Amid ‘SDOT KILLS SMALL BUSINESS’ signs, city denies permit for advocate community group’s street party

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Pictures of the rogue signs that appeared earlier this month on E Pike were sent to CHS by an area business — “This has been a nightmare,” they said of the city’s sewer work at 12th and Pike

A new group planning a business-friendly street party to try to give the neighborhood a boost around a much longer than expected street and utilities project has had its event permit denied by the Seattle Department of Transportation.

“This permit application was not approved because there will still be active construction happening at this intersection on proposed event date,” a spokesperson tells CHS. “Seattle Public Utilities is replacing sewer infrastructure at 12th Ave and E Pike St. The intersection is closed for public safety.”

CHS shared this Capitol Hill Community Post inviting people to join the Thursday night event from the group Destination Pike, a new community group that says it spun off from Central Seattle Streets for All in partnership with the Capitol Hill Community Council.

The group said it was planning the popsicle party on Pike between 11th and 12th with music, tables and discounts for takeout at local restaurants. Continue reading →

Charlie’s Queer Books is expanding to Capitol Hill with a new shop and cafe on E Pike

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A recent Charlie’s author event (Image: @grandmajoysroadtrip)

(Image: Charlie’s Queer Books)

A scene from the 2025 fire

A neighborhood tragedy that left a valued Pike/Pine business space critically damaged is giving way to a happy new story.

Charlie’s Queer Books will open a second location on Capitol Hill this November, expanding to E Pike to join a community of businesses including the Wildrose and Elliott Bay Book Company, The Stranger was first to report.

The new Capitol Hill Charlie’s is under construction just west of 12th and Pike in the building where the Post Options business center and mailbox service was damaged in a destructive 2025 electrical fire.

Just over a year later, work on the new Charlie’s Queer Books is creating a new space, fully ADA accessible and roughly double the size of the Fremont original. Plans include a 50-seat event space, a coffee shop, and a wine bar, with robust plans for open mics, silent book clubs, and author readings.

Owners Charlie Hunts and Madeline Burchard told The Stranger adding a second store addresses shelf and event space limits at the flagship while expanding access to LGBTQ+ literature during a national surge in book bans and restrictive legislation. The couple noted that serving as a queer community anchor on Capitol Hill brings real responsibility, particularly for young trans patrons looking for a welcoming third space, while crediting Stephen Romano at 12th & Pike St. Associates with offering manageable lease terms.

Hunts started Charlie’s in 2023 as a mobile pop-up, hauling curated queer titles in a “disco”-tiled cart across Seattle Pride events. Later that year, the operation established its brick-and-mortar storefront on N 43rd N 36th in Fremont. Continue reading →

SDOT marks Eastlake RapidRide J construction milestone amid citywide upgrades, and balancing budget pressures

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Water main work in Eastlake (Image: SPU)

A SDOT rendering of the future Eastlake Ave E — In the meantime, the street is torn up and constricted by work zones for the RapidRide project

Construction on Seattle’s RapidRide J Line has surpassed the halfway mark. The city says the milestone will signal a shift past the project’s most disruptive phase toward visible street-level upgrades.

As in the construction phases of the RapidRide G line across Madison, the work has left Eastlake’s main artery torn up and choked off with major work zones as crews rip up and replace miles of infrastructure.

The 5.5-mile J corridor designed to replace King County Metro’s Route 70 with a “bus rapid transit” route will connect Eastlake, Downtown, Belltown, South Lake Union, and the University District with the city’s first fully electric RapidRide bus service.

Coordinated alongside Seattle Public Utilities’ replacement of century-old water mains, the transformation extends beyond transit upgrades. The city says the corridor will feature 3.7 miles of new protected bike lanes, nearly 100 ADA-compliant curb ramps, expanded sidewalks, upgraded street lighting, and newly planted trees. Transit riders will also see full-featured stations equipped with weather shelters, off-board fare collection, and real-time arrival displays. Continue reading →

Scooter rider seriously injured after falling, being hit by car on 12th Ave

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A woman was seriously injured in a Tuesday night e-scooter crash on 12th Ave when she was hit by a vehicle.

According to Seattle Fire, the crash was reported just after 7 PM. Responding medics learned at the scene that the rider had fallen off of an e-scooter and then was stuck by the driver.

SFD treated the 24-year-old at the scene and transported her to Harborview in serious condition.

Seattle Police closed 12th Ave to traffic during the response.

There were no reported citations or arrests.

 
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Building issues and lost leases abruptly darken Capitol Hill block home to Rione XIII, Rubinstein Bagels, and Bar Vacilando — UPDATE

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The crumbling bricks of a 1922-era Capitol Hill building appear to be part of the story behind the sudden closure of three neighboring 15th Ave E businesses.

The corner’s Rione XIII Italian restaurant and its sibling Rubinstein Bagels shop are closed immediately. Bar Vacilando, which just marked its tenth year on 15th Ave E, will close this weekend.

“We can confirm Bar Vacilando’s last day is this Saturday,” a spokesperson for the hangout said and provided a statement on the shutdown:

We are deeply grateful to every employee who helped shape Vacilando, and to every guest, neighbor, friend, and regular who spent time with us. Thank you for giving this place a life. We are grateful we were able to serve you over the years.

A person familiar with operations at the Italian restaurant and bagel shop of the Ethan Stowell–helmed founded One House Hospitality restaurant group confirmed the immediate closures with CHS and said that landlord and building issues were behind the lost leases.

“Unfortunately, ongoing issues with the building have made it so we can no longer continue operating in this space,” the company later said in a statement.

The simultaneous endings will darken a corner of a street already challenged by closures and the paused redevelopment of the neighborhood’s QFC. The grocery is coming up on six years since it was axed by parent company Kroger. Continue reading →

Wilson budget plan wipes out Seattle’s $175M deficit — without new ‘progressive revenue’

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Mayor Katie Wilson outlined a city budget Tuesday to close an inherited $175 million deficit without tax increases or withdrawals from city reserves as Seattle’s fiscal plans have surpassed the $9 billion mark.

“We cannot keep lurching from shortfall to shortfall year after year,” Wilson said in her address at the Seattle Central Library unveiling her 2027-2028 budget proposal. “We cannot keep kicking the can down the road, because there is no more road.”

The Seattle City Council will now pick up and shape the edges of the mayor’s proposed $9.15 billion budget for 2027 and $9.49 billion for 2028.

Seattle’s $175 million General Fund shortfall stems from years of spending outrunning revenue growth, worsened by pandemic economic shifts. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Community Post | Come to a popsicle party on Pike and help shape our streets’ future — CANCELLED

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EDITOR’S NOTE — We’ve been told by a city official that permits have been denied for this Thursday’s planned event. CHS is working to clarify with organizers if they are planning to continue on with a modified program and will update when we learn more. UPDATE: Organizers have cancelled Thursday’s event: “Due to expanded street construction, the Popsicle Party has been cancelled. Please share your thoughts about the streets at the Sunday Low Pollution Neighborhood Open House.”

From Destination Pike

Since the road is currently closed, we decided to throw a party! Come to a popsicle party on Pike between 11th and 12th this Thursday from 5-8pm. We’ll have free popsicles (hot cocoa if it’s cold), a band, a few tables, and discounts for takeout at local restaurants. Bring your blankets and enjoy some good vibes.

We’re Destination Pike, a community group pushing for the heart of the Pike/Pine corridor to be the most vibrant and walkable destination in Seattle. This means better sidewalks and public space improvements for Pike and the intersecting streets, along with fun activations that delight people of all ages. It’s obvious that we need more space for people along this stretch of Pike where the street was never built to match the neighborhood’s density.

 

CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY POSTS 
Have a Capitol Hill related issue people should know about? Anybody can post on CHS. Contact [email protected] to learn more.

 
Continue reading →

Group shaping $3M public safety plan around Broadway Crisis Center’s 2027 opening

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An advisory panel formed to steer neighborhood planning for King County’s Central Crisis Care Center at Broadway and Union is already guiding the project, defining the boundaries to be studied for public safety investments and preparing to decide how to spend $3 million in county mitigation funds.

The Seattle Community Advisory Group grew out of political compromise surrounding Seattle City Hall’s conditional approval of the Capitol Hill facility.

While the need for citizen oversight was a major component of debate by the King County Council during deliberations over approval of the Crisis Center acquisition last year, the process of forming an advisory group to launch the process and prioritize the spending of the $3 million earmarked for the neighborhood was not spelled out.

In late 2025, after his defeat in the November election, then-Mayor Bruce Harrell made a series of last minute appointments to fill the advisory council and advised the county of the choices.

A person close to the process said the county “sat” on the list until newly elected Mayor Katie Wilson took office.

“Wilson had opportunity for changes,” the official told CHS, but her young administration never acted on the list. District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth also did not ask for any changes. The group began meeting in April. Continue reading →

Council notes: Algorithmic grocery pricing ban, call for Pride flag over Denny Blaine, Bruce Lee Way, Wilson ‘recall’ legal costs

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(Image: City of Seattle)

As Mayor Katie Wilson prepares to unveil her administration’s first budget proposal, the Seattle City Council will also be wrapping up some other legislative business Tuesday:

  • Grocery ‘surveillance pricing’ ban: The bill to to ban algorithmic-based pricing on groceries and essential items in the city is up for a final vote. Wilson has championed the grocery industry ban, calling for restrictions on surveillance pricing in Seattle. Under the bill co-sponsored by Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dionne Foster, a Seattle “Fair and Transparent Pricing” policy would prevent large grocery chains and delivery platforms from using personal consumer data to charge different prices to different shoppers. The ban would apply to businesses with 20 or more locations globally. Baseline prices must be posted and publicly available. The ordinance prohibits using electronic shelf labels to display prices dynamically modified through personal data algorithms. However, the bill permits standard business practices, including manufacturer coupons, storewide promotions, and group discounts for seniors, veterans, students, or employees. Grocers can also offer loyalty discounts based on purchase history if savings are organized into standardized customer tiers rather than individualized prices and are not merged with external behavioral data. The Department of Finance and Administrative Services will oversee rulemaking with a $175,000 budget, while the City Attorney receives subpoena authority to investigate and prosecute civil violations. The proposal also establishes a private right of action, allowing consumers to sue. Council members will consider a raft of amendments prior to Tuesday’s vote: Continue reading →

Police Chief Search Community Listening Sessions for Central District and Capitol Hill area next week

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The public outreach process around Mayor Katie Wilson’s search for a new chief of the Seattle Police Department will come to Capitol Hill next week.

The “Central” edition of three planned Police Chief Search Community Listening Sessions will take place Monday, September 28th on the Seattle University campus: Continue reading →