Wallingford, Seattle

Tipster Hoyt pointed us towards Spokespeople, who sponsor a monthly bike ride from Wallingford Field at Wallingford and 42nd St to nearby neighborhoods. Here's what's on tap for this Saturday, Feb 7th at 2pm:SPOKESPEOPLE will test lights and reflective clothing for kids walking and biking to our neighborhood John Stanford International School. Safe Lights to School is a SPOKESPEOPLE project awarded a Seattle Department of Transportation grant. We'd be delighted with community help on this project. http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/saferoutes.htmIf the 800 m from…

So, what's your suggestion for the best way to spend Valentine's Day in Wallingford? Bizarro is taking reservations, as I'm sure Cantinetta, Tilth and Joule are. But perhaps a slice from Pudge Brothers and a trip to Blue Video is in cards? Wallyhood wants to know.Best suggestions published in time for the big day. Leave as comment or e-mail [email protected].

We just got off the phone with Anne Radford, spokesperson for the Washington State Liquor Control Board, who confirmed that the WSLCB has lost their lease on the existing Wallingford location and expect to close it mid-March. However, they don't anticipate having a new location secured for "a few" months after that, so there will be a brief, but seemingly interminable period when Wallingfordites will have to hike to Ballard or the University Village area to ward off the DT's.We did…

Reminder: there's a Wallingford photo contest underway, first prize gets $100 gift certificate to Frame Central and (we didn't mention this last time) a free print from the Wallingford Photo Center in Wallingford Center, plus the admiration and adoration of the entire Wallyhood readership.Basic rules are that the photo must be of something in Wallingford. Submissions should be uploaded to Flickr and tagged "wallyhoodcontest#1" (yes, there will be a Wallyhood contest #2). Full details in the original post. Get snappin'!

Remember that scene in Star Wars where the Death Star council is arguing about whether the Imperial Senate will allow something, and then Grand Moff Tarkin announces that they've dissolved Senate and then Admiral Motti says "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerous ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebels' hidden fortress..." and then Vader does that choking…

When I first read the beginning of the synopsis The School of Essential Ingredients on Amazon:Lillian's father deserts his wife and young daughter literally, and then her mother deserts her figuratively -- disappearing deeply into the solace of books as a coping mechanismI read it as "Lillian's father desserts his wife...and then her mother desserts her figuratively," I guess because the context of cooking set up the wrong frame for me. It sounded like such a cheerful book, my way, this…

Wallyhood tipster Michelle sent in this shot of this week's Word of the Week, from 44th and Thackery.spall |spôl| verb [ trans. ] break (ore, rock, stone, or concrete) into smaller pieces, esp. in preparation for sorting.[ intrans. ] (of ore, rock, or stone) break off in fragments : cracks below the surface cause slabs of material to spall off.noun, a splinter or chip, esp. of rock.ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun): of unknown origin. The verb dates from the…