Charges weighed as 12-year-old arrested in screwdriver attack and mugging at 23rd and Jackson

The arrest of a 12-year-old who police say attacked a woman with a screwdriver in a Central District robbery is being closely watched as an example of the challenges for the area’s justice system when it comes to juvenile crime.

The King County Prosecutor’s office says a judge found probable cause to hold the boy in a hearing Wednesday. The office expects to make a charging decision in the case Thursday.

“While is seems clear that this 12-year-old needs appropriate help, Robbery in the First Degree – a felony crime that involves a deadly weapon or a bodily injury – is not the kind of case that King County prosecutors send to diversion; cases like this one go before a judge with input from juvenile probation counselors,” a statement on the case to media reads. Continue reading

Seattle Fire makes hazmat response after alarm at Capitol Hill diner

Seattle Fire rallied a full hazardous material response Wednesday morning and the building was briefly evacuated as reports of a possibly dangerous leak inside the Lost Lake diner turned out to be a lesser alarm.

SFD was called to the 10th Ave restaurant between Pike and Pine just before 7:30 AM to a report of a possible nitrogen leak in the venue’s kitchen. Liquid nitrogen leaks can be extremely dangerous as they quickly displace oxygen. Continue reading

The Broadway benches outside Capitol Hill Station are gone — but tables in the station plaza are coming

The CHS Facebook Group noticed the missing benches this week

It’s not a big mystery why the benches along Broadway are gone but it’s not easy finding someone to talk about the removal of seating along the mixed-use developments above Capitol Hill Station.

Back before the holidays, sidewalk benches along Broadway outside the M2M store and the buildings were ripped out. According to employees at local businesses, the benches had to be removed because they were attracting camping and drug use, CHS reported in December.

While they are located along the public right of way, the benches were assets managed by the properties but sorting out who makes the call on what around Capitol Hill Station isn’t easy. Continue reading

CHS Pics | ‘We Choose Community’ — 2026 Seattle MLK Day march carries city’s messages from the Central District


The words and spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. carried the causes of 2026 in Seattle Monday as the city’s annual MLK Day march crossed from the Central District across Capitol Hill to downtown.

The volunteer MLK Jr Organizing Coalition took inspiration from a MLK question for this year’s day of workshops, gatherings, and marching from the Central District’s Garfield High School Where Do We Go From Here? Continue reading

Gunfire scare clears out Capitol Hill Trader Joe’s — UPDATE

Concerns around a loud bang and possible gunfire in a dispute outside the Capitol Hill Trader Joe’s Saturday night sent shoppers and staff rushing to take shelter.

According to witnesses and East Precinct radio updates, multiple 911 callers reported some kind of dispute and the possible gunshot outside the busy grocery in the 1700 block of E Madison just before 5:30 PM.

As officers arrived, shoppers and Trader Joe’s employees were taking shelter in the back of the store before being evacuated. Continue reading

Seattle Social Housing Developer moving forward with new leader — UPDATE

House our Neighbors campaign leader Tiffani McCoy is now leading the Seattle Social Housing Developer

The Seattle Social Housing Developer is moving forward under a new leader as the Seattle City Council takes up legislation this week that will set the terms for taxpayer funding to power the new development authority to borrow enough to build or acquire 2,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years.

Tuesday morning’s meeting of the council’s Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee chaired by Dan Strauss will take up the ordinance allowing the city to enter into an interlocal agreement with the Seattle Social Housing Developer “to establish the terms and procedures for the implementation, administration, transfer, reporting, and oversight” of the voter-approved social housing tax.

Seattle voters approved formation of the public developer and later a 5% tax on employers who pay any employee more than $1 million in compensation to finance the program. The tax is expected to raise more than $50 million annually. Continue reading

The First Hill Streetcar — weird, hard-working, and a little lonely — turns 10

The first rides in 2016 were free

(Image: SDOT)

2016 was a neighborhood-changing year when it comes to public transit on Capitol Hill. While the ten-year anniversary of Capitol Hill Station and light rail serving Broadway is coming up later this year, January brings a decade milestone for a smaller, weirder, but still hard-working piece of Capitol Hill’s transit puzzle.

Ten years ago this week, the bright cars of the First Hill Streetcar first hummed to life on Broadway and service began on the 2.5-mile line connecting Pioneer Square, the International District, First Hill, and Capitol Hill. At the time, the streetcar was envisioned as part of what would eventually grow with the infamous SLUT into a small streetcar network to service the core of the city.

Today, while the SLUT plugs away in South Lake Union, the First Hill Streetcar still stands alone. It might always. Continue reading

Police: Post-heist thrift shop stop undid Capitol Hill bank robbery suspect

Police say a Capitol Hill bank robbery suspect’s clean getaway was stained when he took his loot for a shopping stop at the neighborhood Goodwill Friday night.

According to the Seattle Police Department, the suspect entered the Columbia Bank branch at Broadway and Mercer just before 5 PM and handed the teller a note reading, “This is a robbery; I have a gun no dye packs.”

Police say the teller complied and the masked suspect was reported fleeing the bank on foot with “a fair amount of cash,” according to East Precinct radio updates.

According to police, details of the Friday hold-up matched a similar heist the previous afternoon targeting a downtown BECU. Continue reading

Video: Cops rallied with ‘here to fuck people up’ speech before crackdown on Cal Anderson demonstrators

Bodycam video revealing an officer pumping-up cops with a “here to fuck people up” pep speech in the lead-up to last May’s Seattle Police Department crackdown on demonstrators against an anti-trans Christian group’s rally in Cal Anderson Park has drawn criticism from officials and calls for the city complete its review of the heavy-handed response.

In the video, the officer says, “We’re going in this time with guns blazing and all our pieces in place,” in one segment from the video’s clips posted to social media after the recording was obtained through public records and shared widely, Continue reading

This week in CHS history | Cafe Pettirosso says goodbye, MLK Day marches, COVID-19 vax clinic at Seattle U

(Image: Cafe Pettirosso)

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

2025

 

With smaller crowds but lots of resistance, People’s March Seattle crosses Capitol Hill


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