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Liam News

Belltown Art Walk on Friday, April 11 from 6-10 p.m.

Dear Community Member,

 On Friday, April 11 from 6-10 p.m. please join us for a special Belltown Art Walk Kick-off featuring food, drinks, live music and great art! This month Bosa Development is hosting free appetizers, beer, wine and a live performance by the The Boom Booms from 8-10pm. You can check out their fun Youtube video!  Come check out photography by tattoo and airbrush artist Alejandro Dzul, and acrylic and prismacolor pieces by Aubry Kae Andersen. As always, get an art walk map and drink coupons for the neighborhood. It’s going to be a fun night; we look forward to seeing you soon! Here’s more information about our featured artists:

 Alejandro Dzul was also introduced to art at an early age growing up in Los Angeles. He remembers watching his self-taught mother sketch original designs for clothing and feeling inspired to put his own ideas onto paper. His talent was apparent from the beginning as his early sketches began earning Alejandro commissions from neighborhood families. His unique art is inspired by Mexican-American and pre-Hispanic art.

Alejandro studied graphic design and photography. His photographs can be viewed at the studio. He also acts as the Director of Business and Marketing at Dzul Ink Lounge. His personal goals include publishing a book of his photography and tattoo designs, and to showcase his artworks at professional galleries. After a small reprieve to focus on spear heading the business’ growth, Alejandro has gotten to throw himself back into his first passion of tattooing and urges you to keep a look out in the near future for more new work.

 Originally from Salt Lake City, UT, Aubry Kae Andersen now lives in Seattle, WA. Never one to sit on her laurels, she pursues her own flavor of pan-creativity through the Seattle indie art and literature scenes. As the owner of The AKArchy, her design firm, she offers services in illustration, graphic design, web development, and creative writing. She is also the writer and illustrator of “Isaac the Fortunate,” her debut serialized novel in her “Paradox” trilogy, available through the indie publisher Fuzzy Hedgehog Press.

Aubry was recently elected President of the Seattle non-profit A/NT Gallery (formerly known as Art/Not Terminal). In the spirit of opening the Seattle arts community to all artists, she founded the Indie Book Fair, an event open to self-published and small press authors. Her books are available for purchase through Fuzzy Hedgehog Press and all major online retailers. Her art can be found at A/NT Gallery.

Masha Shtern

Recreation Attendant

Belltown Community Center

415 Bell St

Seattle, WA 98121

206-684-7245

Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays 3-8pm

Tue, Thu, Fri 9:30 – 2:30pm

Liam News

Seattle Public Schools Seeks Feedback on Proposed Elementary Math Instructional Materials

The Seattle Public Schools elementary math adoption committee work has reached a critical stage.  In looking to partner with parents and community to find the best possible math program for Seattle Public School students for the 2014-15 school year and beyond, the committee invites you to provide your thoughts and opinions.

The committee is excited to have four possible math programs as viable candidates: 

  • enVision
  • Go Math!
  • Math in Focus
  • My Math

So how can you get involved and help? 

You can provide direct feedback at one of our display locations. There will be forms prepared for you to fill out at each site, as well as forms online.  This is an opportunity to compare the programs and consider what type of program you think would be a good fit for your family and community, and most importantly, for your student. 

From April 1 through April 25, please come to one of these schools during the school day:

  • Catherine Blaine K-8, 2550 34th Ave W, 252-1920
  • Bryant Elementary, 3311 NE 60th St., 252-5200
  • Northgate Elementary, 11725 1st Ave NE, 252-4180
  • West Seattle Elementary, 6760 34th Ave SW, 252-9450
  • Wing Luke Elementary, 3701 S Kenyon St., 252-7630

Or visit the Douglass-Truth Public Library, 2300 E Yesler Way, during open hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. 206-684-4704

While the math committee prefers community members review the materials in person, we know that’s not always an option. You can review materials online starting April 1. Visit http://bit.ly/MathAdoption2014

Secondly, if you would like to consider how well the programs align to the standards by which the students will be learning, the committee invites you to consider the transition to Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The state has adopted this new set of standards, which will replace Washington Performance Expectations in English/Language Arts and Mathematics beginning next year.  Your input is sought on how far you think these programs go to help your students, their teachers, and our community best meet the demands of these 21st century skills. 

More information about the Common Core is available online at:

If you have any specific questions about how these programs were selected for the final round, please don’t hesitate to email mathadoption@seattleschools.org.

Liam Events, Transportation

Hearing Tonight on Plan to Avert Cuts to Metro Bus Service

Tonight there will be a special meeting of the King County Council about a proposal to prevent cuts to Metro bus service. Under this proposal, King County would create a Transportation Benefit District and levy a $60 annual vehicle license (car-tab) fee as well as a 0.1% sales tax. 60% of the revenue would pay for Metro bus service while the other 40% would be distributed to cities for road maintenance. A separate proposal calls for a 25-cent increase in fares and the creation of a new low-income fare.

The hearing will be held in the Ruth Fisher Board Room of Union Station, 401 S Jackson St. Sign-in begins at 5:30 PM and the hearing begins at 6 PM.

Liam Events, News

Community Meetings on Parks Legacy Plan

From Parks:

Seattle Parks and Recreation will host three community meetings in January to get feedback on the work done by the Parks Legacy Citizens’ Advisory Committee in preparation for a potential 2014 park and recreation funding ballot measure.
The meetings will be held:

  • Thursday, January 23, International District/Chinatown Community Center, 719 8thAve. S, at 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, January 25, High Point Community Center, 6920 34th Ave. SW, 1 p.m. (free childcare will be provided)
  • Thursday, January 30, Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N, at 7 p.m.

The meetings will feature a brief presentation that describes how the committee has prioritized a list of potential investment initiatives. That will be followed by professionally facilitated workshops that seek community input in three specific areas.

Liam Transportation

King County Announces Funding Proposal to Save Metro Bus Service

Today King County Executive Dow Constantine announced a “Plan B” funding proposal to prevent cuts to Metro bus service and fund road repairs. The proposal will go to the voters at a special election on April 22 and ask them to approve:

  • A $60 vehicle license fee (replacing the $20 fee which expires in June for a net increase of $40)
  • An additional 0.1% sales tax

60% of the funds would go to Metro while the other 40% would be used by cities and the county for road repairs, apportioned by population. Starting in 2015 there would also be a 25-cent increase in fares. For the first time, there would also be a new fare for low-income riders.

Learn more about the proposal and Metro’s funding gap.

Liam Education

Seattle Schools Family Survey and Feedback on Instructional Materials

Seattle Public Schools will be asking families for feedback on their schools, with questions ranging from effective communication to school safety on the annual email survey.

The District will email or call all families the week of January 13th and do a second round the week of January 20th. The calls and e-mails will be in the home-language spoken. The family survey on our schools will be administered through School Messenger.

The annual climate surveys are administered to all school staff, students and families. In the past, these surveys were conducted in the spring. Seattle Public Schools has moved up the date in order to collect the data at the mid-point of the school year, which will make the survey more formative for our schools. The student and staff survey are paper based and will occur between January 6th and 17th.

Also,  Seattle Public Schools is adopting new instructional materials for the math program in grades K-5. They are currently evaluating eight potential math programs and we would like your input.

All program materials – textbooks, workbooks, teacher manuals, etc. – are on display for members of the community to review and provide feedback on. The materials are available for viewing at:

John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence
In the professional library
2445 Third Ave S., Seattle, WA 98134.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The JSCEE building will be open during winter break, with the exceptions of Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1. You will have until January 8th to submit your comments on all of the different K-5 math programs under review (list below). Those comments will help the adoption committee identify three finalist programs for comprehensive review.

Starting in early March the three finalist programs will be on public display at five different locations across the city. (Sites to be announced)  The final program will be selected by the Math Adoption Committee in early April and submitted to the school board for approval in May.  Following approval, the materials will be delivered to schools in time for start of classes in the fall.

For more information, please visit the adoption webpage: http://bit.ly/MathAdoptionSPS14

Liam Events

Holiday Blues & Bingo December 17th

The BCC is pleased to join Emmaus Road Church in sponsoring Holiday Blues & Bingo, from 6-9 PM on Tuesday, December 17th at Street Bean Espresso, 2702 3rd Avenue.

There will be music (not the major key festive songs we hear enough of around town), snacks, beverages, BINGO, and prizes. A barista will be working late to sell espressos (Street Bean is a non-profit; your caffeine $ go to a good cause). Plus Keith “Mr. Belltown” Kentop will be our bingo caller!

Please join us!