Meet the Capitol Hill artist | Nina Raizel is using laser welders and and the largest microscope you’ve ever seen to make jewelry with the Six of Pikes collective

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Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.

By Ananya Mishra

When I arrived at Nina Raizel’s studio, I was surprised by how much her workspace reminded me of a science lab. I saw laser welders, a variety of chemicals, and one of the largest microscopes that I had seen in a while. Handmade jewelry requires a lot of intricacy.

Nina graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing. Now as a self-employed jeweler, she makes custom pieces, repairs broken jewelry, and does contract work for other organizations. It’s also important for her to be involved in the local community. She’s a volunteer at the Seattle Metals Guild and is a member of the Six of Pikes artist collective in Capitol Hill. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Station opened in 2016 — It will finally have safe bike parking eight years later

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Capitol Hill Station began living up to its promise of changing the way we commute and move through the city when it served its first light rail passengers in March 2016.

Construction of the mixed-use developments above the busy subway station was completed in the summer of 2021.

Bike lockers to help serve the thousands who move through the station each day? April 2024 — probably.

Sound Transit is telling folks who care — like CHS tipster @CheeToS_ — that the long-promised bank of on-demand bike lockers finally installed above the station and giving riders a new, more secure option for leaving their rides behind on Broadway should open for service beginning next week.

“As it turns out, there were a number of challenges with the project,” a Sound Transit spokesperson tells CHS. Continue reading →

911 | 12th Ave roof crisis, Broadway road rage shooting, search for SUV driver who ran over tents

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

  • 12th Ave crisis: A crisis situation was quickly resolved Wednesday afternoon after a man was reported throwing things off the roof of the former Roy Street Commons short-term rental building on 12th Ave. Police were called to the four-story building near 12th and Roy around 4:15 PM and attempted to communicate with the man who had also reportedly thrown a phone down from the rooftop. After about 20 minutes, the man reportedly came down from the roof and was transported to Harborview for evaluation and treatment. There were no reported injuries. Continue reading →

Beyond Oppenheimer, nuclear Issues highlighted in International Uranium Film Festival’s stop on Capitol Hill

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By Holland Burris/UW News Lab

Oppenheimer has been a cinema sensation with seven Academy Awards for its depiction of the physicist who helped develop the world’s first nuclear weapons. There are more — and more important — stories to tell. The first-ever film festival about nuclear power will stop in Seattle on April 12-14 at Capitol Hill’s Northwest Film Forum thanks to Jad Baaklini, a native of Beirut now residing in Seattle as director of communication at Epiphany Parish.

Baaklini became fascinated with the Hanford site in eastern Washington, learning about it after immigrating to the United States.

“I think people should just be aware of what’s around them,” Baaklini said. “Seattle can be in a little bubble especially if people are newcomers like me. I only moved here in 2018, and you know, you can live here your whole life not knowing the rest of Washington.”

After hearing about the International Uranium Film Festival, a Brazilian-based festival looking to stop in multiple locations in the U.S., he reached out to IUFF, pitched hosting to Northwest Film Forum, and connected the festival to its main sponsor, Physicians for Social Responsibility.

IUFF will show eight movies at the 12th Ave independent theater that will discuss nuclear issues from around the world, and include some panel discussions after a few of the films. Continue reading →

There still isn’t a crosswalk at Harvard and E Olive Way

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A photo Matt Baume sent to city officials showing yet another crash at Harvard and Olive

Even with a new representative on the city council more dedicated to public safety, transparency, and access, “One Seattle” slogans from City Hall, and leaders paying lip service to the importance of pedestrian and bike rider safety as they shape the city’s next billion dollar transportation levy, it still takes a hell of a lot of work and a few squeaky wheels for the Seattle Department of Transportation to add a needed crosswalk at a dangerous intersection on Capitol Hill.

Matt Baume, a neighborhood writer, has been documenting the crashes at E Olive Way and Harvard Ave E for about ten years, all the while trying to get safety improvements put in place. With new leadership in the district, Baume wrote to D3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth in January to share his concerns after yet another crash, this time involving three cars and several passengers including a family with a small child. Continue reading →

Seattle Public Library, facing another workforce crunch, slices hours including temporarily cutting Sundays at Capitol Hill branch

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(Image: Seattle Public Library)

Continuing staffing issues has the Seattle Public Library system pulling back on service and hours at branches across the city over the coming weeks:

Several factors have impacted the Library’s staffing capacity, including changes to the Library’s minimum staffing levels and increased leave usage. Our impacted staffing capacity has led to unplanned closures, as the Library must redirect staff from one location to another if a branch doesn’t have the right number, or right mix, of staff to open and operate a building safely and with full library services. The Library is working to bring on additional staffing support.

The SPL system is implementing “scheduled closures” at several branches including the Capitol Hill library through June 4th. The Capitol Hill branch is implementing noon openings on Thursdays and will now be closed on Sundays through June 4th.

SPL says the staffing situation will be reevaluated in May when details of “the Library’s schedule beyond June 4” will be announced. Continue reading →

Community weighs in on design preferences for Central District’s Firehouse Mini Park renovation

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Seattle Parks and Recreation offered creative input opportunities for younger community members during the engagement meeting for the Firehouse Mini Park renovation project on Saturday, April 6. (Image: Ashley Yu/UW Journalism News Lab)

(Image: Ashley Yu/UW Journalism News Lab)

By Ashley Yu/UW News Lab

Members of the Central District community gathered at Byrd Barr Place last weekend, to give their input for the proposed renovation to the historical Firehouse Mini Park at 712 18th Ave.

Hosted by Seattle Parks and Recreation, community members were invited to meet the design team and provide input for the design plans of the $781,000 project. Since the current play equipment was installed in 1988 and is now due for replacement, the goals of the meeting were to gather insights on enhancing the park’s current use and identify the community’s preferences for themes and specific equipment.

Some of the features requested included maintaining the current firehouse theme and creating accessibility for children of all ages.

“The play equipment is not meeting the current safety and accessibility standard,” said capital projects coordinator Jessica Michalak. “The main goal is to make it safe and accessible for the community and to draw more folks in based [on] what the current needs are.” Continue reading →

Le Morte D’Meliora? Struggling restaurant that replaced the Canterbury hit by unpaid rent, taxes

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The Capitol Hill “new American” restaurant that replaced ye olde Canterbury Ale House is struggling with the oldest of business challenges: taxes and rent.

Meliora, which has been “temporarily closed” since February while the ownership said it was undertaking a restart of the concept, is behind on three months’ rent and owes more than $30,000, according to a notice posted last week by the building’s landlord.

Meanwhile, a King County Superior Court filing shows the business owed the state more than $40,000 in unpaid taxes. Continue reading →

Kerry Hall hits the market as Cornish College of the Arts says goodbye to Capitol Hill

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(Image: Cornish College of the Arts)

The Cornish College of the Arts is ready to sever its final connection after more than a century of dance and music education on Capitol Hill.

Kerry Hall, the three-story studio and performance hall at E Roy and Broadway where Nellie Cornish called home at the time of the school’s 1914 founding and part of the school for more than 100 years, is now for sale.

“This is an exciting moment for Cornish College of the Arts,” Emily Parkhurst, chair of the board of trustees, said in a statement. “The decision to sell Kerry Hall completes the Board’s plan to unify the campus in South Lake Union, first outlined in 2007.”

CHS reported here in 2021 on preparations for the property sale as Cornish sought to solidify its growing presence in South Lake Union.

The announcement did not include a price tag for the property. Cornish says proceeds from the sale will be “reinvested into Cornish’s existing facilities and operations, allowing the college to continue to grow.” The school says its enrollment is expected to exceed 530 students in the 2024/2025 school year. Continue reading →