Category Archives: Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits, Urban Planning

Beacon Bits: Bees, bandwidth, and Buddhist temple fire

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Temple fire — The February 9th fire at the Buddhist temple on South Juneau Street near MLK resulted from a furnace malfunction and caused an estimated $75,000 in damage and displaced several people, but thankfully resulted in no injuries.

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Slow video — Perhaps the most obvious sign that your broadband isn’t quite up-to-snuff is that streaming video stuh-stuh-stutters and re-buffers repeatedly. Sometimes this isn’t entirely an effect of the quality of the lines or the speed your provider is capable of providing to you; sometimes it’s the result of your ISP deciding that, rather than spend the money to improve its switching and delivery infrastructure, it will instead artificially limit how fast you’re allowed to receive high-bandwidth content like internet video. Google now provides a little insight into this situation with YouTube Video Speed History graphs, showing the average delivery speed for YouTube videos to your ISP (and, if you visit YouTube enough, your IP address) compared to the average speed for your city, state, country, and the world.
From BoingBoing via Joel Lee. Thanks Joel!

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Local honey — Spotted on Craigslist:

…I keep bees. I have honey for sale. This is pure, raw, unfiltered honey. It has never been above bee hive temperature, it has never had anything added, and it has local Beacon Hill pollen in it. It is DELICIOUS! (If I do say so myself). I have two kinds: a lighter honey which is mostly maple and mild in flavor, and a dark fall honey which is complicated in flavor and almost spicy. If you plan to buy a bottle or two, I do have a sample jar of each so you can taste it before you buy it and decide which you like best. 🙂 Comes in 8oz oval squeeze bottles. $6/bottle. Providing your phone number will make it faster to arrange pick up.

The only contact information provided is the Craigslist reply email.

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Food health inspections — The Health Department inspected a number of north Beacon Hill establishments recently, visiting Amazon, the Amazon coffee shop, El Delicioso (inside ABC Market), La Bendicion, La Cabaña, Chinatown Cafe #12 (inside the Red Apple), and Golden Daisy. Special congratulations to La Cabaña and the Amazon coffee shop for a perfect zero-violation scores. Anyone know if the Amazon coffee shop is open to the public?

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Attention on appeals — Publicola points back here, covering the Hearing Examiner appeal strategy and the opposition to it.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Anime, biking in Portland, local remixes

Anime collection photo by Paul Fisk (CC BY-SA)
There is an Anime Club event at the Beacon Hill library on the second Tuesday of each month (that’s tonight!) from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The club is free and open to all, with no registration required. Each month there will be new anime episodes along with old favorites, and guests will also enjoy new manga comics and Japanese snacks.

The Beacon Hill Branch is located at 2821 Beacon Avenue South, a block south of Beacon Hill Station. There is a free parking lot behind the building. For more information, call the branch at 206-684-4711.

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Beacon Hill neighbor Willie Weir of Yellow Tent Adventures, along with his partner Kat Marriner, recently did a “week-long, fully-loaded bike trip within the city limits of Portland. We’re talking tent, stove, sleeping bags. No reservations. No hotels. An urban adventure at its frugal finest!” Willie will discuss the trip in a lecture, “Portland: An Urban Adventure,” tonight at 7:00 pm at REI, 222 Yale Avenue North. More information on Facebook (login required), or see the REI page. (The REI page has conflicting information about the event’s cost — it’s either free or $5.00.)

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Two nice shots of the downtown cityscape view from the PacMed/Amazon building were recently tweeted by MarkPrivett and lassielas.

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Two remixes of Helladope’s “Just So You Know” by Blue Scholars’ Sabzi, including the “Beacon Hill Slumlord” mix. — Matson on Music, the Seattle Times

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: a strange hum, community gardening, and charity poker

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Photo by Dapper Lad Cycles in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Neighbor Laura from the Beacon Hill Bungalow blog has been appointed to the City of Seattle citizen advisory board on Garbage, Yardwaste & Recycling. She says, “if you’re a resident of Seattle and have thoughts about our solid waste service, leave me a comment. Part of my role is to reach out to folks in my community, specifically those folks in SE Seattle.”

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Beacon Hill Elementary School once again had no violations when visited by Health Department inspectors. Congratulations!

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Kevin on the mailing list wants to know about a hum:

“Has anyone else noticed a humming noise that occurs at night? It doesn’t
occur all the time, but when it does it sounds like a large vacuum or leaf
blower. If I stick my head out the window it’s impossible to pinpoint — it
sounds like it’s coming from all directions. I live near McClellan and
23rd.”

Kevin says that there was an article last year in the West Seattle Blog about a hum, but it doesn’t look like they found an answer there. Have you heard the hum on Beacon Hill?

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Glenn Herlihy writes with news of the first Jefferson Park Community Garden meeting, on Tuesday February 2 (Groundhog Day), from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Lawn Bowling Club House, 4103 Beacon Ave South.

Herlihy says,

“A Community Garden in Jefferson Park would be a meeting place where people can grow nutritious food to reduce their food budget or share what they grow. It would provide a place for the unemployed or underemployed, to grow food and help provide for their family. A community garden would stimulate social interaction between neighbors and provide opportunities for intergenerational and cross cultural connections. It would increase security by having more activity in the area.”

The proposed site for the garden is on the western slope of Jefferson Park, south of South Columbian Way, east of 15th Avenue South. All who are interested in community gardens are invited to the meeting.

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El Centro De La Raza is holding a poker tournament and fundraiser on Saturday, February 20. The tournament is a Texas Hold ’em tournament with professional dealers, and the first prize is a $1,000 prepaid entry in the World Poker Tournament, (or an optional Visa Gift Card). There will be prizes for the top five finalists as well. The cost is $35 in advance, or $45 at the door. See http://www.elcentrofundraiser.com/ for more information and registration. 

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Getting Around edition

With luck, this weekend's closures won't cause traffic like this. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
More closures are scheduled this weekend for Spokane Street Viaduct work. Two ramps leading to West Seattle will be closed: the northbound I-5 off-ramp leading to the West Seattle Bridge, and the ramp from Columbian Way on Beacon Hill, leading to the West Seattle Bridge.

The ramps will be closed from 10:00 pm, Friday, January 29, until 5:00 am, Monday, February 1. In case of rain, crews may reschedule some of the work for the following weekend. Additionally, remember that the existing westbound Spokane Street Viaduct off-ramp to Fourth Avenue South is now closed permanently.

Further info from SDOT here.

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The Cascade Bicycle Club is conducting a survey on bicycling in Southeast Seattle, including your thoughts on cycling safety, bike trails and routes, and riding your bike to Link Light Rail.

(Thanks to Jodie Vice on the Beacon Hill Mailing List.)

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Speaking of bike trails, the Chief Sealth Trail will be extended west of Beacon Avenue South this year. An artist is being sought by the city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs along with SDOT to create a three-dimensional, permanent outdoor artwork “to mark the trail extension and enliven the streetscape” where the trail crosses Beacon Avenue South at South Dawson Street.

The total project budget is $50,000 and includes design, fabrication and installation costs. The application deadline is Tuesday, March 16. More information is available here.

(Thanks to Heather Dwyer.)

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The SDOT blog recently posted some photos of new sidewalk projects that were completed in 2009, including sidewalks on 37th Avenue South between South Thistle Street and South Rose Street, near Wing Luke Elementary School on South Beacon Hill.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: cerveza, soccer, and STEM

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Now customers at El Quetzal can have beer with dinner. Photo by Jason.
El Quetzal, 3209 Beacon Avenue South, has been approved for a liquor license in the category “Restaurant – beer.” Now you can have a cerveza with your torta.

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Seattle Soccer Club members are looking for players to join them for a pick-up soccer game at the old Van Asselt Elementary School tomorrow, Saturday, January 23, at noon. (If the field is occupied, they’ll move across the street to the Van Asselt Community Center.) Players of all levels are welcome. Details are on their Meetup page.

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The South Seattle Beacon discusses Cleveland High School’s new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) option program that will open this fall. In the article, principal Princess Shareef expresses some worry that Beacon Hill families near Cleveland might not take advantage of the STEM program’s availability: “The teachers and families want it to remain diverse, but when we have community meetings, families from our community haven’t been showing up… I want the Beacon Hill community to understand what is going to be happening here and for them to consider having their kids be students here.” Cleveland is hosting an open house for the STEM program tomorrow, January 23, from 10:00 am – noon, at 5511 15th Avenue South. (via Seattle Public Schools community blog)

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Urban farmer (and MacArthur Genius Fellow) Will Allen is visiting Seattle on February 3 for a series of events promoting urban farming to help Seattle residents gain access to healthy food.

At 7:00 pm he’ll be at Mercer Middle School for “Inside the Urban Farmer’s Studio,” a free, community-wide discussion about food, urban farming, and food policy.

You can find out more about Allen and the February 3 events at the Delridge Grassroots Leadership website.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Bonsai reward, parking warning, produce deliveries

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BeHi Bonsai T-shirt
Win this shirt from BeHi Bonsai. Photo from BeHi Bonsai.
Point BeHi Bonsai to your favorite yard sculpture, and maybe get a T-shirt for your trouble.

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Don’t rely on chalk marks to let you know when you need to move your car and avoid a ticket. Parking enforcement is going hi-tech — Craig Thompson on the BAN list via KOMO

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Recently featured at Capitol Hill Seattle, Full Circle Farm got a writeup by Beacon Hill neighbor Allison in The Weekender:

“I have to say, having produce delivered right to your neighborhood is probably one of the most convenient amenities of living in a city. Especially a city surrounded by farmland. (…) I haven’t had to go to the market in ages and it really forces us to prepare meals using things I would never buy like turnips and beets.”

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Antennas, art, and advice

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A Land Use Application has been filed by Clearwire to mount three panel antennas and a microwave dish antenna on the Seattle City Light transmission tower and install supporting communications equipment at grade within the foot print of the transmission tower at “4999 P BEACON AVE S”.

Comments may be submitted through January 20th.

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The bust of Dr. Jose Rizal on the north tip of Beacon Hill (in the park of the same name) is one of many around the world. The one in Washington, D.C. has gone missing.

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Art galleries on Beacon Hill have been few and far between, but Klara Glosova wants to change that. In November, she opened her house in North Beacon for one night as an experimental gallery space, the home_page.project. The current issue of City Arts has an article about Glosova and the home_page.project, and you can see a slide show here.

Glosova is putting together another open house; you can keep up with the plans at the home_page.project page.

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Free healthcare counseling sessions will be held from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm on the first Thursday of every month at the Beacon Hill Library branch, starting Thursday, February 4. The sessions are open to all, with no registration required. A volunteer counselor, who speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English, will provide one-on-one counseling on topics such as healthcare options, medical billing and Medicare.

The library is located at 2821 Beacon Avenue South, at the corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Forest Street. It is one block south of Beacon Hill Station, and right on the #36 bus line. There is free parking in the lot behind the building. For more information, call the branch at 206-684-4711.

Thanks to the Seattle Medium for this notice..

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Lastly, something I’m sorry we didn’t know about in time to see or promote — ’30s jazz and art inspired by classic cars? Sounds like a fun time. Here’s how the event went.

NAMSAYIN tweeted:

What happens when a guy from Beacon Hill combines art and classic cars together? You get this…

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Music, liquor, and free acupuncture

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Photo at ROCKiT Space, by Bridget Christian
Paul Ray writes about a potential activity for the new Festival Street:

“With the opening of the new Beacon Hill Festival Street, some of us were inspired to see if we could organize a music series at that location, perhaps emphasizing Beacon Hill musicians. We have scheduled our first organizing meeting for Tuesday January 5 at 7:00 pm. Thanks to Jessie and Marti the meeting will be at ROCKiT space (3315 Beacon Avenue South). This is the first meeting so we will be starting with the basics: what are we trying to do? How will we do it? Anyone interested in the idea of a music series at the new Beacon Hill Festival Street is invited to attend.”

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Speaking of ROCKiT space, we are told they are now holding an open mic every Saturday night from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. Jessie says, “This is a very casual sort of thing, open to all, and we welcome any art form you’d like to share.” As mentioned above, they are at 3315 Beacon Avenue South.

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The liquor license at the MC Food Store, 4800 Beacon Avenue South, has been assumed by a new licensee as of December 30. The license type is still “Grocery Store — Beer/Wine.” We wrote about MC’s application several months ago.

Baja Bistro, 2414 Beacon Avenue South, has just been approved for a change in license type to “Restaurant / lounge — spirits, beer and wine (50 percent or more dining).”

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Dayna writes about a lost kitty:

Has anyone taken in a rather large tabby cat the past week, or slipped him some food? Don’t have a pic at the moment, but he is a grey/black/dark colored male tabby, on the larger side. He’s an inside/outside cat who often catches his own food and isn’t tagged because he’s a master at losing his collar.  He hasn’t been around for about a week.  His name is Simon. He lives near Maple Park in the south part of Beacon Hill, on the corner of 13th Ave S and Angeline. His family was on vacation over Christmas and the house-sitters rarely saw him…. Now his family returned and he hasn’t emerged! If you have any info, please contact Dayna at dayna@ross154.net.

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Local acupuncture clinic CommuniChi will offer free acupuncture to all new patients on January 16, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy of the civil rights movement. More info can be found on their website.

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Seattle Public Schools now has 174 National Board-certified teachers, with 57 earning their certification during 2009. Beacon Hill International School led the 2009 pack with 6 teachers earning certification: Elizabeth Alexakos, Susan Fluegel, Heather Graves, Kyle Okada, Andrew Pickard, and Mary Thompson. Other Beacon Hill-area teachers earned their certification during 2009: at Kimball Elementary, Nancy Kiser and Kristina Thorp. At Mercer Middle School, Susannah Fenger. At Van Asselt, Sarah Clemmons, Bernard McDonough, and Nancy Howard. And at Franklin High School, Howard Steele.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Wong well-wishes, chief search, found dog

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Get-well card for Wah Wong and family
Get-well wishes for Wah Wong and family posted outside the Jade West Cafe in West Seattle. Photo courtesy West Seattle Blog.

Wah Wong, the proprietor of the Jade West Cafe in West Seattle, who was injured in the DUI Corvette incident last week, has been released from Harborview. His son, Jason, is still in the hospital, reportedly in satisfactory condition — West Seattle Blog

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El Centro’s Roberto Maestas has been appointed to Mayor-elect McGinn’s Police Chief Search Committee.

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A lost dog followed Jennie home. She writes:

Today a young, male American Staffordshire Terrier (possible mix) followed me and my dog home. We found him near the library. He is mostly white with some brindle spots on his back and ear and has bright ice white-blue eyes. He’s very friendly.

He has no tags and the veterinarian found no ID chip. She’ll be calling Animal Control soon, but if you recognize this dog by description, please call 206-971-6028.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Boxing Day edition

New play equipment going in at Jefferson Park looks like a sculpture. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
ROCKiT space’s “open mic” Saturdays start tonight from 7 to 9pm. Free, donations welcome, snacks and drinks by donation. BYO beer/wine if desired.

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Beacon Hill and Kimball Elementary schools both had recent health inspections. (Kimball had some problems addressed before inspectors left.)

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United Way of King County is looking for volunteers to read books to kids, one-on-one, for just an hour a week. Increasing a child’s listening vocabulary can set them up for academic success. Readings would take place at United Way’s Beacon Hill location: The Refugee Women’s Alliance, 6230 Beacon Avenue South.

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A decision of “Determination of Non-Significance with conditions” has been made by the city’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) on a land use application to install 1,500 square feet of landscaping and vegetation restoration in an environmentally critical area at 2110 Beacon Avenue South.