Author Archives: Kaylee Osowski

Writer behind ‘Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda’ chats with CHS

Posted on by
Dumpster Tyrant (Image: primaseadiva via Flickr)

CHS sat down with Ezra Levin, co-author of “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda” ahead of his talk at Town Hall Seattle earlier this week.

The free, creative commons guide was born from Levin and his wife Leah Greenberg’s desire to have a positive impact following the election of President Donald Trump.

About 30 something 30-somethings, many of whom have worked for members of Congress, contributed to the first release of the guide on Google Docs. It has since seen a staggering amount of success with more than 150 Indivisible organizations in Washington state and 6,000 across the country. The guide has been downloaded more than 1 million times and viewed more than 17 million times since its release in December 2016, according to stats from Indivisible Washington, which helped to organized the event Tuesday.

“Every day we think this is going to plateau and every day more groups are registering,” Levin said. “There’s more interest. People are taking action.” Continue reading →

Seattle Central culinary student launches gardening program in the middle of Pike/Pine

Posted on by

IMG_0951Trey Philpot is wearing overalls. He is also merging the gap between biology and culinary students and inviting anybody else who wants to learn about urban gardening to join him at the Seattle Central’s Plant Sciences Lab on Boylston Ave.

Philpot, who grew up gardening in his hometown of Greenville, Alabama, began culinary school at Seattle Central in January. Shortly after starting, he launched Green Thumbs Up as a way to bridge the gap between growing food and cooking it.

“I found out that a lot of culinary students have no gardening experience at all,” Philpot said. “They’re from the city, from a place where that wasn’t something that they did.” Continue reading →

What the latest designs for RapidRide G look like, Madison Bus Rapid Transit block by block

Posted on by
The RapidRide future of E Madison means a redo of one of the Hill's most chaotic intersections where Madison meets 12th and Union

The RapidRide future of E Madison means a redo of one of the Hill’s most chaotic intersections where Madison meets 12th and Union

The City of Seattle has released its latest designs and is collecting public feedback on what is being billed as a powerful overhaul of E Madison that will change east-west travel in Central Seattle from downtown, through First Hill, Capitol Hill, the Central District, and into Madison Valley. Judging by a few of the designs for blocks along the route, Seattle City Hall will need your help to get it right.

This month, public feedback will shape the final designs for the Seattle Department of Transportation’s updated Madison Street Bus Rapid Transit project — now known as RapidRide G. You can provide feedback in person beginning Thursday on First Hill or again next week on Capitol Hill. You can also weigh in online:

Thursday, March 9
11 AM – 1 PM
Town Hall, Downstairs
1119 8th Ave

Wednesday, March 15
5:30 – 7:30 PM
First African Methodist Episcopal Church
1522 14th Ave

ONLINE
MARCH 8-22
Give feedback online!
MadisonStreetBRT.participate.online

If you can, make time for an in-person visit and add your thoughts online. Last year, SDOT collected public comments on the proposed project that would create a BRT line from 1st Ave downtown to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The project team has furthered the project’s design since then, reshaping the $120 million plan. Continue reading →

‘Dress code’ opens up as the Seattle Red Dress Party comes to Capitol Hill

Posted on by
(Image: seattlereddress.org)

(Image: seattlereddress.org)

This year, for the first time, the Seattle Red Dress Party is being held on Capitol Hill. Seattle PrideFest is putting on the event in the Century Ballroom at 10th Ave and E Pine on March 31st.

“Especially with the massive development on Capitol Hill, I think queer people are feeling at times a little without a home,” Egan Orion, festival director for PrideFest told CHS. “Anything that we can do … to help them reassert their traditional home … that is part of our mission.”

Attendees of the Red Dress Party have worn red dresses, of course, but this year organizers have loosened the, um, dress code a bit. Orion said attendees are still encouraged to keep the tradition, especially cisgender men, but other fancy red attire (e.g. a suit) is allowed and welcomed. It is not meant to be a costume party Orion said, and red is the color of choice as it’s the international symbol of HIV/AIDS awareness. Continue reading →

Jayapal talks health care, climate change, fake news, battling Trump

Posted on by

IMG_0744

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, representing Capitol Hill’s 7th District in Washington D.C., held her first town hall since taking office Monday night, appropriately enough, at a packed Town Hall Seattle.

“Some people have called me the anti-Trump, and I’m so proud,” Jayapal said in front of a crowd that put its “AGREE” signs to frequent use.

Jayapal’s office estimated 1,000 people attended the First Hill session.

Jayapal took questions about a number of issues surrounding work she’s done during her first two months in office and her fight against the president’s agenda.

Immediately notable as the first Indian-American woman to serve in the House of Representatives, Jayapal started her career in D.C. with an early stance of opposition against the new president when she declined to attend the Trump inauguration. Jayapal joined the protest against the first Trump immigration ban with a call for the release of individuals held at Sea-Tac and joined Governor Jay Inslee in declaring Washington a hate-free state.

Jayapal’s status as a resistance leader puts her in good company replacing Rep. Jim McDermott retired after representing the 7th District for 14 terms and was considered by many as one of the most left-leaning members of Congress. She sits on two subcommittees — the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security and the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, as well as the Committee on the Budget.

Monday night, the crowd greeted Jayapal with a standing ovation and signs supporting the congresswoman, making the event feel almost like a rally, but members of the public did ask her about the next moves for the seemingly pinned-down Democratic Party and how she and her fellow party members plan to fight the administration and Republicans in Congress on a number of issues. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill food+drink | Aviv Hummus Bar coming to 15th Ave E

Posted on by

aviv_no_bleed

David Nussbaum is bringing silky-smooth, mouthwatering hummus and steamy hot pita to Capitol Hill.

Aviv Hummus Bar is planning to open on 15th Ave E this May.

Nussbaum has worked in the restaurant industry his entire adult life and after years of wanting to open a place of his own. Now he has finally locked down a location for his own project.

“I’m just at that point in my life where I just need to do this myself. I’m ready to be my own boss and share my vision with the rest of Seattle,” Nussbaum told CHS.

Aviv is Nussbaum’s middle name and means spring in Hebrew, which invokes thoughts of fresh and new that he hopes to bring to his restaurant. Continue reading →

Seattle Renters’ Commission bill sees early support in City Hall debut

Posted on by
Zachary DeWolf
Sierra Hansen
Joel Sisolak

The proposed Seattle Renters’ Commission made its debut in the City Council’s Affordable Housing, Neighborhoods, and Finance Committee meeting last week. Early signs indicate good support for the proposed 15-member commission that aims to give renters in the city a voice on not only tenant rights and affordability but also related issues like transportation access and economic development.

“There’s a lot of issues that touch renters and they’re not often at the table,” said Sera Day, legislative assistant to council member Tim Burgess, prime sponsor of the ordinance.

“As rents continue rising, it’s critical that renters are given space to engage city government with a strong and organized voice,” Capitol Hill Community Council president Zachary DeWolf said Friday. “… This ordinance will create a platform for renters to get engaged in civic life and fully invest in their neighborhoods and ultimately our city of Seattle.”

Sierra Hansen, executive director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, also spoke in support of the commission.

“I think that this is an amazing effort among Capitol Hill residents that will benefit folks across Seattle,” Hansen said. Continue reading →

Neighborhood by neighborhood, Seattle working out HALA and Mandatory Housing Affordability changes

Posted on by
Miller Park from above (Image: CHS)
The crowd at a recent Miller Park neighborhood meeting to discuss the HALA proposals (Image courtesy Andrew Taylor)

Some Miller Park residents are not happy with the proposed zoning changes for their neighborhood in the city’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda.

Those residents will get an opportunity to voice their thoughts in small group discussions following a presentation on HALA, Urban Villages, and the Mandatory Housing Affordability proposal at a Community Design Workshop at 6 PM on Tuesday at the Miller Community Center.

Spencer Williams, a legislative assistant to City Council member Rob Johnson, said the input collected from community members at the workshop as well as from open houses the city has hosted and online and elsewhere will be analyzed by the Office of Planning and Community Development.

Madison-Miller Urban Village Community Design Workshop

“The meeting is happening many months prior to there being a final proposal before the council,” Williams told CHS. “We are really trying to stay engaged early.” Continue reading →

Proposed Seattle Renters’ Commission will tackle tenant rights, affordability

Posted on by
The scene at last fall’s Capitol Hill Renter Summit
Kshama Sawant has pushed for caps on move-in fees and, yes, even rent control
A pin map showing where around the Hill Summit attendees lived (Image: @outseide)

Capitol Hill’s calls for a Seattle Renters’ Commission will soon be answered creating what is likely the first such official body in the nation.

CHS has learned legislation to create a 15-member commission to represent tenants rights and weigh in on issues of development and affordability could be introduced as early as Monday.

“The goal is to attract folks across the whole spectrum,” the Capitol Hill Community Council’s Zachary DeWolf said. “Families, seniors, geographic diversity, vouchers, newer units, older units. Everyone.”

The offices of Seattle City Council member Tim Burgess, Mike O’Brien, and Lisa Herbold have been working to finalize the proposal that comes as Seattle residents continue to face one of the most expensive rental markets… in the world.

Continue reading →

2016 Orlando nightclub attack, FDA rules spur ‘Bad Blood’ talk at Gay City

Posted on by
Dr. AuBuchon

On June 12, 2016, a gunman attacked Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and wounding at least 53. The LGBTQ community rallied to donate blood to the survivors, but blood centers turned away gay and bisexual men because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans some of them from donating. The FDA first enacted a lifetime ban in 1985 to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. The restrictions were recently changed so that men who haven’t had sexual contact with another man in the past 12 months can donate blood.

The nightclub attack and FDA’s rules on blood donations are at the center of a public conversation at Capitol Hill’s Gay City on Thursday.

Bad Blood? A Conversation about the FDA Ban on Gay Blood

Dr. James P. AuBuchon, president and CEO of Bloodworks Northwest, will participate in a panel discussion about blood donation by gay and bisexual men called “Bad Blood? A Conversation about the FDA Ban on Gay Blood Donation.” Continue reading →