All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Arts, Local Events

Beacon Rocks! returns on Sunday — with beans

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Last June, a giant chicken visited Beacon Rocks! Photo by Wendi Dunlap
This Sunday, June 30, it’s “back to the bean” on Beacon Hill for this summer’s first Beacon Rocks! event at Roberto Maestas Festival Street from 1 to 5 p.m. As in previous summers, Beacon Rocks! is a free, all-ages street fair with music, dance, and vendors.

This week’s theme is “Beacon: A Hill of Beans,” a celebration of growing, eating and sharing beans as part of this year’s ongoing Hill of Beans project.

Here’s the schedule:

  • 1:00 Splinter: social justice contemporary dance
  • 1:45 Carold Nelson: drumming
  • 2:00 Molasses Theory: eclectric rock
  • 2:45 Carold Nelson: drumming
  • 3:00 Alay ng Kultura: Filipino Arts Collective
  • 3:45 Carold Nelson: drumming
  • 4:00 Mister K and the Rhythm Rockets: Je­ Bongo Busch drums, Kent Stevenson keyboard

Other activities include a bean bag toss for prizes, a haiku contest, making bean necklaces, and more.

This year, a new addition to the event is a flea market. For $25, you can rent a six-foot space to sell or trade your stuff. Find the application here.

Meetings

Rep. Pettigrew hosts telephone town hall 6/26

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Rep. Eric Pettigrew.
Rep. Eric Pettigrew.
Beacon Hill residents in the 37th Legislative District will have a chance to talk live with their state representative, Eric Pettigrew (D), in a telephone town hall this Wednesday, June 26, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Here’s how it works: On Wednesday evening just before 6, thousands of 37th District constituents will receive robo-calls to their homes. By pressing *3 on the phones, residents can ask questions for Representative Pettigrew to answer live, or if they prefer, they can simply listen to the conversation.

If you do not receive a call, you can participate by dialing 877-229-8493 and entering the ID code 18646#.

Local Events

Lots to do on Beacon Hill today

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Today is a good day to get out of the house! (But don’t go too far — unless you’re running in the Rock and Roll Marathon! The Marathon will run on South Jackson Street and Rainier Avenue South until 3 p.m., which means you should avoid driving in that area.)

First, The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool is holding a rummage sale from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 1720 South Forest Street with lots of goodies to purchase from your neighbors.

Then at 1, head over to Lewis Park for a “Thank You Beacon Hill” party from 1-5. You can chow down on delicious barbecued hot dogs, including vegetarian and vegan dogs. The good eats are sponsored by Hilltop Red Apple, Field Roast, and The Station.

There will also be tours of the Lewis Park Natural Area offered hourly so Beacon Hill neighbors can see the progress that has been made in restoring the park.

You can find the party at the Pavilion at Daejeon Park and the south end of Lewis Park, on the corner of 16th Avenue South and South Judkins Street.

Finally, don’t forget the fundraising auction for the Denise Louie Education Center, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Tippe and Drague Alehouse at 3315 Beacon Avenue South.

Getting Around, Meetings

Beacon B.I.K.E.S. to meet 6/27

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The Neighborhood Greenway is one of the topics on the agenda for next Thursday’s Beacon B.I.K.E.S. meeting. Photo by Wendi Dunlap / Beacon Hill Blog.
A Beacon B.I.K.E.S. meeting is coming up next week. Here’s the info from co-chairs Ryan and Christine:

Beacon Hill and Friends –

Summer is fast approaching and Greenway completion is hot on its heels. If you think it ends there, allow us to prove your thoughts incomplete! Because it’s time to celebrate, take a peek into the future of how we move around Beacon Hill and get to the soul of the transportation picture up here. These aren’t pipe dreams; this is what draws us out to meet friends on the street, get to where we want to go, and invites us to go further with active transportation. It’s simply better living.

Join us at the Beacon Hill Library Resource Center from 6-7:45pm on Thursday, June 27th to discuss:

  • Greenway updates and improvements
  • BeHi walking plan update ideas
  • Beacon Rocks! (July 28th concert is transportation-themed)
  • (PARK)ing Day
  • El Centro Plaza Maestas walk and bikeability audit

As always, we promise light refreshments and good company. We can only make this happen together, Beacon Hill, so we look forward to seeing you on the 27th!

Volunteering and Giving

Tippe and Drague hosting event to benefit Denise Louie Education Center

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Tippe and Drague Alehouse (3315 Beacon Ave. S.) is hosting a fundraiser for the Denise Louie Education Center this Saturday, June 22, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The folks at Tippe and Drague tell us about it:

Come enjoy 16 rotating taps of regional craft beer, a great wine selection and local, sustainable and healthy bar food items while supporting our preschool neighbor next door, the Denise Louie Education Center (DLEC).

For over 35 years, DLEC has provided high-quality multicultural early learning and family support services so that Seattle kids will be ready to succeed in school and life. Most of the 300 children and families DLEC serves are low-income immigrants and refugees, and over 80% speak a language other than English at home. DLEC is in the process of cutting 5% of their budget due to automatic federal spending cuts known as Sequestration. Approved cuts include eliminating five Early Head Start slots and starting classes two weeks late. There is still $60,000 to be cut from the budget over the next four months and $130,000 to be cut from next year’s budget.

On Saturday, June 22nd from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tippe and Drague will be donating all profits, collecting monetary donations and holding a silent auction to benefit DLEC and the over 300 low-income and immigrant children and families they serve in the Seattle area.

Owner Melissa adds, “We’re going to end the silent auction at 10 p.m. but the full fundraising day will end when we close.”

Recreation

Weekly BBQ and Bowls starts this Friday

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Lawn bowlers enjoy a world class view. Photo by Kat Marriner.

Jenny Mears, a member of the Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club, sends this invitation:

How’s this sound for perfect summer Friday night: you and your family
and friends + sunshine + incredible views of the city, mountains and
sunset + a fun new sport? Welcome to Friday Night BBQ and Bowls at
Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club! While most events, leagues, and
tournaments are members only (for information on membership, see the
JPLBC website), Friday Night BBQ and Bowls is open to the public for a
suggested greens fee of $5. Members are on hand to teach you the game,
the barbecue is hot (bring your own grillables!), and you can enjoy a
Friday night in one of the most beautiful parks in the city while
learning how to lawn bowl with your family and friends. For more
information, check out the Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club website or stop by any Friday night from June 21st through August 30th.

The club house and greens are located at 4103 Beacon Ave. S.

Education

Kids’ summer reading club starts 6/18

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Children’s books photo by Svadilfari via Creative Commons/Flickr.
Kids need something to do this summer? Neighbor Dayna writes to tell us about a summer reading club that kicks off tomorrow, June 18:

A few Orca K8 parents have started a summer reading club that will meet in both the Beacon Hill and Columbia City Libraries over the summer. Schedule is below. Meeting times will be in both the morning and evening, 2 times a month. Our primary goal is to provide a space for friends — old and new — to gather and read together!! Our secondary goal is to provide a place for Orca parents to read with kids who may be struggling and will benefit from extra summer reading help. The Reading Club is not officially sponsored by Orca K-8 or by the Seattle Public Library. We are just a few moms of Orca kids who love reading, and love our children. Many of us have spent time in the classroom reading with our kids’ classmates, and we want to continue supporting them throughout the summer. We also want to keep up the culture of reading that our fabulous Orca educators have instilled in our kids!

What will we do?

Since the moms starting the reading club are moms of incoming 2nd graders, many of the readers will be that age. However, older and younger siblings will also be there, all reading together. Students will be reading together in groups or by themselves, and Orca parents will be there to help emerging readers. We will keep track of the books we read on the SPL Summer Reading program chart, and after 10 books the library will give us a prize! Prizes from SPL will include a book and entries into a raffle for a lunch with the mayor! All kids are welcome, from all schools and all grades. Please join us, and spread the word!

The reading club meeting schedule is:

  • June 18th, 6-7:30 pm, Columbia City Library
  • June 28th, 10-11:30 am, Beacon Hill Library
  • July 19th, 10-11:30 am, Beacon Hill Library
  • July 30th, 6-7:30 pm, Columbia City Library
  • August 16th, 10-11:30 am, Beacon Hill Library
  • August 27th 6-7:30 pm, Columbia City Library

Questions? Email Dayna (mom of an incoming Orca Kindergartener and 2nd grader) at readingclub@ross154.net
Also, see our blog.

Uncategorized

Plaza Roberto Maestas design guidance meeting delayed until August

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A possible design for the entrance to the plaza at Plaza Roberto Maestas.
A possible design for the entrance to the plaza at Plaza Roberto Maestas.
We wrote on June 7 that the Plaza Roberto Maestas design review meeting had been delayed. Unfortunately, it’s been delayed again. Kate Gill de la Garza of the Beacon Development Group wrote to tell us:

It turns out that our DPD planner is now on vacation for the date that we initially rescheduled our new meeting for (July 23rd). Because it is in the neighborhood’s, project’s and Owner’s best interest to have the same land use planner throughout the design review process (makes for continuity and better tracking of feedback), we have to reschedule once again to August 13th at 6:30pm at Wellspring Family Services, 1900 Rainier Avenue South..

We want to apologize in advance for any confusion that this has or will cause. This change was beyond our control and we will do everything we can to maximize neighborhood notice for the August meeting. Because this is a substantial project with a variety of programs and design approaches to both the private (residential) and public spaces (plaza, etc.) we fully expect that we will have at least two, if not three, design review presentations – so there should be ample opportunity this fall for people to weigh in if they cannot make this initial meeting in August. As always, we welcome feedback via e-mail or telephone calls as well for anyone that cannot make the meeting.

Again, we apologize for this mix-up and hope to see people in August! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kate Gill de la Garza may be reached at 206-860-2491 ext. 202 or at kated@beacondevgroup.com.

Crime

Broad-daylight burglars break in, kill family cat

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KOMO reports a story that is both sad and frightening. A home in the 3200 block of 15th Avenue South was burglarized in the early afternoon on June 7, and when the family returned home to find the burglary, they also found their cat lying dead in the backyard.

The owner reported on the BAN mailing list that “at some point either my cat got in the way or wanted to be petted and was struck with enough force that it killed him.”

Police were able to lift prints from several locations in the home. The thieves apparently tried to kick in the back door, and when that failed, broke an upper window in the door.


View Burglary, 6/7 in a larger map

Recreation

Spraypark closed until Wednesday

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Kids splashed happily in the Beacon Mountain spraypark last summer.
If you want to splash around in the Beacon Mountain spraypark, you’ll need to wait until Wednesday. Seattle Parks tells us:

“We are making some adjustments to Beacon Mountain spraypark and have shut down the spraypark today, Mon. June 10th and Tues., June 11th. We anticipate it opening back up on Wednesday, June 12th.”

If you must play before midweek, Georgetown Spraypark is open and not too far away at Georgetown Playfield, 750 S. Homer St.