All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Crime

Armed robbers strike on South Waite Street

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View Armed robbery on Waite Street, 8/15/12 in a larger map

A neighbor wrote in to describe a strong-arm robbery she experienced last week:

Last Wednesday evening, August 15th, at 10:15 p.m., a friend and I were assaulted and robbed by two armed assailants as we talked in the street on Waite Street between 21st and 22nd Avenues South. Both men were African-American, approximately 6 feet tall and heavy-set, maybe 220 to 240 pounds. One man grabbed my purse from behind me; I initially held on because I did not realize they had weapons. I was thrown to the ground and kicked in the head; my friend was forced to the ground and his wallet was taken. The two robbers then ran west on Waite and around the corner on 21st to a waiting car which sped off. We were assisted by a couple out for a walk who saw the men running away and then saw us on the ground. Police were called, reports were made, but the suspects were not found.

I wanted to let my community know about this so they could be more vigilant to the possibility of this level of random and serious violence. I work downtown, lived in the Central District prior to moving to Beacon Hill 5 years ago, and am normally very aware of my surroundings. I feel I let my guard down because I did not expect this type of crime in bucolic residential Beacon Hill. It was not terribly late at night, I was with a male companion and I was feet from my back door. The officers who responded said they have seen an uptick in crime on Beacon Hill, especially stolen cars, home break-ins, and armed assaults.

I post this as a reminder to all my wonderful neighbors and all who live in our great area to take precautions, stay aware, and look out for each other. Thank you.

According to the police report about the incident, the robbers may have driven west on Waite Street past the victims in a light-colored (possibly silver) car just before the robbery. The robbers then approached the victims from the west, and after the crime, ran to the getaway car around the corner on 21st.

Uncategorized

Beacon Rocks! one more time on Sunday

Fun and Zumba dance was enjoyed by all at July’s Beacon Rocks! Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

This Sunday, August 26 from 1-5 p.m., the last Beacon Rocks! event of 2012 returns to Roberto Maestas Festival Street with music and dance performances, kids’ activities, vendors, and even some old-fashioned bartering.

The lineup this time includes Jean Mann (“alt-folk indie-pop singer-songwriter”), Mister K and the Rhythm Rockets Kids’ Show (“Cab Calloway meets Mr. Rogers meets Vince Guaraldi”), Splinter Dance Company (“thought-provoking dance performances”), Lushy (“Cal Tjader meets Stereolab meets Brazil 66 in a bar in Berlin”), and Tumbuka (“a marimba band that plays African music drawn from traditional and contemporary styles”).

Alongside the performances, the focus is on local food and gardening. There will be a BarterFest from 2-4 p.m. Backyard Barter invites the community to trade their homegrown and homemade food and related skills. To participate, bring homegrown veggies, fresh eggs, plants, baked goods, garden tools, kitchen skills, and more to share or trade. No money allowed. (Save your money for the several food trucks and carts that will be on hand, instead.)

Representatives from the Beacon Food Forest will also be on hand with a presentation about the urban farming project currently being developed at Jefferson Park. People for Puget Sound will also be there to demonstrate creative ways to reduce pollutants flowing into stormwater drains.

Here is the performance schedule for the day:

  • 1:00 Jean Mann
  • 1:45 Mister K and the Rhythm Rockets Kids’ Show
  • 2:30 Splinter Dance
  • 2:45 Lushy
  • 3:45 Splinter Dance
  • 4:00 Tumbuka

Here’s a video of Lushy performing at the Beacon Hill Piñata Party at Stevens Place Park in July 2010.

Arts, Education, Life on the Hill

Little Free Library comes to 16th Avenue South

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The side of the Little Free Library says, “Take a Book / Share a Book.” Photo by Wendi Dunlap,.

A new library — a very tiny one — sprouted this weekend on 16th Avenue South, near Jefferson Park. It is, as far as we know, Beacon Hill’s first Little Free Library, part of a movement to build small library structures in communities around the nation. Little Free Libraries are usually small boxes or cupboards mounted at streetside like mailboxes, and typically built and maintained by neighbors to promote literacy, community, and the enjoyment of reading.

Neighbor Levecke Mas told us, “I saw one of these Little Free Libraries last summer while walking around with my sister in Victoria. I have been wishing to do this ever since. My husband and I put this together this weekend using all materials found in our basement treasure trove!”

The Mas family library is charmingly built from what looks like a former kitchen cabinet, roofed with plexiglass, covered with a collection of foreign stamps, and opened with a vintage doorknob. Inside are two shelves of books, some bookmarks to borrow, a request list, and a guestbook for visitors to sign. Books are free to borrow.

The library is located on 16th, just north of South Spokane Street. Just west of Beacon Hill, there is also a Little Free Library on South Orcas Street in Georgetown, operated by a family with the wonderful name of “Bookwalter.”

The inside of the Little Free Library has a request sheet, bookmarks to borrow, a guestbook, and — oh yes — books! Photo by Levecke Mas.
Clean and Green, Food and Drink

Canning Connection “full of beans” this month

Photo by Steve A. Johnson via Creative Commons/Flickr.
The Beacon Hill Garden Club is joining with Rainier Valley Eats to present another Canning Connections workshop on Wednesday, August 29 from 7-9 p.m. at the Garden House, 2336 15th Ave. S.

According to the Canning Connection folks, “this month we’ll ‘put up’ some of Master Gardener Mick Duggan’s recipe for green beans in mustard sauce and some delicious dilly beans. Both are fantastic with cold summer suppers or on the buffet and picnic table.”

The class is $15 and includes everything but your apron, but it’s limited to 10 students, so you should register soon by emailing ankataa@yahoo.com.

Mark your calendar — the Canning Connections program will be preserving something at the Garden House every fourth Tuesday of each month from now on.

Local Events

Save the date: El Centro 40th Anniversary Celebration, 9/29

El Centro de la Raza is 40 years old this year. To celebrate, the local non-profit organization has planned a 40th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, September 29 at the Seattle Westin Hotel, including a reception, historical art walk, live and silent auctions, awards, and more.

The keynote speaker will be New Mexico Congressman Ben Ray Luján, the second Vice Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Co-chair of the bipartisan Technology Transfer Caucus.

Seating is limited. To register, donate, or find out more about this upcoming event, see the website here.

Education

Beacon Hill schools to benefit from STEM grants

Photo by dpham194 via Flickr/Creative Commons.

Two Beacon Hill schools will benefit from investment grants recently-awarded by Washington STEM, a non-profit group dedicated to improving education in the “STEM” fields: science, technology, engineering, and math. The grants are of two types: Entrepreneur Award grants, one-year investments to support “breakthrough ideas and promising approaches in STEM education”; and Portfolio Awards for multi-year projects. The Beacon Hill grants are both Entrepreneur Awards.

The Cleveland High School grant of $10,000 is for a project, “Who Has the Right to Clean Water?”:

“Through the lens of social justice, science, and social studies, teachers will design an engaging unit of study in which students will investigate the essential question ‘who has the right to clean water?’ Bolstering the global nature of this question, Cleveland students will use internet technology to partner with students in Taita, a poor, rural area of Kenya. Students on both continents will conduct similar investigations and share data for comparison and analysis. In science, students will test water chemistry, explore their personal water footprint, and investigate engineering designs for water purification. Concurrently, in social studies students will explore social, geographical, and historical causes of unequal access to clean water and the impact that our daily decisions have on our environment. Students will ultimately create a call to action, sharing their findings in a daylong water symposium.”

The second Beacon Hill grant of $20,000 went to the local non-profit group Powerful Schools, for their project, “Building a STEM Community” at Beacon Hill International School:

“Seattle-based nonprofit Powerful Schools is empowering traditionally underserved students to start a community-wide conversation around the power of STEM at Beacon Hill International School, a diverse public elementary school located in south Seattle. In this ‘Curiosity Club,’ fourth and fifth grade student leaders will launch a STEM campaign including development of a mobile ‘lab’ to share hands-on STEM experiments school-wide. Powerful Schools will also commission a local artist to work with students to create materials that summarize their findings and encourage non-English speaking families to discover STEM at home.”

A full list of Washington STEM investments may be found at their website.

Lost and Found

Updated: Have you seen Oreo?

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Have you seen Oreo?
Neighbor Liza Marie is searching for her missing chihuahua, Oreo, who went missing on August 14, and who was last seen on Ferdinand Street near Cleveland High School. He is black with white on his chest and white paw tips. If you see him, please call 253-678-4578 or 206-890-2489. Liza Marie says that Oreo “is very loved at home. He is missed dearly.”

(Updated to include better description of where he was last seen — 3:30 p.m. 8/16)

Getting Around

Beacon B.I.K.E.S. appeals for greenway support

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Beacon B.I.K.E.S. members at the neighborhood greenways group meeting at the Beacon Hill Library in January, 2012. Photo by Dan Bennett in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The folks at Beacon B.I.K.E.S. sent out the following appeal on Facebook yesterday:

Hello Beacon BIKErs,

This is a call to anyone who is on this list that lives on Beacon Hill and wants to see our Greenway be built.

SDOT had a community open house on July 19, I saw many of you there. They collected public comments, many of which were positive. However, there have been a few individuals that have been very vocal in their opposition and their voices are drowning out the broad-based support we have for this project in our community. Please take 5 minutes to write an email showing support for the project to SDOT and Council. I have spoken with key individuals at the City and they say these emails are the single most important thing we can do right now. If you can, add why the project is important to you personally. They have heard from me and a couple other active members many times, to have a really powerful effect it would be wonderful if those of you who have not been very active could write an email.

The details of SDOT’s plan can be found here:
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/beaconhillgreenway.htm

Address to: Brian.Dougherty@seattle.gov
CC: sandra.woods@seattle.gov, dongho.chang@seattle.gov, sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, Douglas.Cox@seattle.gov, tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov, dsahearn@gmail.com, and anyone else you want…

Thank you for your help in making Beacon Hill a safer and more livable neighborhood.

The proposed greenway would follow 18th Avenue South from the I-90 trail south to South Hanford street, where it would zigzag over to Lafayette Avenue South, then along the edge of Jefferson Park to South Dakota Street, then south on 12th Avenue South to South Lucile Street. The greenway route would have improvements and repairs to make the street safer for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians alike, including new signage and street markings, crossing islands at certain intersections, a new left turn lane on South Spokane Street, and others. As mentioned above, details may be found here.


View Beacon Hill Neighborhood Greenway in a larger map

Clean and Green, Health and Safety, Local Events, Meetings

“Coal Hard Truth Forum” to discuss coal train impacts

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Coal train photo courtesy of Washington Environmental Council.

Washington Environmental Council is holding a “Coal Hard Truth Forum” at Cleveland High School this Wednesday, August 15, to discuss the proposed increase in coal trains through South Seattle if a proposed coal export terminal opens in Bellingham.

According to a press release from the Council, up to 9 open-bed coal trains may be added to the city’s railroad traffic daily, which would result in increased pollution and traffic to neighborhoods along the route, including Georgetown and Beacon Hill. Here at the BHB, we confess that we haven’t yet done as much research on the topic as we’d like, but here are a couple of links to provide more information about the trains:

All interested neighbors are invited to attend the forum to ask questions and discuss the trains’ impact with community members. The event is at Cleveland High School, room 1201 (second floor), 5511 15th Ave. S, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15. If you have questions, contact Nicole Keenan, nicole@wecprotects.org or 206-631-2606.

Arts, Food and Drink, Local Business, Neighborhood Pride

August changes include new/returning art, opening of Tippe and Drague

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The Tippe and Drague is almost open! Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Change is in the air in North Beacon Hill these days, with the long-awaited opening of the Tippe and Drague Alehouse just around the corner, alongside some new (and returning) art on view around Beacon Hill Station.

We’ve been hearing that Tippe and Drague (in the old ROCKiT space at 3315 Beacon Ave. S.) would probably open this week or next, but Seattle Beer News provides more details on the new establishment, and says that owners Melissa Cabal and Robert McConaughy plan to open next week if all goes well. SBN reports the opening tap list is heavily local, and the menu will include “simple but good food with fresh ingredients; don’t look for any fried food here.” Hours will be 4 p.m. until late, 7 days a week, with weekend brunches.

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Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
In other neighborhood change: the metal banner art designed by Carl Smool has finally returned to Beacon Hill Station. One of the flagpoles fell in a windstorm in March 2011, so the poles were removed to improve them for safety. Earlier this year, Sound Transit tried to reinstall them but discovered a problem, so the poles were removed again. Now, the banners are back to decorate the station plaza once again.

You can see in these photos some indications of how the poles have been retrofitted:

The original pole bases looked like this. Photo from March 2011 by Wendi Dunlap.
Where one of the pole bases broke and fell. Photo from March 2011 by Wendi Dunlap.
The retrofitted pole bases look like this. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
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Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Just across Roberto Maestas Festival Street from the station, the El Sabroso taco truck is also looking more artistic these days. The truck was closed for a while this week while it was painted with decorative murals.