Give a kitty a good home this Saturday

Photo by Sam Holland.
Photo by Sam Holland.
You want a cute kitty like this, don’t you? The Seattle Animal Shelter is making it easy for you to bring a cat home, by hosting a cat adoptathon here in Southeast Seattle this Saturday, August 8. The event is from noon to 3:00 pm at the Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue South. There will be cats of many different breeds available.

Adoption prices range from $102 to $107, and include:

  • Initial vaccinations
  • Deworming
  • Feline Leukemia testing
  • Certificate for free health exam at local veterinarians
  • Spay or neuter
  • Microchip
  • Two-year Seattle Pet License (if applicable)

Beacon Bits: Blue Scholars, Homework Helpers, and a School Board candidate

Found dog 8/4, near 39th Ave S.
Found dog 8/4, near 39th Ave S.
Do you recognize this dog? Know where he belongs? He’s a rather timid and skittish and probably really wants to be home. Contact pateb@foster.com if you can help get him there.

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On the flip side of “found”, Kazi the orange tabby cat has been missing from his home near the Jefferson Park golf course since Sunday. He may be wearing a blue “stinky cat”-labeled collar. If you’ve seen him, please contact his owner through this Craigslist posting.

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Dayna P writes with a question about organizing a trash pickup effort on her block:

Hi. I’m a neighbor on 13th Ave S by Maple Park and recently walked to a friend’s house on 12th Ave, towards downtown. I just couldn’t believe the amount of trash on the street… really awful! I’m wondering if anyone out there is interested in helping me organize a neighborhood trash pickup day. I’ve never done anything like this, so don’t know the best way to go about it. Anyone out there want to help get this going? Does anyone know if the city/parks dept has any programs that help this kind of effort?

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The Seattle Public Library is seeking Homework Helpers for the 2009-2010 school year. Homework Helpers assist elementary, middle and high school students with understanding homework assignments, developing study skills and learning approaches for solving math problems. English is a second language for the majority of the students. Homework Helpers are asked to assist students for just two hours per week throughout the school year, some time Monday through Thursday, between 4 and 8pm. Openings are available at many south-end branches, including the Beacon Hill branch. For more information and to request a volunteer application, please contact Anne Vedella, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at anne.vedella@spl.org by Friday, August 14. Interviews will take place in August. They’re also looking for “Talk Time facilitators” at the Beacon Hill branch — contact Anne about that, as well.

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Local south-end hip-hop duo Blue Scholars turns the music biz on its head: the band signs a label to distribute their album. (Sabzi from the band lives on Beacon Hill. Also, catch their CurrentTV video featuring footage around town, including a stop at Jose Rizal Park.)

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Some strange things are afoot on 14th. Kara on the mailing list wrote yesterday:

We seem to have some suspicious activity going on at 14th Ave S and S Nevada. There is a red Toyota Corolla that waits at the intersection for a “delivery” from someone on foot or in a black extended cab Toyota Tacoma. They make an exchange and away they go. We’ve seen it twice in the last month, most recently this evening (Monday) around 9pm.
I suspect that it is drugs. We have reported it to SPD. If anyone else sees these vehicles hanging around PLEASE report to 911.

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West Seattle Blog says the removal of the leaky membrane is complete at the Beacon Hill Reservoir.

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Three burglary suspects were caught (and one remains at large) following a break-in at a home in the 4100 block of 13th Avenue South on Friday, reports the SPD Blotter. That didn’t make much of an impact, however. Hazel mentioned on the mailing list and in a post on her blog about another break-in which occurred not too far away at her home, 20th and Spokane on Saturday. Any recommendations for security companies? The question has come up on the list since.

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Wilson Chin, candidate for Seattle School Board. Photo courtesy wilson chin for schools.com
Wilson Chin, candidate for Seattle School Board. Photo courtesy wilson chin for schools.com
Wilson Chin joins fellow Beacon Hillian Charlie Mas in the race for Seattle School Board. The Seattle Times has a backgrounder article on all of the candidates for District 7.

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Travis posted several interesting neighborhood-related blog entries over the weekend, including a firsthand account of attempted plant theft from the landscaping around the new Beacon Hill light rail station and the strange appearance of an SPU trailer near Daejeon Park.

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An apprehension at gunpoint (with photo of cops with guns drawn!) was posted by Laura at the Beacon Hill Bungalow blog.

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Cakespy discovers one of the many delicious pastries at Delite Bakery: a Turrón — via Monkey Around Seattle

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I wonder if we’ll see anything like this with our new Residential (or Restricted) Parking Zone: A comparison of what it’s like just inside and outside the RPZ near Swedish Cherry Hill from Central District News.

(Updated 8/5 to correct attribution. Sorry, Laura and Travis!)

DPD rep to preview neighborhood plan update proposals at August 20 meeting

Frederica Merrell of the North Beacon Hill Planning Advisory Committee, a group formed to address issues connected with the city’s intended revamp of the North Beacon Hill neighborhood plan, sends this status report regarding the committee:

Last call for innovative proposals for our neighborhood plan update! The City is still proceeding at a rapid pace to complete our update this fall. Our last community meeting with the City is coming up in September (date unannounced yet). If people want to get a general or specific recommendation on any topic in the plan, it needs to get to the City pronto.

A small group of folks from the diligent North Beacon Hill Planning Advisory committee met with Councilmembers Sally Clark and Tim Burgess and Lyle Bicknell (our man in the planning department) to talk about the process and next steps. There was a lot of baffling lack of clarity about dates and next steps. No notes from the last big meeting held in May have been provided to the community. It seems clear that DPD is making it up as they go along and is probably having a really hard time keeping up with their own timeline.
Continue reading DPD rep to preview neighborhood plan update proposals at August 20 meeting

Neighbors protest power lines; City Light responds

These are the new power lines on the west side of Beacon Hill. Photo by Wendi.
These are the new power lines on the west side of Beacon Hill. Photo by Wendi.
The Seattle Times revisited the power line controversy on northwest Beacon Hill today, including a photo of neighbors Heather DeRosier, Carole Swanson, and Joan Habu standing underneath one of the new poles with a “Take Them Down!” protest sign. The new, thicker power lines, with taller poles, were installed a few weeks ago near South Stevens Street and 12th Avenue South.

Neighbor Frederica Merrell recently sent a letter of complaint about the power lines to Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco, asking, among other things, “why didn’t they bring the power in from below and run the lines through the tunnel, putting them under the freeway instead of draping them in the open where they will face wind and weather?” and received the following response:

Thank you for your note about the electrical service upgrade in Beacon Hill.

Seattle City Light installed an additional set of power lines to provide service for Sound Transit’s light rail trains, electrified buses and growing energy needs in the Rainier valley. The utility spent about three years reviewing possible routes and designs to deliver this needed service upgrade. While we try to limit the impact of such projects on the surrounding neighborhoods, safety for residents and our workers, reliability of the electric supply, and cost are important considerations as well.
Continue reading Neighbors protest power lines; City Light responds

Meet your neighbors at a Night Out Block Party on Tuesday

Neighbors and police in Washington DC enjoyed their neighborhoods National Night Out in 2008. Photo by DC9T.
Neighbors and police in Washington DC enjoyed their neighborhood's National Night Out in 2008. Photo by DC9T.
As we mentioned earlier, Tuesday August 4, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, is the annual neighborhood Block Party and National Night Out Against Crime. Groups of neighbors throughout the Hill — and throughout the country — are getting together to celebrate their community and hang out with the neighbors while heightening crime prevention awareness.

If you haven’t registered your party with the police department yet, you can still do so until 9:00 am today. Registration materials are here. Of course, you can have a celebration with your neighbors whether you register or not, but to have the street closed, and for the firefighters to bring their truck by for the kids to check out, you’ll need to register your block party.

These are the block parties we have been made aware of this year. Are you having one that isn’t listed here? Please post about it in the comments.

  • Mid-Beacon Hill Block party on South Brandon Street between 20th Avenue South and 21st Avenue South. If you would like to attend, please email Katrina at katrina.thompson@gmail.com
  • Join the neighbors from the north side of 15th Avenue South on the cul-de-sac on 15th and Massachusetts, right across the North Beacon Hill P-Patch. Please bring your own drinks, chairs, and a dish for the potluck. “We will have plenty of music, neighbors, and fun. We hope to meet more of our neighbors. Thanks.”
  • “We’ll be hosting a night out event on South Snoqualmie Street, just west of 11th Avenue South. Come on out!”
  • There is a block party on the 4200 block of 14th Avenue South between South Nevada and South Oregon, 6:30 pm — 10:00 pm. “What people are encouraged to bring: Small Grill, Chairs, Food (Meat, Veggies, Fruit, Desert, etc…), and smiling faces. We’d love to invite folks from all over Beacon Hill, so it doesn’t matter if you’re from our block. Come on out!”
  • A block party will be between Judkins and Atlantic on 13th Avenue South, in a shaded area with several barbecues and room for kids to play. “Please feel free to drop by if you live in the neighborhood.”