Staying cool in the pool
All posts by Wendi Dunlap
Beacon Bits, Necessities of Life edition: Food, clothing, and cool, cool desserts
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The Marination Hawaiian/Korean taco truck (yes, seriously) has begun a regular Thursday lunch residency at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, from 11am – 2pm. (Next week’s lunch is only until 1:30, though.)
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In the hubbub over Link’s opening day on July 18, we missed one other local opening: big-box discount retail has come to Southeast Seattle in the form of a Ross store on Rainier Avenue South, in the former Longs Drugs next to Safeway, 3820 Rainier Avenue South. MyraMyra at the Rainier Valley Post wrote about her visit and suggested some tips for a good Ross shopping experience (hint: it’s no Nordstrom). Ross sells discounted clothing, shoes, and various household goods.
Think cool
Put your feet in a bowl of ice water, an ice pack on your neck, and imagine yourself on Beacon Hill, almost exactly seven months ago:
Cat found attacked by wild animal
A sad message came to us on Sunday:
Hi Wendi & Jason,
We live at 20th and Lander and found an attacked blackish brown cat this morning.  We think it was killed by a wild animal last night sometime but didn’t hear anything.  We don’t recognize as one of the regular cats around and it doesn’t have any tags but looks too well groomed to be feral. We’ve already called Animal Control and they said they’ll be up to remove the body. We have a picture of the face (not too gruesome, but not postable either).  We can e-mail it to anyone who thinks that it might be theirs.
Thank you,
Patrick & Leigh
You can reach Patrick at pnelson101@gmail.com.
There are quite a few wild animals in and around the Hill, including some coyotes. We hope your pets are safe and sound.
Street trees and fruit trees to sprout on Beacon Hill
Speaking of fruit trees, the City Fruit project at cityfruit.org has a calendar project in the works, and they are looking for photos related to growing urban fruit, to feature in the 2010 calendar. Photos might show urban orchards, harvesting, jam, bugs, etc. The deadline is September 1, and photos should be sent to info@cityfruit.org.
Lastly, today at 2pm, the City Council will discuss a resolution to prioritize the protection of Seattle’s tree canopy, and legislation to create an Urban Forestry commission which will advise the Mayor and Council on urban forestry issues. If you have an opinion on the matter, you may want to call the council or the mayor this morning.
Festival to bring music to Rizal Park August 8
The festival will showcase local talent in music and fine arts, as well as promoting the Dr. Jose Rizal Park and Bridge, both named after a Filipino national hero. It will also benefit the Rizal Park Preservation Society and the Zenaida Guerzon Foundation (read more about Zenaida Guerzon, a former Franklin High School teacher and Filipino community leader, here).
The event will be a family-friendly event with kids’ activities. Food vendors will be there, art and dance will be exhibited, and there will be music from bands and artists including Angelo Pizarro, Network, NewWave, EnRoute, and more.
Volunteers are welcomed; see the website for further information.
Beacon Bits: Blue Angels, business awards, and parking issues
Here’s the schedule of Angels’ practices and performances:
- July 29: Blue Angels arrival
- July 30: Blue Angels practice times:
- 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
- 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
- July 31-August 2: Blue Angels performances:
- July 31: 1:20 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
- August 1: 1:20 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
- August 2: 1:20 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
- August 3: Blue Angels depart
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Last week’s commentary by Frederica Merrell about small business owners and the planning process generated some interesting comments, including information about how local businesses can apply for the 2009 Mayor’s Small Business Awards, and discussion about how local businesses can get their concerns heard.
Neighbor Brook commented, “In most other neighborhoods, they’d get a fair say because at least some of them would be involved in an active neighborhood chamber of commerce that would contribute to planning, go after development grants, and such. I’m sure it’s a challenge in a neighborhood as diverse as ours, but everyone is losing out without an organization like that.” The Beacon Hill Blog has commented on this concern previously.
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In the BHB forum, Gracie P writes:
“Has there been any discussion among folks about how to cope with the RPZ when going on vacation? We’re taking a road trip in one car, trying to figure out what will happen with the other one while we are gone… Yes, we could tackle the issue that multiple cars is a bit excessive, but we’d be in the same boat if we had one car and took link to SeaTac.
Not that it wasn’t illegal to leave a car for more than 72 hours before the RPZ, but… with actual parking patrols happening up here, we are realizing we can’t just blissfully leave a car on the street while we travel.
Have any ideas or suggestions for Gracie? Please post them in the Forum.
Car wash near station declared a violation; Grown Folks Coffeehouse closed
In other local business news, neighbor Chris sent in a tip about an interesting, and saddening, listing on Craigslist today: Grown Folks Coffeehouse has closed, and they are selling all of their equipment. A potential bargain for someone else who wants to open a coffee shop, but a substantial loss for Mid-Beacon Hill. (This closure wasn’t entirely unexpected. We mentioned the land use application for their lot last month, and it was known for months before that the lot owner was looking to redevelop the property. –Ed.)
Going places on light rail: Mount Baker station
Thirty years after the stadium’s demise, the area is a relatively automobile-focused district containing fast food and big stores like Lowe’s, Rite Aid, and QFC, mostly surrounded by large parking lots, with cars speeding by on Rainier Avenue. It’s not a pedestrian-friendly environment, but the intent is that the new station, and the potential transit-friendly development it will attract, will improve that.
East of the station rises the imposing neoclassical façade of Franklin High School, which opened in 1912 and was renovated in the late 1980s.
Northeast of Lowe’s on MLK, between South Walker and South Bayview streets, you’ll find the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Park, a tiered, grassy amphitheatre-like space containing a reflecting pool and a 30-foot-tall granite sculpture by Robert Kelly, inspired by King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.
There is good eating to be found near the station, even if you have to dodge a few cars to find it. Thai Recipe is located in the same strip mall as Domino’s on McClellan, and it is the only Thai restaurant we know of that even borders on North Beacon Hill. The very friendly staff serves good, reliable, and tasty Thai food, available for take out or to eat in the small dining room.
Perhaps your current craving is for a cheesesteak sandwich instead. If so, there’s The Original Philly’s, almost in the shadow of Mount Baker station at the intersection of Rainier and McClellan.
The art at this station includes chandeliers on the underside of the guideway, made from recycled “cobra head” street lights (Sky Within by Sheila Klein), and painted glass forming splashes of color on the glass face of the station (Rain, Steam and Speed and Seattle Sunrise, both by Guy Kemper);
If you continue on the train toward downtown from Mount Baker, you will then turn west and enter the Beacon Hill tunnel. Here’s a video taken by Oran Viriyincy to give you a taste of what it’s like to ride the train from Mount Baker into the tunnel.
Working into the night to be ready for Saturday
