ROCKiT space offering arts and crafts classes for kids
All posts by Wendi Dunlap
Your opinions on mandatory food composting wanted
Laura Feinstein of the Solid Waste Advisory Council recently wrote us:
I was hoping to get an opinion from your readers on the topic of mandatory food composting for multifamily residents (apartment and condo residents). The city of Seattle is considering the idea of making food composting subscriptions mandatory for this sector of our city. It is already mandatory for Seattle residents living in single family homes. This requirement would mandate landlords and building managers provide food composting service to the occupants of the building for a cost that is similar to the cost that single family residents incur for this service. Several tenants may share a food waste cart so the cost could potentially be divided up to a much smaller number for each tenant. SPU estimates that there are 15,000 tons of organics going into the garbage from multifamily tenants currently. The city already provides voluntary food waste subscribtions to multifamily residents although only about 1,200 tons of organics is currently being diverted through voluntary means. The city is considering the implementation for the fall of 2011. I’d like to get input from BHB readers on how this would impact them positively, negatively or otherwise.
Please send an email to Laura at feinstei@mail.com or leave a comment here on the blog with your input.
Are we going to let Rainier Valley beat us?
It’s midway through KEXP’s summer membership drive and Fifth Annual Hood-to-Hood Challenge, in which Seattle neighborhoods are pitted against each other to see which neighborhood can win bragging rights by contributing the most support to the non-profit, independent radio station.
Currently, Capitol Hill/First Hill/Madison Park are in first place with $19,305 in pledges, while Beacon Hill/Georgetown/South Park/Sodo are in a weak 14th place with only $1,815. Rainier Valley/Mount Baker/Columbia City/Rainier Beach/Skyway have nearly twice the pledges, with $3,420 — but they had to combine five neighborhoods to do it. (We have four, but one of them is a neighborhood no one lives in!)
If you’re a KEXP listener and want to show some neighborhood pride while supporting independent radio, go here.
Thanks to Matthew McDonald for reminding us to mention this!
Beacon Rocks! coming soon, needs volunteers
The first free Beacon Rocks! show featuring Beacon Hill musicians is coming up on next Sunday, June 13, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm, with scheduled performances from Lion Dance, Unite One/Traq Essentials, Robert Hinrix and Angela Castaneda, Octothorpe, Beacon Rockits, Better World, and Zumba. There are three more shows to follow on July 11, August 8, and August 29, all held at the new Lander Festival Street at Beacon and Lander, next to Beacon Hill Station.
Beacon Rocks! t-shirts to help support the event will be available at the Beacon Bazaar at Beacon Hill International School on June 12, as well as on the day of the event.
Volunteers needed
Volunteers are needed to help set up and run the first day of Beacon Rocks! on June 13. Setup will start around 9:00 am and cleanup will run to 6:00 or 7:00 pm. If you can’t help on June 13, volunteers are also needed for the other events in July and August. If you can help out on June 13, please respond by today, June 7.
Jobs include but are not limited to:
- Hanging up balloons, signs, arrows in the morning
- Setting up equipment
- Shifts as crossing guards on Beacon Avenue
- Setting up/running T-shirt stand/sales
- Helping attendees park in designated lots
- Setting up/maintaining stage area
- Post-event clean-up
- Assisting kids at the etching area
All volunteers will be provided with water, snacks, and sunblock, and the opportunity to buy shirts at cost (about $7 vs. $15 regularly).
If you are interested in helping out, please email beaconrocks@gmail.com with what dates and times you are available, and any preferred jobs or jobs you have experience with.
The Beacon Hill Music folks want you to know: “We would appreciate it so much if you could spare just a few hours in the morning or afternoon on any of the event days to come help out. Thanks!”
Would a Beacon Hill farmers’ market be one too many?
Others seem to disagree, however, including Zachary Lyons of the Seattle Farmers Market Association, which will operate six markets this year including the new one in Georgetown, which will combine the farmers’ market with an antiques and crafts market. “To suggest we’ve somehow reached a saturation point is, to me, just absurd,” says Lyons.
There are 18 neighborhood markets in Seattle this year, but still none on Beacon Hill. Our nearest markets are in Columbia City, and now, Georgetown. And while it’s not a “neighborhood farmers’ market,” we have MacPherson’s — and they are open every day.
Should Beacon Hill have a farmers’ market? Do you think the Seattle area is oversaturated with farmers’ markets?
Beacon Bits: Dancing, eating, and fire juggling
Elemental art is coming to the Hill on Saturday night, June 5, 6:00 pm to midnight, with the third installment of the home_page.project: NEPO 3: Air, Water, Fire (We Will Leave the Earth Behind). This is a one night art/performance event at NEPO house, 1723 South Lander Street. The event will include installations, music, visual art, and even fire juggling and “a cell phone launch to outer space”!
Participating artists include Lauren Atkinson, Lara Davis, David Lasky, Aaliyah Gupta, Lauren Klenow, Julia Haack, Mark Callen, Stefan Knorr, Serrah Russell, Gitane Versakos, Jason Hirata, Matt Hilger, Timothy Cross, Rumi Koshino, Klara Glosova, Emily Pothast, David Golightly, SP Weather Station (Natalie Campbell and Heidi Nielson), Eric Ostrowski, Janel Twogood, Matt Baker, Sebastian Shaw, Christopher McElroy, and Whiting Tennis.
For more information about the art and the schedule, see the website.
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Tonight at McCaw Hall, Pacific Northwest Ballet opens an all-new production of George Balanchine’s classic Coppélia. Two young dancers with Beacon Hill connections will be featured performers. Alejandra “Ali” Prevost-Reilly of Seward Park is a student in Grade 5 at Kimball Elementary School here on Beacon, and Kyrlia Young lives on North Beacon and is in Grade 6 at Mercer Middle School. Both are eleven years old. Congratulations to Ali and Kyrlia!
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Bethany UCC Church has been hosting a community film festival with discussion focusing on the topic of food justice, health and nutrition. Saturday, June 5, Fast Food Nation will be screened at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome, and the event is free, but donations are accepted. Childcare is available. Bethany UCC Church is located at 6230 Beacon Avenue South.
The next event in the series will be June 19, when scientist David Suzuki will discuss Cuba’s organic urban agriculture projects, with commentary from Tom Warner.
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New coffee shop The Station and neighborhood baker A Touch of Sweden are hosting a sampling event on Sunday, June 6 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Those who come by to give feedback on the pastries and sandwiches that The Station should carry will be eligible to win free coffee, a free pie or cake, or other goodies. Pastries will be available at a reduced price. (We recommend the cinnamon rolls. They are especially good.) The Station is located at 2533 16th Ave South.
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In other food and drink-related news on the hill, Inay’s Restaurant opened their new cocktail lounge last Friday. You can visit it at 2503 Beacon Avenue South.
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A decision came down last week in a land use application to allow Clearwire antennas to be added to a City Light transmission tower at 4999 P Beacon Avenue South. A Determination of Non-Significance with conditions was made, along with decisions to conditionally allow the antennas to be located in a single-family zone and exceed the underlying zoned height limit. For more information, see this DPD website.
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Don’t forget the Beacon Hill Festival on Saturday!
Walker Street property not available for park, say owners
Proposed Walker Street Park site
The Walker Street Park prospects may not be so promising after all.
As previously reported here, the Beacon Ridge Improvement Community (BRIC) applied for a grant through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund, to turn a block at 17th Avenue South and South Walker Street into a neighborhood “pocket park” and orchard. There is only one house on the block, owned by Joseph Fasano and his wife.
The Fasano family, however, is not interested in selling. A letter sent by Joseph Fasano’s son Mark Fasano to BRIC and to the Beacon Hill Blog on Monday states flatly: “The property is not currently for sale nor do you have any permission to begin moving forward on any project regarding this property. Our family has occupied this property for over 71 years and plan to continue residing at this property for generations to come.” The letter also says that the family has obtained legal representation, and asks that all submissions and funding requests for the project be retracted immediately.
Mark Fasano tells us that the family’s roots on Beacon Hill are very deep, and the Walker Street property has starred in a lot of memories. “I grew up in the house and on this property, so all of my childhood memories revolved around the house and playing in the woods along with my two brothers. My oldest brother lives on the other side of the cul-de-sac. My father has lived there since he was four, so all of his childhood is there as well. The home has always been the gathering place for all holidays and family functions.” The Fasanos want to keep the property in family hands.
According to Fasano, the owners were never formally contacted to discuss the sale of the property. “My father was out walking when a neighbor stopped to talk, and in that conversation among other topics he said ‘You should put a park here. What do you think about that idea?’ My father replied in jest, as he thought he was joking, ‘that would be interesting but I don’t think my wife would approve.’ He was just talking to a neighbor having small talk conversations. He never in a million years thought he was trying to get information to get something started like this.” The family did not find out about the project, says Fasano, until a friend emailed to tell them about the May 28 post in the BHB.
If the Fasanos aren’t interested in selling, the Walker Street park is not likely to happen. The park proposal acknowledges that the property is owned by Joseph Fasano, and that acquisition would depend on agreement with the owner; if the owner does not want to sell, the property is unavailable for the project.
This may change the fortunes of the Beacon Hill Central Park project, which was scored highly in the Opportunity Fund project assessment process, but was ranked lower than the Walker Street Park proposal.
(We contacted BRIC for comments on the situation but were unable to get a response in time for this story. We hope to have a follow-up with more information soon.)
NBHC meeting agenda: Parking lots, pizza, recognition
Pizza, parking lots, and praise for local volunteers are all on the North Beacon Hill Council agenda for this Thursday’s meeting. The meeting is at 6:30 pm (one half-hour earlier than usual!) at the Beacon Hill Library community room, 2821 Beacon Avenue South. As always, all are welcome; you are part of the council when you attend your first meeting, and you have voting privileges when you attend your second.
Here is the agenda, as forwarded to us by Council chair Judith Edwards:
- 6:30 Pizza and tamales, a gift to the community from the Friends of Lewis Park; and recognition of the following people and organizations who have worked so hard on the trails and parks on North Beacon:
- Jefferson Park Alliance
- Dr. Jose Rizal Park – Craig Thompson
- Cheasty Boulevard Trail – Willie Weir
- Lewis Park – Dee Dunbar and Vin Nguyen
“It truly takes a village to make this such a great place to live. Each of these parks or trails has benefited by countless volunteer hours, a true gift to the community. If you are one of those volunteers, please plan to attend.”
- 6:50 City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, Chair of Parks, Waterfront and Seattle Center Committee (10 minutes – followed by Q & A for 20 minutes)
- 7:20 Mike Podowski, Seattle Department of Planning and Development: Proposed plan for parking lots at the light rail stations on North Beacon and McClellan/Mt. Baker, as well as El Centro and other empty lots. (10 minutes – followed by Q & A for 20 minutes)
- 7:50 Board and membership vote of approval/disapproval of DPD parking lot plan, nominations for four vacant Board of Directors positions by full council membership, establishment of Board of Directors by vote of Directors.
- 8:00 Community concerns and announcements
18th Annual Beacon Hill Festival this Saturday
It’s June again, which means it’s just about time for the 18th Annual Beacon Hill Festival! The Festival is at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South, on Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “Around the World on Beacon Hill,” and the all-ages event will feature local entertainment, food, a silent auction, carnival games, and bounce toys.
All proceeds of the event go to support scholarships and programs provided by the Jefferson Community Center Advisory Council.
Here are some photos from last year’s festival. (All photos are by Jason.)
Further information on parking lot proposal near Link stations
Curtis LaPierre forwarded us a draft document from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) about the proposal to allow temporary surface parking lots near Link light rail stations. You can read it here.
According to this draft, the intent of the proposal is to “promote rail ridership, encourage use of vacant properties and provide economic return until the development market returns,” and it would do this both by allowing existing parking areas in Station Area Overlay Districts to be used as commuter and customer parking, and by allowing “use of extra parking or vacant portions of a lot as commuter and customer parking for land related to existing institutions within walking distance of a light rail station.” The parking would be permitted as an interim use for a maximum period of three years.
A DPD representative will be at the next North Beacon Hill Council meeting to discuss the parking lot proposal. The meeting is on Thursday, June 3 at 6:30 pm in the Beacon Hill Library meeting room, 2821 Beacon Avenue South.