Tag Archives: library

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Changes, charity, and a kind neighbor

It’s been a while since we posted Beacon Bits, so we’ve got some catching up to do. With no further ado, here goes!

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Beacon Hill International Elementary School will have a new principal in the fall of 2011. The current principal, Dr. Susie Murphy, is retiring and will be replaced by Kelly Aramaki, currently the principal at John Stanford International School (JSIS). While at JSIS last year, Aramaki won the $25,000 Milken Educator Award, given to promising young educators. (See this article by BHB news partners The Seattle Times for more information.) For the last two years, JSIS was named as a “School of Distinction” by the State Office of the Superintendent, an honor to mark schools that score in the top five percent on standardized math and reading tests.

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Bounce your way down to Jefferson Community Center on Friday, April 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for Bounce Fest! The event promises a family fun event with bounce toys, jumping games, double dutch and more. Admission is $2 per child. Jefferson Community Center is located at 3801 Beacon Avenue South.

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Speaking of festivals, plan ahead for El Centro de la Raza’s Sixth Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration, to be held on Thursday, May 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at El Centro, 2524 16th Avenue South. The event will include traditional Mexican foods for sale, children’s activities, arts and crafts from local vendors, a health and services fair, and dance and musical performances. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. For more information, call 206-957-4649 or email events@elcentrodelaraza.org.

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Don’t forget, the Beacon Hill Festival still needs volunteers!

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Beacon Hill artists are among those participating in Artists For Japan, an art sale to benefit relief efforts in Japan. The sale is on Saturday, March 26 from 12 noon to 8 p.m., and again on Sunday, March 27 from 12 noon until 5 p.m. All artwork has been donated, no commissions are being paid, and all event costs are donated. All funds raised will be donated directly to the International Red Cross.

The benefit sale is just down the hill at KOBO at HIGO, 604 South Jackson Street.

For more information including a list of participating artists, see the website. (Thanks to Beacon Hill artist Elizabeth Jameson for sending us the heads-up on this one, and for helping to organize the event.)

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Your opinions are wanted! Seattle Parks and Recreation is planning for the future by updating the Parks and Recreation Development Plan. Part of this process is identifying what should be prioritized, with the input of park users. To do this, the department is holding meetings, and hosting an online survey to get your opinions.

Mea culpa, we missed that there was a meeting right here on Beacon Hill on Wednesday. But there is another, in the North End, next Wednesday evening at Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Avenue North. For more information about the meeting and an overview of the process, see the website.

Even if you can’t get to a meeting, fill out the survey here.

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Did you notice that the Seattle Public Library will now let you pay your fines and fees online?

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VintageSeattle.org recently did their own “past and present” photo post about the current Fire Station #13, our 1928 landmark station near Jefferson Park. It’s a nice parallel to the post we did last fall about the previous incarnation of Fire Station #13.

We also wanted to mention a nice post from the SDOT Blog last month, about the new northwest extension to the Chief Sealth Trail.

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El Centro de la Raza is offering Spanish classes again from April 12 until June 9. Classes are taught by professional native Spanish speakers in an
interactive community-based setting. Class fee is $300, and class sessions will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. For information, call 206-957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org.

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Last, a nice and neighborly story from Jessica De Barros we’ve been meaning to post since last month:

Just wanted to share a good BH neighbor story—this morning I accidentally left my bank card in the BofA cash machine on Beacon Ave, and returned from a long day of skiing to a Facebook message from John at Kabayan Karinderya (the Filipino restaurant across from Valero) that he’d found my card. I was able to walk just a few blocks to get it from a good neighbor! Kudos to John and Kabayan Karinderya for being such great BH neighbors.

The Beaconettes prepare to board Link for the Light Rail/Dark Rail performance on Saturday, March 5. Photo by Dan Bennett in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Opinion

Opinion: Service Center should become community information space

The Neighborhood Service Center in the Library is closing -- but could it continue to be a neighborhood resource? Photo by go-team in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
As the saying goes, “When one door closes, another opens.”

As part of budget cuts within the Department of Neighborhoods, North Beacon Hill is losing our Community Service Center in the Beacon Hill Library. Steve Louie is moving to the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center. He will work in coordination with three other District Coordinators to serve the Southeast, Greater Duwamish, Delridge, and Southwest Districts as a team.

The North Beacon Hill Neighborhood Council voted unanimously last Wednesday to request that the recently vacated office become a volunteer-run information sharing space. The location is accessible, highly visible, and already identified as a gathering/information space in the community. A community audit showed strong interest in maintaining a space for information sharing, meetings, assistance with grant applications, and general liaisons between neighbors and city programs.

The space would be shared with staff from City agencies such as the Department of Neighborhoods, Department of Planning and Development, etc. Volunteers from a variety of community organizations (including the NBHC, Beacon Arts, Beacon Merchants Association, and others) would staff the space.

Please contact the Mayor’s office and city council members to support the idea of maintaining a publicly accessible space to share information and stay connected with what’s happening in Beacon Hill and the rest of the city.

You can write, call, email, tweet, or post on facebook. Our elected officials are accessible—access them and let them know that Beacon Hill wants to use this space!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: A troubled landmark

This iconic Beacon Hill landmark is a "troubled building," unable to find a new tenant despite the best views in town. Photo by Wendi.
The Seattle Times (Beacon Hill Blog news partner) reports that the PacMed/Amazon landmark building at the north tip of Beacon Hill is a “troubled property.” No replacement for primary tenant Amazon has yet been found, though the building has been on the market for almost three years.

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The Seattle Public Library is raising fines and fees starting on Monday, November 1. Among the changes:

  • The daily fine for an overdue book, CD, or DVD will change from 15 cents a day to 25 cents a day.
  • The daily fine for an overdue interlibrary loan will change from 25 cents a day to $1 a day.

Also, all accounts with a balance of $25 will be sent to a collection agency, including accounts for children and teens.

You can find out more about the fee and fine increases at the library website.

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“Drawing the Land,” by Elizabeth Conner, is the newest and perhaps largest work of public art on Beacon Hill — Beacon Hill Public Art

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Angela Garbes of Seattle Weekly‘s Voracious blog notes a recent addition to MacPherson’s Fruit and Produce market (4500 15th Avenue South): day-old breads from Essential Baking Company. Yum!

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The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and City Neighborhood Council (CNC) are currently seeking input from community groups throughout Seattle as a way to find out how to support the evolution of the Neighborhood District Council system as a key avenue for civic participation in Seattle.

Please take this survey if you are interested in Seattle neighborhoods, and spread the word to anyone else who may be interested in helping strengthen civic engagement in our city. The survey will be open until November 14.

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We see on Craigslist that Salon Nouveau (2805 Beacon Avenue South) has a job opening for a salon coordinator. More information here.

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A couple of upcoming events to be aware of:

  • Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson will host a Community Coffee Chat for parents, grandparents and caregivers of SPS students on Monday, November 1 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at Asa Mercer Middle School, 1600 South Columbian Way.
  • El Centro’s Dia de los Muertos Opening Ceremony is Monday, November 1, at 5:30 pm. More information here.
  • Election Day is Tuesday! Get those ballots in the mail now!

Don’t forget to check our Events page for other upcoming events!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Police, playground, and planting

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Click this to see a larger version of the event poster.
This Saturday you can meet your local police officers, tour the precinct building, and enjoy music, dancing, and free food at this year’s Picnic at the Precinct. All South Precinct residents are invited to this free community event, which will be held from 1:00 – 4:00 pm in the South Precinct parking lot, 3001 South Myrtle Street.

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Nearby in the South Beacon Hill area, Seattle Parks and Recreation will host a meeting for the Othello Playground Safety and Lighting Improvement project on Monday, September 20 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 South Myrtle Street.

At this meeting, the design team will present schematic designs for the project, based on information gathered at the first meeting in May and at the August Othello Park International Music and Art Festival.

For more information, please contact Rick Nishi, Parks and Green Spaces Levy Manager at 206-733-9319 or at rick.nishi@seattle.gov, or visit the project website.

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The Beacon Hill branch of the Seattle Public Library will host a special story time for children on Saturday, October 2 at 3:30 pm featuring an actor in costume as the television character Kai-lan from Ni Hao, Kai-lan. The story time is free and registration is not required. Kai-lan will read from one of her Mandarin Chinese/English bilingual books, and giveaways and photo opportunities will be available. The story time is presented in partnership with the Seattle Theatre Group in promotion of the upcoming stage show Storytime Live! at the Paramount Theatre.

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Neighbor Julie writes, “This very friendly cat appeared at our door last night (9/8/10). It is a small, black and white, with an interesting tail. We live in the 19th Ave S. and Horton neighborhood. Please call Julie at 206-999-9231 to claim it.”

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You still have time to submit an application with the Seattle Releaf “Trees for Neighborhoods” program. The application deadline has been extended to October 4 for the program, in which participants receive free trees, training, and some supplies to get started caring for their trees. Trees may be planted along the street or in your yard. To find out more and to get your application, check out the website.

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Another way to help green-up your neighborhood is coming on October 10, with a Maple School Natural Area Invasive Species Removal and Native Planting work party. The work party is from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by a social party until 6:00 pm. All you need to bring is yourself—refreshments, tools, and gloves will be provided.

The Maple School Natural Area is located at 20th Avenue South and South Lucile Street, near Cleveland High School. You can find out more about the event and RSVP at the website.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Public access, opinions, and porketarians

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Workers building the Beacon Hill Reservoir in 1911, as shown in an article in Engineering and Contracting magazine.
We recently stumbled on a 1912 article in Engineering and Contracting magazine, “Methods Employed in Constructing the Beacon Hill Reservoir, Seattle, Wash., with Data on Labor Required.” It’s a bit technical but some of you might find the details of how the Jefferson Park reservoirs were built to be interesting. Among other details, the article describes how cement, sand, and gravel were bought to the reservoir site by a tramway that carried the supplies up Spokane Street from the bottom of the hill.

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Want to be a TV producer? Seattle’s public access TV station, SCANTV (Comcast 77/Broadstripe 23) is holding an orientation session on Beacon Hill for those interested in producing programs for SCANTV. The orientation is Wednesday, August 25, from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South. It is free and open to all, but you need to register in advance by contacting Rita Meher, Community Media Educator, at ritam@scantv.org or 206-522-4758 x104.

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A neighbor tweeted us, concerned about seeing a “creepy older white male in black parked jaguar on street w/kids”. Be careful out there, everyone.

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Photo of the Beacon Hill Library by go-team in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The Seattle Public Library recently released the results of their recent Community Survey. 33,000 people completed the survey in May, and SPL points out that that is a number equal to 5% of the city’s population. Of those who responded to the survey, 4.4% said that they visit the Beacon Hill branch regularly, and 0.9% visit the NewHolly branch regularly. Beaconians make a bit less use of the “hold” service than average; holds are just over 20% of the total circulation of the branch, as compared to 25% for the system overall (and 34% at Wallingford).

The survey asked questions such as “If you had $10 to invest in Library resources, how much would you spend on each of the following? Books and Other Print Resources, Audio-Visual Resources, Online Resources” and “When would you like the Library to offer programming?” The results are interesting. You can download the whole report here.

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Speaking of studies, Knowledge as Power, a non-profit based in Seattle, is running a usability study about the seattle.gov city website. They need participants from Beacon Hill who are willing to sit in a room and let them take notes as you browse for information on seattle.gov. Participants will get $20 in Tippr credit. (Tippr.com is a local “neighborhood deal” company similar to Groupon or LivingSocial.)

They are currently seeking two specific groups of people for the survey: 1) People who use or have used seattle.gov for a business purpose and 2) Ordinary citizens at every level of computer competency. If you are interested, you can sign up here.

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The Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club will host the US National Lawn Bowling Championships here in Seattle in August 2011, so they are hosting a Swine and Wine Sunset Dinner at the Greens fundraiser for the championships on Saturday, September 4, from 6:00 – 10:00pm. Guest chef (and Beacon Hill neighbor) Nick Musser from icon Grill will prepare a 4-course “porketarian” dinner “paired with wines, the best sunset in the city, and a side of lawn bowling.”

The event is at the Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club, 4103 Beacon Avenue South. Tickets are $75.00 per person if you buy before August 21 ($40 of which is a tax deductible donation), but the price goes up to $85 afterward. Tickets are available online from Brown Paper Tickets. More info at the seattlebowls.org website.

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Neighbor Leslie writes,

“I live two doors down from where the family was burned out of their house on 17th. Today I went to the bank to try to contribute money to their fund, and it was extremely difficult. So difficult I doubt that many people have been able to do it. Apparently the information in the paper/blog is only partly right. First of all, the account name is Alexandra Sarmiento, not Urrea. But even more unfortunately, without a published account number, because a trust or charitable account was not set up, it isn’t actually possible to contribute money to the family’s account. I was able to do it only because I spent so much time at the bank that they took pity on me.”

We apologize for the mistaken information. If donating through Chase won’t work, our understanding is that donations can also be made via the KOMO Problem Solvers fund, but when you give, you need to say in the instructions that your donation is for the Sarmiento/Urrea family.

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A trivial note, but… we noticed today that Google Maps has a new satellite view of North Beacon Hill. The old one, until recently, still featured a giant hole in the ground surrounded by a construction site at Beacon and Lander. The new one shows both the light rail station and the Lander Festival street completed. It looks as if the satellite was flying over our heads earlier this summer or late spring.

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.

Meetings

Library hosting “citywide conversation” at Beacon Hill branch

The Beacon Hill Library. Photo by go-team in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
(This post was originally published February 24.) The Seattle Public Library is holding five “Citywide Conversations” in March to find out what people want from Library services now and in the future. The City Librarian, Susan Hildreth, and members of the Library board of trustees will visit Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Avenue South) on Tuesday, March 16 (that’s tonight!) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm to ask questions such as “What’s one thing you wish the Library could provide, or change? What’s the role of the Library in our community? What should the Library be doing in five to 10 years? How should the Library be using new technology?” You can drop in any time during the two-hour session to give your opinion.

The Citywide Conversations are part of a year-long process to develop a strategic plan to guide the Library’s growth and services through 2015.

For more information, visit the Library’s Strategic Planning page.

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: Anime, biking in Portland, local remixes

Anime collection photo by Paul Fisk (CC BY-SA)
There is an Anime Club event at the Beacon Hill library on the second Tuesday of each month (that’s tonight!) from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The club is free and open to all, with no registration required. Each month there will be new anime episodes along with old favorites, and guests will also enjoy new manga comics and Japanese snacks.

The Beacon Hill Branch is located at 2821 Beacon Avenue South, a block south of Beacon Hill Station. There is a free parking lot behind the building. For more information, call the branch at 206-684-4711.

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Beacon Hill neighbor Willie Weir of Yellow Tent Adventures, along with his partner Kat Marriner, recently did a “week-long, fully-loaded bike trip within the city limits of Portland. We’re talking tent, stove, sleeping bags. No reservations. No hotels. An urban adventure at its frugal finest!” Willie will discuss the trip in a lecture, “Portland: An Urban Adventure,” tonight at 7:00 pm at REI, 222 Yale Avenue North. More information on Facebook (login required), or see the REI page. (The REI page has conflicting information about the event’s cost — it’s either free or $5.00.)

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Two nice shots of the downtown cityscape view from the PacMed/Amazon building were recently tweeted by MarkPrivett and lassielas.

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Two remixes of Helladope’s “Just So You Know” by Blue Scholars’ Sabzi, including the “Beacon Hill Slumlord” mix. — Matson on Music, the Seattle Times

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Antennas, art, and advice

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A Land Use Application has been filed by Clearwire to mount three panel antennas and a microwave dish antenna on the Seattle City Light transmission tower and install supporting communications equipment at grade within the foot print of the transmission tower at “4999 P BEACON AVE S”.

Comments may be submitted through January 20th.

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The bust of Dr. Jose Rizal on the north tip of Beacon Hill (in the park of the same name) is one of many around the world. The one in Washington, D.C. has gone missing.

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Art galleries on Beacon Hill have been few and far between, but Klara Glosova wants to change that. In November, she opened her house in North Beacon for one night as an experimental gallery space, the home_page.project. The current issue of City Arts has an article about Glosova and the home_page.project, and you can see a slide show here.

Glosova is putting together another open house; you can keep up with the plans at the home_page.project page.

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Free healthcare counseling sessions will be held from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm on the first Thursday of every month at the Beacon Hill Library branch, starting Thursday, February 4. The sessions are open to all, with no registration required. A volunteer counselor, who speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English, will provide one-on-one counseling on topics such as healthcare options, medical billing and Medicare.

The library is located at 2821 Beacon Avenue South, at the corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Forest Street. It is one block south of Beacon Hill Station, and right on the #36 bus line. There is free parking in the lot behind the building. For more information, call the branch at 206-684-4711.

Thanks to the Seattle Medium for this notice..

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Lastly, something I’m sorry we didn’t know about in time to see or promote — ’30s jazz and art inspired by classic cars? Sounds like a fun time. Here’s how the event went.

NAMSAYIN tweeted:

What happens when a guy from Beacon Hill combines art and classic cars together? You get this…