Curbed Seattle has been running the Curbed Cup, the inaugural edition of Seattle’s search for the neighborhood of the year. It’s down to the final neighborhoods now, both of whom are vying for the ultimate prize: the amazing JPEG trophy below, lovingly engraved in Photoshop with the winner’s name and given to them to guard until next year.

Underdog Fremont, which started as a 7-seed, upset the likes of Belltown and Ballard en route to the championship. Now comes the biggest challenge of all…Capitol Hill.

Voting is open and ends Sunday, so go vote for Fremont and get ready for the parade, which, knowing us, will invariably involve nudity and Flying Spaghetti Monsters.

23-year-old Cary Griffin, who was charged with four counts of vehicular assault and accused of drunk driving following an accident that injured six pedestrians in Fremont, pleaded not guilty to all four counts on Tuesday.

Griffin faces 33 months to 43 months in prison if he is convicted.

Court documents allege that Griffin drove half a block before stopping and walking back to the accident and that his blood alcohol level was nearly 0.19, more than double the limit. According to court papers, the pedestrians “were attempting to get an intoxicated friend into a Land Rover for a ride back to the woman’s home.”

Griffin’s lawyer said in court that his client has no prior criminal record and he did stay at the scene to help the injured.

With the temperature hitting some very chilly lows in the evening, you might be glad to know that the Waiting For The Interurban people are staying warm thanks to a little fireside help.

Via Malcyzk…

Of course, they’d probably be toastier if the fireplace was facing them, but it’s the thought that counts.

An area that includes a 1920’s warehouse and boatyard near Gas Works Park is being reborn as the long-discussed Northlake Community Wharf. The spot will house the Center for Wooden Boats’ newest location.

It’s expected to better connect the Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods to Lake Union through a facility operated as a second location of the nonprofit Center for Wooden Boats.

Eventually, the site is anticipated to include moorage and work space for tall ships and other historic craft, and perhaps rental of kayaks or small boats, giving the public additional access to the lake.

By Spring 2012, the warehouse is expected to house restoration and repaired vintage wooden boats. Two piers and the 220-foot strip of shoreline connected to the land are expected to become revitalized parts of the project in the future.

For more details and to keep up with the project, visit the Center For Wooden Boats website.

Each year the Fremont Chamber of Commerce awards grants to local groups who improve the Fremont Neighborhood and help the local community. They do this twice-yearly and the first award deadline is rapidly-approaching.

Applications for the January Award are due January 13.

Grants are awarded without any specific return for the the Fremont Chamber – grants are usually for small, community events or non-profit projects, Sponsorships usually have a specific return for the Fremont Chamber – like their logo on your promotional material, tickets to your event, or other promotion of the Fremont Chamber in coordination with the award.

Questions about our process for reviewing applications or about your application and qualifications for a Fremont Chamber Grant should go to Jessica at 206.632.1500 or director@fremont.com.

Download the 2011 Fremont Chamber Grant application here.

All of Hale’s Ales (4301 Leary Way NW) beers will be green in the near future. No, they’re not treating every day like it’s St. Patrick’s Day. They don’t mean the color green, they mean the better-for-the-environment kind of green.

Hybrid solar technology company Net Zero Impact has begun installation of a hybrid solar-thermal system at Hale’s Ales, the company’s largest and most sophisticated solar project to date. The project kicked off this week with the dramatic lowering of a 1,200-gallon storage tank through a temporary opening in the brewery’s roof.

The new solar-thermal investment is one of several sustainable initiatives Hale’s Ales has implemented. Other “green” efforts include use of high-efficiency light bulbs throughout the 17,000 square foot facility and “smart” technology to manage the building’s lights and heating/cooling systems.

The Net Zero Impact system, replacing the inefficient gas-fueled steam boiler, includes 480 solar thermal tubes, a one million British Thermal unit (MBtu) steam boiler, a one MBtu high-efficiency hot water boiler, a 1,200-gallon water storage tank, heat exchangers and programmable controllers for all pump delivery systems.

“We’ve spent 27 years serving the community with the very best hand-crafted beers possible and making our operations greener is just another way of giving back to our community,” said Mike Hale, founder and president of Hale’s Ales. “Net Zero Impact’s experience working with breweries, exceptional warranty and ability to implement an extremely complex design made it an easy choice to work with the company.”

Find our more about Net Zero Impact here.

With Christmas Eve and Christmas approaching, you’re beginning to ask yourself that dreaded question…where will I get my coffee and baked goods this weekend?

Below are the hours for Fremont’s coffee shops and markets so you’ll know when to go and when all of your caffeine-withdrawal-induced banging on the locked front doors will be for naught.

If you see any missing from the list, let me know and I’ll add. Restaurant and bar hours will be posted separately.

PCC Market: Open til 7pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Marketime: Open til 6pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Caffe Ladro: Open til 5pm on Christmas Eve, open 7am to noon on Christmas

Starbucks: Open til 7pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Peets: Open til 4pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Fremont Coffee Company: Open til 5pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Caffe Vita: Open til 2pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Lighthouse Roasters: Open til 1pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Milstead & Co.: Open til 1pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Canal Street Coffee: Open til 5pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

ETG Coffee: Open til 4pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Flying Apron Bakery: Open til 2pm on Christmas Eve, closed on Christmas

Foretold in prophecy, there will come a time when Fremont will not run free with marinade-basted Cubed pork loin and generous portions of jasmine rice & black beans. We are told that a day will come when we can’t just walk up to Paseo and order as much food as we have cash in our pocket.

The end is nigh. Well, at least until February.

If you want your fix, get to it. In the meantime, the intrepid folks over at Pecado Bueno have put up fliers on the light poles around Paseo to offer up an alternative to weeping openly over lost spicy meals.

Received an email from Meredith Sunday about a lost dog that was seen running near B.F. Day. If you think you might know the dog’s owner, please let them know:

Spotted: Small black mixed breed dog with blue collar
Where: In front of BF Day Elementary
When: 12:45P Sun Dec 18

I’m usually great at catching lost dogs but failed on this account and retreated so as not to drive him toward traffic on Fremont or Aurora. He was heading up Linden toward 41st when I last saw him.

Fifty firefighters responded to a house fire at 4331 5th Ave. NW on the edge of Ballard and Fremont on Friday night. Moments later, the flames spread to the home next door. Anelise sent us this photo from the scene:

“(We saw) flames and sparks shooting up in the sky,” said Kathy, who lives five blocks away. “The flames were sixty, seventy feet high.”

“There was so much fire coming from that original house, that they couldn’t go inside and attack the fire from the inside,” said Seattle Fire spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick. “Everything was pretty well involved by the time they arrived.” Firefighters were dispatched at 9:30 p.m. and were still dousing the homes two hours later. Nobody was injured.

(Fire photo tweeted to us by @gobigelow)

“I initially saw a flash,” says Olivia, who lives a block away. “A few seconds later I saw another one, and then a boom sort of noise.” She said she ran out and saw a house fully engulfed in flames. “It was already on the other roof right next to it.”

Smoke could be seen for miles. Firefighters initially entered the home, but quickly retreated. Here’s video from Evonne:

Firefighters will stay at the scene for the remainder of the night, extinguishing hot spots and ensuring the fire doesn’t flare up again. Both homes sustained significant damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

(Thanks to many of you for emailing us, and a special thanks to Capitol Hill Seattle’s @jseattle for the first tip on the story.)

Update: Linda Evans sent over this photo that shows what the fire looked like from Magnolia:

And here’s some hi-res video of the fire and the firemen dealing with it, via Seattled.com: