Category Archives: Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cuisine, census, and constituent voices

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It's not every day you see someone cycling down Beacon Avenue with a tuba on his back, but this fellow did it on Saturday. Photo by Wendi.
Tasha’s Bistro Café will be opening soon at the former Culinary Communion house on Beacon Avenue South. We spoke on Saturday with owner Tasha Sawabini, who also operates the Elegant Gourmet Catering company. She told us that the restaurant will be serving Northwest cuisine, and that she hopes to be able to open by Memorial Day weekend. The current plan is for the café to offer brunch on Saturday and Sunday and dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

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The Seattle Office of Emergency Management is hosting a disaster preparedness workshop at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South, on this Tuesday, May 4 from 6:30-7:45 pm. At the “Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare” workshop, you’ll learn simple steps to safeguard your home before disaster, take a quake-safe action wherever you are, and create a neighborhood team. The workshop is free, and no pre-registration is necessary.

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The PTA at Dearborn Park Elementary will host its first Dearborn Park Bazaar and Festival on May 22 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. They will sell garage sale items, arts, crafts, plants, and food, and have games and performances. For information on renting space to sell your own items or performing at the event, please contact Nelrica Mosqueda or Angela Sheffey at 206-252-6930 or email dearbornparkpta@yahoo.com. The group also needs monetary and/or gift certificate donations to make the event happen.

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Some of the treats that were served at A Touch of Sweden's open house on Saturday. Photo by Wendi.
The open house for A Touch of Sweden was at the former Culinary Communion house (soon to be Tasha’s Bistro Café) this weekend. Baker Kajsa Soderlund told us the event was a big success, and while we were there we saw quite a few people come in to try out the baked goods, which included cinnamon rolls, “Dream” cookies, and other treats. (The items we tried were tasty, and we hope there will be a storefront on Beacon Hill someday for A Touch of Sweden—which is currently open only for advance ordering.)

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The Beaconettes, an all-women a cappella singing group who “cleverly satirize Seattle’s icons, issues and celebrities with a specific focus on Beacon Hill and neighborhoods south of the ship canal,” will be performing at the Mount Baker Community Center on Thursday, May 13 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm to help raise money for Kimball Elementary’s Annual Fund.

The suggested donation is $15 per person. Contributions will help support Kimball’s Annual Fund which pays for arts and afterschool programs, bilingual translations, field trips, books, school supplies and more.

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State Senator Adam Kline (D-37th District) will stop by Quarters 1 at the PacMed Campus on May 11 to meet with community members and hear what his constituents have to say. The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 11, in Quarters 1 at the northwest corner of 14th Avenue South and South Judkins Street. If you are driving, please park on the street.

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If you didn’t get your Census form mailed in, you should expect a knock on the door soon. Census takers are out and about this month visiting households that didn’t return their census forms. In most cases, census workers will make initial visits during afternoons, early evenings and weekends.

If a 2010 Census worker knocks on your door, here are some ways to verify that person is a legitimate census taker:

  • The census taker must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. The census taker may also be carrying a black canvas bag with a Census Bureau logo.
  • The census taker will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the local census office phone number for verification, if asked.
  • The census taker only will ask you the questions that appear on the 2010 Census form.
  • The 2010 Census taker will not ask for social security number, bank account number or credit card number and will never solicit for donations or contact you by email.

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Health Department inspectors recently visited a few more establishments on Beacon Hill: The Pacific Asian Empowerment Program, M C Foodstore, St. George School, Graham Street Grocery, and Beacon Hill Foods. (Click on the links to see the full report for each inspection.)

Congratulations to the Pacific Asian Empowerment Program, M C Foodstore, Graham Street Grocery, and Beacon Hill Foods for getting perfect scores of zero!

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Thanks to everyone who sent in notices this time!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: liquor license, Food Forest, and Maple mural

The Bartell Drug Store at Rainier Avenue South and South College Street has applied for a new “Grocery Store – Beer/Wine” liquor license. If you wish to comment on the application, you can email your comments about license number 406481 to customerservice@liq.wa.gov.

Thanks to Shelly Bates!

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The proposed Jefferson Park Food Forest has a new website with information about the Food Forest’s design and mission.

Thanks to Joel Lee!

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Maple Elementary School is working on a mural project. Students, parents, and community members of all races will work together to create a mural for the school gym exterior that reflects the significance of The Maple Creed: “I know that our country was built by people of all races and I know that people of all races keep our country great.”

Community tile creation and tile glazing sessions will be held on the following Mondays from 3:30 – 8:30 pm: May 3, 10, 17, 24; June 7, 14. There will also be sessions on the following Saturdays from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm: May 1, 22.

RSVPs are requested. To find out more about the project and RSVP, contact Terry Virdell at 206-898-5679, or email terryvirdell@gmail.com.

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L to R: Representatives Bob Hasegawa and Zack Hudgins.
Local state Representatives Zack Hudgins and Bob Hasegawa invite residents of the 11th Legislative District to join them for a telephone town hall tonight, April 27, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Hudgins and Hasegawa will discuss the 2010 legislative session, creating jobs, their priorities for the 2010 state budget, and the budget’s impact on local communities. Residents will be invited to stay on the line and join in on the conversation. You can also phone in directly between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. by dialing (toll-free) 877-229-8493, code 15512.

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Last week, Cienna Madrid at the Stranger wrote about the new Streets for All Seattle Coalition, a group fighting to fund projects for bicycle, transit, and pedestrian improvements. In the article, SASC spokesman David Hiller specifically discusses how a transportation crisis in South Seattle has drawn organizations such as El Centro de la Raza into the coalition.

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Gardeners take note — @VictrolaCoffee posted on Twitter: “Free bags of coffee grounds everyday at Victrola Beacon Hill – 3215 Beacon Ave So. – make your gardens grow!”

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Please be careful with your pets. King County Animal Care and Control sent out a recent notice that there may be an outbreak of canine distemper in area raccoons. This disease is highly contagious among dogs, ferrets, and a variety of wild animals. Cats are not affected.

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Asian Express, Dim Sum House, and Jefferson Community Center all received recent inspection visits from the Health Department. (Click each establishment’s name to see the results.) Congratulations to Jefferson Community Center for a perfect score of zero!

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The Seattle City Council and Mayor will host a joint public meeting about the City’s budget here on Beacon Hill at the New Holly Gathering Hall, tomorrow, April 28, at 5:00 pm. The New Holly Gathering Hall is located at
7054 32nd Avenue South.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Bumps, bacon, and the blues

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This pothole was found somewhere on Beacon Hill by photographer sodoheights, who added it to the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr. Thanks!
The “Bumper to Bumper” column in the Seattle Times addressed a much-discussed Beacon Hill topic this week: Beacon Avenue’s bumpy pavement outside of the light rail station. According to a spokesman for Sound Transit quoted in the column, we should be seeing some relief for the the poor pavement when that segment of Beacon is repaved in the next couple of months.

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Some Beaconians might be curious about what happened to former Culinary Communion operator Gabriel Claycamp and his pork emporium, The Swinery, after Claycamp decamped from Beacon Hill back to West Seattle last year. It turns out the road has not been entirely smooth (some of the comments on that post are interesting, to say the least), but Claycamp and the Swinery did get a positive write-up from the New York Times’ T Magazine Blog recently.

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Elliott Jones of El Centro writes with more news about tasty tamales:

Have you been one of the lucky attendees of El Centro de la Raza’s tamale classes? Chances are, you haven’t – they have been wildly popular and have been selling out quick! Here’s a link to sign up for the next one, on May 15th (they are every 3rd Saturday, by the way).

Our April class is this Saturday, so that means that even though you might not be able to learn how to make them yourself, this month, you can still purchase some! Tamales are $12/dozen and you must order by Wednesday at 5pm.

To order, call Ashley Haugen at 206-957-4611 or e-mail development@elcentrodelaraza.org.

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The Dana Lupinacci Band is playing blues and jazz on Thursday night at the Beacon Pub, 3057 Beacon Avenue South. Show is at 8:00, and there is no cover charge.

Also in musical news on the Hill: We neglected to mention that Beacon Hill’s own Blue Scholars were featured in The Stranger a couple of weeks ago.

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Some lowlife stole a couple of kids’ bikes right off their front porch. “1 royal blue/silver/black 20″ mongoose, BMX style with pegs. Right handbrake is cracked. 1 lime green/silver 20″ Next, BMX style with pegs.” If you’ve seen them, please contact the parents.

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Denise Louie Education Center is holding their Fifth Annual Children and Families Festival on Saturday, May 22 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at their Beacon Hill location, 3327 Beacon Avenue South. The event is free and open to the public, and will feature food, music, crafts, and community resources. Volunteers are needed. For more information or if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Frances Lin at 206-792-9771 or email flin@deniselouie.org.

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The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool is hosting a rummage sale this Saturday, April 24.  The school is located at the Beacon Lutheran Church, 1720 South Forest Street (just across Beacon from the library).

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Facebook, P-Patches and gentrification

Washington Federal sign switch
Down comes the old, up goes the new: a brand new sign went up at the North Beacon Washington Federal bank branch this week. Photo by Jason.
There is a new Beacon Hill Blog fan page on Facebook. We hope to see you there!

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The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is looking for places to add new P-Patches, particularly in North Beacon Hill; your suggested locations are welcomed — Rainier Valley Post

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Craig Thompson begins a series on the McNeil Island Secure Community Transition Facility for level 3 sex offenders, located just down the hill in Sodo, with a history lesson on how it came to be — Beacon Lights at the P-I

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Jordan Van Voast at Communichi at 2524 16th Avenue South #301 (inside the El Centro building), is offering free acupuncture treatments for first time patients on April 22, 29, and May 1.

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Elliott Jones writes about gentrification on his blog, addressing the issue in the context of Beacon Hill specifically.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Dancing, gardening, and going to meetings

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Victrola Coffee received a perfect score in their recent inspection by the Health Department. This drink was photographed at Victrola by Christie Aesquivel, in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
There is a planning meeting for the Beacon Hill Food Forest at Jefferson Park, at 7:00 pm tonight at the Lawn Bowling Clubhouse (4103 Beacon Avenue South).

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The Columbian Way paving project meeting is tomorrow, April 7, at the Mercer Middle School Library (1600 South Columbian Way) from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Here’s a flyer about the project.

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Beacon Hill International School was the subject of a feature in the Seattle Times (BHB news partners) this week, including a great video about the language immersion program at the school.

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If you like to dance and you’d also like to help raise some funds for Beacon Rocks!, swing by their website, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and sign up for their mailing list.

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Beacon Hill is quite the hot spot for gardening activity this spring. Seattle Good Food Network‘s April meeting is next Thursday, April 15, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library. Learn a bit more about SGFN.

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Wondering about the cabinet and fence business on 15th Avenue South near Cleveland High School? It’s for sale on Craigslist. Currently, however, the site has an open complaint filed against it with DPD for violations of the Seattle Land Use and Zoning Code.

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Several of our local establishments have been visited by health inspectors recently. Congratulations to Golden Daisy and Victrola for achieving perfect scores of zero violations. Here are links to all the inspection reports:

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The Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View invite you to their upcoming planning meetings, where you’re invited to share your ideas for a trail plan and entry with “safe trails, way-finding, environmental learning, gathering spaces, welcoming trail heads.” The first meeting was April 1 and hosted a discussion of current conditions, ideas, and priorities.

Upcoming meetings: 7:00 to 8:30 pm, May 13—Review ideas, priorities, and options at the home of Amit Ranade and Jennifer Faubion-Ranade, 2615 South Edmunds Street.

7:00 to 8:30 pm, June 17—Open House to present trail plan; guided walks through Cheasty Greenspace/Mountain View at the end of South Alaska Place.

If you want to know more about the Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View and get involved, email mdejong@spu.edu or adostrovsky@gmail.com or contact Pamela Kliment of Seattle Parks and Recreation, at Pamela.Kliment@seattle.gov or 206-684-7356.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Green bikes, arts classes, and dodgeball

Bicycle commuters on Dexter Avenue near Seattle Center. Photo by Oran Viriyincy via Creative Commons.
Sarah Bronstein of the Cascade Bicycle Club writes,

“As part of a greater initiative to get more people biking in SE we will be implementing the Green Bike Project. The Project gives away Novara commuter bikes to employees who fulfill a 3-month pledge to reduce their drive alone commute trips by 50%. Last year, the GBP was done county-wide, but this year it will be targeted only at SE Seattle employers in the Rainier, Beacon Hill and Columbia City area. Interested employers need to be able to recruit about a half dozen employees from their work site (company or building) to participate, and then serve as a site-contact for the duration of the project.”

Applications for the project are due March 31st. More information can be found on the Green Bike Project page.

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Health Department inspectors have been in the area again, visiting Mac Pherson’s and the 21st Avenue South Cash & Carry. The Cash & Carry should be congratulated for scoring a perfect score of zero, which they have done for at least the last four inspections (the only ones shown on the county’s website).

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ROCKiT space at 3315 Beacon Avenue South is among the South End music and arts businesses featured recently in the South Seattle Beacon.

ROCKiT space also has some new activities, including sculpting classes and a knitting club (at which you may see a certain BHB editor, once it gets started). See the ROCKiT space website for details.

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The ongoing work on the South Spokane Street Viaduct continues. Permanent closure of the First Avenue South on-ramp to the westbound lanes of the viaduct is tentatively scheduled for May 17. For the next year and a half after that, there will be no access to the Spokane Street Viaduct from surface streets in Sodo, and vehicles from Sodo will be detoured to the low level bridge to get to West Seattle. We’ll post more info as the date approaches.

On March 22, the First Avenue off-ramp from the eastbound viaduct will be reduced to one lane for up to five months, and First Avenue South will also be restricted to one lane for northbound traffic from South Spokane to South Hanford.

Next week will be the exception—the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for inspection, so First Avenue will stay open to keep Sodo from becoming complete gridlock for the weekend. See SDOT’s Spokane Street Project page for more.

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If you didn’t get enough dodgeball as a kid in gym class, Jefferson Community Center is the place for you this spring. Adult dodgeball league games will be held at both Jefferson and West Seattle’s Delridge community centers. It’s open to teams of all abilities, and the cost per team is $180. Spring team registration closes on April 7, 2010. For more information, contact Antoinette Daniel at 206-684-7092, or email Antoinette.daniel@seattle.gov.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cleveland Eagles championship edition

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Go Eagles! Photo by Tambako the Jaguar, via Creative Commons.
We have been remiss in not mentioning that Beacon Hill’s own Cleveland High School won the girls’ basketball state championship on Saturday night, beating Holy Names by a score of 47-44 in the Class 3A final and ending the Cougars’ 19-game win streak. Not only is this Cleveland’s first state title, but two years ago the team finished 3-16. Congratulations Eagles!

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In other Cleveland High School news, the school, which was recently named one of the state’s lowest-performing, will be starting their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) option program this fall. But the $800,000 contract with the New Technology Network to help phase in the program is being revised from the version approved by the School Board last month. The Seattle Times (BHB news partner) explains the delay here.

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Willie Weir finds that the new Google Maps Bike Route option is, sadly, “not ready for prime time,” sometimes sending cyclists on dangerous routes like Rainier Avenue South.

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Overheard on Twitter recently, from @danaeK: “Bars in Beacon Hill and Lake City have more in common than one might expect.”

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Yesterday’s hot topic on the Beacon Hill Mailing List was the search for a good local vet. Anyone have any good suggestions for vets in the Beacon Hill/Rainier Valley area?

Also on the mailing list: the local canines seem to have spring fever. There have been two reports of dogs running loose in the last couple of days. The first, reported by Alex, was “an unattended mid sized beagle looking dog running freely west on Stevens St. toward 23rd avenue… it seemed a bit skittish and was enjoying freedom and kept going before I could get to it.”

Yesterday neighbor Francine reported “an adorable little black dog west up Columbian Way toward the Beacon Avenue… She/he crossed the BUSY Columbian and I tried to coax her in my car, but no luck. She tore off again.” We hope that both of these dogs have returned home safely.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Census, catfish, and classes

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This coffee-colored building near El Centro is about to become a coffee shop, "The Station." Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The Seattle Weekly‘s food blog, Voracious, reviewed one of our favorite hidden food gems on Beacon Hill: the Beacon Avenue Shell Station. Yes, a gas station. The reviewer got a disappointingly old filet of catfish, but we know that if you get there at the right time the stuff is dee-lish.

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Michael Wallenfels of Mokusai Design is teaching a Cartoon Drawing class at Jefferson Community Center this spring, on Thursday nights from April 8 to June 10. For more about this and some other classes, see the flyer.

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We wrote a couple of weeks ago about Spanish language classes for adults at El Centro de la Raza. Elliott from El Centro wrote to tell the Beacon Hill mailing list that there are now two classes, so there should be enough room for everyone who wants to learn.

The Beginner (Plus) classes begin Monday, April 5, and will continue on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm until June 9. The class fee is $300, which goes to support the programs at El Centro. If you have questions or want to enroll, call Enrique Gonzalez at (206) 957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org. Registration deadline is March 31.

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We are told that on March 10 20, the PLOP! Cabaret Performance Series will come to “an intimate house setting” somewhere on Beacon Hill, featuring poets Kate Lebo, A. K. “Mimi” Allin, and Jennifer Borges Foster. More info here.

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Jordan of Communichi, the acupuncture clinic located in the El Centro building, just returned from Haiti where he volunteered in the relief effort. He wrote about his experience in the Communichi blog.

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Seen on Craigslist:

“I am interested in putting together a small craft show in the Beacon Hill neighborhood this spring. I am posting to see if other crafters are interested in getting involved. I already have a venue (it’s a great place that I am super excited about!) and ideas for putting on the show. Please email me if you are interested in being a part of planning or if you would like to be a vendor at the event.”

Sound interesting? Email the poster at comm-3mdsy-1627068912@craigslist.org.

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Go to the Amazon WebStore Beta Invitation page. Look at the image in the lower right, featuring a retailer named “BH”. According to Techflash, “BH” stands for Beacon Hill; it’s a fake retailer that Amazon uses when they want to show off their new features without using a real company’s name. Amazon may be leaving the Hill soon, but perhaps they will keep a little bit of Beacon Hill with them for a while.

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The Filipino Community Center in the Rainier Valley is hosting a Community Forum on the 2010 Census on Thursday, March 11 at 6:00 pm. The forum will offer people the opportunity to ask questions and review the census forms. The Filipino Community Center is located at 5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cupcakes and buses and health inspections

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Cupcakes from Wink
A sample of Wink's wares. Photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

Cupcakes coming to Victrola — Wink Cupcakes will be available through three Victrola coffee houses, including our own at 3215 Beacon Ave S.

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Health inspections — Asa Mercer Middle School, Dearborn Park Elementary, Maple Elementary School, Cleveland High School, Fiesta-Mex Video, Beacon Avenue Shell, Beacon Hill 76, Inay’s, Java Love, and Lucky Seafood.
Congratulations to Asa Mercer, Dearborn Park, Maple, and Cleveland for perfect 0-point inspections!

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SDOT wants your opinion on Metro’s electric buses that get their power from Seattle City Light. They’ve been pondering retiring electric trolley buses for a while, replacing them with diesel coaches. (And everyone knows that diesel is always reasonably priced.)

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Frank Nam spotted this topically-amended sign in the restroom at the Beacon Hill Library.

Beacon Bits, Food and Drink, Local Events

Beacon Bits: Green Eggs, Helladope, LED streetlights, and sukiyaki

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Green egg photo
Photo by camera-caritatis
It might be just a bit too late to catch their show tonight, opening for Goodie Mob at Neumo’s, but you can still catch Helladope at the Showbox SoDo on March 5th (opening for Snoop!), and then at their album release party at Nectar in Fremont on March 12th. —Matson on Music in The Seattle Times

Not enough? The Musik Lounge has a Q&A with Helladope, too!

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Seattle City Light is in the process of testing various types of LED streetlamps in pilot neighborhoods, seeking to bring more reliable, more efficient, and longer-lasting lighting to your street.

Follow the progress of City Light’s LED testing program online. West Seattle Blog has a bit more. This program has been a long time coming. Capitol Hill Seattle talked about it almost a year ago.

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At 6pm on Friday, March 5th, the Jefferson Community Center will be celebrating Dr. Seuss‘s birthday with a movie, crafts for kids, and actual green eggs and ham! Bring your appetite. The community center is located at 3801 Beacon Avenue South.

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Not a novelty color, but the next evening, Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church is again hosting its annual Sukiyaki Dinner, benefiting homeless women and children. Dining hours start at 4pm and end at 7. Take out hours run from 2 to 7pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children 11 and under. Blaine Memorial is located at 3001 24th Avenue South.

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Late addition: Jefferson Community Center hosts the 3rd annual Black History Month Community Forum. Organized by the local chapter of Blacks in Government, the theme is “surviving and thriving in a down economy”. City Council members Bruce Harrell and Sally Clark, Langston Hughes Executive Director Royal Alley-Barnes, and Kitsap County Auditor Walt Washington are on the list to speak. It runs from 6:30 to 8:30pm tomorrow night (Thursday) at 3801 Beacon Avenue South. — Via Publicola