Tag Archives: jose rizal park

Local Events

Meet State Rep. Hasegawa & Two parks: clean up and construction

State Representative Bob Hasegawa. Photo from www.leg.wa.gov
State Representative Bob Hasegawa. Photo from www.leg.wa.gov
Some upcoming events of interest:

If you’re following the plight of our neighbors on the far-west side of the Hill with a portion of their view now interfered with by new power lines, or if you’d just like to have a word with State Rep. Bob Hasegawa, this note from Nick Papini (by way of Doug) may be of interest:

State Representative, Bob Hasegawa is going to tour our neighborhood this Friday, Aug 28th, at 1:00PM.

We have asked Bob to come to see first-hand what City Light and ST have done regarding the massive power lines on Stevens St, and along 14th Ave.

We are going to meet at my house (3017 12th Ave S) at 1:00PM. If anyone would like to attend, and either meet Bob for the first time, or get a chance to catch up with him, this is a good opportunity.

* * *

Craig Thompson is looking for a couple of neighbors to help wrangle a large number of expected volunteers working at Jose Rizal Park on Friday, September 11th:

Hi! September 11 is the fall King County United Way Day of Caring. For the past two years, large groups of employees from Microsoft and other businesses have come to Dr. Jose Rizal Park and other sites to improve our common spaces.

This year, we may have between 70 and 100 people volunteer at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, and so for the first time, I’ve got to admit I’m challenged. The two neighbors who’ve helped out so much in the past around this event have moved from Beacon Hill and aren’t available.

Is there someone out there who could help get a couple of groups started on projects in the off-leash area? It would be great if a few neighbors turned out to help. I’d like to begin setting up at 9 AM that Friday morning, Sept. 11 – the event runs from 10 AM to 2 PM.

The volunteers do the heavy lifting; most of what’s involved is laying out the tools, which we’ve purchased with grants, plus we’ll have some on loan. We’ll be making improvements to the entrance of the off-leash area terracing the slope along the east side of the park with materials already on site – the terraces will be planted later in the month by a smaller crew of volunteers.

Email Craig at catzero9@yahoo.com if you can help out.

* * *

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities are hosting a Jefferson Park construction update meeting, 6pm, Tuesday, September 8th, at the Jefferson Park Community Center.

At the meeting learn about funding through the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program that the city intends to apply for and get an update on the construction at Jefferson Park.

The first part of the meeting will be dedicated to Jefferson Park construction update and the second half will discuss the application for federal and state funding.

All emphasis is mine.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: foster fashion, home values, and music at the park

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Neighbors on 12th Avenue South enjoyed the Night Out block party last Tuesday. Photo by Bridget Christian.
Neighbors on 12th Avenue South enjoyed the Night Out block party last Tuesday. Photo by Bridget Christian.
Neighbor Brook writes with an interesting observation about Beacon Hill real estate prices on Zillow:

“Every other neighborhood I’ve checked has followed pretty much the same curve, but North Beacon Hill and Columbia City each have unique curves. They’ve settled into a flatter line where average house values are now just above values in Greenwood. The other exception about North Beacon Hill is that it flattened out in 2006. Maybe the start of the subprime meltdown was felt in the neighborhood first, or maybe it was buyers getting scared away by the giant blue walls, but either way we were spared the last gasp of superheated speculation. Either way, it totally bucked the trend.”

What does this mean? Perhaps the beginning of the much-heralded light rail-powered price increase? We don’t know, but it’s interesting.

***

The cat adoptathon we mentioned the other day was a success! We’re told there were 15 kitties adopted. If you missed your chance to bring home a kitty, there will be another adoptathon on October 10 from noon to 3:00 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.

***

Project Treehouse will feature local celebrities escorting 14 specially-styled foster kids down the runway on Wednesday, August 12, from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Treehouse, 2100 24th Avenue South. The event is aimed at raising awareness for Treehouse’s free Wearhouse store which serves nearly 3,000 foster kids every year by providing them with new and like-new clothing, school supplies, and other things that kids need.
 

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The Rainier Valley Post has some great pictures of last Saturday’s Jose Rizal Music and Arts Festival at Jose Rizal Park. We were unable to be there, but it looks like everyone had a good time and enjoyed some great music!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits, Necessities of Life edition: Food, clothing, and cool, cool desserts

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Halo-halo. Photo by Bing Ramos.
Halo-halo. Photo by Bing Ramos.
Jesse Vernon at Slog writes about halo-halo, a cool and sweet Filipino dessert that’s especially tasty on warm days like today. Beacon Hill may not have a trendy ice cream shop (yet), but we do have halo-halo, at Inay’s and at Kusina Filipina!

* * *

The Marination Hawaiian/Korean taco truck (yes, seriously) has begun a regular Thursday lunch residency at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, from 11am – 2pm. (Next week’s lunch is only until 1:30, though.)

* * *

In the hubbub over Link’s opening day on July 18, we missed one other local opening: big-box discount retail has come to Southeast Seattle in the form of a Ross store on Rainier Avenue South, in the former Longs Drugs next to Safeway, 3820 Rainier Avenue South. MyraMyra at the Rainier Valley Post wrote about her visit and suggested some tips for a good Ross shopping experience (hint: it’s no Nordstrom). Ross sells discounted clothing, shoes, and various household goods.

Local Events

Festival to bring music to Rizal Park August 8

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Soon the sound of music will surround this sign. Photo by Bridget Christian in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Soon the sound of music will surround this sign. Photo by Bridget Christian in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The First Annual Rizal Park Music Festival will be held at Jose Rizal Park on August 8, from noon-8:00 pm.

The festival will showcase local talent in music and fine arts, as well as promoting the Dr. Jose Rizal Park and Bridge, both named after a Filipino national hero. It will also benefit the Rizal Park Preservation Society and the Zenaida Guerzon Foundation (read more about Zenaida Guerzon, a former Franklin High School teacher and Filipino community leader, here).

The event will be a family-friendly event with kids’ activities. Food vendors will be there, art and dance will be exhibited, and there will be music from bands and artists including Angelo Pizarro, Network, NewWave, EnRoute, and more.

Volunteers are welcomed; see the website for further information.

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.
Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Chekhov, snakes, and liquor

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Volunteers are building a better home for snakes like these in Jose Rizal park. Photo by benketaro.
Volunteers are building a better home for snakes like these in Jose Rizal park. Photo by benketaro.
  • Performances of Anton Chekhov’s The Lost Highway are tonight (June 6) and next Thursday through Saturday, June 11-13, at 8:00 pm. The venue is Art’s on Beacon Hill, 4951 13th Avenue South. (Thanks to Audrey Chesnutt for letting us know.)
  • Craig Thompson reports that, as part of today’s Seattle Works Day event, a team of folks was to help build a herpetarium (an environment for garter snakes) near the northwest side of the off-leash area at Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Additionally, volunteers picked up rocks and debris in the off-leash area to make it easier for Seattle Parks and Recreation to mow the meadow. (Garter snakes are not poisonous, so have no fear of the snakes!)
  • Inay’s beer/spirits/wine application has been approved. Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine is at 2503 Beacon Avenue South and the food is quite tasty. In other liquor license news, two local businesses have liquor license renewals coming up on August 30: Thai Recipe at 2609 South McClellan Street and Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine at 2007 South State Street. If you have comments or concerns about either of these renewals, send them to John McGoodwin at john.mcgoodwin@seattle.gov. (Thanks to Shelly Bates for the report.)
  • Can’t wait to see the inside of the Beacon Hill light rail station? Sound Transit has posted a photo of the recently-installed artwork inside the underground station. A couple of weeks before that, they posted a photo of air-flow testing within the station.
Clean and Green, Life on the Hill

Neighbors bearish at BAN meeting

Perhaps the bear pictured on this Beacon Hill bus shelter is the legendary Beacon Hill Bear. Photo posted by Kim from Seattle Daily Photo to the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool on Flickr. See more of her wonderful photos at seattle-daily-photo.blogspot.com.
Perhaps the bear pictured on this Beacon Hill bus shelter is the legendary Beacon Hill Bear. Photo posted by Kim from Seattle Daily Photo to the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool on Flickr. See more of her wonderful photos at seattle-daily-photo.blogspot.com.
Craig Thompson sends a report from last night’s meeting of the Beacon Alliance of Neighbors (BAN). Here are some of the highlights:

At last night’s BAN meeting, four neighborhood project coordinators decided that whenever we call 911 about crime, etc., we will indicate a bear is part of the action. An all purpose report would go something like:

Fourteen youths have been jumped by a bear making gang signs off campus, near Cleveland High. The bear was later reported pushing a Goodwill shopping cart, and carrying a gas can, while approaching drivers at the Shell station. A bear – identity unclear – was then spotted traversing several backyards, carrying a cash register and an application for a
liquor license. A bear – presumably an ursa minor – was spotted in possession of several cans of Old English 800, Red Bull, and acrylic enamel. Near evening, a bear accosted several residents about free burglar alarm equipment while stealing their potted plants.

80 significant trees in the woods south of Dr. Jose Rizal Park were saved from ivy infestations by two EarthCorps crews this past Tuesday, May 19; a crew will return on June 8 to continue heading south along the west side of Beacon Hill.
Continue reading Neighbors bearish at BAN meeting →

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Bigger, craftier, and busking

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More room at El Quetzal
More room at El Quetzal
Clean and Green

Volunteers clean up and replant Jose Rizal Park

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Volunteers were at Jose Rizal Park this weekend to kick off the MLK Weekend of Service by doing some needed cleaning and maintenance in the park. According to Elizabeth White of EarthCorps, who managed the project, 86 volunteers removed 6,000 square feet of new ivy, maintained 48,421 square feet of past work sites (more than an acre!), and planted 325 native plants. Wow! Thanks to all of the dedicated volunteers for their hard work in improving one of the neighborhood’s jewels!

History of the Hill, Photos

Viewing Seattle from Beacon Hill, then and now

It’s interesting that, when searching for pictures of “Beacon Hill, Seattle” online, you get a ton of pictures of the downtown skyline, from Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Frequently, our neighborhood gets defined by what it’s close to, rather than what it is. But we have to admit that the view from Rizal Park is pretty darned awesome. The view has changed over the years, of course. Here’s the view from the park, in 1986:

1986 Seattle skyline from Beacon Hill. Photo by Robert Ashworth -- thanks!
Seattle skyline from Beacon Hill, 1986. Photo by Robert Ashworth -- thanks!
And here’s the same view, from late last month:
Seattle skyline from Beacon Hill, 2008. Photo by Bridget C -- thanks, Bridget!
Seattle skyline from Beacon Hill, 2008. Photo by Bridget C in the Beacon Hill Blog Flickr photo pool. Thanks, Bridget!
Back in 1986 Downtown Seattle seemed pretty built-up to me (and probably to the folks who supported the CAP growth limitation ordinance), but in comparison to the modern pic, it looks like Podunk-ville.

(The new picture is from the Beacon Hill Blog Flickr photo pool. There are quite a few great pics in there — why not add yours?)