Tag Archives: health inspections

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Internet outages, slow traffic, and health inspections

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(We apologize for some delay in getting this posted. Our internet was down for a bit. Oddly, it went down just as I was preparing the story below.)

Neighbor Sebastian in North Beacon writes that he’s been having some Broadstripe trouble lately:

I’ve been having intermittent to complete Internet outages for 24 days, starting on 7/30. Cable TV has been out since 8/19. I’ve called Broadstripe 20+ times to ask for updates and for someone to investigate their Network issues with less than satisfactory responses. During a third service call on 8/19/2010, a Broadstripe technician finally discovered that the source of the problem is with Broadstripe’s network and not with the equipment inside my house. Unfortunately the issue still hasn’t been resolved and my Internet and Cable TV still aren’t working.

…I’m curious if anyone else has been having issues with their Broadstripe Internet and Cable TV service? I’m getting tired of dealing with an incompotent service provider and I’m wondering if anyone has had any luck dealing with them?

Anyone else having these problems with their cable lately? And does anyone have any suggestions for Sebastian?

(Editor’s note, 5:28 pm: Sebastian tells us his service is up and working again. How about the rest of you?)

* * *

Like Beacon Hill internet service, traffic on Rainier Avenue South will also be moving slowly for a while. Southbound traffic on Rainier will be reduced to one lane between South Forest Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South around the clock until early September. Construction crews are upgrading drainage and electrical utilities in the roadway as part of the Rainier Transit Priority Corridor Improvements Project to create a better waiting environment for bus passengers, improve travel time for buses, and improve parking conditions for automobiles. You can read more about it here.

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“Home to some of the very best views of downtown Seatown, it’s shocking that sleepy Beacon Hill is often overlooked, said Yelp’s “Neighborhood Spotlight” feature last week. The article touts our library as “stunning,” our cuisine as “out of this world,” and concludes that there are “so many reasons to buzz about this ’hood!” Read it here.

* * *

Speaking of our cuisine, certain local establishments received their periodic visits from the Health Department. El Centro de la Raza, Dim Sum House, Elegant Gourmet Catering, Em Engo Beacon Grocery/BBQ Deli, Golden Daisy Restaurant, Holly Park Head Start Center, Jefferson Community Center, Sharon’s Lutong Bahay, and La Bendicion all saw the inspector in the last few weeks.

Congratulations to Holly Park Head Start Center, Jefferson Community Center, and Sharon’s Lutong Bahay who all had perfect scores of zero!

Click on the establishments’ names above to see the reports of each place’s inspection. Please note that having some violation points does not necessarily mean an establishment has a serious problem. It is common for even good establishments to get some violation points now and then. The type and number of the points are what matters. Here is some more information about the Food Protection Program.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cuisine, census, and constituent voices

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It's not every day you see someone cycling down Beacon Avenue with a tuba on his back, but this fellow did it on Saturday. Photo by Wendi.
Tasha’s Bistro Café will be opening soon at the former Culinary Communion house on Beacon Avenue South. We spoke on Saturday with owner Tasha Sawabini, who also operates the Elegant Gourmet Catering company. She told us that the restaurant will be serving Northwest cuisine, and that she hopes to be able to open by Memorial Day weekend. The current plan is for the café to offer brunch on Saturday and Sunday and dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

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The Seattle Office of Emergency Management is hosting a disaster preparedness workshop at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South, on this Tuesday, May 4 from 6:30-7:45 pm. At the “Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare” workshop, you’ll learn simple steps to safeguard your home before disaster, take a quake-safe action wherever you are, and create a neighborhood team. The workshop is free, and no pre-registration is necessary.

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The PTA at Dearborn Park Elementary will host its first Dearborn Park Bazaar and Festival on May 22 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. They will sell garage sale items, arts, crafts, plants, and food, and have games and performances. For information on renting space to sell your own items or performing at the event, please contact Nelrica Mosqueda or Angela Sheffey at 206-252-6930 or email dearbornparkpta@yahoo.com. The group also needs monetary and/or gift certificate donations to make the event happen.

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Some of the treats that were served at A Touch of Sweden's open house on Saturday. Photo by Wendi.
The open house for A Touch of Sweden was at the former Culinary Communion house (soon to be Tasha’s Bistro Café) this weekend. Baker Kajsa Soderlund told us the event was a big success, and while we were there we saw quite a few people come in to try out the baked goods, which included cinnamon rolls, “Dream” cookies, and other treats. (The items we tried were tasty, and we hope there will be a storefront on Beacon Hill someday for A Touch of Sweden—which is currently open only for advance ordering.)

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The Beaconettes, an all-women a cappella singing group who “cleverly satirize Seattle’s icons, issues and celebrities with a specific focus on Beacon Hill and neighborhoods south of the ship canal,” will be performing at the Mount Baker Community Center on Thursday, May 13 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm to help raise money for Kimball Elementary’s Annual Fund.

The suggested donation is $15 per person. Contributions will help support Kimball’s Annual Fund which pays for arts and afterschool programs, bilingual translations, field trips, books, school supplies and more.

* * *

State Senator Adam Kline (D-37th District) will stop by Quarters 1 at the PacMed Campus on May 11 to meet with community members and hear what his constituents have to say. The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 11, in Quarters 1 at the northwest corner of 14th Avenue South and South Judkins Street. If you are driving, please park on the street.

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If you didn’t get your Census form mailed in, you should expect a knock on the door soon. Census takers are out and about this month visiting households that didn’t return their census forms. In most cases, census workers will make initial visits during afternoons, early evenings and weekends.

If a 2010 Census worker knocks on your door, here are some ways to verify that person is a legitimate census taker:

  • The census taker must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. The census taker may also be carrying a black canvas bag with a Census Bureau logo.
  • The census taker will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the local census office phone number for verification, if asked.
  • The census taker only will ask you the questions that appear on the 2010 Census form.
  • The 2010 Census taker will not ask for social security number, bank account number or credit card number and will never solicit for donations or contact you by email.

* * *

Health Department inspectors recently visited a few more establishments on Beacon Hill: The Pacific Asian Empowerment Program, M C Foodstore, St. George School, Graham Street Grocery, and Beacon Hill Foods. (Click on the links to see the full report for each inspection.)

Congratulations to the Pacific Asian Empowerment Program, M C Foodstore, Graham Street Grocery, and Beacon Hill Foods for getting perfect scores of zero!

* * *

Thanks to everyone who sent in notices this time!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: liquor license, Food Forest, and Maple mural

The Bartell Drug Store at Rainier Avenue South and South College Street has applied for a new “Grocery Store – Beer/Wine” liquor license. If you wish to comment on the application, you can email your comments about license number 406481 to customerservice@liq.wa.gov.

Thanks to Shelly Bates!

* * *

The proposed Jefferson Park Food Forest has a new website with information about the Food Forest’s design and mission.

Thanks to Joel Lee!

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Maple Elementary School is working on a mural project. Students, parents, and community members of all races will work together to create a mural for the school gym exterior that reflects the significance of The Maple Creed: “I know that our country was built by people of all races and I know that people of all races keep our country great.”

Community tile creation and tile glazing sessions will be held on the following Mondays from 3:30 – 8:30 pm: May 3, 10, 17, 24; June 7, 14. There will also be sessions on the following Saturdays from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm: May 1, 22.

RSVPs are requested. To find out more about the project and RSVP, contact Terry Virdell at 206-898-5679, or email terryvirdell@gmail.com.

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L to R: Representatives Bob Hasegawa and Zack Hudgins.
Local state Representatives Zack Hudgins and Bob Hasegawa invite residents of the 11th Legislative District to join them for a telephone town hall tonight, April 27, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Hudgins and Hasegawa will discuss the 2010 legislative session, creating jobs, their priorities for the 2010 state budget, and the budget’s impact on local communities. Residents will be invited to stay on the line and join in on the conversation. You can also phone in directly between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. by dialing (toll-free) 877-229-8493, code 15512.

* * *

Last week, Cienna Madrid at the Stranger wrote about the new Streets for All Seattle Coalition, a group fighting to fund projects for bicycle, transit, and pedestrian improvements. In the article, SASC spokesman David Hiller specifically discusses how a transportation crisis in South Seattle has drawn organizations such as El Centro de la Raza into the coalition.

* * *

Gardeners take note — @VictrolaCoffee posted on Twitter: “Free bags of coffee grounds everyday at Victrola Beacon Hill – 3215 Beacon Ave So. – make your gardens grow!”

* * *

Please be careful with your pets. King County Animal Care and Control sent out a recent notice that there may be an outbreak of canine distemper in area raccoons. This disease is highly contagious among dogs, ferrets, and a variety of wild animals. Cats are not affected.

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Asian Express, Dim Sum House, and Jefferson Community Center all received recent inspection visits from the Health Department. (Click each establishment’s name to see the results.) Congratulations to Jefferson Community Center for a perfect score of zero!

* * *

The Seattle City Council and Mayor will host a joint public meeting about the City’s budget here on Beacon Hill at the New Holly Gathering Hall, tomorrow, April 28, at 5:00 pm. The New Holly Gathering Hall is located at
7054 32nd Avenue South.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Dancing, gardening, and going to meetings

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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.

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Wondering about the cabinet and fence business on 15th Avenue South near Cleveland High School? It’s for sale on Craigslist. Currently, however, the site has an open complaint filed against it with DPD for violations of the Seattle Land Use and Zoning Code.

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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.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Green bikes, arts classes, and dodgeball

Bicycle commuters on Dexter Avenue near Seattle Center. Photo by Oran Viriyincy via Creative Commons.
Sarah Bronstein of the Cascade Bicycle Club writes,

“As part of a greater initiative to get more people biking in SE we will be implementing the Green Bike Project. The Project gives away Novara commuter bikes to employees who fulfill a 3-month pledge to reduce their drive alone commute trips by 50%. Last year, the GBP was done county-wide, but this year it will be targeted only at SE Seattle employers in the Rainier, Beacon Hill and Columbia City area. Interested employers need to be able to recruit about a half dozen employees from their work site (company or building) to participate, and then serve as a site-contact for the duration of the project.”

Applications for the project are due March 31st. More information can be found on the Green Bike Project page.

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Health Department inspectors have been in the area again, visiting Mac Pherson’s and the 21st Avenue South Cash & Carry. The Cash & Carry should be congratulated for scoring a perfect score of zero, which they have done for at least the last four inspections (the only ones shown on the county’s website).

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ROCKiT space at 3315 Beacon Avenue South is among the South End music and arts businesses featured recently in the South Seattle Beacon.

ROCKiT space also has some new activities, including sculpting classes and a knitting club (at which you may see a certain BHB editor, once it gets started). See the ROCKiT space website for details.

* * *

The ongoing work on the South Spokane Street Viaduct continues. Permanent closure of the First Avenue South on-ramp to the westbound lanes of the viaduct is tentatively scheduled for May 17. For the next year and a half after that, there will be no access to the Spokane Street Viaduct from surface streets in Sodo, and vehicles from Sodo will be detoured to the low level bridge to get to West Seattle. We’ll post more info as the date approaches.

On March 22, the First Avenue off-ramp from the eastbound viaduct will be reduced to one lane for up to five months, and First Avenue South will also be restricted to one lane for northbound traffic from South Spokane to South Hanford.

Next week will be the exception—the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for inspection, so First Avenue will stay open to keep Sodo from becoming complete gridlock for the weekend. See SDOT’s Spokane Street Project page for more.

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If you didn’t get enough dodgeball as a kid in gym class, Jefferson Community Center is the place for you this spring. Adult dodgeball league games will be held at both Jefferson and West Seattle’s Delridge community centers. It’s open to teams of all abilities, and the cost per team is $180. Spring team registration closes on April 7, 2010. For more information, contact Antoinette Daniel at 206-684-7092, or email Antoinette.daniel@seattle.gov.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Cupcakes and buses and health inspections

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Cupcakes from Wink
A sample of Wink's wares. Photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

Cupcakes coming to Victrola — Wink Cupcakes will be available through three Victrola coffee houses, including our own at 3215 Beacon Ave S.

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Health inspections — Asa Mercer Middle School, Dearborn Park Elementary, Maple Elementary School, Cleveland High School, Fiesta-Mex Video, Beacon Avenue Shell, Beacon Hill 76, Inay’s, Java Love, and Lucky Seafood.
Congratulations to Asa Mercer, Dearborn Park, Maple, and Cleveland for perfect 0-point inspections!

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SDOT wants your opinion on Metro’s electric buses that get their power from Seattle City Light. They’ve been pondering retiring electric trolley buses for a while, replacing them with diesel coaches. (And everyone knows that diesel is always reasonably priced.)

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Frank Nam spotted this topically-amended sign in the restroom at the Beacon Hill Library.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: a strange hum, community gardening, and charity poker

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Photo by Dapper Lad Cycles in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Neighbor Laura from the Beacon Hill Bungalow blog has been appointed to the City of Seattle citizen advisory board on Garbage, Yardwaste & Recycling. She says, “if you’re a resident of Seattle and have thoughts about our solid waste service, leave me a comment. Part of my role is to reach out to folks in my community, specifically those folks in SE Seattle.”

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Beacon Hill Elementary School once again had no violations when visited by Health Department inspectors. Congratulations!

* * *

Kevin on the mailing list wants to know about a hum:

“Has anyone else noticed a humming noise that occurs at night? It doesn’t
occur all the time, but when it does it sounds like a large vacuum or leaf
blower. If I stick my head out the window it’s impossible to pinpoint — it
sounds like it’s coming from all directions. I live near McClellan and
23rd.”

Kevin says that there was an article last year in the West Seattle Blog about a hum, but it doesn’t look like they found an answer there. Have you heard the hum on Beacon Hill?

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Glenn Herlihy writes with news of the first Jefferson Park Community Garden meeting, on Tuesday February 2 (Groundhog Day), from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Lawn Bowling Club House, 4103 Beacon Ave South.

Herlihy says,

“A Community Garden in Jefferson Park would be a meeting place where people can grow nutritious food to reduce their food budget or share what they grow. It would provide a place for the unemployed or underemployed, to grow food and help provide for their family. A community garden would stimulate social interaction between neighbors and provide opportunities for intergenerational and cross cultural connections. It would increase security by having more activity in the area.”

The proposed site for the garden is on the western slope of Jefferson Park, south of South Columbian Way, east of 15th Avenue South. All who are interested in community gardens are invited to the meeting.

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El Centro De La Raza is holding a poker tournament and fundraiser on Saturday, February 20. The tournament is a Texas Hold ’em tournament with professional dealers, and the first prize is a $1,000 prepaid entry in the World Poker Tournament, (or an optional Visa Gift Card). There will be prizes for the top five finalists as well. The cost is $35 in advance, or $45 at the door. See http://www.elcentrofundraiser.com/ for more information and registration. 

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Four Amigos, food safety, and funky foliage

KPLU has a lovely story about “the Four Amigos”: Roberto Maestas, Larry Gossett, Bob Santos, and the late Bernie Whitebear, activists who played a large role in Seattle’s history over the last 40 years. Maestas, of course, played a particular role in Beacon Hill’s history by helping found El Centro de la Raza, and leading the organization until he retired recently.

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BeHi Bonsai, the blog about the funky topiary foliage found throughout Beacon Hill, has found a yard that goes above and beyond the call of topiary duty: “Rings of foliage waft above the ground magically as if there is some unseen creature underground blowing leafy smoke rings for our amusement.”

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Health Department restaurant inspectors have recently visited a few more local establishments. Results of the inspections are posted online. The Aloha Grocery at 7762 Beacon Avenue South had 8 “blue” violation points (“surfaces not maintained, clean, sanitized”), El Delicioso at 2500 Beacon Avenue South had 5 blue violation points (plumbing issues), and Wing Luke Elementary School at 3701 South Kenyon Street scored a perfect 0. (Congratulations!) Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine at 2007 South State Street (at the foot of Beacon Hill, near Oberto’s) received 10 “red critical” violation points, for inadequate hand washing facilities.

Context: 45 or more red violation points force a re-inspection within two weeks, 90 or more red points force closure of the establishment, and 120 or more total (red and blue) points force closure of the establishment as well. So all of these businesses were in no danger of closure. Even one red violation is enough to result in an unsatisfactory inspection, however, and specialists work with the operators of the establishment to make sure that the situation is corrected immediately.

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Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: health inspections, parking spaces, and bridge rehab

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The Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge: going to rehab. Not the Amy Winehouse kind. Photo by Wendi.
The Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge: going to rehab. Not the Amy Winehouse kind. Photo by Wendi.
Two local establishments have recently been visited by the Health Department’s intrepid inspectors. The Beacon Hill 76 station at 2415 Beacon Avenue South scored 0 (yes, zero) violation points. Congratulations! The Beacon Pub at 3057 Beacon Avenue South scored 45 violation points on October 14, all related to problems keeping things cold enough. (Perhaps these are problems with the new hot dog cart.) To give a little perspective on this point total, 45 or more red critical violation points require a re-inspection within 14 days, 90 or more red critical violation points require that the establishment be closed, and 120 or more total (red and blue) points also require that the establishment be closed. The 45 points that the Beacon Pub received were mixed red and blue points, so they were in no danger of being closed. Still, we hope the temperature issues are now fixed. We like having another food option in the neighborhood.

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Wondering what happened to the disabled parking spaces near Jefferson Park Golf Course on Beacon Avenue South? Apparently they were wrongly placed in the public right-of-way, so they’ve been removed. The city is installing new parking for the disabled in back of the course clubhouse. — Seattle Times

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If you tried to drive west through Sodo yesterday, you might have noticed that westbound South Spokane Street is now closed between Fourth and First Avenues South. This is part of the South Spokane Street Viaduct widening project. The detour route will send you north on Fourth Avenue to South Lander Street, then west to First Avenue, then back south to Spokane Street — West Seattle Blog

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And speaking of construction projects, the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge is going into rehab. Bridge rehab involves repairs and improvements to extend the bridge’s service life and reduce the frequency of required repairs and maintenance. The rehab work begins later this year.

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j_dong on Twitter posted a gorgeous picture of Beacon Hill autumn foliage. Thanks!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Dig dirt and clean up your act

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That large thing in the upper right corner is the tunnel boring machine that was used to dig the Beacon Hill Tunnel. And now, it can be yours! Photo by Eric Hodel.
That large thing in the upper right corner is the tunnel boring machine that was used to dig the Beacon Hill Tunnel. And now, it can be yours! Photo by Eric Hodel.
Remember that huge tunnel boring machine that was used to dig out the Beacon Hill light rail tunnel? Want it for your own nefarious projects? Seattle Transit Blog reports that you can have it, for a mere $300,000 (or best offer).

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Local duo Blue Scholars are releasing their new EP, OOF!, tomorrow. They’ll be celebrating the release by making surprise appearances or perhaps even playing secret shows all over town. The only way to know where the action will be is to follow them on Twitter: @bluescholars for the news. If you can’t make it to the secret shows, they’ll be at the release party at ‘Ohana in Belltown tomorrow night. (Hat tip to Reverb for the news.)

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The Health Department restaurant inspectors have recently paid a visit to North Beacon Hill. Results of the inspections, as usual, are posted online. The Chinatown Café (in the Red Apple) has a perfect score of 0 this time. Two other businesses did not fare so well; the Golden Daisy on Beacon Avenue had 13 points in “blue” violations, and Amazon.com’s cafeteria had 20 points in “red critical” violations. Some perspective: these violation levels are nowhere near close to closure-levels. 45 or more red points force a re-inspection within two weeks, 90 or more red points force closure of the establishment, and 120 or more total (red and blue) points force closure of the establishment as well. Still, we’d rather see our local businesses getting 0 points than even a few blue points. Congratulations to Chinatown Café this time around for getting a good, healthy zero!