Some Greenwood-Phinney business updates to tell you about:

Stretch and Staple is moving into the former Art on the Ridge space at 8005 Greenwood Ave. N. Stretch and Staple features the fine art photography of local photographer  Taylor McAtee, and custom canvas printing.

Terra Bella Flowers is moving from 8417 Greenwood Ave. N., to the corner of 74th and Greenwood, next to Metropolis. Owner Melissa Feveyear tells us she’ll be moving the weekend after Valentine’s Day, with a soft opening in early March, and a Grand Opening and 10-year anniversary party in April.

Feveyear says she’s moving 10 blocks south in part because most of her customer base is in that area, and the corner lot will give her more visibility.

Greenwood Hardware has finished the exterior remodeling of its store at 7201 Greenwood Ave. N., removing the old blue siding and exposing the original brick.

The contractor is still working on the inside, and they’ll soon demolish the sheds on the north side. During that demolition, the parking lot will be closed and most of the lawn and garden stock will be in a trailer out front. The store will remain open during construction.

Greenwood resident Karim Lessard is one of the co-founders of a startup called Knoq, a website that helps neighbors connect for product and service referrals. Knoq started on Queen Anne but has recently expanded service to Greenwood and Phinney Ridge. Lessard tells me the site has a little more than 1,000 users so far.

Greenwood Hardware‘s facade has been undergoing a major transformation over the last couple of months. Down came the blue siding and awning to expose beautiful old brick, red tiles and a row of windows.

Thanks to PF for the photo!

The North Central Little League team sponsored by Ken’s Market defeated the Greenwood Hardware-sponsored team 9-3 in the championship game last night at Lower Woodland Fields. Congratulations to both teams!

Thanks to Scot French for the photos.

Ken’s Market players celebrate after the final out.

Three Greenwood Hardware players hold their second-place trophies.

Two teams sponsored by Phinney Ridge businesses will face off in tonight’s North Central Little League Championship Game.

Greenwood Hardware (wearing green jerseys) and Ken’s Market (wearing maroon) begin their championship battle at 5:30 p.m. at Lower Woodland Fields.

Good luck to both teams!

We’ll continue to update this post throughout the day.

Update 11:14 a.m.: According to KING 5, Gov. Gregoire has declared a state of emergency, 100,000 people are without power across the state, and one man died near Issaquah when he was hit by a falling tree.

Update 11 a.m.: If anyone has driven on neighborhood roads or taken the bus, please put a note in comments and tell us about it. We’re curious to know how well the buses are running.

One man took to his skis to get around the neighborhood (thanks to Lynn for the picture!)

Update Thursday 8:30 a.m.: The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for the Seattle area until 12 p.m. today.

According to the NWS, an ice storm warning means “severe weather conditions are imminent or occurring. Significant amounts of ice accumulation will make travel dangerous or impossible. Travel is strongly discouraged…Ice accumulations will likely lead to snapped power lines and falling tree branches that add to the danger.”

On traffic cameras, television or from your window, streets may appear bare and wet but they may still be covered with ice. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) continues to treat major arterial roads with salt brine and granular salt. Some secondary or neighborhood streets are very slick and changes in conditions between treated and untreated roadways can be very sudden. Four wheel drive is not a solution – vehicles need chains to have traction. Keeping the roads clear of traffic is extremely helpful for emergency vehicles.

Many sidewalks are icy. Pedestrians should use caution while walking and crossing streets. It is the responsibility of property owners to keep their sidewalks clear of ice to protect pedestrian safety. SDOT is dispatching 22 crews to activate the Pedestrian Safety Element of the Winter Response plan to clear and salt pedestrian landings, crossings, and intersections.

Seattle Public Utilities will not pick up garbage, recycling and yard waste today as planned, because the roads are too icy.

Weather permitting, garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste service will resume Friday, on a revised schedule — with customers scheduled for pickup today collected Friday, and Friday customers collected Saturday.

If your materials are not picked up this week, please put them out on your next regularly scheduled pickup day. Missed customers will be allowed to set out double their normal amount of garbage, recycling and yard waste at no additional charge.

All Seattle Public Library branches are closed on Thursday.

Woodland Park Zoo is closed again on Thursday.

Many King County offices are closed today, including District and Superior Court, Council offices, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Department of Assessments. For a full list of county closures, click here.

Someone created some great snow creatures in front of Santoro’s Books on Wednesday. (Thanks to LS for the pictures!)

Earlier: Wednesday was a very fun snow day of sledding and drinking hot chocolate. Unless, of course, you had to drive somewhere. The roads will likely be very icy on Thursday, so please drive carefully if you must go somewhere.

Here’s what’s on tap for Thursday:

Seattle Publish Schools are closed again.

Seattle Public Utilities will pick up Wednesday’s garbage, recycling and yard waste on Thursday, weather permitting. That means regular Thursday pickups will now happen on Friday, and Friday customers should set their refuse out on Saturday by 7 a.m.

If your materials are not picked up on the revised schedule, please put them out on your next regularly scheduled pickup day. Missed customers will be allowed to set out double their normal amount of garbage, recycling and yard waste at no additional charge.

Metro Transit will continue to operate on snow routes, with 27 routes canceled. Other routes may experience significant delays, so check Metro’s Snow & Ice page for updates before you head for the bus.

Greenwood Hardware was all out of sleds on Wednesday, but they’re getting more on Thursday.

We may be out of sleds for today, but we’ve seen a lot of creative solutions: garbage can lids, cardboard+rope+tarp… Send us pictures of your ad-hoc sled-like device and whichever we think is the most creative we’ll hold a sled for you from tomorrow’s truck!

Lexy sent us a photo of the hordes of sledders at Woodland Park on Wednesday.

Next door, at the Woodland Park Zoo, the animals frolicked in the snow.

Photo by Kirsten Pisto, Woodland Park Zoo.

The Ridge, the new family-friendly pizza place at 7217 Greenwood Ave. N., next to Ken’s Market, that opened on Thursday afternoon, was absolutely packed with people on Thursday night. More than a dozen people waited for a table inside, while more waited outside.

While we waited for our table, many more groups, including a lot of families, walked up and decided not to wait. Co-owner Chris Navarra, who also owns Prost! just a block away, seemed happy but a bit surprised at the opening day crowds.

The Ridge named all of its pizzas after neighborhood businesses, including Ken’s Market, The Avanti (Avanti Art & Design at 7317 Greenwood Ave. N.), Two Birds (Two Birds Tattoo at 7408 Greenwood Ave. N.), The Zoo, and True Value, which welcomed its next door neighbor on its sign.

The Ridge opens at 3 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. It includes a full bar of beer, wine and liquor. The Ridge’s website isn’t populated yet, but its Facebook page has plenty of information.

In a few weeks we’ll add The Ridge to our Food & Drink section, where you can rate the restaurant and add your comments about food and service.

Here are some newsy tidbits from neighborhood businesses.

Greenwood Hardware, 7201 Greenwood Ave. N., is one of several retailers participating in Seattle Public Utilities’ program to get people composting more food scraps, by offering big discounts on kitchen compost collectors. From now through Dec. 15, those compost bins are on sale for $12.95 plus tax. They come with a secure lid and one pack of compostable bags.

All Dick’s Drive-in locations, including the one at 9208 Holman Rd. NW between Greenwood and Crown Hill, are collecting customer donations for homeless children and families through the restaurant chains’ Change for Charity program.

Since 1998, Dick’s Change For Charity program has raised more $500,000 in donations from customers who drop their change in the little collection boxes on the counter.

Childish Things at 10002 Holman Rd. NW is collecting diapers for Westside Baby. Through the month of December, Childish Things will match all diapers collected at the store, and will donate an additional 1% of December sales in diapers.

Childish Things is also celebrating the beginning of its fourth year in business, with drawings for prizes, including $25 store credit, a $35 Julep Nail Parlor gift card, and a new Kindle Fire.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association has an opening for a half-time, experienced Special Events Coordinator.

(P)rimary responsibility coordinating and managing monthly Bingo Karaoke events as well as the Home Design and Remodel Fair and assisting as needed with all other PNA events during the year, including event logistics, set up and wrap up tasks. Hours are flexible and will include occasional evenings and weekends. The Special Events Coordinator is expected to be on-site during the events.

Details are available on the web: http://www.phinneycenter.org/employment.shtml. Resumes are due by 5 pm Dec. 6.

Mike Radice, owner of Greenwood Hardware at 7201 Greenwood Ave. N., says someone broke through a high back window to get into the store early this morning, then stole an ax to break out through the front glass door. Nothing else was stolen.

Radice says the burglar used spray glue and gaffer’s tape to break in a small window through the breezeway behind the store, where garbage cans are stored.

The burglar was not wearing a mask, but he is seen only from the back on surveillance tape. He was wearing a baseball cap sideways. Radice said he appeared to be in his late teens, and was small. Two large jagged pieces of glass were sticking out the front door where the burglar escaped, but Radice said he didn’t see any blood.

“I don’t think he knew what a hardware store is, or thought there was money in the till,” Radice says of why nothing was stolen besides the ax. “He didn’t touch the power tools. What are you going to steal? A toilet kit from plumbing? A can of paint? Nothing that you would be able to pawn easily.”

Radice says the tills are left completely empty and open every night.

Radice said the alarm went off and four or five squad cars arrived, including a K-9 unit, but the burglar got away with the $50 ax.

“Whoever it was, was prepared,” Radice said. “No one walks around with gaffing tape and spray on glue.”