By Doree and Michael

Incoming kindergarteners and students of all grades who are new to Seattle Public Schools can get a head start on the enrollment process for next year starting on Monday. Early Enrollment goes through Jan. 31, 2012.

SPS enrollment facilitators will be at several Seattle Public Library locations and neighborhood community centers from Oct. 3-25 to help parents fill out forms and answer questions. You can also enroll your child during Seattle Public Schools’ Family and Community Symposium on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Garfield High School (interpreters provided).
Early enrollment allows families to avoid long lines during the busy spring and summer enrollment periods. While early enrollment does not impact where a student is assigned to school – under the new student assignment plan, assignment is based on the student’s home address – it is offered as a convenience to families, enabling them to get the enrollment paperwork completed ahead of time.
In addition, families who have students enrolling early – as well as existing students – will receive their school assignment notification in early 2012, prior to the Open Enrollment period in the spring. Students may apply to attend a different school of their choice during Open Enrollment.
The earliest enrollment is  5:30-7 p.m.,  Monday, Oct. 3 at the Ballard Library, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W. The Queen Anne enrollment takes place Oct. 25 at the Queen Anne Library at 400 W. Garfield St.

Enrollment times and locations are as follows:

Photo courtesy of the Queen Anne Farmers Market

Today the Queen Anne Farmers Market is hosting its yearly market survey, so there will be no chef demo. But in the Music Tent from 5-7 p.m. will be this season’s final performance by Squirrel Butter and Ben Fisher, a local singer-songwriter.

The market survey will be conducted at the market from 3-7 p.m., and online at the market’s site, www.qafma.net as well as on the market’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The survey asks six questions about customer satisfaction.

The market steering committee is also having its annual wrap-up meeting with the City of Seattle today. The focus of that meeting will be figuring out how the market can wean itself from city grants. To that end, the city has granted the market funds to pay for a consultant who will work with market manager Jaime Collado on finding solutions that will bring the market sustainability.

Attendance figures show the market is growing, as the market is averaging 2,600 customers per event. The market had a customer-per-market increase of 77 percent from last year’s figures, Collado said. “And last year’s [2010] it was up 48 percent.”

At next Thursday’s final market of the season, there will be more music from local bands (the Squid Monks) and a chef demo from Rene Erickson of the Walrus and the Carpenter. One can still take the survey at www.qafma.net. At the end of the market, all market staff, vendors, volunteers and sponsors are invited to the year-end party at emmer&rye. The market is from 3-7:30 p.m. at West Crockett Street and Queen Anne Avenue North.

“We’re very proud of this year,” Collado said. “We’re ecstatic.”

Finale today Interbay Farmers Market

Today also marks the final market of the season at Interbay Farmers Market located in the parking lot of Interbay Urban Center, 2001 15th Ave. W., in front of the Interbay Whole Foods store. Interbay Farmers Market is open Thursdays, 3-7 p.m.

Beginning tonight and through Thursday, there will be intermittent land closures on Mercer Street as construction crews work on the Mercer Corridor project.

Up to three lanes of Mercer Street at Terry Avenue North and Boren Avenue North will be closed to accommodate gas-line installations and storm drain crossings at Mercer Street. One lane of traffic will remain open to vehicles at all times. The closures will happen from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. The work is the first phase of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s attempt to ease congestion in the major corridor by making Mercer Street a two-direction street, improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety and access, improving connections among area neighborhoods, improving access to and from the Seattle Center and accommodating future transit investments. The project will also create a new northern entryway to the proposed viaduct tunnel.

Seattle police say the man who stabbed his wife last night in lower Queen Anne is still at large.

At 6:42 p.m., officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 600 block of Queen Anne Avenue North near Roy Street. According to the preliminary police report, investigators found that a 24-year-old suspect stabbed a woman believed to be his wife. The suspect had fled the scene on foot and was gone when police arrived. Police searched the area using a canine unit but failed to locate the suspect.

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center and was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Detectives are currently searching for the man who is described as a white male about 5-foot-8, with shoulder-length brown hair. A knife was recovered at the scene. No word yet on where the victim was stabbed. The View will provide updates as they come.

When we asked readers what they thought were the most beautiful buildings in Seattle, libraries, schools, churches, apartments and skyscrapers across the city were cited. But it was the subtle magnificence of the Magnolia branch of the Seattle Public Library that topped the list of Seattle’s most beautiful buildings.

Magnolia Library
The branch was designed by Seattle architect Paul Hayden Kirk and opened July 17, 1964.

In 2000, the Magnolia Community Club leveraged Opportunity Funds for a branch expansion for which construction began in 2007.

The $4.4 million renovation and expansion brought a new roof, new mechanical system components, technology, ventilation, electrical, computer connections and energy-efficient window glass. The architecture is considered an example of Northwest design with hints of Japanese influence.

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After five-plus years, Bricco owners Kevin and Tracy Erickson have closed the Italian-style restaurant atop Queen Anne hill.
The restaurant at 1525 Queen Anne Ave. N. is already being transformed by Seattle chef Sam Crannell into a new place called LloydMartin, which is named after his two grandparents. The new eatery will have 32 seats and is expected to open in October, according to a sign in the window. Crannell was the former chef at the short-lived Five Corner Market Bar and Kitchen in Ballard.
Crannell’s LloydMartin is touted as fine food at casual prices with comfort flavors, cutting edge techniques, premium ingredients and chef-to-guest interaction.

At 4:10 this afternoon, roughly 13,000 customers in Queen Anne and Magnolia lost power when a breaker failed at a Seattle City Light distribution substation. Power to all customers has since returned.
Seattle City Light dispatched crews to restore the power, which was achieved incrementally. At 7:55 p.m., power was restored to 7,062 customers in both neighborhoods, while 6,081 were still without electricity. Then at 11:03 p.m., power to all customers was restored. Seattle City Light had anticipated that Magnolia customers might be in the dark until 3 a.m.

The power in Queen Anne has been restored though there remains a scheduled outage just down the hill.
The planned outage is between Fourth and Third avenues at West Roy Street and West Mercer Street. Earlier today, nearly 13,000 customers in parts of Queen Anne and Magnolia had lost power. Seattle City Light sent crews out this afternoon and according to one reader, power is now restored in Queen Anne. The City Light outage hotline still maintains that the power is out for about 70 customers in Magnolia at West Howe Street to the north, West Galer Street to the South, Magnolia Boulevard West to the West and 27th Avenue West to the East. Power won’t be restored there until 3 a.m. at the latest.
Thanks Genevieve for the tip!

Nearly 13,000 customers are without power Sunday evening in Queen Anne and Magnolia – including parts of Seattle Center, Seattle City Light is reporting.

“The outage was caused by equipment failure at a distribution substation, though the specific gear hasn’t been identified,” states City Light. “Operators expect that power will be restored by about 7:30 p.m.”

A bike ride to honor those killed or injured while biking in Seattle will take place today at 3 p.m., at Queen Anne’s eastern edge at South Lake Union Park.
Riders will ride slowly to the memorials created for Mike Wang, Brian Fairbrother and Robert Townsend, each killed in biking accidents in the city.
The Seattle Bike Blog is organizing a ride that will visit the memorials at Dexter and Thomas streets, Fairview Avenue North, and University Way.
Anyone whose life has been affected by biking tragedies, and those in support of legislation to make biking safer in the city, is welcome to ride. For more information visit www.seattlebikeblog.com.

We’ve extended the deadline for the list of your favorite buildings to Sunday night and will post the results Monday, Sept. 26.
The Queen Anne View still wants to hear from you! If you like last century’s classics or more modern designs, let us know. Pick your favorite, be it glassy office tower, a monolithic apartment building, a library, a Neoclassical academia or a Gothic-influenced church let us know. The View will have a “Most Beautiful Home” listing soon. Send your votes to tips@queenanneview.com.

Brain cancer survivor, Kami Combes, with her husband, Patrick.

She was getting ready for bed at about 10 p.m., when she began feeling dizzy and lightheaded. And that was that.
The next morning, Kami Combes woke up as if nothing had happened. Except that her husband was home. Her children were up and home. Her parents were in the living room.
“They said you have to go to the doctor,” she recalled.
This was in March of 2007, Combes was 32. She first went to the Swedish Clinic on Queen Anne Avenue North and then was directed to Swedish on First Hill. There she was given an MRI and went home with instructions to return the next day. The following day doctors announced that she had a tumor in her brain roughly the size of a pea. But it was in the middle of her brain. Hard to get to. The subsequent biopsy showed the pea was cancerous. Stage 2 and progressing.
In June the operation to remove the tumor commenced. Doctors were able to remove it without damaging Combes’ brain. Directly after the surgery came the six weeks of radiation. Similar to the MRI, Combes was immobilized. She wore a mask that was pinned down around her head to help keep her face still.
Then came the chemotherapy, sickly and gutwrenching. Four pills a day for five days, then a 25-day break. Then repeat for five more months.
“I got super sick from that,” Combes said from her home in Queen Anne. “Lots of people get tired, I got sick.” The first few days were the worst she said.
Her parents, who live near Seattle Pacific University, took her into their home and took care of her. Combes’ husband, meanwhile, took care of the kids and worked. Bills were piling up, but “we were lucky to have good insurance,” Combes said with an audible sigh. By February of 2008, after the operation, the radiation, the chemotherapy, the vomiting and slight hair loss, it was over. The diagnosis was good, doctors said. To this day she continues to get the occasional MRI, but there has been no sign of cancer, only gratitude.
Combes, since then, has been making the annual pilgrimage that is the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk, a national event that raises awareness of brain cancer and raises funds to pay for brain cancer research and comprehensive care for patients and their families in the Pacific Northwest. The first two years saw the walk take place on Mercer Island. Now it’s at the Seattle Center. Today is the last day to register.
The money raised from the walk will go right to paying for research – research that has already seen results. The Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Swedish, in collaboration with Accium Biosciences, leveraged $50,000 from the 2008 Brain Cancer Walk and another $180,000 from the National Cancer Institute to use Accium’s 15-ton particle accelerator. The device analyzes tumor tissue to figure out how much of a chemotherapy drug reaches its target. The information can improve individual patient’s care by discovering medications that are and are not working. The technology didn’t exist when Combes was diagnosed. Knowing that its presence is in part due to funds from the walk has inspired her to keep walking. And this year an anonymous donor contributed $500,000 to the cause.
“Not all can do it,” Combes said of the walk, during which she and other survivors wear green shirts. “But you can go and meet other people and kids can come. A lot of people who had surgery can’t [do the walk] but are there.” The funds raised, Combes added, allows for more research to take place, “and that’s pretty incredible.”
The walk takes place this Saturday. Click here to register.

Rendering courtesy of Tiscareno Associates.

Queen Anne’s most prominent and active developer, Joe Geivett, told the Queen Anne Community Council’s land-committee Monday that the Metropolitan Market project is still on track to begin construction by next summer.

Geivett, principal at Emerald Bay Equity, LLC, is currently pursuing a mass-use permit from the city and will apply for a building permit in January. He said the market will close next summer and will be razed along with two neighboring rental homes and the El Frieda apartments. The combined demolition and construction should take up to 18 months. Geivett expects the new structure will be ready by late 2013.

Geivett’s presentation was warmly received by the Land Use Review Committee of the Queen Anne Community Council on Monday. The developer focused on the look, shape and boundaries of the project which is aimed at completely redeveloping the existing space into a mixed-use structure. As is the trend in urban housing projects throughout Seattle, particularly noticeable in Ballard and Queen Anne, Geivett’s project will have 24,000 square feet for the market, 20,000 square feet of additional ground-floor space for retail, 110 apartments and roughly 200 underground parking spaces. Geivett said there has already been interest in some of the retail by an Irish pub-type establishment. And while the building will mean an increase in the number of people living in Queen Anne, Geivett doesn’t anticipate an increase in traffic along Queen Anne Avenue North as the younger demographic expected to live in the building is “trending away” from the use of cars and even home phones.

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Nearly 110,000 cars travel across the Alaskan Way Viaduct each day. Next month, those drivers will be pushed onto other streets as Washington Department of Transportation crews demolish the southern end of the Viaduct.

Starting on Friday, October 21st, the Viaduct will be closed for nine full days.

“The nine-day closure of the viaduct will significantly affect traffic across the Puget Sound region,” said Matt Preedy, WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct deputy program director. “We realize that not everyone can completely change their commute. But for those who have a choice, options such as vanpooling, carpooling or other forms of transportation can help you avoid long delays.”

Northbound closure details:

Southbound closure details:

The Queen Anne View wants to hear from you! Do you like the classics from last century? Do the more modern designs take your breath away? For this list, The Queen Anne View wants readers to pick their favorite building in the city, be it glassy office tower, a monolithic apartment building, Neoclassical academia or Gothic-influenced church—just not a single family residence. The View will have a “Most Beautiful Home” listing soon. Send your votes totips@queenanneview.com. The View will post the favorites Sept. 23.

It was packed behind the Whole Foods Saturday afternoon, where 25 food trucks parked and prepared to feed the multitudes.

The maiden voyage of the Mobile Food Rodeo quickly sold out of its 500 VIP tasting tickets. Hungry people parked where they could and scrambled to the event supporting the latest trend in gastronomy: food trucks. Photographer Derek Reeves and a friend attended the event. While they were impressed with the creative cuisine, there were problems.

Photo courtesy of Derek Reeves at www.ocularproof.com

“The organization of the event was a little silly,” he said. “I think they were overwhelmed by the response of the event and didn’t know how to handle the crowds. We got there 30 minutes before the event officially began and still had to wait in line a solid hour. Many of the popular items sold out rapidly. Skillet sold out of everything on their menu by 1:30 p.m. Other vendors had their signature dishes disappear first then had some remaining items.”

Despite the hitches in handling the event, Reeves said overall the Mobile Food Rodeo was great fun.

Photo courtesy of Derek Reeves at www.ocularproof.com

Followers on the rodeo’s Facebook page issued both praise and rage for the event. The praise went to the star of the event: The food. The Rage: the organization and lack of communication. One attendee wrote: …What I heard and observed were people who went to some degree of trouble to get their tickets and come early with an expectation of getting in at a certain time. It also didn’t help to see a food truck arrive after 11 – most wondered what was going on and no communication was forthcming until at least 11:30 or later (I wasn’t really counting). [the reader then added] I’m sure the folks around us will remember with a smile when we convinced Matt, of Where Ya At Matt, to sell us some hot Beignets over the fence while we were waiting to get in . . . it was fun and warming for us and very smart on his part. So Kudos to Matt!”

Two dollars from every ticket sold went to the Solid Ground nonprofit. Rodeo organizers are currently tallying proceeds and will report soon the total donation numbers. Organizers say they may add a beer garden at the next event, tentatively scheduled for next spring.