Beacon Bazaar, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Beacon Hill International School, 2025 14th Ave. S. A family-friendly event where you will find arts, crafts, clothing, plants, and various and sundry other treasures for sale.
Lewis Park work party, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Lewis Park, 12th Ave S and Golf Dr S. Come help plant native plants or do other chores in the restoration of the park. Tools, gloves, water and refreshments are provided.
Next Thursday, April 7, a Beacon Hill neighborhood mixer will take place at The Station, 2533 16th Ave. S. Photo by Wendi.Don’t forget to check the BHB Events page for information on events this weekend and beyond, including this month’s Maple School Natural Area volunteer work party today at 10 a.m., Beacon Rocks! performer auditions tonight at 8 p.m., a Lewis Park work party tomorrow at 9 a.m., and a ROCKiT space swing dance party at the Garden House on Tuesday night at 7:30.
We also want to give some advance notice of two Thursday evening events scheduled for April 7. At 5:30 p.m., neighbor Tess Martin will be hosting a neighborhood mixer at The Station, 2533 16th Ave. S. All are welcome. Come meet your neighbors and enjoy an extended Happy Hour or just some coffee. Then at 7 p.m., head over to the Beacon Hill Library a couple of blocks away for the monthly meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council. Stay tuned to the blog for information on this month’s NBHC meeting agenda.
This fire truck at Beacon Hill's Fire Station #13 is festively attired for the holiday season. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.Neighbor Peter heard sirens last week, and managed to get outside and some photos of a house fire in a boarded-up house on 25th Avenue South, behind QFC. See the photos here.
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News from El Centro de la Raza tells us that Mayor Mike McGinn will be joining them for their Holiday Latino Hot Meal tomorrow, Wednesday, December 22 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the shirts will be re-released at Deli Seattle, 1307 First Avenue. They will have men’s and women’s shirts, as well as onesies for babies this time. Sizes are limited, and the shirts are very cool, so if you want one, don’t let it get away this time.
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Do you have an interest in Pacific Northwest ecology? Do you like to share what you know with others? Are you over 18 years of age? Are you looking for a meaningful volunteer experience? You may be interested in the Seward Park Audubon and Environmental Center Master Urban Naturalist program. The program provides free naturalist training workshops and certification in exchange for 10 hours of donated service and completion of a final project or presentation. More information here.
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The newly-revitalized ROCKiT space has a few things going on that you might want to know about.
Need a good place to wrap Christmas gifts, or want someone to wrap them for you? You can wrap your gifts at ROCKiT space, where your loved ones won’t see what you’re up to. DIY gift-wrapping is $5/day site use fee, plus a $2 supply fee. All materials are supplied. Bring your own wrap and they will waive the supply fee.
If you’re a wrapping klutz or just don’t have time, you can also drop off gifts, and they will wrap them for you to pick up later. The fee is $2 each for small packages, and $5 each for large packages.
On Tuesday, December 28 at 7:00 pm, ROCKiT space is hosting a Tuesday Folk Club with two old time/country bands: Red Dog and Dram County. The minimum donation is $7 at the door or $5 in advance. Tickets are available at Rockit Space during business hours.
The Tots Jam with Suzanne Sumi is continuing on Wednesdays, from 9:00 – 11:00 am , but there is no session on December 29.
The Department of Planning and Development has approved an application to subdivide a site at 4010 14th Avenue South into five unit lots for the purpose of allowing sale or lease of the lots. The property will continue to be zoned for duplex multifamily development. Read the decision here.
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There is at least one place to ring in the New Year nearby. The new St. Dames restaurant at Columbia City Station is hosting a party on New Year’s Eve, starting at 10:00 pm. The event will include appetizers, dessert and a champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Make reservations by calling 206-725-8879. St. Dames is located at 4525 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.
Do you know of any other Beacon Hill places that are open for New Year’s? Let us know!
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Gage Academy of Art is offering free drop in art classes for teens aged 13-18 in the Rainier Valley. Classes are on Saturdays at The 2100 Building, 2100 24th Avenue South.
Classes will be from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. For more information, call 206-323-GAGE. Art materials and pizza will be provided.
On December 6, the Levy Citizens Oversight Committee gave their final recommendations for Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund grant projects. Two North Beacon Hill projects made the final list, which will go to the City Council for approval in March.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Dee Dunbar, Vinh Nguyen, and the other Friends of Lewis Park, Lewis Park has been recommended for an Opportunity Fund grant for $260,000. These funds will be used to pay professional crews to take care of the steep slopes which are inaccessible to volunteers, as well as restoration of native plants and trees.
Santos Rodriguez Park at El Centro de la Raza, in the snow. Photo by Joe Mabel via Wikimedia Commons.El Centro de la Raza was also recommended for a $350,000 grant for Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park on the west side of the El Centro building, to revitalize the park and increase public awareness and access to the park space. This grant would be conditional, requiring improvements in public access; the recommendation reads: “Must provide public access during non-childcare program hours. Entrances/access should be provided to make the site clearly open to the public and gates must be unlocked during non- school/program hours.”
In the Jefferson Park Playground. Photo by go-team in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.A nice view nearby from Amy Watson’s new office (via Twitter).
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The Seattle Public Utilities advisory committees for Solid Waste and Water Systems are both seeking south-end volunteers. Apply before November 17th for the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and before November 30 for the Water Systems Advisory Committee.
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UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors), a broadband equality group working for central and southeast Seattle neighborhoods, hosts its third quarter meeting with Broadstripe, Reclaim the Media, and city representatives at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South, on Tuesday, November 16 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.
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The Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club can do a bit of bragging: member Jeff Covell was part of the team that achieved a first place win at the 2010 USLBA National Lawn Bowling Championships in Sun City, Arizona.
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The November episode of UW 360 on UWTV features Beacon Hill’s “Fisher House,” a residence for families of veterans being treated at the VA hospital nearby.
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Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen will be at the Beacon Hill library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South, on Saturday the 13th from 1:00 to 2:30pm to speak “informal[ly] yet meaningful[ly] about our city” with residents. He’d “like to hear people’s thoughts regarding next year’s budget, transportation issues, as well as other topics relevant to Seattleites.â€
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United Way of King County is looking for tax preparation volunteers to help weekly at El Centro de la Raza. No experience is necessary and training will be provided. Spanish speakers are especially sought.
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David Schmader at The Stranger loves on Inay’s drag night. And note the remark near the end of the article: “Ernie is open to eventually hosting shows all weekend, but for now his plate is full with food. He’s joining forces with Luis Rodriguez (owner of new and already beloved Beacon Hill coffeehouse the Station) to open Taqueria Frida, situated on the same block as Inay’s and scheduled for a November opening. And he’s in perpetual talks with his friend Dave Nakamura—aka Super Dave, the sushi-chef superhero—to ‘give Beacon Hill the sushi restaurant it deserves.'”
A couple of land use applications were recently filed: Rubberized track, lighting, parking, and a synthetic playing surface for Jefferson Playfield, and Clearwire antennas and microwave dishes to be installed atop a building at 15th and Bayview.
It's that time of year again -- time for all little ghosties to celebrate Halloween! Photo by Paul Sapiano via Creative Commons.Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting Halloween events for kids at our local community centers on Beacon Hill.
Jefferson Community Center will have a Halloween Howl and Carnival on Friday, October 22 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, with games, goodies, prizes, a haunted house, and more. Costumes are optional, but encouraged, and the event is for children of all ages. Admission is free but carnival tickets are 25 cents each. The JCC is also holding a Toddler Trick-or-Treat day on Thursday, October 21 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. The little ones can dress up, play games, then enjoy “tot time” in the gym. The toddler event is $2 per child. For more information, call 206-684-7481. Jefferson Community Center is located at 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
Van Asselt Community Center is hosting a Fall Harvest Festival for kids up to age 12 on Friday, October 29, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. They tell us it’s a “safe evening of games and goodies.” Kids can celebrate by wearing costumes and bringing a goodie bag or basket (optional). There is no fee for the event. Van Asselt Community Center is located at 2820 South Myrtle Street. For more information, call 206-386-1921.
Performances are every Friday night at 7:30 pm. Families are welcome. There is no cover charge. The first performance is October 22, with Jack LeNoir and Betty Jean playing jazz standards, eclectic rock and original music.
Sustainable South Seattle (S3) is hosting a Climate Co-op Workshop to share ideas about how we can work together as a community to save money, improve our neighborhood and do our part to take care of the planet for our children. Guest Speakers at the workshop include Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith, Brooks Kolb, Michael Murphy, and others.
The forum is on Wednesday, October 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Southside Commons, 3518 South Edmunds Street in Columbia City, just a block and a half away from Columbia City Station. Please RSVP to climate.coop@gmail.com. If you need language assistance please say which language within the email. Childcare will be available.
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The NAMSAYIN Beacon Hill shirts sold out on Sunday at Deli. You can see some of the happy buyers here, including BHB‘s own Jason. Stay tuned to the blog for some shirt giveaways, once we come up with a good contest idea or two!
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Laura Feinstein writes,
I’m hoping you will post a request to our south end neighbors to consider applying for a position on one of the citizen advisory committees that that city hosts. I am a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee and I am the only member from the south end of Seattle (south of I-90). Our part of the city is very under-represented. This is a way to weigh-in on key city decisions.
Application information is here and if you miss the October 15 deadline, send your application anyway… they will likely consider late applications.
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Speaking of civic responsibility, ballots for the General Election should be arriving in your mailbox any day now. Please vote thoughtfully, and don’t forget to mail the ballot in before it’s too late! Nice shoes! Photo by Theresa Thompson via Creative Commons.
Last week, Laura Onstot of the Seattle Weekly’s Voracious food blog visited Beacon Hill’s Despi Delite Bakery on the way to the airport on Link, and posted about her experience there.
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The new crosswalk on Beacon Avenue in front of the library is now complete and functional. When pedestrians pass between the sensors on either side of the street, flashing lights activate in the crosswalk to alert drivers.
The lights do not seem terribly bright; they are invisible during bright daylight and even in the evening, not as bright as we expected. But they should help make evening and nighttime pedestrians a bit more safe at that intersection.
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Neighbor Ray writes: “I found this guy this morning wandering and looking lost at the corner of S. Oregon and 10th Ave. S. He has no tags and no chip. I can be reached at 206-349-3147.” Is this cute lost dog yours?
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Camp Fire groups are forming in the area, with activities for boys and girls aged 3 to Grade 12. Groups can be all boys, all girls or boys and girls together. Parents decide where, when and how often to meet. For more information contact Janelle Kitson at 206-826-8910 or by email at janellek@campfire-usa.org.
As the City Council works to balance the city’s 2011-2012 budget, they are seeking input from residents to develop a budget that best reflects the needs of the city. To do this, the Council is inviting everyone to participate in this year’s budget process in one of the following ways:
Attend one of three public hearings. The dates and locations are listed here. Unfortunately, none of the meetings are in Southeast Seattle, but there is one in West Seattle at SCCC, and one at Seattle City Hall.
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The Beacon Hill P-Patch needs volunteers on October 2 for a clean-up work party. Volunteers will weed and aid in brush removal in the upper slope of the P-Patch, and afterward gather for food, drinks, and socializing.
Nearly 800 freshmen and transfer students at Seattle Pacific University will be volunteering on Beacon Hill on Saturday, September 25 as part of SPU’s “CityQuest” program. From 10:30 am until 2:30 pm, SPU student and staff volunteers will be working on an orchard and a public garden at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, helping Operation Nightwatch with a community clean-up, and clearing out invasive plants at Lewis Park.
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Because of an all-staff meeting, all locations of the Seattle Public Library will open late on Thursday, September 30. All library locations will open at 1:00 pm that day.
People waiting for the library to open in the morning. On Thursday, September 30, library patrons will have to wait a bit longer because the library will open late. Photo by Jason.
Signs in the window of Sharon's Lutong Bahay, a Filipino restaurant just south of Beacon and Stevens, say that the restaurant's Grand Opening is this Friday, June 25. Photo by Wendi.Jerry Large of the Seattle Times (BHB news partners) featured Jeane Cook and Kim Nakamura in his column yesterday. Cook and Nakamura, who are both in their 90s, were honored by Beacon Hill International School (formerly Beacon Hill Elementary) for nearly 30 years of volunteer work at the school. Large also mentions that the BHIS Golden Acorn award for volunteers this year went to Pat Dederer, who has been helping at BHIS for 20 years. We here at the BHB would also like to express our gratitude to Cook, Nakamura, and Dederer for their service and contributions to the lives of Beacon Hill kids over the decades.
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You may have noticed some work near Jose Rizal Bridge this week. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is installing curb ramps in the intersection of 12th Avenue South and South Charles Street at the north end of the bridge. Crews plan to work until Thursday, from 7 am to 2:30 pm each day. They will close the western and then the eastern sidewalk and parking strip, one at a time, to complete the work.
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Speaking of construction work, work on the Chief Sealth Trail Extension project will probably start in late August. The project will take about three months. Afterward, the trail will extend northwestward from Beacon Avenue South northwest to South Angeline/15th Avenue South.
SDOT has completed its environmental review of the project per the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and determined that there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts as a result of the project. To see the DNS and other environmental documents as well as a map of the project, see the project web site.
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Verity Credit Union is hosting a community shred-a-thon on Saturday from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. At this event, community members who don’t have their own shredders can have the security of shredding their sensitive documents. There is a suggested minimum donation of $10 which will be donated directly to the Beacon Hill Food Bank. Verity is located at 1660 South Columbian Way, Building 35.
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Helping Link, or Má»™t Dấu Nối, is a non-profit group that provides tutoring, citizenship and English classes, and social services to the local Vietnamese community. They are having their annual fundraiser, the Seattle International Fashion Gala, this Saturday, June 26, at O’Asian Kitchen Restaurant. There will be an array of modern and traditional gowns premiered by fashion designers, Oscar Milano Mai and Chi Duyen, along with Asian cuisine.
Proceeds of ticket purchases will go towards the support of Helping Link’s community strengthening programs for Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. More information can be found on the website.
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The Bar del Corso pizzeria folks are holding a fundraiser on Sunday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm to help raise funds for the restaurant they plan to open on North Beacon Hill early next year. They say, “Jerry will be firing up the brick oven in our backyard garden, and making pizzas. With fava beans and garlic in season, we will be making some special pizzas with these ingredients, along with other classics.” The suggested donation is $100, but “the donation amount is suggested—pay what you can.” RSVP is required to info@bardelcorso.com (with RSVP in the subject line). They will send you a confirmation email with the details and the address of the party.
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Beacon Lutheran Church will be holding a Bible and Chinese Camp for children from ages 4 through 12 this summer, August 16-20. The program will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and will provide Bible lessons, singing, crafts, and games, as well as Chinese language and culture lessons. Snacks will be provided morning and afternoon, but each child should bring a sack lunch. For more information or to register, call Father Philip Wong, 253-277-1831 (in Chinese or English), or Eunice Graham, 206-323-0226 (English only).
New play equipment going in at Jefferson Park looks like a sculpture. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.ROCKiT space’s “open mic” Saturdays start tonight from 7 to 9pm. Free, donations welcome, snacks and drinks by donation. BYO beer/wine if desired.
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Beacon Hill and Kimball Elementary schools both had recent health inspections. (Kimball had some problems addressed before inspectors left.)
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United Way of King County is looking for volunteers to read books to kids, one-on-one, for just an hour a week. Increasing a child’s listening vocabulary can set them up for academic success. Readings would take place at United Way’s Beacon Hill location: The Refugee Women’s Alliance, 6230 Beacon Avenue South.
Jefferson Community Center is again offering the $2 Try It program, in which you can try a class or program once for only $2. Class dates are between January 4 and January 30, and classes include Zumba, Yoga, Pottery, Pilates, Pickleball, Badminton, Hapkido, Ballet, Hip Hop Dance, Cartoon Drawing, Instructional Basketball, Little Dribblers, Creative Dance, and Line Dancing. See the Winter class catalog here.
Thanks to Doreen Deaver for the info!
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Craig Thompson writes on the BAN list that many volunteers have been hard at work on Beacon Avenue and at Jose Rizal Park:
“Washington State Department of Corrections supervised a cleanup of street litter [Saturday] along Beacon Avenue and adjacent streets. Next week, WSDOC will continue cleanups of litter and trash in the East Duwamish Greenbelt, on the west side of Beacon Hill.
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“At Jose Rizal Park, 20 volunteers, EarthCorps crew members, and community court service workers cut blackberries and moved 300+ potted native plants into the woods; these will be planted on Saturday, January 16, in a large volunteer event (100 people expected) that will kick off the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend of volunteer work in Seattle. On Saturday, January 9, the community court service workers will return for a general cleanup.”
If pedestrian issues are your interest, you still have a day to apply for the city’s Pedestrian Advisory Board. Three volunteers are wanted for the board, which advises the Mayor and City Council, as well as participating in planning and policy activities relevant to pedestrians. The board meets on the second Wednesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at City Hall. Board members serve for two years, and must be Seattle residents who are not city employees. Those interested in serving should submit a resume and cover letter by Wednesday December 16 to brian.dougherty@seattle.gov. For more information, email Brian Dougherty, or call him at (206) 684-5124, or e-mail him at the address above.
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The International District Housing Alliance (IDHA) is a non-profit organization that provides housing services and community building to the Chinatown/International District and greater Seattle’s low-income, Asian Pacific Islander, immigrant and refugee communities, including many who live in Beacon Hill and surrounding neighborhoods. The IDHA is holding a Holiday Dinner on Wednesday, December 16 from 4:00 to 7:00 p,, and a Holiday Gift Drive until December 18. The dinner, at the Four Seas Restaurant in the International District, will help elderly neighbors celebrate the season with friends and family. Activities will include live entertainment, a six course Chinese banquet, a raffle, and door prizes. In the gift drive, CID elderly residents, youth and family clients send in gift requests, and Sound Transit and the University of Washington Law School help distribute gift requests and collect presents for participants. Presents will be wrapped and delivered between December 18-23. If you would like to donate to the holiday dinner, or to volunteer to wrap and/or deliver gifts, or you need information, contact Alma Dea Michelena at almadea@apialliance.org, or call 206-623-5132, extension 322.
