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Craftwalk This Friday! (Sep 26)

Craftwalk This Friday! (Sep 26)

One last reminder that the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is holding its first-ever Craftwalk this Friday, September 26. It will run concurrent with and alongside the usual weekly food-oriented market (806 W Knox, 3-7pm).

So far 23 vendors have confirmed that they’ll be joining us, and some of them will have multiple tables. Their goods include sculptural and painted art; custom jewelry from beads, metal, hemp, glass and wood; upcycled clothing, aprons and handbags; handmade health and beauty items; embroidery; doll clothes and doggie coats; holiday decorations; one-of-a-kind notepads and photo albums; hand-carved slingshots; knitwear such as hats, sweaters and scarves; duct-tape wallets; unique furniture and “usables” for your home and garden; greeting cards; and tons more.

In other words, there ought to be something for everyone, so there should be plenty of items that will make great gifts for others or treats for yourself.

Craftwalk flyer 2014

This marks the first of what the market hopes will be an annual event, so please spread the word in advance and stop by on the day to help make it a success for the vendors, the market and our neighborhood. If you’re on Facebook, we encourage you to RSVP on the Craftwalk event page and share it.

Mayor Recognizes E-G, Announces Tree Initiative

Mayor Recognizes E-G, Announces Tree Initiative

Yesterday Spokane Mayor David Condon launched a new initiative to beautify neighborhoods with the addition of trees and green infrastructure.

The line of new trees next to N. Maple.That initiative, called Forest Spokane, is an effort to plant, protect and appreciate the trees that paint a canopy of vibrant colors in our city. The goal is to plant 10,000 new trees over the next two years as part of a broader integrated stormwater management effort.

Spokane was also honored today as a Tree City USA community by the national Arbor Day Foundation. It is one of 3,400 cities so recognized for the time, focus and commitment to establishing, maintaining and growing its urban forest.

As a jumpstart to Forest Spokane, the City will hand out 300 seedlings to City Hall visitors next week. The mayor also announced the reinvigoration of the Tree of Life program as another way to add new trees to our neighborhoods across the City.

The Tree of Life program traces its roots back nearly 20 years as a community effort to replace aging and damaged trees and add to Spokane’s colorful canopy. Over the years, school students, community organizations and corporations have rallied efforts to plant trees.

Names of contributors are commemorated on a carved wood and bronze Tree of Life sculpture at the top of the stairs to the City Council Chambers in recognition of their efforts. The mayor added a golden leaf to the Tree of Life to recognize the work of a dozen Emerson-Garfield neighborhood volunteers who planted trees on North Maple Street last Saturday as part of Spokane Gives.

Information about how to get involved in the tree planting effort is available at SpokaneUrbanForestry.org.

Disused Car Wash on NW Blvd

Disused Car Wash on NW Blvd

A W Carlisle resident has asked the neighborhood to draw its attention to the disused car wash on NW Boulevard:

Between the garbage being dumped there, the graffiti, and the fact that it is literally falling apart, I was wondering if there is anyone we could contact about cleaning it up or having it removed or something. Something, anything, needs to be done about this. I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve seen shady activity there on the way to taking my kids to school each day, and I just feel it’s a public safety hazard, especially being so close to a school like that.

The property she’s referring to is pictured below.

Disused carwash on NW Blvd
Disused carwash on NW Blvd
Disused carwash on NW Blvd

Beyond simply pointing out the problem, she has also taken some initial steps to address it:

I contacted the city and got a reply back from Michelle Hecker of the Code Enforcement department. She is going to use my e-mails as a formal complaint and will hopefully be sending someone out to look it over. She also attached a PDF of complaint form, if anyone else would be interested in filling it out and filing a complaint as well that might help get things going faster.

That code enforcement complaint form can be downloaded here or on the Code Enforcement website.

Please support this effort by filling out the form to address this particular property (and any other properties that are in flagrant violation of code) and submitting it to Michelle at mhecker@spokanecity.org or Emerson-Garfield’s assigned code officer, Dan Poulson. He can be reached at dpolson@spokanecity.org or (509) 625-6066.

Help Us Find a Rocking Chair for K

Help Us Find a Rocking Chair for K

[UPDATE: K got the furniture she was after. Thanks to all those who considered donating.]

A longtime resident of Emerson-Garfield is leaving the neighborhood after nearly half a century.

Kizuyo — who acquired the nickname “K” many years ago because her name was too difficult for her employer to pronounce — first made her home in this neighborhood in 1968. She’s a former librarian, a cancer survivor, and a woman who’s proud of the independence she’s maintained into her ninth decade.

If you live near the southwest corner of the neighborhood, you will probably have seen her walking to and from Safeway on a regular basis. If you ever visited the Corbin Senior Center, there’s a good chance she was there doing puzzles.

As she prepares to move into a smaller apartment across town, she mentioned that she’s looking for a sofa or a rocking chair “with big arms” to replace the furniture she can’t take with her.

If anyone from Emerson-Garfield has any items along these lines to offer K, please leave a comment below or get in touch. It would be nice to see her leave with something from Emerson-Garfield beyond her forty-six years of memories.

Montgomery Ave Traffic-Circle Landscaping & MoU

Montgomery Ave Traffic-Circle Landscaping & MoU

The traffic circles (aka roundabouts) on Montgomery Ave that are slated to be installed this year between the 1100 and 1400 blocks of Montgomery Ave require a memorandum of understanding (MoU) if they are to be landscaped and not drab concrete slabs.

A memorandum of understanding is a non-legal document that lays out the terms of a common course of action. In this case, the parties involved are the City of Spokane and the residents and organizations on Montgomery Ave. The agreement is that the residents and organizations will maintain the landscaping (i.e., occasional weeding, watering, pruning.)

A Landscaped Roundabout
An example of a landscaped roundabout

As part of the MoU, the Montgomery Ave residents will be able to decide which plants, flowers and grasses are installed by the city in the course of landscaping.

Some of the ground cover options include wild ginger, Scotch heather, sunrose and sticky geranium. Native perennials include wildflowers such as common yarrow, aquilegia and coral bells. Ornamental grasses are also an option. See the slideshow below.

Download this PDF for a recap of images and suggestions of landscaping possibilities. The city asks to keep the following in mind when choosing:

  • Any treatment that is installed needs to be kept within 36″ so that it doesn’t obstruct the site
  • A mix of plants would be the best option to make the traffic circles esthetically pleasing all year
  • Plants chosen should be drought resistant to limit the water that is needed

As of this writing, Trinity Catholic School and three families have agreed to sign the MoU. We would like more to join them in this very minimal commitment of time and effort, as many hands make light work. If you live near the site and are interested in adding your name to the MoU, please get in touch.

It’s worth reiterating here that this is one of Spokane’s most forward-thinking residential traffic-calming initiatives, and it’s a compliment that Emerson-Garfield was chosen to be the neighborhood that will benefit.