More images of a snowy Beacon Hill from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr. Do you have photos of Beacon Hill? We invite you to add them to the pool, and thank those of you who have contributed!
More snowy sights on Beacon Hill
All posts by Wendi Dunlap
Seriously, don’t drive today
KIRO’s Chopper 7 photographed this absolute mess on the Holgate overpass about half an hour ago. We hope the drivers and passengers are okay.
We have winners!
We have winners in the Sights of Route 36 Contest!
As you might remember, in the contest we posted 16 images of Beacon Hill locations that are on the #36 bus route. The first person to get all 16 right is the winner. As it turned out, both winners are couples who worked on the contest together!
In first place, with all 16 correct, are Liz Mack and Derrick. They win a NAMSAYIN “Know where you came from” t-shirt with a picture of the #36 bus, and a $50 gift card to The Station coffee house.
In second place, with 15 correct, are Lina Hwang and Nick Crivello, who win a NAMSAYIN shirt as well. Lina and Nick came up with more detail than Liz and Derrick did on a couple of the answers, but were unable to answer all 16.
We’ll post the answers soon, but first, we wanted to give you a couple of days to speculate on the answers yourself. The images are here. Where do you think those Route 36 sights might be found? Show off your knowledge in the comments here.
Congratulations to Liz, Derrick, Lina, and Nick!
Snow has stopped, but baby, it’s cold
We got about 4 inches of snow on North Beacon Hill, but the wind and blowing, drifting snow makes the actual measurement difficult to determine. The conditions here as of 3:00 am are very cold and windy, with dry, granular snow that is, in some places, drifting on top of earlier ice. Walking is treacherous and driving is worse. The snow isn’t melting any time soon—as of now, the National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 25 and a low tonight of 13 for Beacon Hill.
As far as today goes, here’s what we know:
The University of Washington Seattle campus and Seattle Public Schools are closed today. See schoolreport.org for the status of other schools, colleges, and universities.
King County Executive Dow Constantine released a statement urging County government employees who are not first responders or mission-critical to telecommute or take a day of vacation instead of going to work today.
Metro is once again on snow routing. Your buses may not follow their usual routes or keep to their usual schedule. Some routes may be cancelled. (Route 38 along McClellan is one of these.) See the Transit Alerts Center for the latest information. Sound Transit’s alert page is here.
Link Light Rail performed like a champ on Monday, and should do so again today. Sound Transit ran the trains all night long to keep tracks/wires clear of ice. Expect large crowds on Link today, as people who may not always ride Link decide to try the train to avoid another hellish commute. If you do need to leave the Hill, and live at all near a station, Link is your best option.
Here’s the Seattle city snow and ice emergency page, with tons of links to useful information.
There was a series of power outages on Beacon Hill last night, mostly in an area immediately around Jefferson Park. Service is back on to most now, but there are still small outages near 24th and Hanford and 33rd and Holly. You can see all current outages here.
Please dress warmly and take good care of yourself today, neighbors. Don’t drive unless you absolutely have to! We encourage you to visit one of our local coffee shops for a warm drink or three, and keep an eye on our Twitter feed throughout the day for additional info.
Here are some images from yesterday:
ROCKiT space closed, community challenged to take over
In a letter to the neighborhood this weekend, McKenna said: “I propose that those of you out there who feel there is a real need for a place like ROCKiT space to exist in our neighborhood… come forward with your ideas, motivation, financial contributions, whatever you’ve got to make that happen and propose to take it over. Our landlords will be advertising the space in about a week, but are willing to consider a lease extension for another party.”
ROCKiT space provided music rehearsal space and instruments, art supplies and workspace, books on the creative arts, classes in language and the arts for kids and adults, open mic nights, meeting space for local groups, and more. Additionally, it hosted the auditions for performers in last summer’s Beacon Rocks! music event.
Here is Jessie’s letter to the community:
Dear Beacon Hill,
You have been my home, my community, my friends for so long now. ROCKiT space was not our gift to Beacon Hill, but a potential commodity—a community space for us to share and use for whatever need it could fulfill. We have had an amazing go of it, but the time has come to say goodbye. Hundreds of people, probably well over 1,000, have shared ROCKiT space with us. We have laughed, cried, been frightened, overwhelmed with excitement and an outpouring of love and understanding; we have been appreciated and praised and we have used the space in so many ways.
Beacon Hill has confirmed for us what we knew going into this crazy experiment: It isn’t possible to fail when you set out to do something inherently pure and good with all your heart. We shared a vision with you. I want to see a world where people come first, where children are treated as equals, where adults are free to behave as children, where all people are welcome and encouraged and exist in a mindset that we are capable of anything we can imagine. I have truly glimpsed such a world in ROCKiT space and the people who have touched us with their individual and truly unique qualities and in turn have been touched by this place and the dream it represents.
I would like to give the Beacon Hill community the opportunity to turn ROCKiT space into whatever it is you are dreaming about. We have tried to make it a place for all people to share, and maybe it can be just that with enough time, money and energy put into it. But through unforeseen circumstances—a serious illness in the family—we have been forced to face reality. ROCKiT space has enormous potential, but after more than a year now, it is still rarely used as a creative space for teens or adults. Our open mic has been delightfully successful in the past, but has for some time now been a much smaller event. The people are incredible, the talent, the friendships made, but the event is not one that generates revenue for the space.
The hard truth is that these are difficult times for most of us financially. We at ROCKiT space totally understand if this is not a time to try a lot of new things or work a new “hot spot” on the Hill into your routines. And we also get that it’s not for everybody. Many of the people who love ROCKiT and frequent the space are not even members or paying fees to “use” the space. They just genuinely like the vibe and support the mission. We LOVE that! But let’s face it, The wonderful fact of the matter is that kids get it. Kids know how to ROCK iT like nobody’s business. As the community at ROCKiT grew, we saw over and over again just how much children, especially young children and their parents/caregivers got out of the space.
I propose that those of you out there who feel there is a real need for a place like ROCKiT space to exist in our neighborhood, either in more or less its current form or in another form, such as a space dedicated to children and their artistic/creative/social growth, come forward with your ideas, motivation, financial contributions, whatever you’ve got to make that happen and propose to take it over. Our landlords will be advertising the space in about a week, but are willing to consider a lease extension for another party. It’s no done deal, but it’s worth a shot if you are interested or know someone who would be.
I personally am no longer able to continue my outrageous (and totally awesome!) attempt to build ROCKiT from the ground up and see it through to success in whatever shape and form it comes. I have been working on a “volunteer” basis for 16mos and have reached the limit of my ability financially, emotionally and otherwise to keep going. I have learned so much, had the pleasure to get to know countless individuals and meet new, amazing people all the time. I would love to be able to take all the things about ROCKiT space that are incredibly fulfilling and wonderful and shelve the perpetual challenges of starting a nonprofit art space during a recession. But as we all know, it doesn’t work that way.
We would like to offer to the community virtually everything that has been donated to us as well as many things that were purchased specifically for ROCKiT space: musical equipment, art/office supplies and we would love to offer our insight/advice based on our experience to someone who would like to combine it with their own vision and propel the space into 2011.
ROCKiT space is now closed aside from musician rehearsals and one more Tots Jam and Spanish class. The well-meaning gal who has been running the space needs to focus on family right now. If ROCKiT space, or some incarnation of it is to go on, it will go on in new hands. I’m hoping that will be the case! But if it isn’t and we do close our doors with no particular hope of opening them up again, I must say from the bottom of my heart, thank you Beacon Hill for being such a dear friend to me. This is not goodbye, not for me, or for ROCKiT.
ROCKiT space is a state of mind. And I for one will do my very best to maintain that state and continue to share not only that vision, but make it my personal mission to remain grounded, true to myself, my heart and to all of you.
Sincerely,Jessie McKenna
Owner/Operator/Director/Janitor, ROCKiT space NPO
3315 Beacon Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
206.323.7115
Expect Link delays Sunday-Tuesday evenings
(Thanks Seattle Transit Blog for the heads-up!)
Beacon Bits: Contest, Cloud Nice, and Christmas trees
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The Seattle Department of Transportation wants to know “what you think about transit in Seattle and how it could be better.” You can tell them by taking their survey. It’s fairly short.
And speaking of SDOT, The SDOT Blog has some pictures of the newly spiffed-up South Columbian Way.
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Andrew Matson of The Seattle Times features rapper Nacho Picasso of Beacon Hill’s Cloud Nice hip-hop collective. There is a sound clip and a link to download even more. The Cloud Nice page also has a link to a Nice Dreams trailer with some Beacon Hill-area footage.
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You might have noticed sheep baa-ing somewhere on Beacon Hill lately.
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Dylan Ahearn mentioned it the other day, but here’s a reminder: Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Walk & Bike Beacon Hill Neighborhood Transportation Summit. It’s a neighborhood meeting to discuss ways to improve safety and mobility while walking and biking on Beacon Hill. The event is from 10:00 am to noon at Beacon Hill International School, 2025 14th Avenue South. Activities will include designing safe walking and biking routes, learning about bike safety for children, and more. Refreshments will be served. All ages are welcome. For more information, please contact Frederica Merrell, frmerrel@seattleschools.org.
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If you’re already thinking ahead to Christmas, you might want to get your Christmas tree right here in the neighborhood. No, don’t chop one down in the Cheasty Greenbelt, please. Instead, you can get one from El Centro de la Raza. Trees will be available at their lot Wednesday through Sunday, starting November 26 and running through December 19. Order before the 26th and there will be a discount. There will be 2′-7′ Grand and Noble Firs, live trees, and 20″ and 30″ wreaths. Purchases will support El Centro’s many programs. El Centro is located at 2524 16th Avenue South.
Contest: The sights of Route 36 — Prize added!
(This is a repost, edited to mention the new prize: a $50 gift card!)
Remember the NAMSAYIN limited edition t-shirts featuring the #36 bus? (The design is pictured on the right.) Only 56 of the shirts were printed, but we have t-shirts to give away—if you can demonstrate your Beacon Hill knowledge!
Here’s how the contest works. Below in this post, you’ll see 16 detail pictures of Beacon Hill locations that are on the #36 route. You need to identify all 16 as precisely as possible, then email your list of 16 guesses to us at blog@beaconhill.seattle.wa.us.
The first person to get all 16 right wins one of the NAMSAYIN t-shirts and a $50 gift card from The Station coffee house! The second person wins one of the NAMSAYIN shirts too! Unfortunately, sizes are limited — winners will probably get an XL. In the event of a tie, the person whose answers are most precisely located will win. If there’s still a tie, we’ll flip a coin.
Hints:
- All locations are on Beacon Hill and within view of the #36 bus route. Some of the images may match something that is in another neighborhood. You need to find the location that is on the Hill. We’re defining the Hill’s east boundary as Martin Luther King Jr. Way South for the purpose of this contest. The north boundary is the south end of the Jose Rizal Bridge.
- You could probably see most of them from the bus itself if you look hard enough.
- Remember, be as precise as you can possibly be—it’s a tiebreaker. If two people are tied, and one guesses that an item is “at the Red Apple” and another guesses that it is “on the east side of Red Apple, above the doorway”, the latter guesser will win. (I can tell you that none of the photos are of the Red Apple.)
Questions? Let us know. Good luck! Now, on to the pictures:
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 Picture #16. |
Meetings planned for Thursday to discuss Nickelsville location
A few days ago, Mayor Mike McGinn proposed that a city-sanctioned homeless encampment (the tent city previously known as “Nickelsville“) be operated on the site of the old Sunny Jim factory, west of Beacon Hill on Airport Way South between South Adams Street and South Snoqualmie Street. The city-owned Sunny Jim building was recently destroyed by fire. In his blog post about the encampment, McGinn said “A suitable site should accommodate on-site services geared toward moving residents to self-sufficiency… We would seek a nonprofit or other organization to manage the encampment, providing services to residents and data to the City.”
The City is holding two community meetings this Thursday, November 18, to discuss the proposed encampment location. Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith will lead the meetings, and he and other City staff will be available to answer questions.
The first meeting is for adjacent businesses, and will run from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the City of Seattle sign shop, located on the south end of the Sunny Jim site at 4200 Airport Way South. The second meeting is for the general public, and will run from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Showbox SODO, located at 1700 First Avenue South. For more information about the meetings, contact Elliott Day at 206-233-2664 or elliott.day@seattle.gov.
Over the next few days after McGinn’s proposal was announced, reactions to the announcement on the Beacon Hill and BAN neighborhood mailing lists were mixed. Some neighbors raised concerns about the suitability of the site, given its location just across I-5 from the Beacon Hill greenbelt, and the “Jungle” problems happening elsewhere in the greenbelt. Some commenters were concerned about the potential for accidents from pedestrians running across I-5 between the encampment and the greenbelt. Other commenters wanted to discuss ways that the project could do a better job to help the Nickelsville residents, and the types of structures that might enhance services for the encampment residents.
View Former Sunny Jim site in a larger map
The return of Snowpocalypse? Probably not.
(Headline edited 11/16.)