Tag Archives: community

With ‘the big one’ looming, Capitol Hill neighborhood preparedness lags

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The recent New Yorker article about how “toast” the Pacific Northwest will be after the big one hits wasn’t exactly earth shattering news in Seattle. Some were even quick to point out that the Cascadia Fault earthquake fretted about in the article isn’t even the worse earthquake scenario, as a Seattle Fault earthquake may pose a far greater risk.

Still, it was a chilling reminder of the geological forces beneath the city’s surface, as well as the importance of community emergency preparedness. In many ways, Capitol Hill has been better prepared than it stands today.

In June, the group Capitol Hill Prepares announced it would dissolving its earthquake preparedness activities as a city-identified “Hub” and shutting down its website and social media accounts, which were the most active in the neighborhood. In a message announcing the group’s suspension, organizers Karin Baer and Jessica Coleman encouraged residents to continue to “plan for emergencies, to develop community self sufficiency, and to coordinate a way to communicate in times of disaster or emergency when normal communication means are unavailable.”

Neighborhood Hubs and Seattle Neighborhood’s Activly Prepare groups are intended to be the main units of organizing emergency preparedness in the city, developed by the Office of Emergency Management. Hubs are organized around pre-determined locations where neighbors agree to meet to share information and resources. SNAP groups are typically at the block level and lead by a person who’s taken the city’s SNAP training — oftentimes a block watch captain. The idea is to practice how to divvy up responsibilities and conduct tasks in an emergency situation so that residents can react quicker when the time comes for the real thing.

Currently Capitol Hill has no active Hubs or SNAP groups mostly due to a lack of involvement, according to OEM’s community planning organizer Debbie Goetz. There were three Hub locations active on Capitol Hill according to the volunteer run Hub map — Cal Anderson Park, Volunteer Park, and Miller Playfield — but there are no longer groups actively associated with the sites after volunteers with Capitol Hill Prepares stepped down. Additionally, only two people have identified themselves as SNAP organizers in the neighborhood, according to the city’s map. Continue reading →

Hill Wonk | Dreaming big — asking ‘What if?’ — invites us to imagine a shared future

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We’ve asked Zachary (Pullin) DeWolf, Vice President of the Capitol Hill Community Council, to contribute to CHS about community civics and politics on a monthly basis. If you’re an expert and want to share with the community in a recurring CHS column, we’d like to hear from you.

Martin Luther King Jr. (discoverblackheritage, flickr)

[This is dedicated to a special woman, K. Toering.]

Sitting at the back of the theater — the din of people shuffling in, a lingering aroma of freshly-made popcorn — I waited for the film to begin.

Selma, shown as part of a special community screening for communities of color groups and organizations, portrays one of our country’s most critical chapters in civil rights history. Before it began, she stood at the front of the theater and looked out at all of us, smiling. The type of smile born of confidence in the creation of something that evolves into more than imagined, and she asked, “What if?” Continue reading →

Backyard Barter comes to Capitol Hill for crafty swaps and creative trades

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Wednesday, 19th Ave’s Miller Community Center will host the August session of Seattle’s Backyard Barter:

We are pleased to announce our first Capitol Hill barter venue : Miller Community Center. This is a Wednesday evening barter, and if weather permits we will be holding the barter in the courtyard. Come join us!

It’s relatively late notice but you should consider dropping by Wednesday night if you’re interested in alternative economies — or homemade ice cream. The barter events give home and hobby crafters an opportunity to trade their creations for the works of others. We visited this Capitol Hill barter session in 2012. We saw mead traded for bagels and Lucky Charms ice cream swapped for a small press book. Good deal. What do you make?

The August Backyard Barter begins at 6 PM. If the weather continues to be gorgeous, organizers plan to hold the swap in the Miller Community Center courtyard at 330 19th Ave E.