PI

After years of keeping tabs on who's parking where, taking public input and performing whatever other arcane bits of kabbalah go into such decisions, the city has released its final decision on the updated restricted zone parking zones for Wallingford, and it differs from the map they presented back in April for public input. As before, the streets coming off of 45th near the now defunct Guild 45th theatre will no longer be RPZ. One interesting change (for me!) is that…

This past Thursday, Todd Bol, the founder of the Little Free Library movement, passed away at the age of 62, just a month after receiving his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. I don't know when they first took root in Wallingford (although Kimberly wrote about hers here back in 2012), but they've been a pleasant addition to my neighborhood strolls (and my bedside table) for at least half a decade. In his honor, I hopped on my bike Saturday afternoon and took…

(Ed Note: Glenn wrote this story of helping out at the Nickelsville back in September. Apologies for just now getting around to running it!) On Saturday, September 8 volunteers from the Wallingford Community Council (WCC) and the University Sunrise Rotary Club joined together to install a finished gravel paving for the sanctioned Nickelsville homeless community located off of Northlake Avenue across from Ivar's in Wallingford. Lee Raaen, from the Rotary Club said the genisis of the project began when the Rotary…

[Author's note: Today, Monday, October 15, is the grand opening of Little Big Burger in the Smith and Burns building on 45th Street. To mark the occasion, LBB is offering free burgers all day long. I dropped in on a “soft opening,” where I compiled the following story.] I could have taken a hint from the guy from Portland who stepped up to the counter and enthusiastically ordered two burgers. Or I could have paid more attention to the name: Little…

Woodland Park installed gates on roads leading into the park over the summer and early autumn.  The gates sat idle for some time after installation, but I noticed the gates recently being locked overnight starting in late September.   However, the gates seem to be closed with no regard for the presence of cars in the parking lots.  Most mornings, I walk by the lots on the south side of the park just east of Aurora and half the time cars are…

Jeff Garfield, owner of Bedrooms and More gave me a sneak peek tour of the new building they're putting up at the corner of NE 45th and 4th Ave NE and, while it is actually pretty incredible, and will serve well, I believe, as the northwest corner of the Gateway to Wallingford, it was something Jeff told me about their existing store, half a block to the west, that amazed me the most. Bedrooms and More has occupied the same spot…

Neighborhood children rejoice! Just in time for the start of the rainy season, the new playground at Gas Works Park is open for business. I took my little ones to the park to get their take on the new facilities, and was told it gets "eighty thousand thumbs up!" There are large and small climbing structures, a couple of slides, a swinging net big enough for multiple children, a super-popular spinning climber, and even a lovely patio for parents to sit…