Brian Gershon

When we took a recent vacation we weren’t sure what to do with our pets.  Boarding seemed a bit traumatic and expensive.

We called our favorite Vet, Four Paws Veterinary Center in Seward Park, and they mentioned pet sitting as an option, and had recommendations.

A short time later we received a call from Urban Paws Pet Care (urbanpawspetcare at gmail.com or 206-491-7256) who were very professional and friendly, took good care of our pets, and even dropped by to see how things were when we got back.

We and our pets are lucky to have these two great businesses in our Columbia City area!

An hour after the Blue Angels soared above as part of Seafair, on a day that was only in the high 80’s (instead of record-breaking 100’s just days before), under the afternoon shade of the Bennett town homes bordering the alley, across from the Riley town homes on MLK, and book ended by recycle-bins that blocked vehicle traffic at both ends of the alley (with a Seattle permit of course)…

…the inaugural Alley Extravaganza kicked-off!

BBQ Ground Zero

The series of pictures (below) tells the story — neighbors getting to know each other, some meeting for the first time — BBQ’ing, sharing stories, and playing games.

I’ve posted all my photos here on Flickr.  If you have photos, please post and leave a comment here so we know where to find them.

I’d also like to give many thanks to everyone that made this possible:

Neighbors brought food and drink, made donations, rolled over their grills, coolers, tables and chairs.  Brett and Lauren’s drive-way was ground-zero. Seattle Housing Authority (Thanks Naomi!) contributed funding for food, translated our flyers into Amharic, Somali and Vietnamese. Halal meats were purchased from our new local grocery store “Shill Grocery Halal Meat” (on MLK at Columbian Way).  Beer came from our local Georgetown Brewing Company (Thanks Andy!).  The City of Seattle granted us a free block-party permit.

Jeremy, Tad, Brett and I has the pleasure of organizing the event, and look forward to the next neighborhood bash!

A Run on the Water Balloon tub! See if Tad and Jeremy can hold them off.

We represent cute around here!

Great conversation while we BBQ'd

I felt like I was in a whole new Seattle today, as I commuted from Columbia City to Downtown on the new Light Rail.

As the train clickety-clacked out of the Beacon Hill tunnel toward Downtown, its elevated position over the city made me think I was in a city more known for its public transportation.  I’m a fan of metro, but having light rail brings a whole new feeling of a grown-up city.

Seat with a View

The trains were immaculent, air-conditioned – and I was greeted by smiling people – both passengers and Sound Transit employees who were helping on this first commute day.

The topic of “Light Rail” was even a great ice-breaker to stir up conversation with random people at coffee shops, or while out at lunch.

Sound Transit visits a packed house at New Rainier Vista

Now for my neighbors and I who have been eagerly watching the train testing for months at New Rainier Vista, we knew everything about Light Rail here.  Sound Transit visited not too long ago to answer questions, discuss safety, and get us excited about Orca passes.

… but it was interesting to talk with people that didn’t really know much about Light Rail, even after the free all-weekend “party” focused on Light Rail stations and destinations.

Here were some comments to my ice-breaker of “Did you have a chance to try out Light Rail today?”:

• “Ah, is that what they call the SLUT?”  No I said, that’s the small train from downtown to Lake Union.  This is a MUCH larger train.
• “Traffic from Tacoma to Seattle is crazy, this will sure be nice for them”.  No I said (nicely of course) – this train goes between Tukwila (and eventually the airport) to downtown.  A 2nd person made the same connection to Tacoma.  They were both thinking of the Sounder.

Though I guess if you don’t live along the route, the trip from downtown to the airport may be the most visible benefit.  I too am excited to be able to take Light Rail to the Airport (from my house), and even before this leg opens in December, the frequent shuttle between Tukwila and SeaTac will make this a reality before then.

I’m also excited to particularly check out the Beacon Hill station.  I’ve heard the station artwork is great — plus this area is now only 2 stops away.  I hardly ever visited before because the buses didn’t directly connect.

I will however miss the “Metro #42 Downtown” and its bus stop across from my house.

This stop is where I’ve met many of my neighbors, with a unique crowd depending on time of the morning.  The other day, I felt like I was at Cheers in Boston – talking with existing neighbors, and meeting new neighbors who had overheard our conversation while riding a full bus downtown.

Will I run into my neighbors now that I have to walk 5 blocks to the Columbia City station, and now that there is no set schedule to congregate around?

… moments later, I ran into my neighbor Greg on the way in this morning, and just saw my neighbor Joanne on the way home.  My worry is over.

Our New Rainier Vista Multicultural Committee meeting is always fun, and this month we learned from our Ethiopian residents about the Oromia region of Ethiopia and some of its culture and food.  Oromo means “The Powerful”.

I was impressed with the fact that (traditionally) people would recall between say 7 and 17 generations of their fathers.  People often were married outside of their tribe to promote loyalty between tribes. In the 2nd picture below, you can see the flag of Oromia that represents a tree that is always wet.

… and drinking tasty Ethiopian coffee is something I had no problem relating to!

Mulu presents ceremonial bread and traditional coffee

Jamal provides a look into the Oromo culture (also pictured is Naomi)

Tom, Kelly and Ahnday look on

Congratulations to Mark Okazaki from Neighborhood House (which has a location here at New Rainier Vista in Seattle) and Jon Ramer from Interra Project for their upcoming awards from the Center for Ethical Leadership.

This award “celebrates Puget Sound leaders whose vision, commitment and unceasing efforts are significantly advancing social, environmental, and economic justice.”

Tickets are available for the 4th Annual Bill Grace Leadership Legacy Awards Dinner on March 5th, 2009.

My experience with Neighborhood House is through our monthly Multicultural Committee meeting here at New Rainier Vista, where they provide language translation.  (Translation and support of this committee is also provided by Seattle Housing Authority, as well as my neighbors living here) .  Our community has native speakers from Somalia, Ethiopia, China, and Vietnam.

The Interra Project “provides consumers with the incentives they need to shift their purchasing habits to support the health of their communities by shopping with locally-focused, environmentally and sustainably-minded businesses.”  I was part of the team that built the Boston Community Change website.  Now there is a  Puget Sound Community Change in our local community.  You can sign-up for a community change card for free and use when purchasing at local businesses, or if you own a business you can offer your services to those who have cards.

Both the Interra Project and Center for Ethical Leadership are clients (and friends) of ours at Web Collective and we support the great work they are doing.

Last night was my first sighting of a real live Sound Transit Light Rail.  Trains are just in testing now, but will be live this summer.

onebusaway.org is excellent for Metro King County commuters!  Save your favorite Bus Stops as bookmarks on your browser (or mobile phone) and always know when your next bus is scheduled to arrive or if it’s running late.

One of my neighbors recommended this site.  I was surprised to have missed this website will all my years of bus riding.

http://www.onebusaway.org/

I attended my first Multicultural Committee meeting this month at New Rainier Vista.  I had a great time!

There’s something special about a community coming together (with the help of translators speaking several different languages) to provide a way to get to know each other, problem-solve community issues together, and plan events/dinners together.

My favorite part was sitting back and taking in all the interesting people and languages being spoken, and also the part where one member of the community is interviewed about how they arrived at New Rainier Vista and their experiences.  This month, a woman from Somalia was interviewed.

Nice job to Tom and Naomi who have been organizing and facilitating these meetings, and to all my neighbors who attend and get to know each other.

We recently converted our postage-sized grass patch into a stone patio.  We highly recommend Beautiful Lopez Gardens, who did a nice job matching this to our existing walkway and putting in a subtle slope plus drainage so water doesn’t pool.

We are new residents of the Rainier Vista community, which is a culturally-diverse neighborhood where 14 languages are spoken, and new people are moving in at a pretty good clip — the home owner community has grown from 23 units to 126 units this past year.

I’ve just started to explore nearby Columbia City, having visited Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria (best pizza in Seattle?), Lottie’s Lounge, Columbia City Ale House (we lucked out and had a pint of Old Engine Oil, which is tasty brew from Scotland that only arrives once per year in a couple of kegs), and discovered free wifi along Rainier Ave too.

I’m now an expert on the local buses downtown (Metro #42, #39, #48-to-#7), and already met 3 fellow residents Ian, Christina and Ben along the way. This pace will pick up once the new Columbia City light-rail station opens in 2009.

A few weeks ago, we attended our first Home Owner’s Association meeting, which coincided with the Annual Meeting, so had a nice chance to meet some more neighbors, and get an overview of all the neighborhood happenings. There are events, active committees and a Google Group online — many opportunities to get to know people in our community.