As many as 5,000 zombies are expected to descend upon Fremont tonight in an attempt to break a world record. And when they’re done walking, they’ll dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and watch the flick, “Shaun of the Dead.” Fremont Universe has the schedule, and later tonight, the gruesome photos.

Josh emailed us this photo of a billboard on the north side of the Ballard Bridge.

And MrsButters tweets, “I don’t approve of vandalism, but the “adjustments” made to the McDonald’s billboard by the Ballard Bridge are pretty amusing.”

The suspect that police shot yesterday at Holman Road and Greenwood Ave N was wanted for several robberies, including the bank robbery in Ballard.

Police say the 36-year-old male suspect remains under guard at Harborview Medical Center after a 10-year veteran on the Seattle Police force shot him. In addition to the bank robbery in Shoreline yesterday that he was originally accused of, detectives believe this suspect was also involved in the Cowgirls Espresso robbery on Sunday morning, the attempted bank robbery at the Bank of America on 85th on Monday and the bank robbery at the Chase branch on 22nd Ave NW on Tuesday. Once the suspect is recovered he will be moved to King County Jail and booked for Investigation of Robbery and Assault.

For about 15 years Conor Byrne Pub has looked the same, but starting this weekend you’ll start seeing changes to the Irish bar on Ballard Ave.

“This place is kind of a cave,” owner Diarmuid Cullen says. This weekend they plan to move the refrigerator unit away from the window to the other end of the bar, which will let more light in. And that’s just the beginning.

Cullen plans to lighten and brighten the facade. The entire front will be windows and instead of the single door, he’s adding double doors. The interior is also getting an upgrade with new carpet and some fresh paint. Cullen moved to Ballard 20 years ago from Ireland and bought the pub a year ago with a couple friends after managing it for four years. “I’m kind of excited about it. It’s kind of a way to make it mine,” he says with a smile. Conor Byrne will be closed Saturday, July 4th through Tuesday, July 7th as they start on the interior changes.

Peace activist and anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has been invited to speak at Trinity United Methodist Church later this month. Sheehan made headlines in 2005 by camping outside of President Bush’s Crawford, Texas home with a contingent of Veterans for Peace after her son Casey was killed in Iraq the year before. In the last four years she has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and has written several books. The stop in Ballard is to promote her fourth book, “Myth America: 10 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution”. She will be speaking on July 25th at 7 p.m.

Traffic is moving again this morning after an officer-involved shooting at Greenwood Ave NW and Holman Road. Police say they’ve shot a man suspected in a series of bank robberies after he rammed an officer’s car.

Police say the suspect’s stolen pickup truck also crashed into a car with a man and two children inside. The suspect sustained serious injuries, and the man and children suffered minor injuries. The officer is OK.

Eastbound Holman Road was closed after the shooting, but reopened Wednesday night. PhinneyWood has been covering this story since it broke just after 5:30 on Wednesday, and they have more photos and details from the scene.

There’s a new sandwich joint on 15th Ave. between 73rd and 75th, just up from Lunchbox Laboratory.

Rizzo’s French Dips serves up, well, French Dips. They roast their own beef everyday, slice it up and make the au jus from the juices. The sandwiches are $6 and come with a side of macaroni salad. If you want cheese it’s 75 cents more. Gary stopped by and emailed us, “I’m really glad I hit the brakes and went inside. I’ll definitely be back – sooner than later.” The guys in Rizzo’s said that they’re going to add more sandwiches down the line, but for now it’s just the French Dip. They’re open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Back in May we wrote that Ballard Camera would be closing after 61 years. Tuesday was their last day.

Old Norveegen was there and took this picture. He writes in the forum, “At a little after 6pm on Tuesday evening, June 30, 2009, sadly, Ballard Camera closed it’s doors after over 60 years in Ballard. A victim of Digital Photography and the ecomony according to one of the owners.“

As we wrote last week, the sale of Crown Hill Elementary School to the Small Faces Development was scheduled to close on Tuesday.

Catherine Weatbrook emailed us the following on Tuesday evening:

The former Crown Hill Elementary building officially became the property of Small Faces Child Development Center today just after 2pm. The Crown Hill Project team, made up of representatives of 10 different groups and non-profit organizations, worked through a three year process to secure the building, and surrounding 2+ acres for perpetual community and park use. Seattle Parks purchased the majority of the open space, influenced both by the Neighborhood Planning Process ten years ago, as well as by overwhelming community support. The building, built in 1919 and added on to in 1949, will remain home to current tenants, as well as become the new home of Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

Two weeks ago, we wrote that Epilogue Books is looking for a new location after terms with the landlord could not be reached. The search ended unsuccessfully, and they just announced they’ll close at the end of August.

“My family and I moved here with dreams of owning a bookstore in Ballard,” wrote Nathan Heath in an email, “a community within a city I fell in love with when I was just eighteen visiting my aunt.” Heath says he doesn’t want to move Epilogue out of Ballard, so he’s decided to close. “We’ve all enjoyed serving the Ballard neighborhood and surrounding area. Thanks to everyone for their support.” Epilogue will be closed Wednesday through Saturday to prepare for their liquidation sale which begins on Sunday, July 5 at 11:00 a.m. All items in the store, both new and used, will be marked down 20 to 70 percent. They need to sell the more than 70,000 books that are on their shelves.

This is the second bookstore to close in Ballard since June. Abraxus Books left their location on 24th Ave. in June for a new space on lower Queen Anne. (Thank you everyone for emailing us the tip.)

Thank you everyone who stopped by Bergen Place this evening to say hello!

It was our first-ever My Ballard meetup, and as a community-powered site, we were excited to meet many of our readers and contributors.

Many people stopped by to meet other My Ballard readers. “Who are you in the forum?” was a common question we heard.

DJ Disco Vinnie from Romanza lit up Bergen Place with 70’s and 80’s tunes.

And Dante served up his famous Inferno Dogs.

Folks picked up Tuesdays in Ballard maps and T-shirts from Friends of Bergen Place and Loyal Heights Block Watch. Our thanks to the In Ballard Merchant Association, Friends of Bergen Place and Marvin’s Garden, Neighborhood District Coordinator Rob Mattson and Seattle Parks for helping us throw the event! (Romanza and Dante are My Ballard advertisers.)

Tuesdays in Ballard began last week, but tonight was the official kickoff.

You may have noticed balloons around town, like here on Market St.

We stopped by Sonic Boom to catch a glimpse of Born Anchors, playing live.

And Seattle’s popular Bubbleman entertained guests at Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers. Dozens of businesses are throwing events and offering specials on Tuesdays to bring shoppers to Ballard on Tuesdays, and the campaign will continue all summer. (Thanks to PhinneyWood and InBallard for two of the photos. Ballard Brothers is an advertiser on My Ballard.)

A huge plume of smoke can be seen over Queen Anne tonight from Ballard.

Amy emailed us this photo wondering where the smoke was coming from. According to King5.com there is a 3-alarm fire burning at an empty condo/apartment building in Renton.

The Chase bank at 5511 22nd Ave NW was robbed this morning at 9:30 a.m. Seattle Police spokesman Mark Jamieson tells us that a man walked into the bank then left through the front doors with an unknown amount of cash. The suspect is described as a white male in his 30’s, about 5′8″ with a slender build and short hair. He was wearing sunglasses and a grey and white striped shirt. He may have gotten into a green van although police don’t know which way he went. Detectives with the Violent Crimes Task Force is investigating the robbery. Yesterday, the Bank of America in Greenwood was robbed by a man in his 20s wearing jeans and a green-checkered dress shirt, with brown hair gelled and combed back.