King County Council leaders urge action on newly authorized sales tax to avert cuts to services and public safety

Posted on by
8

King County Council Chair Girmay Zahilay and Budget Chair Rod Dembowski have issued a call to Executive Shannon Braddock urging swift action to prevent drastic cuts to vital public safety and criminal justice services.

In a letter delivered Friday, the councilmembers pressed the executive to propose a new 0.1% sales and use tax, a revenue option recently authorized by the state legislature through House Bill 2015.

The urgency stems from a projected $160 million deficit facing King County in the upcoming two-year budget. Zahilay and Dembowski say that without new revenue, the county would be forced to implement severe cuts across core services, including law enforcement, public defense, prosecution, the court system, public health initiatives, and support services for victims of crime.

“The residents of King County rely on us to ensure their safety and well-being,” Zahilay said in a statement. “Without decisive action, our communities will face unacceptable cuts to services that touch every corner of the justice and safety system — from emergency response to violence prevention.” Continue reading →

Do you have video of the assholes wanted in assault at Capitol Hill Dave’s Hot Chicken?

Posted on by
5

An employee at a Capitol Hill fried chicken joint is recovering after being punched in the face Tuesday night. Seattle police are searching for three suspects who assaulted the 29-year-old after they were asked to leave the establishment for harassing customers with homophobic slurs.

Officers responded to Dave’s Hot Chicken in the 1200 block of E Pike just before 11 PM Tuesday after the reported assault. Witnesses said that three males were harassing patrons while eating. One witness believed the harassment, including animal noises and name-calling, was due to their sexual orientation. A manager told the suspects to stop or leave. Continue reading →

Defendant in Jonny Adamow murder case pleads not guilty

Posted on by
6

From the SPD report on the investigation

The man charged with first degree murder in the deadly December 31st shooting of Jonny Adamow at Broadway and Pike has pleaded not guilty.

Charles Hickman appeared in court Wednesday to answer to the charge.

CHS reported here on his arrest earlier this month as police said they had evidence and eyewitnesses placing Hickman at the scene and proving he was the gunman captured on security video firing from behind an E Pike utility pole in the deadly late night ambush. Police say Hickman was targeting another person at the busy intersection when he fired off 10 rounds. One hit Adamow who died of a gunshot wound in the back.

At Wednesday’s plea hearing, lawyers for Hickman convinced the judge in the case to bar photography or video showing the defendant’s face claiming that media coverage could bias potential jurors. In the motion, Hickman’s legal team says the defendant was arrested, in part, thanks to media coverage of the December 31st killing but did not provide further details.

Hickman, 23, was arrested by federal authorities April 7th and booked into King County Jail that afternoon. He remains held on $2 million bail. His lawyers say Hickman has never been convicted of a crime.

A trial date is currently set for mid-May but could be continued to a later date.

 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻 
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 👍 

 

 

The Harborview cafeteria: delicious, affordable, and kind of a secret

Posted on by
7

Down a hallway and tucked into the basement of Harborview Medical Center, an affordable and unexpectedly delicious culinary scene unfolds every day.

What looks like a typical hospital cafeteria is, in fact, one of Seattle’s most surprising hidden food destinations. The Harborview cafeteria, however, is not a total secret.

“We get outside guests just come here to eat the food because they appreciate it and always tell us how good it is compared to other hospitals,” said Chris Tharpe, retail manager at the medical center.

The cafeteria’s growing fanbase includes everyone from hospital staff and patients’ families to construction workers and local residents making the trip just for lunch.

The driving force behind Harborview’s surprising deliciousness is Executive Chef Vanessa Gray, who brought a bold vision—and a non-traditional résumé—to the job.

“I come from sports and entertainment… I wanted to make our cafeteria a fun place to eat with surprising food, not the same thing, hamburger, hot dog, pizza, kinds of things you see in a lot of cafeterias,” Gray said. Continue reading →

Keep Denny Blaine Nude? Neighbors sue city over ‘public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking’

Posted on by
44

(Image: Denny Blaine Park for All)

Homeowners in the wealthy neighborhood surrounding Denny Blaine Park and nude beach are suing the city over its management of the lakefront public space.

“It is now a regional venue for criminal and uncivil behavior that includes public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking that prevents fire trucks and ambulances from reaching neighborhood homes,” the complaint from lawyers representing the Denny Blaine Park for All “association of concerned neighbors” reads.

The lawsuit was sent to Seattle media and television stations this week but is not yet available from the King County Superior Court.

The Seattle Times posted a copy of the complaint Wednesday.

The lawsuit from Seattle’s Foster Garvey PC firm is a major wrinkle in any efforts hoped to bridge the gaps between area homeowners, Seattle Parks, and the nudist and queer communities working to “Keep Denny Blaine Nude” while also addressing concerns about access, cleanliness, and safety around the park. Continue reading →

With 25% of Seattle lacking infrastructure needed for multifamily housing, legislation would change the way developers pay for water lines and utilities

Posted on by
5

As the city slowly but surely works toward a new 20-year growth plan that is hoped to spread development across the city more equitably, the Seattle City Council began debate this week on legislation to change the way infrastructure improvement costs are shared with developers.

The city says more than 25% of blocks outside of the downtown core lack a water, sewer, and/or stormwater mainline.

Officials say under the current structure, costs in areas that lack infrastructure land on the first developers hoping to pursue multifamily housing in the neighborhood: Continue reading →

As memorial to classmate lost to gun violence grows at Garfield, district safety changes include ramped-up spring patrols, uniformed security, and ‘AI phones’

Posted on by
5

Images of the memorial for Salvador “Junior” Granillo

A memorial of flowers and chalk messages for Salvador “Junior” Granillo grew this week in front of Garfield High School.

His death comes as school officials this week said the city’s campuses have new protections against gun violence that are ramping up as summer approaches.

In front of the 23rd Ave high school, some students drew to say goodbye to their friend. Others drew messages against gun violence. Each of the messages was an expression of love and grief for a classmate lost in the prime of his young life.

CHS reported here on the weekend shooting that took the life of Granillo outside a party in Yakima early Sunday morning. The Garfield senior was 18.

A 21-year-old was tracked down and arrested later Sunday afternoon and is being held for investigation of second degree murder. As they prepare charges, prosecutors have revealed new details of the fight that led to the shooting as a scuffle quickly escalated with deadly consequences.

A memorial fund has been set up to aid the victim’s family:

Our community has recently suffered the unimaginable loss of our beloved student, friend, brother, son, nephew, uncle, and grandson. His friends, teachers, and family describe him as an extraordinary soul who was extremely kind, upbeat, compassionate, and made things happen. He was an active member of Razas Unidas, a manager of the Garfield gymnasium, an opioid awareness ambassador, a business entrepreneur, and a senior in the class of 2025 just months shy of graduation.

Gun violence has taken a painful toll on Garfield’s class of 2025.

Last June, 17-year-old Amarr Murphy-Paine was shot and killed during a lunchtime altercation in the school’s parking lot. Murphy-Paine’s killer remains at large. Continue reading →

How Indian restaurant and bar Mint & Martini expanded to Capitol Hill… from St. Louis

Posted on by
5

By Matt Dowell

Mint & Martini, a new restaurant replacing Barrio on 12th Ave, aims to open by the middle of May. They’re bringing modern Indian and Indochinese cuisine to the big space.

Beyond the food, they want to make a fun place for people to hang out that fits the Capitol Hill scene.

“We’ll have a bar. It won’t be just your typical Indian restaurant,” the ownership tells CHS. ”We want people to come and sit at the bar, have drinks, chat, and do happy hours.”

The bar will feature a variety of cocktails and mocktails, including seasonal drinks “resonating with the Indian summer.”

Its hoped for arrival this spring will also represent one of the less heralded paths to joining the Capitol Hill food and drink scene. Mint & Martini’s ownership is not only coming to a new neighborhood. It is leaping to a new region of the country and a new city with hopes based on price per square foot and demographic opportunity.

As CHS reported in January, this isn’t the group’s first Mint & Martini. They opened a location last year outside of St. Louis, where they also own Red Chili Indian Cuisine & Bar. The St. Louis spot offers Indian-Italian fusion, like the Tikka Vikka pizza, “which substitutes the classic pizza red sauce for a spiced tomato- and cream-based sauce that adds a sweet and earthy touch”, according to one reviewer.

But Capitol Hill’s Mint & Martini won’t borrow much from St. Louis beyond the name. Continue reading →

Voters set to approve levy renewal for King County’s $23M a year fingerprint system

Posted on by
Reply

Screenshot

Voters are set to approve the renewal of a longtime property levy that pays for King County’s $23 million a year Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

Tuesday night’s first tally in the April special election shows nearly 60% of ballots approving the renewal. Continue reading →

Earth Day 2025 in Seattle: A plan to update its Climate Action Plan… next year

Posted on by
3

Weather, as measured by monthly highs and lows, has grown more extreme in Seattle (Image: ClimateCheck)

(Image: City of Seattle)

Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle city officials spent Earth Day like many of the rest of us — promising to do better.

Tuesday, Harrell signed an “Earth Day executive order” directing city departments to “respond to Seattle’s current and future climate challenges with a focus on building resilience, growing a green economy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from transportation.”

The order’s most significant element sets Seattle on track for updating its key Climate Action Plan by the summer of 2026.

“Climate change is impacting more parts of daily life than it did a decade ago. Hotter summers are making living and working more uncomfortable and often dangerous,” Harrell said in the announcement of the order. “Severe storms are damaging infrastructure and flooding homes, pollutants are worsening air quality, and much more.”

The update will be the first for the plan since it was formed in 2013.

The average global temperature in 2013 was 58.3 F. Continue reading →