Author Archives: Jillblocker

About Jillblocker

Jill is a CHS contributor.

Group helps women entrepreneurs thrive on Capitol Hill

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With the vision to make Capitol Hill the best neighborhood in America to operate a woman-owned business, Capitol Hill Entrepreneurial Women is already making progress.

Laura Culberg (Image: Sweatbox Yoga)

Laura Culberg (Image: Sweatbox Yoga)

A recent study that ranked Seattle as the #2 city in the country for women entrepreneurs noted CHEW as a factor:

Seattle is one of the most highly educated cities and has a correspondingly high median income and low unemployment rate. With 12.5 businesses per 100 residents, the city is highly entrepreneurial, and women own around 4 of those businesses.

 

Organizations like CHEW organize events and panels to encourage female entrepreneurs to open their businesses in Seattle. Seattle is also home to one of the world’s most famous and civic-minded businesswomen, Melinda Gates, as well as rising chef and restaurant entrepreneur Renee Erickson.

Laura Culberg founded CHEW in 2011 while running her business, The SweatBox yoga. After connecting with other women and offering business advice and watching the neighborhood change over more than a decade of business on the Hill, she says she finally got the idea to join entrepreneurial forces.

“Capitol Hill is diverse, open-minded and there are smart people there,” she says. “It’s a place where people take risks and that’s the kind of person I relate to.”

Continue reading →

Man arrested in 12th Ave bar knockout

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A man who was enjoying a drink at a Capitol Hill bar last weekend was sucker punched by a stranger who didn’t like that he touched his friend, according to the Seattle Police Department. The SPD report doesn’t say which bar the incident occurred at — we’ll let you decide between Canon, The Chieftain and the new and perpetually mobbed Von Trapp’s.

Police say the man was at the bar in the 900 block of 12th Ave last Sunday, when the man approached and demanded, “don’t touch her again.”

“The victim was confused and said, ‘what the fuck’ then the man punched him in the face for no apparent reason,” according to the police report, causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground.”

Shortly after, police located a man matching the description near 14th Avenue and East Spring Street. He was identified and arrested for investigation of misdemeanor assault.

Socialist Sawant makes push for Council with calls for $15 minimum wage, millionaire tax

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kshama01Kshama Sawant  – a Seattle Central Community College and Seattle University economics professor and 2012 Socialist candidate for the 43rd legislative seat – has announced her next political campaign will be against Richard Conlin for a seat on the Seattle City Council.

Sawant will now position her left-of-center politics against the former City Council president.

CHS reported on Sawant in November when she lost against Democratic state House Speaker Frank Chopp, but still walked away with a strong showing for an ardently left-wing candidate.

Socialist candidate for the 43rd legislative seat Kshama Sawant managed an unheard of 27% in early returns. We’re assuming Sonicsgate backlash also might have taken a bite out of Frank Chopp on his way to a still-easy victory.

“We will be running a vigorous grassroots campaign that will fight for low paid workers, youth, poor people and people of color facing police brutality, and all those who are shut out by the Democratic Party political machine that runs this city on behalf of a tiny elite,” Sawant says in a press release.

According to the release, Sawant’s City Council campaign will focus on:

  • Initiating a Millionaire Tax to fund public education and a green jobs program
  • Expanding public transit
  • A $15/hour minimum wage in the city
  • Scrapping the MAP test in Seattle Public Schools
  • Highlighting systematic SPD brutality, racial profiling and repression of social movements
  • A campaign against coal trains

Elliott Bay Book Co. wants a t-shirt for its 40th birthday

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All the Elliott Bay Book Company wants for its 40th birthday is for someone to design the Capitol Hill retailer a t-shirt.

books

We’re starting the celebration off with a bang and are pleased to announce our T-Shirt Design Contest! The contest winner will have their design printed on all our 40th anniversary T-shirts, which will be sold online and in the store as a featured limited edition T-shirt.

Your design should be inspired by the Elliott Bay Book Company, by our 40th celebration, by a love of books and reading, and by our community. Be creative. Have fun. Think about what the bookstore means to you.

The winner will get a $100 Elliott Bay Book Company gift certificate.

For more contest rules and instructions for submitting a design, visit The Ship’s (B)log.

While design contests are often frowned upon, CHS is OK with a t-shirt exception. You?

We’ll have more on 40 years of EBBC soon.

Seattle to study ‘adaptive traffic’ system

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Mayor Mike McGinn announced Wednesday the Seattle Department of Transportation will work with transportation firm Transpo Group to conduct a study toward implementing an adaptive traffic signal system in Seattle.

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The signals work by intelligently responding to changing traffic flows in real-time, enhancing signal synchronization and signage, and increasing public access to construction information and traffic conditions, according to the city.

“We are working hard to help everyone get where they are going safely and smoothly,” McGinn said in a press release. “That’s why we are looking at upgrading our traffic signal system so that traffic flows more efficiently, which benefits all users of our roadways. I thank SDOT Director Peter Hahn for his development of the Access Seattle strategy and his implementation of the Transportation Action Agenda.”

The $300,000 study is covered through existing funds and is part of SDOT’s Access Seattle Agenda. You can read more the study that first identified the need for adaptive traffic control in the March 2010 SDOT Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Strategic Plan.

Seattle was recently ranked the 9th worst city in the country (tied with Philadelphia) for traffic delays, with commuters spending in 48 hours annually in traffic, according to Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

The Capitol Hill Crowdfund: LGBT magazine, Seattle Central filmmakers, ‘vibrator of the future’

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From Little Secrets

From Little Secrets

Behind every business plan, book idea, documentary or artistic endeavor conceptualized on Capitol Hill is a passionate person who could probably use a few extra bucks.

Crowdsourcing funding platforms are helping these entrepreneurs and artists make their dreams a reality. Support your neighbors and check out a couple local projects currently seeking funding.

CONCEPT: T(OUR) Magazine
Raised: $1,125/$2,000 goal
Indiegogo campaign ends: March 15

T(OUR) Magazine, a LGBTQ-themed magazine and literary blog with Capitol Hill roots, is seeking funding to send its third issue to the printer. The magazine is published ever three months and includes essays, poetry, short stories and artwork. Funding supports printing, marketing supplies, hiring an illustrator and magazine reading party at Capitol Hill bar Vermillion. The magazine will also be for sale at Elliott Bay Book Company. Continue reading →

Project to create ‘Stunning’ murals on four Capitol Hill buildings (including coveted Shop Rite gig)

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This Awesome Seattle Foundation project spells it out on the side of the Capitol Club (Image: CHS)

This Awesome Seattle Foundation project spells it out on the side of the Capitol Club (Image: CHS)

We’re pretty sure it won’t transform Seattle into an “international arts destination” by this summer but a project — and cool opportunity for artists — has been hatched to create four large-scale murals on Capitol Hill buildings.

“Our overall goal is to help establish Seattle as an international arts destination similar to cities like Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, London, São Paulo New York and Miami which are well known for their street arts,” according to the project website, Stunning Seattle.

Perhaps due to our strong rankings in this “who’s who in America’s arty neighborhoods, all of the planned Stunning Seattle mural locations will be on Capitol Hill: Continue reading →

Cops bust creative — but messy — burglar inside Broadway Polyclinic

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An alleged burglar used a surgical mask and wire to wreak havoc inside The Polyclinic Broadway last week, but a trail of clothing and a sounding fire alarm allowed police to find him while still inside, according to the Seattle Police Department.

Police responded to the alarm early last Wednesday around 3:30 AM, with reports that youths inside the building pulled three alarms.

While the naughty trio was no longer at the scene, an officer accompanied a supervisor into the building and noticed a suspicious trail. Continue reading →

With soaring rents, a Seattle advisory group to ensure affordable housing

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Capitol Hill residents have had their fair struggle with finding affordable housing, but the mayor says a new advisory group could be the answer to ensuring reasonable rents in desired neighborhoods.

“In Seattle, we’re working to create great communities with access to jobs, parks, libraries and transit,” Mayor Mike McGinn said in a statement on the proposal. “This advisory group will help us look at ways to improve City programs that help our residents be able to afford to live in these neighborhoods.” Continue reading →

Oddfellows donating percent of Monday sales for ‘opportunity to dance’ relief

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(Image: Oddfellows)

(Image: Oddfellows)

The Senate Ways and Means committee has made progress by moving forward a bill seeking an end to the “opportunity to dance,” tax, but Century Ballroom still needs to raise more than $35,000 to pay Olympia.

To help sweeten its relief fund, Capitol Hill’s Oddfellows Café + Bar is offering 5% of sales Monday to the cause.

“After hearing about Century Ballroom’s situation, the crew over at Oddfellows Café + Bar knew we had to help our neighbor in need.  Join us all day on Monday March 11th, and know your sandwich, cocktail, cookie, etc. is going to a good cause (other than your belly!).”

As of Friday, supporters have raised $57,381, or 62.37 percent, of Century Ballroom’s $92,000 bill, leaving them to raise about $641.09 a day until the May 1 deadline.

SB 5613 was placed on second reading by the Rules Committee on March 8 and is awaiting action by the full Senate.  According to Century Ballroom, the committee’s goal is to have the bill approved by Wednesday.