Monthly Archives: September 2023

Seattle City Council notes: ‘Full-time’ traffic camera legislation passes, disagreement on I-5 lid resolution

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Here are a few updates from this week’s activities at the Seattle City Council:

  • I-5 lid resolution: The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to approve a resolution supporting efforts to lid I-5. CHS reported here on the resolution reviving legislative efforts to spark what could be massively expensive — and possibly massively lucrative — developments and tying together neighborhoods in the city’s core. The resolution is hoped to set the next stage in moving efforts to lid the freeway into real plans. CHS reported here in 2019 on a $1.5 million study that explored the technical feasibility of building a lid with possible green spaces and public parks, schools, and affordable housing developments. Federal money may be available to help boost the effort. The projects could also present the city with vital revenue opportunities as it looks to manage an increasingly challenging budgetary environment. Councilmembers Sara Nelson and Alex Pedersen abstained from the vote, continuing their practice in opposition to the council’s non-binding resolutions. District 3’s Kshama Sawant was not present for the vote. Continue reading →

Driver strikes rider along new Melrose protected bike lane route

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(Image: SDOT)

A bicyclist was taken to Harborview Tuesday night after being struck by a driver at the intersection of Pine and Melrose.

Seattle Fire tells CHS the 31-year-old was taken to the hospital in stable condition after the collision.

The driver in a black BMW with dealer plates was reported to have remained at the scene. Continue reading →

A by-the-map look at how the Hollingsworth vs. Hudson District 3 race for the Seattle City Council could play out

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By Andrew Hong, special for CHS

Seattle City Council District 3 (Capitol Hill, Central District, Madison Park, Montlake, Eastlake) is no stranger to close city council elections. The last two city council contests in District 3 were decided by less than 5%. The data from the 2023 August primary election suggests District 3 is headed into another nail-biter in the November general election.

Following my report on the precinct-level primary election results, I modeled the potential outcome of the 2023 Seattle City Council District 3 general election using a variety of methodologies and referencing the previous 2019 primary and general elections for a historic perspective. Each of these models predicts another close race that will be decided by less than 5%, with different models predicting different winners.

To make these predictions, I used a combination of quantitative and qualitative political inferences to build models of predicting the general election outcome from the 2023 August primary results and past 2019 District 3 primary and general election results. A part of my qualitative inference was classifying 2023 and 2019 candidates on an ideological spectrum to get a better sense of how primary candidates’ voters will shift in the general election. Continue reading →

As new year begins, Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee says better systems in place but 2023/2024 problems include a slow SDOT and disappearing ticket revenue

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(Image: Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee)

Wednesday’s first day of classes for Seattle’s public school kids begins with city streets that still need important safety improvements but with a better path forward to achieve safety goals, a city report says.

The Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee report (PDF) cites the addition of a new “Safe Routes to School” coordinator funded by the city and new policies at the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections intended to make it easier for school campuses to implement safety and traffic improvements as important changes in 2023 that should put Seattle on route for safety streets for school kids in coming years.

More immediate improvements have come through Seattle Public Schools with increased bike parking capacity and new and renovated campuses, increased and improved bike education as part of PE classes, and a much improved bussing systems under the contract with Zum, a new provider.

The 2023/2024 school year will also be the first in which all students ride free on public transportation under the new statewide program put in place last year. Continue reading →

Xóm ready to create a new Vietnamese food+drink ‘neighborhood’ in Capitol Hill’s Chophouse Row

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A young Seattle restaurateur will be filling big shoes — and big bowls — with his latest project Xóm set to take over the space left empty by the closure of Marmite in Chophouse Row.

To add to the challenge, Xóm won’t even be the first new restaurant 27-year-old Cuong Nguyen has opened this year.

It is a fitting changeover. Seattle restaurant veteran Bruce Naftaly created Marmite around his soup and broth creations. Nguyen’s Xóm has his family’s contributions to the Seattle area pho scene at its base.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, moved to Seattle in 2005. By 2008, his parents opened Pho Ha in Shoreline and he began working there as a teenager. While it was first seen as a task, he found his passion in the family-owned business. While managing Pho Ha, Nguyen opened Ong Lam Bistro in Greenwood in January.

“I can’t go back home too often. I wanted to make something like home work here, especially for a lot of the elder immigrants that got here in 1970-80. Because of the political issue, a lot of them still avoid trying to go back, even though they miss home because that’s where they are from,” Nguyen told CHS.

Continue reading →

Proposal would suspend street permit fees for Seattle food trucks

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You could see more trucks like Falafelville on the streets of Capitol Hill — though this E Olive Way truck has already found a way to avoid city fees by operating on private property just off E Olive Way

Like food trucks? A Seattle City council committee is meeting Tuesday morning to discuss a proposal to make it easier — and cheaper — to set up a food truck in the city as part of efforts to boost activity, especially in the city’s downtown core.

The Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities committee is taking up the proposal to temporarily suspend fees for “vending and small-to-medium scale street and sidewalk activities and events in the public right-of-way.” The permit fees can range from around $200 for a one-time event to thousands of dollars for year-round “activations.” Continue reading →

After 35 years on Capitol Hill, Machiavelli family growing with new restaurant in Edmonds

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The Capitol Hill original (Image: Ristorante Machiavelli)

Machiavelli is ready to grow beyond Capitol Hill with a second location in Edmonds joining the family.

“Say goodbye to the famed tomato bisque: Chanterelle restaurant, a fixture of Main Street for decades, is closing Sept. 12. Coming to the spot is Ristorante Machiavelli,” The Edmonds Beacon reports.

The Beacon broke the new last week on the plans from Machiavelli owner — and Edmonds resident — Suzette Jarding.

Jarding tells The Beacon that the Chanterelle’s recipes, including the tomato bisque, are part of the deal. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s permanent supportive housing location for Trans and Gender Diverse BIPOC set to open early in 2024

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(Image: Lavender Rights Project)

Ebo Barton outside the soon-to-open supportive housing location alongside Jaelynn Scott of LRP (Image: Lavender Rights Project)

The Lavender Rights Project and Chief Seattle Club are ready to open a permanent supportive housing location — which will provide safety, resources and shelter to Transgender and Gender Diverse People of Color — in Capitol Hill in early 2024. The two organizations will collaborate to operate and maintain the just off Broadway apartment building.

This permanent supportive housing location is part of the county’s Health Through Housing Initiative, which seeks to address the housing crisis and to assist those at risk for experiencing chronic homelessness through repurposing existing buildings in the region.

But the Lavender Rights Project hopes to do even more to grow community around the 35-unit building near Broadway Hill Park.

“We’re working with a number of organizations within the LGBTQ community, but also within the trusted Black community to provide services that are centered for Black, Gender-Diverse individuals,” Ebo Barton, director for housing services at LRP, told CHS.

With Chief Seattle Club for support, LRP focuses on elevating the power, autonomy, and leadership of the Black and Gender Diverse community. CSC will be in charge of the building and its property, including maintenance, while LRP’s work will focus on ways to care for the residents. Continue reading →

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist | Kalina Winska is experimenting with the weather

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(Image: Ananya Mishra/CHS)

By Ananya Mishra

“A lot of things happen in the [artistic] process that are unpredictable, and I like to respond to those situations and find a way for it to work. That’s what excites me.”

Kalina Winska is an artist who grew up in Poland and has been living in Seattle for three years. Earlier this year, she moved her studio from Georgetown to Capitol Hill because she loved the energy and vibrancy of this neighborhood.

Her work is inspired by her concern for climate change and her fascination with digital weather maps. Kalina’s paintings are vibrant and play with juxtapositions.There are layers of contrasting colors, hard lines, and softer brushstrokes. Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | September Pride, teachers strike, Broadway Dick’s turns 60

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

2022

 

CHS Pics | Seattle teachers prepare for strike over pay, special education, and the pandemic — UPDATE: Work stoppage


Continue reading →