The Seattle School Board has changed the Seattle Public Schools Transportation Plan to create new neighborhood-based Transportation Zones, in an effort to streamline bus routes for attendance area elementary and K-8 schools starting in September.

The Board estimates the new Transportation Plan will save the school district up to $4 million, or the equivalent of 45 teaching positions. The new Transportation Zones should decrease the bus ride time for attendance area schools to 25 minutes or less, and reduces the bus fleet by about 80 buses.

From Seattle Public Schools’ press release:

Children within the transportation zone and outside of walk zones will be eligible for district-provided transportation. Transportation Zones will include the entire attendance area of a school, extending to areas within a 1.25-mile radius from the school within the middle school service area. Existing walk zones to schools would still apply.

Under the approved plan, bus transportation for middle schools, high schools, option schools, English Language Learners, Special Education and Advanced Learning would have minimal changes.

In addition to the new zones, some bus arrival and departure times will change, with some high schools and middle schools arriving 10-15 minutes earlier and elementary schools arriving 10-15 minutes later. School bell times will be set by the individual schools.

As a result of the plan, an estimated 3,600 elementary students currently receiving transportation reside outside of the new transportation zones. They will still be eligible for the following transportation:

• Students who live within a half of a mile from the Transportation Zone boundary can walk to a bus stop within the zone. Seats will be allocated on a space available basis.

• Community stops will be created so students can catch a bus at or near an attendance area school and take it to another school.

• Students who are no longer eligible for transportation will receive a guaranteed assignment to their attendance area school if requested.

Families can request an assignment to a different school based on these changes in transportation service. To allow for this, Open Enrollment is being extended and will run from March 15-April 15, 2011. This will give the Transportation Department time to notify all families of 2011-12 transportation eligibility, and will also allow families to participate in Open Enrollment if they wish to do so.

Letters to families regarding their student’s transportation eligibility for next year will be sent out in March. Online informational maps and additional information on the eligibility changes are available on the Transportation Services website.

Caffe Vita opened its doors at 7402 Greenwood Ave. N. last Friday for its “soft” opening. Now, its grand opening is set for tomorrow, and the coffee shop plans to donate all proceeds from the day to the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

From the press release:

One-hundred percent of proceeds from all purchases made Friday will be donated to the Phinney Neighborhood Association and Center. Come have a Vita coffee, meet new neighbors, and help us support your local community.

Caffe Vita is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Last night at 6:55 p.m., a man believed to be in his 20s used a handgun to rob a convenience store in the 8500 block of Greenwood Ave. N.

Seattle Police Officer Mark Jamieson says the man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and around 160 pounds, robbed the store at gunpoint, then fled. Officer Jamieson said it’s possible the suspect got into a nearby car. Robbery detectives are now investigating.

And Carmelita vegetarian restaurant at 7314 Greenwood Ave. N. tells us they were burglarized early Tuesday morning. Someone forced their way into the restaurant at 12:30 a.m., but the alarm went off right away and nothing was taken.

Thanks to John for the tip on the Greenwood robbery!

The Chocolate Shoe Box at 7410 Greenwood Ave. N. is hosting a vegan bake sale on Saturday and Sunday to benefit Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Sequim. The bake sale runs from 12-6 p.m. both days.

(T)hese wonderful people rescue horses, pigs, cows, rabbits, very large dogs, amongst other animals that have either been abandoned, abused or neglected. We welcome anyone wanting to donate for the event by baking as long as the item is vegan (has no animal products, such as dairy, lard, eggs, honey, etc), the items are individually wrapped to minimize hand to hand contact, and any allergy causing ingredients listed. Also, if a product is gluten free it would be terrific if they were marked, as they sell very well. Folks with a sweet tooth are also most welcome, especially if they are curious about tasting vegan baked goods.

Update 5 p.m. Tuesday: Romeo has just been found.

Kelly is hoping someone has seen her lost kitty, Romeo.

Romeo is a handsome black & white short hair male approximately 4-5 years old. He has a short black tail with a crook at the very tip, gold/green eyes, long teeth that jut past his upper lip a bit and a black chin & spots on his white muzzle. He’s a rescue who was an outdoor cat before his adoption but has been kept indoors over the past year. He snuck out an open bathroom window this morning about 9:30 into the alley btw. N85th & N84th St & Greenwood Ave & 1st. Sadly, he did not have his collar on. Romeo is a very social & sweet guy. If you spot him please call Kelly @ 206-601-4104.

In light of an estimated $35 million budget gap for next year, Seattle Public Schools is conducting a survey about funding for full-day kindergarten. Answers to the short survey that are received by 3 p.m. Wednesday will be provided to the School Board during its budget work session that evening. SPS will continue to accept survey responses through Friday.

The state of Washington funds only half-day kindergarten (there are a few exceptions to this for high poverty schools). For many years our district has added funding for a further half day to ensure there would be one full day kindergarten available in every school. Over the years schools added “pay for K” programs as more and more families wanted full day K for their children. For the 2010-11 school year, we implemented a standard $207 per month Pay for K program across the district. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch receive tuition waivers.

With the severe budget crisis, we are considering various options to balance the budget and one is related to Kindergarten services. We want your feedback about these options. Thank you.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HYTDGHZ

Caffe Vita opened at 7402 Greenwood Ave. N. on Friday.

At 4 p.m. Monday, a steady stream of customers came and went. The coffee shop also sells doughnuts, croissants, pizza, granola, cookies, Theo chocolate bars, juices, Dry Soda, loose leaf tea, travel mugs, and French press coffee makers.

It also serves coffee made with the Japanese cold brew system called ”Oji.” Water very slowly drips from the top containers onto the grounds in the center, at about 43 drips per minute. It takes six to eight hours to brew one full batch. It is then served over ice. The resulting coffee is supposed to be less acidic and more dessertlike. Ross, seen in the photo below, described it as “almost like whiskey.”

Caffe Vita is also planning to open a cafe next door, but it is still under construction.

Dave told us about an oil spill he witnessed Sunday afternoon behind the remodeled building that used to house the OK Corral restaurant, on Greenwood Avenue at about North 88th Street, next to Walgreens.

Firefighters built a little earthen dam to keep the oil from spreading further.

Dave says a tow truck driver was hauling away a car behind the building when the car got caught on a rusty oil tank, resulting in a leak.

I went into the house to get a camera. I came back and the driver had backed the truck up to the tank and was trying to use the lift on the tow truck to get under the tank and lift it up. That resulted in an even bigger flow of what now was black oil. He managed to get the tank somewhat level and placed a wood block underneath it to support it…

At this point I called 911 and was connected with SFD. The driver said he was going to leave to get materials to clean up the site. I asked him not to leave. He left and I called 911 again and asked for the police.

SFD arrived and started to assess the situation. The tow truck driver came back. He talked to firemen. He said that Fred Meyer didn’t have the right stuff so he was going somewhere else to get some sand. The firemen said ok, He left again…

The firemen built a dirt dam across the alley. The tow truck driver came back with 2 bags of sand. The cops interviewed the tow truck driver. SDOT arrived with more sand. SFD left, the tow truck driver left with the car in tow, and SPD left.

The SDOT guy deployed all his sand. A helper arrived with more sand. A few hours later they had filled several 55-gallon drums with oily-sand.

Later that night it started to rain and the remaining sand and oil started to run down the alley to the drain.

This morning I called SPU and the response was swift! Now a team from State Dept of Ecology is cleaning up.

We’ve got a message into the Washington Department of Ecology for more information. We’ll update this post when we hear back.

Larry Altose, media spokesman for the Washington Department of Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office, tells us that Seattle Public Utilities asked for Ecology’s help today because SPU ran out of equipment. Altose says the Ecology crew finished helping out this afternoon.

A Washington Department of Ecology truck cleans up the oil spill on Monday.

Thanks to Dave for the info and pictures!

The Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op is hosting its Gently Used Kid’s Clothing and Gear Sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19, at the PNA, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. This event has clothing and gear for kids from birth through age 10. Admission is free.

Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op’s bi-annual Kids Sale. Featuring gently used clothing, shoes, toys, books, strollers, bedding, furniture, safety equipment, sports gear, car seats, costumes, maternity wear and more! All clothes are hung by size and gender (Newborn-10 yrs) to make shopping easy! Plenty of parking in the Phinney Neighborhood Center’s upper and lower lots. Grab a tote and line up early for the best selection! Enjoy 50% discounts on many items starting at 12:00pm. This is THE event for families on a budget so don’t miss out! Find ‘PNPC Kids Sale’ on Facebook to get the latest info on the sale!

Want to offload things your family has outgrown? PNPC is also accepting tax deductible donations of gently used baby/kid clothing and gear. All proceeds help support the preschool co-op, and donations need to be made by March 11th. Please email pnpckidssale@gmail.com for more information.

The Seattle Public Library is now offering free access to Career Transitions, an online career resource that offers step-by-step guidance to help you discover your interests and find a new job.

Career Transitions features five guided steps to help plan and make the next move in finding a job: explore and discover occupational interests; investigate thousands of career paths; prepare a resume and list of references; find educational opportunities to increase hiring chances; and find jobs from listings across the country.

To access Career Transitions, go to www.spl.org and select the “Job hunting resources” Quick Link on the homepage. Then scroll down the page to find Career Transitions under “Career Discovery & Job Skills.” A Library card and personal identification number is necessary to access Career Transitions. Users will need to create a username and password in order to save their work and continue later.

A lot of fun times to be had in the neighborhood this weekend.

Tonight is the monthly neighborhood Artwalk. Dozens of neighborhood art galleries and other businesses will host artists from various mediums, from steampunk jewelry at Yvonne Palermo Studios inside the Greenwood Collective, 8537 Greenwood Ave. N., Suite 1, to photography and art by Fabiola Reina (image at right) at Balderdash Books & Art, 8536 Greenwood Ave. N. Check out the Artwalk website for a full list and map.

Woodland Park Presbyterian Church, 225 N. 70th St., is having open mic night from 6:15-10:15 p.m. Friday.

The Pacific NW Folklore Society performs British Isles traditional music from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Friday at Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe, 8310 Greenwood Ave. N.

Some streets around Green Lake will be closed Saturday morning for the annual Valentine’s Day Dash. For more information, check out our sister site, My Green Lake.

Animals at the Woodland Park Zoo will be getting special Valentine’s Day treats from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Otters at the zoo get special ice pops made from fruit juice and smelt.

Learn how to seismically retrofit your house, at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N.

The Tarantells perform live Italian music at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at The Olive & Grape, 8516 Greenwood Ave. N.

Seattle Folklore Society performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

Take part in a singer/songwriter’s circle at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono, 8310 Greenwood Ave. N.

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Empty Sea Studios.

Shapenote Singing at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Woodland Park United Methodist Church, 302 N. 78th St.

And a reminder that Saturday is Neighbor Appreciation Day. If you’ve got awesome neighbors who lend a hand with yard work or childcare, now’s a good time to tell them how much you appreciate them. Pick up a free card from libraries or the PNA, or email one. And stop by the temporary Fire Station 21 at the corner of North 68th Street and Greenwood Avenue North from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday for a public tour and display of firefighting equipment.

You can always check out our Events Calendar for daily events in the neighborhood.

Ann sent us a note to say that her daughter’s car was stolen from in front of their house last week.

Monday night 1/31/2011 on the 300 block of N. 77th street our 1997 Nissan Maxima (white) license # 930 UQT was stolen. It had a full tank of gas so it could be driven for a bit before it is abandoned. If you see it on the street, please call the police and they will impound it for us.