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There's a holiday coming on Monday: Labor Day. Will your Eastlake business be open? What hours? Planning anything special for the holiday?

Let us know by putting a note in the comments below or e-mail me at curtmilton (at) comcast.net. I'll publish a list of who's open sometime this weekend.

Have a great holiday!

A rash of car prowls hit the Eastlake neighborhood in the last week. The details:

• Aug. 23: Bicycle theft, 800 block of E. Allison, noon.
• Aug. 23: Theft of auto accessories, 2300 block of Boylston Avenue E., 4 p.m.
• Aug. 23: Car prowl, parking lot or garage in the 2300 block of Franklin Avenue E., 10 p.m.
• Aug. 24: Warrant, felony arrest, 1900 block of Franklin Pl. E., 4:18 a.m.
• Aug. 24: Car prowl, parking lot or garage in the 2900 block of Eastlake Avenue E., 11:15 p.m.
• Aug. 25: Car prowl, parking lot or garage in the 1500 block of Eastlake Avenue E., 7:30 p.m.
• Aug....

It was a relatively quiet week for crime in Eastlake. The reports from Aug. 16 to 23 include:

• Aug. 16: Car prowl, 2500 block of Yale Avenue E., 11:30 p.m.
• Aug. 16: Burglary, no forced entry, 3200 block of Fuhrman E., midnight.
• Aug. 18: Assault with a blunt object or personal weapons (hands, fist, teeth, etc.), Franklin E. and E. Garfield, 10 p.m.
• Aug. 20: Property lost in a bar or night club in the 2300 block of Eastlake Avenue E., noon.
• Aug. 20: Electrical fire at the Lake Union Cafe, 3119 Eastlake Ave. E., 8:14 p.m. Minimal damage and a wedding celebration taking place...

Despite a couple of brief sprinkles of rain Saturday evening, the Eastlake Movie Night drew what may have been its biggest crowd ever.

The Disney/Pixar animated film "Up" was the feature. It drew a crowd of 80-100 people to the Rogers Playfield for a screening that started at dusk.

Kate Dulemba, who has organized all three of the Eastlake Movie Nights, said she thought it was the most children ever at one of the events. Families spread out on blankets or sat on chairs to watch the film, many bringing snacks to enjoy.... (more)

If you wondered what all those skaters were doing at Seward School on Saturday, it was just part of the competetion in the 10th and final Street Battle Seattle.

Jeremy Townsend (who, according to his mom, lives in Eastlake) runs the event.

There's news about liquor licenses at two Eastlake restaurants:

• 14 Carrot Cafe: A brand-new license for the 14 Carrot was recently approved. They're now serving wine and beer, with mimosas (champagne and orange juice) for breakfast (and lunch, I guess, if you're so inclined). Other specialties include a Bloody Mary made with saki, a Bloody Terry (adds ginger and carrot juice to the tomato-based drink) and a Red Eye (a beer-based Bloody Mary). Plus, they have a selection of wine and beer, including imports.
• Siam on Lake Union: The Thai restaurant on Fairview E. has applied...

Gas Works and Eastlake are seen in this 1971 image. (Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives)

The Seattle Municipal Archives are a treasure trove of historical images which, fortunately, the department has decided to share on Flickr.

A recent image is of particular interest to Eastlake residents. It shows Gas Works in 1971, pre-park. Across the lake behind the gasification plant can be seen a number of Eastlake landmarks, including:

• a rather broad-looking and well-paved E. Hamlin Street
• the Wards Cove fleet headquarters (much modified since)
• the Anchor House building on Fairview
• the Coronado Apartments on Eastlake Avenue
• the Shelby Apartments on Boylston E.
• and the L'Amourita Co-op on Franklin E.

Seattle writer Benjamin Lukoff notes in a comment on the Flickr post that Gas Works Park would have been under construction in 1971.... (more)

If you're planning on driving from Eastlake to the Eastside this weekend, don't plan on taking 520.

The bridge will be closed for its annual maintenance from 11 p.m. on... (more)

Two car thefts (both over night on Sunday, Aug. 15) highlighted Eastlake police reports for the past week. These crime reports are for the week from Aug. 9 to 16:

• Aug. 9: Threats in a home in the 100 block of East Edgar Street, 9 p.m.
• Aug. 9: Car prowl in the 2500 block of Yale Avenue E., 10 p.m.
• Aug. 10: Car prowl in the 2300 block of Fairview Avenue E., 7 p.m. Car was in a parking lot/garage.
• Aug. 13: Burglary in the 1900 block of Eastlake Avenue, 11 a.m.  A locked bicycle was stolen from a basement laundry room.
• Aug. 13: Car prowl in the 1500 block of Eastlake...

The swings at the Rogers Playfield are missing but they will return, according to the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department.

There is a manufacturer's recall on the swings. They've been removed to fix the fasteners. Signs at the park say the swings will be operational by late September.

At least one mom who talked to me over the weekend was distressed to see the swings missing and she noted it was hard to explain the problem to a 2-year-old.

UPDATE: This post has been updated since it was first published. Names of P-Patch volunteers have been added.

Video of the celebration, including Mayor McGinn's comments, is embedded below.

Under brilliantly sunny skies, Eastlake neighbors strolled a community celebration Saturday that featured music, pets, classic cars, ribbon cuttings and and an appearance by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.

The occasion was the Eastlake Community Celebration to mark the completion of the Wards Cove green street and beach and the dedication of new plots at the Eastlake P-Patch.

Pets paraded on Fairview as visitors looked at classic cars gathered by resident Tommy Eggleston. At Fairview Park, a violin and cello duo (Jen Kozel on violin, local resident Paige Stockley Lerner on cello) played under shady trees to an appreciative audience.... (more)

I'd like to welcome our newest advertisers:

• Pazzo's, 2307 Eastlake Ave. E.: This Eastlake restaurant and bar isn't exactly new. They've been advertising for a few weeks and I apologize for not saying "thanks" earlier. Pazzo's has been on Eastlake Ave. seemingly forever, serving pizza, salads, calzones and alcohol. They routinely get raves on sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon. Oh, and they deliver. Pretty cool!
• Lake Union Mail, 117 Louisa St.: This venerable business has been at the geographic and community center of Eastlake for over 20 years. And that's mainly because owner...

An ailing tree in the Hamlin Street-end park was given a second chance at life today after it received a professional pruning thanks to its neighbors.

As we previously reported, the tree suffered badly during the cold winter of 2008-09. Parts of it were badly damaged and the tree was in danger of being removed. The city said it would replace the tree with a new one, but agreed to let neighbors try to save it with a professional pruning.... (more)

As planned, Metro dropped three stops on Harvard Avenue E. just across I-5 from Eastlake.

The stops, at E. Edgar, E. Hamlin and E. Allison, were eliminated on Saturday. Those stops also serve Route 25.

Metro eliminated the stops to save fuel and speed up Route 49. A map showing the eliminated stops is here.

UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. More details have been added.

According to a Seattle Police Department radio dispatch and a subsequent police report, there was a strong armed-robbery of an employee at the Azteca Restaurant, 1823 Eastlake Ave., Saturday evening shortly before 10 p.m.

The SPD radio dispatch said the suspect kept his hand in his pocket. The employee thought the suspect might have a gun but none was seen. According to an Azteca spokesperson, the suspect took cash off a server. An SPD spokesperson says he was carrying a baseball bat.... (more)

News notes from around Eastlake:

• Night Out block parties: We have some attendance totals for the two Night Out block parties that took place in Eastlake on Aug. 3. Jules James, a resident on Franklin Avenue E., estimates that about 80 people visited the party in the 2600 block of Franklin during the evening, which was more than 2009. Cecilia Grevson says that the party on Yale Avenue E. was visited by 250-300 people. Both of those totals are significantly higher than 2009. The purpose of Night Out is to help neighbors get to know each other, to build a sense of community and to prevent crime.
...

Here is the video of Tuesday evening's two Eastlake Night Out block parties. Both events were heavily attended this year.

For our previous post about the Night Out, with photos, click here.

Seen with the walking fish are, from left, Clarise Coker, Lynn Howell, Carol Eychaner, Dick Arnold, Lynn Poser and Jules James. Photo date unknown.

The Eastlake Community Celebration on Aug. 14 will feature the return of the fabled walking fish. There's still time to pick up one of the fish (see the photo to see what they look like), decorate it and enter it in the contest at the event on the 14th.

The community celebration runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, on Fairview from Hamlin to Fairview Park. The street will be closed for the event.

The fish, I am told, first made an appearance in Eastlake in the 1990s and were part of an effort to draw attention to the Lake Union shoreline and push for more access points for local residents.

If you've been wondering whatever happened to the guy driving the Mustang that crashed into the Rogers Playfield playground last Tuesday after a high-speed chase involving a number of Seattle Police cars, we have an update.

According to police radio transmissions heard at the time, the driver was wanted in connection with the disappearance of a Washougal woman. Police tried to stop him at Bellevue and Pike on Capitol Hill, then ended up chasing him all the way to Eastlake. He fled the car and was caught in a nearby... (more)

Send us your block party photos! We'll add them to this post. curtmilton (at) comcast.net. Thanks!

Check out our VIDEO of Eastlake's Night Out events.

UPDATE: This post has been updated since it was first published. Information on the raffle has been added. New photos from Franklin Avenue added.

Maybe it was the pleasant summer evening. Maybe it was a renewed sense of community. Maybe it was just the chance to relax and chat with your neighbors.

Whatever the reason, Eastlake's two Night Out block parties were popular with neighborhood residents. Both the party on Yale and the party on Franklin saw higher turnouts than last year.... (more)

So far, I've heard of two Eastlake block parties taking place on Tuesday (tomorrow, Aug. 3) as part of the national Night Out 2010 event.

Are there more that I've missed? If so, put your details in the comments below and/or e-mail me at curtmilton (at) comcast.net.

Night Out is intended to help neighbors meet each other and organize to fight crime. The Seattle Police Department provides support, including blocking off streets so that neighbors can gather for food and conversation. There are more details on the SPD website.... (more)

Sunset over the Olympics this evening.

The skies have been an odd orange color all day and the sunset was unusually intense tonight.

Meterologist Cliff Mass says the most likely culprits are forest fires in British Columbia (and probably Eastern Washington fires as well) that have pushed smoke into the atmosphere. You can read his blog post and see satellite images of the smoke here.

The photo of the sunset over the Olympics, with Fremont and Wallingford in the foreground, was taken from my deck on Franklin Ave. E.... (more)

UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. No lanes will be paved or closed this weekend.

This just in from SDOT: The contractor's plans on this have changed. They won't be paving this weekend but will be doing work on underground utlities on 10th between Roanoke and Miller. Two lanes will be open. No traffic will be detoured.

__________________________... (more)

The war of the roses may be nearing an end.

An Eastlake garden that drew a complaint and the interest of the City of Seattle's zoning department will be trimmed to comply with city rules.

Mary Hansen, who owns the garden at the corner of E. Lynn and Minor E., met Wednesday afternoon with Tom Braderick, a city zoning inspector, and other city personnel (KOMO TV even came by) to see what she'd have to... (more)

UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. Video of the crash scene has been added.

A high-speed chase across Capitol Hill ended around 6:45 p.m. this evening when a vehicle crashed into the northwest corner of the playground at Rogers Playfield.

Amazingly, there apparently was no one on the piece of playground equipment the car came to rest against. No one was injured.

The suspect in the chase was caught shortly after the crash.... (more)