Author Archives: Nova Berger

Why you should help build out the Seattle Emergency Hub Network in your Capitol Hill or Central District neighborhood

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(Image: Seattle Emergency Hub Network)

Homer Harris Park was recently the center of an exercise to help fine tune the abilities of neighbors to help neighbors in the Central District and across Capitol Hill in the event of a major catastrophe as part of a network of neighborhood hubs covering an increasing number of neighborhoods in Seattle.

If you look at the map of Seattle hubs and don’t see one in your area, don’t wait for someone else to build your community.

“You can start one if there’s a gap,” said Cindi Barker, one of the volunteer coordinators for the Hub Network and a Hub Captain for Morgan Junction Hub in West Seattle.

The Pacific Northwest, situated along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, faces the risk of a powerful earthquake. Recognizing the potential devastation of such an event, volunteers with the Seattle Emergency Hub Network are working to prepare Seattle residents for this looming threat.

The Hub Network: A Community-Driven Approach to Disaster Preparedness
The Hub Network, modeled after successful disaster preparedness initiatives in New Zealand, operates on the principle of community resilience. It comprises over 140 designated meeting points or Hubs strategically located throughout Seattle. These Hubs are situated in geologically safe areas away from potential building collapses and in spaces where people naturally congregate, such as parks, grocery stores, or condominiums. Continue reading →

The French Guys bakery shop starts second year on Capitol Hill with growth, new sweets, and, yes, Pride croissants

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(Image: The French Guys)

The French Guys bakery shop is beginning its second year on Capitol Hill with a new baking facility, new menu, and Pride croissants available every weekend at the E Roy counter and cafe.

Making room for the right mix of fresh daily offerings has been part of the learning that has taken place over the first year of business for The French Guys in a brick and mortar location on Capitol Hill after growing as Seattle’s first mobile French bakery.

“The store is tiny and there is not a lot of space so we need to be creative for that, Thibault Beaugende said.

Beaugende also says The French Guys still love their E Roy home in the historic Loveless Building.

“The building speaks for itself,” Beaugende says. “It’s really rare to find in Seattle… the European charm.”

The Loveless will turn 100 next year but The French Guys shop is now one year old — and counting. The second year of business comes with major growth for The French Guys as owners Beaugende and Renaud Lacipiere have moved into a larger, much improved new baking facility. The new space brings new opportunities to grow their baked creations they continue to deliver to cafes and restaurants, as well as supplying its popular presence at Seattle farmers markets and the Capitol Hill bakery shop. Continue reading →

In search of inspiration and connection? Check out your neighborhood museums with a Capitol Hill poet

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Wyeth’s Winter 1946 — North Carolina Museum of Art

Baugher

A neighborhood poet wants you to know about the halls of creativity available to you around Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill resident and poet Janée Baugher has received the Dorset Prize awarded to an author that “exemplifies innovation, depth, and a unique perspective on the human experience.” Baugher says she gains that perspective from visiting area museums. Fortunately, the area around Capitol Hill has halls rich with beauty and creativity in spaces like the Frye and the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park.

Fellow artists’ works serve as inspiration for her craft, and she describes visual arts as a creative outlet of self expression without having to focus on herself. Baugher’s winning collection, The Andrew Wyeth Chronicles, is inspired by the work of Andrew Wyeth. She feels his art embodies the concept of the shared  human emotional experience. Launching her to the blank page, Baugher has built this collection as a way to answer why and how she’s felt so moved by Wyeth’s work.

A visit to the Philadelphia Art Museum in 2006 introduced Baugher to Wyeth. His works stand out to her for their profound ability to evoke emotion through his use of realism. Wyeth focused on the ordinary people of Pennsylvania and Maine, finding beauty and significance in the everyday.

“I turned to the visual arts as a way of extinguishing the personality,” says Baugher. Viewing Wyeth’s art allowed her to step away and into the greater realm of human emotion. Continue reading →

A community of stargazers grows at the summit of Capitol Hill

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The moon from a phone attached to Meade LX200 telescope (Image: Noah Anderson)

(Image: Noah Anderson)

Seattle’s spring just might be off to a too-sunny start for locals. On Capitol Hill, turn to the moon.

Local resident Noah Anderson has found a way to to appreciate the beauty of the Seattle sky utilizing the extended night time hours of the Pacific Northwest to practice a challenging but rewarding city hobby: urban stargazing. A community of people who like to look up at the stars has formed that orbits around Capitol Hill’s park space. With days now getting longer, prime star viewing gets a little more challenging. But Anderson says stargazing is one of those rare activities that is a hobby anyone can access. The sky is communal and reminiscent of visiting a museum, he says.

“We can all speak sky.”

Anderson stumbled into stargazing when he and friends experimented with an old childhood “superscope,” Seeking guidance, he connected with the University of Washington astronomy department, which provided him with a professional telescope in need of repair. After refurbishing it with help from a Chicago repair shop, he tested it in Volunteer Park. Passersby expressed interest, leading to the formation of a thriving community of more than 600 members through word-of-mouth invitations and an email list. Meetings now occur regularly, and on dark nights, as the moon smiles down.

There’s no need to tell you how few stars people typically see in Seattle. Who can spot the planets and tell Venus from Sirius? It’s a public good that Anderson and others lug large telescopes to Volunteer Park. Continue reading →