Monthly Archives: February 2019

So, what happened to the Capitol Hill snowball road rage driver?

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In the middle of all the snow, video of a Capitol Hill road rage incident involving snowballs and an irate driver spread across social media and got plenty of play on local TV.

Police responded to the corner of Bellevue and Thomas just before 7 PM Sunday, February 10th to a fight underway at Thomas Street Park after a driver in a jeep reportedly attempted to run people down. Video of the incident shows the 27-year-old driver crash to a stop and the snow dust-up that followed over snowballs reportedly tossed in the melee. There were no reported serious injuries. Continue reading →

Should the state spend $20M more to save the Montlake Market?

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Some Montlake neighbors are calling on the Washington State Department of Transportation to add some 45 days and $20 million of construction to a key SR-520 project in order to save the neighborhood’s grocery and quick stop market.

Thursday is the final day of an online survey process WSDOT is using to gauge public interest in three main possible scenarios — preserve the Montlake Market but close it during construction, preserve the market and allow the store to continue operating through construction, or tear it all down. You can take the WSDOT survey here through 5 PM Thursday. Continue reading →

‘The Intimate Values of Inside Space’ — Of course an art show mixed with a townhome open house is happening on Capitol Hill

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At first glance, “The Intimate Values of Inside Space” sounds like your quintessential Capitol Hill Art Walk Valentine’s Day show.

The one-night exhibition, opening this Thursday during the monthly art walk at the new construction at 1532 15th Ave E, checks many of the typical boxes. It is curated by two local artists, Gabriel Molinaro and Alexander Keyes. And it groups together a group of great local artists, such as Jennifer Zwick, Philippe Hyojung Kim, Natasha Marin and local bands like Cumulus and Mahal. It also name-checks a French philosopher (Gaston Bachelard) along with a fancy-sounding concept (topoanalysis, in this case).

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/event/the-intimate-values-of-inside-space/?instance_id=7462257

What’s peculiar, however, is its setting: six new construction townhouses. Hosted by Keyes, artist-turned-real-estate-agent, and real estate developers and investor company Build with Style, ‘The Intimate Values of Inside Space’ is also a real estate open house. Continue reading →

Snowbruary 2019: Our 50+ favorite Capitol Hill pictures and videos

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It’s been a month of snow and ice on Capitol Hill. Here are 50 (and a couple more) of our favorite pictures and videos from the run of CHS “Snowbruary 2019” coverage. Thanks for sharing your wintry scenes with CHS. We’ve included many images from the crowd in the mix along with some of our favorite shots and clips from CHS. Something we missed? Let us know in comments. Continue reading →

On the List | Valentine’s Capitol Hill Art Walk, Noir City, Capitol Hill Dandy Flea Market

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Sure, we’ve seen the Snowpocalypse or Snowmageddon hashtags, but here at CHS, it is all about “Snowbruary.” Find stuff to do during the second week of this month of snow and ice on the CHS Calendar (but please check on social media or by phone about cancellations and closures), or find a list of things that will warm up your soul, and perhaps your Valentine, below.

THURSDAY, Feb. 14: Whether you’re looking to escape V-day or planning on taking date night to new, artsy levels, this month’s Capitol Hill Art Walk is the place to be with a slew of promising art openings. Over at Cupcake Royale, check out I Am Andy Warhol by Seattle artist Blake Blanco, who exhibits a series of portraits painted using Andy Warhols’ Polaroids. Find heartbreak, love, bananas, and ponies at The Factory and burgers plus a concert by Tarsier Eyes during Requiem for Burgerland over at the FoodArt Collection. Various locations Continue reading →

SNOWBRUARY 2019 — Wednesday update: Snow routes, schools closed (parents sad), levies renewed (kids happy)

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Banks of dirty, wet snow line the edges of Capitol HIll’s streets while sidewalks remain a slushy mess. Cars probably won’t be spinning out once they make it to the street but the new spectator sport is watching people try to dig their cars out. Maybe lend a hand. Here are some wrap-up notes on Snowbruary 2019’s Wednesday.

  • Snow routes: Metro will restore most of its service and buses will operate on snow routes Wednesday morning “on a route-by-route basis,” the county says:
    Riders are encouraged to visit Metro’s MetroWinter.com website for route specific information on Wednesday morning before traveling and sign up for alerts. Online updates are underway for over 200 bus routes and will be available by Wednesday morning.

  • No school: If the parents, grandparents, guardians, and child care pros in your life seem a little rundown, consider that Wednesday is yet another snow day. While the main streets are mostly clear, the soppy conditions moved Seattle Public Schools to declare yet another snow day:
    Schools will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 13 due to adverse weather conditions. We thank the City of Seattle for their continued and diligent efforts to clear roads including many near our schools. Yet, many sidewalks and walkways are not cleared of ice and slush, and side streets in the north and south ends of the district continue to be icy. All activities, athletics and public meetings are canceled. There will be no preschool or Head Start.
    As for make-up days, the district reminds there are two scheduled — June 21 and 24 — but says the state won’t consider any waiver requests “until after the threat of further weather closures has passed.” UPDATE: Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said Wednesday the city has been working with Seattle Public School and King County Metro “to discuss immediate next steps to try and get our children back into schools as quickly as possible.” Seattle Schools has workers out clearing sidewalks near its campuses and SDOT road crews are out again pre-treating roads in anticipation of another freeze Wednesday night. As for garbage, crews are out for Monday/Tuesday customers Wednesday with other customers on a one-day delay.
  • Levies: The district is declaring victory in Tuesday’s vote on two school levies. “These two levy replacements will help fund critical day-to-day operations for Seattle Public Schools, including salaries, textbooks and materials, as well as the rebuild of eight aging schools, improved safety and security, increased technology access, and added capacity across our district,” a statement on the successful votes reads.

 

Design review: Is this 20th Ave townhouse project part of Seattle’s ‘missing middle’?

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Just build it already. Wednesday night brings a design review for a 20th Ave project that seems like nobody really needs to review — four four-story townhouse buildings creating sixteen new homes replacing a set of two 1909-built single-family style structures that have seen better days.

But the East Design Review Board will give the projects a final once-over Wednesday:

https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/event/design-review-1711-20th-ave-2/

Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Historical Society | American Sutra book launch at Elliott Bay and remembering the Koba family of Capitol Hill

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Normally the story of the period of illegal incarceration of Japanese Americans is told as if they were homogeneous and of one voice. In fact, beyond obvious differences like living in the country or the city, or being American citizens or not, there were other discreet groups within the population of ethnic Japanese in America. An event this week at Elliott Bay Book Co. is a reminder of this diversity and one Capitol Hill family and its apartment building’s place in this history.

On Thursday, February 14 Elliott Bay is hosting a book launch event for Duncan Ryūken Williams’s book American Sutra. It’s the history of Japanese American Buddhists during World War Two.

Williams tells us that the largest group — and the least understood by other Americans — was the Buddhists. The racial discrimination we’re familiar with was not the whole story. It was exacerbated by religious discrimination as well. Buddhists were the focus of early FBI raids, their leaders were subject to separate imprisonment, and their religious activity was often suppressed. Continue reading →

Monsoon marks 20 years — and ‘a little bit’ of growth — on Capitol Hill

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(Image: Monsoon)

Brother and sister restaurateurs Sophie and Eric Banh are marking 20 years of business on 19th Ave E. Their Vietnamese Seattle classic Monsoon will have a “20 Bucks for 20 Years” menu starting this weekend featuring “a handful of dishes that were very popular in the early years” and are still popular today.

We’re going to bet that the drunken chicken made the list.

Surviving two decades on the Hill’s quieter side, Monsoon has grown — literally — along with the neighborhood’s food and drink offerings. In 2014, it doubled its capacity, incorporating a bar, and adding a rooftop patio to the restaurant. “It’s amazing how the world turns around,” Eric Banh told CHS about Monsoon’s survival and expansion. “We almost became homeless in 2007. We survived. And now we’re growing. A little bit.” Continue reading →

Central District e-bike showroom Electric Lady shutting down

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Alex Kostelnik is getting out of the e-bike biz

One of the more future-looking retail ventures in the area is calling it quits. Here is why Electric Lady, the Central District e-bike shop in a building part of the wave of new development at 23rd and Union, is going out of business.

“(T)he business is doing well financially, but he is not enjoying the work needed to navigate what he sees as an unreliable industry where companies start up, go under, fire staff and get bought constantly,” the Seattle Bike Blog writes aboutowner Alex Kostelnik’s decision.

But Kostelnik tells SBB he was also having trouble connecting with his customers:

“They’re first time riders, but they’re not first time riders that are stepping up to the plate to hear about the community or join the community. They’re sort of strange outsider, know-it-all lonely people who aren’t really part of our community, and I don’t know where to begin with them.”

It’s not all sour grapes. Kostelnik will continue to run 20/20 Cycles just up the E Union hill and plans to include some electric bike models in his inventory. Continue reading →