Raucous blowout turns quiet neighborhood upside down
Screaming kids say someone was shot
By reporter Steven Smalley

An out-of-control party Saturday night on a quiet Magnolia dead end summoned police en masse when residents witnessed assailants firing shots at teenaged party goers. The booming affair was inside an Airbnb rental at 26th & West Lynn.

A shell casing found in the street by one resident was said to be 9mm, according of an officer who took possession of it. The unidentified homeowner who found the brass witnessed one man chasing another firing at him as he ran up the street. Magnolia Voice spoke with eye witnesses near the scene.

“There was a big party outside. We could hear the music bumping. When we headed outside, we heard shots,” said an unidentified resident. “One man was heading up this street as fast as he could go. With somebody else following him, shooting.”

A former law enforcement officer who lives across the street from the Airbnb house told of rescuing girls who were trying to get away and hide.

“I’m standing out on the patio. The girls said, ‘Please call the police. He has a gun!’ Right then I heard 5-7 shots fired,” the retired officer said. “I saw the muzzle flash [across the street from my house]. The girls scrambled right up here, “Please help us! Please help us!”

“I got everybody downstairs,” he continues. “They’re upset. They’re shaking. They’re crying. They said they were from North Seattle and people from SeaTac showed up, and a brawl was breaking out. When the girls encountered someone with a gun they started to leave. ‘Please call police, he has a gun.’

The former police official continued, “She said she was with a boy she didn’t know. Apparently, they had just met. He was armed with a handgun. She thought he had been shot because he was holding his side and he was bleeding. He got into a private car and drove away after the gunfire had erupted,” he said.

A published email from the purported Airbnb owner read in part, “I can assure you this sort of incident has not only not ever happened at this location, but has never happened to me at any property that I help homeowners manage. But clearly, an incident like this forces us to take a very hard look at our processes, and here is what I can tell you thus far:

The individual(s) that rented the house represented themselves fraudulently: they said they were two brothers coming to visit their 3rd brother who had just started grad school at UW. We had asked reasonable clarifying questions to screen them, but this guest had not completed a stay prior on the Airbnb platform….

…I can tell you we explicitly do NOT allow parties; we have advertised the house as suitable for small events (think children’s birthday parties or baby showers). That neighbors noticed a growing number of people, but didn’t have a way to alert me is a failure to communicate on my part to you. We take our role as a good neighbor very seriously, but this is definitely where we could have done better.

…I hope I have capably described how this has shaken me. Both our neighbors and us were the victims of an incredibly irresponsible and dangerous individual, and we’re going to do everything in our power to ensure this person or persons are held responsible for what they’ve done. But this has also given us an opportunity to do a better job to be part of the neighborhood, and we’re going to make sure we act on it.”

Seattle police could not immediately confirm whether anyone had been shot.

By reporter, Steven Smalley

For 81-years Targy’s Tavern in Queen Anne has been a local institution. Now Magnolia’s Joel and Margo Stedman, owners of the Village Pub, buys the semi-famous watering hole at 600 West Crockett Street and makes it the third member of their family. The Stedmans also have the Duvall Tavern. 

“I dreamed of it for over a decade,” Joel Stedman tells Magnolia Voice. “I lived on Queen Anne and set foot in there in 2011. I said, ‘Wow, this place is cool.’ I was immediately in love.”

Known for its friendly bar, but not so much for the food, the location doesn’t have a full-on kitchen. Targy’s will continue to offer pizza and reasonably priced drinks to visitors and regulars. Happy hour is a generous 4-7 p.m. 

“The beauty of Targy’s is that it’s such a neighborhood institution. We don’t want to disturb it much,” Stedman says. “It has a feng shui about it. If you mess with it too much it’s no longer Targy’s, right? It’s this little tucked away gem. We are really excited about being part of the Queen Anne neighborhood.”

Targy’s may have the attention of the Stedmans today, fear not, the Pub isn’t going anywhere. The lease just renewed. 

“We’ve owned the Pub for eight years. It’s been a good ride so far,” Stedman says. “We’re stoked to be part of the community. We try to be Cheers, where everybody knows your name.”

Owner frustrated
By reporter Steven Smalley

Thieves were at it again early this morning (Thursday) about 1:15 a.m. at the Magnolia Shell station at 34th & Government Way. This time they went after the propane tank that sits outside, as seen on video provided by Sam Nasif, owner of the station. 

The video shows a man and a woman taking up to five propane tanks out of a Honda Accord, license 270 YGR. What the perps didn’t seem to know was the the tank is powered by electricity that is shut off every night by employees, according to Nasif.

The car was licensed to a man in Lynnwood who sold it to another man who had a Minnesota address. The buyer never transferred the title, according to Nasif.

“The thieves got a little propane that was pressurized in the system. Without power they were not able to get much,” explained Nasif. “The lock looked like it had been jimmied. Between the time the meter was read at closing, to the next day, it looked like we lost 33 gallons – between the theft and the leakage.”

This is the same gas station that was hit with a smash and grab robbery September 28. Additionally, Nasif says the woman in his video matches the video of another incident showing her prowling around the front porch of a neighbor who had the activity recorded. 

“It’s frustrating,” says Nasif. “Whoever broke into our propane tank today are RV guys. I tracked that information down. The car that stole the propane was seen a couple of days ago off Commodore Way next to an RV that was dealing drugs. I have two properties on Magnolia and I pay $50,000 a year in property taxes. There aren’t enough police here.”

A Seattle police spokesperson tells Magnolia Voice the department has three separate investigations looking into crimes such as these in this area. Since the call from Nasif was a non-violent, non-emergency call, then it is put in the queue and handled in that order.

Just two weeks into the school year, Magnolia Voice has been told that some of our teachers will be cut next week. 

From Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Today, a letter signed from Michael Tolley, Flip Herndon, JoLynn Berge, and Clover Codd went out saying, “Dear School Leaders….”

The district has 775 fewer students than they thought they would.  They say that they are only off by 1.4%. From the letter, it is unclear if that is growth they had expected (but not gotten) or students who have left the district or both. They cannot cover all that revenue loss and so they are cutting teachers. The timeline was that principals were told yesterday and today the principals told their schools (starting “the displacement process”).  Those teachers to be cut will be notified by next Monday.    Those teachers moving will be told next Tuesday and Wednesday and move Friday, the 28th. Please write the Board and the Superintendent – you can reach them and senior staff at: schoolboard@seattleschools.org. 

Click here for the full article

By reporter Steven Smalley

Just for a day

Get ready for a new look in the Village. The parking area along the west wall of Uptown Espresso on 33rd Avenue & McGraw, transforms into a park-let in celebration of International PARK(ing) Day, according to Pat Craft of The Magnolia Chamber of Commerce.