All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Arts

Sounds of the Hill wanted for Beacon Hill Boombox

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Beacon Hill musicians, poets, and more — you’re wanted for the Beacon Hill Boombox, a collection of recordings by Beacon Hill artists. The recordings will play in several neighborhood businesses in August and September.

Here’s the announcement:

Are you a recording artist who lives or works on Beacon Hill?

GET IN THE BOOMBOX!

We are creating the Beacon Hill Boombox, an audio catalogue of artists who call Beacon Hill home. In August and September, the boombox will be located in several different neighborhood establishments, featuring the diverse sounds and expressions of Beacon Hill for all to listen to and experience on cassette tapes. We want to hear you!

Submit your recorded work –- music, poetry, anything recorded! –- in order to be part of this project. Your recordings will also be featured online on a digital archive.

Please send an MP3 or link to a stream of your work to beaconhillboombox@gmail.com. You can also leave physical submissions at The Station Café (16th Ave. S. and Beacon Ave. S.).

The deadline is July 30th, so you still have time to put something together.

News

Former 37th District Rep. Kip Tokuda dies at 66

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kiptokudaFormer 37th District state legislator Kip Tokuda passed away on Saturday from a heart attack while fishing on Whidbey Island. He was 66 years old.

Tokuda, a Beacon Hill native and graduate of Cleveland High School, represented the 37th District (Central/Southeast Seattle) from 1994 to 2002, where he was Chair of the House Children and Family Services Committee. A third-generation Japanese-American, Tokuda was a founder of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington and the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation. He also served as the Director of the City of Seattle’s Family and Youth Services Division, and was a member of the board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America. Before his legislative service, Tokuda was appointed by Governor Booth Gardner as the executive director of the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In 2012, Tokuda was awarded The Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan to recognize his contribution to strengthening friendly relations between Japan and the United States, and promoting Japanese culture and the welfare of Japanese-Americans.

Recently, Tokuda was appointed to the city’s Community Police Commission by Mayor Mike McGinn. McGinn responded to Tokuda’s passing today:

“Yesterday the city of Seattle lost a true leader, Kip Tokuda. For decades in Seattle and Olympia he was steadfast in his work for racial justice, for the disadvantaged, and for our youth. He was an inspiration and mentor to many in the community, including me. With his cheerful insistence on doing what was right, he pitched in to guide my transition to Mayor, serve as interim Human Services Department director, develop new Seattle Police Department recruitment policies, and serve on our newly formed Community Police Commission. Seattle was enriched by him, and we will miss him deeply. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the community that loved him.”

Tokuda’s family released a brief statement, thanking the mayor and adding:

“We also want to thank all the people who have called to express their sympathy. We are very saddened by Kip’s sudden passing and we are still absorbing the shock. We appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers.”

Last year, Tokuda made a video in support of R74, the same-sex marriage referendum that passed in the November election, reflecting on his family and their effect on his life:

News

Mysterious graffiti gives neighbors jitters

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Photo by Reis O'Brien.
This odd symbol has appeared recently on 15th Ave. S. Photo by Reis O’Brien.
Neighbor Reis sent this query to the Beacon Hill Blog Facebook page:

“Hi all. I realize that this is about to sound very paranoid, but my neighbors and I have been noticing these strange symbols appearing on our houses/steps on our street (15th, between McClellan and Spokane).

“Each symbol is written in chalk and all seem to be placed in what seems to be very specific spots on each property (not like a tag, more like a sign). More appear every day.

“Yes, these could just be some very poorly done tag, but we’ve heard stories about symbols on houses used by homeless/burglars/hackers to signify information (open wi-fi, no alarm system, etc.).

“I know this sounds crazy, but I just thought people should be on the lookout for this sort of thing on their property.

“If anyone knows what this symbol may mean (if it means anything at all), please let us know.”

Another neighbor, Stephanie, says “My neighbor keeps getting these on his steps and has been broken into twice. And they seem to be on a few different houses along 15th but only on the east side of the street, between Spokane and McClellan.”

We checked it out and, yes, there are symbols chalked along 15th in front of the houses. However, the symbol is also chalked on a random sale sign tacked to a post south of Spokane Street, next to Jefferson Park and not near any homes at all. Most likely it is just a tag, somewhat reminiscent of the old Dead Kennedys logo (which, according to Jello Biafra, was intended to be “something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place”). If anyone knows otherwise, let us know.

News

Butane explosion starts $300K fire in North Beacon apartment

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A leaking canister of butane gas led to a two-alarm fire in a North Beacon Hill apartment building early Wednesday morning that did an estimated $300,000 damage to the structure. The canister was stored in a refrigerator, and ignited when the fridge cycled on, according to the Seattle Fire Department.

All 32 residents of the building at 1100 S. Massachusetts St. escaped safely, and the Red Cross is assisting those who need shelter.

Local tv stations have photos and video here: KING, KOMO, and KIRO.

Meetings, Recreation

Community invited to discuss Jefferson Park skateable art

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Soon there could be an additional place to skate at Jefferson Park besides this skate park. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
All are invited to a public meeting on Monday, July 15, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Community Center to discuss a proposed skateable art installation at Jefferson Park. The meeting is intended to brief the neighborhood on the history of the project and get feedback on the current work and proposed locations in the park. Artist CJ Rench will be there to discuss his thoughts on the project.

Red Bull recently approached Seattle Parks and Recreation with a proposal to, according to Seattle Parks, “invest in the community by commissioning an artist to design and fabricate a unique skateable art piece.” Originally, the proposed location was at Myrtle Edwards Park on the Seattle waterfront, but after a recent public meeting and other comments, Parks decided to look into other possible locations for the skateable art. Jefferson Park is well suited for the project because it is large, well-used, has parking available, and has a beautiful view of the city.

Three potential sites at Jefferson Park will be discussed at the July 15 meeting. According to Seattle Parks, the project is the first of its kind permanent art installation for skateboarding. For more information, see the website or contact Pamela Kliment of Seattle Parks and Recreation, 206.684.7556, or pamela.kliment@seattle.gov.

Jefferson Community Center is located at 3801 Beacon Ave. S.

News, Urban Planning

Status update: PacMed building plans

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Seattle Central Community College is proposing locating its Allied Health programs in Pacific Tower, the former hospital and Amazon headquarters building more commonly known as PacMed. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Tom Byers of the Cedar River Group sent a notice this week about the current status of the proposed Pacific Tower/PacMed Building project in which Seattle Central Community College would lease part of the former headquarters of Amazon.com to host Seattle Central’s Allied Health programs including Dental Hygiene, Nursing, Respiratory, Surgical Technology, and Opticianry. Remaining space would be leased to local nonprofits such as Neighborhood House and Fare Start. For the project to move forward, the Legislature needed to include funding in the State budget.

Byers’ message reads:

Dear friends—Here are the most recent developments in the effort to establish the community health college and innovation center at Pacific Tower:

  • Amazingly, supporters of the Pacific Tower project in the legislature were successful on all fronts!
  • The State operating budget includes funding for the lease of the tower as well as provisions enabling the State to enter into a long-term lease for the building.
  • The capital budget included $20 million in funding for the tenant improvements for the community health college and other improvements at the tower.
  • State officials led by Rep. Jamie Peterson have been working with the PDA and its lawyers to agree on the terms of a draft lease.
  • Although all parties agree that a great deal of progress has been made in the last 10 days, the executive director of the PDA has indicated more time is needed to negotiate several points before the Governing Council can make a decision between our proposal and the other option they have in hand.
  • Therefore the hearing and Council vote scheduled for July 9th has been postponed. The new date is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25th at Pacific Medical Center’s Beacon Hill Clinic. Please mark your calendars and plan to be there!
  • In spite of all this positive news, the success of our proposal will ultimately be determined by a vote of the PDA governing Council. Your letters of support are making a big difference, but we can’t stop now! We need to continue the out-pouring of community support.
  • Those of you who have not yet have written to the Public Development Authority in support of the proposal are urged to do so now! You can address your letters to Rosemary Aragon, Executive Director, Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority, 1200 12th Ave. S, Quarters 2, Seattle, WA 98144; or by email at r.aragon@phpda.org. She will forward your letters to the members of the Board.

Thank you for all of the support you have given this effort. We will look forward to seeing you at the hearing, and will keep you up to date on any significant developments that occur during the next three weeks.

Tom Byers
Principal/Partner
Cedar River Group

News

Lights on to prevent fireworks at Jefferson Park

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Fireworks debris at Jefferson Park on July 5, 2009. Photo by Joel Lee.
Lights will stay on well into the night at Jefferson Playfield (4165 16th Ave. S.) on Thursday evening, July 4. Seattle Parks and Recreation plans to activate the field lighting on the artificial turf ballfields throughout the city at 8:45 p.m. to discourage the use of fireworks, which can damage or destroy turf. The destruction of park turf is no small matter; it costs approximately $1.2 million to replace the average full-size artificial turf field.

The lights at Jefferson will be turned off at 11 p.m.

Education, History of the Hill

Cleveland HS to dedicate library to teacher known as “Mr. Cleveland”

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Edward Landon.
Edward Landon.
Cleveland High School students and alumni will gather on Saturday, June 29, at 11 a.m. for a ceremony officially dedicating the school’s library to the late Edward Landon, who spent his entire career (1948-1973) teaching history and coaching football, basketball and baseball at Cleveland. Landon’s 4-year-old great-grandson, Dilon Hagedorn, will unveil the plaque honoring his great-grandfather, who died on January 15, 2013, aged 98. The event will take place at 11 a.m. on the second floor of the main building.

Landon, a World War II veteran and former minor-league pitcher, was known by the nickname “Mr. Cleveland” for his dedication to his students. He wrote the first Seattle Public Schools curriculum on African-American history, as part of which he invited members of Seattle’s Black Panthers to sit in on his history lectures and provide feedback.

Landon was previously honored by a scholarship fund in his name, managed by the school’s alumni association. Donations may be sent to Ed Landon Scholarship Fund, Cleveland High School Alumni Association, PO Box 94004, Seattle, WA 98124-9404.