Fall Is Here. So Is a Train Station Five Years Early.

Happy Tuesday, even if it’s a little cloudy! Fall is definitely upon us.

🍎 My husband and I spent Saturday evening with a bottle of Presque Isle Farm's Proper — a dry, English-style cider from northern Michigan — by way of Press Then Press, the online cider shop run by our neighbors right here in Wedgwood (and yes, this week's sponsor). It was such a treat and I highly recommend folks try it! We are trying another bottle this weekend…we are hooked.

🍑 Speaking of apples, one of our favorite discoveries this summer at the U District Farmers Market is Collins Family Orchards. We are lamenting the end of stone fruit season as their peaches are so hard to beat. But I was recently reminded that they have a fruit CSA and the next season starts on Oct 12. We signed up! If you're interested, here's the sign-up.

🚆 Pinehurst Station opens tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept 30, at NE 130th St and 5th Ave NE — Sound Transit's first-ever infill station, originally slated for 2031. Five years early is not a phrase you hear much about transit projects. 1 and 2 Line trains start stopping at 5am, every four to five minutes; the community celebration runs 2–6pm with live music, food, and an interactive activity with station artist Romson Bustillo. (Same day, Amtrak Cascades puts its new trains into service between Vancouver BC, Seattle and Portland — big week for trains!)

🥯 Hey Bagel is expanding beyond NE Seattle! The very popular U Village bagel shop (the one people cross town for) just signed a lease on a second location in West Seattle, at 4448 California SW, aiming for May. The comment section is mostly people arguing about the no-slicing policy. I’m personally a rip & dip type of bagel eater. West Seattle Blog →

🏙️ And some interesting lstats that surprised me: Seattle had about 105,600 kids in 1950 and roughly 109,500 in 2024. The city grew enormously around them; the kid count barely moved, so kids are now just 14% of residents. The Seattle Times' FYI Guy (paywall) found six census tracts with no children at all — including one in the U District between Roosevelt Way and I-5, a few blocks from U Village. Households with kids across the city are down 16% since 2017, per Axios.

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Erik and Storie have built one of the biggest cider selections in the country - 500+ bottles, mostly from small, farm-based cideries. While 95% of their business ships nationwide, local cider lovers are in for a treat. Fun fact: Press Then Press runs out of Erik and Storie's home and office right here in Wedgwood, and if you're local, pickup is free (or they'll deliver). They're both Certified Pommeliers who got into selling cider after serving it at their own wedding and watching everyone ask where to find more of it — so if you're not sure where to start, that's genuinely their favorite part of the job. Sign up for their email list for a welcome discount on your first order. → pressthenpress.com.

Use the discount code WIRE at checkout to get a bonus cider added to your first order!

🏥 The empty Lake City Walgreens could become an emergency department — The Walgreens at 14352 Lake City Way NE, vacant since 2023, may get new life as an ER and urgent care. Wisconsin-based Boldt, which designs and builds healthcare facilities, is under contract to buy the roughly 14,000-square-foot building and convert it — exam rooms and an X-ray lab where the candy aisle used to be. The nearest ER right now is UW Medical Center – Northwest, about four miles away. Seattle Times (paywall)

The empty Fred Meyer down the road has changed hands too: North Seattle Food Connection (the newly merged North Helpline and Hunger Intervention Program) told volunteers the building "has been purchased," and their arrangement to park in the lot ended Sept 24. If you volunteer or shop there, plan on street parking for now. The buyer hasn't been officially named; Abadan Holdings, tied to a Lake Forest Park food-safety testing company, is the rumored name.

🛏️ Nathan Hale Music Boosters Mattress Fundraiser — Saturday, Oct 3, 10am–5pm, Nathan Hale High School Commons (10750 30th Ave NE). 30+ brand-name models on display (Purple, Helix, Beautyrest Black and more) at 10–40% off MSRP, with delivery and haul-away available. Proceeds go to the music program. Questions: (360) 454-3210.

🎃 Costume Buyback + Pumpkin Decorating — Saturday, Oct 3, 12–4pm, Kym's Kiddy Corner (6701 Greenwood Ave N). A bit outside our usual footprint, but a smart one: Kym buys back kids' Halloween costumes in the sizes she stocks, and Second Act Costume & Cosplay — a brand-new North Seattle resale costume shop working toward a brick-and-mortar — runs a pop-up tent out front buying kids 8/10 through adult sizes and selling adult costumes. Free pumpkin decorating for the kids. One trip, cleaner closets.

🧓 NEST Resource Fair for Older Adults — Tue, Sept 29 (today!), Hangar 30, Magnuson Park (6310 NE 74th St)

A useful one if you've got an older parent or neighbor: around 100 local nonprofits, agencies, and businesses under one roof for health services, housing info, and community programs — plus breakout sessions this year on things like AI and fraud prevention. Free, with free parking running from 11am-2pm.

🧹 Roosevelt Street Cleanup — Saturday, Oct 3, 9:45am–noon, Human People Beer Cafe (6105A Roosevelt Way NE). Roosevelt Neighborhood Association's Adopt-a-Street crew, with coffee and conversation at Human People afterward. Details →

🦑 Seattle Kraken 5K — Saturday, Oct 3, Green Lake (just outside our area). Kids Dash at 9am, 5K waves from 9:35am. Race FAQ →

🧘 bodyART Free Trial Sessions — Oct 5 & 19 at 10am, Oct 26 at 10:30am, eXit SPACE SEA Studio at Green Lake. Instructor Lilian Vágó is offering free trial sessions of bodyART — physical-therapy principles plus mindful, flowing movement, for all levels. Message her via @lilivago_bodyart to join.

🍛 85th Socials by NOLA — 8515 35th Ave NE. The team behind NOLA soft-launched 85th Socials on Sept 24 — a kitchen, bar and community space built around "Two Cities. One Soul.": Kolkata flavors, Seattle neighborhood. Worth a visit while it's still finding its feet, which is exactly when new places are happiest to see you. And if you like cocktails, the bar is coming in a few weeks!

☕ Cafe Blameless — 5751 33rd Ave NE. A community-focused "third space" inside a former church next to Bryant Elementary, fully open as of last week. Gloom coffee, Cocoa Legato chocolate, and free coworking Coffee Wednesdays, 7am–3:30pm (donations encouraged). cafeblameless.com →

🎃 Spirit Halloween — If you need your costumes, here’s your spot! Upper Level of Roosevelt Square, 1027 NE 65th St, Suite 37 (the old Daiso).

🚧 I-5 express lanes fully closed, Oct 2–5 — 11pm Friday to 5am Monday, for drainage work under the Ship Canal Bridge. The express lanes have been northbound-only during construction, so that weekend there are none at all. It's the same weekend as the Kraken 5K, the Roosevelt cleanup and the mattress sale — plan accordingly. WSDOT →

🌉 SR 520 eastbound off-ramp to Montlake Blvd — overnight closures this week, Mon–Fri, 10pm–6am, for material hauling ahead of a 2027 traffic shift.

📍 Wedgwood (home-based) · text (206) 627-0663 to arrange drop-off

I finally got my knives sharpened by Brenda at A Better Edge this past week — and yes, it's a little funny walking a few blocks down the street holding a knife. But having a real neighborhood option for this beats letting them go dull forever, or mailing them off somewhere. I mentioned Brenda before in a much earlier newsletter, but she’s worth a second shout-out! Brenda works out of her home right here in Wedgwood, sharpens everything by hand on an angle-controlled whetstone system (not a rotating disc), and does garden tools too — full teardown, clean, sharpen, lubricate. Text her at (206) 627-0663 or email [email protected] to set up a drop-off.

Turns out that's not the only thing she's been sharpening. Writing as Winter Hansen, Brenda just published her debut novel, What The Sea Keeps — a YA historical fantasy set on Rathlin Island during the Irish Famine: two sisters split by a storm, one of them bound to the sea, and mermaids, monsters and a murder along the way. Paperback out Oct 1. Read the first two chapters free →

abetteredgesharpening.com · What The Sea Keeps on Bookshop.org

In case you missed them — a few guides worth bookmarking:

🥡 NE Seattle's Takeout Roundup — neighborhood by neighborhood, the order-ahead spots that keep coming up over and over in our house

🎂 Where to Host a Kids Birthday Party Near NE Seattle: 17 Venues — from our backyard to worth-the-drive

🌃 Date Night in Northeast Seattle — restaurants, bars, and spots worth staying out for

Can you guess the price of this real estate listing based on just one photo? Hint: 4 Bed, 2.5 bathroom, 1500 square feet

$1.15M
$1.29M
$1.35M
$1.5M

Thanks to Beth Anderson for sharing these free community center events:

🧑 Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center | Ultimate Frisbee Drop-In (ages 9–13, Wednesdays 3:30–4:30pm), Tween Time (ages 10–13, every other Wednesday, 5:30–6:30pm), Skate Night (2nd Thursday monthly, 5:30–7pm), Teen Kitchen Creations (Tuesdays 4:30–6:30pm), Teen Baking Club (Wednesdays 4–6pm), and Pokémon/Minecraft Club (Tuesdays 5:30–6:30pm).

🏊 Green Lake Community Center | Teen Swim & Gym Night, Fridays 6–9pm.

🏓 Magnuson Community Center | Teen Pickleball Drop-In, Saturdays 2:45–4:45pm; Family Open Gym, Saturdays 12:30–2:15pm.

🎸 Northgate Community Center | Teen Guitar Lessons, Mondays 5:15–6:15pm.

🏟️ Seattle Sports Schedules

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