The school at 504 N.E. 95th St. is holding its Summer Soar Used Book Sale from 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 31, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 1, but first, it needs community members to donate a few of their gently used books, CDs and DVDs for all ages.

Maple Leaf businesses are making it worth your while by offering not only drop-off locations, but also special perks for donors. Drop-off locations include (perks noted in italics):

• Maple Leaf Ace Hardware, 9000 Roosevelt Way N.E.
• Blue Saucer Coffee, 9127 Roosevelt Way N.E.; get a free drip or kid hot cocoa for 3+ items
• Cloud City Coffee, 8801 Roosevelt Way N.E.; get a free drip for 3+ items
• Diva Espresso, 8014 Lake City Way N.E.; get a free drip or a kid cocoa for 3+
• Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave. N.E.
• Olympic View Elementary, 504 N.E. 95th St.; drop box in front of the school

But it’s really time to get spring cleaning, because items must be dropped off by Wednesday, May 29. If you have questions or are unable to bring your donation to a location, contact Aiko Schaefer at 206-941-4817 or aikoschaefer@gmail.com.

For $22, you’ll get a tequila tasting and appetizers for two, or a margarita pitcher and appetizers for four, which is regularly priced at $66.

There’s lots of fine print, so be sure to read up before you click!

From 6-8 p.m. at Olympic View Elementary School, 504 N.E. 95th St., Sound Transit is inviting you to an open house to learn about Northgate Station design and access update.

The light rail project is part of the agency’s Northgate Link Extension, which is scheduled to open in 2021.

The presentation portion of the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., covering topics including:

• Refinements to station and plaza design.
• Preliminary results of Northgate Station Area Access Study (pedestrian and bike improvements).
• King County Metro’s transit center and transit-oriented development plans.
• City of Seattle’s 1st Ave NE cycle track and I-5 pedestrian bridge.

For more information, contact the Northgate Link Extension project team at 206-398-5300 or northlink@soundtransit.org.

Also on Thursday, May 23, you’re invited to a Town Hall Meeting with King County Councilman Rod Dembowski and State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who also is a Maple Leaf resident.

Dembowski, who spoke at last month’s Maple Leaf General Community meeting, states on his homepage:

I am committed to listening and learning from you, so that county government can be as accountable, efficient, and responsive to you as possible. For that reason I will be hosting a series of Town Halls, in every community across District 1 this year, so I can hear firsthand what issues are most important to you

The Town Hall is from 7-8:30 p.m. at Northgate Community Center, 10510 Fifth Ave. N.E.

Which will you choose?

The presentation included plenty of thank-yous for the countless hours put in by volunteers Donna Hartmann-Miller and Scott and Jessica Bishop.

Hartmann-Miller, who heads the volunteer Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park, also thanked the many volunteers who helped build parts of the playground at a work party in early April that ended in a torrential downpour, in addition to the many local businesses that donated food that day, including Cloud City Coffee, Blue Saucer, Maple Leaf Grill and COA Mexican Eatery & Tequileria.

“I wish I was a kid again because I would be playing in this park endlessly,” added Hartmann-Miller, who also is a member of the Maple Leaf Community Council Executive Board.

Of course, the zipline was a huge hit.

The playground at 1020 N.E. 82nd St. is now open to the public, although there still are areas that are fenced off as new grass continues to grow in. There will be more fun for all ages when the remainder of Maple Leaf Reservoir Park opens in late summer or early fall, adding 16 acres of green space to the neighborhood that previously were closed off to the public.

Last night between the hrs of 12:30-8 a.m. our family and business car was stolen from right out front of our house.

This is a travesty for us as we own & operate a small family pickling business and it is our only vehicle to make deliveries of our product to our restaurant accounts throughout the city. Tomorrow is our delivery day so we are pretty upset about what has happened as you can imagine.

To make matters worse we had just purchased $300 worth of pickling jars and put $50 worth of gas in it.

They live at 12th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 100th Street. The license plate is ALC7551.

The car is a 1999 Black Subaru Outback, Limited edition with 2 sunroofs but a few little dings on the right front panel. I have attached the best pic I have of it.

There is a bright red bumper sticker on the back that say’s “Cape Flattery” in white letters that makes it very distinguishable and as I mentioned, the back was completely full of cases of pickling jars as of last night.

Of course the police have been notified and it is not in any impound so it could be anywhere at this point though the police just told me that they are finding many of them near the Children’s Hospital area.

It did not have an alarm or tracking system in it.

Thank you for your help in advance.

According to the police crime map, nine other vehicles have been stolen or prowled in the neighborhood since we last wrote about these crimes.

A bit of good news: Patricia emailed earlier this week to say a stolen adult bike was dumped in her yard and she’d like to get it back to the owner .

Found at 114th and Roosevelt:

Some shady dude ditched a sweet blue Italian bike in our flower bed. We called SPD but they wouldn’t take it because it hadn’t been reported. It has a word lock that is still wrapped around the frame and a tire kit. If you think it’s yours just send me the word. Sure hope we can reunite this beauty with its owner.

Waving for donations. On behalf of the Maple Leaf Community Council, member Donna Hartmann-Miller works the morning commute for GiveBIG contributions.

Today is GiveBIG day, the day to donate to your favorite nonprofit charities, and have your dollars “stretched” by The Seattle Foundation.

Grow your gift! All credit card donations* made through The Seattle Foundation’s website TODAY, May 15 between midnight and midnight (Pacific Time) will be stretched thanks to $850,000 in support for GiveBIG from The Seattle Foundation and GiveBIG sponsors.

* We will “stretch” all donations up to $25,000 per donor, per organization.

To donate, go here. Or act on any of the many emails you’ve probably received this week from nonprofits.

There are no signs that the current trends of low inventory, rising prices, short sales times and multiple offers will be abating anytime soon.

For Northeast Seattle, including Maple Leaf, Bryant, Laurelhurst, University, View Ridge and Wedgwood, there continues to be only about a one-month supply of single-family home inventory. This tight inventory can be attributed to continued low interest rates, robust Puget Sound area hiring and a generally improved economy including significant gains in the stock market. Whether the market will become more “balanced” (defined as a 3-6 month supply of homes) will hinge on many more listings hitting the market over the coming months.

Of homes closed in Northeast Seattle in April the average sale price was a little over 102% of the most recent list price. This indicates continued multiple offer situations.

Prospective buyers also should think in terms of at least a minimum of 3-5+ year home ownership horizon and preferably maintain the option to hold onto their home through future downturns in the market. Home seller costs (excise tax, title/escrow fees, sale commissions) of approximately 9% of the sales price should also be factored into any decision to purchase.

More stats on other Seattle neighborhoods can be found at

http://www.live206.com/seattle-market-update-c22527.html

John Madrid is a managing broker with John L. Scott Real Estate – University Village and is a 2005-2012 Seattle Magazine “Five Star” Agent. His clients include both home buyers and sellers. He can be reached at 206-498-1880, john@live206.com or www.live206.com.

Statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed. All information should be verified to the users own satisfaction.

But now it appears the biggest change is yet to come as the restaurant will be under new ownership, according to its Facebook page. Its website includes no details about the sale, but fans on Facebook are hopeful the menu will stay the same.

Rachel writes:

Don’t change the kitchen staff or ingredient quality either. I can no longer handle Mexican food that doesn’t taste like it was made by somebody’s grandma.

Does anybody have details about the sale and what Maple Leaf restaurantgoers will be able to expect in the future from COA?

A short-haired, black, male cat, with one fang, no collar, a friendly demeanor and a loud meow has been hanging around our home on 14th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 113th Street. He goes away for a few weeks, but then comes back, much to the dismay of our elder kitties. Last night’s rain brought him back yowling on our deck all night. (He was covered and had something to lay on.)

She’s hoping somebody will recognize this cat and claim him. Otherwise, she says, they will try and get him to a vet to see if he’s chipped.

Make that three break-ins. Last night my wife and I returned home (15th ave ne & northgate) to find our kitchen window broken into and all our electronics stolen (plus some jewelry and a watch). We immediately reported it and the officers took prints (2:00am). But who knows what will happen… if anybody notices a Toshiba Thrive tablet or a Dell Studio 17 laptop on the market please let me know!

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We heard from two neighbors on Friday who reported burglaries.

Rachel wrote:

Hi Maple Leafers, we live near Sacajawea Elementary and our home was burglarized today. They broke open/kicked in a VERY strong door with a good solid deadbolt, and quickly took valuables out of the main floor rooms. It was clearly a quick grab job. Be careful out there with your homes, friends.

And another neighbor wrote under the header: “I hoped not to ever say this …

“I live on 80th. Looks like my house can be added to the list of ones that have been robbed recently. I have a big dog and everything.”

That one occurred just after lunch on Friday, near Roosevelt Way Northeast.

The police crime map shows right at 20 neighborhood burglaries since we last wrote about them in late March.