Barb Wade from Seattle Parks and Recreation has shared the following list of brochures for the spring Parks program, including drop-in sports, fitness, and toddler classes. (Thanks to My Green Lake for compiling the list!)

Adult drop-in sports, including basketball, dodgeball and volleyball:

Adult fitness opportunities:

Toddler classes and play rooms:

The full brochure, including all spring 2012 programs at the community centers and pools in northwest Seattle, is available in PDF format here.

by Meghan Walker

Local architecture group Microhouse will host an open house this weekend to showcase their microhouse designs. Microhouses are small detached homes that share a lot with a primary residence. Sunday, April 1, Bruce Parker from Microhouse as well as Carlisle Classic Homes and ANR Landscape Design will be available to answer questions. The open house will be at 3448 36th Ave W (alley side) from 1 – 4 p.m.

Microhouse in Magnolia, photo courtesy Bruce Parker

UPDATE- As we told you yesterday, Heather Braaten of Ballard went missing on March 20. There has since been a wide-spread effort to find her, and a search party will meet this morning (March 30th) at 9 a.m. at the lower Woodland Park baseball field at 50th and Green Lake Way.

A local family is asking for your help. Magnolia Voice spoke to Leo Schmitz who said his daughter Heather, a married mother of two children, disappeared on March 20th, around 3pm.

We will update this story as information becomes available.

By reporter Steven Smalley

King County Council Member, Larry Phillips had a big hand in the effort to construct a park atop the entire “lid” covering the overflow tank. The adjacent property will also be incorporated into a park, with design decisions to be determined. “This has been a long-held dream for me to get to this point,” Phillips says. “It’s very rewarding and satisfying to know it will be a park opportunity for the communities of Queen Anne and Magnolia. It’s going to be great.”

The county must first buy the land from the Port, build the overflow tank, then sell the land to the city which will then build a park covering what is currently two separate parcels. The County is slightly behind schedule building a tub intended to hold runoff water from storms that overwhelm the waste-water system 4-5 times per year. These overflows pour raw sewage to into Elliott Bay, causing pollution.

As a result of this decision, Seattle City Council Member Sally Bagshaw, who was also pivotal in negotiations, envisions a hiking trail from Lake Union and Queen Anne that will wrap around and come out at the Elliott Bay Marina. She was steadfast against the land swap. “I’m thrilled three governments came together to do the right thing. This decision puts more property into the hands of the citizens,” says Bagshaw. “The new leadership at the Port  is a breath of fresh air. They deserve a bouquet.”

Along with the fabrication of the overflow vessel, corresponding pipes leading to it require additional construction and placement.

From our friends at Queen Anne View

Tent City 3 left its temporary home at Seattle Pacific University earlier this week, after 90 days in residence.

Tent City 3 is a community working to help decrease the number of people on the street by providing transitional housing. In 2002, Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr signed a consent decree giving the encampment an ongoing permit. Today, Tent City 3 offers shelter for up to 100 men, women, and couples.

A number of activities surrounded the SPU campus stay, including an on-campus forum “Growing Up Homeless”  and “Homelessness: A Crisis of Affordable Housing.” Students volunteered by cooking meals, holding multiple clothing drives (including one just for socks), and starting knitting groups.

Tent City 3 now resides at St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Capitol Hill, where it will remain until mid-June.

All of the hard work has paid off- spring has sprung in this magnificent median.

Thanks, Jennifer and Sue!

photos by Steven Smalley

In a letter to the Lawton community, Interim Superintendant Dr. Susan Enfield announces that Lawton’s Interim principal, Dr. Gerrans, will be the schools new principal.  She goes on to say:

…Dr. Gerrans stepped into the role of interim principal in October and has developed collaborative relationships between the PTA and the Building Leadership Team, including creation of a new mission and set of core beliefs for Lawton, helping guide the community. Dr. Gerrans also created a unique experience for teachers to learn from each other via “Lawton Walks,” where teachers have time to observe colleagues teach, and come together to learn in teams.

Nancy Coogan, Executive Director of Schools for the central region, conducted the community input process on Dr. Gerrans’ performance as interim principal. Feedback included discussions with staff, families, and community, as well as a survey of staff, parents/guardians and the community.  Individuals also submitted feedback through email.

Before coming to Lawton at the start of the 2011-12 school year, Dr. Gerrans taught grades 1-4 in the Renton School District since 2003. This past year, he completed his administrative credentials through the UW Danforth Educational Leadership Program, serving as a principal intern at Concord International School and Kennydale Elementary School. Before going back to school to become a certified teacher, Dr. Gerrans worked at the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company as a strategy consultant and was a research assistant while earning his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon in computational electromagnetics.

Dr. Gerrans has many plans for Lawton’s future, including developing a strong and integrated arts program in partnership with the PTA. To ensure high-quality interventions are in place to help students that are struggling, Lawton is planning implementation of a small-group instructional block for each grade level in the coming year.  This will create a structure for focused interventions as well as rigorous enrichment opportunities for those students that have mastered core-level content.

I know Dr. Gerrans will continue to work with all of you to ensure success at Lawton Elementary.

Sincerely,

Susan

Susan Enfield, Ed.D.
Interim Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools

Seattle Parks and Recreation joins the American Heart Association’s National Walking Day by hosting walking events at more than a dozen parks on Wednesday,  April 4th, including one in Magnolia. The 30 minute walk begins  at the Magnolia Community Center at 9:30 a.m.  On this day, along with people throughout the U.S., Magnolians of all ages can lace up their tennis shoes and come together to help fight heart disease, the nation’s No. 1 killer.

A robbery case that dates back to last September has been solved.  The smoking gun?  A cigarette butt.  Sounds like a tv crime drama, but it happened right here in Magnolia.  Detective Mark Jamieson explains:

Magnolia Cooperative Preschool’s annual Toy and Clothing (and bake) Sale is this Saturday (3/24) from 9am-3:30pm at the United Church of Christ -3555 West McGraw Street.

photo courtesy of Pat O'Donnell

Over one hundred Magnolians travelled to Gresham, Oregon over the weekend for the Invitational Ryobu Kai 26^th Annual NW Classic Karate tournament held at Mt. Hood Community College.  The crowd was there to support 38 students from Magnolia Karate Academy, ranging in age from 6-64.  The karate practitioners had trained under Sensei Michael O’Donnell for 6 months to 11 years.  For a majority of them this was their first experience at a world level competition.

They competed in kata, kumite and Kobudo. Kata are patterns of offensive and defensive techniques performed against multiple, imaginary opponents. Kumite events are sparring matches. Kobudo is the ancient art of Okinawan weapons. Magnolia Karate Academy Students placed in all of their divisions.

Chris, father of a 4 year-old competitor says “We had a great time sharing our son’s love of karate with other families from Magnolia and the surrounding communities.  We were so proud to see him compete in front of his peers and the tournament judges.  It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone that participated.”

Click here for more information about Magnolia Karate Academy, the largest Hayashi Ha ShitoRyuDojo in the Pacific Northwest.

A heads up from Seattle DOT- one westbound lane on the Magnolia bridge will be closed tomorrow, March 20, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. while engineers perform a routine annual inspection of the bridge.