Juan Carlos Bonilla was sentenced today to 23 1/2 years in prison for killing his wife, Debra Lynn Bonilla, at their Beacon Hill home last year. Juan Carlos stabbed Debra at least a dozen times with a 13-inch barbecue fork in front of their two young children.
Bonilla pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month. Standard sentencing would be between 13 and 21 years in prison, but prosecutors argued for — and received — an exceptional sentence in this case.
Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Night Market will run from 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm at Hing Hay Park. The market features local vendors with food, gifts, art, and more. There will also be entertainment, games, and the Bruce Lee movie Enter The Dragon at dusk. It’s free and open to the public. Streets in the area will be closed from 3:00 pm until Midnight. Easiest way to get there? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the International District/Chinatown station, then walk two blocks East on South King Street.
The Central Area Community Festival will run from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm at the Garfield Community Playfield, 2223 E Cherry Street. There won’t be any street closures, but you should expect heavy traffic in the surrounding area.
And, lastly, there’s a pre-season football game. The Seahawks will take on the hated Denver Broncos in Qwest Field at 7:30 pm. 45,000 are expected to attend, so avoid the stadium area if you need to drive at that time. Going to the game? Take Link light rail from the Beacon Hill Station to the Stadium station, then walk west, then north, to Qwest Field. It’s hard to miss.
Keyunda Wilson, a teacher at Van Asselt Elementary School, writes to let neighbors know that the knock at the door this afternoon may not be from an annoying alarm system or magazine subscription salesman:
Van Asselt Elem. staff members will be going door to door today, 8/19 from 3-5pm, passing out flyers and sharing information about our plans to bring a community playground to the African American Academy building. We are applying for a grant and one of the requirements is that we get community members and neighbors to commit to helping us. Ways that you can support us would be to attend a planning meeting, donate snacks or building materials on the day of the build, help build the play structure, help gather signatures of commitment, etc.
Look for the dedicated staff members in your area and please show your support!
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Keyunda by email at krwilson@seattleschools.org or by phone at 206-252-7505.
The meeting is public and open to all. Â Lyle Bicknell has been leading the Neighborhood Plan Update process for North Beacon Hill, Othello, and the Mount Baker Station area in Rainier Valley. Â He will present zoning change options, as well as preview other components that DPD expects to include in the update.
Thanks to David Gackenbach for the reminder!
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Andrew Matson at the Times is interviewing Beacon Hill’s own Blue Scholars about their new EP OOF! later this week, and to whet your appetite, he’s posted a link to the video for “Coffee and Snow”, filmed and released during last December’s Snowpocalypse. The video features shots of Beacon Avenue, the VA hospital, and possibly the Othello Safeway, all covered in a thick layer of white. What other locations can you spot?
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Do you have a home security system? Madison Park Blogger has some hard truths about Seattle Police alarm response.
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Guitar craftsman and Beacon Hill resident Randy Parsons is featured in the new documentary film opening August 28, It Might Get Loud, about guitar icons from three different generations: Jack White, the Edge, and Jimmy Page.
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Beacon Hill neighbor Tess Martin tells us what the Beacon Hill library branch means to her, on the Friends of the Seattle Public Library blog.
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There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the new “green” homes on Beacon Hill. The developers, Dwell Development, have several projects in Southeast Seattle. They are definitely a different aesthetic than the typical Beacon Hill house, but interesting.
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Mike Cheney is looking to create a South Beacon Hill block watch for neighbors in and around New Holly and areas nearby. This effort would be completely unrelated to the Citizens for the 2nd Amendment group or Mike’s own informal neighborhood patrols. Whether you agree or disagree politically, Mike’s aim here is simply to help make Beacon Hill a safer place to live. If you’re interested in helping get a block watch organized, contact Mike: redboneshadow@yahoo.com.
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Amber Swim, Program Coordinator for Girls on the Run of Puget Sound is looking for female volunteer coaches to help deliver “an after-noon school prevention program that uses the power of running to educate and prepare preteen girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.”
Girls on the Run coaches do NOT need to be elite runners. Any woman who lives a healthy lifestyle and is committed to improving the lives of girls can be a GOTR coach. Details at http://www.girlsrun.org/coaching.html.
Amber can be reached by phone at 206-528-2118, or by email at amber@girlsrun.org. The deadline to apply is September 4th.
From the mailing list, Heidi from near 19th and Lander writes:
I think we might have been cased for a burglary. A 40ish black woman came to the door saying she was looking for a lost dog. When asked what the dog looked like, what it’s name was, or where she lost it, she could not answer any questions at all. Never looked us in the eye, just craned her neck looking around the house and past us. Very uncomfortable situation. She left quickly and as she walked down the steps and across the street, a big black SUV with 2 men in it pulled up to get her. When they noticed us watching them, they screeched off quickly down the street. Didn’t get a license number or great description because they rounded the corner and took off so fast.
She notes that the police think they were likely just wanting to see if anyone was home and checking out what sort of lucrative easy pickings might be inside to be burgled. Hopefully they’ve been scared off and won’t be back soon, but be aware of this now-common sort of ploy.
Since 2003, I’ve parked my car in front of the house on the concrete area between the sidewalk and the street. There are two spaces and the curb is cut to allow car access to the area. The car doesn’t block the sidewalk. We considered this area a parking strip. According to the brochure left on my windshield, the City considers it a planting strip and it is illegal to park there.
I’m not the only person on our block to use this area for long-term parking. If I park on the street, I have to move my car every 72 hours–even if I have nowhere to go. I thought parking on the parking strip was responsible; I’m frustrated that it’s not allowed.
We chose this neighborhood in part because the location encourages and supports leaving the car at home. I walk to Red Apple and restaurants and we both take mass transit to work. We have cars because occasionally we need them–but rarely every 72 hours.
How does a law that requires every car in the city move every 72 hours encourage people to get out of our cars? How is parking in a paved area with curb cutouts worse than parking on the street?
Does anyone know the process for initiating changes in parking policy?
Tomorrow is election day! The only way to vote in the primary election is by completing the ballot you received in the mail. There will be no in-person voting for this election.
Every vote counts, so be sure to complete your ballot and turn it in before Tuesday, 8/18. This election decides who will move forward to compete in the November election for King County Executive, Seattle Mayor, and many other important positions.
No stamp? No problem! There are ballot drop boxes set up throughout the county for your convenience. Nearest to us are the boxes at the King County Administration Building, 500 Fourth Avenue, and the Southeast Neighborhood Service Center, 3815 South Othello Street.
“Every other neighborhood I’ve checked has followed pretty much the same curve, but North Beacon Hill and Columbia City each have unique curves. They’ve settled into a flatter line where average house values are now just above values in Greenwood. The other exception about North Beacon Hill is that it flattened out in 2006. Maybe the start of the subprime meltdown was felt in the neighborhood first, or maybe it was buyers getting scared away by the giant blue walls, but either way we were spared the last gasp of superheated speculation. Either way, it totally bucked the trend.”
What does this mean? Perhaps the beginning of the much-heralded light rail-powered price increase? We don’t know, but it’s interesting.
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The cat adoptathon we mentioned the other day was a success! We’re told there were 15 kitties adopted. If you missed your chance to bring home a kitty, there will be another adoptathon on October 10 from noon to 3:00 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
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Project Treehouse will feature local celebrities escorting 14 specially-styled foster kids down the runway on Wednesday, August 12, from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Treehouse, 2100 24th Avenue South. The event is aimed at raising awareness for Treehouse’s free Wearhouse store which serves nearly 3,000 foster kids every year by providing them with new and like-new clothing, school supplies, and other things that kids need.
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The Rainier Valley Post has some great pictures of last Saturday’s Jose Rizal Music and Arts Festival at Jose Rizal Park. We were unable to be there, but it looks like everyone had a good time and enjoyed some great music!