Man tries to rob people on Lake City Way with his gun-shaped hand

A series of unusual robbery attempts happened in Lake City on Tuesday. Seattle Police report a man tried to rob people on Lake City Way with his hand in the vague shape of a handgun.

The man also had a pillow and crack cocaine with him.

From the Seattle Police Department's Blotter blog:

Officers arrested a 30-year-old man—armed with a pillow, crack cocaine, and a limited working knowledge of pantomime—Tuesday evening in Lake City after he went on a very unsuccessful robbery spree.
The suspect’s sad saga began around 6:20 pm at the Jack in the Box on 130th and Lake City Way, where he walked into the restaurant, approached two men as they were eating, put his hand in his jacket pocket like he was carrying a gun, and told them to hand over all their money.
Instead, both men got up from their table and asked a restaurant employee to call 911. The suspect, determined not to walk away empty handed, sat down at the victims’ table and began eating their food.
After picking over the victims’ lunch, the suspect grabbed a soda from the table and walked off down Lake City Way.
Down the road, the suspect approached a woman near a gas station at the corner of 130th and Lake City Way, brandished a handgun—which was simply his hand, formed into the vague shape of a gun—and said something to the woman.
The woman didn’t hear the suspect, however, because she was listening to music and had headphones on. She simply ignored the suspect and walked away.
Undeterred by his lack of criminal success, the suspect walked further down Lake City Way to a Wells Fargo bank, where he approached a man at an ATM and again did his best impression of an armed mugger.
This time, the victim yelled at the suspect and walked off, leaving the suspect to continue his walk down Lake City Way.
Finally, the suspect walked to the Lake City Bar and Grill, where he stood aimlessly in the doorway until an employee approached him and asked what he was doing.
One last time, the suspect stuck his hands in his pockets, making like he had a gun, and told the employee to give him money.
The employee told the man to leave.
Officers arrived moments later and, after confirming his identity with several victims, arrested the suspect.
When officers searched the suspect, they found a small pillow in his jacket, and some crack cocaine in his pocket.
Officers arrested the suspect and booked him into the King County Jail for robbery, drug possession and two warrants.

Two Dog Yoga Community Contra Dance this Saturday, November 17th

This Saturday, November 17th, Two Dog Yoga will host their annual Community Contra Dance with the popular duo, the Canote Brothers. And you are invited to come mingle with your neighbors and meet new friends.

The Cantone Brothers are identical twins that like to say they have "genetically matched voices." The brothers play the fiddle, banjo, ukulele and bring vintage American music that will make you tap your toes and want to get on the dance floor. For 13 years they were the sidekicks on National Public Radio's show Sandy Bradley's Potluck.

The event starts at 6 p.m. with a finger food potluck. The easy social dancing begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 8:30.

This fun, family event is open to all and raises money for the Two Dog Scholarship Fund via donations. The event also helps gather non-perishable food to benefit the local food bank. So please bring something to donate.

We hope to see you there!

12549 28th Ave. NE

Truck stolen from Fred Meyer parking lot

A truck was stolen from a member of our community on Thursday night during a trip to Fred Meyer. The truck was taken from the Fred Meyer parking lot.

It is a black 1994 Nissan, license plater B61438S. There is an 80s "Magic Happens" sticker on the rear bumper.

If you see the truck please call 911. 

UPDATE:  The truck was found by Seattle Police in Wallingford, with "very little damage," said the owner. "A big thank you to everyone in the hood who was on the lookout. I appreciate your support."

Flags damaged on Veterans Day

A previous post here on Douglas Park Cooperative thanked the Lake City Lions Club for their work hanging flags around the neighborhood on Veterans Day.

We later found out from the Lions Club that two of the flags hanging on Elliott Bay Brewery were ripped from their brackets and damaged at some point during the day.

The group puts up the flags at sunrise on federal holidays and takes them down at sunset.

When they returned to Elliott Bay to gather the flags on Veterans Day all that remained were broken brackets on the side of the building. The two flags were later found but the eagles on top of the poles were smashed and the wire holding the flags to the poles was damaged.

"This was the first time we every had anything like that happen," said a member of the organization.

Thanks to veterans, volunteers, those that give to community

On this Veterans Day we thank and remember all that serve their community in a multitude of way:  Military members, teachers, police officers, social workers, firefighters, medical workers, volunteers.

We would also like to thank the Lake City Lions Club for hanging flags around our neighborhood, reminding us of this important day.

Flags are shown in the Lake City Mini Park

Funding proposed for Community Center Improvements

Seattle City Councilmembers Jean Godden, Sally Bagshaw, and Sally Clark introduced three items into the 2013-2014 City budget for possible improvements to the Lake City Community Center.

The City's budget is coming up for a hearing on Friday, November 9th.

The proposals in the City of Seattle budget shown below are not yet secured and will be discussed by the City Council in a budget hearing on Friday, November 9th. The proposals are:

• $20,000 in 2013 for the Department of Parks and Rec to conduct a services and recreation needs assessment for teens and seniors. The assessment will be done in the context of the Lake City Visioning Project. The assessment will take place in the first and second quarter of 2013 and a report will be given in the third quarter to the City Council. More info here. 

• $75,000 in 2013 for architectural and engineering services to study and identify critically needed improvements. Some upgrades suggested are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, a possible elevator, addition of doors and windows at the back to make it accessible from the park. 

• $425,000 in 2014 to make the improvements that are the outcome of the architectural and engineering review. More info here. 

This funding will not be secured until the final vote approves the money. Please write or call Seattle City Councilmembers to express your support for these budget line items.

Sally Bagshaw: email | 206-684-8801 | web site

Tim Burgess: email | 206-684-8806 | web site

Sally Clark: email | 206-684-8802 | web site

Richard Conlin: email | 206-684-8805 | web site

Jean Godden: email | 206-684-8807 | web site

Bruce Harrell: email | 206-684-8804 | web site

Nick Licata: email | 206-684-8803 | web site

Mike O'Brien: email | 206-684-8800 | web site

Tom Rasmussen: email | 206-684-8808 | web site

Update: Councilmembers Bagshaw, Godden, and Clark have just  released a Statement of Legislative Intent requesting the Department of Parks and Recreation to provide a comprehensive report regarding recreational and Parks program service needs of the Lake City Urban Village and the North District Neighborhood Planning Area. More info here. 

How to keep Trick-or-Treating safe, fun

A trick-or-treater on NE 128th Street

Trick-or-Treating is a great time to get out, walk around your community, say hi to neighbors, and gather handfuls of treats for the little ones. It is also a good time to teach your kids some basic safety and remember some yourself.

Remember, most of our neighborhood does not have sidewalks, so some of the suggestions below should be emphasized even more in our community than in other neighborhoods with better infrastructure.

We encourage neighbors to get out and have some fun, but please keep these safety tips from the Seattle Police Department in mind when venturing out with your princesses and ghosts.

Happy Halloween!


Keep your child safe

SPD encourages safety and supervision during the annual Trick-or-Treat season. It is especially important for parents to adhere to a few safety rules for their children when they are trick-or-treating.

• Know your treaters' route

• Take a flashlight

• Be sure costumes, shoes, and treat bags are safe.

• Remind kids not to enter strangers' homes or cars.

• Set rules about not eating treats until kids get home. Be sure to inspect all treats before allowing kids to eat them.

• Candy that has been opened should be thrown away. Any homemade treats or fruit should be inspected closely.

• Remember drivers have a hard time seeing people, especially at dusk.

• Never cross the street from between parked cars.

• Watch open flames from jack-o-lanterns as they can catch costumes and long wigs on fire.

• Make sure that fake knives, swords, and guns are made from cardboard or other flexible materials to avoid accidental injury or worse, have them mistaken for the real thing!

Make your home safe


It is also important to ensure that your home is safe and accessible to trick-or-treaters. As adults there are some very simple things we can do to make the evening safe everyone.

• Turn on your porch light.

• Move lit jack-o-lanterns off the porch where kids get bunched up if they are trick-or-treating in groups.

• Remove objects from your yard that might present a hazard.

• Drive slowly all evening-you never know what creature may suddenly cross your path.

• Report any suspicious or criminal activity to the police.

For regular updates please follow Douglas Park Cooperative on Facebook by going here. If you don't use Facebook you can subscribe to our posts by entering your email in the "Follow our blog via email" field on the right column and our posts will be delivered to your email inbox. The service will NEVER send you spam.

PHOTOS: Fright Night comes to Lake City

Fright Night came to Lake City on Friday night. And along with it came plenty of zombies, unicorns and princesses.

The 20th annual event, organized by the Lake City Lions, Children's Home Society and the North Seattle Family Center saw a significant turnout. The Lions reported that they served pizza to over 500 people

Below are photos from the fun annual event.

Snow White, Strawberry Shortcake

"Braiiiiiinnnnsss"

Lake City Lions serving up slices of pizza with a side of fun!

The haunted house. Terrifying.

Mini golf and games

A cute little pumpkin

Mario Brothers

Candy, yum.

Darth Maul shows off the Dark Side of the Force

Michael Jackson and a cheetah

The craft table

A king cobra

Entrance to the haunted house

A cute mouse

Don't cast a spell on us!

The Beetles live!

Daughter, dad

Cutie pie

Trying to escape the haunted house

Face painting

Toy Story

For regular updates please follow Douglas Park Cooperative on Facebook by going here. If you don't use Facebook you can subscribe to our posts by entering your email in the "Follow our blog via email" field on the right column and our posts will be delivered to your email inbox. The service will NEVER send you spam.

Brainstorming: Lake City Community Center re-imagined

One idea suggested at the meeting was to add security lighting and make the Albert Davis Park courtyard the front entrance of the Lake City Community Center. Better, more modern signage on the building was also suggested.

Wednesday night, and again on Thursday, residents of our community gathered to talk about the future of the Lake City Community Center.

Operation of the facility is shifting from Lake City LLC, which has operated the aging building for nearly 50 years. The newly renamed North Seattle Chamber of Commerce is taking over operation after the Chamber's Request For Proposal to operate the center was approved by the Seattle Parks Department. They take over in 2013.

During the meetings people brought with them ideas for the future of the facility. They suggested new programming, emphasis on already successful programming, building updates and modifications and more efficient communication with the community about events hosted there.

Below is the list of suggestions from the meeting brainstorm session. Some of these programs are already available but many in attendance did not know about them. Some are also expensive, which was acknowledged. But many are simple and would just require effort and community involvement. At this point nothing is off the table as the North Seattle Chamber makes plans for the future of the center.

If you were unable to attend one of the brainstorming sessions please add your own suggestions in the comments below, on our Facebook page or email them to douglasparkcooperative@gmail.com and we will make sure those comments are included in the Community Center discussion.

• Provide rotating art display space
• Weekday, a.m. tot play time with toys
• Expand dance facility reputation, install mirrors on west interior wall, ballet bar
• Install gas insert in fireplace and use as a gathering space for story time, gathering space
• Request City of Seattle assistance with a remodel of the facility
• Remove uninviting bars on windows
• Maintain an advisory council of community members
• Remove 'smoke eaters' hanging from ceiling
• Digital reader-board to advertise events on 125th Street
• Post events on an online calendar that people can subscribe to (Google calendar)
• Construct a modular, portable and removable stage for performances
• Honor Lake City Lions contribution to our community
• Continue and expand flea market and coordinate with neighborhood garage sales
• Look into a Microsoft-sponsored game room for kids, teens
• Community classes offered such as SAT prep, ESL, etc.
• Host game nights
• Create space for Lake City visioning project, ideas
• Use Albert Davis Park courtyard entrance as front entrance of building
• Security lighting, safety enhancements
• Create a community chorus
• More international and inclusive programming for our diverse community
• Integration with Farmers Market and possible use of commercial kitchen
• Host gardening events and team up with Seattle Tilth
• Provide church meeting space
• Explore income options such as memberships, sponsorship
• Inter-generational programs that bring seniors and kids together
• Make building sustainable
• Host a mini home show
• Form corporate sponsors
• Host community concerts
• Audio-visual equipment for rent
• Cooking classes
• Poetry slams, hip-hop performances
• Upgrade rooms so businesses will rent them
• Tax assistance program
• Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Campfire programming at Center
• Tai-Chi, Kung Fu classes
• Continue and enhance movie nights
• Community kiosk
• Integrate more with nearby senior housing
• Add a sidewalk on 28th Avenue
• Keep center affordable
• Maintain large space
• City provided part-time staff
• Improved signage
• Paint and graphics on the interior and exterior
• More natural lighting
• Safety bollards in parking area
• Team up with organizations to produce teen dances
• Install a disco ball 

Again, if you were unable to attend one of the sessions please add your own suggestions in the comments below, on our Facebook page or email them to douglasparkcooperative@gmail.com and we will make sure those comments are included in the Community Center discussion.

For regular updates please follow Douglas Park Cooperative on Facebook by going here.

20th annual Fright Night Trick-or-Treat walk, party Friday night!

A scene from the terrifying Haunted House at the Community Center

Lake City's annual Fright Night Trick-or-Treat Walk is slowly creeping upon us.

This Friday night, the lights will go out, goblins, ghosts, princesses and superheroes will take to the spooky streets of Lake City for the fun annual event.

Click on the flyer for a larger view

The Trick-or-Treat walk begins Friday (October 26th) at 5:15 and continues until 6:15. Treat bags and maps are available at the North Seattle Family Center (3200NE 125th Street) and the Lake City Court Computer Lab (12536 33rd Ave. NE)

After the little monsters and fairies gather treats from businesses in the Lake City business core, the festivities continue with the Lake City Lions' popular annual Fright Night Party at the Community Center. The party starts at 6:30 and continues until 8:30.

The Fright Night party features games, food, a costume contest and of course the Lake City Vigilantes absolutely terrifying Haunted House.

Th event is organized by the North Seattle Family Center. This years celebration marks Fright Night's 20th anniversary.

If you would like to volunteer please call 206-364-7930.

Costumed kiddos wait to play a game during the Fright Night Party.