Neighbors Willie Weir and Kat Marriner are on a bicycle adventure… to Portland. Willie writes in his blog Yellow Tent Adventures, “what if rather than having a city as a starting point, the city WAS the adventure?… We have visited Portland before. But how will our experience differ while pedaling around the city on a couple of fully-loaded touring bikes?” Willie and Kat won’t be sleeping in a hotel, but instead, they are bringing their camping supplies and planning to camp in the city — somewhere. How are they getting the bikes to Portland? By train, of course.
One of Dawit Alemu’s attackers has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the attack near Beacon Hill playfield on June 18th. — Seattle P-I via Katie on the mailing list
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Denise Louie Education Center‘s Steps Ahead program is looking to enroll 4-year-olds through the City of Seattle voucher program. Tuition, before voucher, is $850 per month and includes breakfast, lunch, and snack in addition to the Creative Curriculum. DLEC has Family Support Staff fluent in Spanish, Laotian, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. For details, contact Frances Lin at 206.725.9740 x102 or flin@deniselouie.org. — Craigslist
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Jordan Van Voast of CommuniChi, Beacon Hill’s community acupuncture clinic, has an account of his Gregoire encounter today when she was visiting El Centro.
The Denise Louie Education Center on Beacon Avenue South is holding a Jazz Night fundraiser this Saturday, September 12, 6:00 pm, at Showbox SoDo (1700 First Avenue South). The event will feature a silent auction, a live auction, dinner, and dancing.
You can purchase tickets online for $75/person, but there are other ways you can contribute if you can’t attend the show. Volunteers are needed on the day of the event between 10:30am-11pm, and items are needed to be donated for the silent/live auctions. The last day to donate is Wednesday, September 9. Please contact Frances Lin, Community Outreach/Enrollment Manager, at (206) 725-9740 x102 if you can volunteer.
The Denise Louie Education Center is a Head Start center that serves over 200 at-risk families and children (ranging from 3-5 years old). The Jazz Night fundraising event allows them to provide additional services that the government does not fund, such as Play and Learn Groups (serving 0-5 years old), school supplies, and field trips.
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Magic Madness is coming to the Jefferson Community Center on September 18 at 6:30 pm! Magician Aaron Wheeler will be there to perform tricks, stunts, and mayhem in a fun family event. The show is open to all ages, for $3 pre-registered or $5 at the door.
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The South Precinct Picnic is this Saturday, September 12, from 1:00-4:00 pm. All South Precinct community members are invited to enjoy dancing, music, food, magic, and more. You’ll have a chance to tour the precinct station, meet your local police officers, and learn about specialty units such as SWAT, mounted, and K-9. The picnic is at the South Precinct, 3001 South Myrtle.
Joel Lee's happy dog recently posed in front of the Beacon Hill Fire Station. Photo by Joel in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.Could there eventually be less airplane noise in Beacon Hill and other Seattle neighborhoods? According to the Seattle Times, a new GPS-based air traffic control system could move some planes over Elliott Bay instead of the path over Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Beacon Hill, and allow jets to glide in, making less noise. The new system is currently being tested by Alaska Airlines, and the article suggests that it might be used during the busy daytime period “potentially within five years.” (Thanks to the Central District News for bringing this to our attention.)
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The Seattle City Council is bringing a town-hall meeting to Southeast Seattle, from 6:30 – 8:30pm on Tuesday, September 22. The public are invited to attend this event, where Councilmembers will ask for feedback on light rail, crime and city services while also taking your questions. Questions at the event may be written or asked live on the microphone, or submitted in advance to counciltownhall@seattle.gov.
The meeting will be at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club located at 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, just a couple of blocks north of the Columbia City Link light rail station. For information or questions, call 206-684-8805. Accommodations for a disability or translation services can be made in advance by calling Nancy Roberts at 206-684-8146.
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After an August break, the North Beacon Hill Council will be meeting again this month. The meeting date is Thursday, September 10, at Beacon Lutheran Church, across the street from the library at 1720 South Forest Street.
Here’s the agenda:
7:00 Welcome
7:05Â Lyle Bicknell, Neighborhood Planning Update followed by Q & A
7:35Â Brian Dougherty, Seattle Department of Transportation – 15th Ave. Parking
7:50Â Goodbye to Eric Sano, Seattle Police Department
8:00Â Community reports and concerns
Steve Louie, Neighborhood Coordinator (3 minutes)
Neighborhood Planning Ad Hoc Committee (10 minutes – includes time to vote)
A colorful sign marks the front entrance of Kusina Filipina. Photo by Wendi.After yesterday’s plum tree story, we have more food-related stories for you to check out!
The Om Nom Nom Nom foodie blog reviews Beacon Avenue establishment Kusina Filipina: “The food is really good. I think it comes pretty close to authentic Filipino food.” Despite the good rating for the food, and an overall positive review, they give it 2.5 doughnuts on a 5-doughnut rating scale. Tough critics!
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Laura at the Beacon Hill Bungalow blog just canned 75 pounds of tomatoes. We salute her ability to slave over a hot stove in August. It will all be worth it this winter.
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OK, it’s not actually about food, but the University of San Diego Student Radio blog features “Coffee and Conversation with Sabzi of the Blue Scholars,” from our very own Victrola Espresso on Beacon Avenue. In the interview, Sabzi discusses the Northwest’s musical identity, the role of record labels in a changing music industry, the current and future state of music, and more. If you haven’t yet gotten around to hearing Blue Scholars, there are links at the bottom of the interview to a couple of songs you can stream.
That large thing in the upper right corner is the tunnel boring machine that was used to dig the Beacon Hill Tunnel. And now, it can be yours! Photo by Eric Hodel.Remember that huge tunnel boring machine that was used to dig out the Beacon Hill light rail tunnel? Want it for your own nefarious projects? Seattle Transit Blogreports that you can have it, for a mere $300,000 (or best offer).
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Local duo Blue Scholars are releasing their new EP, OOF!, tomorrow. They’ll be celebrating the release by making surprise appearances or perhaps even playing secret shows all over town. The only way to know where the action will be is to follow them on Twitter: @bluescholars for the news. If you can’t make it to the secret shows, they’ll be at the release party at ‘Ohana in Belltown tomorrow night. (Hat tip to Reverb for the news.)
Street food finally comes to Beacon Hill with a new hot dog cart outside Beacon Pub. Photo of NYC hot dog cart by high limitzz.Willie Weir talks sidewalks in a new posting at his Yellow Tent Adventures blog. Specifically, about inverting the relationship where sidewalks yield to the street, and instead the street must rise up to sidewalk level –elevating the pedestrian, physically and metaphorically, to primary status, to match their position under the law for right-of-way. This sort of idea is being discussed and planned for the block of Lander just north of the light rail station. (By the way, there’s a great overview of various traffic calming practices hosted by the Project for Public Spaces. And Willie has posted several responses received from his challenge to our political leaders and candidates to “give it up” and go carless.)
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Michal spotted a new feature in the neighborhood: a hot dog cart!
Last night when I went to the Beacon Pub, I noticed there’s a new late night weekend dining option in Beacon Hill, right outside the Beacon Pub. Serves tacos, hot dogs, and burgers, they said they planned to be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and weekend mornings to serve breakfast items. There were a surprisingly large number of customers coming from seemingly nowhere, and not just from the pub.
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An afternoon round of chasing a little white ball around and hitting it with sticks is commonly accompanied by the consumption of a cool adult beverage. It is illegal to drink such beverages in Seattle public parks, unless there is a permit. So, is it legal to drink in a municipal golf course, such as Jefferson Park? Yes, as long as you buy the alcohol on site — Seattle 911
The documentary film It Might Get Loud features Beacon Hill resident Randy Parsons.Massive Monkees, who sometimes drop in at the Jefferson Park community center, demonstrated their dance moves to Beyonce’s “Work It Out” on this week’s episode of America’s Best Dance Crew — with the added bonus of hula hoops.
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Andrew Matson at the Times is interviewing Beacon Hill’s own Blue Scholars about their new EP OOF! later this week, and to whet your appetite, he’s posted a link to the video for “Coffee and Snow”, filmed and released during last December’s Snowpocalypse. The video features shots of Beacon Avenue, the VA hospital, and possibly the Othello Safeway, all covered in a thick layer of white. What other locations can you spot?
Mike Cheney is looking to create a South Beacon Hill block watch for neighbors in and around New Holly and areas nearby. This effort would be completely unrelated to the Citizens for the 2nd Amendment group or Mike’s own informal neighborhood patrols. Whether you agree or disagree politically, Mike’s aim here is simply to help make Beacon Hill a safer place to live. If you’re interested in helping get a block watch organized, contact Mike: redboneshadow@yahoo.com.
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Amber Swim, Program Coordinator for Girls on the Run of Puget Sound is looking for female volunteer coaches to help deliver “an after-noon school prevention program that uses the power of running to educate and prepare preteen girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.”
Girls on the Run coaches do NOT need to be elite runners. Any woman who lives a healthy lifestyle and is committed to improving the lives of girls can be a GOTR coach. Details at http://www.girlsrun.org/coaching.html.
Amber can be reached by phone at 206-528-2118, or by email at amber@girlsrun.org. The deadline to apply is September 4th.
Neighbors on 12th Avenue South enjoyed the Night Out block party last Tuesday. Photo by Bridget Christian.Neighbor Brook writes with an interesting observation about Beacon Hill real estate prices on Zillow:
“Every other neighborhood I’ve checked has followed pretty much the same curve, but North Beacon Hill and Columbia City each have unique curves. They’ve settled into a flatter line where average house values are now just above values in Greenwood. The other exception about North Beacon Hill is that it flattened out in 2006. Maybe the start of the subprime meltdown was felt in the neighborhood first, or maybe it was buyers getting scared away by the giant blue walls, but either way we were spared the last gasp of superheated speculation. Either way, it totally bucked the trend.”
What does this mean? Perhaps the beginning of the much-heralded light rail-powered price increase? We don’t know, but it’s interesting.
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The cat adoptathon we mentioned the other day was a success! We’re told there were 15 kitties adopted. If you missed your chance to bring home a kitty, there will be another adoptathon on October 10 from noon to 3:00 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
Found dog 8/4, near 39th Ave S.Do you recognize this dog? Know where he belongs? He’s a rather timid and skittish and probably really wants to be home. Contact pateb@foster.com if you can help get him there.
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On the flip side of “found”, Kazi the orange tabby cat has been missing from his home near the Jefferson Park golf course since Sunday. He may be wearing a blue “stinky cat”-labeled collar. If you’ve seen him, please contact his owner through this Craigslist posting.
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Dayna P writes with a question about organizing a trash pickup effort on her block:
Hi. I’m a neighbor on 13th Ave S by Maple Park and recently walked to a friend’s house on 12th Ave, towards downtown. I just couldn’t believe the amount of trash on the street… really awful! I’m wondering if anyone out there is interested in helping me organize a neighborhood trash pickup day. I’ve never done anything like this, so don’t know the best way to go about it. Anyone out there want to help get this going? Does anyone know if the city/parks dept has any programs that help this kind of effort?
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The Seattle Public Library is seeking Homework Helpers for the 2009-2010 school year. Homework Helpers assist elementary, middle and high school students with understanding homework assignments, developing study skills and learning approaches for solving math problems. English is a second language for the majority of the students. Homework Helpers are asked to assist students for just two hours per week throughout the school year, some time Monday through Thursday, between 4 and 8pm. Openings are available at many south-end branches, including the Beacon Hill branch. For more information and to request a volunteer application, please contact Anne Vedella, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at anne.vedella@spl.org by Friday, August 14. Interviews will take place in August. They’re also looking for “Talk Time facilitators” at the Beacon Hill branch — contact Anne about that, as well.
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Local south-end hip-hop duo Blue Scholars turns the music biz on its head: the band signs a label to distribute their album. (Sabzi from the band lives on Beacon Hill. Also, catch their CurrentTV video featuring footage around town, including a stop at Jose Rizal Park.)
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Some strange things are afoot on 14th. Kara on the mailing list wrote yesterday:
We seem to have some suspicious activity going on at 14th Ave S and S Nevada. There is a red Toyota Corolla that waits at the intersection for a “delivery” from someone on foot or in a black extended cab Toyota Tacoma. They make an exchange and away they go. We’ve seen it twice in the last month, most recently this evening (Monday) around 9pm.
I suspect that it is drugs. We have reported it to SPD. If anyone else sees these vehicles hanging around PLEASE report to 911.
Three burglary suspects were caught (and one remains at large) following a break-in at a home in the 4100 block of 13th Avenue South on Friday, reports the SPD Blotter. That didn’t make much of an impact, however. Hazel mentioned on the mailing list and in a post on her blog about another break-in which occurred not too far away at her home, 20th and Spokane on Saturday. Any recommendations for security companies? The question has come up on the list since.
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Wilson Chin, candidate for Seattle School Board. Photo courtesy wilson chin for schools.comWilson Chin joins fellow Beacon Hillian Charlie Mas in the race for Seattle School Board. The Seattle Times has a backgrounder article on all of the candidates for District 7.
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Travis posted several interesting neighborhood-related blog entries over the weekend, including a firsthand account of attempted plant theft from the landscaping around the new Beacon Hill light rail station and the strange appearance of an SPU trailer near Daejeon Park.
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An apprehension at gunpoint (with photo of cops with guns drawn!) was posted by Laura at the Beacon Hill Bungalow blog.
I wonder if we’ll see anything like this with our new Residential (or Restricted) Parking Zone: A comparison of what it’s like just inside and outside the RPZ near Swedish Cherry Hill from Central District News.
(Updated 8/5 to correct attribution. Sorry, Laura and Travis!)
America’s Best Dance Crew started with nine dance groups at the beginning of the competition. On Sunday night, local heroes Massive Monkees made it to the top three. See them “Tearin’ Up My Heart” here. This week was extra-special for at least one of the group — Samnith Ly, otherwise known as Lil’ Lazy, married Lianna Kalyanei on 9/9/09 at 9:09 pm. Congratulations to the newlyweds!
