Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting two Easter egg hunts near Phinney-Greenwood this weekend. One is at Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N.; the other is at Loyal Heights Community Center, 2101 NW 77th St.

Both are at 10 a.m. on Saturday, are for ages 2-10, and are free. Events are held rain or shine. Children should bring their own bag or basket to collect their eggs. Both events are also accepting nonperishable food donations for local food banks.

For more information, or if you’re interested in volunteering, contact Bitter Lake Community Center at 206-684-7524 , or Loyal Heights Community Center at 206-684-4052.

Bring your old electronic equipment to the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. in the lower parking lot, on Saturday for an E-Cycling event conducted by InterConnection.

Laptops only will be accepted from 1:30-2 p.m.; all electronics accepted from 2-4:30 p.m.

Bring your old desktops, laptops, monitors, keyboards, mice, speakers, cables and other peripherals, and cell phones to recycle for free. Printers and scanners will also be collected for a fee of $5, plus $0.35 per pound for printers over 15 lbs. Equipment can be working or not, old or new.

InterConnection, a local non-profit, will refurbish usable items to donate to non-profits at home and abroad, providing job training to people in Seattle in the process. Items that cannot be refurbished are recycled through environmentally and socially responsible means. To learn more visit www.interconnection.org

InterConnection clears all data from electronics, but “wipe discs” will be available at the PNA for added privacy.

A few years ago, changes were made to the English Language Learner (ELL, formerly ESL) program in Seattle Public Schools. These changes have taken non-native speakers out of one classroom and put them in the traditional classroom with native English speakers. Our sister site, MyWallingford, has more on these changes and how they’re affecting students and teachers at Hamilton International Middle School.

Read: Final bell for self-contained bilingual classes

Metropolis cards and gifts at 7321 Greenwood Ave. N. celebrated its 30th anniversary on Saturday with neighbors and friends. Owner Terry Heiman tells us he was pleased at the crowds that stopped by to chat and shop and support a local business.

Co-owners Roger Aase (in red jacket) and Terry Heiman (far right) welcome shoppers to Metropolis’ 30th anniversary party. Photos by Mike Veitenhans.

(The celebration for our 30th year on Phinney Ridge was exceptional. We had such a great response from our loyal customers and gained a few new ones in the process. It was great to actually see a line form for the register and everyone in a great mood. We had a nice food table, a chocolate table and a large sheet cake. Lemonade was the drink of choice. Our sales beat our expectations and it felt more like the week before Christmas! Of course it helped that we are upon Easter Week for those Easter cards and followed shortly by Mother’s Day, May 8th.

Our live singer, Erica Sanford did a fabulous job of keeping us entertained with her comments about supporting a small business for 30 years and did a fantastic job on the vocals singing the songs from Grease, hits from 1959 (the era of our theme) and some hits from 1981, the year Metropolis was established.

It made Roger, Bethany, Mary Lee and myself very proud to be here in this community and have such loyal customers and friends.

Erica Sanford entertains the crowds with music from the 1950s as well as 1981, when Metropolis opened.

Thanks to Mike V for the photos!

Firefighters and the gas company were called to a gas line break at a house at 6723 Palatine Ave. N. this afternoon. From tipster Mike V:

When homeowner Frank Rebhan grabbed a gas line on the side of his house to steady himself, it tipped the meter, and when he tried to straighten it…the line broke. Fire trucks are still in the street as I send this. (Frank’s house was the one featured on the Home and Garden Network several years ago when he moved it to Palatine from a Phinney address.)

Thanks to Silver and Mike for the tips, and Mike for the photo!

Metropolis cards and gifts is celebrating its 30th anniversary today with a big party at its Phinney Ridge store, 7321 Greenwood Ave. N. Hear live music, eat free food and celebrate with neighbors during the “Grease” themed party.

Next door, Rising Stars children’s store has all stock at 25 percent off as it prepares to close on April 28.

Please stop by to shop and say goodbye. If you have consignment credit, or gift certificates, be sure to come by to use it. We still have many beautiful items to sell!

We will also sell our wood bookshelves, lights, and many fixtures that we have for slatwall (a retail display system). Please do stop by or call us if you are interested in any furniture or fixtures.

(W)e do want to thank our customers for many wonderful years of serving families in Phinneywood and beyond. It has been a pleasure to know many of you and share in your lives.

And please tell your friends to come shop! We could really use the support as we enter our last two weeks!

Taproot Theatre has extended the run of its current production “The Beams are Creaking” due to popular demand for tickets. The theater had already added a  Tuesday show next week, but it’s now extending the run by a full week, adding three weekend shows.

Originally scheduled to close on April 23, the show will now run through April 30, with additional performances at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, and 8 p.m. performances on Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30.

Tickets are available through Taproot Theatre’s box office at 206-781-9707.

Gerald B. Browning, Don Brady, and Matt Shimkus. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

Set in Germany in 1933, the Nazi party has taken power. In the face of the greatest evil of the 20th century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer battles questions of morality, political allegiance and religious conviction, and must make choices that could change the course of history. This true story will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

David Roby will replace Simon Pringle for the performances April 28 through 30. The rest of the cast remains the same: Matt Shimkus as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, along with Don Brady, Gerald Browning, Robert Gallaher, Nathan Jeffrey, Rob Martin, Kim Morris and Sarah Ware. The production team includes scenic and sound designer Mark Lund, costume designer Nanette Acosta and lighting designer Andrew Duff. Rachael Dorman serves as stage manager, Marianna de Fazio as dialect coach, Sam Vance as music director, and Melissa Johnson as dramaturg intern with Sonja Lowe as supervising dramaturg.

Volunteers of America Western Washington (VOAWW), which runs the North Seattle Community Resource Center (including the Greenwood Food Bank) at 9041 Greenwood Ave. N., plans to demolish its existing building and construct a new building that would also contain affordable senior housing.

The grand opening of the Community Resource Center in Greenwood on June 11, 2010.

The Greenwood Food Bank moved into its new space with its sister programs, Senior Companionship Program and Disability Services, last year.

“It was an ideal fit almost from the beginning,” Bill Humphreys, vice president of program development of VOAWW, said of the new site, which is close to downtown Greenwood services and the Greenwood Senior Center.

The new building would have about 10,000 square feet on the ground floor space for the food bank and social service programs, plus three stories of between 60 and 70 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors age 62 or older, plus an underground parking structure. The plan also is to have a garden where residents can help grow food for the food bank.

Humphreys said proposed project will cost around $20 million. Funding will come from a variety of sources, including federal and city grants, as well as a capital campaign.

“We want to create options for people to stay in their own homes,” he said. “How can we create opportunities for that to be their home as long as they want it to be.”

Humphreys said VOAWW hopes to break ground in the fall of 2012.

VOAWW is having a community meeting at 7 p.m. next Thursday, April 21, at the North Seattle Resource Center, 9041 Greenwood Ave. N. They will have some preliminary drawings of what the site could look like, but they’re looking for community input.

“The intent (is) to create an asset that not only the Greenwood community will be proud of… but an environment of community spirit and collaboration will take place every day,” Humphreys said. “This is about creating affordable housing that is high quality; really, really lovely aesthetics. We just think this is a lovely opportunity to make a difference in this community.”

If you have question about the project, contact Bill Humphreys at 425-259-3191 or by email.

The second in a three-class bicycling series at the Phinney Center is set for next Wednesday. The PNA has partnered with Cascade Bicycle Club on this Basic Bike Maintenance class, from 7-9 p.m. Wed., April 20.

Got a bike in the basement that hasn’t seen the road for a while? Or a new shiny one that you want to stay shiny? Are you ready to start learning about how your bike actually works? The PNA has partnered with Cascade Bicycle Club to bring a Basic Bike Maintenance class to the neighborhood. On Wednesday, April 20, 7-9pm you can bring your bike to Community Hall for hands-on maintenance experience. This class will help you get your bike ready for spring biking, and especially Bike Month in May! To sign up, call the PNA at 206-783-2244.

And don’t miss Urban Cycling Techniques on April 27 & 30!

Note: This post is from our sister site Queen Anne View.

Beginning at approximately 7 a.m. and running through the rest of the day on Thursday, April 14, Seattle Police Department and Washington State Patrol officers conducted a major safe driving enforcement patrol along Aurora Ave N.

Over the course of the day patrol officers tracked a total of 677 violations, wrote up 509 citations, clocked 331 speeders and doled out 198 warnings to drivers, according to the SPD Blotter. These numbers include 62 people caught driving while talking on their cell phones, 80 driving without insurance, 23 without a license, and a total of six who were arrested and charged with DUIs. Here’s the breakdown of violations, and subsequent tickets, for the day:

Tickets issued for the following violations:

Aggressive driving – 19

DUI Arrest – 6

Negligent Driving – 2

High speed – 66 in a 40 MPH zone

Cell phone – 62

No insurance – 80

No Operators License – 23

FTY to Pedestrians – 1

FTY Right of Way – 2

Unsafe Lane Change – 21

Follow to close – 2

School zone – 8

School zone (speed van) – 42

Bicycle – 2

Inattention – 2

Defective Equipment – 8

Illegal turns – 16

Signs Obey – 15

No seatbelt – 30

Vehicle License – 5

While SPD did dish out quite a lot of tickets along Aurora yesterday, officers say the primary aim of the patrol was safety. “The overall goal of the Aurora Avenue emphasis patrol is to promote safe driving behavior, not necessarily to write tickets. Tickets are however, a product of traffic law enforcement,” SPD said in a statement.

What do you think? Did the patrol help remind the public to drive safely along Aurora, which has an extremely high collision incident rate, or was it just an excuse for officers to hand out more tickets in a shorter amount of time? What do you think SPD and the city could do to make Aurora safer?

Seattle Department of Transportation paving crews started work on Third Avenue NW between NW 92nd to NW 97th streets today. They had originally planned to work only from NW 95th to NW 97th streets. The work is expected to continue through tomorrow.

One lane for each direction of traffic will remain open on Third Avenue. On-street parking will be restricted. Traffic flaggers may assist traffic to and from side streets.

Today the crew will grind the old asphalt from the street surface, and tomorrow, if weather is favorable, they will lay new asphalt.

This work is a part of SDOT’s annual arterial street maintenance program.

Here’s a reminder that the Seattle Police Department is conducting a major traffic enforcement patrol along Aurora Avenue North today.

The extra patrol started at 6:30 this morning and will run until this evening.

Specifically the patrol is focusing on the behaviors that contribute to collisions, injuries and deaths along Aurora Avenue such as speeding, following too close, unsafe turns and lane changes, impaired driving (DUI), cell phone usage, texting and other in car distractions.

More than 50 Seattle Police Department personnel are participating, including motorcycle and squad car units, the Aggressive Driver Response Team (ADRT) and the DUI squad. Joining SPD will be six patrol units from the Washington State Patrol and three teams from the Washington Liquor Control Board. A Unified Command Center has been established at North 125th Street and Aurora Avenue North.

The April 14th patrol is part of a two year project to improve safety along Aurora Avenue North. Between April 2005 and March 2008, 1,581 collisions occurred on Aurora between the Battery Street Tunnel and North 145th Street.