‘Things are getting worse out there not better’ — In re-election tussle, Nelson touts progress at a Capitol Hill park

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As another Capitol Hill green space remains fenced-off by the city due to “bouts of negative park activity,” City Council president Sara Nelson is taking credit for the approach she says saved Capitol Hill’s Miller Park in her campaign to retain her seat at Seattle City Hall.

In a story reported by the KING 5 television station, Nelson credits her approach to addressing addiction treatment and homelessness leading to the clean-up the park and community center next to the Meany Middle School along Capitol Hill’s 19th Ave E.

“This is a microcosm of what you would see across the city is actually the restoration of our parks and playfields for their intended use,” Nelson says in the interview. “We did make progress and we have to keep going.”

CHS reported here in 2021 as encampments were cleared from Miller Park following months of complaints as pandemic restrictions on clearances slowed the process.

Nelson took office in 2022 but tells KING 5 Miller Park is representative of her efforts at City Hall. Continue reading →

Amid Capitol Hill’s growing set of shuttered spaces, Seattle considers ban on agreements that block new groceries and pharmacies

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With two major grocery store locations shuttered and two former big chain drugstores empty and boarded-up on Capitol Hill, Seattle leaders are looking at a ban on legal agreements they say are keeping some of the city’s prime spaces from being filled with new businesses.

Mayor Bruce Harrell included the plan in his 2026 budget proposal, proposing legislation “that will prohibit the use of restrictive or negative covenants preventing a property from being used as a grocery store or pharmacy.”

“My proposed budget increases the City’s food investments by 20%, however, affordable food and medicine are inaccessible for too many Seattleites. When a company closes a grocery store or pharmacy, they can add a restrictive covenant into a property’s deed or lease that blocks a new grocery or pharmacy from locating at the same place,” Harrell said in his announcement of the legislation to be considered by the Seattle City Council. “They do this to block competitors, and these actions harm neighborhoods and contribute to grocery and pharmacy deserts.”

The Harrell administration says the legislation would “make these restrictive covenants illegal in Seattle.” Continue reading →

‘Hey, what should go in this space?’ — Calls from neighborhood to fill empty Kaiser Permanente Capitol Hill campus spaces being answered along 15th Ave

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Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture

Kaiser Permanente has responded to calls from the neighborhood to do more to fill the empty retail spaces of its Capitol Hill campus along 15th Ave. There is a new property management effort in place, a new coffee shop lined up to join the campus, and a survey process underway to shape what kind of businesses are courted to help fill in other spaces along this stretch of Capitol Hill.

CHS reported earlier this year on calls for Kaiser to do meet its requirements for activating its streetfront spaces from the citizen Implementation Advisory Committee that oversees the city’s Major Institution Master Plan put in place in 2018 after the health care provider’s takeover of Group Health.

The retail spaces lost tenants coming out of the pandemic and have remained empty for years.

A Kaiser Permanente spokesperson says it has now finalized an agreement with a firm to manage its “available retail locations,” saying Health Hospitality Partners is a healthcare amenities company “that works exclusively with hospitals and health systems to bring modern retail onsite.” Continue reading →

Stateside, Mamnoon, the Roastery — Plans for Blue Willow hoped to fill one of the recent holes in Capitol Hill food and drink

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It isn’t the largest piece of the puzzle but one of the holes recently torn in Capitol Hill food and drink is about to be filled back in.

Permit and license paperwork shows a new restaurant project from the Tyger Tyger food and drink family is lined up to take over the Stateside space on E Pike just above Melrose.

There are few details about the Blue Willow project from restaurant owner Benjamin Chew who has grown Tyger Tyger into a Sichuan favorite in Lower Queen Anne.

Chew is familiar with Capitol Hill. Continue reading →

Regional Transit Safety Task Force recommendations: bigger barriers to protect drivers, stronger rider code of conduct, better responses for ‘vulnerable riders’

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A task force formed to address operator and rider safety on public transit in the wake of the slaying of a Metro bus driver last year has delivered its recommendations.

The Regional Transit Safety Task Force handed over its report to the King County Council’s transportation committee last week.

The task force identified six initiatives including adding bigger, strong barriers to protect Metro’s drivers. The recommendations also focus on improving communication and coordination during emergencies, increased focus on rider Code of Conduct, increased security resources, and increased focus on mental crisis response, youth-centered strategies, and support for unhoused riders: Continue reading →

A third victim and city council rep public safety plan as 18-year-old victim in deadly Broadway and Pike shooting identified

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The 18-year-old shot in the chest and killed in this week’s deadly shooting at Broadway and Pike has been identified and a third victim hit in Thursday night’s chaos of gunfire has been reported after a male suffering from a grazing gunshot wound arrived at Harborview Saturday night.

Police are investigating the bloodshed including possible connections to the homicide last month a few blocks away at 10th and Pike that left a 26-year-old shot to death inside the vehicle he was driving.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood’s representative on the Seattle City Council says officials “owe our neighborhood more than statements or open letters” and has released a five-point plan for “meaningful public safety investments in Capitol Hill and First Hill.” Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | Bolt Creek Fire smoke, Rubinstein Bagels opens, Stitch Cafe is born

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

2024

 

Knitting together crochet, coffee, and community, Stitch Cafe now open on Capitol Hill


Continue reading →

Homicide: Victim shot in chest at Pike and Broadway— UPDATE: Second victim reported

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Thanks to a reader for this picture of the scene

One person was reported shot in the chest and police were searching for a white Dodge Charger after a shooting Thursday night outside the QFC near the Chipotle at the troubled corner of Pike and Broadway.

Police and Seattle Fire were called to gunshots in the area reported just after 8 PM and found a victim down with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.

UPDATE: A second victim has been reported at Harborview.

UPDATE x2: SPD reports the victim found down on Broadway is dead and the circumstances leading up to the shooting are under investigation.

Police report the second victim arrived at the hospital in serious but stable condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.

According to East Precinct radio updates, police were looking for the Charger carrying at least two masked subjects last seen headed west on Union.

Police recovered video from a witness showing the assailants on foot at the time of the shooting. Continue reading →

E Pine Black Lives Matter mural vandalized

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(Images courtesy Converge Media)

A year after the neighborhood’s rainbow crosswalks were sloppily vandalized, paint and markings have marred the Black Lives Matter street mural stretching across E Pine south of Cal Anderson Park.

The Seattle Department of Transportation tells CHS it is looking into the situation:

The BLM mural on Capitol Hill was recently vandalized sometime between Saturday, September 27, and Monday, September 30. SDOT was notified by the mural’s artists, Vivid Matter Collective, on September 30. White paint was spilled across several portions of the mural, affecting multiple letters.

“We’re working closely with Vivid Matter Collective to restore the artwork as soon as possible,” the statement from SDOT says. “The artists were onsite today to assess the damage, and our crews are coordinating cleanup efforts that will include hydro-blasting and pressure washing to remove the paint.”

SDOT says it “remains committed to preserving this important piece of public art and ensuring it continues to be a space of pride and reflection for the community.” Continue reading →

SIFF exiting Capitol Hill’s Egyptian Theatre

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(Image: SIFF)

A plot twist in local cinema Seattle moviegoers had seen coming has been made official. Thursday, SIFF announced it will not be reopening its run in Capitol Hill’s Egyptian Theatre.

“For many months we prioritized finding a path to reopen this beloved venue. SIFF is currently prioritizing financial and operational sustainability above all else so the organization can continue the expansive programming offered at our additional three venues: SIFF Cinema Downtown, SIFF Cinema Uptown, and the SIFF Film Center,” SIFF executive director Tom Mara said in a statement. Continue reading →