Category Archives: Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Inspected, rock’n hypnotist, Spring

Restaurant inspections: African American Academy (as Public Health still calls it ): 0 points; Inay’s: 25 points, a single red violation; La Bendicion: 25 points, a single red violation and a handful of blue violations; and La Cabana: 10 points, a single red violation. Red violations are corrected before inspectors leave the establishment. A score over 45 points requires a re-inspection within 14 days.

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Eric Spivack sent us this photo of supporters of Approve Referendum 71 waving signs down at MLK and Rainier on the 24th. Thanks Eric!
Eric Spivack sent us this photo of supporters of Approve Referendum 71 waving signs down at MLK and Rainier on the 24th. Thanks Eric!

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ROCKiT space has kids workshops every Sunday, including a kids’ dance class at noon, sing-along at 1pm, and various art workshops in the afternoons. Starting tomorrow night, they are also hosting a series of well-being workshops facilitated by certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner Bridget McKenna. Further details at http://rockitspace.ning.com/events. Thanks Marti!

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OneAmerica has posted videos on YouTube from the candidates forum hosted earlier in October with CAIR at the NewHolly Gathering Hall. Thanks Theresa!

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A “Street Smart Self-Defense Seminar” is taking place at the South Park Community Center, 8319 8th Avenue South, Sunday from 1:30 to 5pm. Kids from 5 and up, teens, and adults of all activity levels are welcome. Drinks and snacks are provided. A Spanish interpreter will be present. A $50 donation is suggested, but pay what you can — no one will be turned away for lack of payment. For more information contact Sherry McGregor at (206) 653-6020. Sorry for the short notice. Thanks Betty Jean!

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As we head into fall, a painting from local artist Rachel Maxi gives us something to look forward to... five or six months from now.
As we head into fall, a painting from local artist Rachel Maxi gives us something to look forward to... five or six months from now.
Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: health inspections, parking spaces, and bridge rehab

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The Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge: going to rehab. Not the Amy Winehouse kind. Photo by Wendi.
The Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge: going to rehab. Not the Amy Winehouse kind. Photo by Wendi.
Two local establishments have recently been visited by the Health Department’s intrepid inspectors. The Beacon Hill 76 station at 2415 Beacon Avenue South scored 0 (yes, zero) violation points. Congratulations! The Beacon Pub at 3057 Beacon Avenue South scored 45 violation points on October 14, all related to problems keeping things cold enough. (Perhaps these are problems with the new hot dog cart.) To give a little perspective on this point total, 45 or more red critical violation points require a re-inspection within 14 days, 90 or more red critical violation points require that the establishment be closed, and 120 or more total (red and blue) points also require that the establishment be closed. The 45 points that the Beacon Pub received were mixed red and blue points, so they were in no danger of being closed. Still, we hope the temperature issues are now fixed. We like having another food option in the neighborhood.

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Wondering what happened to the disabled parking spaces near Jefferson Park Golf Course on Beacon Avenue South? Apparently they were wrongly placed in the public right-of-way, so they’ve been removed. The city is installing new parking for the disabled in back of the course clubhouse. — Seattle Times

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If you tried to drive west through Sodo yesterday, you might have noticed that westbound South Spokane Street is now closed between Fourth and First Avenues South. This is part of the South Spokane Street Viaduct widening project. The detour route will send you north on Fourth Avenue to South Lander Street, then west to First Avenue, then back south to Spokane Street — West Seattle Blog

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And speaking of construction projects, the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge is going into rehab. Bridge rehab involves repairs and improvements to extend the bridge’s service life and reduce the frequency of required repairs and maintenance. The rehab work begins later this year.

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j_dong on Twitter posted a gorgeous picture of Beacon Hill autumn foliage. Thanks!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Planning, protesting, and playing

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One potential future for North Beacon Hill (looking north on Beacon Avenue, near McClellan. El Centro is in the upper right of this image).
One potential future for North Beacon Hill (looking north on Beacon Avenue, near McClellan. El Centro is in the upper right of this image).
Recently there were two open houses to display the most recent planning goals and strategies for the North Beacon Hill, North Rainier, and Othello neighborhood plan updates. Over 160 people attended these open houses to view and comment on some of the potential strategies for our Southeast Seattle neighborhoods. If you could not attend, the city still needs to hear from you! You can view the materials that were presented at the open house here, then submit your comments online here. The deadline for this comment period is October 30, 2009.

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Neighbors living near South Stevens Street and 12th Avenue South have been asking why the large power lines on their street can’t be moved underground. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, an electrical system upgrade is about to do just that. — Capitol Hill Seattle

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Our neighbors in the Central District share our pain when it comes to airplane noise. One CD resident, Patty Fong, has started an Under the Flight Path! group on Facebook to “advocate for environmental justice in Seattle’s affected neighborhoods (Central District, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, White Center, Burien and others under the flight path disproportionately) and for speedy advancements in reduction of airplane noise.” — Central District News

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The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool is hosting a Fall Rummage Sale on Saturday, October 24 from 12 noon – 4:00 pm at Beacon Hill Lutheran Church, 1720 South Forest Street (between 17th and 18th). Along with the sale there will be a Fall Festival for all ages. The 1700 block of South Forest will be closed for the party, which will include games, crafts, a bake sale, Dante’s Inferno Dogs, and, at 1:00 pm, live music by Brian Vogan.

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Youth in Focus, a non-profit organization that empowers urban teens through photography, is holding their annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser on Saturday, October 24, from 12 noon – 5:00 pm at the AMF Imperial Lanes, 2101 22nd Avenue South. The goal of the bowl-a-thon is to raise $15,000 to help Youth in Focus provide free photography classes and mentoring to underserved teens in the Seattle community. Teams of five bowlers will bowl in two shifts, noon – 2:00 pm, or 2:30 – 4:30 pm. This year’s theme is “Come as your own Superhero!”, so dress accordingly! All are invited. To sign up or get more information, please email Jessica at jessicag@youthinfocus.org.

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El Quetzal on Beacon Avenue has applied for a beer/wine liquor license.

Beacon Bits, Crime

Beacon Bits: Fight library cuts, walk to school, do yoga

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The other day we mentioned the potential reduction of hours at the Beacon Hill library. The reduction in hours would have the library closing entirely on Fridays and Sundays, and closing early on other days. The Friends of the Seattle Public Library blog has a post that clearly explains what you can do to help fight these changes, including attending public hearings (starting tonight), and contacting city councilmembers. Some Friends of the Library were at the Beacon Hill Library on Sunday handing out information about the closures and talking to patrons.

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October is International Walk to School Month, and local non-profit organization Feet First is observing the event by forming “walking school buses” at Muir Elementary School on “Walking Wednesdays.” Families, students and teachers will meet at designated locations and walk together to school. Walking groups leave at 8:40 a.m. from Safeway’s parking lot (behind Silver Fork), 33rd Avenue and Bayview (north of McClellan), Hunter Boulevard and South Hanford, and the Mt. Baker light rail station.

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We hear that Yoga On Beacon, at 3013 Beacon Ave South, is two years old as of October 1st. Happy birthday!

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People came to last weeks County Council Town Hall Meeting to protest recent bus route changes. Photo by Wendi.
People came to last week's County Council Town Hall Meeting to protest recent bus route changes. Photo by Wendi.
The King County Council Town Hall YouTube channel has posted video from last week’s public transit town hall meeting at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club — unfortunately, the video’s just a one-minute collage with music and not very much context, and doesn’t give more than a hint of what the event was really like, or of the anger expressed by many Southeast Seattle residents who spoke that evening about the way recent bus route changes have affected their lives. Update: Al Sanders and Frank Abe from the Council pointed us to the full video of the meeting now available on their website as of this morning. Thanks guys!

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Seattle Public Schools have posted the proposed new Student Assignment Plan. In the plan, students attending Beacon Hill International School would continue to Mercer Middle School, which would probably become an international School itself. Cleveland High School would become a math and science option school, open to students from the entire district — Seattle Times

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The city has released its updated snow plan, mapping which streets will be plowed in the event of snowfall. If you want to express your opinions on the plan, a neighborhood meeting to discuss it will be on October 20, 7:00 pm, at Jefferson Community Center. — Beacon Hill KOMO, West Seattle Blog

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: library cuts, transit, and Girl Scouts

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Will we see a sign like this more often at the Beacon Hill library? Photo by Jasoon.
Will we see a sign like this more often at the Beacon Hill library? Photo by Jasoon.
Travis at KOMO reports that the Beacon Hill library branch could see a fairly drastic reduction of hours under the mayor’s 2010 budget proposal, including closing entirely on Fridays and Sundays. The proposal would also include another week-long closure like the one this summer. If you have concerns about this, now is the time to contact your city council representatives.

Also via KOMO, a story about Jay Park, who grew up attending a Beacon Hill church, then gained fame in a Korean boy band, then resigned from his band to return to Seattle, where his fans have been sending supportive gifts and letters — even spending money to hire an airplane to tow a sign to let him know how they feel. Unfortunately, the KOMO blog story seems to have offended fans of the band, who have left 171 comments so far expressing their anger. (Update: and over 1000 more comments on the same article spread among the KOMO sites it appeared on, like the Edmonds KOMO site. Yikes!)

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The Girl Scouts of Western Washington have two information nights coming up in Southeast Seattle for girls and adults interested in learning more about Girl Scouts. The meetings are Monday, October 5, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm at the Beacon Hill library, and Tuesday, October 6, 6:30pm-7:30pm at the Columbia City library. Potential members and volunteers are welcome. No registration is required; if you have questions, contact JoinUs@girlscoutsww.org or call 800-767-6845.

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Martin H. Duke has an editorial in Seattle Transit Blog discussing tonight’s County Council Town Hall meeting at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club and responses to residents’ concerns about Southeast Seattle transit cuts.

He writes,

“There are sins on all sides in Metro debates, but let’s not conflate the addition of a transfer, especially when one route runs every 8 minutes, with a total loss of service.”

Beacon Bits, Clean and Green, Crime, Education, Lost and Found, Volunteering and Giving

Beacon Bits, briefly: volunteer armies, bagpipes back, and board membership

Adding to the fleet of SPU students in the neighborhood volunteering today is an army of 400 Seattle U. freshmen working in the Cheasty Greenspace with EarthCorps.

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This missing bagpipes have been found! Somebody tossed them in a trash bin, but they were found before it was emptied.

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Denise Louie Education Center is looking for a board member.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Squeaky wheels on the Information Superhighway

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The squeaks, screeches, squeals, and thumps Sound Transit’s light rail trains make as they round the bend and enter the Beacon Hill tunnel apparently exceed federal noise limit standards, so yesterday the agency’s Board of Directors approved emergency funding of up to $1 million to address the problem — Seattle P-I

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Beacon Hill’s bandwidth problem was mentioned by mayoral candidate Mike McGinn at a recent town hall meeting. Glenn Fleishman delves into McGinn’s Internet platform plank in an interview at Publicola.

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Craig Thompson is wrangling a number of SPU “CityQuest” community service volunteers (as well as willing neighbors!) this Saturday the 26th, living out SPU’s mission of “engaging the culture and changing world.” For details about the projects spanning the hill from Lewis and Jose Rizal Parks to El Centro to the Cheasty Greenspace and how you can help out, read Craig’s posting at Beacon Lights.

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Our neighbor Sheba wrote to the mailing list:

Giddens School, where I work and my daughter attends school, is offering child CPR and First Aid training and certification for parents and caregivers this Saturday (9/26), 9 am – 1 pm. The class fee is $35 per person and there are still a few spots open. Giddens is located at 20th South and S. Lane Street in Judkins Park. Contact me directly at my work phone or address if interested: 324-4847 ext. 37 or sburney-jones@giddensschool.org.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Meet up, pipe up, clean up

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Do you have something to say about light rails effect on local transit? The County Council's Town Hall meeting next week is the place to be. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Do you have something to say about light rail's effect on local transit? The County Council's Town Hall meeting next week is the place to be. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The next Town Hall Meeting of the Metropolitan King County Council will be here in Southeast Seattle, and will focus on the impact light rail will have on the regional transit system, and the fiscal challenges facing Metro Transit.

The meeting will be next Wednesday, September 30, at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. The site is only one block north of Columbia City Station. The public is invited to meet with Councilmembers at an informal reception starting at 6:00 p.m. The Town Hall will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Further info is on kingcounty.gov.

(Thanks to Warren Yee for the info!)

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A set of bagpipes have gone missing on Beacon Hill, taken from a curb. Have you seen them? There is a $400 reward for their safe return.

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The Green City Partnerships blog has a story about Andrea Ostrovsky and Mary DeJong, who have worked hard to improve the Cheasty Greenspace over the last couple of years, including hosting community work parties in Cheasty on the first Saturday of every month. In Ostrovsky and DeJong’s vision, the Greenspace is “a potential link between Beacon Hill’s Lockmore neighborhood and Columbia City,” among other things.

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Maria on the mailing list writes,

“Earlier tonight (09/23/09) I found a emaciated grey cat on 20th and Lander. She is very friendly, obviously not feral, no collar, grey with white paws and white diamond-shaped marking on neck and gold eyes. She was extremely thin and hungry. I gave her some food and took her to the Seattle Animal Shelter where they checked her for a microchip (she didn’t have one). They are holding her for four days as a stray before she’s put up for adoption. Her case number is 13021. Does anyone know whose cat this may be? If you do, please call the SAS at 206-386-4294. I would have kept her at my house but my cats would have really freaked out.”

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Street food, dangerous planting strips, and the Swinery… again

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This guy is darned happy with his food from Marination Mobile. Photo by Daryn Nakhuda.
This guy is darned happy with his food from Marination Mobile. Photo by Daryn Nakhuda.
Lots of Bits today, so here goes…

David Gackenbach reminded us of something we haven’t mentioned on the blog, but have via Twitter: Marination Mobile brings their truck o’ deliciousness to North Beacon Hill (near Amazon and Jose Rizal Park) most every Thursday around lunchtime. Check their web schedule, or follow them (curb_cuisine) on Twitter.

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Keyunda Wilson at Van Asselt Elementary writes to invite everyone to a Community Play Day at the new Van Asselt site (the former African-American Academy, 8311 Beacon Avenue South) on Thursday, September 24 from 3:30-5:30 pm. The event will feature active playground games, face painting, and environmental education. Everyone is invited to participate.

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Among King County’s new liquor license applications, we notice this one:

Notification Date: 9/18/2009
Business Name: JAVA LOVE CAFE’
Business Location: 2414 BEACON AVE S, SEATTLE, WA 98144-5035
Applicant(s): LATIN BROTHERS INCORPORATED; RODRIGUEZ, OSCAR; CESTRO,
GUADALUPE; PRICHARD, TIMOTHY; RODRIGUEZ, JOSE LUIS
Liquor License Type: SPIRITS/BR/WN REST LOUNGE +
Application Type: ADDED/CHANGE OF CLASS/IN LIEU
License Number: 085750

Continue reading Beacon Bits: Street food, dangerous planting strips, and the Swinery… again →

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Candidate visit, free trees, Jungle tour, and poetry

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You could grow these on your own tree, free from EarthCorps and the Mayors Office of Sustainability and the Environment. Photo by Erlomo.
You could grow these on your own tree, free from EarthCorps and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and the Environment. Photo by Erlomo.
Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn, who seems to be attempting to court Southeast Seattle voters lately, is hosting a “town hall” meeting at the Jefferson Park community center at 8pm on Saturday, September 19th. He’ll also be at the Columbia City library earlier the same day, at 10:30am. (There probably won’t be much yelling at these town halls.)

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More free trees! EarthCorps and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment are looking to provide trees to residents to plant on private property or the planting/parking strips along the street in neighborhoods with low tree canopy coverage. There are several trees to choose from, including cherry trees. Check the EarthCorps site for more info and the application form.

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Craig Thompson takes KOMO’s Travis Mayfield for a walk in the Jungle. Video, too. And more at Travis’s personal blog.

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Garage sale Sunday near 28th and Ferdinand — Craigslist
You can post your own garage sale announcements in our Forum.

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The Chrysanthemum Literary Society’s inaugural poetry reading is this Saturday, the 19th, from 10:30am to 12:30pm at the Beacon Hill library.

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Don’t forget the other events coming up — like the Lucile Street block party this Saturday starting at noon! Check out the event calendar for more.