Emerson Garfield

E-G Planning Meeting Tonight (Mar 7)

March 7, 2013 Emerson Garfield

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning Group is meeting tonight (Thursday, March 7) at 6pm in Corbin Senior Center.

Please note that this date reflects the new meeting schedule on the first Thursday of every month. It was changed last month to accommodate more participants’ schedules.

There’s more planning-related news than usual this month because of several new or updated city- and neighborhood-level projects. Here’s a rough overview of the agenda topics:

Comprehensive Plan Update
Storm water runoff and sewers, a .5 billion dollar project for Spokane
City Council/Community Assembly discussion on neighborhood plans
CAN-PAC meeting review
Announcement of STA open houses for corridor upgrades

The planning group is always looking to include more participants who represent all facets of the neighborhood — so feel free to attend if you have an interest in mapping out Emerson-Garfield’s future. We hope to see you there!

¡Hola, Gerardo’s!

March 4, 2013 Emerson Garfield

A new Mexican restaurant called Gerardo’s has (finally) moved into the building on N. Monroe that once belonged to Chill Spot. Although the sign first went up in September, it took until mid-February to open. We’re just glad to see a restaurant with tasty-looking fare opening up instead of closing down.

As far as we can tell, the restaurant doesn’t have a Web presence — not even a Facebook page — so you’ll have to drop by and see things for yourself. Fortunately, they offer drive-through until 2am on most nights.

A copy of Gerardo’s menu is available here as a PDF. The burrito lineup is a solid offering of SoCal Mexican (e.g., Texano, Arizona, California, and breakfast). Not only are they inexpensive, they’re huge. Plus they’ve got some appetizing combo plates.

Call Gerardo’s at (509) 340-9905 for take-out, or just stop in at 2706 N. Monroe [map] and practice your Spanish with the friendly staff while you wait for your order.

And if you like the food at Gerardo’s, please make a point of telling others or visiting again. We can’t bear to see another N. Monroe eatery vanish. (Chill Spot, Sparky’s Firehouse Subs, Casey’s, and Andy’s Phở, we hardly knew ye. And don’t even mention the Hedge House.)

Join (or Start) Your Nextdoor Neighborhood

March 1, 2013 Emerson Garfield

Even with this blog, a Twitter feed, a city-hosted website, and a Facebook page, it’s not always easy for our neighborhood to come together and interact online.

A new social media website called Nextdoor is changing that. Think of it as a cross between Craigslist, Facebook, a classic Internet forum, and a community bulletin board. It’s geared exclusively to neighborhood needs such as broadcasting community events, posting items for sale (or free), addressing crime/safety concerns, soliciting ideas about how to make our neighborhood better, and more.

Two Nextdoor neighborhoods have already sprung up here in Emerson-Garfield.

If you live near Corbin Park, you can join the active Corbin Park Spokane neighborhood here on Nextdoor.

And if you live in Emerson-Garfield on the west side of Monroe, you can join the new Emerson-Gafield West neighborhood here on Nextdoor.

Some of the great things Nextdoor enables you to do:

Get to know your neighbors
Get local recommendations for a great babysitter, plumber or handyman
Look out for each other by sharing advice and reporting suspicious activity
Buy, sell, trade or give away items within your neighborhood
Get updates on community issues, plan neighborhood events

And if a Nextdoor neighborhood doesn’t exist for your immediate area, feel free to start one. By breaking our larger neighborhood down into smaller, more localized areas, we can help make the whole of Emerson-Garfield even better.

Corbin Movin’ & Groovin’ Fair, March 9

February 28, 2013 Emerson Garfield

Corbin Senior Center will hold its ninth annual Movin’ & Groovin’ Fair on Saturday, March 9 from 8am to 2pm.

Admission to the fair is free. It’s an informative event with lots of free advice on how to remain healthy and active — something that applies to all age groups, not just senior citizens. Some of the highlights include:

Free screenings for glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, and more
Free massages
Information booths with expert advice
Free drawings for cash and prizes
Affordable lunch
Avista and SNAP workshops

Click on the image above to view the full flyer, which you can e-mail or print out and send to friends, family, co-workers, and anyone who might be interested.

Corbin Park Little Free Library

February 24, 2013 Emerson Garfield

A Little Free Library (for more info on LFLs, see our “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” post here) is flourishing in the Corbin Park area of our neighborhood.

For more info — and current offerings — check out the library’s Facebook page.