Mercer Roy
A 2022 murder on the Cal Anderson Park basketball court remains unsolved.
Last week, CHS reported on the missed 2022 guilty plea that brought the case around the 2019 stabbing death of RayShauna Webber in Cal Anderson to a close. Lawyers for David Nichols at a plea deal with the King County Prosecutor that resulted in a 17-year sentence.
There has been no such justice in another past summer murder in the park, a CHS check of arrest and court records reveals. Continue reading
Powdery mildew on a kale leaf. (image: Brendan McGarry)
I got a little overzealous when planting kale this year. In an effort to overcome the slugs that boomed this wet spring, I went hard and overseeded, banking on losing a lot or having to thin. And, besides, we eat a lot of kale in our household. No big deal.
But then summer hit and we got busy and we didn’t inhale kale quite so much as I thought we would. Beautiful leaves kept filling in until our entire raised bed was covered. And with this dense, moisture trapping layer came powdery mildew — and lots of it.
Powdery mildew is a common summer affliction in this part of the world. Caused by a number of species in the Erysiphales order of fungi, even if you didn’t know the name of this plant pathogen, you’ve definitely seen it. The term powdery mildew is just a catch-all term for a number of species that infect plants worldwide, but it’s an apt description. It looks a lot like someone threw sifted flour all over a plant’s leaves.
What actually creates that layer of white are the mycelium of the fungus, spreading across the leaves and stems of the infected plant. Continue reading
Here are the top stories from this week in CHS history:
(Image: Vice Seattle)
In a neighborhood already so immoral and so wicked, who dares call their nightclub Vice? It is a lot to live up to.
Vice Seattle, the newest nightlife offering in Capitol Hill’s robust nightlife economy, opened in July with a crisp opening weekend for the hundreds that came to ring in the red carpet launch and dance to world-champion EDM artist Four Color Zack.
Capitol Hill is known for its club scene and Vice is proud to be a new stop for party-goers, bookending the Pike and Pine track on Minor below Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market.
It takes work — and experience — to be this wicked.
“We’ve built a nightlife environment that is intentional and by design, so we can put on a really good show,” Vice’s Guy Godefroy says.. “It’s just fun to have everything dialed in.”
Vice is now resident in the basement level of Melrose Market, a mid-sized, brick-lined industrial space that the Vice team redesigned from the ground up. Complete with a custom-sound system and “jaw-dropping arrangement of LED visuals,” Vice is equipped to put on a good show. Continue reading
Taylor (Image: The Stritmatter Firm)
The wrongful death trial against the State of Washington in the crash that killed activist Summer Taylor in a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest on I-5 is set to begin, the law firm representing Taylor’s family announced.
The Stritmatter Firm says that the state’s “failure to properly and fully close the freeway that night” allowed the driver that struck and killed Taylor as a group of protestors filled I-5 to enter the roadway in the deadly incident.
“The state could have prohibited protests on the freeway. Instead it allowed the protests, told the protesters it was closing the road, but failed to fully close the road,” the firm wrote in an announcement on the case, adding that the state “closed the freeway on 30 different occasions to allow the protesters to occupy the roadway on 19 different evenings.” Continue reading
A protest rally calling for an “immediate arms embargo” of U.S. aid to Israel will gather in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park Sunday.
The Not Another Bomb rally organized by Arab Americans for Progress and uncommittedmovement.com will start at noon in the Capitol Hill park as groups mark the start of the Democratic National Convention with calls for ending the nation’s military support for Israel.
The Seattle rally will be part of a “National Day of Action” from the Arab Americans for Progress group.
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Thanks to reader Micah for this picture of the fire
An overnight fire charred a vacant Capitol Hill apartment building lined up to be demolished to make way for a new housing project for “chronically homeless adults.”
Seattle Fire reported the 4:20 AM blaze as a two-alarm fire as flames leapt from the emptied Granberg Apartments onto a neighboring structure in the 1700 block of Belmont.
The fire raged through the three-story, 1908-era apartment building quickly and, with the roof at risk of collapse, SFD said it was taking a defensive position “by pouring water on the fire at a safe distance away from the building.”
More than an hour later, crews were still working to completely put out the fire as SFD warned residents and businesses in the area to close windows and doors to try to prevent smoke from entering.
It was born as Spice Box in 2020 before changing its name to Spice Bliss
(image: Spice Bliss)
When the Pride Place building opened last year, it brought the promise of affordable, LGBTQIA+ focused senior living to Broadway between Pike and Pine. It also created new space for neighborhood businesses.
The first to be lined up to join that mix will be familiar neighbor to the project.
Broadway’s tiny Spice Bliss is making plans to move across the street, according to city records.
The Indian restaurant that has grown as a favorite delivery option out of the pandemic era is now making plans to spread out in a much larger new restaurant space on the street level of Pride Place where it will neighbor the senior center and offices of GenPride below the Building’s more than 100 apartments. Continue reading
A memorial to Webber on the south edge of Cal Anderson
RayShauna Webber
This summer marked the five-year anniversary of the stabbing death of RayShauna Webber in Cal Anderson Park.
While many reported on the killing and the arrest of truck driver David Nichols in what police said was a knife assault over an offer to light a cigarette in the park, CHS and other media missed an important update in the case.
After the original not guilty plea, lawyers for Nichols arrived at a plea deal with the King County Prosecutor in 2022, according to court records.
Under the terms, Nichols pleaded guilty to second degree murder and assault in the case and was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison.
The 2022 deal makes the Webber murder case one of the few Capitol Hill homicide cases to reach a conclusion in recent years.
Webber, 25 at the time of her killing, is remembered as “a social butterfly and an empathetic spirit.” She left behind a life partner and child.
“RayShauna will be remembered by her outgoing charismatic nature and delicate touch,” her family wrote.
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Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
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(Image: Seattle Parks and Recreation)
Summer is survey season for Seattle’s parks. Seattle Parks and Recreation is conducting a process to select new projects in underserved areas of the city as part of a $5.2 million Park CommUNITY Fund effort over the next two years.
STEP 1: Project Selection< Community Selection Community Selection is open to anyone who lives, works, and plays in Seattle or is part of a Tribal government.
- A community member may cast one ballot per region, and may choose up to 3 projects per region.
- Projects marked as Citywide can also be selected; however, these projects include locations from other Seattle neighborhoods and not just the ones in this region.
- If you need assistance or request forms in other languages, contact us at [email protected] or 206-886-6522.
2024 – 2025 Funding Allocations
This cycle has $5.2 million budgeted between 2024 and 2025 to be allocated towards projects. In Seattle, we have nearly 53 neighborhoods, so we have divided funding by the 4 regions (North, Central, West, and South) to help community select projects.
The goals of the program include “expanding inclusive access” and addressing equity gaps “in access to quality parks and park facilities.” Continue reading
