Author Archives: Justin Carder

About Justin Carder

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

911 | Garbage truck driver hospitalized in possible poppers hazmat incident on Harvard Ave E

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out reports from @jseattle or join and check in with neighbors in the CHS Facebook Group.

Poppers hazmat incident? Either somebody improperly disposed of a stash of poppers or a neighborhood chemist tossed an experiment into the Capitol Hill trash.

One person was taken to the hospital after Seattle Fire was called to Harvard and Mercer Thursday afternoon for a hazardous materials response when a garbage truck compacted its load “and a potentially hazardous material was released,” an SFD spokesperson tells CHS. Continue reading →

This year’s Capitol Hill Christmas Dive Bar will temporarily take over storied nightclub space

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It is October 1st so it is time to start thinking about… Christmas.

A storied Pike/Pine nightclub will be temporarily revived for the holiday season as this year’s edition of the Capitol Hill Christmas Dive Bar has found a new home.

Joey Burgess says the 2026 edition of the popular seasonal pop-up bar will make its home in the space previously home to Havana. While the longtime owner of Pike/Pine bars, clubs, and retail venues didn’t rule anything out, it is unlikely that the Christmas Dive Bar’s appearance has much to do with the old Havana’s future. Still, the planned pop-up will bring seasonal energy and festive crowds to the block at 10th and Pike through the holidays. Continue reading →

Audits find Seattle Police tapping SDOT feeds sent by mistake — and private cameras on Capitol Hill

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A security camera above 12th Ave

Two newly released reports reveal that Seattle’s expanding camera network has outpaced city safeguards, sweeping up sensitive traffic feeds by mistake and pulling in private security cameras — including feeds on Capitol Hill — without clear rules.

Both audits were conducted under the Seattle Municipal Code which requires independent oversight offices to annually examine the Seattle Police Department and city’s approved surveillance tools for privacy risks, civil liberties impacts, and legal compliance.

The review by the Office of Inspector General warned that police and city leaders failed to set basic standards before connecting private business and property feeds into the Seattle Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center. Unlike city cameras, which use digital masking to black out apartment and hotel windows, the department cannot easily control third-party devices. If a business owner angles a camera into non-public spaces or archives video for months, police have no formal process to catch or correct the issue.

While the pilot has launched in downtown, Aurora, and the International District, investigators say the SPD plan to link private feeds citywide has been moving forward without adequate safeguards and has already integrated two private camera locations in Capitol Hill within SPD’s East Precinct without specific geographic limits. Continue reading →

Ambitious Capitol Hill hotel and restaurant project The Baillie is holding an estate sale

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(Image: The Baillie)

The guys creating The Baillie boutique hotel and restaurant project on Capitol Hill’s Millionaire’s Row are holding an estate sale this weekend to clear out decades of furniture, knickknacks, art, and ephemera from the old mansion’s decades as a bed and breakfast.

Join us Sunday, October 4, 11-4pm at @thebaillieseattle as we open the doors for a one-day estate sale.

Whether you’re furnishing a space, searching for a singular find, or simply curious to see the “before,” this is your chance to explore the mansion and get a pre-construction sneak peek at our newest project.

Refreshments and light bites will be available.

Continue reading →

City-backed cleaning crew offers proof of concept for Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area

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The council president and the Pike/Pine clean-up crew (Image: @cmjoyhollings)

A city-funded street cleaning pilot across Pike/Pine is providing data and serving as a proof of concept for organizers working to establish a dedicated Business Improvement Area.

District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth praised the work of Seattle Surface Cleaners earlier this month, writing that the crew’s morning pressure washing and litter sweeps are an “investment focused on keeping Capitol Hill cleaner and improving the neighborhood.”

The pilot came about through a $300,000 citywide cleaning amendment sponsored last eyar by Councilmember Dan Strauss which allocated $100,000 each to Capitol Hill, Ballard, and the University District.

Alex Altshuler, Hollingsworth’s chief of staff, said that the cleaning funds are designed to work alongside a separate $50,000 budget addition intended to be complementary to the cleaning funds to “aid in the establishment of a BIA,” saying the program was structured as a “proof of concept” for corridor maintenance. Continue reading →

Inspection finds brick façade ‘stable’ at shuttered 15th Ave E restaurant building

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(Image: CHS)

City officials say the brick facade of the building at the center of the sudden closure of three 15th Ave E businesses has been determined to be safe.

“Our building inspection team evaluated the brick façade on E. Harrison Ave (sic). and found the condition appears stable and does not indicate an ongoing safety hazard to the public,” a spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections tells CHS. “A Hazard Correction Order will not be issued.”

CHS reported on the review and concerns about crumbling brick on the building’s south side as Rione XIII, Rubinstein Bagels, and Bar Vacilando announced their sudden closures last week citing lease and unspecified building issues.

In August, crumbling bricks were reported along the 96-year-old structure’s E Harrison-side masonry facade. Continue reading →

To create Seattle U’s new 12th Ave SUMA art museum, some of its promised collection is being sold off — UPDATE

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Gaetano Gandolfi, The Birth of Venus –
 Estimate: $2-3 million (Image: Sotheby’s)

SUMA

As the plan moves forward to build a new art museum on its 12th Ave campus, Seattle University has announced a change in plans for some of the $300 million in art pledged to be showcased there in a donation by Seattle property developer Dick Hedreen.

“Longtime Seattle University supporter and donor Richard Hedreen recently informed the university of his decision to sell approximately 50 works from the broader collection,” the school’s September 14th announcement read. “As Sotheby’s Auction House announces the sale this morning, we wanted the university community to hear this news directly from us. Mr. Hedreen reaffirmed his commitment to gifting the remaining approximately 350 works of art to the university in honor of his late wife, Betty Hedreen, a proud Seattle University alumna.”

The announcement follows Hedreen’s 2024 donation pledging the $300 million collection of paintings, pottery, photography, etchings, and sculptures to the Jesuit university. The donation included a promise of $25 million in “seed funding” to build a new Seattle University Museum of Art to house the collection. Continue reading →

Mapping the buffer: Inside the safety and design planning for Broadway’s Crisis Center

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A .25 mile radius around the facility


 
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Central Crisis Care Center

As renovations begin on the former Polyclinic building that spans between Broadway and Harvard along Union, local safety planning for King County’s upcoming Central Crisis Care Center is moving forward on two tracks: an immediate evaluation of neighborhood security gaps and an eventual handoff to an operator-run advisory council once patients arrive.

Last week, CHS reported on the political process across two mayoral administrations that formed a new six-member advisory group responsible for a crucial $3 million safety and community plan to help the surrounding neighborhoods make a better home for the new crisis center when it opens in 2027.

Here is a look at what the group has been working on, the challenges and shortcomings it is facing — and a critical handoff that must be executed with a new group once the center opens. Continue reading →

No injuries after Saturday night apartment fire in 125-year-old building at 15th and Marion — UPDATE

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Seattle firefighters quickly extinguished a Saturday night blaze in a small 1901-era residential building at 15th and Marion just south of Madison.

Seattle Fire reports its crews were dispatched shortly before 9:00 PM following reports of a fire inside a multi-family residence. Seattle Fire Department described the structure as a two-story apartment building with a basement with the fire located on the top floor.

Firefighters got water on the flames, brought the fire under control, and initiated ventilation operations. Continue reading →

Why Zahilay’s $746M King County budget invests while Seattle cuts

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Zahilay’s proposal includes “$100 million in conservation funding to protect 1,500 acres of land, increasing access to urban greenspace, restoring habitat, and protecting forestland and farmland for future generations” (Image: King County)

Why does Executive Girmay Zahilay’s 2026-2027 budget proposal for King County lack the urgency of the spending plan from Mayor Katie Wilson? Timing and accounting. While Seattle faces an immediate shortfall, King County is planning ahead for a deficit two years away.

Zahilay has transmitted a $746 million mid-cycle supplemental budget to adjust the county’s existing 2026–2027 package. Because King County’s projected $120 million shortfall falls in the 2028–2029 biennium, the executive has time his Seattle counterpart does not. Continue reading →