If you plan to volunteer, you should wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Gloves and tools will be provided. Meet at the entrance located at the top of the stairs at 20th Avenue South and South Lucile Street. Bring a dish to share for the potluck, too.
Lewis Park volunteers are also starting up for the year this Sunday, February 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Gloves, tools, and snacks are provided. Neighbor Lenny promises hot coffee and hot chocolate this week, too. If you plan to volunteer, please notify Vinh at vngyen.green@yahoo.com. Lewis Park is located at Golf Drive South and South Charles Street, near the Amazon/Pac Med building.
On MLK Day weekend last month, many volunteers worked in Beacon Hill parks, including a large group at the Cheasty Greenbelt. The crew was organized by EarthCorps and included volunteers from Starbucks and elsewhere who worked on planting trees and clearing out invasive ivy and blackberry vines. See a post and photos at the City Year Seattle Blog.
Walking and driving have been treacherous during our recent cold snap, particularly in places like this 14th Avenue location where there seems to be some kind of water leak. Photo by Robert Kangas in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.The Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mt. View, together with Cascade Land Conservancy and Washington Conservation Corps, are co-hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. service day on Monday, January 17 from 10:00 am to 12 noon. All are welcome to help, including families with children (it’s a school holiday). To participate, meet at 2809 South Alaska Place, one block west of Columbia City Station. Volunteers will work on forest restoration and invasive species removal. Gloves and tools will be provided.
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Mmmmm, pancakes. MMMMMMMMmmm, all-you-can-eat pancakes for $5! The Cleveland High School softball team is hosting a pancake fundraiser on Saturday, January 9 from 9:00 – 11:00 am. Breakfast is served at the Cleveland cafeteria, the same building where the gym is located. Questions? Email Kyrsten at klpratt@seattleschools.org.
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We previously mentioned that Gage Academy of Art is offering free drop-in art classes for teens aged 13-18 in the Rainier Valley. We have more information about the classes now. January’s classes are “Imaginative Plaster Forms” with Katrina Wolfe, February’s are “Cut It Out” (cut paper in two and three dimensions) with Celeste Cooning, and March features “Explorations in Paint” with Jeanne Dodds.
Classes are on Saturdays at The 2100 Building, 2100 24th Avenue South. Classes will be from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. For more information, call 206-323-GAGE. Art materials and pizza will be provided.
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There is a new Yahoo group/listserv for Beacon Hill parents. Go here to join and chat with your fellow parents in the neighborhood.
“‘You can’t drive down a block on Beacon Hill without seeing them,’ says Joel Lee of the plant sculptures he refers to as bonsai on his popular neighborhood blog. Lee moved to the area a couple of years ago, drawn by the promise of light rail and the Jefferson Park expansion. But as soon as he started walking his dog around the neighborhood, he became fascinated by the display of sheared and shaped plants.”
Unfortunately, author Valerie Easton seemed a bit put off by the Hill’s topiary art.
The Times is also hosting a “map the potholes” project. There are a few Beacon Hill potholes already included, such as the “giant holes heading west on Holgate at approx 14th” (we hit that one a couple of weeks ago—ouch!), but if your most annoying tooth-rattler isn’t listed, please add it.
Neighbor Robert Kangas has noted some extreme water leakage along 14th Avenue South, west of Jefferson Park. The leaks caused some dangerous ice patches. He posted a series of photos here. In discussion on the Beacon Hill mailing list last week, some folks noted a history of artesian wells on the Hill, and suggested that these are the source of some of the leaks around the neighborhood. Others think it’s a leaky water main.
If you notice a potential water leak on public or private property, you can report it by calling 206-386-1800, and Seattle Public Utilities will then check it out.
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The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting three free workshops to educate neighborhood groups and community organizations on the funding process and requirements for the Large Projects Fund, the matching fund that awards up to $100,000 for community projects. Next Tuesday, January 11, there’s a workshop in Southeast Seattle, at the Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue South. The workshop is from 6:00-8:00 pm. More information about the Large Projects Fund and the three workshops may be found here.
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Sustainable South Seattle is hosting the third of a workshop series dedicated towards creating a climate co-op for South Seattle neighborhoods. The event is Wednesday, January 26 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Southside Commons, 3518 South Edmunds Street. Food, refreshments, and childcare will be provided. Please RSVP by emailing climate.coop@gmail.com.
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A new co-ed a cappella group is forming on Beacon Hill, with auditions this month according to a current post on craigslist.org:
We are looking for:
Men and women who are positive, fun and excited about performing and singing harmony. We will possibly be doing 1 to 2 gigs per month starting in the Spring.
We want to be:
16 in total. (We have 10 right now) Put together performances that are tight musically, visually and are funny and entertaining to most people. You don’t have to dance or want to make a fool of yourself, but it is a bonus. Diverse in anyway possible—age, race, musical background, sexuality…
A couple of changes to liquor licenses on the Hill occurred last month. The Station coffee house at 2533 16th Avenue South was approved for a license as a “direct shipment receiver – in WA only.” But every new beginning is some other beginning’s end: on the same day, the liquor license for the ill-fated Tasha’s Bistro Café was discontinued.
Photo of last year's International Children's Day festivities at El Centro, courtesy Elliott Jones.
There are a lot of events and meetings coming up soon that we want you to know about. Updated with late-arriving reminders of ROCKiTspace events and El Centro’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. Here goes:
North Beacon Hill Planning meeting with Marshall Foster, city planning director from the Department of Planning and Development, 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South.
Beacon Family Bike and Pedestrian Plan meeting, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Seattle Public Schools Family and Community Engagement Symposium, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at Aki Kurose Middle School, 3928 South Graham Street — free workshops on helping your child with math, science, reading, writing, dealing with bullying, and college and career readiness with keynote speaker Dr. Susan Enfield; breakfast (8:30 am), lunch, and childcare provided.
Wednesday, April 28:
International Children’s Day celebration, 5:00 to 8:00 pm at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Avenue South, featuring children’s activities and cultural games, refreshments, and presentations; for more info contact Enrique Gonzalez at 206-957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org.
Meet Laila Lalami, author of the 2010 Seattle Reads selection Secret Son, 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Thursday, May 13:
Cheasty Boulevard Plan meeting, 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the home of Amit Ranade and Jennifer Faubion-Ranade, 2615 South Edmunds Street.
Friday, May 14:
Neighborhood Plan Update meeting, Mercer Middle School. (We don’t have the starting time for this one yet, but we will post it when we do.)
Sunday, May 16:
Beacon Hill Music Backyard Party fundraiser, 3:00 to 7:00 pm — RSVP requested, email beaconhillmusic@gmail.com for more info.
Monday, May 17:
Beacon Family Bike and Pedestrian Plan meeting, 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Saturday, May 22:
Beacon Hill Music Dance Party fundraiser, 7:00 pm — RSVP requested, email beaconhillmusic@gmail.com for more info.
Wednesday, May 26:
Jefferson Park Skateboard Park, Beacon Mountain Playground, and Jefferson Playfield update with the Parks Department, 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
Victrola Coffee received a perfect score in their recent inspection by the Health Department. This drink was photographed at Victrola by Christie Aesquivel, in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.There is a planning meeting for the Beacon Hill Food Forest at Jefferson Park, at 7:00 pm tonight at the Lawn Bowling Clubhouse (4103 Beacon Avenue South).
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The Columbian Way paving project meeting is tomorrow, April 7, at the Mercer Middle School Library (1600 South Columbian Way) from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Here’s a flyer about the project.
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Beacon Hill International School was the subject of a feature in the Seattle Times (BHB news partners) this week, including a great video about the language immersion program at the school.
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If you like to dance and you’d also like to help raise some funds for Beacon Rocks!, swing by their website, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and sign up for their mailing list.
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Beacon Hill is quite the hot spot for gardening activity this spring. Seattle Good Food Network‘s April meeting is next Thursday, April 15, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library. Learn a bit more about SGFN.
Several of our local establishments have been visited by health inspectors recently. Congratulations to Golden Daisy and Victrola for achieving perfect scores of zero violations. Here are links to all the inspection reports:
The Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View invite you to their upcoming planning meetings, where you’re invited to share your ideas for a trail plan and entry with “safe trails, way-finding, environmental learning, gathering spaces, welcoming trail heads.” The first meeting was April 1 and hosted a discussion of current conditions, ideas, and priorities.
Upcoming meetings: 7:00 to 8:30 pm, May 13—Review ideas, priorities, and options at the home of Amit Ranade and Jennifer Faubion-Ranade, 2615 South Edmunds Street.
7:00 to 8:30 pm, June 17—Open House to present trail plan; guided walks through Cheasty Greenspace/Mountain View at the end of South Alaska Place.
If you want to know more about the Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View and get involved, email mdejong@spu.edu or adostrovsky@gmail.com or contact Pamela Kliment of Seattle Parks and Recreation, at Pamela.Kliment@seattle.gov or 206-684-7356.
Saturday, January 16, EarthCorps, Seattle Parks & Recreation, and the Seattle Green Partnership will kickoff the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday / King County United Way Day of Caring volunteer events at Dr. Jose Rizal Park. The event runs from 10 AM to 2 PM, with set up beginning around 9. Around 50 volunteers are expected, who’ll work on planting 300+ native plants and doing maintenance work on previously cleared areas, and continue reclaiming the southwestern slope of the area for restoration. If a few neighbors come, we can move some logs and improve the trail into the area, too.
And on Sunday, January 17, in case you can make it, at Dearborn Park off Othello Orcas, there will be another event, from 10 AM to 2 PM.
A second Beacon Hill event will take place on Monday, January 18, with 300 volunteers (!) coming to the Cheasty Greenspace on the east side of the hill. Sponsors include EarthCorps, the Green Seattle Partnership, Service for Peace, City Year, YMCA Earth Service Corps, University of Washington, and Seattle Parks and Recreation. This is the “signature†event for the MLK Day of Caring volunteer events in Seattle’s south end. Following the event will be a service appreciation reception at Jefferson Community Center, which is a great opportunity to network with volunteer agencies doing on the ground work on Beacon Hill.
The Beacon Hill events are on our event calendar, as well.
Thanks Craig! And thanks for the correction, Deborah!
Cheasty Boulevard to get new brown street signs thanks to the Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks (FSOP)’s recommendation made after the 2003 Seattle Olmsted Park System Centennial celebration. More about the signs in Crosscut.
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Speaking of Cheasty, Green Seattle Day is tomorrow. They’re looking for volunteers to help out in the Cheasty Greenspace at 10am Saturday, rain or shine.
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Recommended boundary maps for Seattle Public Schools new student assignment plan. The school board votes November 18th. There’s one more public meeting on Saturday (tomorrow).
Identical permits to “Construct alterations to replace doors, windows and install air blend fan, per King Co. Sound Insulation Bid Pkg. #7 and floor plan, subject to field inspection, [subject to field inspection]” have been filed foranumberofpropertiesin South Beacon Hill, running about $40,000 a pop. (Sounds like a construction company made the same mistake multiple times.)
Kristy emailed us recently pointing to an article from the Laurelhurst blog about attacks at the Magnuson dog park. This ties together somewhat with Travis‘s article recently on the KOMO blog about our own sparsely-attended dog park near the Jose Rizal bridge.
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On the mailing list, Mahalie wrote of a break-in along Cheasty where a laptop was stolen sometime Friday night or Saturday morning. Monica added a note about a garbage bag full of someone else’s mail dropped next to her recycling Friday or the night prior. (Sharon who lives in the 9XXX block of Renton Avenue South, you may be interested to know your garbage has moved.)
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Another reported attack just off of Dearborn in “the Jungle” has been reported in the P-I by Casey McNerthney: Man found beaten with two-by-four. This is just the most recent report of violenceandcrime on the northern tippy-tip-tip of the hill next to I-90 in recent months.
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.
Leadership Opportunity – Become a Board Member
As a board member of Denise Louie Education Center, you can apply your professional experience to improving the lives of low income children and families. Our goal is to prepare children for success in school and in life, through pre-school, parent involvement, family support, healthy development, and parent leadership.
Board members provide strategic direction to the organization using information from our community assessment, program data and self assessment. They are responsible for ensuring quality service delivery and the fulfillment of the agency mission.
Board members are also volunteers working at implementation level, especially when there are fundraising events. We would love your help in achieving our goal of continuing to prepare low-income, culturally/linguistically diverse children and families for school and success. This is a leadership level position.
Requirements:
Attend board meetings (8 of 11 required);
Participate on at least one board committee (fundraising, board development or planning and service delivery);
Participate in the board’s annual retreat Make a personal financial gift at a leadership level;
Volunteer at least one time per year in the classroom, field trip, parent meeting or other activity involving DLEC children and/or families;
Help solicit other contributions to the organization or assist with a fund raising event/activity;
Participate in the evaluation of the Executive Director Recruit other board members or volunteers; and
Speak or represent DLEC at a community event.
How to find out more:
Please contact Janice Deguchi, Executive Director at (206) 792-9972 or via email at jdeguchi@deniselouie.org or Frances Lin, Director of Development at (206) 621-7880 or via email at flin@deniselouie.org.
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.
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.”
A volunteer at work on the Hanford Steps last year. Photo by Jason.The Hanford Stairs Weed Busters need you! Susan Fairo is seeking teams of two people (volunteering together or matched up individuals) who can put in 2-3 hours four times a year to help keep weeds from taking over the new native plants at the public staircase near 25th and Cheasty. Rookie Weed Buster team volunteers will receive instruction on what to remove and what to ignore, and use of tools, watering, plant disposal, etc. If you’re interested or have questions, contact Susan at susan.fairo@gmail.com or call 206-349-7285.
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Noticed an increase in airplane noise? Patty Fong is organizing neighbors in Beacon Hill and the Central District to address the issue with the FAA. See this comment on a previous Beacon Bits for more details, including contact information.
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Teens can earn service learning credit at the library. In addition to free SAT prep and online tutoring, the Seattle Public Library is also running a teen advisory board this school year. If you know teens wishing to earn service learning credit by writing book reviews, helping at teen programs, or writing for the SPL blog, contact Jennifer Bisson at Jennifer.Bisson@spl.org or call 206-615-1410.
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Catholic Community Services is looking for tutors. Their Youth Tutoring Program is an after-school educational enrichment program for at-risk students in first through twelfth grade. Volunteers offer academic support and also serve as positive role models to students, helping strengthen their sense of self-esteem and self-respect. Tutors help students with reading, homework (all subjects), math and language arts skills. Resources are available for those subjects you might not remember quite so well, and no specific background is necessary aside from a high school diploma. Tutoring Centers located nearby in NewHolly and Rainier Vista are open Monday-Thursday from 4:20-7:40pm, and tutoring would be for 1-3 hours per week on the same night every week. You can apply online at http://www.ccsww.org/ytp.
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Flash Volunteer offers many more volunteer opportunities. A non-profit startup run by Brad Wilke, a former Development Director at Denise Louie, aims to link people and neighborhood-focused volunteer opportunities. Check it out at www.flashvolunteer.org.
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A South Beacon Hill neighborhood watch is coming together. Mike Cheney, working with SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon’s encouragement, is trying to bring together South Beacon Hill neighbors to form a neighborhood watch group. Perhaps you read the recent Wall Street Journal article “Civilian Patrols Grow As Recession Puts Citizens on Guard” and it piqued your interest, or maybe you’d just like to make your block a safer place to live. If you’re interested, email Mike at redboneshadow@yahoo.com.
