Capitol Hill church adds front lawn ‘community fridge’ to provide fresh food for those in need

(Image: CHS)

There is something new below the 250-foot-tall bell tower of Capitol Hill’s St. Joseph Parish. Like most things involving mutual aid in Seattle, it is a work in progress.

Last week, the church’s Faith Justice Commission installed a surprising addition to the parish’s front lawn along 19th Ave E. The new “community fridge” is hoped to provide healthy snacks, quick meals, and produce to those who need it, the group’s Mark Petterson, director of Communications and Justice with the parish, tells CHS.

The refrigerator as it is now has a simple shelter built to protect it from the weather and the electricity is handled by a long extension cord. For now, temporary boards provide a walkway to protect the lawn. Continue reading

Hoped to help address displacement in the Central District, Mount Zion’s affordable senior housing project taking shape on 19th Ave

(Image: Rolluda Architects)

Mount Zion’s affordable senior housing development hoped to help address displacement and gentrification could begin construction as soon as this summer.

The property is on 19th Ave just north of Madison and is being developed by Mount Zion Housing Development, the housing arm of the nearby Mount Zion Baptist Church. The property is currently occupied by the Price Arms apartments on a lot shaped roughly like a triangle with one end cut off. The existing building, a two-story, four-unit apartment building that county tax records indicate was built in 1901, would be demolished. Mount Zion housing has owned the property for decades.

The project will add to a small wave of new housing for seniors in the area and could be part of a series of new buildings related to Mount Zion as one of Seattle’s leading Black churches moves forward on long-held plans to develop its property holdings. Continue reading

Before fall rains set in, Seattle Public Utilities rescues the Stevens Elementary goldfish

A scene from the rescue (Image: SPU)

Amid worries that coming rains could wash them away to dangerous sewer pipes or sad lives as an invasive species in Lake Washington, the Stevens Elementary goldfish have been rescued by Seattle Public Utilities.

Friday, the department thanked CHS and the many readers who brought attention to the curious little wonder of the “secret” underground pond in the school’s catch basin:

SPU first learned of the goldfish from the Capitol Hill Seattle blog, which reported that the fish had become a “curious kind of campus mascot,” and several community members who reached out to inquire about the possibility of a rescue operation. While SPU was glad to see the fish faring well in the catch basin, it was necessary to relocate them as soon as possible.

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Pikes/Pines | The secret goldfish pond below Stevens Elementary

It’s a peaceful, mostly quiet existence. And friends seem to drop enough granola bar bits from above to augment whatever goldfish chow exists naturally in the storm drain of a Capitol Hill elementary school.

It’s not exactly clear when or how they arrived, but two fish continue to make the Stevens Elementary campus near 19th and Galer their home. Continue reading

As Rev. McKinney remembered, his Mount Zion Baptist Church set to become Seattle landmark

Tuesday, a celebration of the life of Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney was held at McCaw Hall following the civil rights leader’s death at the age of 91 early last month. Now, legislation is in motion to designate McKinney’s home church at 19th and Madison as an official Seattle landmark and protect the building’s architectural features.

“Landmark status is reserved for locations in our City that have been of exceptional value to social, political, architectural or community causes – and in the long history of Mount Zion Baptist Church, it has contributed greatly to all of these and more,” an announcement of the legislation from Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office reads. Continue reading

Mount Zion’s Rev. McKinney remembered for civil rights legacy

McKinney in 2015

Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney spent his life serving the community including some six decades of service at 19th and Madison. The pastor emeritus of Mount Zion Baptist Church died Saturday at the age of 91.

McKinney left the pulpit in 1998 after 40 years leading Mount Zion and remained a steady presence for the congregation and the city’s Black community. But at January’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Mount Zion, McKinney was unable to attend and appeared to the assembly via a recorded address on the church’s video screen. Continue reading

Next for Tully’s at 19th and Aloha — Not Pagliacci… Macrina Capitol Hill

UPDATE 2:30 PM: Well, this is interesting. We’re checking with the company and Galvin to clarify:

Original Report: A story that somehow combines the slow financial implosion of a Seattle coffee chain with worldwide ambitions, a presidential sex scandal, and Capitol Hill’s relatively quiet corner of 19th and Aloha now includes pizza baked goods.

CHS has learned that the neighborhood school kids around 19th Ave E will soon have a new hangout in the space left empty when the Tully’s Coffee chain abruptly shuttered on the corner after 20 years. Seattle favorite Pagliacci Pizza has begun planning of a new restaurant to take over the former cafe. UPDATE: But it won’t be a pizza joint.

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Teen struck by driver near Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School

A teenager walking to school was hospitalized Monday morning after she was struck by a driver at 19th and Thomas.

Seattle Police and Seattle Fire responded to the collision just after 8 AM at the busy intersection near the newly reopened Meany Middle School. A woman sat in a white four-door sedan facing east in the eastbound lane of E Thomas as police gathered evidence at the scene. We’re waiting for an update from SPD for more on the investigation. UPDATE 2/27/18 10:30 AM: SPD tells us the official reports on the crash — as usual with collision reporting managed by the state — are not yet available but that it does not appear that the driver was impaired. There are also some good signs for the victim’s condition — police were able to clear the scene and wrap up the investigation quickly indicating her injuries were not serious.

Seattle Fire said the girl who was struck was transported to Harborview in stable condition.

The intersection remained open during the investigation but traffic was backed up in the area during the school drop-off rush hour.

Tent City 3 wraps up summer stay on Capitol Hill

Dozens of Capitol Hill residents moved out of the neighborhood over the past week. Tent City 3, as usual, is on the move again.

CHS reported on the homeless community’s short summer stay at the corner of 19th and Aloha as the group filled the parking lot of St. Joseph’s into lines of tents, known as dorms, with room for around 100 residents along with tents that served as a computer room, a kitchen, a laundry room, and a community dining hall. The group also stayed at St. Joe’s in 2006 and again in 2011. Always on the move, residents told CHS Tent City 3 will next settle in Shoreline. Continue reading