All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.

Holiday lights on Beacon Hill

When I was very young, the local newspapers used to host a Christmas light contest each year. People would decorate their houses in amazing ways, and the newspapers would publish the list of competitors. My parents would then drive us around to see the decorated houses.

Then came 1973, and the oil shortages. Suddenly it was irresponsible to have holiday lights. The contests went away, and the city because a lot less festive. It was years before we started seeing a ton of lights again. And I missed the light shows of my early childhood.

Now, we’re back to the 1973 state of things in many ways. It’s not “green” to waste that much energy. But I still enjoy the lights anyway, at least for a few weeks each year in Seattle’s terribly dark winters. They brighten up our evenings and make the darkness easier to bear.

We’ll be featuring Beacon Hill homes with lights and decoration periodically until Christmas. Do you have some cool decorations? How about your neighbors? Please write and tell us, so we can post a picture.

Our first featured home is on the 1500 block of South Atlantic Street. (See the map at the bottom of this post.) Tons of lights, a countdown clock to Christmas, and Santa in a helicopter!

Notice the countdown clock above the door.
Notice the countdown clock above the door.
I love how colorful this one is.
I love how colorful this one is.
A very cheery house and front yard.
A very cheery house and front yard.

Here’s a map to help you find the house. We’ll add other holiday houses to the map over the next few weeks.

View Larger Map

Jungle murder suspect arrested

SPDBlotter brings this news:

“The Seattle Police Department is pleased to announce the arrest of the suspect in the September 11th, 2008 murder that occurred at 12:52 A.M. near the I-5 and I-90 interchange. Suspect Van Hoa Truong, a 53-year-old male, was arrested by Seattle Police SWAT team officers in the City of Renton on December 4th at approximately 6:15 P.M. Suspect Truong was subsequently booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Homicide and narcotics violations.”

Street repair work to be done this Saturday

The city will tear up your street, and hopefully fix it back up again. Image courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.
The city will tear up your street, and hopefully fix it back up again. We know we've used this picture before, but we like it. Image courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.
Saturday, December 6, at 9:00 am, Seattle Department of Transportation crews will repair sections of 15th Avenue South, Rainier Avenue South, and Beacon Avenue South where the pavement was excavated for work on underground utilities. There will be flaggers to direct traffic. Lanes are scheduled to reopen by 3:30 pm.

Areas affected will be:

  • the 3000 block of 15th Avenue South (between Stevens and Winthrop*)
  • the 5100 block of Rainier Avenue South (at 39th Avenue South)
  • Rainier Avenue South at Medley Court south of South Austin Street
  • the 3000 and 3400 blocks of Beacon Avenue South (between Stevens and Hanford, and between Hinds and Spokane)

Need more information? Contact Eric Stewart at 206-255-2349.

*The city press release said the 3200 block, but the block bounded by Stevens and Winthrop is the 3000 block.

Here’s a map of the Beacon Hill locations affected:

View Larger Map

How this blog community can work for you

Sign on the wall inside Spoons Urban Apparel. Photo by Wendi, in the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool.
Sign on the wall inside Spoons Urban Apparel. Photo by Wendi, in the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool.
We’ve got a lot of stuff going on at the Beacon Hill Blog these days, and I wanted to post a quick reminder of the various features you can use and some of the ways you can be part of the community.

  • The Beacon Hill Blog photo pool at Flickr is an ever-growing collection of Beacon Hill photos. Have you taken a photo of the Hill? If you add it to the pool, we might feature it in the blog.
  • The forums are brand new this week, and they are a great place to post requests and recommendations, Help Wanted listings, rants and raves, and more. Currently in the forums: a request for veterinarian recommendations, and a query about organizing a knitters’ stitch ‘n’ bitch on the Hill.
  • The events calendar shows upcoming events that we’ve posted about in the blog. Is your upcoming event not listed? Send us the info so we can add it!
  • If you’re a Twitter user, you can follow our Twitter feed. It includes announcements of our posts, as well as other comments and some behind-the-scenes info.
  • We also have a Beacon Hill Blog Facebook group!
  • The mailing lists are the original inspiration for this site. The Beacon Hill neighborhood list began in 1999 with a small group of neighbors and now has more than 325 members who get neighborhood-related discussions and announcements in their email boxes. The list does not mirror the content of the blog; sometimes you see the same things in both places, but often it differs. The list tends to be more conversational, and less newsy. If this sounds like your type of thing, join us! You can also join a very low-volume announcements-only list if you prefer.

Thanks for being part of the blog community so far! We’d love to hear your comments and feedback.

School closures and unintended consequences

The P-I has a follow-up article on the proposed Rainier Beach/Cleveland high school merger and the response of the community:

“The possible merger is troubling for some South Seattle parents, who say their schools are disproportionately targeted in the plan, and that disputes between rival gangs at the high schools could escalate with the change. They also wonder about class size at Cleveland and the fate of Rainier Beach’s powerhouse athletics.”

The Times has additional background on Rainier Beach, and a comparison chart between the two schools. The article mentions that “District staff members say they continue to evaluate the feasibility of combining the two schools, and haven’t ruled out moving Cleveland to Rainier Beach instead of the other way around.” Cleveland’s building was completely remodeled last year for $68 million.

Also on the school closure topic, former School Board member and Seattle Times reporter Dick Lilly suggests in a Crosscut editorial that closing schools such as Van Asselt that serve low-income families may drive those low-income families — in many cases, renters who are more easily able to pack up and move — out of the city.

A neighbor’s plea: Can you help Noemi’s kids?

Amber Campbell at the Rainier Valley Post sent this email to us today:

“Most of you already know that earlier this week, my neighbor Noemi Lopez – the mother of three beautiful children, 15-year old Karina, 13-year old Alandra and 6-year old Alex – was killed by her ex-husband. Angel has confessed to the murder and remains on the run. The children are staying with relatives but they have been unable to return to their home for clothes, school supplies, personal belongings, etc. Can you help them?

“I am personally keeping in touch with the family on a regular basis to keep tabs on their needs and deliver the outpouring of sentiments, blessings and donations. So far neighbors have contributed money, clothing and a tree to plant in Noemi’s memory.

“At this time we are focused on helping the children with clothing, school supplies and gifts for the holidays, as well as the crime scene clean-up costs that will range somewhere in the area of $1,000 – $5,000.

“The Rainier Valley Post has established a fund specifically for the Lopez Children and we would all be very grateful for whatever publicity you can offer to generate help for these poor kids during the most horrible time of their lives.

“Please go to www.rainiervalleypost.com for info about how people can give.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.”

Please help if you can. At the Rainier Valley Post site, there is a PayPal button in the upper sidebar, along with an address if you prefer to mail a donation.

Beacon Bits: Views, graffiti, and a BIA

School closure plans revised: Rainier Beach may merge with Cleveland

Just one week after Seattle Public Schools’ controversial proposals to close buildings and relocate programs, the plans have been changed. At a School Board meeting last night, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced new proposals for consideration, including merging Rainier Beach High School into Beacon Hill’s Cleveland High School, eliminating Summit K-12 entirely, or moving students from several programs into the RBHS building, including Aki Kurose Middle School and displaced middle school-aged kids from three other programs on the chopping block: Meany Middle School, the African-American Academy, and Summit. (Here is the superintendent’s slide show of the recommendations, and this blog post discusses School Board reactions to the presentation.)

These changes would save the district an estimated $3.6 million, but with the district’s expected budget gap up to $37.1 million — $13 million higher than previously estimated — it seems there will be a long way to go.

Blogger Sable Verity suggests that the RBHS closure was always a given:

“This is all a part of the ORIGINAL, mostly UNDOCUMENTED South East Initiative. That planned called for RBHS to merge with Aki, to become a performing arts academy. Problem is, the district didn’t want to front the money and actually invest, they wanted someone else to come in and set up shop. Problem is, after the TAF debacle, folks were leery (’cept the brave and righteous souls at Broadway Bound) of doing business with SPS.

“Can’t say that I blame them.”

Community workshops to discuss the proposals are scheduled for tonight 6:30 – 8:30 pm at District headquarters in Sodo, 2445 Third Avenue South, and this Saturday, December 6, 9:30 – 11:30 am, at the Filipino Community Center, 5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. A hearing about the previously announced Van Asselt building closure proposal is December 15, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Van Asselt Elementary, 7201 Beacon Avenue South. Stay tuned to this SPD page for updates on added hearings and forums.

Comments may also be emailed to capacity@seattleschools.org or snail-mailed to: School Board, P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA 98124-1165.

Culinary Communion finally gets a liquor license

Photo by Andrew Kraker.
Photo by Andrew Kraker.
You may remember the fuss a few months ago when the State Liquor Control Board told Culinary Communion on Beacon Avenue that they could no longer have alcohol at their cooking classes — not even to cook with. Apparently, it’s illegal without a liquor license. Who knew?

But it’s now safe to make wine sauces and other spirited dishes at CC’s cooking classes; the school was approved for a spirits, beer and wine restaurant/lounge license on November 26. (You can find the info at this page by choosing King County.)

Perhaps now their “Living Room Wine Classes,” which were held in a private living space, can move into the class space at CC House instead.