If my interview with Roy Street Coffee and Tea manager Jacob Webber taught me anything, it’s that despite being a much better coffee shop than your typical Starbucks, Roy Street Coffee and Tea is still a Starbucks.

Jacob describes the store as his “pipe dream,” and seemed really excited about all the new features they’re trying out in the store, like their new Synesso espresso machine, and a pull down movie screen to host film showings for local filmmakers.  He said a lot of positive things and really seemed committed to making the concept work.  

On the other hand, Jacob said he didn’t know much about Capitol Hill, he didn’t have much to say about the well established coffee scene on the Hill, beyond “they make great coffee”, and he didn’t offer direct responses to any of the criticism they’ve been getting from many in the community -- namely that it's disingenuous to not display the Starbucks name, and the clipboard observers that were...

A man so high on cocaine and wine that he needed to be hospitalized after being arrested was chased down by customers of nearby Tougo Coffee as he made his getaway after burglarizing 18th Ave boutique Gossamer Collective. The colorful details of the bust come from Tweets reported by the Central District News blog:

mgrummer tweets that it was Gossamer Collective which lives in the spot just south of Tougo. He says that he and other Tougo customers helped apprehend the perp: "I was there this am right after it happened. Another customer followed as the guy took off w/ the goods & directed patrol officers over the phone as to the thief's location"

Here's what SPD had to say about the incident:

Photo: alk17000

CHS talked with Seattle Police Department spokesperson Renee Witt about Thursday's accident scene on Madison to try to clear up exactly what happened to draw the large emergency and officer response.

Witt said the officer whose foot was run over is in better condition than previously thought -- she has a severely sprained ankle, not a break as was first reported.

Witt said the large response -- reported to include as many as 17 police cruisers -- is standard procedure when an officer is injured.

"Any time there is an officer that is injured it garners a large response until we can figure out what was going on," Witt said.

According to Witt, the officer who was injured was directing traffic at the scene where a person in a wheelchair had been struck by a vehicle at the Madison intersection. Witt said a truck turning west onto Madison from 15th ran over the officer's foot. The truck's driver told police that he was distracted by another pedestrian and didn't see the officer. Witt said the driver was interviewed and released and will likely be cited.

The original accident involving the pedestrian in the wheelchair did not result in serious injuries. According to the Seattle Fire Department, the victim and the driver in that accident were not transported from the scene. Witt said she did not have information at this time about any citations issued in the first accident.

While I wouldn't have picked it as the venue in which to discuss the issue, there was some healthy debate in the comments thread that accompanied the CHS coverage of the memorial procession for slain Seattle Police Department officer Timothy Brenton. On its surface, the debate centered around whether a public ceremony of that scale was justified by the killing of a police officer. But below, there were bigger questions of authority, respect and society. This won't end it -- and it may very well re-ignite some of it -- but CHS would like to share a letter sent out by acting Seattle Chief of Police John Diaz and new East Precinct Commander Jim Dermody thanking people for their support in the weeks following the Brenton murder:

The man who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to likely spend the rest of his life in prison for stabbing Capitol Hill resident Shannon Harps to death now claims he was coerced to confess to the murder, CHS partner SeattleCrime.com has learned:

James Anthony Williams, who received a 35 year sentence for the the brutal slaying of Shannon Harps outside of her Capitol Hill apartment on New Years Eve in 2007, is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea and is asking the court to provide him with new legal counsel.

Williams on the day of his May 2009 sentencing (Photo: chrisdaniels5)

In court documents filed in King County Superior Court earlier this month, Williams claims he was "compelled...to plead guilty." While documents show Williams apparently believed he was in physical danger while in jail, prosecutors—who, naturally, are opposing Williams' motion—contend Williams made numerous declarations of his own guilt, prior to entering his plea.

SeattleCrime.com reports that prosecutors are citing multiple statements by Williams "that his plea was solely motivated by the fact that he was guilty" in their response to the claims.

Williams originally pleaded not guilty to the crime in February of 2008 and his mental competency was questioned. But after treatment at mental health facility Western State Hospital, Williams was determined fit to stand trial. The defendant then pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison. This is what prosecutors told CHS at the time of the sentencing about Williams' decision to plead guilty:

[Williams] pled as charged after our office worked to have him restored to competency to stand trial for the murder by sending him to Western State Hospital. He pled not guilty at arraignment in 2008 because every criminal defendant will enter a not guilty plea in order to consult with their attorney, discuss the various options they have and then chose either to plead, negotiate or fight the charge by gong to trial. Mr. Williams at first did not appear competent. The court sent him to Western State Hospital for evaluation at the request of the state and defense. He was found initially not-competent and then Western State doctors restored his competency. Mr. Williams returned to court and indicated he wanted to plead guilty as charged, which he did.

SeattleCrime.com reports that, along with his claims of a coerced confession, Williams also says his attorneys did not adequately represent him during trial and has requested new counsel.

Williams was convicted of murdering Harps in a bloody attack as the 31-year-old was about to enter her residence near 15th and Howell on the last night of 2007.

CHS joked the other night about a Tweet we saw that was too artsy for us to fully comprehend. Turns out, the Tweeter is the owner of a new art gallery that is opening on the Hill tonight:

I wanted to follow-up to this tweet you posted recently and tell you a little more about "The Shogunate Revisited", opening tonight at pun(c)tuation on Pike Street. (The storefront that has been covered in newspapers for a few months and used to be Laced Up, next to the HoneyHole.)

 "The Shogunate Revisited", a show featuring new work from Seattle-based artists Mike Wagner and I AM, will be kicking-off with an opening reception from 6-10pm. You can read our press release below and there are pictures and flyers available on our Flickr page. (I can send you any of those as an attachment if you have problems opening or need a higher rez image.)

 This show is actually the first of three we have planned between now and January, including a tribute to Miles Davis coming soon, so I will be sure to pass that information along to you to share with the readers of CHS. Let me know if you have any questions and I hope you can join us tonight!

 Thanks,
Kizha Davidson @kydinseattle

Here's more from the Slog on the event and a slideshow from pun(c)tuation's flickr stream. Also, don't forget about this weekend's Expo 87 'micro-fest.'

Republic of Koffee,
originally uploaded by flckrd1.

Some business changes at 1720 12th Ave (between Olive & Howell, Lucky Devil Tattoo Parlor building), none lost, one added:

The People's Republic of Koffee stand has left their garage-on-the-street location and moved into the house next door and expanded with seating (and future food service).  Also in the space is the new People's Republic of Komedy office.

http://www.prokomedy.org/

Zone 4 Printing has moved into the old PRK space and has a great, compact retail store right on the sidewalk with T-shirts and posters, etc.

http://zone4printing.com/

A small patch of First Hill on the edge of Capitol Hill has been without power today after underground equipment failed during this morning's heavy rain. This person reported hearing a large bang before the power failed. It might be the most localized power failure we've ever reported -- those in the dark live in the area between Union and Seneca and Summit and Boren.

View 11/20 Power Outage in a larger map

According to Seattle City Light, about 267 customers will be without power until around 6:40 PM tonight when repairs are expected to be completed. 300 customers were affected by a power outage earlier this week caused by a tree branch damaging wires in north Capitol Hill.  Despite the outages, the city has come through this week's wind and rain storms mostly unscathed though the forecast calls for more rain and wind through the weekend.