Peet’s Coffee and Tea finally opens at the Whole Foods complex on 15th Avenue West. Monday, June 1st at 5:00am marks the officially opening of this new coffee option for Magnolia.

On Sunday afternoon, a group of Peet’s employees were working hard to get the placed spiffed up and ready for customers to start rolling in. 

Store manager Brian Doyle sees a great opportunity to catch morning commuters who need a convenient jolt of coffee or tea as they head to downtown Seattle. In addition, he is working to make this new location a popular place for community gatherings and meetings.

Brian also mentioned that Peet’s is known for having the freshest beans in the business. So if you happen to swing by and give them a try, let us know what you think.

It seems to us that Magnolia ends up in the Rant and Rave section of the Seattle Times more than other neighborhoods.  Today there is a criticsm of Magnolia residents who are complaining about the noise from the cruise ships at the new Smith Cove Terminal at Pier 91. 

Rant: To city residents who complain about the small insignificant noises that are expected when living in an urban environment. The Magnolia residents who feel the noise from cruise line ships is worth complaining about seem to forget they chose to live in a major city and seaport. If you want silence, move to Wyoming.

We also want to remind you that there is an open house at the new cruise facility on Tuesday, June 2.  Details here if you want to attend.

by Magnolia Voice Contributors Kirk and Aly

The residents who live in the 3400 block of 21st Ave West got together on Saturday to show pride in their  neighborhood.  They say they are a passionate group of neighbors who have just come together recently to start to make a difference.

They organized a work party to clean up their street.    They say they wanted to clean up the area to make it look nicer but also to send a message to surrounding neighborhoods that they take pride in their block and they are happy to take back their neighborhood.

 
They say there have been problems recently with crime in the area and they think the cleanup day is a great way to show pride and presence in their block. They had a good crew doing some serious cleanup.

The group worked with the Seattle Police Department to start a block watch program and they also submitted a proposal to have a traffic circle roundabout installed in the intersection of 21st Avenue West and Bertona to help discourage people from driving on their street at such high speeds.

The bear that was first seen in Magnolia two weeks ago is thought to be the same bear that was captured by wildlife agends at a greenbelt in North Everett close to the Snohomish River.

Agents tranquilized the bear and drove him to the Cascades where he was released.  They said he jumped out and took off for parts unknown. 

They spotted the bear in Everett Friday afternoon while he was taking a nap. He took off after the first tranquilizer shot but they found him again with the help of a bear-scenting dog and gave him another shot.  After he fell asleep they put the bear on a sling and carried him to a trap.  Agents noticed the bear’s coat did not look shiny possibily because he has been eating human garbage and not the nutrients he would get in the wild.

The agents tagged him so he can be identified if he shows up again. The bear has been on the run since he left Magnolia.  He was spotted in Ballard and Shoreline before his capture in Everett.  He never threatened any humans during his time on the run.

Wildlife agents don’t think he will come back to Seattle.  They said he has likely had enough of the big city. 

This week’s featured pet from the Seattle Animal Shelter is Zoey. 

It is impossible not to fall in love with Zoey as soon as you meet her! She gets so excited that when her tail wags her entire body follows. She has a magnetic personality and is full of love. She will cuddle all day and night if you let her. Zoey is that dog who lights up the room and makes you smile.

Zoey quickly befriended her foster brother and the cat that she lives with. She has done well with other dogs and cats she has met. She is very smart and catches on quickly. She’s never had an accident in the house and patiently sits and waits to be let into the house when done playing in the backyard. 

Zoey is a 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix and needs plenty of play time and exercise. However, she is also content to relax on her bed and chew her favorite bone.  Zoey has an allergy that has made some of her hair fall out. She doesn’t seem to notice and it doesn’t slow her down any. It is likely she will require special food and continued care from a vet and/or allergist.

Zoey is being adored in one of the shelter’s wonderful foster homes and is not currently at the shelter.  If you would like to meet Zoey, download a Dog Adoption Application from www.seattleanimalshelter.org and email it to the Foster Dog Program at adoptionreview@gmail.com. Or you can pick up and drop off an application at the shelter.

UPDATE:  SEATTLE – The fire department tells us that they suspect the propane tank from a barbecue on the porch caused the fire that burned two houses on 36th Ave West this morning near Discovery Park.  Investigators are still on the scene of the fire that caused significant damage to both homes.

A big crowd of neighbors and the media watched as firefighters battled the blaze.

The TV station choppers also buzzed overhead watching the fire.

UPDATE:  A very large response by the Seattle Fire Department to a fire that broke out a little before 11am. 

Fire crews from Magnolia, Ballard, downtown and other parts of Seattle responded to the fire that caused what fire officials tell us is significant damage.

No one was hurt in the fire that spread from the back porch of one home to the neighboring house.  The house where the fire started suffered the most damage but the neighbor’s home also suffered quite a bit of damage to the roof and upper floor.

 The two homes that look alike were built two years ago on the street that borders Discovery Park.

Breaking news:  A fire that appears to have started with a back porch barbeque caused significant damage to two homes today in the 4400 block of 36th Ave West. 

More photos and details coming…. 

Here is a brush with fame for Magnolia, though you have to look really close to catch it. Last summer there were lots of trucks and and movie equipment in our area for the filming of the movie “World’s Greatest Dad” starring Robin Wiiliams.

Scott Cummins, Magnolia resident and Founder of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, found a clip from the movie with the scene that was shot in Magnolia.  We would not call it obvious as the scene is shot in a car as it drives through a neighborhood.  However, we watched it a number of times and think we recognize the houses from a Magnolia street. 

Take a look here and see what you think.  We should warn you that the clip contains swearing by the characters.

You can see the entire movie June 6 and 7 at the Seattle International Film Festival.  It is playing at the Egyptian.  “World’s Greatest Dad” is a dark comedy starring Williams who plays a divorced, sad-sack high school poetry teacher and failed novelist who dreams of one day being a famous writer. To make matters worse, he must suffer the indignities of living with his thoroughly vile, porn-obsessed teenage son, Kyle. 

The movie was shot in a number of Seattle neighborhoods.  Here is a picture of Williams during the filming in Ballard.

The Seattle Mariners held their 12th Annual Education Day last week visiting six local elementary schools to deliver the D.R.E.A.M. Team message.

Mariners players, coaches and broadcasters stressed the importance of education and positive thinking during a visit to Magnolia’s Lawton.

Mariner’s players David Aardsma, Franklin Gutierrez, Russel Branyan and Jose Lopez visited the school along with coaches Lee Tinsley and Jason Phillips.  

They presented the DREAM (Drug Free, Respect Yourself, Education, Attitude and Motivation) curriculum and the players sat among the students to watch a higlights video.  Each student got a picture of the Mariners Moose and a copy of the DREAM mission with signatures from the players.  
 
Thanks to Susan Ewbank for the great photos. 

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson and Rep. Reuven Carlyle will host a town hall meeting to provide an overview of the 2009 legislative session and what future steps our state should take.

The town hall will be held Saturday, May 30th from 10am – Noon at the Seattle Labor Temple. The legislators will talk about issues affecting the 36th District and the state revenue shortfall.  There will be time for comments and questions from constituents. 

With all the concerns that have been expressed about the new cruise terminal at Pier 91, here is an opportunity for Magnolia residents to see inside the new terminal and learn more about the cruise operations.

The Port of Seattle is hosting a community Open House on June 2 from 5- 7pm at Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at 2001 W. Garfield Street.  Residents are invited to tour the new facility.

To get to the pier take Elliott Avenue West Northbound. Turn RIGHT at the signal light at Galer Street fly over bridge. At the stop sign, turn LEFT and approach the Terminal 91 security entry. Follow signage to event parking near the new cruise terminal.

If you want to attend this free event please RSVP By June 1 to portrsvp@portseattle.org.  You can call (206) 728-3009 if you need more information.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program is hosting a set of public meetings with the Federal Highway Administration, the Washington State Department of Transportation and the City of Seattle early next month. They will also present other elements of the program such as the seawall and new waterfront surface street.

This will be a chance to ask questions and share your thoughts on what environmental elements and mitigation measures should be studied in the supplemental draft environmental impact statement on the proposed bored tunnel alternative.

The meeting downtown is set for June 8 from 5 – 7 p.m. at City Hall in the Bertha Landes Room at 600 Fourth Ave.  There is also a meeting on June 11 in Ballard from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Leif Erickson Hall Auditorium at
2245 NW 57th St.

More information here. 

Magnolia resident and head of the Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council Elizabeth Campbell officially announced today that she is running for Mayor of Seattle.  Campbell is leading a citizen initiative to fight the waterfront highway tunnel that will replace the viaduct. 

Campbell is the second Magnolia resident to seek the Mayor’s job.  Businessman James Donaldson is also running. 

Campbell, 56, is a neighborhood advocate who opposed the housing development inside Discovery Park. She is studying for a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Washington. Earlier in her career, Campbell arranged development deals for health-care facilities, and started a commercial-baking company. 

Here is a portion of Campbell’s statement from the announcement today:

The present administration for the past eight years has taken aim at the core values and social and structural makeup of Seattle, and has very deliberately and methodically been dismantling neighborhoods, displacing whole classes of people, and very cynically been manipulating government such that the people have lost any voice in the decisions that government makes – Seattle does not have a “public process”, instead the City of Seattle engages in public processing.  I have worked to combat that processing, first as a community, citizen advocate, and by utilizing the legal system, by engaging in direct democracy, and through administrative redress.

Through the Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council I successfully led the lawsuit against the City’s plans to encroach on another neighborhood, to put a housing development in Discovery Park. In order to stop the Alaskan Way tunnel project I filed and am pursuing Initiative 99, the No Tunnel Initiative, and I have filed a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office, with the State Auditor, and with the State Department of Ecology, seeking to have the whole matter of this tunnel project investigated – it was brought about by a corrupt process. 

We got this message from Magnolia Voice readers Hugh and Sharon who came upon a cat who may be lost:

My wife and I were just walking around the neighborhood and we came across a friendly, long haired yellow kitty. It was very talkative and approachable, but had had extremely matted hair and a hoarse meow. It didn’t have a collar and we thought it might be lost.  It was sitting on the sidewalk on 36th Ave. W. near Raye St. I hope it’s owners aren’t looking for it; it’s very cute.

Hugh took this picture with his phone and even though the quality is not great we thought it might help someone to identify the kitty.

Seattle Public Schools announced last week that it needed to lay off more than 150 teachers and staff to help adjust for an estimated $34 million budget shortfall.  Blaine principal Heather Swanson sent an announcement to members of the Blaine community with the news that three teachers will be let go as part of district budget cuts. 

As I’m sure you are aware Seattle Public Schools have recently announced a Reduction In Force (RIF), or a layoff of classified and certificated employees. Principals were informed that the decision had been made to go ahead with the certificated RIF due to the failure to call the state Legislature back into session. It was the district hope that a special session would lead to a lifting of the levy equalization lid and result in 7 million new dollars for SPS. When that did not happen our district leadership decided that a RIF was the only viable and responsible solution for our budget shortfall.  I can’t begin to tell you how sad, frustrated and empty it makes me to share the news that three teachers received RIF notices this week.  

The teachers are a middle school social studies teacher, a sixth grade language arts/social studies teacher and a part-time PE teacher.  Swanson says that this has caused pain for every staff member at the school  She says that she will do everything she can to get all three of the teachers back at Blaine but warns that odds are against that happening.