Tag Archives: el centro de la raza

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cheasty, permits, gardens, and snow plans

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Photo from Seattle Department of Transportation
Photo from Seattle Department of Transportation

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).

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The Friends of the Seattle Public Library encourage you to email the undecided City Council members and help keep the Beacon Hill Library (and several others) open more than 35 hours a week.

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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 for a number of properties in South Beacon Hill, running about $40,000 a pop. (Sounds like a construction company made the same mistake multiple times.)

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United Way and El Centro are again offering free raised bed gardens and gardening assistance for seniors.

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KOMO’s Travis Mayfield reports on the US Senate approving funds for Seattle Youth Violence Prevention and El Centro’s executive director Estelle Ortega being named to newly elected King County Executive Dow Constantine’s transition team.

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Metro has announced their new winter “snow plan” — West Seattle Blog

Local Events

Día de los Muertos ofrenda exhibit opening Sunday, November 1

This is part of an ofrenda constructed in New Mexico 2006, in remembrance of women killed along the Texas/Mexico border. El Centro de la Raza is hosting a community ofrenda exhibit from November 1-20. Photo by Glen Van Etten.
This is part of an ofrenda constructed in New Mexico 2006, in remembrance of women killed along the Texas/Mexico border. El Centro de la Raza is hosting a community ofrenda exhibit from November 1-20. Photo by Glen Van Etten.
El Centro de la Raza is hosting their annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) ofrenda/altar exhibit from November 1-20, starting with an opening ceremony on Sunday, November 1 from 2:30 – 6:30 pm. The theme is “a multi-cultural tribute to Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Páramo.”

Opening day will include a brunch at 2:30, the opening ceremony at 3:30, and the opening of the ofrenda exhibit at 4:00. There will be presentations by Ameyaltonal Danza Azteca, FANDANGO, Hope For Youth, Richard Hugo House, and others, and children’s activities will include face painting and sugar skulls.

The ofrenda exhibit is open from November 1-20 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10:00 am – 6:00pm, and on Wednesday from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Garter snakes, restaurant inspections, and a Night Out against Crime

Snakes like this one are enjoying the view from Jose Rizal Park these days. Photo by Garrett and Kitty Wilkin.
Snakes like this one are enjoying the view from Jose Rizal Park these days. Photo by Garrett and Kitty Wilkin.
  • The new garter snake herpetarium at Jose Rizal Park was featured in the Seattle Times on Sunday. In the comments for the post, cheezybreezy joked, “Odds are good I will find a couple of ex-boyfriends residing here.”
  • The other day we saw the results of three local restaurant/food service inspections from June 30, and noticed that every single one had zero violations: El Centro de la Raza, the Beacon Avenue Shell Food Mart (this was a big improvement over last time), and… Culinary Communion? I thought they were gone.
  • Tuesday, August 4, is the annual Night Out against Crime. Local groups typically schedule block parties for that evening, and everyone gets out to meet the neighbors. Want to set up a block party? Find out more and register here.
Local Events

Kidney Health Fest and Cinco de Mayo free events this Saturday

cinco

There are a couple of free events on the Hill this Saturday, May 2:

Kidney Health Fest for African American Families (and everyone else)

Northwest Kidney Centers are sponsoring a Kidney Health Fest where guests can take part in health screenings; try healthy food samples by local celebrity chefs; enjoy entertainment, music, and exhibits; try an obstacle course for all ages; enter to win prizes such as iPods, and more. The fair is from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at the African American Academy, 8311 Beacon Avenue South.

Cinco de Mayo celebration with El Centro de la Raza

Saturday is also El Centro de la Raza’s 4th Annual Cinco de Mayo celebration, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South. Guests at this event will enjoy live entertainment and a DJ, traditional foods, children’s activities, a fashion show, and local vendors. Admission is free!

Need to keep up with upcoming events on Beacon Hill such as these? Check out our events calendar.

Urban Planning

Neighborhood plan update comments

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If you attended this morning’s meeting about updating the neighborhood plan at El Centro, I’d like to invite you to comment on what you saw there, and how you feel about the direction things are headed. Was there something that was missed? Something that needs particular attention? How’d you like the food? What worked well about this meeting? What should be done differently for the next one coming up in May? What did you hear that you liked? Disliked? Want more information about? Pretty much anything.

A few of my thoughts: The room was too small and too loud with all the groups working at once. The food (from Kusina Filipina and… er… Dahlak? Please, someone confirm or correct — I seem to have misplaced their card) was great. The ideas discussed were good, most of them were much in-line with what had been in the plan previously. P-I boxes to flower boxes is an entertaining idea. I’d like hear more about ‘micro villages’ outside the formal Urban Village area.

This isn’t an official feedback route to the city, but we’d love to hear what you think!

Update: Freddie Merrell has a pretty relevant comment she just added to an older article here.

Local Events

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with El Centro

¡Vengan a celebrar el Cinco de Mayo con El Centro de la Raza!

El Centro de la Raza is hosting a Cinco de Mayo celebration (a few days early) on Saturday, May 2, from 3:00 to 8:00 pm. The event will be at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South. Come and enjoy:

  • Live entertainment and DJ
  • Traditional foods
  • Children’s activities
  • Local vendors
  • A health, social services, and local business fair

To get involved in this event, contact Leah at (206) 957-4640, or cincodemayo@elcentrodelaraza.org.

Life on the Hill

It’s not too late to vote

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El Centro polling place welcomes you. Photo by Wendi.
El Centro polling site welcomes you. Photo by Wendi.
We stopped by El Centro de la Raza, our precinct’s polling site, shortly before 5 pm. There were a lot of people there (in a fairly tiny room) but no lines, and a lot of happy energy. If you haven’t voted yet, polls are open until 8:00 pm, and if you are in line before that time, you get to vote even if it’s after 8:00. So, no excuses — get out there and vote! If you have an absentee ballot in hand that you forgot to mail, you can drop it off at your local polling site.

I will miss these polling sites when we switch to all-mail voting next year. There was always something special about going in to vote next to your neighbors, and exchanging a few words with the poll workers. It was a great bit of Americana, and I think we’ll have lost a piece of our community’s soul when it is gone.

BH in the News

Beacon Lights on the Rep. Tomiko Santos Kerfuffle

Two weeks ago, State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos arrived (late) to speak to the Beacon Alliance of Neighbors. Her visit, or rather her apparent lack of awareness expressed through her words, left a bit of a bitter taste in many neighbors’ mouths.

Craig Thompson’s latest Beacon Lights article at the P-I website has a full rundown of the representative’s numerous misses with the community, touching on her disconnects with Beacon Hill neighborhood organizations, race and reaching out, El Centro‘s community involvement, public safety, and parks and trails.

The Rainier Valley Post covered Tomiko Santos’s awkward visit earlier.

Local Events

Día de Los Muertos events at El Centro

El Centro de la Raza is hosting a series of events for Día de Los Muertos this year.

“The Legend of the Three Deaths” is the theme of this year’s celebration. Opening night is Saturday, November 1. Dinner will be served at 4:45 pm, and the opening ceremony starts at 5:45 pm. Admission is free. El Centro de la Raza is located at 2524 16th Ave South For more information, call (206) 957-4640.

The Ofrenda exhibit, where altars made by community members and organizations will be displayed, will be open November 1-21, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and on Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 8:00 pm. You may submit photos to honor your deceased loved ones at the exhibit. Photos of your friends and family who have passed, or photos representing social justice issues are both welcomed. The photo submission deadline is this Saturday, October 25. Email your photos to assistant@elcentrodelaraza.org or bring an original copy for scanning to the Development Office, Room 304.

There will also be a Wednesday Charla (discussion series) on Wednesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Admission is free.

  • November 5, 2008
    Dr. Lauro Flores
    “Almas y Calaveras: Roots and Rites of El Día de los Muertos”
  • November 12, 2008
    Dr. Jeanette Rodriguez and special guest Dr. Gabriella Guttierrez y Muhs
    “Opening the Portals of Time Celebrating El Día de los Muertos”
  • November 19, 2008
    Dr. Deborah Caplow
    “The Art of the Day of the Dead in Mexico”