We live on the 2200 block of E. Marion. For the past few months there’s been a black cat with a red collar coming into our yard and even our house and attacking our cats. He is very aggressive. Our young cat has been attacked several times and yesterday this cat ripped open our 10 year old cats ear. The situation has become very serious. If this is your cat, can you please keep him indoors. It’s just a matter of time before one of our cats is going to get seriously injured if some solution is not found.

wobbly but very sweet, let me know if he’s yours

Recently, I have encountered a number of polite and law abiding drivers.  However, as a pedestrian, it seems that fewer and fewer drivers are in this category and yield the right of way to pedestrians, especially along E. Union and E. Cherry.   E. Cherry has long been the worst.  Remember, pedestrians are not suppose to risk their lives to stop autos.  Drivers are suppose to make it comfortable for a waiting pedestrian to cross.

This is my recap of home sales in the Central District and how it compares to the rest of Seattle.

Prices for pre-owned homes in the Central District of Seattle increased 12% in the past year. The number of sales increased 25%.  Over the past 10 years, the number of home sales in the Central District has averaged 242 sales per year whereas we had 228 in 2013 and 192 in 2012.  2012 was the lowest number of home sales since before 2003.  3 of the past 10 years experienced more than 300 sales.  In 2013 Seattle as a whole experienced a 16% increase in the number of sales and a 12.7% increase in prices.

Sales of new construction in the Central District (West of MLK)  increased from 14 sales in 2012 to  25 sales this year.  The median  price is $597k, unchanged from 2012.  I was curious to see how this compared to 2009 when the real estate market was really suffering.  My findings were suprising.   In 2009 there were 68 new home sales at a median price of $472k.   Since 2009 there has been a  63% drop in the number sales and a 26% increase in prices.  (Pre-owned prices are 14% higher than in 2009).  It feels that more new homes are under construction and the average prices are going to be much higher than last year.

What does 2014 have in store?  Home affordability will drop.  Zillow is predicting a 6.7% increase in home prices over the year 2014.  Regarding interest rates, Kiplinger is predicting 5%-5.5%,  Zillow is predicting 5%, Forbes is predicting 5.5%.  A house costing $500,000 today would require $2280 a month with 10% down. Next year, that house will cost $533k but the payments would be $2725 at a 5.5% interest rate.

I hope this has been useful, contact me with any questions.  I have a lot more information that I couldn’t squeeze into this article.  www.DanSanchezRealtor.com

It’s been a wonderful 2013; and we wish our neighbors in the CD a great holiday and much joy in 2014.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/laf/4248834664.html

Does anyone know about this Dec. 11 robbery? It showed up on SeattlePDG3 Twitter as Call #13000444033

Beat:G3, PURSE SNATCH – IP/JO – ROBBERY at 27 AV / E MARION ST reported on 12/11/2013 6:35 PM, Call# 13000444033

Join us at your neighborhood holiday party tomorrow evening at Central Cinema (1411 21st Ave). Free pizza , photos with Santa , cartoon sing-alongs, and more fun for the whole family. Entertainment provided by Meter Music School and others.

Drop in anytime  – open house style all evening. Food will be collected for tent city.

Sponsored by the CD Association and the Department of Neighborhoods.

This term Lake Washington Girls Middle School has been offering a robotics and programming club – FuerzaBots! Guided by science teacher Kirsten Rooks, technology director Cristina Paredes, and parent Rob McCann P’14, the FuerzaBots team has been busy preparing for the FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League (FLL) Robotics Challenge. Each year, FIRST releases a new challenge that engages teams in hands-on robotics design and scientific research. The theme for the challenge is different each year, allowing teams to learn about a variety of subjects. This year, teams will apply research and robotics to explore natural disasters with FLL “Nature’s Fury” challenge. To successfully complete the challenge, teams of young people must build and program a Lego Mindstorms robot to complete missions on a thematic playing surface and conduct research to discover what can be done when intense natural events meet the places people live, work, and play. This is Lake Washington Girls Middle School’s first year participating in the event.

The FuerzaBots, comprising sixth grade students Eva, Ula, Julia, Maya, and Lucy, seventh grade students Paisley, Hava, Jayla, and Mackenzie, and eighth grade students Rae, Alma, Sadie, Helen, Josephine, and Savita, have been tackling this year’s Challenge as a unit. Each Challenge has three parts: the Robot Game, the Project, and the FLL Core Values. Teams of up to ten kids (on the competition floor), with one adult coach, participate in the Challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game) and developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by FLL’s Core Values – that friendly competition and mutual gain are not separate goals, and that helping one another is the foundation of teamwork.

The theme for this year’s competition is Disaster Relief: Nature’s Fury. For the “project” part of the challenge, teams were tasked to develop an innovative solution to help people prepare, stay safe, or rebuild after a natural disaster. The FuerzaBots – using the process of Design Thinking – created an app that will help people find and gather an emergency supply kit closest to them (utilizing geo-location), instruct the user how to operate the kit’s contents, and offer information on how to best handle the emergency situation at hand – in their case, a volcanic eruption. The FuerzaBots are preparing a presentation of their app to share with the judges at this weekend’s tournament.

The FuerzaBots have also been working diligently on the Robot Challenge for which, over three months, they designed, built, and programmed four robots, one of which will tackle as many obstacles of natural disaster aftermath as possible in 2.5 minutes. The FuerzaBots dove into programming the “brick” – the brains – of the robot, and they quickly learned how the sensors work and in what situations they would be used. They also mastered how the motors work to make the robot go forward, backward, and to turn, as well as how to make the robots pick items up and move levers. As of today the FuerzaBot’s robots can complete six of the ten course obstacles.

The FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics Regional Tournament is this Sunday, December 8, at Ballard High School. During the tournament, teams have three rounds on the competition tables to get the best score possible. When not competing with their robots, teams give their research presentations, and are interviewed about the technical design of their robots and how they work as teams. Regional qualifiers may advance to the championship event in January. The winners of the Champion’s Award, the most prestigious award, may be eligible to participate in a variety of post-season tournament opportunities both domestic and abroad. Our FuerzaBots, whose motto is “Code Like a Girl,” are excited to be participating in the tournament for the first time and will be focusing on getting as far as they can and learning from the mistakes they make along the way.

Go, FuerzaBots!

Lake Washington Girls Middle School, located in Central Seattle, is a place where girls explore, experiment, discover, create, and learn about themselves and the world around them. Since 1998, LWGMS has challenged its students with high standards and helped every LWGMS girl find the tools she needs to succeed. Here, girls are empowered to think critically, develop leadership, and enjoy learning through an integrated curriculum that has proven to prepare girls for success in high school honors and college preparation courses.

Our cooperative, experiential, holistic education supports girls throughout their middle school years – academically, socially, and emotionally. We have small classes, caring teachers who work with students as they move from sixth through eighth grade, and strong parent and community involvement.

Indie Book Fair

Modest means. Serious writers.
December 20 & 21, 2013 — 11AM – 8PM

A/NT Galley
2045 Westlake Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121

Looking for a last minute gift?

Books.

Lots and lots of books.

There will be books for all ages. Science fiction, fantasy, romance, young adult, mystery, memoir, and so much more.

Meet the authors, too. They’ll be there, selling their books. You can get them to sign the books. Grab their swag, like bookmarks, postcards, and such. Many of them will have raffles for even more free stuff!

Authors in attendance include: Ksenia Anske, Leeland Artra, S.C. Barrus, Laurie Blauner, Zachary Bonelli, Kate Bracy, Jamie Brazil, Paddy Eger, J. Glenn Evans, T.M. Franklin, Jerry Gold, Elizabeth Guizzetti, David D. Horowitz, Paty Jager, Sibyl James, A. Ka, Kay Kinghammer, Susan Lute, Maggie Lynch (Maggie Jaimeson, Maggie Faire), Michele Makinson, Mark Matteson, John B McIntyre, Robert R. Mitchell, Old Nod, Northwest Independent Writers Association, Chris Patchell, D.E.S. Richard, Laura Kelly Robb, Susan Schreyer, Valerie Stein, Lisa Stowe, Jeff Suwak, Griffith H. Williams, Windtree Press, Joyce Yarrow, and Matt Youngmark

On Saturday, December 21, the authors will read excerpts from their books, from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. Refreshments will be served. A touch of wine, too, for those over 21.

And Art!

Lots and Lots of Art.

Since it’s in a gallery, there’s art everywhere. All around, you’ll have plenty of time to absorb some culture and buy some unique gifts for the holidays.