Neighborhood news: donation, scammers, development app, paving project, library events

by | Dec 18, 2014

Here’s a roundup of various neighborhood news.

Red Mill Burgers recently celebrated its 20th anniversary by donating $5,000 to the Greenwood Senior Center to help fund its many memory loss programs, including the Alzheimer’s Café, an early stage memory loss chorus, theater improv for those living with memory loss, an interactive songwriting workshop and an Alzheimer’s caregivers journal writing workshop.

The Phinney Ridge Umpqua Bank branch is providing free gift wrapping, including paper, ribbons and bows, through Dec. 24 for any gifts purchased from local businesses.

A new website aims to make it easier to find out what developments are being built in Seattle. Seattle in Progress bills itself as “a modern alternative to the ‘notice of proposed land use’ boards currently posted at construction sites. These signs, often covered in graffiti, offer minimal information about the development and no easy way to learn more, voice an opinion or hear what others are saying. Data on project locations and descriptions comes from the city’s land use permits database, available at data.seattle.gov. Design proposals are created by the developer of each project and published by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.”

Seattle City Light is reminding customers that scammers are still out there, threatening to cut off power unless they make a payment to what turns out to be a fraudulent bill collector.

Scammers commonly target non-English speaking individuals, elderly and small business owners. They use phone calls, email, even home visits, posing as Seattle City Light employees. In the scam, they demanding the customer’s financial and personal information in addition to payment with a pre-paid credit card (MoneyPak/GreenDot) or else the customer will face an immediate shutoff of service.

Seattle City Light does not call, email or visit customers demanding immediate payment to avoid shutoffs. Anyone who falls behind on payments will receive at least two written notifications before the shutoff process starts.

Additionally, City Light employees will never need to enter your home to conduct any kind of test. If someone claiming to be from City Light approaches you at home and asks for personal or financial information, requests to enter your home, or cannot provide you with employee identification, immediately shut your door, secure your home and call 911.

If a customer suspects a scam attempt or has any questions regarding their bill, City Light urges them to call a customer service representative at (206) 684-3000.

The Seattle Public Library has lots of activities to keep kids occupied during winter break, including Lego Mania, paper airplane flying courses, movies, crafts, SAT studying, chess games and more. Check out the complete schedule for all branches.

SPL has also recently upgraded workstations at all branches, including full access to Microsoft Windows and more applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, plus all Microsoft Office applications, and the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications. Permissions have also been relaxed, now allowing patrons the ability to download and install applications during their computer-use session. All computers are restored to a default state after a session ends. Library patrons also can use their Library card to reserve a computer for up to 90 minutes.

Here’s a list of Seattle Parks and Recreation winter holiday closures:

  • Community centers, environmental learning centers and teen life centers will close at 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 31 and will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
  • Indoor swimming pools and small craft centers will close at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 31 and will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
  • Golf courses will close at 2 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 31 and will be closed on Dec. 25. Golf courses will be open on Jan. 1.
  • Amy Yee Tennis Center will close at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24 and at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The center will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Seattle Department of Transportation says its paving project on Holman Road NW is now complete. During the eight-month project, SDOT repaved 1.4 miles of the road, built curb ramps at 64 locations, improved 3,700 feet of walkway, installed five bus stop waiting pads with new lighting for Metro’s RapidRide service, constructed pedestrian refuges on Holman Road NW at the intersections of 7th Avenue NW and 13th Avenue NW, and enlarged an existing median to better serve as a pedestrian refuge at Holman Road NW and 15th Avenue NW. The construction contractor is still putting some finishing touches on landscaping for the next couple of weeks.

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