Tag Archives: clean-up

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Landmark announcement, litter clean-up, and library survey

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Fire Station #13 fisheye view
Fire Station #13 named a historic landmark by the Seattle City Council. Photo by Bridget Christian.

Fire Station #13 at Beacon and Spokane Street is one of ten new historic landmarks named by the Seattle City Council.

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Kevin Minh Allen has started a three-part series in the International Examiner called “Beacon Hill, Our Story.”

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Continued switch heater installation will again reduce Link Light Rail train intervals to approximately every 30 minutes from 10pm Friday through Sunday night. — Seattle Transit Blog

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There are currently three open spots for the May 15 tamale-making class at El Centro. The class is $50 and you get to take home some delicious work along with your newfound skill and knowledge. Contact Ashley Haugen at 206-957-4611 or e-mail development@elcentrodelaraza.org for more information or to sign up. Proceeds benefit El Centro’s senior programs.Thanks, Elliott!

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The Seattle Department of Transportation continues to work on the West Seattle viaduct construction project, as well as other construction and changes in the Sodo area and the overpasses from Beacon Hill to Sodo. Particularly of note: the First Avenue South on-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge will close permanently on May 17, and there will be lane closures on the Holgate Street overpass on May 17-18, and on the Columbian Way overpass on May 19-20. See the latest planned construction notices here.

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The Seattle Public Library wants to know what you think about library services and priorities. Help plan our local library’s future by filling out their survey — it’s available through May 16.

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The Jun Hong Kung Fu and Sports Association is sponsoring a Beacon Hill Health Walk as a fundraiser for China earthquake relief on Saturday May 22, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. The starting location is 4878 Beacon Avenue South, and the walk is three miles, with a turnaround/water break at Van Asselt Community Center. There will be a team flag competition, and t-shirts for adult registrants.

Registration forms are available at Jun Hong Kung Fu and Sports Association, 4878 Beacon Avenue South, or you can find an online registration form here. Registration is $10/adults, $5/kids, and the registration deadline is May 21. For more information, contact Dee Williams at debwilli2003@yahoo.com or Jeffrey Chon at jchon1234@live.com.

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Pat McGannon is organizing a neighborhood clean-up to collect litter from the streets and public stairs.

The clean-up is Saturday, May 15, at 10:30 am, and will will include Dawson (between MLK and 30th Avenue South), 30th Avenue South (between Dawson and South Edmunds), South Edmunds (between 30th Avenue South and Mount View Drive), Mount View Drive (between South Edmunds and Alaska), and the stairs that connect 30th Avenue South to South Ferdinand below. (See the map to the left.)

Gloves, grabber tools, orange safety vests, and garbage bags will be provided to make litter collection safer. Volunteers should meet at the top of the South Ferdinand stairs (on 30th Avenue South) at 10:30 am. For more information, please contact Pat at pmcgannonmail-cleanup@yahoo.com.

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We received a couple of general-interest flyers that might be of interest from neighbors Sara Stubbs and Judith Edwards:
Host families for exchange students are needed in the Puget Sound area, and there is a Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Workshop for Seattle apartment managers scheduled for May 20. Click on the links above to view the flyers.

Local Events, Meetings

Upcoming events: Camp, music, Duwamish, art, etc.

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Saturday, February 20th, 2 to 4pm: Camp Long at Jose Rizal Park

Monday, February 22nd, 7pm: Beacon Hill Music organizational meeting. From Paul Ray:

Jessie at ROCKiT space has again generously offered to host this meeting about organizing a Beacon Hill music series at ROCKiT Space (3315 Beacon Ave S., Seattle), on Monday Feb. 22nd at 7pm.

Things are starting to move along in our efforts to try and organize a series of 4 music events over the summer of 2010, performed at the Festival Street next to the Beacon Hill Link Rail station. This series would feature musicians who live, work or attend school on Beacon Hill or groups that contain members that fit that criteria.

Our permits were approved for 4 events, spread out over 4 Sunday afternoons, June 13th, July 11th, August 8th, August 29th, YEAH!

With the dates approved we are at the stage to start taking the steps to make this happen. The next hurdles are paying for the permits and the event insurance (and determining exactly how much the insurance will cost) and getting electricity to the site. But with the dates approved we are ready to start organizing the production of the events, including musician selection, communications and publicity, community outreach, and making plans for the staging on event days, etc. One of our goals at this meeting is to assign some actual tasks to some actual volunteers.

Anyone interested in this project is encouraged to attend.

Wednesday, February 24th, 10am to 4pm: Hanford Steps clean-up. From Jorji Knickrehm:

It’s been a long time since we worked together on the Hanford Steps! Let’s put a little work in, to make sure it looks good and is safe this spring. The weather is lovely and we’ve scheduled a work party. It’s during the week because the Larson Casteel Landscape company has graciously agreed to help us dig out blackberry, and they need to set the schedule (they owed us a little more time from our last grant). We’d love all of you to join in if you’re home from work and have an extra shovel.

The plants we put in last year are doing well for the most part, but blackberry and morning glory are trying to take over again. We need to dig out these invasive weeds while they’re young and weak. The more we dig them out, the weaker they will return. Weeding will be the main task of the work party.

Clean-up is weather-permitting. Jorji is bringing treats! You bring a shovel and/or pick, gloves, a treat for sharing if you can.

Wednesday, February 24th, 5pm: Airplane noise workshop, from Marco Milanese, Community Relations Manager at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, (206) 787-7734:

Part 150 Noise Study Public Workshop Set for February 24th in Des Moines

The first in a series of public workshops for Sea-Tac Airport’s Part 150 Noise Study is scheduled for February 24th at Mount Rainier High School (22450 19th Ave. S.) in Des Moines. Doors open at 5 PM, with the program beginning at 5:15 PM. The Part 150 Study will look at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities. Throughout the study, the public is invited to participate in the solution and recommendation process through active engagement in a series of topical workshops.

The February 24th workshop will include a brief presentation followed by facilitator-led, small-group working sessions designed to gather the public’s input on refining the scope for the Part 150 Study. So, please review the meeting agenda and come prepared with ideas.

February 24th, 6:30 to 8pm: Via Steve Louie, the Greater Duwamish council meeting at Georgetown City Hall. Agenda:

6:30 to 6:40pm — Introductions, Judith Edwards, GDDC -Chair
6:40 to 6:50pm — Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
6:50 pm-7:00 pm — Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Parks, Seattle Center, and Waterfront Planning, Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods
7 to 7:30pm — Q&A
7:30 to 7:45pm — Neighborhood Projects Fund, Judith/Steve
7:45 to 8pm — Announcements Park Safety/Rangers, Brock Milliern
Open

Updated 2/23 with revised agenda from Steve Louie.

Saturday, February 27th, 9am to 4pm: Credit Smart and First-Time Home Buyers seminar at El Centro

Saturday, February 27th, 6 to 10pm: Nepo (A humorous approach to the serious art of living)

Clean and Green

Valentine’s Day street clean-up follow-up

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Bags of garbage collected
Some of the 50+ bags of garbage collected Sunday in the Valentine's Day clean-up. Photo courtesy Pat McGannon. Click for more photos from the album.

Pat McGannon wrote to follow-up on the outcome of the Valentine’s Day clean-up effort between Alaska and Dawson near MLK yesterday (emphasis added):

The weather could not have been much better for the 17 volunteers that participated in the Valentine’s Day neighborhood cleanup that covered Mt. View, S. Edumunds, 30th Ave S., S. Ferdinand Street stairs, and Dawson St. in Mid-Beacon-Hill’s eastern edge. Temperatures climbed into the 50s and the sky held back its rain. Mother Nature even thanked volunteers with an occasional sunbeam breaking through the clouds.

Volunteers worked from 10:30am through 4:30pm to collect over 50 bags of garbage, one large bin of recyclables plus 7 car tires, 6 bikes, 3 children’s big wheels, 3 CRT computer monitors, 3 computers, 2 printers, a microwave, 5 buckets, and 2 lawn chairs that had been thoughtlessly dumped on this neighborhood’s streets. Seven hypodermic needles were also removed from the streets. Additionally, contents of a stolen purse were recovered.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped to make this Seattle neighborhood a much cleaner and safer place to live! A thank you also goes out to Seattle Public Utilities for supplying the garbage bags, safety vests, work gloves, grabber tools, and post-event trash pickup! Please continue to keep the neighborhood clean by picking up litter on the street near your home each week on garbage day. The neighborhood looks great today thanks to all the volunteers!

If you’re interested in organizing your own street clean-up, Pat also mentioned that you can get free supplies through Seattle Public Utilities.

Great work everyone!