Tag Archives: alcohol

BH in the News, Local Business

Fortified wines, some beers a bit harder to buy on Beacon Hill

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Photo (not of Beacon Hill, as far as we know) by Steve Snodgrass via Creative Commons/Flickr.

Casey McNerthney at SeattlePI.com reports that a pilot program to voluntarily restrict sales of certain beers and fortified wines on Beacon Hill (previously discussed here) has gone into effect.

The plan addresses retailers such as convenience stores, who will receive “strong prompting” (from alcohol distributors and the mayor’s office) to prohibit sales of the problem products between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., seven days a week. The plan does not include bars and restaurants.

According to McNerthney, the city is providing a kit of suggested options for small businesses that have previously relied on the sales of fortified wine and beer.

Some Beacon Hill neighbors have been working on creating an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) on the Hill. In an AIA, retailers may be restricted from selling certain types of alcoholic beverages that are linked to local chronic public inebriation problems. This is the list of products currently banned in AIA areas. The current voluntary plan would not preclude the city from eventually creating an AIA if necessary.

We don’t yet know which Beacon Hill businesses are participating in the plan, but we have asked the Mayor’s office for further clarification.

BH in the News, Local Business

“High-octane” booze sales may be voluntarily restricted on Beacon Hill

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Photo (not of Beacon Hill, as far as we know) by Steve Snodgrass via Creative Commons/Flickr.
Retailers in Beacon Hill, Sodo, and Lake City would be asked to voluntarily refrain from selling certain “high-octane” alcohol products during morning hours under a pilot program currently being developed by Mayor Mike McGinn’s office.

Under this voluntary plan, sales of fortified wine and some beers would be prohibited between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., seven days a week. Bars and restaurants would not be included. Community organizations would be notified if local businesses don’t participate.

According to a report by Casey McNerthney at seattlepi.com, the project will involve a partnership with several alcohol distributors who will encourage local retailers to participate in the program, and will keep track of the program’s progress. The program is still in the planning stages, but could be operating as soon as May.

The voluntary program would not preclude the city from eventually creating an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) on Beacon Hill if necessary. In an AIA, retailers may be restricted from selling certain types of alcoholic beverages that are linked to local chronic public inebriation problems. This is the list of products currently banned in AIA areas. A group of Beacon Hill neighbors began a drive last year to form an AIA.

Health and Safety, Meetings

Neighbors attempt to reduce impact of alcohol on Beacon Hill

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As usual, the 10/4 North Beacon Hill Council meeting was jam-packed with a variety of topics. The majority of the meeting was dedicated to efforts to organize an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) in North Beacon Hill. North Beacon Hill neighbors are attempting to organize an AIA to increase public safety. To learn more, visit their Facebook page at Beacon AIAI.

AIA supporters believe that implementing an Alcohol Impact Area in Beacon Hill will increase public safety and lower costs to taxpayers by decreasing the need for first responders (Seattle Police Department, Seattle Fire Department, etc) called to assist those incapacitated by alcohol. A first step to implement an AIA is to report all incidents of public inebriation and collecting/taking photographs of all alcohol related litter (especially cans/bottles of restricted brands).

Per the WA State Liquor Control Board: “The purpose of an Alcohol Impact Area is for local authorities to have a process to mitigate problems with chronic public inebriation or illegal activities linked to the sale or consumption of alcohol within a geographic area of their city, town or county, but not the entire jurisdiction. An Alcohol Impact Area is designated by geographical boundaries as defined in Washington Administrative Code Chapter 314-12.”

The WA State Liquor Control Board evaluated AIAs in 2009. Results are here. One interesting conclusion: people living in Alcohol Impact Areas reported that they were happier!

“Overall, in comparison to the results of the 2006 survey, people living within the Alcohol Impact Areas are now more positive as evidenced by the following:
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  • 26% of people rate the overall quality of life in their neighborhood as excellent (20% in 2006)

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  • 60% of people say they notice chronic public inebriates in the neighborhood (69% in 2006)
  • 18% of people say that drug activity has increased (24% in 2006)
  • But, 28% of people say that crime has increased (23% in 2006)”

(Source: Seattle Alcohol Impact Area Evaluation Executive Summary, 2009.)

City of Seattle studies did not inquire whether residents within AIAs enjoyed a higher quality of life, but did discover:

“…A decrease in offenses related to chronic public inebriation: Adult Liquor Violations, Parks Exclusions, and Criminal Trespass. In addition, the sobering unit van also saw a 9% decrease in pick-ups over the same pre-mandatory AIA and post-mandatory AIA periods of time.” (Source: June 2008 Report on Mandatory Compliance Efforts in the Seattle Alcohol Impact Area.)

Department of Neighborhoods Program Manager Pamela Banks attended Tuesday’s meeting and cautioned that North Beacon Hill would face an uphill battle to implement an AIA. Resources and staff are currently stretched very thin in Seattle and the AIA process is difficult.

Other options to reduce public inebriation and increase public safety were discussed, including asking neighborhood businesses to voluntarily participate in a “Good Neighbor” agreement limiting sales of banned beverages and requesting increased enforcement of existing laws.

Beacon AIAI supporters hope to engage the community in efforts to make Beacon Hill safer. For more information, visit their Facebook page or email beaconaiai@gmail.com.

City Services

Mayor follows up on town hall questions

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Mayor McGinn at the Beacon Hill Town Hall at Jefferson Community Center on February 15. Photo courtesy City of Seattle.
Mayor Mike McGinn this week sent out a follow-up email addressing unanswered questions that were brought up at the February 15 town hall meeting at Jefferson Community Center. Topics addressed include broadband access, future use of the closed Neighborhood Service Center, a possible Alcohol Impact Area on North Beacon Hill, and the SeaTac flight paths overhead.

There were some questions raised that we weren’t able to address that night; here they are, along with our answers:

1. What power does the City have to regulate Broadstripe and other broadband providers? The City of Seattle regulates cable television service for Seattle residents, and we also own the physical conduits through which the cables that provide that service travel, but the Federal Communications Commission has restricted the ability of cities like ours to regulate internet service providers. Where we do have power is in our contract negotiations with these companies. Our next opportunity to renegotiate our cable contract with Broadstripe will be in 2017. They have little capacity for significant service improvements, as they are now in bankruptcy (although still complying with the contract). The last contract renewal led the Department of Information Technology to look into creating a city-wide fiber-optic network in the first place. We know that there’s a huge need for faster and more reliable Internet access across the city, and that’s why we’re working on a business plan for municipal broadband.

2. Can members of the community use the old Neighborhood Service Center site as a volunteer-run community information center? The different departments involved are still discussing how to use the space going forward, and no decisions have been made so far. In the meantime, Department of Neighborhoods staff are using the space on a drop-in basis, and community groups can also make use of other meeting rooms in the library.

3. What will it take to make Beacon Hill an Alcohol Impact Area? As Captain Nolan and I mentioned on the 15th, the designation of an Alcohol Impact Area is something that’s done by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. More information about the designation process can be found here; links to studies of the effectiveness of AIA’s are here; and information about the processes that the City went through specifically in 2004-2006 are available here.

4. Is there anything that the City can do about flight paths going into and out of SeaTac? The Federal Aviation Administration regulates flight paths; the City, County, and Port don’t have direct regulatory authority over the airspace around the airport, but the FAA has been receptive to community input in the past. The Magnolia Community Club, for example, had a recent success when the FAA decided not to lower the level at which aircraft would be allowed to fly over Seattle neighborhoods. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the FAA’s Next Gen initiative, which will include re-evaluating flight plans that affect SeaTac and Boeing Field. Please E-mail me directly with your comments and concerns regarding flight paths over Beacon Hill, and I’ll be sure that we pass them along to the FAA. For more information about the Magnolia Community Club’s efforts, please contact Robert Bismuth at AirportNorth@gmail.com or 206-941-1923.

I hope the information in this E-mail is helpful; if you have input on how to improve our Town Hall follow-up going forward, feel free to contact Sol Villarreal in my office at sol.villarreal@seattle.gov or 206-427-3062.

For other opportunities to talk to myself or other City staff in your community please see our Public Outreach and Engagement Calendar at http://seattle.gov/engage/access.htm, and as always, please write to me with any questions, comments, or concerns that you have at mike.mcginn@seattle.gov.

It’s an honor to be able to serve as your Mayor; I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,
Mike McGinn

(You can read a compilation of the February 15 town hall discussion here and see complete video of the event here.)

Food and Drink, Local Events

Beer and wine opening night celebration at The Station

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The Station at their grand opening last summer. Photo by Wendi.
The Beacon Pub may be gone, but there is a new source for adult beverages on the Hill. The Station coffeehouse has recently moved beyond typical coffeehouse fare, and tonight from 7 to 11 p.m. is the opening night celebration of their new wine and beer bar. Owner Luis reports that they’ll be serving wine, beer, mimosas, sangria, desserts, and light fare. The Station is located at 2533 16th Ave. S., across from El Centro de la Raza and just north of Beacon Hill Station.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Dancing, eating, and fire juggling

Elemental art is coming to the Hill on Saturday night, June 5, 6:00 pm to midnight, with the third installment of the home_page.project: NEPO 3: Air, Water, Fire (We Will Leave the Earth Behind). This is a one night art/performance event at NEPO house, 1723 South Lander Street. The event will include installations, music, visual art, and even fire juggling and “a cell phone launch to outer space”!

Participating artists include Lauren Atkinson, Lara Davis, David Lasky, Aaliyah Gupta, Lauren Klenow, Julia Haack, Mark Callen, Stefan Knorr, Serrah Russell, Gitane Versakos, Jason Hirata, Matt Hilger, Timothy Cross, Rumi Koshino, Klara Glosova, Emily Pothast, David Golightly, SP Weather Station (Natalie Campbell and Heidi Nielson), Eric Ostrowski, Janel Twogood, Matt Baker, Sebastian Shaw, Christopher McElroy, and Whiting Tennis.

For more information about the art and the schedule, see the website.

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Tonight at McCaw Hall, Pacific Northwest Ballet opens an all-new production of George Balanchine’s classic Coppélia. Two young dancers with Beacon Hill connections will be featured performers. Alejandra “Ali” Prevost-Reilly of Seward Park is a student in Grade 5 at Kimball Elementary School here on Beacon, and Kyrlia Young lives on North Beacon and is in Grade 6 at Mercer Middle School. Both are eleven years old. Congratulations to Ali and Kyrlia!

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Bethany UCC Church has been hosting a community film festival with discussion focusing on the topic of food justice, health and nutrition. Saturday, June 5, Fast Food Nation will be screened at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome, and the event is free, but donations are accepted. Childcare is available. Bethany UCC Church is located at 6230 Beacon Avenue South.

The next event in the series will be June 19, when scientist David Suzuki will discuss Cuba’s organic urban agriculture projects, with commentary from Tom Warner.

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New coffee shop The Station and neighborhood baker A Touch of Sweden are hosting a sampling event on Sunday, June 6 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Those who come by to give feedback on the pastries and sandwiches that The Station should carry will be eligible to win free coffee, a free pie or cake, or other goodies. Pastries will be available at a reduced price. (We recommend the cinnamon rolls. They are especially good.) The Station is located at 2533 16th Ave South.

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In other food and drink-related news on the hill, Inay’s Restaurant opened their new cocktail lounge last Friday. You can visit it at 2503 Beacon Avenue South.

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A decision came down last week in a land use application to allow Clearwire antennas to be added to a City Light transmission tower at 4999 P Beacon Avenue South. A Determination of Non-Significance with conditions was made, along with decisions to conditionally allow the antennas to be located in a single-family zone and exceed the underlying zoned height limit. For more information, see this DPD website.

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Don’t forget the Beacon Hill Festival on Saturday!

Crime, Health and Safety

Jungle cleanup, sidewalk flooding, and overserving among topics on the BAN list

The Beacon Hill Alliance of Neighbors (BAN) mailing list has been quite active recently, and Travis Mayfield has been all over it for KOMO:

  • Update: Inside the Jungle — Craig Thompson details a recent excursion into the homeless encampment that runs along the west and north sides of the hill, alongside I-5 and I-90.
  • Sidewalk ‘Pools’ Raise Pedestrian Complaints — Complaints of flooded and obstructed sidewalks are addressed by neighborhood representative Steve Louie and City Councilmember Sally Clark.
  • Responding to Public Drunkeness — Tips on reporting “overserving” to the Washington State Liquor Control Board when observing evidence of public drunkeness.

Sign up for the BAN list at http://www.cityofseattle.net/ban/

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: sidewalks, hot dogs, and cool adult beverages

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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.
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

Crime, Health and Safety, Local Events, Urban Planning

Parties, crime, and alcohol touched on at NBHC meeting

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The North Beacon Hill Council met tonight at 7 at the Beacon Hill library. Very briefly, here’s what went down:

  • Reps from DPD present talked about outreach and prep for the next planning meeting May 30th.
  • An ad hoc committee and an outreach subcommittee of the Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee is seeking a six month delay in the DPD neighborhood planning process to get outreach to more of the community and focus more closely on neighborhood issues specifically instead of Southeast Seattle issues generally.
  • Beacon Mountain Playground is moving forward with phase 1 of the project.
  • An SDOT representative will be at the June meeting to provide an update.
  • Some background on the Sound Transit tunnel voids was given by Roger Pence. There are believed to be only two unfilled voids remaining and they are being actively worked on.
  • Some discussion of the pedestrian safety, zoning, and environmental issues around the new car wash occurred, leading into a proposal to form a committee to work on attracting additional businesses to the hill and a motion to write a letter to the DPD concerning the zoning conflict with the transit overlay area.
  • Police updates included notice that staffing hours will likely change soon, focusing more bodies during the times of day when they’re needed. Also brief discussion of car prowls, burglaries, graffiti, car accidents, prostitution, etc.
  • Asian Express’s liquor license renewal is mentioned to be coming up soon, and it may be an opportune time to work out a “good neighbor” agreement to reduce the sales of high-alcohol beverages.
  • Volunteers were sought to staff the NBHC booth at the Jefferson Park festival on June 6th.
  • Michael Richmond mentioned the possible upcoming city council and mayoral candidate forums this fall. Previous candidate forums are said to have been especially well attended here on the hill.
  • The Piñata Party will be on July 18th this year — the same day as the Sound Transit Link Light Rail grand opening. This may be both good and bad.
  • Newly elected board members:
    • Matthew Stubbs
    • Sara Hasan

Did I miss something or get something wrong? Let us know in the comments.