All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Overheard

Quote of the day

From the Lake Boren Rapid Transit Report:

“The last big segment (of the Central Link light rail) is the tunnel and station above it on Beacon Hill. The station is at surface level and passengers will be hoisted up and down via a rope tow or something. Anyway it’s 165 feet from the Beacon Hill surface down to the tunnel and that’s a long way. Maybe they’ll have a fireman pole for going down and a jetpack for going up.”

Beacon Bits, Health and Safety

Halloween Beacon Bits: BRAAAAINS… and Jamie Moyer

This pumpkin may need to protect its brain from imminent ZOMBIE ATTACK! Photo by Brett L.
This pumpkin may need to protect its brain from imminent ZOMBIE ATTACK! Photo by Brett L.
Health and Safety

Time to prepare for Old Man Winter

Seattle Public Utilities would like us to remind you that, despite the gorgeous weather we’ve had lately, the winter weather is on its way, and everyone needs to do a few things to keep safe and sound:

  • keep your storm drains clear of leaf debris
  • build an emergency supply kit (including water, radio and light)
  • create a family disaster plan (and practice)

For more information about wintertime safety, please visit
Take Winter by Storm, Seattle.gov’s Emergency Resources page, and SDOT’s Winter Storm Information page.

Getting Around, Urban Planning

Light rail = increased home values on North Beacon?

Will this train soon bring higher housing values to the Hill? Photo by The Lebers.
Will this train soon bring higher housing values to the Hill? Photo by The Lebers.
According to the Denver Post, homes near light rail stations on the new Southeast line there have increased in value by nearly 4 percent since the line opened, even while homes in the rest of the Denver market declined by an average of 7.5 percent. The closer the home is to the station, the more the value increased, with those less than half a mile from the station increasing by an average of 17.6 percent.

The article mentions a similar effect in other markets, with single-family home values showing increases ranging from 2 percent in San Diego to a blistering 32 percent in St. Louis. The article also suggests that it is not just station location that causes the biggest increases, but transit-oriented development (TOD) that adds to the attractiveness of the area. North Beacon and Mount Baker (Rainier and McClellan) will have their stations soon, but will the TOD follow? Will we see a similar increase in housing value here on Beacon Hill? The Othello and Columbia City stations are already seeing some development, but there hasn’t been much up on top of the Hill or at the foot of McClellan.

Thanks to Seattlest!

Local Events

Haunted Brew House Tour continues this weekend

6 Comments
Photo of the Brew-House by e. res
Photo of the Brew-House by e. res
This is the second (and last) weekend of the Haunted Brew House Tour at the Rainier Cold Storage Brew-House, just down the hill in Georgetown. The 1903 brewery, once the sixth largest beer-producer in the world, will come to life with members of Ensemble Sub Masa and Annex Theatre bringing the spooky fun. Tickets and info here. The Brew-House is at 5900 Airport Way South.

Local Events

Get Out The Vote Rally, 11/2

1 Comment

Jon Gould reports that there will be a Get Out The Vote rally this Sunday on Beacon Hill, with Howard Dean, Governor Chris Gregoire, Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Congressman Jay Inslee, Peter Goldmark, and John Ladenburg. The event is November 2, 10:30 am, at the Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 South Myrtle Street. RSVP to Michelle Gregoire, 360 556 5323 or mgregoire@chrisgregoire.com.

Thanks, Jon!

Life on the Hill

What are some things you’d like to improve on Beacon Hill?

33 Comments
Our position under the Blue Angels flight path during Seafair is one of those things that some people love about Beacon Hill, and others would probably prefer to change. Photo by Wendi from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Our position directly under the Blue Angels' flight path during Seafair is one of those things that some people love about Beacon Hill, and others would probably prefer to change. Photo by Wendi from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
A while ago we asked you “what are five things you love about Beacon Hill?” There were a lot of great answers describing the wonderful things to be found on the Hill. But now it’s time to go the other direction. What are some things you wish could be improved on Beacon Hill?

Here are a couple of mine, in no particular order, to get you started. They don’t have to be issues of huge importance, though those are fine, too. Some of mine are a bit frivolous, but that’s OK:

  • We could use a few more restaurants, particularly pizza, and a good brewpub. (And can you get breakfasts on the Hill?)
  • Speaking of pizza, Pagliacci is one company that will not deliver to us or open a store in Southeast Seattle; our delivery options are fairly limited, compared to other neighborhoods.
  • I love our local coffee shops, but wish they’d stay open a bit later; there’s no real gathering place for people in the evenings other than the few bars.
  • I would like to see the Hill be a bit more self-contained, so we can avoid driving our cars more, though the light rail will help quite a bit. There used to be a drugstore up here, and a movie theater. Wouldn’t it be great to have those again? How about a book shop or newsstand?
  • I really, really want to see a regularly-scheduled street market up here on the hill. Not even necessarily a Farmer’s Market, though that would be wonderful, of course — but one that has things besides food. Art and crafts, maybe? Or collectibles? Why not give people from outside the area a reason to come up to Beacon Hill once the train is running? Maybe then they will spend money elsewhere on the Hill, too.
Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Camp Fire, Comet Lodge, and Déjà Vu

It’s a slow news week on the Hill (I think everyone’s enjoying our late October sunshine) but there are a few things we wanted to mention:

Getting Around, Local Events

Metro meeting to discuss transit changes tonight

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Metro is surveying Southeast Seattle residents on potential changes to the bus routes in our area. We should have mentioned that there is a meeting scheduled to discuss the changes — tonight. (Apologies; I thought we had.) The meeting is tonight, October 28, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, at Jefferson Community Center (Hasselberg Hall), 3801 Beacon Avenue South. Details are here. Thanks to the North Beacon Hill Council for the reminder!

Crime

Daylight break-ins and a safety warning

6 Comments

Kam Yee wrote to tell us:

Our neighbor’s and our house both got broken into last week. I wanted this group to know because both houses were robbed midday when we stay at home moms took our baby out for errands. Our homes are near Macpherson’s Fruit Stand and Maple School. I don’t want to be a fear mongerer, but thought I should warn you as the robbers seem to target during broad daylight when you take baby out for a few hours. During the couple of hours we were out, they have broke in through the basement window and effectively stole our electronics and jewelry. We suspect multiple accomplices watching until we left the house and had a lookout waiting for our return. Luckily we were not hurt.

The police reminded us the if you have any reasons to believe you have or had intruders to get out of the house and call 911. Wait outside or at a neighbor’s even if it takes the officers a long time to arrive. You should never search your house without an armed officer.

This safety warning is a good thing to keep in mind. I admit that if I came home to signs of a break-in I’d be tempted to go in and look around the house, but this is a Bad Idea. Call 911 first.

Kam, thanks for emailing us; we are sorry your house was broken into, but very glad no one was hurt.