Wallingford, Seattle

There's few life transitions more abrupt and potentially isolating than having a kid. For one thing, there's remarkably few people out there that want to hear about the color and consistency of your baby's 3 AM poop. Discussion boards aren't enough to do the topic justice, there's no playground or school for 2 month olds, and it's not like you want to hang out with somebody that has a 6 month old. Your baby on their back will look defective next to that baby sitting…

If you have a dog then your summer plans consist of going on long, sunny walks. Aside from picking up the poo, it sounds nice. Kids are pricier and generally less grateful. My son has an awesome if dorky summer consisting of going to the DOTA championships at Key Arena, volunteering in Guatemala to build computer labs, then skipping ahead a grade in math by taking summer school. The current plan for my 11 year old daughter is to see how bored…

Did you know Wallingford has a neighborhood plan? It does! The Plan is 103 pages long and filled with flowery prose and pictures of bungalows. It was written a few months before I arrived in Wallingford, 17 years ago. If you're having trouble going to sleep tonight, here it is. The Plan used to really, really matter. It was put together when Jim Diers was in charge of the all powerful Department of Neighborhoods. The idea back then was to put neighborhoods in…

Emerald City Spirits, which occupied the old state liquor store, has gone dark. They bought the rights to the space back in 2011 for $355,000. Doug had a fun take: Apparently their liquor license has been purchased by the Shell station next door, and Shell will begin to sell liquor soon. We have finally become California! There's a rumor that the building housing Emerald City Spirits will be torn down and condos will be built there. Frankly I was hoping for a…