City Council set to approve Seattle Police Officers Guild contract that boosts salaries, allows more CARE Department crisis responders

Posted on by
6

The Seattle City Council Tuesday afternoon is expected to approve a new contract with the union representing the city’s police officers that mixes big raises with agreements that officials say will open the way for the city to grow its CARE Department and dispatch its crisis responders to 911 situations without a police officer to accompany them.

The collective bargaining agreement forged between the Harrell administration and the Seattle Police Officers Guild comes as SPD Chief Shon Barnes faces an uncertain future under incoming Mayor-elect Katie Wilson. Barnes and his top lieutenants continue to tout a reversal in hiring struggles at the Seattle Police Department and say that improved staffing should begin to bear fruit in the coming year.

Building on a previous 23% retroactive raise, the new agreement grants officers a 6% retroactive increase for 2024 and 4.1% in 2025, followed by annual raises of 2.7% in 2026, and a CPI-based adjustment of 3ā€“4% in 2027. Continue reading →

‘Storefront’ fund — City says your favorite Capitol Hill and Central District business can get $6K to thwart burglars and break-ins

Posted on by
27

(Image: Aoki Sushi)

After burning through smaller allocations, city officials tell CHS there is more than $3 million in the coming year being dedicated to helping small businesses deal with burglaries including special funding earmarked for Capitol Hill.

The update comes as CHS reported last week on the headaches of broken glass, plywood, and roll-down security doors Capitol Hill and Central District restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops are dealing with this holiday season.

While TV news follow-ups might make it sound like small businesses are on their own, the city has put more resources in place to help that can do more than just replace broken glass. Continue reading →

One more map from from the November election — and an invitation to Broadmoor to join Seattle

Posted on by
16

A few weeks back as CHS examined the progressive sweep in the November election led by Katie Wilson’s defeat of incumbent Bruce Harrell, we looked at the block by block, precinct by precinct maps documenting the victories.

They showed the latest adjustments to the now familiar political fault lines in the city where the less wealthy, more densely developed neighborhoods swing left while the wealthiest areas ringing Seattle’s waterfronts swing right.

A map we didn’t share then, we bring you now as an invitation to a District 3 area to rejoin its city.

In November, there were only two precincts in the city where residents voted against renewing the city’s $1.3 billion education levy needed to support a growing spending plan for childcare and preschool, K-12 academic supports, and the Seattle Promise program. Continue reading →

What’s the status of the Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area?

Posted on by
30

By Matt Dowell

Businesses and property owners have continued to call for more to be done to address street disorder and public safety concerns around Pike/Pine — especially as the area is prepared for the opening of a county Crisis Care Center in 2027. But an effort for owners to organize themselves to pay for safety and cleanup resources remains on the drawing board.

The push to form Pike/Pine property owners into a new Business Improvement Area will continue into 2026.

In February, CHS reported that the Seattle Office of Economic Development advocated for a new BIA which would add a special assessment for property owners along Pike and Pine. The fee could directly fund cleanup and safety initiatives within the BIA alongside other business district revitalization and management efforts. Similar organizations fund efforts along Broadway and on 15th Ave E.

Per BIA rules, a coalition of roughly 60% of the property owners within the proposed zone would need to sign on.

Along Pike and Pine, that hasnā€™t happened yet. Continue reading →

Somebody left what appeared to be 10 pounds of cocaine outside the East Precinct

Posted on by
6

Somebody dropped off what looked like 10 pounds of cocaine in front of the East Precinct headquarters Sunday afternoon.

Police say the unknown subject left a yellow container filled with “multiple clear plastic baggies containing a white powdery substance” at the front entrance to the precinct at 12th and Pine just before 12:30 PM.

“A field test confirmed that the substance was cocaine, with a total weight of 4,588 grams,” SPD reports.

Cocaine at that volume could be worth more than $150,000 depending on quality. Continue reading →

Taking light rail south from Capitol Hill Station? You’ll now want the ‘Federal Way’ train

Posted on by
4

(Image: Sound Transit)

Sorry, Angle Lake, we never visited.

Southbound trains leaving Capitol Hill Station are now identified as headed to “Federal Way Downtown” on the Sound Transit reader boards and arrival screens.

Meanwhile, light rail service across the I-90 bridge to the Eastside is slated to begin by May.

Over the weekend, a $2.5 billion, nearly eight mile extension to the system’s 1 Line debuted connecting to three new stations including the new southern terminus in downtown Federal Way. Continue reading →

After string of settlements, Seattle’s response to CHOP goes on trial: Proceedings begin in Mays Jr. wrongful death case

Posted on by
Reply

“The police, their purpose is to serve and protect right? And we agree with that purpose but we do not agree with them because of what they have been doing,” Mays, wearing the white mask, said during the newly unearthed interview (Image: Converge Media/Q13)

A jury trial in the wrongful death lawsuit over a teen shot and killed in an unsolved slaying inside the CHOP protest zone was slated to begin in King County Superior Court Monday morning.

New video found among the hours of reporting by Omari Salisbury and Converge Media has also shined new light on what drew 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. to the camp and the 2020 protest in Seattle.

The deadly shooting ā€” one of two killings of Black teens in the camp ā€” cameĀ early on a Monday morning amid a night of drive-by shooting fears around the protest zone. Mays was shot inside a Jeep Cherokee that had been driven at high speeds through the streets around the CHOP campĀ and died as camp security and medic volunteers worked to save him while Seattle Police and Seattle Fire refused to enter the protest area.

His teen companion in the vehicle survived but suffered a brain injury. It was a final straw as Seattle PoliceĀ stormed the protest encampments and cleared the area two days later.

No suspects have been publicly identified in the case. Continue reading →

Thanks, Black Friends of the Yesler Library: 50 years ago, the Central District’s Douglass-Truth Library got its fitting new name

Posted on by
Reply

Millie Russell speaking at Douglass-Truth Library renaming, December 5, 1975 (Image: Seattle Public Library: Seattle Room Digital Collections)

Fifty years ago, the Central District book lovers and neighbors made a decision that would forever change the identity of their local library. They voted to shed the name of a city pioneer in favor of two icons of Black liberation. Now, the Douglass-Truth Library is inviting the city to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that historic renaming — a moment when the building finally caught up with the community it served.

While the branch at 23rd Ave and E Yesler Way has been par of the neighborhood since 1914, for its first six decades, it was known as the Henry L. Yesler Memorial Library. It wasn’t until December 5, 1975 following a community-led initiative that the branch was officially rededicated to honor abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.

ā€œThe renaming celebration will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about and honor the rich community histories of the Douglass-Truth Branch and its collection,ā€ said Brian Den-Hartog Lindsey, curator of the branchā€™s African-American Collection. ā€œThere will also be opportunities to help us dream about Douglass-Truth’s next 50 years.ā€

To mark this milestone, theĀ Seattle Public Library is hosting a celebration presented in partnership with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter and the Black Heritage Society of Washington State. Continue reading →

Seattle Fire investigating after 12th Ave apartment blaze

Posted on by
Reply

The Seattle Fire Department was investigating after a fire damaged an apartment building at 12th and Spruce early Saturday morning.

SFD reports it was called to a fire inside a 6th floor unit of the Plymouth Housing Building around 2:30 AM Saturday. Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | Voodoo arrives on Capitol Hill, Time Warp debuts, ‘No’ victory in Sawant Recall

Posted on by
Reply

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

2024

 

Monster Dogs is legit but county has begun crackdown on Pike/Pine ‘unpermitted mobile food vendors’


Continue reading →