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Good morning. Issue four of the Northeast Seattle Dispatch: a budget hearing today, one school day off next week, this week's poll, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Heads up
Seattle Public Schools: no school Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day. The district's calendar marks the day "No School: Veterans Day," so plan the week around it. Seattle Public Schools 2026-27 calendar
Alerts for your own address: ALERT King County, free (https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/executive-services/health-safety/safety-injury-prevention/emergency-preparedness/alert-king-county).
Northeast Seattle this week
The budget hearing is today, with remote comment at 1 PM and in-person comment at 5 PM. The Budget Chair's balancing package was scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, at 9:30 AM. Committee votes follow on November 13, 16 and 19, and the final vote is November 20. The council's page says the schedule is subject to change, so check it before you plan to speak. Seattle City Council budget calendar
Your neighborhood
Laurelhurst. Laurelhurst Playfield sits next to the community center, with ball fields, tennis courts, a play area and open meadows. Outdoor courts are booked through Amy Yee Tennis Center, online or at (206) 684-4764. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 5 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $2.31M (range $1.55M to $3.44M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 27 days.
Windermere. Magnuson Park's off-leash area covers 8.6 acres on the Lake Washington shore, and it is the only one inside city limits with water access. Most of its trail is compact gravel and wheelchair accessible. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 6 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $2.24M (range $415K to $2.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 14 days.
Hawthorne Hills. Magnuson Park holds nearly 40 acres of restored wetlands on the old naval air station, along with more than 10 ballfields, a swimming beach and a boat launch. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.80M (range $785K to $3.39M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
Bryant. The Burke-Gilman Trail along Bryant's southern edge follows a former rail corridor. Its original 12.1-mile stretch was dedicated on August 19, 1978, and SDOT and Seattle Parks maintain it together. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.32M (range $785K to $3.39M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
Ravenna. Ravenna Park's 20th Avenue NE bridge opened in 1913 and is still open to people on foot only. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. HistoryLink
Sold near you: 16 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.11M (range $668K to $3.15M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 15 days.
Roosevelt. Cowen Park is the grassy west end of Ravenna Park, with a softball field, picnic tables, barbecue pits, a play area and restrooms. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 12 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $926K (range $650K to $1.32M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 15 days.
View Ridge. Magnuson Community Center, at 7110 62nd Avenue NE, was built in the late 1930s as part of the Navy base and renovated in 2023. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 7 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.70M (range $305K to $3.35M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 12 days.
Wedgwood. The Northeast Branch library is at 6801 35th Avenue NE, with free parking and a book return slot on the west wall that takes returns 24 hours a day. Seattle Public Library
Sold near you: 14 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $978K (range $730K to $1.59M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 16 days.
Maple Leaf. Maple Leaf Reservoir Park sits on the lid of the reservoir, a 16-acre park with a 2,540-foot outer loop and a viewpoint toward Mount Rainier and Lake Washington. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 9 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $800K (range $355K to $1.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Sand Point. Magnuson Park covers 350 acres with a mile of Lake Washington shoreline, and its buildings from the naval air station years are part of the park's history. Seattle Parks
Sold near you: 2 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $360K; the fastest went from listing to closing in 70 days.
University District. Today is the first Thursday of the month, so the Burke Museum on the UW campus is free from 10 AM to 8 PM. Burke Museum
Sold near you: 8 homes closed within 0.6 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $780K (range $250K to $1.70M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 15 days.
This week's poll
What time of day do you usually walk your neighborhood?
Last week the most votes went to Magnuson Park.
The market in 60 seconds
Across Northeast Seattle ZIPs 98105 and 98115, the median home sold for $1.10M over the last 30 days (69 closings; single-family alone $1.18M). The median home took 36 days from listing to closing, and there are 4.3 months of inventory on the market.
Against last week's count, the median eased from $1.11M, closings fell from 78 to 69, and active listings dropped from 312 to 298. Months of inventory rose from 4.0 to 4.3 because the sales pace slowed, and 28% of homes closed above asking, against 29% last week. Under three months favors sellers and above six favors buyers, so the area stays balanced.
One useful thing: plan the Thanksgiving week's trash
In 2024 the city skipped collection on Thanksgiving Day and moved the rest of that week's pickups one day later. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26 this year, so check your address's garbage, recycling and food and yard waste days before the holiday. Seattle Public Utilities, 2024 holiday schedule
Reader asked
A reader asked what can be done about losing pharmacies and grocery stores in Northeast Seattle, and how east-west transit to light rail could help. The most recent local report we found is a KUOW and UW News Lab story from March 2025. It says Bartell Drugs closed its University Village pharmacy on January 23, after its University Way store closed in 2023. It counts three pharmacies left for roughly 30,000 people in the University District, one of them the University Village QFC. Our search found no newer report of a 2026 closure in these eleven neighborhoods, so treat this as the record as of that story. On transit, reply with the stop you have in mind and we'll check its service. Know a neighbor asking the same thing? Forward this; they can subscribe at northeastseattledispatch.com.
Your turn. Name one corner, lot or building you pass every day and wonder about. We'll look up the permit and print what we find. Hit reply; every one gets an answer, and the best answers run in a future issue.
That's the week. Reply with anything you want tracked in Northeast Seattle. Next Thursday: what the budget committee has on its agenda before its first vote, due Friday, November 13.
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The Northeast Seattle Dispatch is published by Neighborhood Press LLC, owned by Adriano Tori. It is researched and written with AI tools, and every item links its public source. Reply to this email; every reply gets an answer.