Monthly Archives: April 2012

Education, Local Events

Take flight at Maple Elementary fundraising auction

1 Comment

The Maple Elementary School PTSA is holding a fundraising auction on Saturday, May 12 from 6-9 p.m. at Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Ave. S. The event’s theme is “Take Flight,” and the goal is “to help our school to soar into excellence and maintain its reputation as one of the best elementary schools in Seattle.” The auction will raise funds to help support programs including after-school programs, creative teacher grants, classroom supplies, and the annual 3-day trip to Camp Seymour for 4th and 5th grade students. Community members can help in several ways: attending and buying, contributing items to be sold, or by becoming an event sponsor.

Attending: Advance tickets are $25 and you can buy them online. Tickets will be $35 at the door. Advance tickets will also be sold after school at Maple starting on April 23.

Contributing: Vendors, artists, and others are needed who can contribute gift certificates, unique experiences, or items to be sold. Donated items will be acknowledged in the auction catalog and on the PTSA’s website and Facebook page. The PTSA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization so donations are tax-deductible.

Sponsoring: Become an event sponsor with a cash donation of $1,000, $500, $250 or $100. Donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged at the auction, on the websites, and at the school.

For more information, email Maple PTSA Co-President Jen Moore, jenmoore1969@gmail.com or Auction Chair Erin Brannan, ehbrannan@aol.com.

Education

Computer classes coming back to Beacon Hill library

Photo by go-team in the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool on Flickr.
The Seattle Public Library is bringing another series of free beginning computer classes to the Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave. S.).

All classes are free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but seating may be limited. For more information, call 206-386-4636 or Ask A Librarian.

The class list:

  • Computer Basics 1: Learn how to use a computer keyboard and mouse.
    4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 16
  • Computer Basics 2: Learn how to use basic features of the Windows software operating system. The session will cover using the toolbars, scroll bar, and text boxes.
    4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 30
  • Email 1: Get a free email account and learn how to use it.
    10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30
  • Internet Basics 1: Learn about Web browsers and how to navigate a Web page.
    4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 14
  • Internet Basics 2: Learn how to use search engines, evaluate websites, and print from the Web.
    4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 21
  • Microsoft Word: Learn how to create, edit, format, open, save and print documents using Microsoft Word 2007.
    6 p.m. to 7:30 pm. Monday, April 30
  • Downloading E-books & Audiobooks: Learn how to download e-books and audiobooks from the Library’s website.
    10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 23
Local Events

Mark your calendar: Cinco de Mayo celebration coming soon

The Seattle Fandango Project will be performing at Cinco de Mayo. Here they are at last summer's Beacon Rocks!. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

El Centro de la Raza brings their 7th Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration to Beacon Hill on Saturday, May 5, from 1-5 p.m. at El Centro, 2524 16th Ave. S. Admission is free and the whole family is welcome. There will be music, children’s activities, prizes, and craft and informational booths. There will also be traditional Mexican food for sale.

Performances will feature Ameyaltonal Danza Azteca, Ofelia Alanis-Torres, Seattle Fandango Project, Mariachi Seattle Azteca and a desfile cultural (cultural parade).

If you are interested in having a booth at the event, email cultura@elcentrodelaraza.org or call 206-957-4630.

Clean and Green, Education

Grow your own groceries with free gardening classes this summer at El Centro

A Beacon Hill roadside veggie garden. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Did the warm weather this weekend make you think about gardening? You may be interested in a series of free gardening classes that will be held through September at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S. Master Gardener Mick Duggan is teaching the “Growing Your Own Groceries” series on the second Saturday of each month, from 10-11:30 a.m.

Each class will include free information handouts to take home. All are welcome to “join when you can, for as long as you can.”

The first class is on April 14 in room 310 and covers:

  • Climate zones and frost
  • Soil and fertilizers
  • Crop rotation
  • Site selection and bed preparation
  • Botany basics
  • What to plant: Now, soon, and later
  • Seed starting and spacing
  • Organic pest control

Here are the agendas for the rest of the classes this summer:

May 12, Room 106:

  • What to plant now? Inside, outside, and under cover
  • Crop rotation
  • Planting and spacing
  • Vegetable specifics
  • Containers and small space
  • Weeding and slugs
  • Water smarts
  • Pest management

June 9, Room 310:

  • What to plant now?
  • Tomatoes
  • Melons in the NW
  • Flowers in the vegetable garden
  • Harvesting

July 14, Room 310:

  • What to plant now?
  • Powder mildew
  • When and how to water
  • Internet information
  • Home orchard and berries
  • Herbs

August 11, Room 310:

  • What to plant now?
  • Figs and kiwi?
  • Seed saving

September 8, Room 310:

  • What to plant now?
  • Green manure
  • Site selection and bed preparation
  • Getting ready for next year
  • Water quality
  • Leaves and the wait
Local Events

Mark your calendar for summer festivals

Cotton candy vendors sell their wares at the 2011 Beacon Hill Festival. Photo by Wendi Dunlap/Beacon Hill Blog.

Early warning! Mark your calendar for a couple of the Hill’s major summer events.

On June 2, the Jefferson Community Center is hosting the 20th Annual Beacon Hill Festival, with entertainment, local food, carnival games, bounce toys, and a silent auction. Proceeds of the event will go to support programs and scholarships offered at the center. All ages are welcome.

Vendors, non-profits, schools, and others: for booth information, contact Doreen Deaver at 206-684-7481 or doreen.deaver@seattle.gov. Registration deadline for vendors is May 4.

On July 21, festival fun comes to South Beacon Hill with the Taste of Van Asselt. There will be food, live music, arts and crafts, face painting, and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Event organizers are are looking for local restaurants to participate in this event
as vendors to sell their unique culture foods. Jewelry and craft artists are welcome to sell handmade jewelry and crafts as well. All vendors will be required to have a City of Seattle business license. Musicians are also sought to perform. For more information,
call 206-386-1921.

Crime

SPD officers tour greenbelt investigating recent gunfire

1 Comment

On Monday, about 40 officers from the Seattle Police Department and the Department of Corrections searched the “Jungle,” the greenbelt on northwest Beacon Hill, looking for possible weapons and shooting victims after nearby neighbors reported the sounds of gunfire within the greenbelt. Jonah Spangenthal-Lee (formerly with The Stranger, Seattle Crime, and Publicola, now with the SPD) wrote an interesting post (with photos) on the search at the SPD Blotter blog:

After a day of crisscrossing overgrown, muddy pathways along the west side of Beacon Hill Monday, three South Precinct officers stand on a leaf-covered hillside just below Holgate Street, digging up a patch of dirt.

They’re looking for a body.

The officers, along with dogs trained to find weapons or human remains, spent seven hours trekking through the woods and interviewing more than 150 people living in and around the greenbelt. No weapons were found, and the only remains found turned out to belong to an animal.

The Community Police Team will revisit the greenbelt with social workers and representatives of the Department of Neighborhoods over the next week to assist those living in the “Jungle” in connecting with needed social services.

Urban Planning

North Beacon Hill rezoning passed by City Council

7 Comments
Possible 65' development on Beacon Avenue, depicted in the Neighborhood Plan Update.
Monday, on an 8-0 vote, the Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 117375, an ordinance that rezones about 12 acres of land in the North Beacon Hill Residential Urban Village as well as expanding the boundaries of the North Beacon Hill Station Area Overlay District. The rezoned and expanded areas may be seen on this PDF. You can see video of the Council’s comments and their vote on this ordinance here.

Most notably, some areas immediately surrounding Beacon Hill Station have been rezoned to NC2P-65. This means Neighborhood Commercial 2 (“A moderately-sized pedestrian-oriented shopping area that provides a full range of retail sales and services to the surrounding neighborhood”), Pedestrian-Designated zone (“Preserves and encourages an intensely pedestrian-oriented, retail shopping district where non-auto modes of transportation, both to and within the district, are strongly favored”), 65 feet tall. (Information about the definition of the various commercial zones may be found here.) Previous zoning in much of this area was NC2-40 or NC2P-40, though the El Centro property which was also rezoned was previously zoned SF5000 (Single-family, 5000-square-foot lot size).

Some locations saw a change in their zoning from either LR2 (Low-Rise 2) or SF5000 to LR3. The definitions of the different low-rise zones may be seen in this chart.

This change means we could begin to see buildings up to 65′ tall in “downtown” Beacon Hill. Currently, we know of only two potential projects planned for the area; the 17th and McClellan apartment/retail building (which will be built to 65′ now that the zoning has changed) and the El Centro south lot project which is in the early planning stages.

Local Events

Eggs for the hunting at local community centers

Photo by makelessnoise via Flickr/Creative Commons.
This weekend brings several egg hunt events at Beacon Hill and nearby community centers.

At Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave. S.), Friday, April 6 at 8 p.m., there is a Teen Flashlight Egg Hunt for those 12 and older. The event is free, but bring a flashlight and a bag. Meet at the community center gym at 8 sharp. The hunt will be outdoors.

Saturday, April 7, is the Spring Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast. Breakfast will be served from 9-11 a.m., and the Egg Hunt starts at 10 a.m. sharp. The Egg Hunt is free, but breakfast is not: $4 for pancakes, $5 for pancakes and sausage, or $6 for pancakes, sausage and eggs.

The Van Asselt Community Center is also holding a Spring Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast Saturday from 10-11:30 a.m. The egg hunt for kids aged 2-8 is free and starts at 10 sharp, and the pancake breakfast will follow the egg hunt. The breakfast is $3 per person for all-you-can-eat pancakes with syrup, butter, and juice.

Down the hill, both the International District/Chinatown and Rainier community center are also holding free egg hunts Saturday morning at 10 a.m. (April 7) for kids under 11. The International District/Chinatown Community Center is located at 719 8th Ave. S. The Rainier Community Center is at 4600 38th Ave. S.

Education, Local Events

Cleveland PTSA invites you to fundraising auction

2 Comments
Aerial photo of Cleveland High School in 2001, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives.

The Cleveland High School PTSA invites everyone to help raise $10,000 by participating in the Cleveland High School Red and White Night Soaring Eagles Auction, Saturday, April 28, from 5:30-9 p.m. at Brockey Center on the South Seattle Community College Campus (6000 16th Ave. S.W.).

You can be part of this fundraising event in several ways: by buying a ticket to attend, by donating an item for the silent or live auction, or by donating cash directly. To buy tickets or donate, go to this website and follow the steps there.

Volunteers are also welcome. To volunteer, contact Heather Graves (hmchavez4@gmail.com).

Urban Planning

Clubhouse, station block development both cause controversy

20 Comments
Susanne Rockwell of Seattle Parks discusses the planned new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse to a skeptical audience at last night's NBHC meeting. Photo by Wendi Dunlap/Beacon Hill Blog.
The locals were a bit restless at last night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting. The agenda included presentations about the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse plan and about the development planned for the southeast corner of the Beacon Hill Station block, and both projects seemed to raise some hackles.

The Golf Clubhouse caused the most ruckus. Susanne Rockwell of Seattle Parks and Recreation was there to present the plan, and started off the evening on a defensive note, introducing the plan by saying Jefferson Park “is not an Olmsted park,” and emphasizing that the improved views from the clubhouse would provide “more eyes on the street” — as well as views to the golf course on the other side of Beacon Avenue. One neighbor asked if the new views of downtown would only be enjoyed by those at the driving range, and Rockwell answered that passers-by on Beacon Avenue would be able to enjoy them too.

The plan presented seemed to be the same as the one previously discussed here, where you can find a link to presentation materials. Rockwell answered some general questions about the project, and mentioned that the likelihood of an addition of new parking parallel to Beacon Avenue, though it is in the plan, is “slim.” This brought applause from one member of the audience.

After this the tone of the meeting grew tense. Several members of the audience challenged Rockwell’s assertion that Jefferson park is not an Olmsted park. Rockwell replied “There was not an Olmsted plan for the park.” There was disagreement and shaking of heads in the room. One neighbor commented that the planned building is not attractive: “If the clubhouse was being replaced by something really beautiful, it would be an enhancement… [those drawings] look pretty crummy to me.” Later in the meeting, after Rockwell left, neighbor Roger Pence called the planned structure “a strip mall turned on its side.”
Continue reading Clubhouse, station block development both cause controversy →