Author Archives: jseattle

About jseattle

Justin is publisher of CHS. You can reach him at chs@capitolhillseattle.com or call/txt (206) 399-5959. Follow @jseattle on Twitter or be best pals on Facebook.

Capitol Hill’s Redhook Brewlab in middle of big decision in big beer as Anheuser-Busch passes on purchase of Portland’s Craft Beer Alliance

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Inside the Brewlab

Corporate beer, supposedly, sucks. Does smaller corporate beer suck… less? The Capitol Hill-based future for Redhook’s Brewlab isn’t exactly independent but it won’t fall fully under the shadow of global beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev now that the international behemoth has let the deadline pass for an option to fully purchase Redhook’s Portland parent, the Craft Brew Alliance.

“While disappointing, with this decision made, management can turn its attention to refining strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value,” CBA head Andy Thomas said in a statement. Continue reading →

Suspect in custody after reported knife attack at MLK/Union Grocery Outlet

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Police took a suspect into custody minutes after an employee at MLK and Union’s Grocery Outlet was reportedly slashed in the face with a knife in an assault just before 1:30 PM

Police were called to the scene Friday afternoon to a report that a clerk had been cut on the face by a suspect who attempted to flee but was being held down by multiple people, according to East Precinct radio.

Details of this report have not yet been confirmed with SPD or Seattle Fire.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene to treat the victim’s injuries. UPDATE: SFD reports the clerk’s injuries as “minor.”

 

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SPD releases video plea for witnesses to March murder in Cal Anderson to ID shooter

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A scene from SPD’s video on the March 2019 murder

Seattle Police have taken the unusual step of producing a video plea for witnesses to the March shooting death of a 21-year-old in Cal Anderson Park to come forward and help detectives solve the case.

“We know Hakeem was murdered in front of numerous witnesses, many of whom claim to be his close friends,” the narrator in the two-minute video says. “We also know that the suspect did not leave the park alone and that his identity is known to multiple people present that night.” Continue reading →

2020: Seattle’s summer of the scooter

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This could be you (Image: Bird)

By next summer, electric scooters are primed to join Seattle’s growing fleet of privately-provided mobility options.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has announced the start of a year-long rollout process that includes three phases of outreach, City Hall wrangling over rules and permitting, and, then, eventually rollout in mid-2020.

“(A)t Mayor Durkan’s direction, we plan to draw lessons from other cities’ micro–mobility (a term for new, small, and electric transportation modes) programs and hear from community stakeholders before allowing scooter share in the City,” the SDOT announcement reads.

Before implementation, City Hall must address issues that have emerged with other scooter shares including rider safety and sidewalk safety issues. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | The walls come down at Midtown Center

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Midtown Center, perhaps the most visible and yet somehow most stubbornly unchanged symbol of the strains of gentrification in the Central District, is finally being demolished.

Crews began work this week to tear down the old commercial strip following a slow final year for the old buildings as the final commercial tenants moved out and chain-link fencing went up. Continue reading →

Portland’s Sizzle Pie says can’t cut it in Seattle, shutting down Capitol Hill pizzeria and Dark Bar

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Burnside-born Sizzle Pie could make its recipe of metal and pizza work in Portland, Eugene and even Reno. But Seattle? Not so much. The pizzeria chain announced Tuesday it is closing its Capitol Hill joint and sister venue Dark Bar at the end of August due to what it says are the rising costs of doing business in Seattle:

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the imminent closure of our Capitol Hill location on August 31, 2019. We are eternally grateful for all of the wonderful years that we were able to be a part of the Capitol Hill community. We’ve worked alongside so many great organizations and local businesses in our time here and we will miss you all dearly.

“Unfortunately, the continually rising overhead and operating costs in Seattle have brought us to the very difficult decision to close this location,” the statement reads. Continue reading →

CHBA: After neighborhood chamber implosion, Seattle business group forms Capitol Hill Business Alliance

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The GSBA’s Louise Chernin, center, has been in the mix around Capitol Hill businesses for decades

Following through on plans formed with the summer financial implosion of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, a major Seattle organization has announced the formation of the Capitol Hill Business Alliance, “dedicated to serving this vital neighborhood.”

“It’s the launch of a new era of support for the Capitol Hill business community,” the Greater Seattle Business Association announcement of the new effort sent to former chamber members reads.

In May, CHS reported on the sudden closure of the Capitol Hill chamber as the nonprofit representing hundreds of neighborhood businesses cited financial difficulties for bringing an end to its advocacy and marketing efforts. In July, CHS took a deeper look at what brought down the chamber and found a failed attempt to create an expanded “Business Improvement Area” had sapped much of the remaining energy and resources of the group, plus more details of the downward trend in city funding, legal issues, and the loss of key people including director Egan Orion who left after four months to launch a City Council campaign. Continue reading →

One injured in another bout of gunfire at 29th and Alder — UPDATE

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Monday night gunfire at a Central District corner with a history of shootouts and gang activity including a shots fired incident Friday afternoon sent a 27-year-old man to the hospital in stable condition but with serious injuries, a Seattle Fire spokesman said.

Seattle Police were called to an address at the corner of 29th and Alder just after 6:30 PM Monday to a report of gunfire and a vehicle speeding from the scene. Continue reading →

911 | Broadway pepper spray melee, residential burglary spike, and how you can help improve police reporting in Seattle

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS Crime coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or tune into the CHS Scanner page.

  • Police reports: You may have noticed CHS has been running fewer crime round-ups this summer. In the beginning days of the site, we used to go to the East Precinct lobby to dig through paper versions of the latest crime reports. In recent years, access has been much improved with services like Tweets by Beat and Online Reports making SPD’s work as transparent as possible. After some Seattle Department of Information Technology work, the services became unavailable starting in May. Last week, Tweets by Beat came back online. Yay! But the system for giving access to SPD’s incident reports remains offline. Unfortunately, SPD long ago phased out the paper and later CD-ROM process for accessing reports meaning the only way to get the information is to ask for it on a case by case basis from a busy Public Information team or submit a public disclosure requests that takes weeks at best. Let the Seattle DoIT folks know (email) you appreciate the return of Tweets by Beat and would also like to see online access to reports restored ASAP! You can also let them know on Twitter @SeattleITDept. Thanks!
  • Broadway pepper spray melee: A 19-year-old woman was taken into custody for assaulting multiple people with pepper spray in a roaming street melee that made its way down Broadway last Thursday night. According to the SPD report on the incident, the fight started near Broadway and Harrison around 8 PM when a man was confronted over a possible theft from a nearby shop. A fight disturbance involving multiple people was reported as police tried to track down the participants along Broadway. Seattle Fire and police were eventually called to the Kimchi Bistro in the 200 block of Broadway E where two people were reported suffering from exposure to pepper spray. The male from the original fight and a woman were located nearby at 10th and Republican. Police identified the woman as the perp in the pepper spray attack and took her into custody. She was booked for investigation of assault. There were no additional arrests and no other significant reported injuries. Continue reading →

Feed Co., last of a Capitol Hill-Central District family of restaurants, getting new owners, new concept

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From a growing set of Capitol Hill and Central District food and drink joints to zero — Scott and Heather Staples, creators of Quinn’s, Sole Repair, Zoe, and Feed Co. are saying goodbye to Central Seattle.

“We’ve loved being in the CD & CapHill all these years and will miss the communities! However, now we will enjoy the neighborhoods as supporters!!” was the super enthusiastic response when CHS asked Scott about the planned sale of 24th and Union’s Feed Co., the couple’s final holdings in the area. Continue reading →