KOMO TV anchor and Magnolia resident Kathi Goertzen announced today that she will face a fourth surgery for a brain tumor.  In a letter to viewers on the KOMO website, she explained that the experimental drug she used following her recent surgery was not successful and the tumor has grown back.

Kathi’s long time co-anchor Dan Lewis, fighting back tears, explained the situation to viewers just prior to the 5pm newscast tonight. 

Goertzen has been battling the brain tumor for more than a decade.  Her third surgery was in April and she had just recently returned to her anchor dutires.   Goertzen said she is scheduled for surgery Wednesday to remove as much of the tumor as possible. The surgery will be followed by radiation treatment.

KOMO TV has set up a way for people to send encouraging messages to Kathi on the website. 

 Goertzen and her husband live in Magnolia along with their two daughters.

The 20th anniversary of the Fishermen’s Fall Festival is this Saturday and you can expect a full day of activities from 11am to 6pm. 

The festival celebrates the return of the local fishing fleet that homeports at Fishermen’s Terminal. 

The festival is free and features live entertainment on two stages, kid’s activities, wild salmon fillet challenge, the oyster “Shuck ‘n Shoot”, a barbecue competition and the popular survival suit team races. There is also an outdoor salmon barbecue that benefits the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial. 

Since our original posting, neighbors of the proposed townhomes next door to Bartells on 32nd Ave West turned in 1,494 signatures to show their opposition to the rezoning that would allow ten three story townhomes on the property.

They presented the petitions and testified at a the city hearing that if the rezone is approved, there will be no stopping more condominiums and townhouses from coming into the neighborhood.  They also talked about  traffic and parking issues and how to protect the Giant Sequoia trees on the property.  Currently there is one home and a garage on the site.

The next hearing will address environmental issues and the opponents will have an arborist testify.  The public is invited at 9am on September 23 at 700 5th Avenue, Suite 4000.  If you want more information, you can contact Joan Abrevaya via email at joanabrevaya@gmail.com.

With two big meetings at City Hall coming up in the next week regarding the plan for Fort Lawton, the Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council is attempting to slow down or stop the process. 

They have submitted a request to the City of Seattle, the Mayor and the City Council seeking an extension of the proceedings, along with a request for a stay in the legislative process the City Council is engaged in to approve a plan for the Army base.  

They claim there are a number of problems with the plan being considered and the City ignored the directives of the Discovery Park Master Plan which designates that all former Fort Lawton property becomes part of the park. They also accuse the sity of conducting an “anti-NIMBY campaign” against citizens concerned about the fate of the property.

The Army Reserve Center at the corner of 36th Ave. West and West Government Way will be closing by 2011.  Under the plan being considered, Fort Lawton could be redeveloped with existing buildings on site converted to a outpatient Veterans Administration Mental Health Clinic, 55 senior units for chronically homeless Native Americans, 30 townhomes for homeless Native American families, 6 units for Habitat for Humanity and 125 market rate single family homes and townhomes for a total of 216 new units of housing.  

Here is part of the note we received today:

Dear Friends of Magnolia,

 I’d like to personally ask you to contact the Mayor and City Council and tell them that you support an extension and a stay in the proceedings.  There is to be a first city council vote on this matter this Thursday (9/18), at noon when the housing committee is voting to pass the redevelopment plan to the full city council, so it is important to get send notes of support prior to that time, and then again next week, prior to September 22nd.

 Elizabeth Campbell/Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council

 You can contact Elizabeth at 206-769-8459 or via email at info2@magnolianpc.com.  If you want to share your opinions on this prior to the meetings, email Council President Richard Conlin at Richard.Conlin@seattle.gov.

How many times have you witnessed this scene?  A car double parked in the middle of The Village with the driver nowhere in sight.

 It seems to happen most often in front of the Post Office while the driver runs in to mail something. 

Now we know that parking is at a premium in The Village.  And it can be tempting.  But c’mon.

Have you ever double parked?  Do you think it’s no big deal if you are going to return to your car quickly?  Or does it make you so mad you’ve confronted other drivers when you see them double parking?  Ever been blocked in by a double parker? 

By the way, this driver was in the Post Office and she eventually returned to her car and drove off, pretty much oblivious to the situation.

If you live in the general vicinity of Palisade restaurant, you may have heard the sirens early this morning. A full contingent of firefighters responded to W. Marina Pl. just before 2 a.m., and they discovered smoke on the main floor. The small fire was quickly extinguished.

Back in February 2006, eight sculptures were removed from the Ballard Bridge after a fierce windstorm damaged the anchors that secured the public art in place.  After a long repair and reinforcement process, the artwork will be reinstalled today and tomorrow.  From 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. today, SDOT crews will close the northbound right lane to install the four sculptures on that side of the bridge.  Then in the same time span tomorrow, they’ll finish up the other side of the bridge.

The 10-foot-tall aluminum sculptures were designed by Tom Askman and Lea Anne Lake to reflect Ballard’s Scandinavian and Native American roots. It was funded by city art funds, neighborhood matching funds and contributions raised by the Ballard Gateway Committee.

Want to get a look inside some brand new homes in Magnolia on Saturday?

 A new marketing event called the ‘Magnolia New Construction Tour of Homes’ will give you a chance to tour 14 homes and the townhomes across from Bartells. All of the houses on the tour are currently on the market.  The tour is set from 3pm to 7pm.

The homes don’t come cheap, ranging in price from $1,095,000 to $3,695,000. Some of them have been on the market for awhile, like this home on Dravus listed for $1,695,000.

Looks like a creative way to get some traffic into these new homes by bringing them together as part of one tour. 

This will be the first chance for the public to see inside the 15 townhomes being built on West Lynn and 32nd Ave West across from Bartells.  The townhomes are nearing completion but so far only one has been sold.  They start at $1,200,000.

A good turnout tonight at the Seattle School District meeting aimed at tackling the problem of too many students for Magnolia and Queen Anne schools.  

The district needs to find space for all students in the Magnolia/Queen Anne area next year when demand is expected to outstrip capacity. Options being explored include the use of portables, creating additional classrooms within the existing buildings, relocting programs and modifying the current student assignment plan.

The district will not reopen closed buildings like the old school on 28th Ave West because it would cost over $12 million to make it ready for students.

The goal of tonight’s meeting was to gather input and ideas from those attending. The district expects to have a decision by the middle of November.

With ridership up nearly seven percent over last year, Metro announced changes and additions in bus service today. 

We only found one change to a route that serves Magnolia.  Service on the #24 bus from downtown to Magnolia at 1am on weekdays has been eliminated.  Have to figure that one was not seeing a large volume of riders.  You can see all the changes here.

And if you take your bike on Metro, they are launching a demonstration project that allows bicycles to be loaded and unloaded on buses at any stop in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel – not just the first and last tunnel stations.  If this proves successful, Metro will consider making the changes permanent.

Next spring, Metro is planning to expand the hours that bike loading is allowed on streets within the Ride Free Area in downtown Seattle.

A quick reminder that the Seattle School District has scheduled a community meeting to address school capacity in our area because population growth is outpacing the number of spaces available. The meeting is for families and community members to discuss options for addressing this challenge with a focus on the 2009-2010 school year.

The meeting is set for tonight (Monday) 15 at 6:30pm at Blaine at 2550 34th Ave W.

The construction project at the Magnolia Community Center is nearing completion.  They are spending over  $900,000 to repair the leaking roof.  The city says these improvements will extend the useful life of the community center and protect it from future water damage.

No programs have been offered in the center since construction started.  The Ton O’ Fun childcare program has been moved to the Blaine gym.  

The community center is expected to reopen in early October.  We will let you know when the city gives us a firm date for reopening.

In the Seattle Times popular Rant and Rave section a bicyclist shares a problem encountered while riding in Magnolia:

“To the man in the silver SUV who tried to intimidate me as I rode my bike down Condon Way in Magnolia at 6 p.m. Sept. 3. You tailgated me, crowded me and then laid on your horn right as I was about to pass a car parked on the right. Then you slowed down next to me to tell me I was holding you up. Your excuse was that you were trying to get to the pool, you were already late and that I was slowing you down. What you did was dangerous and illegal. Maybe you should read up on traffic laws before you threaten a bike rider again.”

 Anybody else having problems sharing the road out there?

The Moyer family will be living in Florida, not Magnolia, for the school year from now on but they say the work of the Magnolia based Moyer Foundation will continue year round.

In a Seattle Times article, Karen Moyer says that the couple’s oldest sons will be attending a baseball academy in Florida and the family has purchased a home nearby.  They are not selling their Magnolia home and will still live there in the summer.

The Moyer Foundation was established by Jamie Moyer, Major League All-Star Pitcher, and Karen in 2000. Since its inception, The Moyer Foundation has raised over $15 million to support over 150 non-profit organizations that help children in severe distress