Beacon Hill Blog

Thursday’s NBHC meeting agenda

From Judith Edwards, NBHC Chair:

The North Beacon Hill Council will meet Thursday, Nov. 5th at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Beacon Hill Library. All are welcome! You are a voting member of the Council if you have attended one meeting previously. The Council is our voice to city government, and your voice makes a difference.

This is an important meeting (as they all are!). Lyle Bicknell, Project Manager of the Neighborhood Planning Update team will present the results of the two open houses held in September to gain information on the plans prepared by the Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Department of Planning and Development. These plans, which affect the area surrounding our new light rail station, are a response to input from the public meetings held here on North Beacon and the survey comments sent to the Department of Neighborhoods. It is important that your voice be heard, whether you agree or disagree, as these plans will be submitted for municipal code review by the end of the year.

Please note that board business and issues of concern to many community residents occur at the end our our meeting. You may choose only to stay for Lyle Bicknell’s report back, and a small break will allow those who wish to leave at that time to do so.

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 Agenda
North Beacon Hill Council
Beacon Hill Public Library
7:00 PM

• 7:00 — Welcomes and introductions
• 7:10 — Lyle Bicknell, City of Seattle – Neighborhood Plan Updates followed by questions and comments from the floor
• 8:00 — Community Reports and Concerns (2-3 minutes each)
  • Steve Louie, Neighborhood Coordinator
  • Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee (Judith Edwards)
  • Greater Duwamish District Council (Matthew Stubbs, NBHC rep)
  • Neighborhood Planning Ad Hoc Committee
  • Jefferson Park Playground
  • Seattle Police Department – Safety (Shelly Bates)
  • Festival Street Opening (Curtis LaPierre)
  • Other
• 8:30 — Close

NBHC looking for directors and volunteers

North Beacon Hill Council Chair Judith Edwards writes to the mailing list:

Several North Beacon Hill Council Directors positions will be open in 2009. Nominations for these positions will be brought forward at the May Council meeting. Residents of the community and business owners in the service area are invited and encouraged to fill these positions.

The North Beacon Council (NBHC) is a voice for our neighborhood, building relationships with City Council members, and City departments, applying for or acting as a fiscal agent for grants that result in improvements to North Beacon Hill such as stairway cleanup/enhancement, pedestrian crossings, public spaces, etc. These are some of the skills the Council is looking for:

1. Someone with the ability to update and add new members to an existing webpage – and we’d be open to someone re-designing the page, making it really pop!
2. A willingness to take minutes at meetings and provide them to the web-site monitor for posting to the website.
3. Someone to act as a fundraising chair – getting people excited about an occasional fund raiser for the Council – a great position for an idea person!
4. Someone to act as a liaison to media outlets, seeing that meetings and events are published, media attention is brought to the community in a positive way. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to establish media contacts!
5. Someone to monitor and report to the council zoning requests/changes which will have or do have an impact on the BH area.
6. And many other skills!

Directors are elected to two year terms, and are expected to attend one (1) meeting per month, on the first Thursday of each month. These volunteer positions offer a great opportunity for leadership in the community and a chance to be part of the exciting changes which Beacon Hill will see in the coming years. Sorry, no recompense – only glory! Interested? Contact Judith Edwards, NBHC Chair, by emailing judedw@comcast.net.

Thanks, Judith!

Hit and run of bicyclist at 21st & College: can you find the driver?

A bicyclist was struck and injured by a ’80s Oldsmobile Cutlass or Chevy, navy blue in color with a white top, that fled the scene at 21st Ave. S & S College St. this afternoon at approximately 1:49pm. The rider suffered life-threatening injuries from the impact and medics transported him to Harborview. Anyone with information about the vehicle (which probably has front-end damage) or its owner is encouraged to call 911 and report it.

More details at SPDBlotter.

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No comprehensive high schools to close this year

Seattle Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson stated at a school board meeting last night that closure of Seattle’s comprehensive high schools is now off the table for this year, as are mergers such as the previously suggested options to merge Aki Kurose Middle School and the Center School with Rainier Beach High School.

The even earlier proposal to merge Cleveland High School with Rainier Beach had already been rejected.

Goodloe-Johnson did say that closure of one of the traditional high schools might need to happen sometime in the next few years, given the budget woes of the District.

Some high-school-aged students still face closure or relocation of their programs, however; Summit K-12 is currently on the superintendent’s “preferred” list for closure, while NOVA and SBOC are on the list for relocation.

The superintendent’s final recommendations will be announced January 6, and on January 7 there will be a school board meeting at which a motion to close/move schools is planned to be introduced. The District posts news about this process at their Capacity Management website, http://www.seattleschools.org/area/capacity/index.dxml.

A neighbor’s plea: Can you help Noemi’s kids?

Amber Campbell at the Rainier Valley Post sent this email to us today:

“Most of you already know that earlier this week, my neighbor Noemi Lopez – the mother of three beautiful children, 15-year old Karina, 13-year old Alandra and 6-year old Alex – was killed by her ex-husband. Angel has confessed to the murder and remains on the run. The children are staying with relatives but they have been unable to return to their home for clothes, school supplies, personal belongings, etc. Can you help them?

“I am personally keeping in touch with the family on a regular basis to keep tabs on their needs and deliver the outpouring of sentiments, blessings and donations. So far neighbors have contributed money, clothing and a tree to plant in Noemi’s memory.

“At this time we are focused on helping the children with clothing, school supplies and gifts for the holidays, as well as the crime scene clean-up costs that will range somewhere in the area of $1,000 – $5,000.

“The Rainier Valley Post has established a fund specifically for the Lopez Children and we would all be very grateful for whatever publicity you can offer to generate help for these poor kids during the most horrible time of their lives.

“Please go to www.rainiervalleypost.com for info about how people can give.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.”

Please help if you can. At the Rainier Valley Post site, there is a PayPal button in the upper sidebar, along with an address if you prefer to mail a donation.

Beacon Hill Dry Cleaners site for sale

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Got $1.3 million to spare? The Beacon Hill Dry Cleaners site on the corner of Beacon and Columbian is for sale. The sale flyer says: “Great opportunity to own 13864 square feet of developable land on the corner of Beacon Ave S and Columbia. This area is expecting major growth.” Sounds like there might be changes coming when and if the sale happens.

Foxhound on Beacon Hill needs a loving home

Abbey needs a home. Do you need a dog to love?

Andrew Crowder sent this message to the Beacon Hill mailing list:

Last year my wife and I rescued a wonderful 2 year old fox hound from the Humane Society. We named her Abbey and she is a very good companion. However, as we are expecting a baby girl in December, Abbey will be too much for us to manage while attending to an infant. If you are a walker or runner, she is an ideal training partner. I take her out on a 2 – 4 mile run (rain or shine) at least 3 days a week and she loves being outdoors.

If Abbey sounds like she may be compatible to your lifestyle, or if you know someone looking for a pet, I strongly encourage you to first check out a description of her breed [See American Foxhound]. Also, if you own a cat, ferret or a similar non-canine creature, then a foxhound under the same roof is simply not a good idea.

One important necessity for her breed is a tall enclosed fence with no escape routes while you are away. If left alone for long periods, the fox hound will get bored and become curious to explore the various interesting scents wafting through the neighborhood. However as long as people are at home, Abbey has no incentive to run off and contents herself with sleeping on her cushion, that is, after you’ve taken her out to play. When people are around, she is a very good indoor dog.

We have grown very attached to her, and want to ensure that she finds a suitable home that would be conducive to mutual happiness with her owner(s).

Please respond to our email if you are interested in adopting Abbey: lacrowder@msn.com

– Andrew Crowder