Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 4, April 2004

Copyright 2004 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Home and Garden Briefs

Greenwood Garage Sale Day

The streets of Greenwood and Phinney will be alive with bargain hunters on Saturday, April 17 as the Phinney Neighborhood Association hosts the 11th Annual Greenwood Garage Sale Day.

More than 100 individual, block, and rummage sales will be held in garages, yards and church basements throughout the area, along with a 25-stall flea market in the Phinney Neighborhood Center parking lot.

The hours for all sales are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Free garage sales guides will be available on April 16 and 17 at the Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N, and the Greenwood Service Center, 8515 Greenwood Ave. N. They will include a listing for every sale with a short description of the available goods.

A few samples from last year's guide: "Eclectic stuff looking for new home." "Vintage stuff from gadgets to whatsits." "Prices so low you'll feel guilty."

For those of you doing your own spring cleaning, Seattle Goodwill will provide a donation station in the Phinney Center parking lot to accept usable donations on Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sunday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only items that are reusable and in good condition will be accepted ­ no computers, mattresses, toxic materials or broken appliances (for more information on what is an acceptable donation, visit www.seattlegoodwill.org).

The application deadline to participate in the sale is April 7: cost is $15 for PNA members; $18 non-members.

For more information on Greenwood Garage Sale Day, call 783-2244 or go to www.phinneycenter.org.

Home/garden workshops

The RE Store in Ballard is offering a series of free home and garden workshops from April 3 through May 15. All workshops will be held at the store, 1440 NW 52nd St.

The workshops include: "Salmon-Friendly Gardening," "Used Building Materials in the Garden," "RE Think Finishing: Lower Toxic Cleaners and Finishes for Wood," "The Antique RE Show."

For details or to preregister, call 297-9119.

City Light rates to drop slightly

After weathering a series of surcharges that caused almost a 60 percent increase in electricity rate over the past four years, Seattle City Light ratepayers got a rare bit of good news. The utility's electricity rates will drop by 2 percent on April 1, due to a rate reduction by the Bonneville Power Administration. The BPA is the region's federal wholesale power supplier and the source of about one-third of City Light's electricity. This reduction will lower the average monthly electricity bill from $47.44 to $46.52 for residential customers within the City of Seattle. A 2001 law requires City Light to pass BPA rate adjustments through to customers. Mayor Greg Nickels said he was pleased to be able to do so. "City Light is on a path to recovery," he said. "We've cut costs and paid down debt. We're working toward rate stability and setting the course for City Light's next century of service."