It seems our bridge is in shambles. Built in 1929, Seattle’s Magnolia Bridge has ferns growing in patches on the bottom, and spots of rough roadway. According to this article by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, the “…Bridge, which is used by thousands of people every day, is in a sorry state….parts of it shake from passing traffic, and there are large chucks of concrete under the bridge that appear to have fallen from the structure. A net is installed beneath the Magnolia Bridge over an entrance to the Port of Seattle’s cruise ship terminal. It appears to be there to catch concrete pieces, but the city has no record of who installed it or when.”

We got this tip from an MV reader:

There is a guy around late 20s early 30s wearing an orange coat knocking on doors claiming “he is scanning the neighborhood letting people know that there have been car break ins in the area and to make sure I lock my doors”! Seems kinda shady to me and is giving obvious advice, not sure if that is his true intent or if he is seeing who is home when and planning other things. He is on 30 th ave w heading north towards raye at 530pm on the 26th of feb! Just beware!

Has anyone else seen him or had any strange experiences?

(From Catharine Blaine PTA)

Get your fedoras and flapper dresses ready, because the Blaine PTA is hosting a Speakeasy Soiree! This secret, underground party is sure to be the cat’s meow, and with the law crackin’ down on the bootleggin’ you’ll want to make sure you’re not followed to our new, hot local location! Get ready to party like it’s 1923, Blaine parents!  Once you’ve found the secret entrance, spend the night with your fellow parents enjoying heavy appetizers, tasty libations (including a full, no-host premium bar), live music, a fun photo booth, dancing and more.  But remember not to be too loud as a cop raid could happen at any moment. The jail house is no place to spend the most happenin’ night of the year!  Plus, we’ve snuck in all of  your favorite Blaine fundraising activities to reach our $200,000 annual goal (currently we are at $116,000) — a live auction featuring the beloved classroom projects made by our kids and the two priceless VIP parking spots at school, an overnight at the school, teacher experience and party sign-up lists, and our ever-popular Fund-an-Item (stay tuned for details on what we’re raising the paddle for this year!). Plus, there are likely to be a few surprises for you guys and dolls too!

When: Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Where: Batch 206, just at the bottom of the Magnolia Bridge, past the light to the right, under the covered parking
Tickets: Guys and dolls can gain entrance to this secret speakeasy for $50 each

Will you answer the call?  The 2013 Magnolia Summerfest Poster Contest is officially underway.  Winning artwork will be used for the Official 2013 Magnolia Summerfest poster that appears all over the community and on the front of the official Summerfest program.  To enter, create an original work of art and submit to the Poster Contest Committee at info@magnoliasummerfest@gmail.com by May 1, 2013.  Submission guidelines (from the Summerfest Website):

1) all work must be original and created by the person submitting the work. 2) please include you name, contact information, and all pertinent information about the submission. 3) images must be 2-dimensional and may be any media including oil, paint, photography, etc. 4 artwork should be in a portrait orientation (rather than landscape) in order to be used in the poster format. 5) If chosen, Magnolia Summerfest reserves the right to use the image in the official Summerfest poster, the official Summerfest program and other promotional materials related to 2013 Magnolia Summerfest. 6) The poster Contest winner will be entitled to a free 10×10 booth at the Magnolia Summerfest, August 2nd & 3rd.

Click here for more information.

Someone (or a group of someones) helped themselves to a bunch of bikes last night.  We received this email from an anonymous tipster:

Sometime last night someone got into (our) secured garage on 21st ave w and Thorndyke and stole several bicycles. This required breaking cable and U-shaped metal locks. Due to the remote location of the building and where the bikes are held this had to be well thought out (let alone a truck to move all of them). There are security cameras and I am sure management is investigating, but there is no further word.

Please call 911 if you have any information.

(This is a sponsored story written by John Madrid, Managing Broker with John L. Scott Real Estate).

“A house, a house, my kingdom for a house”. If you are in the market for a new home you can probably empathize with Shakespeare’s King Richard III.  Single-family homes, townhomes, and even condos are all in short supply throughout most the city.

For Magnolia and Queen Anne there is just a 1.5 month supply of single-family home inventory which is definitely favoring home sellers with the result that homes are really hard to come by.  We will continue to see more pre-inspections, multiple offers, and bidding wars on the fewer listings hitting the market.

Why the shortage of homes for sale?  First, some home owners simply can’t sell since they have negative equity (they owe more than their home would sell for). Second, are home owners who can’t find a new home to upsize or downsize into that would allow them to put their existing home on the market.  Third is that some home owners are either unaware of the improved market for sellers or they are content to stay in their current home rather than over extend themselves. Fourth, are owners betting on continued prices gains over the coming months and years. A final factor has been the significant slowdown in new construction, up until last year, that typically helps alleviate the demand for more housing stock.

In addition to a reduced supply, demand has picked up with the influx of new hires (Amazon, Microsoft, etc). There is also a general belief that home prices and interest rates have only one direction to move and that is up.   Many renters have concluded that, with big jumps in rent, buying a home may be the wiser long term investment especially if they are able to lock in these historically low interest rates.

Home prices will continue to rise until there is more of supply/demand equilibrium.  If you are looking for a home there are a couple potential silver linings over the coming weeks and months. First, is that we are entering the historically seasonal high point for new inventory. Second, is that interest rates aren’t expected to move significantly upward until the end of the year at the earliest.

More stats on other Seattle neighborhoods can be found at http://www.live206.com/seattle-area-market-update-c21537.html

Tip:  The fewer contingences (i.e. finance, inspection) a home buyer has, the more attractive they are to a home seller, especially in multiple offer situations.    Believe it or not, buyer “love letters” to sellers can swing things into a buyer’s favor, just don’t overdo it.

John Madrid is a Managing Broker with John L. Scott Real Estate – University Village and is a 2005-2012 Seattle Magazine “Five Star” Agent. His clients include both home buyers and sellers. He can be reached at 206-498-1880, john@live206.com or www.live206.com.

Statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed.  All information should be verified to the users own satisfaction.

The Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization ( SSOPO) has picked a winner for its” Musical New Year Concert Contest” after a month-long Facebook competition. Our own Serendipity Café, has won a free concert by a duet of symphony musicians on Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re humbled to be part of such a welcoming community and are looking forward to giving back,” said Tim Hale, chair of the SSOPO. “It’s a great opportunity to thank the community and to bring our music to those who may not have yet experienced it.”

Symphony musicians Elisa Barston, principal second violinist, and Efe Baltcigil, principal cellist, will perform a Beethoven duo and chamber music at the complimentary concert. It turns out, Barston is from our ’hood.  She says, “I’ve been taking my daughter to Serendipity for sweet treats for years and am thrilled that it won our concert contest. I am looking forward to performing for my fellow Magnolia residents.” Bassist Jennifer Godfrey is also a Magnolia resident, “Serendipity Café has created a great atmosphere for families. It’s businesses like Serendipity that make Magnolia a great place to live and one of the reasons a number of symphony musicians call this neighborhood home.”

Serendipity Café can hold 60 visitors on a first-come, first-served basis for the concert. For more information about Serendipity Cafe, click here. For more information about the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization, click here.

An MV reader writes

A neighbor of mine who is a master chef just branched out for the first time and started his own thing… a food truck down on Elliott near the Starbucks. It’s called “Seattle Wood Fired Pizza” and is basically a wood fired oven on wheels that kicks out super delicious thin crust pizza super fast. He just opened up a couple weeks ago…In any case, being that AJ lives here in Magnolia and his new gig is more or less in Interbay I figured it might be worth mentioning or at least worthy of putting up in the restaurant section. For those who want something fast, priced well and nearby or for those who love pizza this is a pretty big coup!

We tried the veggie pizza this afternoon and it was fast and delicious.  My kids loved it.  We will be back!

Click here for their FB page

A guest post by Suzanne Dale Estey

Magnolia Mom and member of the Schools First campaign

If you are registered to vote, you should have received your ballot in the mail for the renewal of two property-tax levies. Given an upsurge of enrollment in Seattle schools, these levies are more important than ever in providing the basic services and facilities our children need.

These levies, if passed, would have a significant impact on Seattle public schools as they would provide funding for school renovations and expansions. They would also provide for earthquake safety improvements for 37 schools.

Ballots are due Tuesday, February 12.  Here are additional details about the levies:

• The Operations Levy will provide funding for about 27 percent of Seattle Public School’s operating budget. This levy funds everything from teacher and principal salaries to a 6-period high school day and school libraries. If renewed, the Operations Levy will direct $552 million to our public schools over three years.
• The Capital Levy will provide $695 million over six years to fund earthquake retrofits, renovations and school building expansions in response to increased enrollment. At a time when many of the nation’s big city school districts are shrinking, Seattle’s public school student enrollment is rapidly growing. 1,400 additional students enrolled this year alone, with 7,000 more expected in the next decade in our already overcrowded schools. All schools are slated to receive technology upgrades in every school that include wireless internet access and improve accounting systems.

Failure to renew our school levies would be devastating to Seattle’s students and schools. Teachers and instructional aides would be laid-off, class size would increase and critical programs would be cut.

Both propositions are renewals of existing levies. If approved, these levies would cost the owner of a $400,000 home $13 a month over what the homeowner pays on the expiring levies.

For a map of the schools affected, click here.

An SDOT Roadway Structures crew will close the southbound curbside lane on the Ballard Bridge for a short distance prior to the steel center span from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow.  During the infrastructure work , only the one lane will be closed, all other lanes and both sidewalks will remain open.  Southbound motorists should plan on a slowdown and use added caution when moving past the work zone. So that quick trip to and from Ballard may not be so quick…

By reporter Steven Smalley

Score a small victory for the Magnolia Transit Riders, that small band of Metro customers who needs a ride at night and can’t get one past 9:30. They can now. An additional bus is being added both coming and going downtown beyond the current cut off time. “A handful of minor changes are coming February 16 for several King County Metro transit bus routes, part of an effort to improve service…,” reads a Metro press release.

“As the economy strengthens we continue to see transit demand increase, and we see in urgent need for sustainable budget solutions to address crowded buses and calls for more service,” said Kevin Desmond, Metro Transit general manager. Part of the calls for more service comes from our intrepid band of hearty riders led by Jim McIntosh, a visually impaired man who relies on buses for all of his transportation needs, including at night.

“I‘m happy…if we are going to have a world-class transit system, it’s going to need 20-hours of service – up to midnight,” says McIntosh. “I got a letter a couple of months ago stating the times (Metro) would be leaving downtown is roughly 10:20 in the evening to head out to Magnolia.”

At approximately the same time, one last bus will leave Magnolia for downtown, according to McIntosh. “This is still the last bus. Magnolia Transit Riders group is pushing for more service,” he added. “We like to go to 1 o’clock.” Although Metro could be looking at a 17% service cutback by 2014, McIntosh says the official position of his group is to resume evening bus service at 11:20, 12:20, and 1:20.

The work of the group in that regard isn’t over. In an effort to keep momentum moving forward, a public meeting with King County Council Member Larry Phillips is scheduled for the Magnolia United Church of Christ, 3555 West McGraw Street, February 19 at 7PM. McIntosh asks everyone who is interested to attend.

“This is the way democracy works,” he said.

We found an abandoned child’s bicycle today (Sunday)  on 29th Ave. West between Dravus and Bertona (with an empty can of beer beside it). We suspect it might have been stolen and left at the curb.