Ben Robinson, Author at Wallyhood

September Means Wurst Fesitval, Sept 15 and 16

Ben Robinson September 4, 2017 2 Comments

The Wurst Festival, Wallingford tradition in its 34th year, continues in 2017 on Friday, September 15th and Saturday, September 16th at St. Benedict Catholic School ( 4811 Wallingford Ave N ).

Here are the details provided from their press release:

The Wurst Festival is a community event, hosted by St. Benedict, to raise money for our school by bringing together the school’s families along with the surrounding neighborhoods for a fun, entertaining fall festival.

The vision of the festival is to create a safe community event where kids and adults have fun and frivolity while getting to know each other …

City Council Position 8 Candidate Forum, September 14th

Ben Robinson September 1, 2017 55 Comments

Welcoming Wallingford, a local community group advocating for HALA, is hosting a candidate forum on September 14th at the Wallingford Presbyterian Church (1414 N 42nd St). One of their members sent along the following announcement:

Welcoming Wallingford [https://www.facebook.com/welcomingwallingford/] is hosting a Seattle City Council Position 8 candidate forum with Jon Grant and Teresa Mosqueda on September 14. Wallingford, and all of Seattle, is grappling with housing affordability and renters’ rights, the opportunities and challenges of growth, and neighborhood livability. At this forum, we’ll hear from the candidates their plans for action on these and other issues, as well as have…

McCleary, State Budget, Housing Costs and Wallyhood

Ben Robinson July 25, 2017 8 Comments

The state passed its annual budget on June 30 averting a government shutdown by a few hours. The budget took so long to negotiate because of the court-mandated need to address the McLeary decision. McCleary will be partially addressed by increasing property taxes state wide and reduce local levies statewide. Part of the budget negotiations included a 40% reduction in business and occupancy (B&O) taxes for roughly 10,000 manufacturing business in the state. At a very high level, the solution called for higher property taxes offset by lower local levies and lower B&O taxes. Governor Inslee then vetoed the B&O …

Wallyhood Summer Meetup Aug 9th 7-9pm

Ben Robinson July 21, 2017 5 Comments

Summer means the somewhat annual Wallyhood summer meet up. Come meet the editors, writers, sponsors, and commenters of Wallyhood. I am hoping Densmore Dave returns from exile. It has been awhile since he commented.

The meet-up is being graciously hosted by Murphy’s Pub (1928 N. 45th St) on Wednesday August 9th from 7-9 pm. There will be a few rounds of beer and appetizers for everyone, and lots of neighborhood talk.

Past years have been a relatively low-key, celebratory affair for those of you looking for a break from HALA coverage. Conversely, if you have been looking for a new …

Phase 2 of Aurora Bridge Painting Project Begins Early 2018

Ben Robinson June 19, 2017 1 Comment

Many of you will remember the work being done on the Aurora Bridge last year. Lead-based paint was removed from the bridge deck with extensive containment procedures around the bridge. It was of some level of concern for many residents including the southernmost residents of Wallyhood. For the few regular bike and pedestrian commuters over the bridge, it was a hassle.

I am one of those of bicycle commuters over the bridge, and I was surprised to hear it was only Phase I. Phase II is coming in 2018.

The neighbors and businesses in the immediate area were invited to …

Happy Summer! Weekend Events or Traffic to Avoid

Ben Robinson June 16, 2017 6 Comments

As we swing into summer, we enter the time of maximum community events and cultural happenings. This weekend includes the Solstice Parade in Fremont and the Rock N Roll Marathon covering most of downtown and South Lake Union.

The Solstice Parade is the annual event in Fremont celebrating the start of summer at 1pm this Saturday. They have changed the start time this year to 1pm, and I have been somewhat amazed at the ripple effects on other events. So even if you are not planning to attend, you still might want to check other event start times. The naked …

Death in Meridian Park

Ben Robinson June 1, 2017 21 Comments

The Seattle Times has a story about homeless deaths and includes a deeper story about a death in Meridian Park. Wallyhood received a few emails from the community in April about a possible death in Meridian Park. We struggled to confirm the story as calls to the police department were inconclusive. The Seattle Times identified the deceased as Sean Boarman with a brief, compassionate look at his life in the coda to the story. My condolences to his family.

I have no great ideas for solving homelessness in Seattle. I am not sure that anyone does. I would like to …

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