Pet alert for Blue Angels

Animal-shelter officials advise pet owners to take precautions with pets that may be frightened by the noise from Blue Angels jets overhead.

Pets that may be skittish should be confined indoors while jets are overhead, particularly in the area near southwest Lake Washington where the Blue Angels will be performing. Pets that cannot be confined inside can be placed in a garage or in an enclosed patio. Fences and leashes may not be enough to prevent pets from breaking away if they panic, shelter officials warn.

Getting around

This weekend, Metro Transit will have special bus service to the Seafair hydroplane races on Lake Washington from Safeco Field in downtown Seattle and from the Renton Boeing plant.

Shuttles will run from the south side of Safeco Field and from the Renton Boeing plant's Lot 8 nonstop to the Stan Sayres Pit area near Seattle's Genesee Park from about 7:30 a.m. to about one hour after the last race on Saturday and Sunday. The $3 round-trip fare will be collected at boarding zones by Seafair staffers.

At Safeco Field, the shuttle boarding area is on Occidental Avenue South just south of Edgar Martinez Drive South. The Renton boarding area is on North Sixth Street just west of Logan Avenue North.

Also, there will be free shuttles tomorrow from Safeco Field to the hydro pits for preliminary events. Those shuttles will start at 8 a.m., with buses every 20 minutes until 6 p.m. Shuttles will have "hydro races" signs.

Garden of distinction

Dunn Gardens in Northwest Seattle, designed by the Olmsted brothers in 1915, is the first site in Washington state to receive a National Trust for Historic Preservation designation. So, the E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust is hosting a celebration from 10 a.m. to noon today at the Dunn Gardens estate, 13533 Northshire Road N.W.

Dunn Gardens, which is open to the public, is one of only three gardens nationwide included on the National Trust's elite preservation list. Tours of the 7.5-acre woodland garden will be available.

Can you help?

The Healthy Aging Partnership, a coalition of public agencies and nonprofit groups that provide assistance to older adults, is looking for volunteers to become master home environmentalists. The volunteers will help seniors identify and resolve indoor-air problems such as mold, dust and poor ventilation.

Free training sessions for volunteers will be held at Magnuson Park Community Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 11:30 a.m. starting Sept. 12, and on one Saturday in October. Volunteers must sign up by Sept. 2. Information: 206-441-5100 or e-mail agagney@ALAW.org

Here & Now is compiled by Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and news assistant Suesan Whitney Henderson.

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