Monthly Archives: September 2020

Housing of God? St. Mark’s Cathedral considers future plans for its St. Nicholas building home to Gage Academy and Bright Water School

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The St. Nicholas building (Image: The Bright Water School)

There could someday be more than housing for more than the Maker at St. Mark’s Cathedral but any possible changes are still years off as the congregation of Saint Mark’s is beginning considerations of what to do with a signature part of its 10th Ave E campus, the St. Nicholas building. A consultant has recommended changing the building into a multi-family residential development.

The building at 1501 10th Ave E, just north of the cathedral proper, is home to the Gage Academy of Art and the Bright Water Waldorf School. Both of these schools have leases that run through 2023, and the church is in the early phases of deciding what to do with the building when those leases run out.

Even though the consultants have made a recommendation, the Very Rev. Steven Thomason, dean and rector of St. Mark’s stressed that the church is still weighing its options, and that nothing is happening in the immediate future.

“We are not making any decision, any time soon, about what to do with the building,” he said.

The church’s involvement in the property stretches back to 2003. At the time, St. Mark’s and a group called the Willow Trust purchased the building from then-owner Cornish with an eye toward converting it into a parish life center. The church wasn’t ready to move forward with the life center at the time, and so they began renting it out (technically subleasing it, since the building is officially owned by an LLC made up of the church and the trust and then leased to the church) to Gage and Bright Water.

Now the members of the Willow Trust, who have thus far remained anonymous, are granting full ownership of the building to the church. So, the church is beginning consideration of what it will do with the property. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council to take up plan to transfer ownership of former Central District fire station to nonprofit Byrd Barr Place

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A Seattle City Council committee will take up legislation Tuesday planned to set the stage for nonprofit Byrd Barr Place to take ownership of the 18th Ave former fire station it calls home.

AN ORDINANCE relating to the transfer of City property located at 722 18th Avenue, Seattle, Washington; authorizing the conveyance of the property to Byrd Barr Place, a Washington non-profit corporation, consistent with the intent of Resolution 31856 and to provide for the continued delivery of social services; making findings of fact about the consideration for the transfer; authorizing acceptance of a negative easement restricting future development of the property; superseding Resolution 31837 for the purposes of this ordinance; and authorizing the Director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services or designee to execute and deliver documents necessary to carry out the conveyance of such property on the terms and conditions of this ordinance.

The proposal follows a late 2018 resolution passed by the council calling for the transfer after Byrd Barr Place received a grant from the Washington Department of Commerce for $1,455,000 to renovate the building under the condition that it owns or holds a long-term lease for a minimum of ten years for the property. Continue reading →

Pikes/Pines | Canceling the Townsend’s Warbler

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A Townsend’s Warbler in San Francisco (Image: Wikipedia)

I own dozens of field guides. Field guides to Pacific Northwest Flora and Fauna. Field Guides to the birds of South East Asia. Field guides to places I have yet to travel to. Field guides my partner sincerely wishes to never have to fill a box with and move ever again, except to a used bookstore or better yet, the dump. I love to peruse these satin paged compendiums of knowledge, these promises of where and when I can see a bird or a plant. Even the smallest of field guides — say, if there were a “Birds of Capitol Hill Seattle” — would be compelling.

They are more than mere guides to nature.

Opening field guides you see lots of things: descriptions, range maps, illustrations, and names, so many names. If you’re lucky, you might have a guide that shares colloquial names or indigenous names.

You might also notice a common thread.

While there are certainly a bulk of “Chestnut-backed” Chickadees and “Northern” Flickers, there’s also a lot of organisms named after people. And if you took a moment, you would find that the vast majority of these names are from dead white men. Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | Homeless deaths in Interlaken Park, Garfield High kneels for anthem, Vito’s returns to Madison

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Here are the top stories from this week in CHS history:

2019

 

After bikini barista ladies failed to catch on, Dreamboyz Espresso now pulling shots on Broadway

Bauhaus and its ‘strong coffee’ will return to Capitol Hill with Harvard Ave E cafe


Continue reading →

43rd District forum: Chopp touts years of political experience, Lascelles calls for change of ‘political will’ in Olympia

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The fundamental division of the race between state Rep. Frank Chopp and activist challenger Sherae Lascelles was brought into stark relief Thursday night during a virtual forum hosted by the 43rd District Democrats. The election is not just a referendum on policy proposals, but a question of what voters value more: a candidate in Chopp who was the longest serving House speaker in state history with extensive experience shepherding legislation or a candidate like Lascelles who has been the subject of decisions made in Olympia as a non-binary person of color.

So while there are differences between the candidates, like Lascelles bluntly calling themself an “abolitionist” while Chopp stops at saying he supports reducing police funding and funneling that money into housing and mental health services as well as independent oversight of law enforcement, the incumbent Thursday night focused on specific measures he has pushed in his 25 years in the state legislature, while Lascelles focused on how those policies affect people like them.

Thursday, Chopp called for a permanent extension of the statewide eviction moratorium implemented because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, lifting the statewide ban on rent control that has stunted local efforts to cap rent, and an increase in funding for affordable housing. Lascelles called these measures, which would face uphill battles in Olympia, a “great start.”

“We quite literally need to cancel rent and cancel mortgages,” Lascelles said on the Zoom forum to about 120 attendees. “It’s gonna hit us hard, it’s gonna hit us for a while. I’m currently living in precarity because I’m one of those individuals that without the eviction moratorium, I would be homeless again. It’s not enough to just delay the debt. That debt can cripple the entirety of someone’s future and life.” Continue reading →

‘Super Massive’ smoke plume arrives over Seattle — UPDATE

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Seattle’s smoke-filled sunrise (Image: CHS)

The expected push of heavy smoke from West Coast wildfires arrived across the Seattle region late Thursday night as air sensors tipped from “moderate” to “unhealthy” readings across the area.

The city woke up to a grey, fog-like layer and predictions that the smoke will last through the weekend and possibly into Monday. Continue reading →

Raised Doughnuts making long-term plans for new home next year at 24th and Union

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The current Raised along 23rd Ave

Kinako mochi: roasted soy bean powder glaze on a mochi doughnut (Image: Raised Doughnuts)

The Central District’s Raised Doughnuts is already two years old and making big plans for a new home by the time it turns three.

Raised owner Mi Kim confirmed her plans to move the artisan doughnut shop across the street as part of the mix of businesses planned to be part of the new Midtown Square development when it completes construction and opens in late 2021.

“This new space is actually what I had originally wanted from day one,” Kim writes. “I showed I Miun (business partner) stock photos of the vision before I even had a recipe. And this new space has all the elements! Our current space was exactly what we needed at that time, and we are going to miss it!” Continue reading →

‘Kshama Solidarity Rally’ planned for courthouse to oppose Sawant recall petition — UPDATE

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Mostly quiet since the effort was announced, Kshama Sawant supporters are ready to make some noise in support of the District 3 representative in opposition to a campaign to recall the Socialist Alternative city council member.

Surprisingly quiet following Mayor Jenny Durkan’s veto of police department budget cuts, Sawant’s office is planning a September 16th Kshama Solidarity Rally to defend the veteran City Council member “against the right-wing recall campaign.”

“Seattle’s working people need to stand together against the right-wing attempt to silence Councilmember Kshama Sawant and the Black Lives Matter movement with a recall campaign!,” a message sent this week to Sawant supporters reads. “The recall campaign, if successful, would overturn last year’s re-election and push our working-class representative out of office.” Continue reading →

2020 Seattle smoke season arrives as Washington, Oregon, and California burn — UPDATE: ‘Smoke Alert!’

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GOES imagery from Wednesday morning shows smoke moving northward

Unhealthy levels of wildfire smoke and ash that arrived in Seattle following the Labor Day holiday will likely persist and — possibly — increase in the skies above the city into Friday, forecasters say.

Seattle’s air quality Wednesday was considered “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups,” according to official guidelines and authorities continue to encourage people to stay inside and limit exposure. Continue reading →

With helmet requirements, sidewalk restrictions, and 15 MPH limit, Seattle approves scooter-share plan

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The City Council has approved a plan that will bring three competitors to the city to launch an electric scooter-share system in Seattle.

The pilot plan approved Monday based on legislation pushed forward by Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office will allow three operators in the city with up to 500 scooters each. The fleet could eventually grow to 2,000 scooters for each operator. The operators will pay a $150 fee per scooter.

It’s not clear what companies will scoot forward to be part of the pilot. In June, bike share returned to Seattle after a brief hiatus as Uber made way for Lime to restore the service here. Lime has said the addition of scooters to its fleet of offerings is key to its operations and Seattle has said one of the scooter-share operators will also offer bikes. Continue reading →