Local Business

Updated: Bye bye Buggy

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Buggy, neighborhood baby outfitter and monthly knit-night host, is closing up shop on Beacon Avenue South and heading to new digs in Madrona, as confirmed on their soon-to-be-anachronistic website at www.buggybeacon.com.

Jon Gould dropped the news on the mailing list yesterday, noting that the 2200 square foot space will be available in June for $1300/mo.

This, along with the closing of Culinary Communion, is another sad departure from the hill just 81 days before the light rail station opening.

Update: A message from Buggy co-owner Sarah Dublin below. Click to read: Continue reading Updated: Bye bye Buggy →

Crime, Health and Safety

Neighbor warns about disturbing activity

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Neighbor Melissa writes to warn us about a disturbing occurrence in which a local 13-year-old was frightened by a man who was acting strangely:

She told me there was a guy circling the block gesturing and smiling at her. I was walking my dog with another neighbor, and while we were waiting a car came around the corner. The driver was cruising slowly in the middle of the road, looking right at the young woman. When I waved at him, he looked at me and waved back, then accelerated and drove away.

Both my neighbor and I thought his behavior was strange, and the young woman was fairly distraught. She said she’d seen him around the library and the gas station/convenience store on Beacon (used to be the C&C…what is it now?) and he always made her and her friends nervous.

I called the police non-emergency number & reported the incident and the license number. So did the other neighbor. The police said the plate number matched an SUV–but that’s not what this guy is driving.

Melissa adds, “Please let people know to watch out for a creepy middle aged guy cruising the ‘hood in a maroon-ish sedan-type car. Scratch that–look out for creeps in general. Tell your kids and the neighbor kids to tell an adult and/or contact the police if they’re scared. Go over the standard stranger-danger stuff.”

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: bravado, acrobatics, and coyotes

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Coyotes have been seen in many parts of Seattle, including North Beacon Hill. Photo by emdot.
Coyotes have been seen in many parts of Seattle, including North Beacon Hill. Photo by emdot.
  • “Health-department rules are critical for people who don’t know what the f— they’re doing. We’re chefs,” is the telling quote from Gabriel Claycamp in Jonah Spangenthal-Lee’s take on the Culinary Communion/Swinery/Lunch Counter tale. We just want to know if something else will be moving into that building on Beacon Avenue — The Stranger
  • The folks at the School of Acrobatics & New Circus Arts just down the hill in Georgetown will be holding their Annual Spring Showcase on Saturday, May 9, at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. They tell us the show will feature “Two unique, circus-variety shows featuring the spectacular SANCA Youth Company, the amazing Circus 1-ders, incredible SANCA instructors and fabulous friends of SANCA!” See their website for further info.
  • That same day from 9:00am – 2:00pm, Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool is hosting a fundraising rummage sale at 3818 S Angeline Street in Columbia City. See this and other upcoming events on our events page.
  • David Gackenbach reported on the Beacon Hill Mailing List this weekend that a trio of coyotes were “loping down the sidewalk” at 18th and Plum on Saturday night. Keep an eye on your pets and keep them safe.
Lost and Found

Lost black and white cat near 17th and Stevens

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Kristen writes:

Greetings Neighbors!

This morning about 11:15, it seems our black and white tuxedo cat made a run for it. The cat disappeared from the corner of 17th and Stevens St.

The kitty’s name is Ivy. She is a VERY LARGE (overweight) tuxedo (black and white) cat. Ivy is an indoor cat. She’s probably out there and scared silly.

She is friendly but shy, but will be easy to catch because she sort of waddles. She looks like she is wearing a black tuxedo jacket that doesn’t close in the front. She has a round face and very large round gold eyes.

Thanks for keeping your eyes open for her–

Kristen Turner

If anyone sees her, please contact us here at the Blog and we will forward your message to Kristen. Thanks.

Photos

The sun is out and flowers are blooming on Beacon Hill

Most of these photos are from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr, which has tons of photos of our neighborhood. Want to contribute, or just browse the pool? Go here. Thanks to all the pool members who have contributed such wonderful images!

Flowers in the Lewis Park Natural Area near the Jose Rizal Bridge. Photo by Wendi.
Flowers in the Lewis Park Natural Area near the Jose Rizal Bridge. Photo by Wendi.

The art above the Beacon Hill Library, in a bright blue sky. Photo by melissajonas in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool.
The art above the Beacon Hill Library, in a bright blue sky. Photo by melissajonas in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool.
Continue reading The sun is out and flowers are blooming on Beacon Hill →

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Bigger, craftier, and busking

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More room at El Quetzal
More room at El Quetzal
Urban Planning

Neighbors and Soccer fans pack the Beacon Hill Library for Jefferson Park meeting

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by Frederica Merrell

(Editor’s note: Frederica Merrell reports from last night’s well-attended Jefferson Park expansion meeting.)

Wow! I counted over 115 people in that room (don’t tell the Fire Department). Tonight people filled the chairs, stood all around walls, and spilled into the hall of the Beacon Library meeting room to talk about construction at Jefferson Park. As some of us said afterward, “geez, I guess we need a new library too!” (just kidding)

Parks Department had a lot of good info, including three options (A, B, C) for bundles of projects at Jefferson. I really hope they put it all up on their website soon so people can see the options. Parks wants people to fill out a form of low, medium, high, priorities for about ten recommendations. I don’t know whether this can be done online or not. (There’s nothing on the Parks site about this, at least not yet. — Ed.) They also will just take input from your perspective about whatever you are interested in. (See list of projects below and/or email Parks Department Project Manager Kim Baldwin).

Of those 115 people, I estimate 6 were city staff and 4 were city consultants. The highest Parks staffer was Kevin Stoops, who is the Superintendent’s right-hand man. Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher told me he couldn’t come, regrettably because it was his turn to host the local VW Van Club meeting (Cool!). Back to the demographics, about 18 or so folks were advocates for soccer fields, at least some of whom were from the Beacon Hill community. Another 15 or so, all Beaconites, were from the Jefferson Park Alliance (including me). The majority of locals had no group affiliations. The public question and speaking time was short for that many people, only about 40 minutes. I think most people walked out partially informed.

On the synthetic soccer field issue, Kevin Stoops addressed the issue of why there is no synth turf at Jefferson. Basically it comes down to lights. For several reasons that weigh heavily, lights have been axed from the picture at Jefferson: cost, environmental impact (views), technical difficulty of sinking poles into reservoirs, and limited electric utility may all be part of the picture on that decision. Without lights, no synth turf. Soccer fans are an enthusiastic bunch, though perhaps a bit deaf, and they keep coming back to argue about it. I just wish we didn’t spend so much time talking about something that is already decided and adopted into law. The Parks Board already decided this issue and the City Council passed view protection legislation two months ago at Jefferson. There will never be light poles over the reservoirs. The views are just too magnificent for that.

Other questions/areas of discussion: planning for the orchard/farm p-patch on 15th Ave. S., why we have asphalt paths instead of concrete (money), getting Beacon Mountain Playground built in Phase I so they don’t come back and tear the area up later, refurbishing Jefferson field, adding picnic grounds, siting a second basketball court, and maintenance costs.

Overall, it was a great meeting and I left with tears in my eyes realizing it is finally going to get built and we are so lucky!

Questions? Post!

Click to see the list of projects
Continue reading Neighbors and Soccer fans pack the Beacon Hill Library for Jefferson Park meeting →

Crime, Other Neighborhoods

An open letter to the Seattle Police Department

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Perhaps I am being grumpy, but we have enough crime in our neighborhood already. We don’t need to take responsibility for everyone else’s. I would consider it a simple mistake, but this is not the first time I’ve seen it happen.

Hello,

I have a concern about a post on your SPDBlotter website, titled “Shooting in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.”

The shooting was on Beacon Avenue, but it was not on Beacon Hill or in any way in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Beacon Avenue continues well-beyond Beacon Hill, all the way to Renton. But Beacon Hill itself does not extend east of MLK way (which runs through the valley east of the Hill). The shooting site was southeast of even the most southern portion of Beacon Hill.

The Seattle city map calls that neighborhood Rainier View, and the shooting was near Rainier View Elementary School.

As someone who lives on Beacon Hill, it is frustrating to see crimes listed in our neighborhood that didn’t even happen here.

We would appreciate it if you would post crimes with more precise locations, and not give us “credit” for crimes that didn’t happen in our neighborhood.

Thanks!
Wendi
Beacon Hill Blog

Update: A suspect in the above mentioned shooting was arrested yesterday in the 5600 block of Beacon Avenue South — which is Beacon Hill.

Update 2: As of April 22, the headline on the original story has been changed to “Shooting in the Rainier View neighborhood”. Thanks, SPD!

Getting Around

Link light rail to open July 18

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A Link light rail train passes through the Rainier Valley while testing. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
A Link light rail train passes through the Rainier Valley while testing. Photo by Oran Viriyincy.
Sound Transit announced an official start date for the Link light rail service: July 18. This is a delay of two weeks from the previously rumored date of July 3, but had been expected because of delays in the Beacon Hill station construction. Rides will be free on opening weekend if you want to check it out. Sound Transit’s Link launch site will be updated in the coming weeks with more information about the opening festivities.

In related news, today is the kickoff of the ORCA card program. The ORCA card is a smart card that will eventually be used to pay fares on all the local transit systems. If you plan to be using the train (or other transit in the area) much in the future, particularly if you plan to transfer between train and bus, you will want to pick up an ORCA card from the orcacard.com website. Eventually ORCA will be required in order to transfer between different systems (such as light rail to bus, bus to Sounder, etc.). Read more about ORCA here.