Author Archives: CHS Staff

Capitol Hill Station getting new ‘variable messaging signs’

Posted on by

Sound Transit crews are installing new “variable messaging signs” at Capitol Hill Station and University of Washington Station this week to improve how the system communicates service updates to light rail riders.

The new signs are part of a systemwide upgrade of Sound Transit’s “passenger information system” and designed to show a wider variety of information like service updates and alerts. The upgrade has been a long time in coming as Sound Transit struggled with back-end issues starting in late 2022 around the transition to a new system. Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | Capitol Hill chamber goes belly up, street racing deadly shooting, Sawant proposes cutting police budget in half

Posted on by

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

2023

 

‘Nobody’s getting out’: Police stood by and unruly street racing crowds grew to hundreds before Broadway/Pike shooting — UPDATE: Victim dies


Continue reading →

Coming soon light rail changes include new $3 flat fare, the end of ‘tapping off,’ and Broadway’s Station 1-49

Posted on by

(Image: Sound Transit)

With a new expansion set to open in August, Sound Transit is rolling out a host of changes including a new $3 flat rate that will eliminate the dreaded “tap off” for its light rail riders and new station ID numbers that are hoped to make navigating the growing system easier and that will give you a new way to refer to Capitol Hill Station. Next stop: Station 1-49.

Meanwhile, there is a “new” stop downtown where Sound Transit has renamed the old University Station as Symphony Station to hopefully clear up past confusion for riders thinking they were arriving at the University of Washington stop.

The changes come as Sound Transit is ready to expand its light rail system with service connecting Lynnwood to the existing 1 Line at the end of August. More expansion is coming including the new line connecting Seattle to the Eastside across I-90. Costly construction snafus have delayed the opening of Judkins Park Station and the Eastside expansion line it is part of to 2025 — some eight years after the project broke ground. Continue reading →

With ‘zero youth detention’ commitments already broken, county council plans vote on keeping 12th Ave youth jail open

Posted on by

The King County Council will vote in August on legislation some of its members say will affirm the county’s commitment to continuing youth detention at 12th Ave’s Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center.

“Today, the facility is holding 61 young people on charges including murder, manslaughter, rape, child molestation and other serious violent crimes,” Claudia Balducci, Law and Justice Committee vice chair and former director of the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, said in a statement. “It is clear that we continue to have a need for detention. At the same time, our county has long been committed to the success of our young people to keep them out of detention.”

The August vote follows the county council committee’s failure Wednesday to arrive at a consensus on the proclamatory legislation from councilmember Reagan Dunn that creates no new specific policies or programs but would declare the intent of the council to “maintain operations of the youth detention facility.”

The legislation may not be necessary. Continue reading →

Review board signs off on design for new 6-story apartment building on Broadway’s Bait Shop block

Posted on by

The East Design Review Board has approved the final design proposal for a new six-story, 122-unit apartment building with retail and three live-work units on the 600 block of Broadway E.

The board Wednesday night reviewed the proposed design and heard public comment before recommending conditional approval of the design by Studio Meng Strazzara for developer Cascade Ridge Partners. The approval requires the project to meet conditions related to the “composition of exterior materials” and “the design of the street edges at pedestrian level,” the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections says. Continue reading →

WSDOT holding open house on 520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke lid construction

Posted on by

The Washington State Department of Transportation is holding an open house both in-person and online to provide information about the project schedule and construction details around the SR 520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project that will create a new Portage Bay Bridge and a lid connecting the Roanoke neighborhood over the highway: Continue reading →

Interim Seattle Police chief says ‘sprint, not a marathon’ to address department staffing and public safety concerns

Posted on by

As she has been clear she does not plan to hold the job long-term, interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr Tuesday will brief the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee on her plans and tell the body that her approach to crime issues in the city is a “sprint, not a marathon.”

Tuesday’s briefing (PDF) will include an update on Seattle Police hiring as well as the 2024 homicide and shots fired investigation count.

Previously serving as King County Sheriff, Rahr stepped into the role to lead SPD this spring after the removal of Chief Adrian Diaz after four female officers filed a claim against the department alleging sexism and a hostile work environment. Continue reading →

Seattle mayor proposes ‘net revenue neutral’ mid-year spending package focused on public safety

Posted on by

Mayor Bruce Harrell says his proposed Mid-Year Supplemental budget package emphasizes needed public safety investments that would expand the city’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement police alternative effort, support youth mental health, and make more money available for recruiting and training public safety staff.

With the city facing cutbacks in a looming budget deficit, Harrell’s office says the new budget proposal will also be “net revenue neutral” by shifting spending away from other priorities.

“Seattle is making meaningful progress on our most serious public safety challenges and this package will ensure we continue that momentum with needed investments, improvements, and staffing,” Harrell said in the announcement. Continue reading →

It’s time for Block Party — Plus, Capitol Hill’s 2024 sit in a park watching free concerts and movies season is also underway

Posted on by

Some of the CHBP free entertainment from 2023

This weekend brings the three-day Capitol Hill Block Party music festival to the streets of Pike/Pine along with about 30,000 music fans inside the fences of the ticketed event. There will be a lot of activities going on outside those fences, too, including a mix of free events and activities in Cal Anderson Park.

But if CHBP is not your vibe, these Capitol Hill summer weeks bring a lot of other — cheaper — options for enjoying public space and people watching in the neighborhood with a calendar of free music and movie screenings in full motion.

In Cal Anderson, the city’s last outdoor movie of the season hits the park screen on Friday, July 26th with a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In August, outdoor screenings in the area shift to First Hill’s Freeway Park:

• Fri., August 2 – The Fifth Element
• FrI., August 9 – Reality Bites
• Fri., August 16 – Twister
• Fri, August 23 – 10 Things I Hate About You
• Fri., August 30 – Jurassic Park (1993)

Meanwhile, every Thursday through August 15th will bring free music to the Volunteer Park amphitheater as the space’s outdoor concert series runs for its third year.

Good times in Volunteer Park earlier this summer as Clinton Fearon took the stage (Image: Volunteer Park Trust)

Need more? Tuesday nights through September 24th feature the special weeknight edition of the Capitol Hill Farmers Market next to Capitol Hill Station.

UPDATE: Also coming in August will be a Cal Anderson slate of the city’s Dancing Til Dusk free dance events:

Thursdays in Cal Anderson Park, 6–9:30pm
Aug 1: Birch Pereira and the Gin Joints
Americana Rock’n’Roll
Aug 8: WCS DJ Battle with Sam, Lia & Rebecca | West Coast Swing
Aug 15: Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers” | Django Reinhart Swing

The first hour of the dance nights includes a beginning dance lesson. “No experience needed,” they promise. Also, get ready to meet your neighbors. “We rotate partners,” the parks department says, “but if you prefer not to, bring a partner to the lesson.”

As for Block Party, CHS reported here on the 2024 edition — the 26th year for the festival in its current format. Producer Daydream State, the production company from Pike/Pine nightlife entrepreneur Jason Lajeunesse that puts on the annual three-day ticketed music festival on the neighborhood’s streets, have put together a 2024 CHBP lineup that includes headliners “Grammy-winning producer Kaytranada, electropop superstar Kim Petras (Petras had to withdraw due to health), and indie rock group Still Woozy.” Friday passes are sold out thanks to a surge in demand to see Chappell Roan. Capitol Hill Block Party 2024 takes place Friday, July 19th through Sunday, July 21st. Learn more at capitolhillblockparty.com.

Prefer freeloading? Seattle Parks is holding this free concert in Cal Anderson on Saturday evening across from the Block Party gates:

FREE concert at Cal Anderson Park! Saturday, July 20 from 5-10pm Performances by Off99, Noah Coinflip, Sugarpea, and Quaad! Produced in partnership with Selected Records. Come hang out!

Or stop by Volunteer Park Saturday night starting at 7 PM for free Chamber Music in the Park:

July 20

Location: Volunteer Park

Time: 7:00 PM

Program:
CLARA SCHUMANN
Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17
Marc-André Hamelin, Tessa Lark, Mark Kosower

ROBERT SCHUMANN
Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, James Ehnes, Karen Gomyo, Jonathan Vinocour, Ani Aznavoorian

 

 

$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 🖤 

 
 

Seattle Social Housing Developer names first CEO

Posted on by

The Seattle Social Housing Developer has its first leader. The authority announced that Roberto Jimenez has been appointed as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer.

Jimenez’s career in providing affordable housing includes his work with Mutual Housing California where officials say he doubled the organization’s housing portfolio and maintained a housing development pipeline with $500 million in active real estate development while “successfully engaging residents in board governance.” As Chair of the Board of Housing California, he helped lead statewide housing policy and advocacy efforts,” SSHD says. Continue reading →