We’re happy to announce there’s a new member in our network of North Seattle community news sites.  U District Daily will bring you all the news and events in Seattle’s University District.  This is an exciting venture for all of us here at Next Door Media.  It’s part of a groundbreaking partnership with the University of Washington’s student-run newspaper The Daily, spanning both daily news coverage and advertising — the first of its kind in the country.  The site is authored by Christian Caple, an editor for The Daily, and neighborhood ads will be sold by the newspaper’s own advertising staff.  The new site will focus on both the UW campus and the entire U-District neighborhood.  We invite you to check it out!  You can read more about the partnership here.

The Taoist Studies Institute in Phinney Ridge is showing a rare exhibit on the ancient Chinese zither.

“Way of the Qin – Guqin and Nourishing Life: An Exhibition on the Ancient Chinese Zither” features more than 50 items illustrating Chinese culture and philosophy. The exhibit is open from 1-5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 24, at 225 N. 70th St. The exhibit is free, but donations are welcome.

The Qin, now commonly known as Guqin -Ancient Zither- has been played in China for over two thousand years. A common theme in Chinese painting, poetry and literature, the Guqin is an integral part of Chinese culture and is one of the most refined of the arts of the Chinese scholar. Known as the ‘instrument of sages’, from ancient times the Qin has been used as a medium of cultivation and nourishing life. The instrument is designed according to cosmic principles and made from materials chosen to enhance its ability to resonate with nature and touch the heart. It is the first of the four arts of the Chinese scholar: Qin, Qi (a game best known in the west by the Japanese name Go), Calligraphy and Painting. A Chinese scholar’s studio was not complete without a Qin or a representation of a Qin.

The Way of the Qin exhibition will be accompanied by an array of public programs that focus on Chinese and Taoist culture. These will include lectures, multi-media programs, concerts performed on the Guqin and workshops on calligraphy, painting and qigong.

Art on the Ridge has been sharing space inside SPACE: A Design Build Collective on Greenwood Avenue and North 76th Street. Now, Art on the Ridge is moving into its own space at 8005 Greenwood Ave. N., next to Phinney Ridge Cabinet Company.

Here’s owner Nicole Stremlow-Monahan taking a break from remodeling the new gallery space.

Art on the Ridge plans to be ready for its grand opening in time for the huge annual Greenwood-Phinney Artwalk on May 14-15.

Thanks to Mike V for the photo!

The two Seattle Fire Investigators who caught suspected Greenwood arsonist Kevin Swalwell will be honored Friday night at the Seattle Fire Department Promotions and Awards Night celebration.

Fire Investigators Jim Berger and Steve Olson – Honored with a Meritorious Service Award for their role in the apprehension of a serial arsonist who terrorized the Greenwood neighborhood for months. In the early morning hours of November 13, 2009, Berger and Olson were patrolling Greenwood in an unmarked vehicle when they heard Seattle Fire units called to assist with a large fire in Shoreline. They drove towards the fire and spotted a person of interest watching the fire from a bus stop. They called in Seattle Police, who arrested the man. He later confessed to setting 10 fires in the Greenwood area.

The Chocolate ShoeBox opened its doors Saturday to hundreds of people during its grand opening celebration. The new store at 7410 Greenwood Ave. N. sells vegan shoes (men’s and women’s) and vegan chocolates.

Shoe brands such as Simple, Cupid and Celeste are very inexpensive. Right now, a pair of sparkly Celeste spiked heels are $22.99; flats are as low as $13.99. A new shipment of Vegan Birkenstocks just arrived and are going on the shelves now.

A window display shows what some of the shoes are made of, including hemp and carpet padding. Splaff brand shoes are made from tires, tire tubes and hemp. The store also sells purses, wallets and belts.

There’s a nice selection of vegan chocolate at the back of the store, including Rescue Chocolate, which donates all its profits to animal rescue organizations.

A refrigerated case will soon offer raw vegan chocolate and cupcakes. The Chocolate Shoebox also has a drop-off box for Soles4Souls, which gives gently worn used shoes to people in need around the world.

The Chocolate ShoeBox is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 12-5 p.m. Sunday.

Fast food restaurants across Phinney, Greenwood, and the rest of Seattle will have to make a big change starting July 1. That’s when an ordinance will require all single-use packaging and food ware to be compostable or recyclable. Restaurants and food service businesses will also have to put up new bins for customers to sort their trash.

Today, Seattle Public Utilities invited PhinneyWood to Safeco Field for a look at how the Seattle Mariners are already implementing the program. All food vendors at the stadium have switched to compostable products and bins have been set up on all levels so fans can sort the trash after they’ve finished eating. Safeco hopes to have a recycling rate of over 70 percent.

“Our beer cup looks like plastic but it’s made of corn. Our knives, forks and spoons look like plastic but they’re also made of corn. They are heat senstitive, so if you have a spoon in a hot food item, it will bend.  That’s something fans will have to get used to,” said Scott Jenkins with the Mariners.

Restaurants will face added costs from the new ordinance, and some have pushed back against Seattle Public Utilities. The Washington Restaurant Association says most restaurants in Seattle are interested in using more sustainable practices, but they have questions about cost and customer safety. SPU says many businesses, like Taco Del Mar, which made the switch to eco-friendly ware back in 2008, are more than willing to make the change.

“The restaurants are responding really well,” said Dick Lilly from SPU. ”It’s a big change so it’s going to take some working out. The products are getting better and less expensive.”

The city’s new composting requirements follow a ban on styrofoam last year. You can read more about the program here.

Garbage trucks were seen in the neighborhood early this morning, but Waste Management workers went on strike mid-morning, according to The Seattle Times.

Union garbage haulers went out on strike at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, culminating a three-week standoff with their employer, Waste Management, which provides collection services to about 1 million customers in King and Snohomish Counties.

Members of Teamsters Local 174 were told to return their trucks to their bases and set up picket lines outside Waste Management facilities, said spokesman Michael Gonzales.

“We’re telling our members to turn their trucks back,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said the company has violated federal labor law, including bargaining in bad faith, coercing employees, threatening to retaliate against workers and unilaterally changing working conditions. The Teamsters have been working without a contract since April 1.

Read the full Times story here.

Waste Management’s contract covers the northwest and south sections of Seattle.

Seattle Public Utilities just issued this press release:

Those customers whose collections are missed today are asked to put all of their garbage and yard waste out next week on their regular collection day.

The City’s recycling services are covered by a different contract, and should not be affected by the strike. All customers are asked to keep their recycling out.

Approximately 18,000 residential customers could be affected by the strike action today in the following approximate areas:

- N. 105th St to N. 85th St, W. of SR-99

Delridge Way SW to Beacon Ave. S, from S. Royal Brougham to SW Roxbury St.

View a detailed map of the affected area.

Dave Fox may live in Greenwood but he travels the world for work. A freelance travel writer and 14-year tour guide for PBS travel guru Rick Steves, Fox is now launching his own specialty tour company called Globejotter Tours.

Globejotter Tours is unique in that while we are off exploring foreign countries, I teach travel journaling and creative writing classes along the way to help people write about their travel experiences. I’ve been a freelance travel and humor writer for many years, and have published two travel books. “Getting Lost: Mishaps of an Accidental Nomad” is my collection of humorous tales about things that have gone wrong in my international travels. It won the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop Book Proposal Contest in 2004. My second book, “Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!)” is based on travel journaling classes I’ve been teaching for many years…and both are available at Balderdash Books and Santoro’s.

My first Globejotter tour was a writing safari in Botswana this past January. In addition to seeing amazing wildlife and having writing sessions every couple of days, we also had an impromptu meeting with an elderly tribal chief in a village that had never seen tourists before, and taught Kalahari Bushmen how to play Frisbee.

Fox keeps the tour groups small, with a maximum of 12 people. His next planned trip is to southern Vietnam in October.

We’ll explore Saigon, the Mekong Delta, and a South China Sea fishing village. We’ll experience a wide range of big-city and small-town Vietnamese culture, visit historical sights, lavish religious temples, floating markets, and local industries. We’ll also have a half-day cooking school where we first go shopping at a village market, and then cook our own Vietnamese lunch with the guidance of a local chef. And… I’ll teach a series of writing classes as we travel. Writers of all skill levels are welcome; some people come just to journal for themselves, while others are hoping to publish more polished travel tales and break into freelance travel writing.

Last year the annual Greenwood Garage Sale Day moved from spring to fall because of date conflicts. This year it’s moving back to its traditional spot in spring – but in May instead of the usual April. The sale is now 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 22.

Thousands of bargain hunters troll the streets of Phinney/Greenwood looking for good deals at this annual event, which features more than 150 household sales, plus a Flea Market & Tool Swap in the Phinney Neighborhood Center lower parking lot. Households sign up online to be included in the official map and program.

Registration deadline is May 14. Cost is $15 for PNA members, $20 for non-members and $20 for non-profit rummage sales. Flea market registration is $25 for PNA members and $30 non-members.

We’ll publish an online Google Map with a table of addresses for buyers to locate your sale. There will also be a listing of your Garage Sale description. Tell your friends and neighbors and let’s make this year’s event bigger and better than ever. The more dots we get on the map, the more attractive it is for out-of-area buyers to visit!

We will promote the event with newspaper and web advertising. Greenwood Garage Sale Day flyers and Greenwood Garage Sale Day yard signs will be available at the Phinney Neighborhood Center after May 8.

 For more information, e-mail Chardell, or call 206-783-2244.

Heather says she saw a dog running loose this morning and it looked scared and lost.

I first saw it near Herkimer Coffee where it ran west across Greenwood Ave and down 72nd. I saw it again about 7AM on the west side of the ridge on 65th and 2nd. I tried to get it to come to me but it ran away back toward the east on 65th. It was a thin, smallish (35lb) dog, brown and grey tiger-stripe with a black leather collar with stars on it. There were tags on the collar but I couldn’t get close enough to see any info. Hope it finds its way home.

Anyone else see the dog or know if it found its way back home?

Seattle Public Utilities is giving away high-efficiency toilets to qualifying homeowners.

You are a homeowner with a Seattle Public Utilities account.

You currently live in the home you own.

Your existing toilets were manufactured before 1994.

You meet income guidelines for your household size.

Contact Minor Home Repair at (206) 448-5751 (TTY (206) 448-5025) or e-mail the City of Seattle’s Utility Discount Program for more information.

St. John Catholic School’s annual auction is this weekend. Friday night’s auction is free and open to the public. (Saturday night’s auction is the Gala dinner and reservations are required.)

Friday night the festivities start at 5:30 p.m. and kids are welcome until 7 p.m. Pizza and salad will be sold for dinner. The auction is in Egan Hall, on 79th Street between Greenwood and 1st avenues.

Friday night’s silent auction items include: Star Wars collectibles, Mariners Ichiro jersey, various games and puzzles, dolls, movie certificates, restaurant gift cards, clothing, DVDs, handmade quilt, vintage guitar amp, hand painted child’s table and chairs, Victorian dollhouse, electric knife sharpener, jewelry, and private swim lessons.

Friday live auction items include: Mariners tickets, Seahawks tickets, Sounders tickets, vacation getaways, free lunch for a year for one child, fishing trip, private helicopter ride for two, and a kindergarten field trip to the zoo.

For more information, contact the auction chair at susanekelly@comcast.net.