If you plan on attending the Green Festival at Qwest Event Center this weekend, you can help out the Phinney Neighborhood Association. The PNA is a finalist for a Community Green Grant for its solar-powered composting toilet proposal.

We want to build a stand-alone composting toilet on the hillside at the Phinney Center, which will have solar PV to run the fan and lights. We need your votes to win, so come to the Seattle Green Festival for FREE to vote for our submission. To obtain a free ticket to the Green Festival, please go to the will call booth and mention the Ford Community Green Grant and the PNA. Voting is only onsite, via tokens. Event participants will receive a token by visiting the Ford Drive Green Pavilion.

Update: Dog and owners have been reunited!

Erica and her family found a collie outside the Green Lake Zeek’s Pizza Thursday night around 8 p.m. and took the dog home with them to keep it safe.

My kids and I saw this adorable dog at Ben & Jerry’s/Zeek’s at Green Lake tonight around 8. The guys at Zeek’s said someone found him running around loose, and tied his leash to a lightpost. (The Zeek’s guys were very willing to take him home & help track down his owner when their shifts were over–very sweet!–but we took the little sweet pup home with us bc my neighbor is a vet.)

I’m assuming the purple dog leash attached belongs to the dog, but I’m not positive.

He was super friendly to my kids. He has a teeny limp; hope he didn’t get that while roaming about today.

My neighbor will bring him to Northwest Veterinary Hospital tomorrow to see if there’s a chip.

It’s a big weekend in the neighborhood the next couple of days, and here’s hoping for more sunny skies! Here are a few highlights from our calendar of events.

Friday is national Bike to Work Day, and Cascade Bicycle Club will have 41 commuter stations and a dozen Do-It-Yourself stations around King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties from 6-9 a.m., giving away water bottles and snacks (while supplies last). So, keep an eye out for thousands more cyclists than you normally encounter driving to work (more than 20,000 people are expected to bike to work around the region). Later in the day, Ballard is hosting the Bike to Work After-Party and Summer Streets Party from 4-7 p.m. on 22nd Avenue NW between NW Market Street and Ballard Avenue NW.

INKA Treasures Sale at Prajna Day Spa, 6826 Greenwood Ave. N., Suite A, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. “Sale items include silver jewelry with semi-precious gem stones and stunning inlaid work, hand-knit Alpaca scarves and gloves, colorful textiles and other carefully selected quality goods from the Cuzco region.”

The Greenwood Senior Center is hosting its huge Second Hand Sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Stop by at 525 N. 85th St. and choose from a ton of crafty materials (fabric, threads, yarn, paints, soap making supplies, raffia, etc.), kitchenware, music, small furniture, games, books and more.

The entire neighborhood gets in on the second-hand action with the annual Greenwood Garage Sale Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. More than 100 garage and rummage sales will draw thousands of bargain hunters to Phinney-Greenwood. Plus there’s a tool sale and flea market at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

Beppa studios at 7600 6th Ave. NW is having its spring clothing sale from 4-8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Empty Sea Studios hosts Rain City Tales & Tunes from 8-10 p.m. Friday, 6300 Phinney Ave. N.

Rain City Tales & Tunes is a brand-new radio show which brings the Northwest’s best storytellers and musicians together onstage. Taped in front of a live audience at Empty Sea, the show features acoustic music and tale-telling. Each episode features a unique theme, and audience members are invited to volunteer for the storytelling spotlight.

Produced jointly by Empty Sea Studios and KBCS storyteller Auntmama (Mary Anne Moorman), Rain City will be available to public radio stations this fall.

Jill Cohn and Larry Murante perform original jazz and pop from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Friday at Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Café, 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. Cost is $8; food and drink available for purchase. On Saturday, it’s Troupeau Arcadian Cajun Music and Dance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free.

Warm weather means swimming and boating time, but it’s also a time of increased danger around the water. Purchase a low-cost life jacket at Green Lake, courtesy of Seattle Parks and Recreation, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Fisheries Supply. Cost is $20 for infant and youth sizes, and $30 for teen and adults sizes. The sale is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, just outside the Green Lake pool at 7201 E. Green Lake Dr. N.

In Washington state, over 70 percent of drowning deaths among children occur in open water settings and males in the 15-24 year age group are at the highest risk of drowning. Non-fatal drownings can cause serious long-term disabilities. In Washington State and the U.S., drowning is the second-leading cause of injury death for children, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control.

• When you can, swim only in areas where there are lifeguards.
• Keep a constant watch on your child when they are in or near the water. Stay within touching distance of young children at all times.
• Have adults take turns watching children at social events. Never use alcohol or other drugs during water and boating activities or while watching children around the water.
• Set and follow safety rules.

Even if you or your child knows how to swim, children, teens and adults should always wear a life jacket:

• When on a boat, raft or inner tube
• When swimming in open water like a lake, river or the ocean
• When playing in or near the water and on docks (for young children)
• Check each life jacket to make sure it fits and that it is U. S. Coast Guard approved.

Greenwood resident Tiberio Simone’s new book, “La Figa: Visions of Food and Form” features pictures of food artfully placed on naked human bodies. Known as the “sensual chef,” Simone and photographer Matt Freedman will be featured at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival in Fremont from Friday through Sunday. The festival is at Fremont Studios, 155 N. 35th St.

No, that’s not a bodysuit she’s wearing.

Simone grew up in poverty in rural Italy, but went on to become an elite paratrooper in the Italian Special Forces, and then a 1995 James Beard Award winner for pastry.

The book’s lush and occasionally risqué images are accompanied by text of a similar flavor ‒ including advice on how to blend food and seduction. Simone also shares powerful food memories from his childhood in rural Italy; 20 favorite recipes; behind the scenes photos; and how his love of food and form evolved into art. As for why: “I want to share my passion for what I believe are the basics of life ‒ food and touch. In trying to figure out how to make that my job, I found a new way to love food and a new title for myself – ‘pleasure activist’.”

The King County Prosecutor’s Office today filed charges against four owners of the GMS Market, a convenience store at 10406 Greenwood Ave. N., alleging they organized a major retail theft ring.

According to documents from KCPO, prosecutors say the GMS Market owners paid thieves to shoplift goods from local retailers, then resold them at GMS Market and online. According to the prosecutor’s office, many of the shoplifters have been prosecuted, while others will be witnesses in the case.

Gulshan Rai, 56, and his wife, Shabnam Sukhija, 57, along with their son, Jatin Rai, 36, and daughter-in-law Mitu Rai, 35, are facing a variety of charges related to the alleged scheme. Gulshan, Shabnam and Jatin Rai are each charged with four counts of Attempted Trafficking in Stolen Property First Degree, and Mitu Rai is charged with one count of Attempted Trafficking in Stolen Property. All four are also charged with one count of Attempted Possession of Stolen Property First Degree and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Organized Retail Theft Second Degree. Items included razor blades, food items, medicines, and bath products stolen from Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer and Target. The loss to retailers is estimated at $1.25 million.

If convicted as charged, Gulshan faces a sentence of just under 10 months to almost 13 months. Jatin and Shabnam Rai each face a sentence of 16 ½ to almost 22 months in prison. The sentence range for Mitu Rai is 9 to 10 ½ months.

The defendants will be arraigned on June 2. The judge set bail at $10,000 for each of the defendants, and ordered them to surrender their passports. All four are U.S. citizens, but prosecutors say they have extensive ties to India.

We are still wading through all the documents, so we’ll update this post with more information shortly.

More information from the Certification of Determination of Probable Cause:

The Seattle Police Department began its investigation into GMS Market last November. Over the course of four months, undercover officers and confidential informants (CI) conducted 17 sales of “stolen goods,” which were actually donated to the police department by area retailers for use in the investigation. Detectives marked the donated goods with an ultraviolet pen.

On several occasions, the defendants told the undercover officers or CI’s which items they were looking to buy, and gave CI’s tips on shoplifting. Some of those incidents were tape recorded.

Some of the stolen items that GMS Market sold still bore stickers from the original retailers.

Detectives served a search warrant on GMS Market and the defendants’ residence (where all four live), and found a large number of health and beauty products in the home.

Prosecutors allege Jatin Rai earned $130,000 selling stolen goods through the GMS Market website online.

Prosecutors allege that Gulshan Rai admitted to buying stolen goods, but said it was necessary to make up for the losses the store itself incurred from shoplifting. Jatin Rai also allegedly admitted that he knew the items were shoplifted, but that his father had ordered him to buy them. Shabnam Sukhija alsoallegedly  admitted knowing the items were shoplifted, but said her family had to do it to make up for shoplifters and robberies at their store, and that the economy had affected their business. Mitu Rai also allegedly admitted knowing the items were stolen.

The annual Seattle Summer Streets is back for its third year, and organizers are looking for a few more sponsors for the Greenwood-Phinney event, set for Friday, Aug. 12, during the monthly Art Up Artwalk.

“Summer Streets is a community celebration. It’s really about the community and embracing it and making it happen,” Seattle Department of Transportation Senior Transportation Planner Dave Allen told the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce last Friday.

Greenwood-Phinney is one of four neighborhoods with a Summer Streets event this year. Ballard’s Summer Streets events is this Friday during annual Bike to Work Day. And Alki’s event is Sunday.

Each event is funded with a mix of city funds and donations from sponsors. Sponsorships start at $250. A $1,000 sponsorship gets your company name on all press releases and the Summer Streets website. Check out sponsor information here.

Summer Streets closes down Phinney/Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 87th streets from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 12, making it easier for people to walk and ride bikes, set up games or draw elaborate chalk art in the middle of the road. Buses that normally drive down Greenwood Avenue will be rerouted for those few hours.

Greenwood Avenue North at North 74th Street during last year’s Summer Streets.

“We’re taking our street for a few hours and saying ‘yes it does move motorized vehicles but it’s also a public place,’” Allen said.

Neighborhood businesses are encouraged to take their business and some kind of activity to the sidewalk and street, such as a children’s game, puppet show, yoga demonstration, chess tournament, book reading or doggie contest.

A children’s obstacle course at last year’s Summer Streets.

Seattle’s Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee wants to hear from the public about their transportation priorities at a series of public meetings. The closest meeting to Greenwood-Phinney is next Tuesday at the Fremont Library.

In January 2011, Mayor McGinn and the City Council convened a 14-member Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee III (CTAC) to advise them on priorities for maintaining and improving Seattle streets and sidewalks and to evaluate funding options including a potential ballot measure. Input from the community will inform the CTAC’s decisions and recommendations.

The meeting is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Fremont Library, 731 N. 35th St. Mayor Mike McGinn is scheduled to attend that meeting. The first half-hour is an open house, followed by presentations by CTAC members and Seattle Dept. of Transportation Director Peter Hahn. The final hour will be small group discussions.

If you can’t attend the workshop but still want to participate, you can comment or take an online survey here.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has changed its mind about upgrading the traffic signal at Greenwood Avenue North and NW 73rd St. after being contacted by concerned neighbors.

Last week, we told you that SDOT was upgrading traffic signals at three neighborhood intersections. The intersection of Greenwood and 73rd has long had a traffic light on Greenwood Avenue North, and a stop sign on North 73rd St.

Looking east from North 73rd Street across Greenwood Avenue North. The new Fire Station 21, under construction, is on the left.

While motorists heading east or west on North 73rd St. can get frustrated at having to wait for a pedestrian to hit the walk light to be able to cross or turn onto Greenwood Avenue, many homeowners along North 73rd Street didn’t want a full signal because they feared it would turn North 73rd Street into a busy arterial street.

After neighbors contacted SDOT with their concerns, SDOT staffers tried to come up with a solution that balanced the needs of the fire department with the community.

Thank you for your interest in the proposed signal change at fire station 21 at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue North and North 73rd Street.

The new fire station 21 is under construction, and the new building will be closer to the sidewalk of Greenwood Ave N. The fire trucks will have to use part of the street to back into the station when they return from call-out duties.

In order to keep the fire trucks and general traffic operation safety, SDOT considered several options for a fire signal to stop traffic while fire trucks maneuver into the station. One of the options was to upgrade the existing pedestrian signal at Greenwood Ave N and N 73rd St to a full traffic signal. Considering N 73rd St is a narrow residential street, and a full traffic signal may potentially attract more traffic to N 73rd, we decided this option will not suit the community needs and have dropped it from the plans.

The option that we are implementing is to install a fire signal at Greenwood Ave N, just north of the fire station. This fire signal will be only respond when a fire truck is detected. The existing pedestrian signal at N Greenwood and N 73rd St will be the same, not rebuild as a full traffic signal. This option will not affect traffic on N 73rd St.

Thanks again for your time to contact SDOT, and please let us know if you have any further concerns.

SDOT tells me that the fire signal will be installed right where the alley is between the fire station and Carmelita restaurant. It will be operational about the same time the fire station is completed, which is currently scheduled for about mid-August.

Vision Greenwood Park (VGP) has been working to improve portions of Greenwood Park at the corner of North 87th Street and Fremont Avenue North. VGP has held work parties to clear brush, and community celebrations to get the word out about their plans, which include a community garden and a multi-sport courtyard.

Volunteers cleared brush and installed a twig fence at Greenwood Park last October. Photo by Jay Boynton.

Now, VGP is trying to raise $2,500 to match their grants.

We have many accomplishments from 2010 and this spring to share:

• Awarded $102,000 in grants from City of Seattle, King County, and the Norcliffe Foundation to build the community garden and multi-sport courtyard.
• Applied for a Neighborhood Matching Fund Grant from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for $47,000 to construct the multi-sport courtyard.
• Held a fun and successful fundraising event in the summer of 2010 – The 2nd Annual Party in the Park. Over 100 people attended and over $2,000 raised!
• Held 2 very successful work parties in the fall of 2010, which started the work on the community garden. More than 20 volunteers at each work party who helped take down an old fence, clear the lot of brush and debris and built a twig fence.
• Held a community Urban Birding workshop in February 2011. Over 40 attendees gave a donation, listened to a local birder share tips, and built their own birdhouses. This awesome family-friendly event helped raise over $600.
• Held work party with 20 volunteers on April 16 to continue progress towards the community garden.

Our grants require a local match. For every dollar of cash from the City of Seattle, we need to put in a dollar’s worth of volunteer time or a cash donation. While there is a lot to celebrate, with the great turnout for park events and generous donations, we still need your support. To leverage the full amount of the City grant and be able to complete the community garden this year, we need to raise an additional $2,500 in donations.

Your monetary support will help us complete the community garden in time for late season planting in 2011 and get started on the multi-sport courtyard in 2012!

Donations of any amount can be made securely on the Phinney Neighborhood Association website here. Checks are also welcome and can be made out to Vision Greenwood Park and sent to PO Box 30105, Seattle, WA 98113. All donations are tax deductible!

A Phinney Ridge neighbor has decided to take action on the oft-vandalized mural on the North 63rd Street underpass under Aurora Avenue North.

This graffiti showed up in late 2008 on the North 63rd Street underpass.

Kerry Fowler has created a brief, two-question survey on what neighbors think should be done with the mural.

I have created a SurveyMonkey page to take a straw poll on how to proceed – refurbish the current mural, create a new one, or let the city paint it over. The folks from the 46th Street Mural have provided great information on how they accomplished their task and the good news is that there are lots of resources available to us from the city.

Responses are anonymous and no IP addresses are logged.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s PNA Kids! is offering a summer camp program called Summer Safari for children ages 5-12 years old.

Calling all 5- 12 year olds!  Come and experience a summer full of fun, hands-on education, excitement, and adventure. PNA Kids! Summer Safari offers children a bountiful array of daily activities that they can choose from including:  field trips, swimming, arts & crafts, science, drama, dance, cooking, and outdoor recreation.  Summer Safari is easily tailored to your family’s schedule with early morning, core, and late afternoon options available to fit your needs. Register your child for one week, or the entire summer.
Registration is now open for new enrollments at our Phinney Neighborhood Association location and spaces are filling up quickly. For more information, please visit our website www.phinneycenter.org/pnakids or call us at 206-783-0851.

PNA Kids! Summer Safari 2011 Weekly Themes:

• June 22 & 23: Games Galore
• June 27 – July 1: Kids in the Kitchen
• July 5– 8: The Briny Deep
• July 11 -15: Cabinet of Curiosities
• July 18 – 22: Goin’ Green
• July 25 – 29: Animalia
• August  1 – 5: Take Flight!
• August 8 – 12: Artistic Adventures
• August 15 – 19: Go! Go! Go! In the H20
• August 22 – 26: The Great Outdoors
• August 29 – Sept. 2: Variety Show

Next Wednesday, May 25, Gaspare Ristorante in Phinney Ridge will join dozens of businesses all across Seattle to donate a portion of their proceeds to World MS Day. The money will be used to buy “The MS Children’s Book,” for children whose lives are affected by MS in some way.

Restaurants, bars, hair salons and other businesses are participating.

The money will be used to buy children’s books which help parents explain multiple Sclerosis (MS) for kids who either have MS or a parent who does. All profits from those book sales will go to three MS charities: the National Pediatric MS Center, The National MS Society, and CCSVI Alliance.

The event is being organized by University of Washington business student and Seattle resident William Khazaal. William was diagnosed with MS in 2009.

MS is a neurological disorder where the immune system attacks the central nervous system – the part of the body that controls everything one does. Symptoms range from dizziness and fatigue, to blindness and paralysis. In most cases, the longer one has MS, worse it gets. For some, the disease is fatal. There is no cure. For reasons unknown, Seattle has more people with MS per capita than almost anywhere in the world.

Khazaal has two young children. When he was diagnosed, his five-year-old Gabriel (four at the time) was terrified. He wondered aloud “daddy is going to die” and “I’m going to get it too”. Whenever his father was having a bad MS day and didn’t have the energy to play with him, Gabriel thought he’d something wrong and that his father was upset with him. Khazaal realized how difficult it was to talk about MS with his son, and soon learned that was the case for most parents with MS.

Using adversity as his muse, Khazaal, along with a group of five fellow classmates at UW, created MS Children’s Book – a poetically written and whimsically illustrated children’s book describing MS to kids in a way they can understand. 100% of the profits from the book’s sales will be donated to the fight against MS, and the group is working as volunteers without compensation for their efforts.

The goal is to sell and donate 10,000 books while raising $100,000 toward finding a cure. Books can be purchased or donated to a child affected MS on behalf of the purchaser.

Click here for the full roster of Seattle businesses participating in World MS Day.