In the latest update to an age-old battle, MyBallard reports that business owners have filed a new appeal to stop the city from paving over the Burke-Gilman Trail's long controversial "missing link"—a nonlethal dedicated path for bicyclists and walkers—between Ballard and Fremont.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association blog brings us some unexpectedly heartwarming news from Aurora Avenue, where the Aurora Commons, a community-run "neighborhood living room" has just opened. It offers free art and yoga classes, monthly community meals, and counseling and parenting resources for neighborhood families. "You see home-owning families sharing the table with families from nearby motels, a homeless woman chatting it up with someone visiting from out of town, a hopeless veteran mingling with an optimistic college student," Carlson writes. "You leave your status at the door."

And in Maple Leaf residents will hold a meeting on March 20 to discuss plans for a neighborhood street mural on the street at the intersection of 12th Avenue Northeast and NE 96th Street, reports Maple Leaf Life. They've been inspired by the Wallingford Turtle, but want to address questions and concerns from neighbors before they get their own cute little friend to drive around on.