Beacon Hill Blog

El Centro also seeks the community’s development input

Jason — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:52:49 +0000

Photo by Wendi

Elliott Jones, Development Assistant with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps at El Centro de la Raza sent this to the mailing list today:

If you’re involved with El Centro de la Raza at all, you know that we’ve been working for a few years on finalizing plans to develop the South end of our property (directly across from the Light Rail Station along Lander St.). We are extremely excited because now that the Light Rail is up and running, it won’t be too long before we get to develop the property and make our beloved Beacon Hill even better!

Our vision for the space includes a large multi-purpose/event building, underground parking, low-income housing, an open space/plaza, as well as retail/office/business space. We are currently working with the Business and Economic Development Center (BEDC) at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business to assess what kind of retail/office/business space will be best for the Beacon Hill community. And of course, in order to figure that out we need your input!

Students from the BEDC will be at Red Apple this weekend with a questionnaire they developed regarding what kind of development you, as Beacon Hill residents, would like to see on that piece of property, so valuable now that the Light Rail has moved in – small, independent stores? Chain restaurants? More grocery options? Better parking?

If you’d like to fill out the survey without taking a trip to Red Apple, you can download the survey in Microsoft Word format from El Centro.

Because not everyone has the capability of running Microsoft Word, we have made an HTML version and Google Docs version available if you find working with those formats in your web browser easier. (I hope this does not cause a hardship for the survey talliers.)

Please email your completed surveys to Ming Huang, President of the Asian Business Student Association, at huangmingf@yahoo.com.

Ms. Huang and her colleagues will compile them and send the results to El Centro anonymously. Mr. Jones emphasized that they are committed to developing the El Centro property in the community’s best interest.

If you have any questions, you can contact Elliott Jones at (206) 957-4652.

© Jason Simpson for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments |
Post tags: development, el centro, el centro de la raza, redevelopment, survey

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Crime notes: Civic stolen, scanner catch-up

Jason — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:53:27 +0000

Dan Dean writes:

Just wanted to let you know that our car was stolen last night from 14th Ave and South Hinds Street, and was hoping you could post it to the blog!

This is on the heels of a roof rack stolen off of our car last week. I don’t know what’s going on in our neighborhood, but it’s incredibly frustrating.

Please keep an eye out for a white 1998 Honda Civic 4-door with Washington plate 299 VCV.

* * *

Chris and Amie wrote to the mailing list about a car prowl that occurred on Sunday:

Last night, someone smashed our front passenger window of our newer model car with our empty garbage can, parked on the parking pad at 19th & McClellan, an open, well lit spot. They rifled through the contents of the car, and stole my jacket in the front seat. We figured they just leaned in to look for stuff, as the alarm would have gone off if they opened a door. I would imagine it took them several tries to break a car window with an empty 24-gallon plastic garbage can. Sadly, we heard nothing. This was reported to the police.

* * *

And catching up on recent activity logged at BHNW’s Scanner Blotter:

Robbery reported at 17th and Shelton, 8:55pm yesterday
Suspicious group of 5-7 men chased from back yard near 37th and Rose, 6:55pm yesterday
Report of several shots fired near 14th and Oregon, 2:45pm yesterday
Three men door-knocking and looking in windows ran off when they saw someone at home near 32nd and Juneau, 2pm yesterday
Burglary reported near Morgan and Beacon, 1pm yesterday
Forced entry burglary reported near 13th and Austin, 3pm Saturday
Burglary reported near 14th and Hinds, 6:45pm last Thursday (very near where Dan’s car was stolen from!)

* * *

Theresa described some suspicious activity on the mailing list last Friday:

My husband confronted two men who were scoping out houses on our block, the 2700 block of 13th Ave S, around noon today. The first man was about 6′-3″, white, blond hair, glasses, about 25-30 years old, wearing black hoodie and jeans. The second man was about 5′-6″ black, 30-35 years old, black coat, blue jeans, white shoes, carrying a duffle bag.

They walked down the street with a piece of paper in hand, stopping on the sidewalk in front of each house, sometimes going back to houses they had already looked at. They went up to some houses and looked in the front windows. My husband saw the tall man go up to one neighbor’s house look in the front window, then knock on the door, looking over his shoulder repeatedly while the other guy stayed out on the sidewalk looking up and down the street.

My husband went across the street to confront them, and the guy at the door immediately turned away from the house, mid-knock. The guys just looked at each other when he asked what they were doing, paused, then said they were “collecting information”. They departed on foot, heading north on 13th Ave S.

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SDOT improvements coming to Columbian Way

Jason — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:15:39 +0000

From the SDOT blog:

A new paving project is planned for South Columbian Way between Beacon Ave S and 15th Ave S in 2010. The project will benefit the multiple users of the street by:

Repaving the street

Installing new curbs

Improving drainage

Constructing new curb ramps at intersections to improve pedestrian access

In addition to the above, this portion of Columbian Way S will be restriped as part of this project. Restriping would help improve motor vehicle safety and access, pedestrian access, and bicycle usage. Proposed changes include:

one lane of motor vehicle traffic in each direction

a new two-way center turn lane

new bike lanes

a new dedicated right-turn lane at VA Hospital Drive to improve access to the medical center

This project is a part of the voter approved “Bridging the Gap” transportation levy. Click here for more information on the project.

These improvements will tie in with improvements slated for 15th Ave S.

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Rainier Valley Food Bank burglarized, Thanksgiving food stolen

Wendi — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:31:12 +0000

Photo by Mack Male.

$1500-$2000 in food was stolen from the Rainier Valley Food Bank between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning when burglars broke into the food bank’s storage locker and stole potatoes, onions, canned food, peanut butter, and other food collected by local volunteers in food drives last weekend. The food was scheduled to be given out this weekend as the Thanksgiving distribution. If you would like to help, you can bring your donations to the Rainier Valley Food Bank, 4205 Rainier Avenue South, Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or donate online at rvfb.org.

Thanks to the Seattle Times for the report.

© Wendi Dunlap for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: burglary, food banks, opportunities to do something good

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Contributions wanted for neighborhood status report

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:01:38 +0000

The status of Beacon Hill for the next few months is likely to be something like this -- rainy. Photo by Bridget Christian in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.

by Frederica Merrell

Beacon Neighbors,

It occurred to me this week we should put together a status report on our neighborhood issues, projects and forums, for Mayor-Elect McGinn. Here is a draft. I came up with a bunch of categories that we could write short summaries on. Some stuff we could pull right off the Blog. Volunteers?

Take a topic and write a short summary as a comment to this blog post. As I see them posted, I will compile into one doc. I will post the results and we can hand it out to our Mayor-Elect at the upcoming forums and also distribute to new council members. If this format works, we could do an annual or biannual report.

Game?

DRAFT North Beacon Hill Status Report to Mayor-Elect McGinn November 09

North Beacon is an active and articulate residential community. North Beacon Hill pioneered urban village planning in 1990 (North Beacon Hill Action Plan), before the City initiated the 1998 planning cycle. We are currently working on recommendations for our third neighborhood plan and have numerous other planning documents completed.

Here are the highlights of our areas of focus, projects and forums:

Primary Issues of Concern and Focus 2009 (Summaries below)

Neighborhood planning and urban village investment

Equitable High Speed Internet Access for local businesses and residents

15th Ave. S Street Project

Public Safety

Stevens Street Utility Poles Remediation

Ongoing outreach to our diverse community

Improving local schools and youth programs

Projects (Summaries below)

Jefferson Park Reconstruction (Implementation by the City with stewardship of the community)

Lander Festival Street (Implementation by the City with stewardship of the community)

Beacon Rockit: Local folks initiating arts and gatherings in a storefront on Beacon Avenue

Beacon Farmers Market: Long desired use for the new festival street

Urban Agriculture Project: Designed for Jefferson Park by local permaculture students.

(...)
Read the rest of Contributions wanted for neighborhood status report (368 words)

© Admin for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments |
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Jungle cleanup, sidewalk flooding, and overserving among topics on the BAN list

Jason — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:24:29 +0000

The Beacon Hill Alliance of Neighbors (BAN) mailing list has been quite active recently, and Travis Mayfield has been all over it for KOMO:

Update: Inside the Jungle — Craig Thompson details a recent excursion into the homeless encampment that runs along the west and north sides of the hill, alongside I-5 and I-90.
Sidewalk ‘Pools’ Raise Pedestrian Complaints — Complaints of flooded and obstructed sidewalks are addressed by neighborhood representative Steve Louie and City Councilmember Sally Clark.
Responding to Public Drunkeness — Tips on reporting “overserving” to the Washington State Liquor Control Board when observing evidence of public drunkeness.

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Parts of Beacon Hill among nearly 5,000 without power

Jason — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:31:10 +0000

From the Seattle Post-Globe:

About 4,657 customers lost power at about 6:20 p.m. The cause is unknown and the estimated time of power restoral is undetermined. Affected areas include parts of Rainier Beach, Beacon Hill and Seward Park. The general boundaries of the outage are S. Alaska St. on the North, S. Norfolk St. on the South, Lake Washington on the East and Airport Way S. on the West.

Read the full story.

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Beacon Hill possibly “the test bed for a new network”

Jason — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:46:30 +0000

“…it’s quite likely that Beacon Hill would be for all the reasons cited above the test bed for a new network.”

Glenn Fleishman’s latest article at Publicola deals with the broadband pariah that is Beacon Hill and the Central District and how Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn wants to address the issue by building a city-wide fiber-to-the-home network paid for by revenue bonds. A plan to “issue bonds, find contractors, and start building triple-play to the home over fiber” is deemed “likely”. This would entail “100 Mbps symmetrical broadband (like they have in Hong Kong, where it costs US$14 per month), video with high-definition channels, and unlimited voice calling.” An appealing proposition.

Read the article at Publicola.

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Beacon Bits: Potluck chocolate ribbon nuisances

Jason — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:08:56 +0000

Judith Edwards sends a couple of event reminders to the mailing list:

Mark your calendars for two upcoming events! On Thursday, December 3, the North Beacon Hill Council will hold a potluck dinner and honoring ceremony to recognize those who have worked so hard in the past year to make our community the wonderful place it is to live, and to plan our focus for the coming year. We’ll meet at 6:30 in the Community Room of the Library. Please bring a dish to share, and your ideas for where you want the Council to focus it’s efforts in the coming year. We’ll combine eating with a ceremony to honor the NBHC Board and the others in the community who have made so much happen, followed by a business meeting at 7:30. Please plan to attend and be part of the voice that speaks for our community.

and

On Saturday, Dec. 5 at 10:00 AM Festival Street will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony! Festival Street is that block of Lander between Beacon Ave. and 17th Ave., just south of El Centro del la Raza and north of the Light Rail Station. There will be coffee and donuts donated by local merchants, tents set up in case of rain (in Seattle?), and visits from City leaders. Please come celebrate what the Pedestrian Task Force and Robert Hinrix have worked so hard to bring to fruition.

* * *

Also via Judith, from Vinh Nguyen:

You are invited to help restore Lewis Park for the last event to it’s natural habitat this Sunday, November 22nd, 2009. Lewis Park forest stewards will be at the park between the hours of 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Tools, gloves and water is provided. Feel free to bring your own gloves if you would like.

This weekend, we are working at the three locations: The Triangle Area, North Slope, and the South end of Lewis Park. We will be mainly applying wood chips, and some planting native trees. We hope you can make it.

Please email Vinh if you’re considering helping out.

* * *

Dee from Yoga On Beacon wrote to announce YoBe’s 3rd Annual Holiday Bazaar is this Sunday, November 22nd, from 12:30 to 5:30pm

Enjoy holiday cheer, tea and cookies, YoBe friendly faces, and cool, quality world products from Four Winds Decor on Queen Anne Hill. Items will include jewelery, pashmina shawls, hand-made soaps, knit goods, silk scarves, journals, hand bags, bamboo ware, and much more! Make your holiday shopping a breeze and have fun too!

All YoBe products will be 10% off. First 20 people will get a free YoBe Tee!

YoBe is located at 3013 Beacon Avenue South.

* * *

A “nuisance properties” ordinance has been approved by the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee. From the P-I:

The ordinance would define “chronic nuisance properties” as places where crimes or drug dealing or other nuisance activities occur at least three times within 60 days, or seven times in a year. Offenses such as prostitution, weapon violations, assaults or gang-related activity would be included in the definition.

The police chief would be given authority to declare a property a chronic nuisance. The owner would be notified in writing and given seven days to respond. The property owner would then have 30 days to work with the police on a plan for clearing out the nuisance activity, or face penalties of up to $500 per day for not complying.

Update: from a City Council news release this afternoon:

The Council’s Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee voted this morning to amend the land use code to allow expedited demolition of derelict properties that too often become magnets for criminal behavior in neighborhoods. Council Bill 116642 provides an exception to city land use laws requiring plans and permits for replacement structures before demolition is allowed in single-family zones.

Update to the update: West Seattle Blog has more on the derelict properties measure.

Via the Trash Problems with am/pm Convenience Store in South Seattle blog.

* * *

Java Love, Kusina Filipina, and El Quetzal received health inspection visits last week. (Remember, red-level violations are corrected even before inspectors leave.)

* * *

Speaking of El Quetzal, Jon Gould recommends their new winter beverage on the mailing list:

Juan and Elena at El Quetzal have a new winter offering…an amazing, thick cup of hot chocolate. It is super tasty. The way they make this traditional Mexican drink is pretty cool: They start with dry corn kernels which are softened in water for a few hours. Then they blend the softened kernels with water until the consistency is silky. This is then put on the stove to cook with Mexican chocolate and fresh cinnamon – while a patient person slowly whisks the thickening drink.

The result is a smooth, rich cup of chocolatey wonder. In Spanish, this drink is called “Champurado.” If you arrive at El Quetzal and don’t remember the name just ask for the hot chocolate made with corn.

It’s awesome. Enjoy.

* * *

Finally, Joel points out in the forums that light rail all the way to the airport starts December 19th!

Random emphasis by me. Thanks Joel, Jon, Judith, and Dee! All of the above events and more are (or shortly will be) on our event calendar for your reference.

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Derailed train causing Link light rail delays

Wendi — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:40:11 +0000

Closed doors to the southbound platform at Beacon Hill Station. Photo by Jesse Odam.

As Jason mentioned earlier, there was a derailment of a Link light rail train on the elevated section near the maintenance yard this afternoon. Sound Transit has been able to keep Link service running, though with notable delays, by using only the northbound track through Beacon Hill and Mount Baker stations. Trains are supposed to be running every 20 minutes for the rest of the day.

Reports from riders so far indicate that you should allow more than 20 minutes for the delay, though this may improve as the rush hour traffic dies down. Jesse Odam reports that his usual 15 minute Link trip from the International District to Beacon Hill just after 5:00 pm expanded to nearly an hour, including being passed by a jam-packed train, and then a half-hour wait at Stadium Station.

Sound Transit warns that Link service will be temporarily suspended later, during the removal of the disabled train, because both northbound and southbound tracks will be blocked. During that time there will be a shuttle bus (Route 97), which will operate between the Stadium and Mount Baker light rail stations. We aren’t sure yet when this will happen, but Sound Transit says they’ll update this rider alert page when they are ready to remove the disabled train.

Folks on Seattle Transit Blog are discussing the derailment, its possible causes, and Sound Transit’s handling of the situation, here.

© Wendi Dunlap for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: light rail, link, service disruptions, transit service

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Beacon Bits: Off the rails, on the record, at the party, and eating right

Jason — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:13:41 +0000

KING 5 has a slideshow and story of a Link Light Rail train derailment today in SoDo.

* * *

KOMO’s (and Beacon Hill’s) Travis Mayfield has posted an interview he conducted with Senator Patty Murray on health care. Travis also points out Mike McGinn’s “Victory Party” taking place this Friday, November 20th, at the NewHolly Gathering Hall, to which everyone is invited.

* * *

The Seattle Institute for Biochemical and Clinical Research located at the VA hospital is seeking a full time Research Dietitian, if you happen to know a dietitian looking for a gig.

* * *

Supposed to get pretty windy tonight and tomorrow, like it was early this morning; make sure your garbage cans and lids and such are secure and aren’t blowing down the street.

© Jason Simpson for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: derailed, employment, light rail, link, mike mcginn, patty murray, sound transit, va hospital, Weather, wind

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Anyone recommend a space for a restaurant?

Jason — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:31:19 +0000

Spotted on Craigslist this morning, an ad headlined:

Restaurant Space Needed, South Seattle – $1 (Beacon Hill, Rainier Ave S, Columbia City)

The ad reads:

I am an experienced restaurant owner. I am looking for about 1100 to 1700 squared feet commercial space to lease with class I or II hood for my third location.

The areas I’m interested in: Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Rainer Ave S.

If you like to meet and talk, please respond to my ad.
Thank you

(Light editing and emphasis by me.)

Anyone like to help this person out? Or hazard a guess about what the other two locations might be?

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Events this week: Immigration reform, free tree deadline, Van Asselt playground-in-a-day

Wendi — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:12:07 +0000

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois will participate in a virtual town hall meeting about immigration reform this Wednesday. (Photo from luisgutierrez.house.gov.)

El Centro de la Raza is hosting “A Call to Action for Immigration Reform,” on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:00 pm, including a virtual town hall with Representative Luis Gutierrez to discuss the principles of progressive immigration reform. The call in English will be at 5:00 pm, and in Spanish at 6:00 pm. El Centro de la Raza is located at 2524 16th Avenue South, and this event is in room 310. For more information, call 206-957-4605.

* * *

A few weeks ago we mentioned the ReLeaf tree giveaway program, in which EarthCorp and the City are giving free trees to residents of Beacon Hill and three other Seattle neighborhoods. The deadline to apply for your free trees is tomorrow, Monday, November 16. Applications may be downloaded here. If you need more information about the program, contact Lina Rose, EarthCorps Project Manager, lina@earthcorps.org, 206-793-2454.

* * *

Another reminder: Thursday, November 19, is the day of the Van Asselt playground building project. Volunteers will help build the playground, along with MLS soccer players and representatives from Home Depot and KaBOOM! The MLS players are participating through MLS W.O.R.K.S., the league’s community outreach program, as part of the festivities building up to the MLS Cup next weekend at Qwest Field.

(Hat tip to Examiner.com.)

* * *

Don’t forget to check our Events Calendar for more upcoming events on the Hill!

© Wendi Dunlap for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: el centro de la raza, free, immigration, playground, street trees, trees, van asselt, volunteers

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Does your Broadstripe service meet expectations (yet)?

Jason — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:47:31 +0000

(A) Broadstripe (representative) speaks up in the comments of a previous item:

We have been taking steps to improve High Speed Data services to your area. We have been systematically troubleshooting and repairing our nodes to provide exceptional service to our subscribers. Please contact us directly at earningourstripes@broadstripe.com so we can confirm if you’re (sic) concerns have been resolved with our recent upgrades or if we can do anything further to assist in resolving any on-going service concerns.

We’ve been pretty lucky here; we have not experienced the lengthy periods of complete internet outages many of you have reported and have repeatedly gone back and forth with Broadstripe over (many to the point of giving up on cable broadband entirely).

In my recent experience, I have seen some improvement: speeds during peak usage periods (evenings) are not nearly as horrible as I’d seen in September, but they’re usually only a tenth of the advertised speed of 15 megabits per second. At off-peak times, I have seen very brief peaks above 10 megabits near the beginning of a single download, but after a megabyte or two, the speeds appear to be throttled down to an average somewhere around 3 megabits, one fifth of the advertised rate.

As a rule-of-thumb, downloading one megabyte (1,048,576 bytes or 1024 kilobytes) should take:

about 15 seconds at 500 kilobits per second (500Kbps).
about 8 seconds at one megabit per second (1Mbps).
less than one second at ten megabits per second (10Mbps).

I encourage you to run your own tests — real-world tests like downloading software updates or loading large web pages as well as speed tests performed through sites like speedtest.net and Broadband Reports — and report your findings in the comments.

Those of you who have experienced general outages: have they become shorter or less frequent? Has their support staff become more responsive and solved your issues?

Please also send your experiences back to Broadstripe.

© Jason Simpson for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments |
Post tags: broadband, broadstripe, cable modem, cablemodem, download, speed

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Beacon Hill library hours won’t be reduced after all

Wendi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:05:42 +0000

Miles Pepper's "Dream Ship" sails above the Beacon Hill library at sunset. Photo by Wendi.

The Friends of Seattle Public Library Blog reports good news: yesterday, the City Council voted unanimously to increase support for library services by $860,000 in 2010, which will allow the restoration of some library operating hours and staff positions that would otherwise have been eliminated.

With this increase, the Beacon Hill library branch will keep its current seven days/60 hours per week schedule:

Monday – Thursday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Ballard, Broadview, Capitol Hill, Douglass-Truth, Greenwood, Lake City, Northeast, Rainier Beach, Southwest and West Seattle will also keep these hours.

Unfortunately, not all eliminated hours can be restored, and while Beacon Hill’s library hours have been saved, some other neighborhoods will still have the pain of serious cutbacks. The following branches will be reduced to a five days/35 hours per week schedule: Columbia, Delridge, Fremont, Green Lake, High Point, International District/Chinatown, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Magnolia, Montlake, NewHolly, Northgate, Queen Anne, South Park, University and Wallingford.

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Crime notes: Indecent exposure, more burglaries, South watch plans solidifying

Jason — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:03:22 +0000

Napsiyah writes about an incident that occurred at Beacon and McClellan, next to the Link station:

This morning at 8:30am as I was walking to Light Rail to go to work, a man driving a truck got out and exposed/masturbated himself in front of me. I turned around and ran and called the police to report this incident. Please put on the blog to look out for this man!!! It was a busy street! We need to report and catch this sicko.

She described the flasher as a “white or hispanic male wearing a camoflauge baseball cap, around 5′7″, medium build” and was reportedly driving a newer-looking navy blue truck with tinted windows.

Call the police if you have any information about this or similar crimes.

* * *

On the mailing list, Hazel reports an attempted break-in of her locked garage door on Monday at 20th and Spokane, and also relayed a report from her neighbor of an attempted lock-picking on 21st Avenue South on Friday.

* * *

Mahalie also reports on the mailing list of a second burglary of her home just off Cheasty some time between 9am and 5pm on Tuesday where the burglars appear to have taken their time and left with multiple computers, power supplies, a camera, a heavy change jar, and more after having rifled through bags and dumped out boxes looking for loot.

* * *

BHNW logged additional burglaries at 19th and Massachusetts last Saturday and at Beacon and Austin Friday.

* * *

Nick writes of a captured criminal:

My wife and I live on Beacon Hill on Hanford St. Our car was stolen on the 29th of October. We got it back the same day but, I just wanted to let you know that. The guy who stole it was arrested and is still in jail today.

Some more good news like this would be very welcome lately.

* * *

Mike Cheney posted a promising update in the forum about Project Safe Neighborhoods, plans to establish a neighborhood watch in South Beacon Hill and Holly Court, plans to pursue grants, and notice of monthly meetings. Sounds like things are starting to come together!

Thanks everyone for keeping your neighbors informed!

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More Bits: Luminaria, sing-a-longs, matching money, and more

Jason — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:16:34 +0000

Luminarias photo by AZAdam. At the Beacon Hill Library on Saturday, learn basic paper-cutting techniques using scissors and a hole puncher to make your own decorative Day of the Dead luminaria.

This Saturday, the 14th, from 2 to 4pm, an introduction to traditional Day of the Dead crafts with artist Amaranta Ibarra Sandys will be at the Beacon Hill Library. This event is free, requires no registration, and is open to everyone ages 5 and older.

* * *

Craig Thompson has resumed regularly updating the Beacon Lights column at the P-I, most recently considering Sound Transit, the mayoral race, and Dow Constantine.

* * *

Next Thursday, November 19th, from 6 to 7:30pm at the Beacon Hill Library, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting free technical assistance workshops to educate neighborhood groups and community organizations on funding opportunities under the Neighborhood Matching Fund. The program provides cash awards to community organizations for neighborhood-based projects. Proposals are due as early as January 11th for “Small and Simple” projects.

* * *

Metro has introduced a new reroute notification system where you can sign up for email or SMS alerts if your bus has been rerouted due to snow or other emergency condition. — Seattle Transit Blog

* * *

200 student poet-athletes will be participating in their fall season-ending America SCORES Seattle Poetry Slam tomorrow, November 13th, from 5 to 6:45pm. Join them at the Cleveland High School Auditorium. Call 206-988-1000 for more information.

* * *

Rise up Singing — a family-friendly, evening sing-along with Albert Kaufman (the human jukebox). Former Beacon Hill neighbor Albert Kaufman will be back in town on Saturday the 14th at OmCulture near Gasworks Park from 7 to 9:30pm. Albert will be leading a sing-a-long with special guests and children of all ages are welcome. Thanks for the notice, Mira!

© Jason Simpson for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: albert kaufman, beacon lights, craig thompson, day of the dead, día de los muertos, metro, poetry, service changes, sing-a-long, slam, snow, sound transit

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Beacon Bits: Four Amigos, food safety, and funky foliage

Wendi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:06:17 +0000

KPLU has a lovely story about “the Four Amigos”: Roberto Maestas, Larry Gossett, Bob Santos, and the late Bernie Whitebear, activists who played a large role in Seattle’s history over the last 40 years. Maestas, of course, played a particular role in Beacon Hill’s history by helping found El Centro de la Raza, and leading the organization until he retired recently.

* * *

BeHi Bonsai, the blog about the funky topiary foliage found throughout Beacon Hill, has found a yard that goes above and beyond the call of topiary duty: “Rings of foliage waft above the ground magically as if there is some unseen creature underground blowing leafy smoke rings for our amusement.”

* * *

Health Department restaurant inspectors have recently visited a few more local establishments. Results of the inspections are posted online. The Aloha Grocery at 7762 Beacon Avenue South had 8 “blue” violation points (”surfaces not maintained, clean, sanitized”), El Delicioso at 2500 Beacon Avenue South had 5 blue violation points (plumbing issues), and Wing Luke Elementary School at 3701 South Kenyon Street scored a perfect 0. (Congratulations!) Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine at 2007 South State Street (at the foot of Beacon Hill, near Oberto’s) received 10 “red critical” violation points, for inadequate hand washing facilities.

Context: 45 or more red violation points force a re-inspection within two weeks, 90 or more red points force closure of the establishment, and 120 or more total (red and blue) points force closure of the establishment as well. So all of these businesses were in no danger of closure. Even one red violation is enough to result in an unsatisfactory inspection, however, and specialists work with the operators of the establishment to make sure that the situation is corrected immediately.

* * *

© Wendi Dunlap for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: bonsai, el centro de la raza, gardening, health inspections, history, restaurants, roberto maestas, yards

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Jefferson Park is happening!

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:43:51 +0000

By Frederica Merrell

Even on a blustery dark night, supporters of Jefferson Park showed up at 6pm Tuesday at the Lawn Bowling Club to provide advice on the Jefferson Park reconstruction project. Parks Project Manager Andy Scheffer and two members of the Berger Partnership design team shared details on the status of the project, which is happily at 52% completion. There will be another public meeting on December 1st at Jefferson Park Community Center for people who want the update.

The purpose of a project advisory team (PAT) is to provide input and there were several good suggestions made last night, most of which build on previous discussions. One of the great things about the persistence of local advocates is that we have a great historical memory. We don’t forget the important details of what the community has been saying and recommending. We will meet again in January.

Here is a summary of the important points that we asked Andy to follow-up on:

Circulation, bicycle, parking, pedestrian analysis with SDOT

We have been saying for a long time that Parks needs to wrestle SDOT to the table to help design functional access to, and circulation for, this large new park that is safe, attractive, and brings people into the park on all sides, with special emphasis on the west and north sides and the following components:

Parking analysis of needs and opportunities for all users of the park area to create an efficient strategy for sharing parking and improving parking without building a lot of new lots in the park itself.
16th Avenue bicycle route and street improvements that could support west side access near the new Jefferson Playfield and improved angle parking. There is significant drainage and potential green street project from Asa Mercer right through the 16th right away on SPS property.
Pedestrian access along 15th Avenue, improved safety at Dakota Street entrance and study of the intersection of Columbian Way and Spokane. There is almost no way to safely get across 15th into the park. 15th is also like a freeway right here and SDOT needs to spend some serious time with our community looking at the future of 15th.
Spokane Street access at Lafayette. The pedestrian path on the north side of the park dead-ends at Lafayette. How many kids are going to run across Spokane here dodging traffic? SDOT can’t ignore this situation when the park opens. Spokane’s function as an informal connection from I-5 to I-90 may have to be addressed. (Sorry West Seattle commuters; might need to slow way down or find another way.)

15th Avenue (Terrace) Design and Urban Agriculture Project

Parks seems to have forgotten that there is a huge chunk of the park that has not been designed for improvements yet. Parks is now clearly responsible for supporting neighborhood planning in the park so they have to address their responsibility to finish design of 15th Avenue (or “terrace”) side of the park while we have the money and management in place. There is a fantastic movement to do urban agriculture, pea patch and education project along this sunny west side. The community could also take over the surplus Water Quality Building to support a working farm as a part of the project. Beacon Hill resident Glenn Herlihy and a team of permaculture students have a stupendous design for this area that needs to be presented to Parks Proview and the community ASAP.

The west side is very important to all the residents west of 15th, many of whom live in more modest housing. As one PAT member said, we don’t want any part of the park to be less inviting or inaccessible. Especially true where lower income families are concerned. Equity was the motivation for the reconstruction and it is a value that must be maintained as we move forward.

Water Quality Building (Beacon Arts Reservoir)

Years ago when SPU built a new water quality building the community met with Chuck Clarke, then head of SPU, to request that this beautiful old building at 15th and Spokane support community work in the park. An informal agreement was discussed of turning the building over to the community if they could come up money for a new roof. It would be administered by Southeast Seattle Arts Council and leased to a Beacon Hill organization to run. It could support arts projects, the urban agriculture project, parks volunteers, etc.

Andy will follow-up on these issues and seek permission from his project manager to take up the additional scope of work.

Hurrah for Andy!
Hurrah for persistent memory of local advocates!
Hurrah for Jefferson Park!

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Plan ahead: Metro on holiday schedule tomorrow

Wendi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:35:46 +0000

You might have to wait a bit longer for your bus tomorrow. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.

Do you have Veterans’ Day off tomorrow? Neither do we. Metro Transit, however, is operating on a “reduced weekday” schedule for tomorrow’s holiday, and most buses serving our area, including the 36 and 60 routes, are listed as “Routes operating a reduced weekday schedule with designated trips canceled.” Please note also that the 38 route is entirely canceled tomorrow.

The reduced weekday schedule will also be in effect on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Christmas Eve, and from December 28 through 31; buses will run on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Check your schedule for trips identified with an “H” — those trips will be canceled tomorrow.

Link Light Rail will be running on the normal weekday schedule.

Thanks to Seattle Transit Blog.

© Wendi Dunlap for Beacon Hill Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: bus, bus schedule changes, metro, transit service

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