Many of you have probably heard that Stoneway Hardware, our 34-year-old, beloved neighborhood store, will be closing soon. This Facebook post details owner Rory Rutledge’s decision to retire and the beginning of the inventory sale this month (along with many beautiful tributes!). I had the fortune to spend a little time with manager Jerry Smith this week who shared some of the reasons this place is so special.

“It’s been 34 years of funkiness”

Jerry has been with the business 27 years out of the 34 years of existence. He remembers early on how the business was in the front …

Sharing the below announcement about two outstanding members of our community, one of whom is a frequent contributor on this blog:

On November 6th, the Wallingford Community Senior Center (WCSC) held Share to Care. Share to Care was the center’s first virtual fundraising event! At the WCSC, we wanted to honor those who have had tremendous efforts in helping the center and created the Hall of Gratitude. Each inductee receives a special engraved heart with their name on it and their pictures will be on display in the Senior Center.

After many choices of wonderful candidates, our first inductees are …

More than a few years ago, the auto repair place on 45^th in Wallingford re-opened under the banner of Green Car Auto Repair.  An experienced auto repair man opened up with a troika of three younger guys doing the heavy lifting.

Over time the young Turks took over the operation.  It was a communal effort, but they never had one person as the ‘public face” of the group.  Things fell apart and the operation was turned over to one of the troika.  He gave it a try under Northwest Best Auto Repair.  Eventually he passed it off to another …

Historic Wallingford will be holding a public meeting to present progress on the Wallingford Historic District – North. The application to the National Park Service for designation of the area north of 45th and south of 50th as a National Register Historic District is nearing completion.

The meeting will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, via Zoom. The meeting is free but you must register to join the meeting. Register at the Historic Wallingford website.

The historic district effort builds on a 2019 feasibility study and is led by a grassroots volunteer team guided by preservation …

Fremont Community School (FCS) is a Waldorf-inspired nonprofit preschool that is dedicated to giving young children every opportunity to come together and learn in a vibrant, holistic environment. FCS has been serving families of preschool aged children from Wallingford, Fremont, Phinney Ridge, Ballard, University, and Greenlake neighborhoods since 1986.    On Saturday, December 11th, Fremont Community School will be holding an in-person Open House from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM for prospective families who are looking to enroll their child for the 2022-23 school year at the Orchard Preschool located at 3530 Interlake Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103. This is a …

PROPERTY ASSESSMENT

Quite a few Wallingford residents have expressed concern about the seemingly strange property tax statement they just received. In previous years their total valuation seemed to split almost evenly between value of the land and value of the structure. This year they saw a house value of $1000 and all the rest in property. So the Wallingford Community Council invited King County Assessor John Wilson to come to its monthly meeting to answer questions for the folks assembled over Zoom.

He explained that this is caused by the collision of two separate ways that the valuation is determined. …