Sidewalk Repair on Thomas: trees could not be saved

My name is Lou Stubecki. I’m the Arboriculturist for SDOT Urban Forestry working on the sidewalk repair project in your neighborhood. We gave our best efforts, but unfortunately, we were only able to save 3 of the 15 trees involved in the sidewalk repair. We were lucky to have been able to move the sidewalk over at the park, otherwise we may have lost all of the trees. Removing 12 trees is a significant loss of canopy that is inconsistent with the City’s goals for increasing tree canopy. We would love to put trees back in the 1900 block of E Thomas St, but we can’t because the right of way has effectively been shortened from 12’ wide to 8’ wide due to property encroachment. We would like to find spots in the neighborhood where we can plant new trees, and I thought, with your intimate knowledge of the neighborhood, you would able to help me identify spots in need of trees. Please contact me and let me know if we could meet to look over some sights. I look forward to meeting you.

All Best,

Lou Stubecki

Arboriculturist

Certified Arborist /Certified Tree Risk Assessor #483

Seattle Department of Transportation-Urban Forestry

PO Box 34996

(206) 684-7570 office

(206) 423-1837 cell

lou.stubecki@seattle.com

Bilingual Students' Dance and Artwork Show on Saturday

The Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (the SBOC) is Seattle's and Miller community's own World School - home to middle and high school newcomer students from all over the world.  Sharing the Meany School with NOVA students, SBOC students are learning English and adjusting to their new country.  They bring with them wonderful traditions and each year students perform their traditional dances at the Folklife festival, and this Saturday, for their families, friends, and the larger SBOC community.

We invite the Miller community to the SBOC this Saturday for an informal presentation of multicultural dances, artwork by SBOC students, a show of 

fabulous photos from SBOC students' Club Photo (recently showcased at Seattle Symphony's Benaroya Hall) and a sale of students' art cards to raise funds for student scholarships.  We would love to share our wonderful school with our neighbors - come meet our students, staff, and friends of SBOC.

The dance program is Saturday, June 18th, from 12:30 - 2 -- come at 12:15 to see the art and check out our beautiful art cards. 

any questions:  890-8897 or 784-0843 

Madison Street neighbors in the news

Sunday, 5/22/11, Seattle Times Pacific Magazine "Then and Now" features a streetcar crash at 19th & Madison: the building involved, which now houses the Capitol Hill Alano Club and which recently suffered a fire, seemed little harmed by the collision and looks pretty similar today.

Monday 5/23/11 Seattle Times NW Monday has a big feature about 22nd & Madison fixture , and Central Area Chamber of Commerce Chair, DeCharlene Williams. She's also featured in this interesting book about race, basketball, gentrification and the Central Area (in which I get a cameo appearance).

Bonus (just south of us):  Seattle Times Pacific Magazine article about upcoming June 4th  Central Area Garden Tour.

SDOT working on sidewalk repairs at 21st Ave E and E Thomas; UPDATED

5/20/11: "Today SDOT crews poured sidewalk along the south side of Miller Playfield. 

Check out the hop scotch!"

From SDOT, about progress on the previously noted project in our neighborhood:

SDOT crews continued with breaking out sidewalk at 21^st Ave E and E Thomas. Two trees will be removed Wednesday by a contractor. One is at the NW corner of 21^st Ave E and E Thomas. The other is at the SW corner of 20^th Ave E and E Thomas. Three trees adjacent to Miller Park are being protected and will be root pruned and given more growing space as we are shifting the sidewalk two feet further and narrowing it to four feet.

I’ll provide updates as we know more. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Liz Ellis

SDOT Street Maintenance

Sidewalk Repair Program

206-233-2768

Liz.Ellis@Seattle.Gov

May 22nd Potluck celebration of René Soulard's life

Potluck celebration of René Soulard's life


Date: Sunday, May 22, 2011

Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Place: Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave E., Seattle, WA 98112.


What to bring: The organizers are trying to "seed" the potluck by requesting that different groups bring different categories of food. You are invited to bring salads and side dishes with serving utensils.

Buses: #12 stops outside Center, #8, 43 half a block away. 10, 11, 48 nearby.

Parking: Small lot off 19th just south of Center. Larger lot accessed from 20th: north on 19th, right on Republican, right on 20th.


Links: 

• Memorial website: pictures, writings, videos
• Obituary
• My CHS piece
• Documentary about Miller fountain: René featured throughout. The film (40') will be playing at the memorial.  Let me know if you'd like a copy of the DVD and I can make you one (or you can download it from Vimeo to your computer as an MP4 file). 

Video about fountain, neighborhood, René, volunteers

Dreaming in Stone: The Ron K. Bills Fountain at Miller Park from Andrew Taylor on Vimeo.

This 40 minute video was produced by Sidney Beaumont, a (then aspiring) video producer who stumbled upon the neighborhood and the fountain project early on. As I recall, the video was a training exercise for him and was a wonderful gift to our neighborhood. I rewatched it soon after learning of René's death, and saw what a great tribute and memorial to him it would be.  Took a while to get it together, but here it is.

More about René Soulard

(again from Debrah, René's neighbor)

A Memorial and Celebration of Rene's life will  be held on Sunday, May 22nd, at the Miller Community Center. I'm not sure of the time yet. Frank Chaffee has offered to coordinate that event and if you want to help, Andrew can forward E-mails to him (tayles@jps.net)

Rene's  obituary will be in the paper this Sunday and there is talk that a blog site may go up so people can better  exchange their thoughts about Rene and maybe post some favorite photo's. 

Several of you have asked for further details about Rene's passing and I just wrote to Pascal and Marie in France about that so I'll copy that note here. 

As almost everyone has said Rene's passing is pretty unbeliveable because in most ways Rene was so strong and healthy.  Never the less he had high blood pressure and things had been pretty tough for him for a while.  On Thursday night a friend spoke with him on the phone and his speech was slurred. Some time that night he had a massive stroke followed by a series of small ones. In the MRI there was a hemorrhage in his brain and blood work showed he had had a minor heart attack (probably caused from the strokes). When he collapsed he hit his head pretty hard as well. 

The neighbor who found him on Friday called emp's and he was helicoptered off Orcas Island to a Bellingham hospital. Larry arrived to the hospital on Saturday and although Rene was not able to open his eye's or speak  he was responsive to Larry and motioned with his right hand. He knew that Larry, and later Gary was there, and responded when he was told that others were on their way.  The doctors told them that recovery would be long and hard if at all. We all believe that Rene would not have wanted to survive all that. 

Each day is a little easier. Yesterday they were able to find his will and instructions for a "celebration of his life".  Rene wants his friends to come together for a good time and that just might be the best way to honor his life and memory. There is something very positive about these instructions. I hope you can be there.

Debrah

Neighborhood Sidewalk Repair Project: East John & E. Thomas

(click to enlarge/read)

I will be distributing these as fliers to all of the abutting property owners tomorrow and also sending this information to the Capitol Hil Blog. SDOT plans to start this work in May after we have heard from the community.

Liz Ellis

SDOT Street Maintenance

Sidewalk Repair Program

206-233-2768

Liz.Ellis@Seattle.Gov

Death of René Soulard, MPNA co-founder

This message was received at 2PM 4/11/11 from René's next-door neighbor:

"Rene passed away about an hour ago.

He has been living and working up on Orcas Island and was found on the floor unable to move last Friday. The last time anyone saw him was 24 hours before that. He initially was able to say his age and that he wasn't assaulted. Rene was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Bellingham. In the last few days he was not able to speak but clearly knew people. Gary and Larry, Ron's brothers were with him and their folks have been in constant touch from Idaho.

If any of you know other friends please let them know.
There will be a lot to sort through and make sense of in the next few weeks.  We are in shock, in fact I can't take in that Rene could be gone. It doesn't seem possible.  We will be in touch as we know more.

Debrah"

I will pass on any inquiries to Debrah.

Andrew Taylor, tayles@jps.net

René was the co-founder of the Miller Park Neighborhood Association. He was a very dear friend, a wonderful neighbor and a tireless advocate for our little neighborhood. News of his death has shocked me more than almost anything else in my life.
He will be sorely missed. I will post more details here as they become available.

Treatment Plans

(wrong blog! sorry)