All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Food and Drink

Luisa Taqueria opens with a fusion of Mexican and Filipino flavor

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In the last year Beacon Hill has seen a few new places to eat and drink. One more has been a long time coming but it is open now. The storefront at 15th and Beacon that has borne the sign “Taqueria Frida opening soon” for a very long time (we first wrote about them in November 2010, along with a rumored sushi place that has yet to materialize) finally opened this week with a slight name change to Luisa Taqueria. It’s open daily except Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Luisa’s operators, Inay’s owner Ernesto Rios and his nephew Gerald, describe their offerings this way:

“Luisa Taqueria, a fusion of Filipino and Mexican cuisine, similar yet surprisingly unique. From our carnitas and carne asada taco to the sisig and tangy pork adobo taco, we promise none will disappoint. The elegant simple flavors of combined cuisines give this Beacon Hill Taqueria a reason to stop by and dine. With summer right around the corner everyone should try out the Flaming Nachos Diablo and Carne Asada Fries accompanied by the house-made Horchata.”

It’s too early to review the taqueria properly, but I stopped by today and can report that the food I tried was tasty. I particularly liked the horchata, which tasted smoother and less watery than at some restaurants. The prices seemed reasonable. I’ll be back.

Luisa Taqueria is located just a couple of doors south of Inay's at the junction of Beacon and 15th. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Urban Planning

Church has plans for surplus property on 14th Ave. S.

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The Beacon Lights blog at the SeattlePI.com website has a new writer, Daniel Scheer. Scheer has kicked off his tenure on the blog with an excellent story about Tuesday night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting, at which the topic of Seattle City Light’s possible sale of a plot of land on 14th Avenue South drew a big crowd:

“Vacant since 1993, the former substation at 2107 14th Ave S suffered lead exposure until City Light cleaned it up. The Debre Medhanit St. Emmanuel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, located next door, wants to buy the property to expand their already limited facilities. ‘We’re over full capacity and growing like crazy,’ said church member Maikele Mengesha. He added that the Church wants to build a big structure similar to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption on Capitol Hill. ‘We want it to be a landmark,’ Mengesha added.”

The sale of the 14th Avenue South site would be part of a surplus property disposition pilot project for City Light, which has more than 40 surplus properties, most of which are former substations. As part of this project, City Light will be doing public outreach meetings and collecting comments on the fate of this property as well as several properties in Northeast Seattle. There will be a formal hearing on the sale at El Centro de la Raza next month; we will post the meeting info as soon as we have it.


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Arts, Local Events

Swingin’ sounds coming to Beacon Hill

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Photo by Reed George via Creative Commons/Flickr.
Music fans will want to swing on over to the Garden House over the next couple of weekends to enjoy two musical events presented by ROCKiT Community Arts.

This Sunday, May 6, at 6 p.m. the Sunday Folk Club brings Charlie Beck to the Hill to perform acoustic American roots music, traditional old-time country, and blues. Hear some examples of Beck’s music here. This show is a release party for Beck’s new CD, Leave on the Light.

HopSkipJump will open with new and old fiddle tunes. Admission is $5, free to ROCKiT members and kids 12 and under.

The following Saturday, May 12, at 7 p.m., it’s swing time for everyone with the 2012 Beacon Rocks! Swing Dance Fundraiser. Savoy Swing Club Performance Troupe will put on a demo, followed by a short swing dance lesson. Then the rest of the evening will be your chance to show off your moves to lots of swing music. There will be refreshments and raffles, and all funds raised will go to support the 2012 Beacon Rocks! music series.

All ages are welcome. Admission is $15; kids 12 and under by donation.

Meetings

Senior services, city surplus and more on this month’s NBHC agenda

It’s almost May, which means it’s almost time for the next North Beacon Hill Council meeting. Tomorrow (Tuesday), May 1, neighbors will gather as they do each month to discuss local issues. All are welcome. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Beacon Hill Library community room.

Here is this month’s agenda:

  • 7:00 Hellos and introductions
  • 7:10 Announcement by a representative of the Advisory Committee on Aging about a pamphlet which will be distributed on Beacon Hill advising of services available to senior citizens.
  • 7:15 Announcement by City Light representatives Dave Barber and Lynn Best re: surplus property located on 14th Avenue South.
  • 7:30 Presentation by representatives of Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith’s office pertaining to work that has been done/is scheduled to be done on the Mountains to Sound Trail, the off-leash area, and other aspects of the greenbelt on North Beacon Hill. Followed by Q&A.
  • 8:00 Community concerns and announcements
    • June 2, Jefferson Park Beacon Hill Festival – volunteers needed to sit at the NBHC table for 1-2 hour shifts
    • June meeting – honoring the work that has been done on the Jefferson Park playground, information on July 14 grand opening Jubilee Celebration at Jefferson Park
    • Other announcements and community concerns
  • 8:25 Elections to be held in June for the NBHC Board of Directors. Please come prepared to fill one of the four vacant slots! Needed: a fund raiser (interested in planning for a neighborhood garage sale?), someone to write grants, a computer guru, and someone interested in public safety to attend the SE Police Precinct Advisory Board as our representative. If you have talents here, please consider becoming a Board member. Requirements: the monthly meeting, plus 1-5 hours more per month, depending on your responsibility.
Lost and Found

Have you seen Cleo?

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Unfortunately, with spring we always get an increase in lost pet notices. Here’s another. Have you seen Cleo? She’s two years old and spayed. Cleo was last seen on Monday, April 23, in the 3000 block of 22nd Avenue South. She is smallish, somewhat vocal and has a bump on one of her ribs. She is chipped but not collared. If found, please call or text 206-679-6953.

Local Events

Tai chi, soccer, fundraising, and more on this weekend’s events calendar

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Tai chi practitioners in a Wisconsin park. On Saturday, local folks will do tai chi and qigong at Jefferson Park as part of World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. Photo by OnTask via Creative Commons/Flickr.

There are lots of activities on the Hill this weekend to keep you busy, from soccer and tai chi to urban redevelopment and high school fundraising. Here goes:

Today (Friday) from 1-2 p.m. is the unveiling ceremony for the new community tile mosaic mural at Beacon Hill International School. Details are here.

Saturday is a busy day, starting at 9 a.m. at Jefferson Park where neighbors are meeting for a pick-up soccer game. “Bring friends and play some soccer with a great view,” they say. Details are on Facebook.

An hour later at Jefferson Park is a local version of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day event, from 10-noon and sponsored by Wise Orchid Martial Arts. There will be a free qigong and tai chi class and demonstration, followed by a group lunch. Information is on Facebook.

Also on Saturday from 10-noon, El Centro de la Raza is hosting a community open house to present the finalist design teams for the redevelopment of El Centro’s south lot. The south lot currently contains a parking lot, but is planned to contain a mixed-use transit-oriented project with housing. Details are here.

Then on Saturday night, head over to the South Seattle Community College campus in West Seattle for the Cleveland High School Red and White Night Soaring Eagles Auction from 5:30-9 p.m. and help the high school on the Hill raise $10,000. Information is here.

News

Police investigating possible misuse of funds at Van Asselt Elementary

According to a story by Brian M. Rosenthal and Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times, Seattle Police are investigating after a Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) investigation discovered a possible misuse of funds at Van Asselt Elementary School by the former principal and by a parent coordinator. (See the investigation report here.) The principal, ElDoris Turner, retired on March 16 after being placed on administrative leave, and the parent coordinator, Ramona Fuentes, was fired on Tuesday.

The SEEC investigation, acquired by the Times via a public records request, found that more than $30,000 in cash was withdrawn from an unauthorized school bank account maintained by Turner and Fuentes, and that “the documentation supporting these withdrawals is woefully inadequate.” Additionally, the SEEC found that Turner received payments for the use of Van Asselt’s gym, and “has not been able to document the amount of the payments or how they were used.” Those payments did not go to the school district, counter to district policy.

The investigation, according to the SEEC report, began when some parents and teachers at the school on South Beacon Hill began the process of creating a Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA). They asked Turner about funds the school had earned through fundraisers, and where those funds went. Turner replied that Fuentes controlled the money. Parents expressed concerns about the use and storage of cash at Van Asselt. Some said they had seen a bag of money in the office safe and a shoebox of cash in Turner’s office. Staff members stated that funds from a talent show and from a gift basket fundraiser were unaccounted for.

The SEEC report states that “Turner and Fuentes kept terrible records of the money that flowed into and out of the Account. Bank statements provide very limited information on the account activity, since many withdrawals were in cash” (emphasis is in the original SEEC document — ed.). Checks on the account did appear to be for legitimate school purposes. But the report concludes “The SEEC cannot rule out the possibility that some of these funds were converted to personal use” and recommends that the school district involve law enforcement for further investigation.

Read more at the Seattle Times article.

Local Events

Bouncy fun promised at Van Asselt CC Family Fun Night

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Kids under 10 and their parents are invited to Van Asselt Community Center for Family Fun Night on Friday, May 4 from 6-8 p.m. Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Van Asselt Advisory Council are sponsoring the event, and promise bounce houses, arts and crafts projects, a movie, and themed activities for Cinco de Mayo weekend.

The event is $3 per child, and snacks and light refreshments will be provided. This is the first of a series of Family Fun Nights this year, which will be held on the fourth Friday of each month through August.

Van Asselt Community Center is located at 2820 S. Myrtle St.

Lost and Found

Have you seen Macho?

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This is Macho when he was a bit younger... but isn't he cute?
Neighbor Marie writes: “My friend Russ has been missing his cat from the Beacon Hill area for almost two weeks. He is heartbroken over losing his furry buddy.”

The kitty, Macho, is about nine months old and was last seen on Thursday, April 12. He is a gray tuxedo cat with white feet and chest. He is not neutered.

If you have any information about Macho, please call 206-783-9490.

This is a more recent picture of Macho. Have you seen him?
Arts, Education

BHIS tile mosaic to be unveiled Friday

Everyone is invited to Beacon Hill International School this Friday, April 27 for the unveiling of the new community tile mosaic mural. The unveiling celebration will take place from 1-2 p.m., starting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the fifth graders, followed by a school-wide assembly.

The mural was designed by artist-in-residence Julie Maher from concepts created by students, parents, and community members, with the theme “We All Belong, A World of Learners.” (See previous local mural work by Maher here in this slide show.) A full year of work by the community went in to the creation of the mural, supported by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

Beacon Hill International School is located at 2025 14th Ave. S. For more information about the project, see the website.

This was the basic design outline for the mural. This week, we'll get to see the finished work in full living color.