This week the Seattle Animal Shelter is featuring Anna the bunny rabbit plus some special turtles.

Anna the rabbit has a beautiful tan and white coat with black spots.  She is a very outgoing rabbit, eager to show off her toys and interact with shelter visitors.  She is very curious and playful, enjoying lots of play time.  She is not a lap rabbit because she prefers play activities to lap-warming, but she is very affectionate in her own way. 

Did you know that the Seattle Animal Shelter sometimes has reptiles for adoption?  There are currently three Red-Eared slider turtles available.  They have beautiful patterns on their shells, and will pop their heads out of the water when its dinner time. They are at the shelter waiting to meet you.

For information on these and any other pets who are waiting for a forever home, click here.

With our spring weather coming to a temporary end, we wanted to share these beautiful photos taken this weekend by reader KKennell.

Lets hope the sunshine and warmer temps come back soon.

There will be a community meeting in Magnolia on Tuesday March 23 at the Magnolia Community Center from 6p.m. to 8:30 pm to discuss  several alternative means for combined sewer overflow (CSO) control in our area. CSO events happen in Magnolia and other older parts of the city during heavy rains when storm water enters the sewer system.  CSO control projects will limit overflows of untreated storm water and sewage into Puget Sound and protect public health and the environment and meet state requirements.  King County will decide on a proposal for CSO Control in Magnolia in early summer.  You can learn more here.   If you have questions you can email them to  CSOBeachProjects@kingcounty.gov or call Monica Van der Vieren at 206-263-7301.

Bridge Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to close a lane on the Magnolia bridge this week to perform repairs. The closure will be on Monday through Wednesday (3/8-3/10) from 9a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  One lane of the bridge eastbound and westbound will be closed at a time to repair expansion joints.   The city warns that the work is subject to change in the event crews are called to perform unplanned, emergency work at other locations. 

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation has announced a series  of community celebrations commemorating the 40^th anniversary of the creation of the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

On March 8, 1970, over one hundred Native Americans and their allies scaled the fences of Ft. Lawton Army Base as part of a peaceful takeover of land scheduled to be sold or given to the city as surplus.

On Monday (3/8) there will be a march from Discovery Park North Parking Lot to Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.  A blessing by Duwamish Chairwoman Cecile Hanson will be followed by the march led by Head Start students, participants in the original invasion and community members. Dancing and drumming will be followed by light refreshments.  The march starts at 1pm. and should wrap up by 3:30p.m.

Other events this month include the first annual Head Start Pow Wow on Saturday, March 27 from 1:00pm to 10:00pm.  Head Start students and employees past and present are invited to join the celebration of this cornerstone program of United Indians.  All community members, dancers and drums are encouraged to attend.  On Sunday, March 28  there will be a community dinner 1:00pm - 6:00pm Along with a community dinner, the program includes a performance by Red Eagle Soaring and community members sharing their favorite Bernie Whitebear stories.

All of these events are open to the public, free of charge and will take place at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

As the Legislative session is winding down, 36th District Representative Reuven Carlyle sends these notes from Olympia.

The fast-paced, 60-day state legislative session is slated to end on March 11 and our final days in Olympia are filled with late nights and intense budget negotiations. As we strive to wrap up the people’s business, I wanted to take a moment to provide a high level overview of some of my projects as your representative in the Legislature.

A new independent report says Washington is expected to lead the nation in job growth this year. It’s a great start to economic recovery, but we have a long journey ahead. The heart and soul of our job growth, as always, is small business. We face a projected $2.7 billion budget deficit following a $9 billion deficit last year. This is from a total of about $34 billion. The Great Recession has caused a dramatic drop off in tax revenues while demand for public services in education, health care, foster care, prisons and much more have increased substantially. It’s a perfect storm requiring courageous honesty about the deeper, more substantive public policy challenges we face.

A vast majority of our work in these final days has focused on balancing the budget in a thoughtful, equitable and economically efficient manner.

Here are some of my personal priorities this year.

Click to read the rest of the story…

Here are some tidbits from Magnolia businesses:

Szmania’s is once again participating in the Dine Around Seattle event.  They are offering $15 three-course lunches and $30 three course dinners Sunday through Thursday through March 31st. The offer is available from opening to closing.  Click here for the menu.  Thirty restaurants in Seattle are participating in Dine Around Seattle this year.

Serendipity Cafe is now offering a kid’s special on Saturdays.  Starting on Saturday (3/6) children will receive a free meal when dining with an adult.  The offer is good after 5p.m. for adults who purchase an entree at full price.

Dish It Up! is currently offering an early bird special for 20% off spring cooking classes.  The class schedule that includes Poppy’s Jerry Traunfeld, Sabrina Tinsley of La Spiga, Salty’s Jerry McLachlan & Author Greg Atkinson will be announced soon. You can purchase a  gift card for cooking classes valued at $150 or more and receive a bonus $30.  Purchase a gift card now and then use it to sign up for classes.

In addition, Dish It Up! knife sharpening day is Monday, March 8.  Bring in wrapped and labeled knives prior to 11am with number of knives, name and phone number written on the outside. No serrated knives or scissors. Pick them up the following day nice & sharp for just $3-6 per knife.

A reminder that Saturday (3/6) is your chance to tour the heron nests in the Kiwanis Ravine with Heron Habitat Helpers.  It starts at the Discovery Park Visitor Center at 10a.m. for some social time and the annual meeting with a heronry update.  The walking tour of the heron nesting sites in the ravine starts at 11a.m. and there will be scopes set up to view the nests.  They will also be able to provide rides for people who are unable to make the walk.   If you have questions you can email  info@heronhelpers.org.

The colony of Great Blue Herons that nest in Kiwanis Ravine is the inspiration for Heron Habitat Helpers’ work. Year after year, the herons return to their nests in February and spend several weeks in courtship to select a mate for the season. The female typically lays three to five eggs, which both parents alternate incubating for about 28 days. Heron chicks typically fledge in two months, usually in June or July.

Cadence Chamber Orchestra (CCO), Seattle’s newest community orchestra, is offering free concerts throughout Seattle and on Thursday, March 11 they will perform at the Q Cafe in Interbay and on Friday, March 12 the performance will be at the Magnolia United Church of Christ.  Both shows start at 8p.m.

The concert program features two world premieres by Seattle-based composer Jon Brenner. It also includes Haydn’s well-known Symphony No. 88 and Mendelssohns Hebrides Overture. 

CCO was founded last year with the goal of widening the usual orchestral audience with a new alternative orchestra. They provide free concerts throughout Seattle. Each program is performed at two venues - one in an unconventional location, and the other in a more typical performance space. A world premiere piece is programmed at every concert set, among more well known orchestral favorites. CCO wants to attract people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience live orchestral music. CCO is made of entirely up of volunteer musicians.

Both 36th District Representatives Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) and Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) have seen success for bills that they’re sponsoring during this legislative session.

Rep. Dickerson has been working to ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles, sippy cups and other food and beverage containers used by children under the age of three and on Wednesday, that ban moved one step closer. The House voted 96-1 on Wednesday to approve SB 6248 with an amendment that adds the ban of BPA on sports water bottles, which pregnant women use. “This is a huge victory for children’s health and for parents. Dangerous chemicals like BPA have no place in baby bottles, sippy cups or any product children put in their mouths,” said State Rep. Dickerson, the prime sponsor of the house version of the legislation. “Parents can soon go to the store with confidence and buy a bottle for their baby that won’t contain BPA.”

Rep. Carlyle has been advocating for tougher laws for drivers using cell phones. On Wednesday, the House passed a bill which would make it a primary offense to text and drive. It also prohibits teenagers from using a cell phone when behind the wheel. “I’m disappointed we had to accept a Republican amendment to take out the provision making speaking without a headset a primary offense. We just did not have the votes to push it through without any of their votes. Still, I’m pleased that we moved forward,” Rep. Carlyle wrote on his blog.

Both bills must pass the Senate with the same wording the House passed before moving to Governor Gregoire’s desk.