(Image: Amazon Fresh)
Shopping in Capitol Hill-area grocery stores has become wacky enough that shoppers may not have noticed that a cyberattack targeting massive distributor United Natural Foods is causing bare spots on shelves and inventory problems at local stores. Continue reading
The Seattle City Council’s Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan helmed by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth will meet again Friday morning as it works this summer to finalize the update of the city’s 20-year growth plan including new “Middle Housing” laws that will expand zoning to allow a greater range of housing types in more parts of the city.
Friday’s session will include a discussion of issues that have emerged on growth strategy, land use elements, and the state’s new Middle Housing requirements as the committee works through compromises shaped after massive pushback from some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city.
Planners have revised and shrunken the borders of 9 out of 30 proposed , more densely-zoned Neighborhood Centers in the proposal. Continue reading
(Image: Redhook Brewlab)
It took a few marvels of engineering to squeeze it in there but the Redhook microbrewery below Capitol Hill’s Pike Motorworks mixed-use development is shutting down after eight years of beer making on E Pike.
Tilray, the “leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company” that acquired the brewery and taproom along with the Redhook brand in a $85 million deal with industry giant Anheuser-Busch in the summer of 2023, says it is looking for a new location but did not provide an explanation for the shutdown. Continue reading
UPDATE: Hundreds filled Cal Anderson Wednesday night in a protest against ICE and the Trump administration. The demonstrators marched to the downtown federal building where the protest continued into the night (Image: Alex Garland/CHS)
Cal Anderson’s place as a gathering space for free speech and defiance against the Trump administration in Seattle will be on display this weekend as “No Kings” protests are planned across the country Saturday.
Crowds and energy will be split in the city. Many groups and organizations are planning a Saturday noontime rally in the Capitol Hill park before a march to the Seattle Center. Other groups have centered on the University of Washington for their demonstrations.
UPDATE 5:00 PM: SPD’s East Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator has issued a bulletin to businesses and community groups about protest activities expected in the area Wednesday night. “It is likely unaffiliated small groups intent on committing violence and/or property damage will attempt to embed themselves un this rally,” the SPD bulletin reads. We have posted the full statement at the end of this report. UPDATE x2: East Precinct Captain Jung Trinh has clarified that the bulletin was issued by the city’s Office of Economic Development, not the precinct.
Like any environment, you can measure the health of the Broadway biospher by some of its tiniest organisms.
Bean Espresso seems like a good sign.
Bean has given new life to the storied Capitol Hill coffee stand once home to Vivace’s walk-up bar. It appeared in the 300 block Broadway E space last week.
As a possible indicator species, Bean Espresso might represent a utilitarian, no-frills era for the street. Affordability is also a factor. The stand is starting with some of the lowest coffee prices on the Hill. Continue reading
Wilson has the Seattle conservative radio vote locked up
The King County Council called Tuesday for County Assessor and King County Executive candidate John Wilson to resign.
Wilson, who has strived to bring a more conservative voice to the race for the executive’s office, has been accused by his ex-partner of stalking and harassment. “The scariest message was one where I said, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!” and he responded, “NEVER,’” the partner wrote in a court petition seeking a restraining order against Wilson who is currently in his third term as County Assessor. Continue reading
Two people were reported dead after a bus struck a smoking shelter in a parking lot near Broadway and Alder in the First Hill neighborhood Tuesday morning.
According to emergency radio updates, a 911 caller reported the horrific incident and said a bus had backed over the shelter occupied by two victims just after 10:30 AM in the parking lot behind the Hilltop House retirement community.
Original reports described the shelter as a tent but SPD clarified that the structure is a smoking area behind the building.
SPD says a third elderly woman barely escaped without injury. Continue reading
By Matt Dowell
Jamie Guerriero loves and hates the 8.
“I live down in Lower Queen Anne, half a block away from the last stop,” he said about the often maligned bus route that links Seattle Center with Capitol Hill. “It’s so essential to get back up to the Hill.”
He takes the 8 up Denny two to three times per week to visit Capitol Hill friends and the farmer’s market and says the bus is either 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late all the time. And to take it during rush hour is hellish.
“For a 4:30 happy hour, I have to leave by 3:30,” he said.
Guerriero is car-less and is a big fan of the transit system in general. But the 8 has underperformed for the 13 years he’s lived in Seattle.
“It’s such a major route, but I get the feeling the Metro just doesn’t care about it.”
In fact, throughout Guerriero’s 13 years in town, King County Metro and SDOT have been working to improve the 8’s reliability. But it’s still falling short. Can it ever really be fixed?
This year, the Transit Riders Union and Central Seattle Greenways have renewed their “Fix the L8” campaign to get SDOT and Metro to address the issue.
“We’re on track for the least reliable summer we’ve ever had,” said Nick Sattele, a campaign organizer. Continue reading
Chief Shon Barnes, center, with recent new recruits (Image: SPD)
Mayor Bruce Harrell’s appointment to run the Seattle Police Department has been doing the job for weeks but still needs to be approved for the job. Tuesday morning, the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee will gather to finalize the process. While the formal appointment is mostly a rubber stamp, it does give the council members a very public opportunity for a conversation about policing and leadership with new SPD Chief Shon Barnes who says it his priority to re-grow the ranks of officers serving the city and re-establish trust with marginalized communities.
“I often use the analogy of building a bridge to describe trust-building. But what is often forgotten is that a bridge must be built from both sides. That doesn’t mean placing the
burden of reconciliation on communities,” Barnes said in one answer in response to written questions from the committee. “It means police must lead by acknowledging the past, being transparent in the present, and investing in long-term change. Communities are not responsible for repairing the harm done to them. That work begins with us.” Continue reading
The Seattle Fire Department says its investigation has determined Friday’s fire atop the Holiday Apartments “originated” in the solar power system atop the four-story building at 10th and John.
CHS reported here as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze and black smoke billowed above Capitol Hill Friday afternoon.
SFD did not say how the panels caught fire but photovoltaic systems can fail under extreme conditions or when there are other factors like faulty wiring or component defects.
Temperatures were in the high to mid-70s when the fire began. Continue reading
