Join us for a Ballard Conversation with Cory & Kate @ 4pm

MyBallard.com screenshotI’m really excited that today’s episode of Rain City Radio will feature Cory and Kate of MyBallard.   I have an obvious Ballard-bias because I think it is one of the best areas in all of Seattle, so it should be a lot of fun to explore this neighborhood with some of the best local bloggers!

You can listen to the conversation starting at 4pm by simply clicking on the play button on the radio widget on the right panel, or call-in to the program by following the instructions on the TalkShoe page.

Arrive with questions, concerns, and comments as I expect another great conversation like our previous calls with local bloggers like Tracy of West Seattle and Justin of Capitol Hill.

UPDATE:

I thought it was a wondeful conversation with Cory and Kate of MyBallard!  You can listen to the entire conversation by using the “TalkShoe” widget to on the sidepanel of Rain City Guide!

We covered a mix of topics around both local blogging and their take on Ballard.   I found it particularly interesting that they both have only lived in Ballard for less than a year, and yet have quickly developed a strong connection to the neighborhood. Also interesting, is that like Tracy from the West Seattle blog, they both of journalism degrees and see this local blog as a future in terms of how news will spread through communities.

Rain City Radio with Justin of the Capitol Hill Blog at 4pm!

Capitol Hill Blog ScreenshotAs I mentioned last week, this next episode of Rain City Radio will feature Justin of the Capitol HIll Blog!  So, if you want to learn about the ins-and-outs of this great neighborhood in Seattle, then check in with us at 4pm today (July 8th).

And if you want to call in to ask your own questions of our guest, then you can follow the simple instuctions on this page… and if all you want to do is stream the conversation live, then a few minutes before the show, you should see that option on the talkshoe widget on our sidepanel!

One of the things I’m most excited to learn about is the new format that their using for this community site.   It’s got all kinds of ways for people to interact on a very local level and I’ll be curious to get Justin’s feedback on how this is working.

UPDATE!

The recorded conversation is now live and you can listen to it using the player on the sidepanel!    Justin was a most gracious guest and shared lots of great insights about Capitol Hill with us… including the best place to get waffles!  The new platform their running at Capitol Hill blog is extremely interesting and has spurred a lot of ideas for ways I might be able to add similar features to RCG…

A West Seattle Conversation!

Screenshot from the West Seattle Blog

I’m extremely excited about tomorrow’s Rain City conversation!

I invite the entire RCG community to join us at 4pm on Tuesday for a conversation with Tracy Record, the local community expert who runs the West Seattle blog.

My plan is to talk with her about the vibe of West Seattle, what’s she’s learned running the blog and what some of her favorite neighborhood places.  In addition, I’ll open up the phone lines to YOU so please come with your questions for this person behind this wonderful local resource!

If you’d like to join the conversation, then please consider calling in.   All the details on our the Rain City conversation page of Talkshoe!

And to answer the most common question from last week: You can listen into the conversation by calling in using ANY phone… However, if you want to get on-the-air, then it really helps me if you log into TalkShoe so that you can ping me in the chat room when you have a question or comment! Again, all the details (and there aren’t many) are on the Rain City conversation page of Talkshoe!

By the way, I’ll announce our guest for next week’s show tomorrow on the show!   I have a feeling that this series of podcasts are going to turn into something really special so set aside 4pm on Tuesdays so you can always take part!   And if you haven’t tried taking part in a group podcast yet, I highly recommend logging into this show.  You might be surprised just how much you enjoy it!

UPDATE: You can listen to this interview by clicking here or going to the post where I outlined the interview about with Tracy from the West Seattle blog

Seattle Neighborhood Round-Up

The weather is warming and so are the Seattle neighborhoods….

Issaquah Undressed asks: 50 to 80 in a day?   More changes happening on Beach Drive Blog.

Get your “Spring Cleaning” in gear for CHS Capitol Hill Seattle and The Garage Sale, and Miller Park Neighborhood Association announces neighborhood clean up this Saturday.

Capitol Hill Triangle and a favorite breakfast treat in a tiny cafe, and on Capitol Hill, the poster for this years’ Block Party! 

Captain Columbia City launches it’s new neighborhood personalities interviews, for more cinematic news…vote for your favorite “Movies on the Wall” at West Seattle Blog.   

Blogging Georgetown and the annual Georgetown Art and Garden Walk and Mid Beacon Hill is covering Georgetown and uncovering a new mural. 

It’s Farmers Market time again at Kirkland Weblog, and at the Outer limits: The Lake City Blog the Farmers Market is relocating. 

Broadway Seattle  bikes Broadway… The Wedgewood Blog … and the Rock Walk.   

Atop the Top: Queen Anne Highlights points out that a person can always learn something new about their neighborhood. Cosmo Seattle and new info on Denny Park. 

Pondering Fame and Infamy at One A Day -Mostly Seattle and lastly…Breaking News on Ballard Avenue!

Going on in the neighborhood…

The Ballard Jazz Festival is going on April 25th to April 28th.  Last year my partner, Michael, and I attended several of the venues and we had a great time. There are a lot of wonderful groups to listen to and it’s a fun way to check out several of the downtown Ballard nightspots. It’s also a great way to meet up with neighbors in the area and to support the area. Since this site is dedicated not only to lending and housing information but also information about the neighborhoods I thought that some of you might enjoy it.  I can’t make it since I’m back in Kansas but I hope that some of you will be able to take advantage of the entertainment.  I’ll be thinking about it while I am here and wishing I could join you.

Neighborhood Roundup: Seattle Uncovers a Funny Bone

Due to the success of last week’s neighborhood roundup, I thought I’d make another attempt…

After a confusing vote on the Viaduct replacement, the Need to Know Seattle Condos blog lets us know about the grassroots movement to replace the viaduct with condos… This type of mixed-use development is sure to please the folks at City Comforts (temporarily, known as Viaduct, the blog)…

[photopress:pizza_bike.jpg,thumb,alignright]The Capitol Hill Seattle folks are shocked to get fast (and dry) pizza delivery in Seattle. “Because the Pagliacci delivery guy refuses to purchase a fender for the rear tire of his bike (he claims the tips aren’t that good), our pizza not only takes a long time to get delivered, but the cardboard box arrives soaked whenever it rains! The fact that Palermo’s delivery guy uses a car is a big plus (even if it doesn’t please our social sensibilities!).” Do you think it would help the Pagliacci delivery guy to know that he could get free maintenance advice for his bike at the Garfield Community Center on Sunday afternoons?

Seth over at the Seattlest loves the rain. (He obviously doesn’t order pizza from Pagliacci very often).

A much more prominent Seth seems more than a little concerned that Ballard’s Archie McPhee is selling Cap’n Danger Stunt Monkey’s for kids. The photo says tells the story…

The West Seattle Blog lets us know about the “West Seattle Pet Rodeo and Snooty Walk”. Seriously, here’s a link to the event

Others in West Seattle are looking to return a missing fowl.

Ballard Avenue uncovers this (I’m not sure how to describe it!) video from Finland. Thanks to the fact that my wife loves this video, I’ve watched it more times than I care to admit…

Today’s saddest news in the Seattle neighborhood blog scene… Rumor has it that the writers behind the Seattlest and Metroblogging Seattle decided it would be a fun April Fool’s prank if they switched blogs for a day. However, the joke backfired when readers couldn’t tell the difference…

And finally, this post just missed the entry time for the Carnival of the Cities that is going to be hosted by The Seattle Traveler(there’s a carnival for everything!) What a bummer!

Neighborhood Roundup: Breaking the Espresso Rut

Creating the list of active neighborhood blogs was only the first step in my grand vision… (or is it Greg that has the grand neighborhood vision?) Okay… Maybe there is no grand plan, but I thought it would be fun to give a roundup of recent neighborhood posts…

The West Seattle Blog has turned to Cafe Rozella to break out of an espresso rut and is “really impressed”.

Dave at the Learning from Lake City expanded my skatepark world view considerably… Skatedots? Skatepots? Districts? Regionals? Who knew?

Georgetown Stew highlights a scam where people are not only taking advantage of day laborers, but it gets worse

Not only are some folks in South Park being stiffed out of their wages, the employer(s) are apparently asking the workers for their home address, with the promise that a paycheck will arrive in the mail. And then the surprise arrives. Not a check, but officers from Immigration & Naturalization show up.

Beach Drive gives us a beautiful photo of a brave soul on the Sound…

Linked a day too soon to the Outer Limits blogEricka announced that she was moving on (thanks to a job!) and looking for a replacement…

The Miller Park Neighborhood Association blog is looking to get people out at an upcoming (March 28th) Sound Transit meeting to show support for lightrail on the eastside

The Kirkland Weblog highlighted a great new photo blog out of Kirkland… The idea (as I understand it) is that the author of Kirkland 52 is planning to post photos of Kirkland once a week over the next year.

The Capitol Hill Seattle blog indulges their love of maps with an interesting map of voter patterns on the Viaduct Replacement. (PI Article)

The Belltown Bent highlights an award given by a Harvard Group to Weiss/Manfredi Architects for their work on the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Ballard Avenue wallows a bit in the transportation history of Ballard… I think the photo makes the post.

Phinney Neighborhood annual home fair, Sunday, Jan 28th

Phinney Neighborhood Center is hosting their annual home fair this weekend. This is a wonderful event with a lot of great information about home upkeep, upgrading, and overall design concepts. Several builders and architects attend this event and provide their expertise in a comfortable environment. One of my clients, Kirk Jolley, of Kirk Redo is usually in attendance as an exhibitor. He’s got great woodworking and finishing skills as I’ve seen his personal residence that he rebuilt after a former owner’s long neglect and I’ve seen many of his client projects, including the floor of my own home office – and he’s a great guy too! I’ve also volunteered in the past to help at the event as a member of the Phinney Neighborhood Association but sadly can’t make it to this year’s event. However, I do believe it is a great opportunity for people that are considering making changes to their home in the coming year to start getting educated about the process and to get some wonderful design ideas.

HOME DESIGN AND REMODEL FAIR : Imagine, Explore, Build
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N.
Admission: $5 for PNA members, $8 for the general public, children under 12 Free

The 10th annual Home Design and Remodel Fair will offer local homeowners a chance to meet with trained professionals and get advice on remodeling and home improvement projects.

More than 75 exhibitors ranging from general and specialty contractors to landscape professionals to architects and designers will be on hand to offer advice and resources needed to complete any home improvement project. Many of the exhibitors have a “green” emphasis.

Presentations will also be featured throughout the day. Topics include everything from choosing a contractor to stocking your toolbox.

The presentation schedule includes:

10:30 Choosing & Hiring a Contractor
11:10 Remodeling for Resale Value
11:50 Financing Your Remodeling Project
12:30 Working with an Architect

12:45-1:15 in the Blue Room
Q&A with Around the Home & More KOL Radio hosts Kevin Liger & John Kappler

1:20 DIY Mini Home Inspection
2:00 Making the Most of What You’ve Got
2:40 Tools for the Homeowner
3:20 Design/Build: What is it?