We’re heading into gift-buying season (or, you could say we’re already deep into it, for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Chanukah-celebraters.) Either way, though, it’s nice to shop local, so each year we try to do a round-up of local artists and crafts sales timed for the holidays.

Please post in the comments are email me me at [email protected] if you’ve got something going on in the next month. Generally, this is intended to give light to local artists selling locally, not to stores having holiday sales (though go without saying.) Local is generally intended to mean “Wallingford” because that’s …

If you’ve taken advantage of the nice weather in the early part of this month to rake some leaves, then you may have built up a real backlog. All this month, SPU has been taking extra containers of yard waste for free for customers that already subscribe to yard waste collection. But this is your last week to put out extra stuff!

From the SPU website:

SPU is providing free extra yard waste from November 1-30, 2018. Extra yard waste must be in paper bags (up to 60 pounds), or placed in an extra container that contains only yard waste. …

Seattlekit writes: this coyote has been seen in a 1-mile radius around the zoo for about 2 months now, mostly to the east and south (Wallingford). So I’d like to offer the official name for this male coyote of “Wally Coyote”, as a take-off on Wile E. Coyote of Roadrunner cartoon fame. You in?

Yes, Kit, I think we are!

If you don’t often peruse our forums, readers have been posting recently about a rash of coyote sightings in the neighborhood. This is not a particularly rare event for us. In fact, going back through Wallyhood stories, I see …

As covered previously, SDOT was planning to throttle Green Lake Way N and waste a lot of money by putting in a bike crossing at N 52^nd and Green Lake Way N, eliminating parking on the East side of the street. Pretty much everyone said “no please” so SDOT thankfully backed off.

New plans are for the 2-way cycle track around the lake to transition to two 1-way protected bike lanes at a new light going in at the Pitch and Putt (where 3 roads all named Green Lake Way intersect). The West side curb of Green Lake Way …

I’m beginning to feel a bit like the Chief of Wallyhood’s Playground Bureau. Just a couple of weeks ago, I reported that the transfer station playground is being redone by the contractor due to some deficiencies in the original construction. And this week, I’m here to report that the Wallingford Playfield, along Wallingford Ave. near 45th, is now closed for renovation.

It closed on November 6, but I hadn’t noticed until a friend mentioned it to me. Jordan posted about it back in May, and Ben followed up with an announcement about a community meeting convened to seek neighborhood input …

Local historians Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard have a new book out, titled Seattle Now & Then: The Historic Hundred. They are touring in support of their book launch, and next week Wallingford residents will have a chance to catch one of their illustrated talks outlining local history.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but if it is half as fascinating as their website, it’s bound to be worth your time.

Monday, November 19, 2018 

7 p.m. in the chapel of the Good Shepherd Center 

The event is free, books are available for purchase and personalizing, …

The Green Lake and Wallingford Paving and Multi-Modal Improvements project (new name!) is the city’s official name for work to be done up by Green Lake, but also includes a host of improvements and renovations along 40^th St. These include addition of and improvements to cross walks; repairing sidewalks; installing some bus shelters; adding and improving pedestrian lighting; repaving of 40^th; and construction of a bike lane.

While the sidewalk repair garnered some criticism when it was revealed that a number of trees might have to be cut down to facilitate that, the greatest controversy was generated …