There are a few places on Beacon Hill that can be slick even in frostless conditions such as we have today: for example, on South Massachusetts Street just east of 17th Avenue South, where there is what seems to be a permanent water leak wetting the road. Later this week, the precipitation will return, and there could be ice—or even snow—to contend with. Please be careful when navigating the streets and sidewalks of our hilly neighborhood.
Thanks to JvA for the reminder.
Neighbors in the 12th and Stevens area have been protesting the new lines and poles since they appeared last summer. They are concerned about the impact of the poles and lines on views and property values for houses in the area, and the impact on the nearby 12th Avenue Viewpoint park. About the park, neighbor Judith Edwards tells us “The tall pole and power lines are your first visual impression… Though the power lines have a great visual effect on the 12th Ave/Stevens St. neighbors, their impact on the park, which is a Beacon Hill landmark, is more than disturbing.”
Over 100 neighbors have signed a petition asking that the poles be removed.
View S. Stevens St. power poles in a larger map. The blue line marks the location of the power poles on S. Stevens Street. The green area is the 12th Avenue Viewpoint park.
Here are more photos of the power poles near 12th and Stevens, provided by Dulcie Claasen, Nick Papini, and Anne Marie Harrington.
Continue reading Power lines/poles subject of Wednesday meeting with City Light head Carrasco
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Beacon Hill’s own Helladope were just featured in the latest issue of The Stranger. Charles Mudede writes that the album Return to Planet Rock is “…yet another contender for the best local hiphop recording of the year.”
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Shelly Bates writes about a new student savings program:
“Our local bank, Washington Federal Savings, has started a new ‘Save at School’ program.
“The student opens the account with a minimum $5 deposit and the bank will add another $5 to each student that enrolls. Â This is a great opportunity to replace the WaMu School Savings program which Chase discontinued. Â What’s even better is it works with an adult volunteer who collects the deposits for children each week at school and then makes the trip to the bank. Â Withdrawals do have to be made in person, no ATM access, but you do earn interest and there are no fees or minimum balance required.
“If you’re interested in getting it set up at your own school, contact Laitim Wong, Branch Manager, Beacon Hill Branch (206)324-1884.”
Thanks, Shelly!
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Rita Harris has chartered a bus to go to the Christmas Lighting Festival in Leavenworth on Saturday, December 12. There are still seats available for this all day trip that will depart early Saturday morning from the parking lot in front of Jefferson Park Recreation Center. Seats are $35 per adult, and there are children’s rates as well. For more info, see this Craigslist page.
The new Lander Festival Street opened yesterday on a sunny Saturday morning, celebrated by members of the community and visiting dignitaries including SDOT Director Grace Crunican and Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark. The Beaconettes a cappella singing group provided entertainment.
The Festival Street, located at South Lander Street between 16th and 17th avenues South, will serve as an extension of the plaza north of Beacon Hill Station, and provide a space for community festivals and events.
Some photos by Jason (click any one for the entire photoset):
Another photo by Willie Weir and J. Dong.
Do you have any good photos of Beacon Hill? You are invited to contribute them to the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool on Flickr.
Getting to and from Beacon Hill via Interstate 5 could be a bit more difficult over the next couple of Saturdays. Six miles of northbound I-5 through south Seattle will be closed on the next two Saturday nights for workers to install new overhead sign bridges.
All lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm Saturday, December 5, to 8:00 am Sunday, December 6, between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street. On-ramps in the area will start closing as early as 9 p.m.
These ramps will be closed from 9:00 pm Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday:
The following Saturday, all lanes of northbound I-5 will be closed from 11:30 pm December 12 to 8:00 am December 13 between Boeing Access Road and I-90.
There will be a signed detour to direct drivers to exit at Martin Luther King Way (exit 157) to Airport Way, and back onto I-5 via Edgar Martinez Drive/SR 519. Consider taking alternate routes like I-405 or SR 99 to avoid long delays and backups.
You can see more about the new overhead sign bridges here. The sign bridges are funded by the Alaskan Way Viaduct program, and are intended to improve traffic flow during the demolition and replacement of the Viaduct. The signs will be activated next summer.
Evening Link riders should be prepared for delays until the end of the month. Sound Transit tells us that starting Monday, December 7 and lasting until December 30, Central Link light rail will operate only every 15–20 minutes between 7:00 pm and 1:00 am due to track maintenance.
This maintenance will also temporarily close some platforms on one side of the track. If your normal boarding location is closed, you will need to board both northbound and southbound Link trains at the opposite platform, as was done at Beacon Hill Station during the derailment a couple of weeks ago.
You can cheer on the neighborhood representatives in person on Friday, or vote with your charitable donations online.
The Beaconettes won “Best New Figgy” last year. Team member Betty Jean Williamson tells us, “This year we are going for most creative and adding costumes.” You can see performances by the Beaconettes on their YouTube channel, including “God Bless Our Ferries, Gentlemen” and “O Come, All Commuters.”
Thanks to Betty Jean!
According to scanner reports, the suspect in the Lakewood police shootings, Maurice Clemmons, was captured earlier this morning in the 4400 block of South Kenyon Street, and KIRO 7, KIRO 97.3, CBS Radio News, and several other local media outlets have just now reported that he is dead.
The location on South Kenyon is east of Beacon Hill, in the Brighton/Othello neighborhood on the other side of Martin Luther King Way South. On Monday, police swarmed North Beacon Hill on 17th Avenue, and near the Jungle and Jose Rizal Bridge in pursuit of Clemmons.
On Twitter, @rahnerseatimes (Mark Rahner of the Seattle Times) reports that there was a shooting at the South Kenyon location at around 2:39 am, and that “Clemmons (is) said to have challenged police who approached him and was shot.”
Movement was seen inside the house near which Clemmons was captured, and SWAT teams have moved in and a perimeter has been set up around the house.
This long-awaited project extends the plaza north of Beacon Hill Station, giving the community a space for festivals and events. Workers from the Seattle Department of Transportation have been onsite since October, working on this improvement to Lander Street.
See more SDOT photos of the Festival Street project on Flickr.
View Lander Festival Street in a larger map
