Author Archives: CHS

Need a quick holiday gift or everyday item? Add Seattle U’s overhauled bookstore to your Capitol Hill shopping list — UPDATE

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(Image: Seattle U)

By Domenic Strazzabosco

With the closures and struggles of big chain grocery stores and drugstores, finding some everyday things for sale around Capitol Hill can be a challenge. A resource you might think is there just for the college kids might help.

With a redesign and an expanded retail mission, Seattle University’s Campus Store on the corner of 12th and Madison is eager to welcome students as well as anyone from the Capitol Hill neighborhood through its doors. With small selections of household goods and toiletries, snacks and plenty of Seattle U merchandise, the hope is that the store will be used for more than a quick stop by for students to pick up supplies.

The changing realities about the way students buy textbooks made way for the changes.

“The space was really designed to meander and relax,” said Michelle Conklin, Director of Campus Retail Services, during a tour of the new space with CHS. “Come in, enjoy the scenery, and take in what we have to offer.”

Savvy Capitol Hill shoppers already know about the value of quick stop by one of the neighborhood’s student shops. The Seattle Central Bookstore on Broadway is another “secret”.place to check when you need a new pen or a Seattle Central hoodie. UPDATE: Sorry for the error — the Seattle Central Bookstore is closed as its system has moved online.

Continue reading →

CHS Fiction | Cascade 3: Bootcamp, Zoom and Slack, Cal Anderson Park

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Story by J.J. Krause

Cal Anderson Park
One hundred feet away from Karen, Tamara was also on Zoom. In one corner of a grid of boxes, a hungover man in a suit was speaking.

“And then we have Susan at the Chamber of Commerce next Wednesday for their luncheon, and that afternoon she’ll do the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new light rail station. Then back to the capitol as we wrap the legislative session. Did I miss anything, Tamara?”

Tamara unmuted herself. “Nope, that’s it.” Of course it was, because he was reading from the brief she’d provided.

“Susan, was there anything on your end?” said the man with the hangover. Continue reading →

CHS Fiction | Cascade 3: Bootcamp, Zoom and Slack, Cal Anderson Park

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Story by J.J. Krause

Zoom and Slack
Later that day, Karen flipped on her Ring Light, checked her teeth in her webcam, and clicked “Join.” Her computer belched a chord and her screen transformed into a collection of boxes, each framing a baby face.

“Good Morning!” she said brightly. There were mumbles and nods, then silence. She grinned into the camera. She hated this part…

She looked at the other boxes. Most had blurred backgrounds. Where do these children live? Dorms? Karen’s background was a clean white wall, with a piece of framed art—a faux-antique map of Paris—next to a somewhat spindly fiddle-leaf fig. And Karen’s skull was positioned perfectly between them.

Finally, someone cleared their throat. It was a twenty-four-year-old boy—the CEO, Christoph, whose glistening hair formed a voluptuous swoop over his head. Continue reading →

CHS Fiction | Cascade 3: Bootcamp, Zoom and Slack, Cal Anderson Park

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Story by J.J. Krause

Bootcamp
The rain had returned, but Karen was too busy to care. She tore through the streets of South Lake Union in her white Tesla, searching for a spot. She saw a car leaving ahead and stomped on the accelerator.

Perfect! Right in front.

She parallel parked haphazardly—someday the software would do this for her, but currently it was just too slow—and she dashed out of the car toward a building with the ground floor encased in glass. The glass was emblazoned with white lettering: “JOIN THE HUSTLE. THE BEST WORKOUT IN THE WORLD.”

She pushed through the door, under text in the same font that read, “BARRY’S.”

It was empty inside except for two women behind the front desk. Karen power-walked toward them to check in. Luckily, she was already in her workout clothes—matching purple Lulu tights and tank top. Her bellybutton peeked out provocatively between.

“Go right in! They’re about to start,” said one, flashing searingly white teeth. Continue reading →

What’s the status of the Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area?

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By Matt Dowell

Businesses and property owners have continued to call for more to be done to address street disorder and public safety concerns around Pike/Pine — especially as the area is prepared for the opening of a county Crisis Care Center in 2027. But an effort for owners to organize themselves to pay for safety and cleanup resources remains on the drawing board.

The push to form Pike/Pine property owners into a new Business Improvement Area will continue into 2026.

In February, CHS reported that the Seattle Office of Economic Development advocated for a new BIA which would add a special assessment for property owners along Pike and Pine. The fee could directly fund cleanup and safety initiatives within the BIA alongside other business district revitalization and management efforts. Similar organizations fund efforts along Broadway and on 15th Ave E.

Per BIA rules, a coalition of roughly 60% of the property owners within the proposed zone would need to sign on.

Along Pike and Pine, that hasn’t happened yet. Continue reading →

Roots and thorns: Chris Persons on 18 years of building affordable housing on Capitol Hill and across Seattle

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Persons, holding the ribbon on the right, to celebrate this summer’s opening of The Devonshire in Belltown (Image: Community Roots Housing)

Some of the Community Roots Crew marking Persons’ last day falling on Halloween (Image: Community Roots Housing)

By Matt Dowell

There is still much to be done about affordability in Seattle. The buildings of Community Roots Housing can’t talk. But Chris Persons can.

Persons celebrated his final day as CEO of Community Roots Housing, the affordable housing developer that’s serviced our neighborhood since 1976, on Halloween. His successor is in place. Seattle community leader Colleen Echohawk is now at the helm as Community Roots projects move forward — including the eight-story apartment building under construction at Broadway and Pine as part of the Constellation Center affordable housing, youth education, skills training, and employment academy project in partnership with YouthCare.

Persons’ 18 years leading the affordable developer saw Community Roots through a Seattle construction boom, a growing mission (they were Capitol Hill Housing when he started), and the delivery of hundreds of affordable housing units to the city.

Persons talked with CHS about his first hand experience with Seattle’s struggle to build enough housing. He has thoughts on how we can do better.

But first, a round of roses and thorns. Retirement is a time for reflection, after all. What could have gone better in the last 18 years?

“So much,” he sighed.

Persons came to Seattle from the midwest, which may explain the self-deprecation. But it belies CRH’s track record through his tenure of driving forward sizable housing projects across Capitol Hill, the Central District, and the International District. Continue reading →

First year at Donna Jean’s Place, a Capitol Hill shelter where time is the most important resource

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(Image: Donna Jean’s Place)

By Moa Segerholt, UW News Lab

After being homeless three different times in Seattle, 60-year-old Benev Brandt says that Donna Jean’s Place is the best shelter she’s ever been in.

“Physically, I could find a safe place to sleep. And mentally, I could find a place to rest,” said Brandt.

Brandt says she has been homeless most her life and came to Seattle from California when she was 21. She has stayed at numerous shelters, but Donna Jean’s has provided her the most lasting healing, she says.

Donna Jean’s Place is a women’s emergency shelter that opened on northern Capitol Hill early this year as a collaboration between Operation Nightwatch and St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral.

Deacon Frank DiGirolamo, executive director of Operation Nightwatch, says he hoped that the shelter would help 100 women annually.

Since the opening at St. Mark’s last winter, the number has grown beyond expectations. DiGirolamo said that they’ve already helped more than 230 women at the shelter — named in honor of Donna Jean Palmberg, the widow of Operation Nightwatch’s founder — in the past year.

“This provides 7,000 nights of shelter per year, which sounds small – only 20 people per night, right? – But that’s 7,000 times that someone won’t be subject to being harassed or assaulted. So we think that’s a little seed of effort that can grow a lot,” Digirolamo said.

Donna Jean’s might also show that one of the most important resources a shelter can provide is time.

Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Community Post | Stevens Elementary School Tree Sale

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From the Stevens Elementary School PTA
The Stevens Elementary PTA Tree Sale is back again and now is the time to pre-order your tree and greenery! This festive and fun annual event has been part of the Capitol Hill community calendar for 40+ years, and your purchase can help support this vibrant school community. Pre-order your holiday tree and greenery now, then come pick out your perfect tree at the pop-up event the first weekend in December. You can also purchase standard doorstep or white-glove delivery in the 98112, 98102 and 98122 area codes. Best of all, your Christmas tree purchase will help support programs for local public elementary school kids!

Pre-order pick ups open at the school Friday Dec. tth 5:30-8pm, so make sure to pre-order for the best selection! We’re open for both pre-orders and walk-up purchases on Saturday Dec 6th from 9am-12pm and the annual pancake breakfast will also happen on Saturday morning!

Pre-order your tree, wreath, and garland now! http://bit.ly/caphill-tree-sale

 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

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. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤 

 
 

CHS Fiction | Cascade 2: Madison Park Beach, Home Economics, and Morning in Bellevue

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Story by J.J. Krause

Cascade is a serialized satire about four Seattleites –– a failed homosexual, a crypto-obsessed mom, a party-girl-turned-caretaker, and an unorthodox professor, all trying to hold it together in a world coming apart. Catch updates every few weeks on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. Want to skip ahead? Get the book.

Morning in Bellevue
It was 5:30am on Monday and Dave was already in Bellevue, on the 21st floor of a concrete castle. He was at Sanford & Co, his office—the feudal HQ itself.

He entered the bathroom in bike shorts, and, in two minutes flat, emerged as a finance professional: donned in a Brooks Brothers button-down and Costco wool pants, both billowing heterosexually as he walked down the sterile hallway. Through gold plated doors, he waved at Kristy, the blonde behind the front desk. He crossed the trading floor, a pen of low-rise cubicles each with four monitors, graphs aglow shining onto frowning male faces. It was eerily quiet. Weaving to the edge of the room, he found his own cube, with one monitor, next to a middle-aged Indian woman named Rana.

“Happy Monday,” she whispered.

“You too,” said Dave, sliding into his chair. Pulling up his emails, he felt the numbness set in. Across the room, he could see a window, and outside the window, he could see the lake. Yesterday, surrounded by men in speedos drinking rosé, felt a world away.

At 6am, the traders spun their chairs around for the huddle. Dave listened in, glancing over the cubicle wall.

An older man with a long face and a missing upper lip began. “We have to gross up this week. Valuations are absurd but retail flows are stronger than ever. I know people are cautious, but we need to hit our targets for leverage. Pick your best positions and extend them.”

Frowning faces all around.

“It’s a weak macro week. We’re past CPI. The ten year is chopping. Semis are running on the AI theme. It’s risk on. Don’t fight the tape. Barry, you go first with retailers.”

An overweight man with thick black glasses cleared his throat. “We have a few companies reporting this week, mainly off-price and dollar stores. Margins aren’t coming down at all. And the K-shaped bifurcation theme seems to be holding up—high end is spending, low end under pressure.”

“So back to normal?” said the older man.

“Yes. As long as the stock market rips, the high end spends. Rates impacts seem to be a wash so far—any credit constriction is offset by interest income. Not seeing any problems.”

“You looking at the SNAP expirations?”

“Yes we are shorting a few of the affected retailers.”

“Great. Gross up. Let’s do financials next.”

A lanky young man hesitantly stood. “We’re still evaluating the CRE situation, but unfortunately we hit a few stop-losses on shorts with the rally—”

“Triston,” interrupted the old man, “I’m gonna stop you right here.”

Triston nodded, clearing his throat.

“I want to be clear,” continued the older man, “We need beta. You’re overthinking this. You don’t need to map out the future of the banking industry. Respect momentum. Follow the Reddit boards if you need to. Nobody cares about these risks until banks are blowing up. Have you ever hiked Mount Rainier?”

“Excuse me?” said Tristan.

“Mount Rainier,” said the man, “have you hiked there?”

“Sure, yes,” said Tristan.

“It’s an active volcano. Were you worried about an eruption?”

“I see what you’re saying.”

“We’re benchmarked against funds that are invested. Skepticism is worthless in a multi-decade multiple expansion. Everyone knows there is a Fed backstop. Look at the political context — the White House wants this market higher. Add to your longs. We need more out of you.”

Deflated, Tristan sat back down. “Yes, I’ll get on that.”

“Next up is materials.”

The huddle moved quickly. At 6:15am, they all swiveled back to their screens, and at 6:30am, the market opened. The sound of clacking keyboards increased slightly, but beyond that, the room remained silent.

Dave started blankly at his screen, thinking about the update. Valuations are ridiculous… doesn’t that mean we should sell? Dave wasn’t on the investment side, so his opinions didn’t matter, but he often wondered if his better-compensated colleagues knew what they were doing. Didn’t they read Minsky? The house of cards had to crumble any day now…

But the White House wants the market higher? Does the president get to decide how rich we are? These days, it seemed the more screwed up politics became, the higher the markets went. The market, after all, was just a reflection of the delusions and distortions of American society at large—and there was no shortage there. Maybe I should be less bearish, thought Dave.

“Did you see the redemption request?” whispered Rana over the wall, snapping him out of his thoughts, “We need the paperwork today.”

“I thought we sent that to India last week,” Dave whispered back.

“They fucked it up,” said Rana, “can you do it?”

“Sure,” said Dave, scrolling through a convoluted chain of messages with a pension fund.

“Should we send it back to India and have them try again?” Dave asked, craning his neck into her cube, his eyes betraying distaste for the artificial plants she’d arranged on her desk.

“There’s no time. And they’re incompetent. Just do it.”

Dave nodded, returning to his screen. But just then the old man, Dick Sanford, walked up.

“Dave,” he said, staring into his phone, “where are we with the deck?”

“Uh,” said Dave, cycling through screens on his computer, “looks like we updated all the charts last week.”

“We’re gonna need to redo that,” Dick replied, “we got back some revised trade data from Goldman. And we need to fix the formatting. Did you make the changes?”

“You mean updating it to the latest style guide?”

“No, I thought we talked about this. Warren’s girlfriend works at an advertising agency and they suggested some things.” Raising his voice, he spoke across the room, “Warren, did you send Dave the notes on the fundraising deck?”

From the other side of the room, a young man—also with a long face and a missing upper lip—turned from his screens and said, “Yes I did.”

“Find the email,” said the older man, “We need the deck to be more professional. We need to look like the funds in New York, not some Seattle backwater. We can’t raise money with a deck that looks like a school assignment. ”

“Got it, I’ll look,” said Dave, flustered.

The man glanced at Rana’s desk. “Is this the latest Seattle Times?” he said, picking up the paper, which was open to the Food section (Rana had a passion for brunch).

“Yes,” she replied.

“Do we subscribe to this?”

“Yes, we get all the papers.”

“Well we probably don’t need this one,” said the man, flipping to the business section. His lip-less mouth curled sideways as he glanced at the lead article. “Look at this nonsense,” he said. The column was titled, “It was Transitory, The Transition Just Took Time,” by Bill Lorie, PhD.

“These academics,” said Dick, speed-reading, “if they only knew…”

Dave and Rana mumbled their support in unison, staring at their boss intently. Dave had read the piece and reluctantly agreed with Dick’s assessment; Rana hadn’t and didn’t care but was worried about losing the food section.

“What are they teaching in the schools? Does this guy really thinking printing $5 trillion and sending checks had no impact?” Dick asked, to nobody in particular, shaking his head. “Actually,” he said, “this might help us understand retail investors better. Maybe we should keep getting it. Mind if I take it?”

“Of course not,” said Rana to the old man’s back as he walked away.

They turned back to their computers. Dave heard the whooshing noise of a new email coming into his inbox. It was from Warren Sanford, with the subject line, “Fundraising Deck Design Notes.”

It was 6:45am in Bellevue and Dave couldn’t wait to bike back home.

CASCADE 1: Going Downhill | A Failed Homosexual |.Crypto Karen | New Neighbors

CASCADE 2: Madison Park Beach | Home Economics | Morning in Bellevue

J.J. lives in Seattle and can frequently be found on foot trekking up and down hills, stopping only to record one-liners and half-baked ideas.

 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

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. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤 

 
 

CHS Fiction | Cascade 2: Madison Park Beach, Home Economics, and Morning in Bellevue

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Story by J.J. Krause

Cascade is a serialized satire about four Seattleites –– a failed homosexual, a crypto-obsessed mom, a party-girl-turned-caretaker, and an unorthodox professor, all trying to hold it together in a world coming apart. Catch updates every few weeks on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. Want to skip ahead? Get the book.

Home Economics
Above the fray at Madison Park Beach, a 1995 manual-transmission Volvo station wagon rolled past. The body of the car was covered in bird shit, and the engine made a squealing noise, causing beach revelers to tilt their heads to see what the commotion was. At the wheel was Dr. Bill Lorie, a heavy-set man with shoulder length grey hair and a beard that framed a red, excitable face. He looked like a mix between Santa Claus and a shih tzu.

The man spotted an open parking spot—a reverse diagonal spot as is common in Madison Park. Pulling forward, he shifted into reverse and slowly eased back, a high-pitched metallic whine emitting from under the vehicle. On the front patio of Cactus, the Mexican restaurant, diners put down their margaritas and turned to the street as Bill revved the engine unsteadily.
Bill’s tail bumper edged dangerously close to a BMW X5. Continue reading →