PI

Wallingford's unique and wonderful Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Cafe has closed temporarily due to a health issue in the cat population. All cats have been returned to the partner shelter. I swung by today and in addition to the sign, I was able to speak with the owner, Andrew and manager, John. They didn't have many more details to share. Just that all the cats are doing fine and they look forward to reopening. They promised when they have more information, they…

Back in October, we wrote that the Kiddies Parade, a neighborhood institution for over 70 years, may be in danger of being discontinued in coming years due to lack of support. The parade, run this year by Celebrate Wallingford, is in dire need of both financial support and volunteers. Back in October, they sent postcards to many residents to try to drum up support. In describing the scope of the need, Blake Garfield (of Bedrooms and More, a major force behind…

Pharmaca Integrative pharmacy is a small chain of integrative drug stores - the Wallingford store is on the corner of 45th and Wallingford. They started in Boulder Colorado in 2000 and had about 25 stores in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. They’re regular drug stores and also sell a wide range of natural supplements and remedies, including homeopathic items. In addition, they are compounding pharmacies - can formulate products not found on the shelf. Pharmaca was acquired by Medly…

Just after the turn of the year to 2023, Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced that he would not seek re-election to the District 4 seat that he has held since 2019. Like many other seats on the City Council, Pedersen’s is up for reconsideration in November. District 4 includes Wallingford and something of a mixed bag of other neighborhoods in north Seattle (e.g., Eastlake, Fremont, Laurelhurst, Maple Leaf, University District, View Ridge, Windermere). Pedersen, who distinguished himself on a left-leaning…

As a buyer-focused realtor in Seattle, I’ve heard many concerns from home shoppers during open houses. Most recently, one tour stands out. The width of a brand new townhouse with its many stairs and tight corners made some prospective buyers question whether the primary bedroom could fit its namesake—a bed—into the room. I tried to reach a better understanding of their housing needs by asking them, “If you could live in any style of house, what would you choose?” to which…

I am sorry to report that the Wallyhood Crime Beat Desk has been busy of late, even busier than the usual background drumbeat of petty and not-so-petty property crime might indicate. We don’t like to dwell on the seedier side of humanity on our little neighborhood blog (after all, it’s not like we’re the New York Times KOMO News), but we would also be remiss if we ignored the rather awful recent occurrences in the area. Last week, a couple of…

Few businesses in our neighborhood have been as enduring as Changes near the corner of 45th and Meridian. The Hawaiian Store and Murphy’s come to mind although Murphy’s used to be down the street a bit where Starbuck’s used to be (and Young Tea now is). On Sunday, January 29, Changes celebrated its 34th anniversary. Ryan from Changes emailed us with the announcement: Changes, the longest continually owned-and-operated gay bar in Seattle, celebrated their 34th Anniversary on Sunday, January 29 with…