Winter is on its way.  That means rain, fallen leaves, and clogged storm drains.  The City of Seattle is asking residents to help keep storm drains clear of leaves and other debris to avoid flooding problems. Fall and winter weather often clogs drains quickly, leading to water backups on some roads.

A big crowd was on hand tonight for the Magnolia Moms group fundraiser at Fatima. The sixth annual Trunk Show and Coat Drive provides winter coats for children living in the five shelters the group supports. 

Everyone attending the event donated a coat and the donations piled up quickly.

There were lots of vendors selling everything from purses to jewelry and lots in between.  Magnolia’s own Vixen had lots of great items for sale including these sexy numbers for the holidays. 


All of the vendors at the event donated 10% of their sales tonight.

As we reported last week, the illuminated Trader Joe’s sign has been approved by the Department of Planning and Development. According to the Seattle PI, the store will open the first half of 2009 in the Ballard Blocks development at the corner of 14th Ave NW & NW 46th St. The spokeswoman would not be more specific. Here’s an artist rendering…

(Design by Clark Design Group.)

A quick reminder that tonight (October 28) is the Magnolia Moms fundraising event at Fatima. 

The sixth annual Magnolia Mom’s Trunk Show and Coat Drive goes from 6pm – 8pm.  Just bring a new or gently used children’s coat (or $15 suggested donation) for admission to what promises to be a great night of shopping with over 35 vendors and artists, fashions from Vixen, a raffle, and silent action.  

Bring a friend, enjoy a glass of wine, and get a jump start on your holiday shopping.  It all happens at the Fatima Parish Hall at 3307 W Dravus.  All of the proceeds, plus 10% of vendor sales, will help provide winter coats for children living in the five shelters the group supports. 

The Seattle Department of Transportation will be working on the traffic signal system on Elliott Avenue West this week.  With the paving work completed, the crews are now working on signal detection and timing on the intersections at Mercer Street, Harrison Street and Western. 

The traffic signals at each intersection will be turned off and traffic will be directed by a police officer. They may also close the curb lane in the work area. Expect traffic revisions between 7a.m. to 5p.m.  The city says the signal improvements are designed to optimize traffic flow in the Elliott Avenue West corridor. 

Also remember that enforcement of the “BAT” lane rules is planned along the corridor when this work is completed. 

The Magnolia Community Council is holding a meeting to address the problems with the BAT lanes on November 13th at 7pm at the Blaine School cafeteria.

The City Neighborhood Council (CNC) is hosting the Seattle Neighborhood Summit on Tuesday, Oct. 28. This is your chance to express your ideas and meet with others who care about Seattle neighborhoods.   

After networking with other volunteers and city officials you will attend focus groups on a variety of topics.  The summit ends with a City Council panel interacting with issues and questions from the groups.

It starts at 5pm and free parking is available in the commuter lot under I-5 just north of Cherry (must enter southbound on 6th Avenue–left turn just before Cherry).  Can’t come?  Send your ideas or questions to the City Neighborhood Council, c/o Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle 98124-4649 or cleman@oo.net or call (206) 322-5463.

Flowers and photos remembering the five dead and two missing from the Ballard-based fishing vessel Katmai have been left at Fishermen’s Memorial.

Among the dead are Cedric Smith, Glenn Harper, Jake Gilman, Joshua Leonguerrero and Fuli Lemusu. Two are still missing, Carlos Zabala and Robert Davis. The Katmai sunk in rough seas, and four survived by clinging to a life raft for 17 hours in their survival suits. “They said initially there were seven people in the raft, and then there was a big wave and it got whittled down,” said a Coast Guard pilot. Hearings begin later this week to investigate the accident.

The new townhomes in the Magnolia Village are nearing completion but so far it appears only one has been sold.  The 15 townhomes are on the market for $1,200,000.  Back in August we reported that developer and Magnolia resident Tim McHugh was nervous about the market and as we all know economic conditions have not improved since then. 

Recent reports indicated that home sales actually were up in September even though prices were down. 

The townhomes located across the street from Bartells in The Village feature three bedrooms, four bathrooms and private elevators.  They were featured in a tour of new construction in Magnolia last month but it seems none of the units have sold in the past two months. 

No word on an official opening date for the townhomes.

There are lots of ways to enjoy Halloween and be nice to our environment according to Magnolia’s CoolMom.org.  Founder Kirsten McCaa says the key is to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

She encourages parents to reduce consumption, especially disposable trinkets shipped from overseas. Give up on store bought costumes and instead reuse items you already have at home for costumes and decorations.  Recycle by using ‘found’ items around the house to make Halloween decorations.  Swap old costumes with friends and neighbors.  Try hunting through closets, consignment shops, Value Village and Goodwill to come up with unique costumes.

She also encourages parents and kids to leave the car at home and go trick or treating by foot.  She even suggests walking to The Village for the Halloween event if at all possible. 

“When we get out of our cars, we not only reduce emissions, we also create stronger community
bonds — a good way to keep the goblins at bay!” says McCaa. 

Here is a fun item shared with us by our friends at westseattleblog.

You are invited to help make November 13th a day to remember by helping document it for a time capsule. The Southwest Seattle Historical Society will be putting together the capsule for burial at the new Alki
Beach Statue of Liberty Plaza. They want the capsule to include items showing what life was like on November 13, 2008, all over Seattle.

Why that particular date? It’s the anniversary of the Denny Party’s landing at Alki. Now, 157 years later, Seattle has grown way beyond Alki, and they want the entire city represented in the time capsule. Items could be something simple – a photo of you and your child walking to school, minutes from a neighborhood association meeting.

The time capsule will be opened on November 13, 2051, bicentennial of the Denny Party landing. Stay tuned for details on exactly how and when to submit items. We know that November 13 is the date of the BAT lanes meeting in Magnolia, maybe we should submit the notes from that meeting to the time capsule?

Also, the group is looking for volunteers to help make sure schools and other organizations know about their effort. Please e-mail Andrea Mercado of SWHS at: amercado@loghousemuseum.org if you want to help.

MagnoliaVoice reader Jane had a good question for us today.

What’s with the increase in sirens the last few months? At least twice a week now I’m hearing sirens (police?) at night. I’ve lived in Magnolia, near Discovery Park, for 8 years now and this is the first time I remember hearing sirens on a regular basis. Has my hearing suddenly improved or is there something going on in the neighborhood of late? If you or your readers have any answers I would love to hear it.

Anybody else noticing the same thing?

We thought you would be interested to know that our sister site, myballard.com, is reporting that Trader Joe’s new location is getting close to opening.  The store will be easy to access for Magnolia shoppers, located just past the Ballard Bridge on 46th Street. 

No opening date has been set but there is a chance Trader Joes’s may be open before the end of the year.

The other big national retailer expected in our area, Whole Foods, is currently involved in a lawsuit with the developer and construction at the Interbay site has stopped.

Just got word from Blaine School that they will be holding a public meeting to discuss the overcrowding issue on Thursday, October 23 at 7pm in the school library.  As we have reported, the Magnolia/Queen Anne schools are expecting a serious capacity problem over the next two school years. 

This meeting will provide information about the possible solutions that the district is considering, including making Blaine a K-5 school and sending the middle school students to McClure on Queen Anne. 

The clock is ticking for the district to find a solution.  Following community meetings like the one held at Blaine last month, the capacity recommendations will be presented at a special board meeting October 29th at 8:00pm.  Action will be then be taken by the board at its meeting on November 12th. 

The Blaine PTA wants concerned parents to make sure their voices are heard in the process as the district makes a decision.

A number of Halloween activities coming up in Magnolia.  The biggest is Trick or Treat in The Village on October 31 from 4pm to 6pm when the streets are closed and the stores hand out candy to the little (and sometimes not so little) ones.  An excellent annual Magnolia event. 

You can also hit the Magnolia Community Center for the Halloween Carnival on Friday, October 24 from 6pm to 7:30pm.  It a family friendly evening full of games, prizes, goodies and pumpkin decorating.   There is also a costume contest.  

And for the little guys check out the Halloween Tot Trek at the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center on October 25 and 29.  This is for ages 2-3 and there is a $3.50 charge per child. The Trek starts at 10:30 both days and you need to call (206) 386-4236 to register.