. Undaunted by what many others consider an “advanced” age; Pippa, now at 81, has marched headlong into her new vision.

Pippa emphasized that her breathing reeducation trans- formed her life so dramatically that she has been thrilled to offer the method to others. Service to her community has always been at the heart of her motivation. As a nurse, she has been following her commitment of offering comfort and support wherever it is needed. As example to us all, Pippa’s philosophy has been to greet each day as a new beginning and an opportunity for personal growth.

To explore the Buteyko Method of Breathing you may contact Pippa at:

206-329-6604
http://www.lifelongeasybreathing.com/
[email protected]

Two Doors Down is doing a special holiday beer tasting next week with Jim Stoccardo, co-founder and head brewer at the very cool Outer Planet Brewing (http://www.outerplanetbrewing.com/). We’re calling the event Hops in the ’Hood; both Outer Planet and Two Doors Down are independently-owned neighborhood businesses and we’re working together to promote the growing beer scene outside the Pike/Pine corridor in the Capitol Hill/Central District neighborhoods.

The event is on Tuesday, 12/13 from 6-8 PM and we’ll be featuring at least four of Jim’s beers on draft, including his otherworldly Supernova Red IPA, and giving away a few growlers and T shirts. Naturally, Jim will be on hand to answer questions, and we have a couple of great burger specials designed to complement his beer.

Two Doors Down
http://www.twodoorsseattle.com
2332 E. Madison St.
206.324.BEER

This is a friendly reminder to join us at this month’s West Approach Bridge North (WABN) monthly public meeting on December 7 in Seattle. At this meeting, we will provide a presentation and opportunity to learn more about current WABN construction activities, as well as the next phase of SR 520 construction, known as the Montlake Phase. The Montlake Phase, which is scheduled to begin in 2018, includes the West Approach Bridge South (WABS) and Montlake lid and land bridge.

The project team plans to provide a PowerPoint presentation with key project updates. Meeting attendees will also be able to ask questions regarding this next phase of SR 520 construction in Seattle.

West Approach Bridge North (WABN) topics we plan to cover include:

1. Upcoming weekend closure of SR 520 from 11 p.m. Dec. 9, to 5 a.m. Dec. 12

2. Overview of 2016 WABN construction progress

3. Look ahead to upcoming 2017 WABN milestones, including the opening of the WABN structure to traffic, scheduled for summer 2017

Key Montlake Phase topics we plan to cover include:

1. SR 520 Program and Rest of the West project overview

2. Timeline and next steps for the Montlake Phase of construction

3. Montlake Market property status update

4. An update and look ahead for the Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan that is being developed to address neighborhood traffic concerns and improve safety and mobility during and after construction

5. Recent and upcoming public involvement opportunities including an update on next steps for our recent frontline neighbor outreach

Meeting details:

Date: Wednesday, December 7
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. (presentation begins at 5:35 p.m.)
Location: Graham Visitors Center
Address: 2300 Arboretum Drive East, Seattle, WA 98112

We hope you can join us for this meeting! We look forward to continuing to share information with you as we move forward with building a new, safer and more reliable SR 520 corridor in Seattle.