The spontaneous combustion of oil-soaked rags led to an explosive garage fire causing $200,000 worth of damage early this morning.

I just spoke with Dana Vander Houen from the Fire Department, who said firefighters arrived shortly after the fire broke out at 4:30am at 122 37th Ave E, and had it under control within 45 minutes. There was no one home at the house, and no injuries, though there was a car parked in the garage.

The flames spread from the garage through the empty house and onto the roof, causing extensive damage. But the fire inspection team termed the fire to be accidental.

Update: According to KIRO7, which has video, the house was designed by well-known architect John Rohrer (he also designed the long house at Tillicum Village) and was about to be put on the market.

It’s Bike To Work Day, and we’ve biked up and then way down to Madrona Park, where Bridget and Emmett are set up with signs, muffins, and a ton of coffee. They’re both work at Payscale, and their coworkers pitched in to help buy the goodies, with the Leschi Starbucks donating the coffee.

They’ve had about 20 people stop by, with others “biking wih purpose” passing by.

Biggest challenge so far: keeping the wily park crows from picking at the pastries.

Up next: Hiawatha Place

Got your human-powered ride all cleaned up for the season? Tomorrow is Bike To Work Day, and there’s three stations all set for your biking rest-and-refreshment enjoyment:

Madrona Park – Madrona & Leschi residents will be providing fresh-baked goods, OJ, and coffee. 6:30am-9am.

Hiawatha Place – Cafe Weekend and Working Dog Bicycles will have a commuter station set up near Charles Street, convenient for everyone using the I-90 trails – . 7am – 6pm.

900 Broadway – Hosted by Seattle U, located just south of Madison – . 6am – 10am.

We’ll be riding around getting pictures (and plenty of exercise between those three spots). See you there?

Greetings Everyone,

A wonderful event for the community and families in the Seattle area is taking place at Northwest African American Museum on Sunday June 20th from 3-5pm.  This event is presented by Eventz Just For U, called “Fathers Day Honors Dinner” theme- Uniting Fathers, Family, and Community.  Join special guests,  City of Seattle Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell, Charle’ Young, Tony B, Isiah Anderson Jr., Roberto Jourdan, Cedric James, Dr. David Bowman and many others as we celebrate Fathers Day, family, and community. 

This event includes entrance to Northwest African American Museum, full BBQ dinner and dessert by Loudons BBQ and Catering Co. – $25.00 Adult  and $15.00 children 12 and under

Call 206-686-1201 to make Reservations or stop by the Northwest African American Museum store 2300 S Massachusetts St. Seattle WA 98144 to purchase tickets.

Looking forward to a outstanding event, so I can meeting everyone that comes out and celebrates this day together to remember with us.

Zhalena-Seattle Resident, founder of Eventz Just For U 

We’ve got a surprising number of private schools here in the Central District (most per capita in the city? more data plz). We just got a note from Christy Haven at the Giddens School that they have hired a new Head of School for the next school year.

Robert Kogane will be taking over this summer, moving up from a previous position as Interim Head. Kogane has a background in public education in the Shoreline district.

The school, founded in 1972, teaches students from pre-school up through 5th grade, and currently has 170 students enrolled. The school is located in a building next to St. Mary’s church at 20th & Lane.

From the windy, rainy, stormy, and occasionally sunny streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:

It’s sometimes amazing to see how many stories we covered in 2008 require periodic follow-ups in 2010 to see where things stand. One of those is the proposed expansion of Swedish Cherry Hill (formerly Providence) across 18th Avenue, into the block east of the main bulk of the existing hospital.

We were told last fall that a key city decision was delayed due to the possible landmark status of an old house on that block. That was considered by the landmark board back in February, and landmark status was denied. Now things are back in the hands of the city Department of Planning and Development, and DPD’s Bryan Stevens tells us that “The question of whether to consider the proposed development as either a minor or major amendment is still under review, but we’re likely to have a determination published in the next two weeks.”

The long-pending decision is highly technical, turning on whether the expansion will be considered a minor or major amendment to the property’s almost 20-year-old institutional development plan. If the city says a minor amendment is sufficient, the developer (the Sabey corporation) will be able to proceed with a minimum amount of further process. A decision that is qualifies as “major” would put additional hurdles ahead of Swedish and Sabey, and potentially give neighbors a bigger say in how the new development fits into the surrounding neighborhood.

The expansion would add two new office buildings that would together span the whole length of the block of 18th between Jefferson and Cherry. The buildings would provide space for doctors, administrators, and researchers, and would directly border the line of single-family homes to the east along 17th.

Stay tuned to see if we get some resolution to this by the end of the month.

Cody snuck out of my yard at approximately 8:45 today.  He’s wearing a collar and tags.  He’s black with patches of white on his chest and feet.  If you see him, please call 206-784-1409 or if that’s busy 206-321-4119.   He’s very sweet, but can be excitable.  Many thanks for keeping a watch out.

Update  I had barely finished posting this when he decided to amble back.   Sorry for the false alarm everyone.

Garfield High School is hosting a drumline expo this Saturday from noon to 3 pm, featuring a number of drumlines from across the city.   Stop by the Garfield gymm and check out this exciting musical event.  $10 per ticket raises money for equipment.

More info:

http://ghs.seattleschools.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&date=2010-05-22&pageid=2391

A past performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qAMM-d-Mt0

The Columbia City Gallery is holding a Call for Entries for (un)wrapped, its 5

^th Annual Juried Exhibit. Artists in all media are encouraged to submit artwork which reflects the theme (un)wrapped. For $25, applicants may enter up to 3 pieces for consideration. All entries must be received by July 31, 2010.

Jurors for the exhibit are: Sam Davidson (Davidson Galleries), Marita Dingus (mixed media artist), and Jen Graves (Stranger Art Critic and Arts Editor). $1000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 entries. The exhibit will run September 22 – November 14, 2010.

Download the Prospectus and Entry Form at www.ColumbiaCityGallery.com

Questions? 206-760-9843 or [email protected]