Category Archives: News

Clean and Green, News, Volunteering and Giving

Local volunteer recognized with Denny Award

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Seattle Parks and Recreation announced today the winners of the 2012 Denny Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Stewardship. Among the winners: Beacon Hill’s own Craig
Thompson, who received the Community Stewardship Award for his work at Dr. Jose Rizal Park and the nearby area.

Here’s how Parks described him:

“Since 2001, Craig Thompson has been on a mission to reclaim the overgrown, crime ridden hillside at the north end of the East Duwamish Greenbelt and to activate Dr. Jose Rizal Park.

“He has spent hundreds of hours clearing brush himself and organizing work parties for thousands of volunteers. After a decade of volunteer leadership and personal stewardship, Craig’s hard work is paying off. With the completion of the Mountains to Sound Greenway trail through the greenbelt and park, activity has increased tenfold. Craig now spearheads activation. He continues to solicit and lead volunteer groups. He has provided mentorship and support to the new Off Leash Dog Area Steward. He inspired and continues to lead an Orchard Steward group, which has renovated and maintains an orchard in the park. And, he is now a Green Seattle Partnership Forest Steward.”

Additionally, Russell Odell was nominated for an award. He is a youth mock trial instructor at Jefferson Community Center.

The Denny Awards are named for Seattle pioneers David T. and Louisa Denny, who donated land for Seattle’s first park, Denny Park, in 1884.

Craig Thompson at a community meeting about PacMed development in August 2011.
Health and Safety, Meetings, News

Airplane noise meeting veers off the path

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David Suomi of the FAA spoke with the audience. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

About 100 people from Beacon Hill and other neighborhoods came to Cleveland High School on Tuesday night for a meeting hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Port of Seattle, but the meeting did not go as planned.

The Port and FAA intended the meeting to “provide information on existing flight procedures into and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Boeing Field,” and started the evening with an introductory “Aviation 101” slide presentation. The crowd had other ideas.

Previously, the FAA had been criticized by some for the strictness of their meetings in Ballard and Federal Way, when residents were not given an opportunity to ask questions. This time, it was clear that they intended to let people ask questions, and ask they did.

During the presentation, people in the audience frequently broke in with shouted questions to ask about the topic that most were there for: airplane noise over Beacon Hill and other communities under the Sea-Tac flight path. There was no printed agenda available, so the neighbors in attendance were restless, and in no mood to wait through presentations to get a turn to speak.

The basic issue, said neighbor Tina Ray of the Quieter Skies Task Force with audible agreement from the crowd, is that flights overhead are “every 45 seconds to two minutes, and they are darn low. And it’s been going on for a year.”

The Port and FAA representatives would not commit to installation of more noise monitors on Beacon Hill, but promised to take residents’ concerns seriously. Some neighbors were skeptical.

Ray expressed the frustration many were feeling: “We’re not making it up; we haven’t dreamed this… This is what’s going on right now in Southeast Seattle. This is what the discussion needs to be.”

The crowd listening in the Cleveland High School auditorium. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
News

Election day! Don’t forget to vote!

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Photo by Robert Stinnett via Creative Commons/Flickr.
It’s Election Day! Time to get your ballot in, either by mailing it before the last pickup today, or by delivering it to a ballot drop box before 8 p.m.

The nearest drop boxes to Beacon Hill are located downtown, at the King County Administration Building (500 4th Ave), and in the International District at the accessible voting center at Union Station (401 S. Jackson St.). Both are open until 8 p.m. There are no drop boxes in Southeast Seattle.

If you have lost or damaged your ballot, you can vote the old-style way in a voting booth at the accessible voting center, until 8 p.m. tonight. Bring your identification. There have been lines there for this in the past — in 2010, the wait was more than 3 hours during the evening hours. Get there early if you can. If you are in line at 8, you will get to vote.

Local Events, News, Urban Planning

Findlay Street Christian Church project moving forward

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This is a Lego version of the proposed Findlay Street Christian Church development project. Photo courtesy of Findlay Street Christian Church.

The long-delayed Findlay Street Christian Church project at South Bayview Street and 14th Avenue South on North Beacon Hill may be moving forward after all, so they are hosting a benefit concert to celebrate and raise funds for the project.

The church, previously located in Hillman City, sold its property some years ago, planning to move to Beacon Hill and develop what they have described as “an ambitious, forward-looking, mixed-use building that included worship space and multi-unit affordable housing.” But in January of this year, a church statement said “Unfortunately, we have run into a number of unforeseen setbacks and have so far been unable to get the project off the ground.”

Now that things are moving forward, they plan to celebrate (and raise funds) this Friday, November 9, with a concert featuring two a cappella groups, 545 Express and Shot in the Dark. Along with the music, guests will be able to see a large Lego rendering of the planned building, created by one of Findlay Street’s youth members.

The concert is at 7 p.m. this Friday, November 9, at Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian Church, 3201 Hunter Blvd. S. The suggested donation is $10.

News

Mayor asks FAA for more comment time, south end meeting

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This is part of a map on the Greener Skies website labeled “Future South Flow Arrival Procedures Over Current Flight Track Density, North of Airport.” See the full map here.
The West Seattle Blog reports that Mayor Mike McGinn has sent the FAA a letter asking for an extension on the comment period for the “Greener Skies” proposal. (See earlier posts here and here.) The letter also requests that a public comment meeting be held in South Seattle, and for the FAA to set up a meeting with the mayor to brief him on the Greener Skies initiative.

Here is the full text of the mayor’s letter:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Greener Skies Environmental Assessment.

Since the public comment period on the Greener Skies Initiative was announced, I have been hearing from residents throughout Seattle about the possible impacts the proposed flight operation changes could have regarding jet engine noise over their neighborhoods.

In particular, those concerned neighborhoods are primarily from areas where flight operations are already a significant issue. While it appears that these new procedures could reduce noise overall and narrow flight paths, it is unclear whether or not these changes might direct flights disproportionately over a specific community, who could then experience greater noise impacts as a result.

The residents of many areas of Seattle are concerned that they have not had an adequate opportunity either to hear from the FAA about these proposed changes or to comment on them. I respectfully request that the FAA extend the comment period on the Greener Skies EA an additional 30 days and in that interim period schedule a public comment meeting in a south Seattle location, as the prior meeting was on the opposite side of the city. I would also like a meeting with FAA staff to receive a briefing to better understand the desired goals of the initiative and how they will be achieved.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Thanks to WSB for the heads-up!

News

UPTUN on why Beacon broadband needs improvement

At Tuesday night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting, Robert Kangas  of UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors) was there was there to discuss the current state of broadband on Beacon Hill. There was no projector, so he was unable to do the originally-planned presentation on the current situation and the reasons it is so hard to upgrade equipment on the Hill. 

Since then, Kangas has released the presentation online as a PDF. Even without the narration and discussion, it’s worth reading if you wonder why your house is still stuck with 1.5 Mbps DSL. Here it is.

According to UPTUN, Seattle’s permitting process for installing new broadband cabinets is slower and more restrictive than that of other cities.  Additionally, “in order to get a fiber cabinet approved, 60% of the households in a 300 foot radius of the site have to say yes. People who don’t speak up are counted as no votes. Contacting everyone is extremely difficult since lots of people will never respond.”

There is a meeting (see our earlier post) at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S., at 6 p.m. on September 20 to discuss this issue.

News

NBHC: Better outreach needed for “Greener Skies”

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Yesterday, the North Beacon Hill Council sent a letter to the FAA and to the elected officials representing Southeast Seattle in the United States Senate and House. The letter was also released to neighborhood mailing lists and other neighborhood news sources.

The deadline for public comment to the FAA is today.

Here’s the notice sent out by the NBHC yesterday:

Thank you to everyone organizing efforts to extend the FAA comment period regarding the “Greener Skies Over Seattle” proposal. We’re sending this letter by mail, addresses to follow. We encourage you to use this as a template for communicating with our elected officials. The current deadline for public comment is 9/14.

Greener Skies EA
Augustin Moses, AJV-W2
Federal Aviation Administration
1601 Lind Avenue SW
Renton, WA 98057
comments@greenerskiesea.com

Senator Patty Murray
2988 Jackson Federal Building
915 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98174

Senator Maria Cantwell
915 Second Avenue
Suite 3206
Seattle, WA 98174

Congressman Adam Smith
2402 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515

Congressman Jim McDermott
1809 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

Over 60 concerned neighbors attended the North Beacon Hill Community Council meeting on September 11th. Our neighborhood consensus is that the recent ‘Greener Skies’ public outreach meetings didn’t meet the needs of our community. (September 5, 2012, Federal Way Library and September 6, 2012 Ballard Branch Library)

The NBHC Board is concerned that the large populations of low-income, elderly, minority and other residents living within the 98144, 98118, and 98108 zip code areas did not have an opportunity to participate in the public process. Furthermore the meeting format made it nearly impossible to have questions answered in any kind of understandable or meaningful way.

We are requesting that you help hold the FAA accountable to:

  • Hold meetings in Southeast Seattle within the 98144, 98118 and 98108 zip codes
  • Offer translated outreach materials and simultaneous translation to at least four languages during the meeting
  • Host meetings in a wheelchair accessible facility
  • Conduct outreach by postal mail and other non-electronic methods of notification to all citizens impacted by this proposal

Southeast Seattle is affected by THREE airports; Boeing Field, Renton Airport, and Sea-Tac Airport. We are the MOST negatively affected community in the region. We need to have a better public process, with more outreach, and at a time and place which will ensure more community awareness and engagement in these important air traffic changes.

Thank you,

North Beacon Hill Council Board
Melissa Jonas, Chair
2821 Beacon Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98144

News

Neighbors seeing red over “Greener Skies”

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Robert Bismuth of the Magnolia Community Council spoke at last night’s NBHC meeting. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
West Seattle Blog recently captured the frustration of many South Seattle residents at a Ballard meeting regarding proposed changes in flight paths and landing patterns that may negatively affect Southeast and Southwest Seattle.

Many of the 60+ attendees at last night’s North Beacon Hill Council (NBHC) meeting were there to discuss their concerns with the proposed FAA changes—and especially the confusion and frustration about location and tone of the FAA outreach meetings.

The lively discussion included a succinct yet thorough history by Magnolia Community Council Chair Robert Bismuth of how Magnolia successfully defended airspace above their neighborhood from changes that would have have “exponentially” increased noise and pollution.

NBHC Board member Ticiang Diangson is working with community activists from Beacon Hill and other neighborhoods to form a task force to address concerns regarding the “Greener Skies Over Seattle” proposal. (See the FAA’s website about the project here.)

If that FAA link seemed confusing or overly technical to you, you’re not alone. The NBHC voted unanimously last night to support efforts by the task force regarding “Greener Skies” to extend the public comment period on the FAA Environmental Assessment until the FAA has given residents of potentially-impacted communities the opportunity to learn more about the project. The current comment period ends on September 14. (Addresses to submit comments are here.)

The NBHC is asking Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, Congressman Jim McDermott and Adam Smith to request the FAA hold public outreach meetings regarding “Greener Skies Over Seattle” in Southeast Seattle (of course, we’d prefer Beacon Hill), and also to extend the comment period beyond September 14 to give the FAA an opportunity to correct problems with outreach—and give our communities the opportunity to understand this proposal. Outreach materials need to be offered in the languages read by our communities and translation must be offered during the meetings.

(Melissa Jonas is the current chair of the North Beacon Hill Council.)

BH in the News, Crime, News, Volunteering and Giving

Fire leads to landslide risk at Rizal Park

By Elizabeth Dinh, KOMO Communities
(Beacon Hill Blog news partners)

A fire at Dr. Jose Rizal Park on North Beacon Hill Saturday night did more than ruin a viewpoint—it has put some motorists in danger.

The area at Rizal Park is prone to landslides—and now that the plants have been destroyed in a fireworks-sparked blaze, the risk of a slide has re-emerged.

Volunteers have spent years beautifying this park, and Saturday night’s fire ruined some of their work. And if heavy rains sweep in before this charred land is reinforced, it could pose a threat to the many people who walk and jog there.

Nine years have passed since Craig Thompson first started putting a lot of time and effort into the park that’s a few minutes away from his home.

“And we’ve done quite a bit of good work,” he says.

Volunteers have planted an apple orchard and put in more vegetation—including thousands of trees.

“We’ve managed to put ivy control measures around about 1,000 trees. We’ve planted upward of 7,000 trees,” says Thompson. He has even worked with Seattle police on how to take back the park from drug lords.

Then, at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, fireworks touched off flames that raced across the dry land.

“I live about block and a half away from here, and we heard the bottle rockets go off,” Thompson says.

Below the beautiful Seattle skyline is now a charred patch of land that—with rain—could pose a danger to people who visit the popular park.

“This is a historically landslide-prone area,” says Thompson.

The devastation bothers David Choy, a visitor from Texas who’s been coming here for more than two decades.

“That’s a terrible shame,” he says. “I always come through here because this is such beautiful scenery. I brought my uncle and my aunt over here to look at the scenery.”

But Thompson isn’t mad about having to clean up and bring in more plants. He’s only looking forward.

“I look at it, and rather than becoming depressed or angry, I see what needs to be done,” he says.

He sees yet another opportunity to make this a better place. Volunteers already had plans to come out here on September 21 and 22 to clean up the park. Thompson says that with the added work needed to fix up the area where the fire was, it would be nice to have even more helpers come out.