Work has already started on a remodel of the Shell gas station on 34th & Government Way which will soon transform into Magnolia’s latest C-store, according to sources. Reach-in coolers covered in plastic now occupy what were previously automobile service bays. Tires and brakes will soon get swapped for beer and wine. A notice for a liquor license application sits in the front window.
Look for a complete re-do of the place including updated restrooms and an expanded front end which will encompass one large open interior. Gasoline and propane will still be sold. The pumps will be replaced with new flashier units, according to knowledgeable sources.
When asked for her response to the news, one customer said, “I think it’s really great.”
The same ownership will run things now that the City of Seattle has issued permits, which took a long time to receive, according to sources. Hours of operation are 6 a.m.-12 midnight. Word is the store will officially open in the summer.
The district has announced a new Principal for Magnolia Elementary school:
To the Magnolia community,
I am pleased to announce that Ms. Katie Cryan Leary has been selected to be the Planning Principal for Magnolia Elementary School which is scheduled to open in fall 2019.
From 2001 – 2009, Ms. Cryan Leary was the assistant principal and then principal at Hamilton International Middle School. While at Hamilton, she focused on implementing high leverage teaching strategies that accelerated student learning in every classroom. She focused on coaching and supporting teachers to improve the quality of classroom instruction across the school. Then, in 2009, Ms. Cryan Leary wanted to learn more about K-5 education, so she applied to be one of the founding teachers at Queen Anne Elementary.
Ms. Cryan Leary was instrumental in the creation of an innovative new school as one of the founding teachers, and now the head teacher at Queen Anne Elementary. She has been leading the work around best practices in teaching, differentiating for diverse learners, promoting social and emotional learning, as well as project-based learning. Ms. Cryan Leary is excited to bring this experience creating a new school community, as well as these passions and skills to Magnolia Elementary.
Ms. Cryan Leary is committed to building trusting, meaningful relationships with the community. As planning principal, she will be creating a Design Team with representation from all stakeholder groups to begin crafting the school’s vision and culture. This team will guide decisions about program implementation, hiring, and professional development for educators. Her work in the coming year will include engagement with the prospective students and families to provide leadership in future boundary discussions and to dream big about Magnolia Elementary.
Ms. Cryan Leary earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Washington State University. She earned her teaching certificate at the University of Washington. She received her Master of Education degree in School Administration at Western Washington University. She also became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2013.
Ms. Cryan Leary’s official start date will be July 1, 2018. Please help me in congratulating Ms. Cryan Leary as she takes on this new position!
Here they come, down your street. New brilliant white (actually, blue) LED (Light Emitting Diode) street lights guaranteed to brighten your night, brought to you by the City of Seattle. LEDs are not only more luminescent, they are cheaper, and longer lasting. Classic win-win-win, right? Not to some irate Magnolia neighbors who are up in arms imagining our warm, golden neighborhood street lights shifting to the glare of blue arcs streaming into our windows.
Long-time Magnolia resident, Kurt Owen, not only has a problem with the brightness of the new lighting, but he takes exception to the deleterious health effects the blue-tinged lamps have on him and his family.
“The neighborhood we live in is Carleton Park. The ambience of the area is beautiful. It’s Magnolia,” Owen begins. “There are territorial views, mountain views, water views. The street lighting in that area of Magnolia isn’t your usual street lights with the arms sticking out. The lights we have are on a single pole. They have a shield. They are beautiful amber-toned lights. They have a wonderful aesthetic when you have to look at them through your windows. The street lights are on eye-level in many cases. They’re not so bad because they’re amber. They actually cast plenty of light. I can see it in my front yard and see everything.”
Then the other shoe drops when the conversation turns to new lights the city wants to install.
“The city has put new bright blue LED lights on some streets. They’re insanely bright. You can see-them-from-outer-space bright. But the other issue – and I can speak to this personally – they are unhealthy. They create insomnia. They upset circadian rhythms. They’re not good for kids, for animals, they’re not good for anybody,” Owen continues. “Years ago I developed insomnia. I went to the doctor and got it checked out, and she said, ‘You’re like a lot of people, blue light messes you up.’ She told me to quit using my computer at night and quit using my phone at night. So I stopped doing those things. I put blue blockers on my phone and computer to eliminate that blue light. And guess what, the insomnia went away. And if you’ve ever had insomnia you know it’s absolute torture – laying in bed all night and not being able to sleep.”
Even the Washington Post chimes in. From a 2016 story, reporter Michael Ollove writes, “If people are sleepless in Seattle, it may not be only because they have broken hearts. The American Medical Association issued a warning in June that the high-intensity LED streetlights – such as those in Seattle…emit unseen blue light that can disturb sleep rhythms and possibly increase the risk of serious health conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.”
The City of Seattle scoffs at such claims.
“The report you referenced is two years old. From the utility’s perspective, it does not address the advantages that LED streetlights provide, including better control over where streetlights direct their light, which limits exposure to people in their homes. Additionally, it is important to recognize that blue light is blue light, regardless of its source. Most Americans are exposed to far more blue light from televisions, tablets and cell phones than they are from streetlights,” says a spokesperson for the city.
Not only does the blue-tinged color of the LED lights cause harmful health effects, according to the AMA and others, Owen points out the aesthetic concerns.
“I can see how it’s going to be because some of these lights have already been installed close by my house,” Owen says. “I’m all for LED lights. They save energy, they’re very efficient, and long-lasting. But they have to be the appropriate color and the appropriate brightness. You just don’t put junkyard lights in a nice neighborhood like Magnolia. I don’t think they belong in any residential neighborhood. It looks like a giant parking lot or Walmart. We don’t have a junkyard here. This is a neighborhood.”
The street lighting trade takes exception to attitudes such as those exhibited by Owen.
“The lighting industry was…attempting to calm fears by touting the advantages of LED street lighting and calling into question both the conclusions and recommendations of the [AMA] report. The complete AMA report does cover the panoply of LED’s advantages in outdoor lighting: cutoff, efficacy, controllability, longevity. But the report emphasizes the health effects of the ‘excessive blue spectrum,’ and offers a one‑size-fits‑all recommendation for warm color temperatures,” according to The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). “LED exceeds the ability of any other light source to put light where you want it, when you want it, in the amount you want. The tiny size and digital nature of LED offer unparalleled advantages in light distribution and cutoff, plus dimmability combined with timers. Spectrum can be adjusted, somewhat, by carefully selecting phosphors. Real‑time spectral tuning, using lighting controls, is not yet cost‑effective.”
Additionally, the city says it’s a safety issue. You can see children walking and dogs crossing the street better, they say. Police can identify license plates more clearly, and distinguish criminal suspects easier.
“If this were Belltown or some parking lot known for crime, those lights could be appropriate,” Owen says. “But I don’t think that every neighborhood should be treated like a prison yard. Let’s face it we were so concerned about safety we would outlaw motorcycles. We would outlaw snow skiing, and skateboarding. We would just get rid of all that stuff in the name of safety. It shouldn’t be Seattle City Light coming down and telling us where the safety is. It’s our neighborhood, not theirs.”
It’s interesting to note some cities and neighborhoods around the country have different tactics concerning street lights.
“Look at Lake Worth, Florida. They decided to install LED lights with more of an amber hue. It preserves the stars at night. My kids love looking at the stars. We have a telescope. You kiss the stars goodbye when you put in [blue] LED lights,” Owen says. “Some cities have looked at this and have taken the more circumspect view. Sometimes it’s the early adopters that make the big mistakes. In my [work] world, you don’t want to be the early adopter. You want to let someone else try it and let it blow up in their face. You start using it once it’s perfected. Seattle came in too early in my opinion.”
The city has purchased 85,000 LED units, according to published reports. You have to ask if this is a fait accompli.
“Look, [LEDs] are unhealthy,” Owen says. “Go to a sleep therapist and ask about blue light. I know the City of Seattle says you get the same light out of your computer and out of your cell phone. That doesn’t mean adding more poison to my diet is a good idea. I can turn off my TV, I can stop using my computer, but I can’t do anything about the blue lights they put outside my window. The bottom line is: it’s an ugly, ugly light. You’re never going to go into a nice restaurant and enjoy a nice relaxing meal and have one of those interrogation lights over your table. They will drive you right out of the restaurant.”
I am writing to report a car theft that occurred sometime between March 23rd & March 24th, likely in the wee hours, around the intersection of W. Montfort Pl and 43rd Ave. W. The thief took most everything but left my grandson’s car seat. I guess one can try to be thankful for little things. I wanted to give neighbors a warning about the incident.
It’s that time of year again! Time to honor Washington state’s best and brightest heroes (educators) in the classroom! Ivar’s and Kidd Valley Restaurants are calling on all kindergarten through eighth grade students to nominate their favorite, deserving teacher for a chance to take home the 2018 Teacher of the Year honors. Two well-deserving educators will be selected as grand prize recipients to bring home a $500 gift card good for classroom supplies, a commemorative plaque and the official title of either Ivar’s Teacher of the Year or Kidd Valley Teacher of the Year. Plus, the nominating students of the grand prize winners will receive either an Ivar’s Kids Meal – including a visit by Ivar’s famous Dancing Clam – or a Kidd Valley Kids Meal for every student in their class.
To nominate a teacher, students 14 years old or younger may visit select Puget Sound area Ivar’s or Kidd Valley locations (excluding stadiums and Eastern Washington restaurants) to complete an official entry form, or click here. All entries must be received by May 20, 2018.
The contest will also award four teachers a first-place prize of a $150 gift card for classroom supplies, and 30 teachers will receive a second-place prize of a $25 Ivar’s or Kidd Valley gift card.
Ivar’s and Kidd Valley encourages students to recognize and praise educators who have positively impacted them, and to share inspirational stories with other students and teachers. The annual Teacher of the Year contest, now in its 15th year, is one of the longest-running teacher appreciation programs in the state and provides students with the opportunity to honor those teachers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to teach, mentor and support them.
The 2017 Ivar’s and Kidd Valley Teacher of the Year grand prize winners were Kirsten Jewett of View Ridge Elementary in Seattle and Brittany Hall of Horace Mann Elementary in Redmond. Who will be selected this year’s heroes?
It’s spring in Seattle, which means blossoming and hatching all around us. This is a particularly important time to ensure that immature wildlife have their best opportunity to flourish in the Northwest. To help protect the young wildlife, the Seattle Animal Shelter will be conducting emphasis patrols on all saltwater beaches in the city.
Dogs are not allowed on any of Seattle’s public saltwater beaches, even if they are leashed. This law helps us protect the fragile ecosystem along our shorelines. Marine mammals, such as seal pups that are typically born in April, use the city’s beaches to rest and warm themselves. Shore birds also frequent our beaches. Wildlife that interact with dogs are less likely to reach adulthood.
Uniformed animal service officers will be patrolling city parks with a focus on saltwater beaches and may issue citations to violators.
If you would like to report Seattle beaches where dogs are frequently seen, submit a service request here. You can also contact the Seattle Animal Shelter by calling 206-386-PETS (7387).
For more information about the Seattle Animal Shelter, click here.
