‘ORDER TO REMOVE ALL PERSONAL PROPERTY’: City announces sweep of 15-block area of First Hill — UPDATE

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Seattle officials have quietly ordered a sweep of homeless encampments Thursday from a 15-block area of First Hill surrounding the planned home of the future Broadway Crisis Care Center and just blocks from the sites of two recent deadly Capitol Hill shootings.

“Materials in this area are an obstruction of the intended use of this property, are in a hazardous location or present an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) obstruction,” the boilerplate text for the frequently used City of Seattle clearance order reads.

Unlike most orders that pertain to a specific park or parking strip, the October 30th order covers a wide swath of city streets covering “E Union to Madison St and from Broadway to Minor Ave.” Continue reading →

Mexican Consulate invites you to a Capitol Hill Dia de Muertos celebration

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With the annual Broadway Hilloween kids carnival lost to post-pandemic challenges, there will be a new family-friendly gathering to celebrate the spirit of the season on Capitol Hill.

Saturday, Harvard Ave’s Consulate of Mexico in Seattle is throwing a party with its neighbors at STG Kerry Hall:

Dia de Muertos
Saturday Nov. 1, 2025

Kerry Hall | 3pm – 5pm | All Ages

Each year, Día de Muertos invites us to honor our beloved who have passed, celebrate traditions, and embrace the beauty of celebrating death through life.
Continue reading →

Saturday in Cal Anderson: SNAP to Action Food Drive

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As states including Washington tussle with the Trump administration over the ongoing government shutdown and emergency funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food stamps, local efforts are being rallied to help make sure Seattle food banks are well stocked.

Donating to existing food bank programs is one of the best ways to help and this weekend a group is going to make it a lot easier to support one of Seattle’s most important providers, the Rainier Valley Food Bank.

The Cascadia Democratic Action group will be in Cal Anderson Saturday for a SNAP to Action food drive in support of RVFP:

Join Cascadia Democratic Action in Seattle’s Cal Anderson park between noon and 3 pm on Saturday, Nov. 1 as as we gather food donations and facilitate online donation of funds in support of Rainier Valley Food Bank. We’ll have collection boxes available ONLY for Rainier Valley Food Bank specific requests (must be unopened): cooking oil, seasonings, soy sauce, flour, rice and pasta, infant formula, canned chicken, SPAM or tuna, and UHT (non-refrigerated) soy, rice or almond milk. Diapers and feminine hygiene products are also needed. Drop off at our station at the entrance to Cal Anderson Park at 11th and E. Howell Street.

In addition to efforts like Saturday’s drive, the most direct way to help is to make a financial donation directly to the food banks. You can find a roster of Seattle food banks here. Continue reading →

Are you experienced? Wally’s NW Soul Experience now serving at 23rd and Jackson

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The northwest corner of 23rd and Jackson is busy once more as Wally’s NW Soul Experience is now doing its thing in this core of the Central District.

The soul food restaurant from longtime caterer Walter “Wally” Washington opened this fall in the space left empty by the exit of Catfish Corner to start 2025.

Its arrival is part of new energy at 23rd and Jackson where the opportunities — and challenges — of small business ownership in Seattle have been fully illustrated over recent months. Continue reading →

Seattle painting more than 200 new bike and scooter ‘corrals’ in new push to keep city’s sidewalks clear

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(Image: SDOT)

Seattle’s latest effort to corral its electric bike and scooter parking problem is taking shape with brightly-colored rectangles of paint across the city’s core.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says more than 200 bike and scooter “corrals” are being installed around downtown and in areas like Capitol Hill.

“Some will have vibrant art, like these by local artist Roy (Eroyn) Franklin, created in partnership with SDOT Signs & Markings, Seattle Symphony, Benaroya Hall, and the Office of Arts & Culture Seattle,” SDOT said about one of its latest installations downtown. Continue reading →

911 | Spike in overdoses includes First Hill apartment OD that kills one, sends two more to hospital

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

  • Deadly overdose: A flurry of Seattle overdose emergencies Tuesday including a deadly OD in a First Hill apartment. Around 11 PM, Seattle Fire was called to a unit of the Stockbridge Apartment building on Boren Ave around to a reported overdose involving three people suffering opioid overdoses. Seattle Fire reports its crews attempted lifesaving efforts for a 31-year-old man but were unsuccessful. The victim was declared dead at the scene. Lifesaving efforts on a 31-year-old man continued and was transported to Harborview in critical condition. Seattle Fire says a 33-year-old woman was also treated and taken to Harborview in stable condition. SFD typically responds to overdose calls every day but Tuesday’s spike was unusual with six separate incidents across the city including another around 11:30 PM Tuesday in front of the Harvard Market QFC. Grocery store security reportedly administered Naloxone to reverse the overdose and were performing CPR until Seattle Fire arrived to treat and transport the victim. The Seattle Police Department is investigating the Boren Ave apartment death. Drug testing strips are available for sale online and for free from area community groups. 

    Continue reading →

‘Unicorn Returns’ — Capitol Hill carnival bar set to reopen after three-month closure

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E Pike’s Unicorn will reopen just in time for Capitol Hill Christmas.

The carnival bar is slated to open Thursday for the first time since a damaging fire in July:

On October 30th, Unicorn Seattle bursts back to life… or is it back from the dead? Perfectly timed for Halloween weekend. Dust off your costumes, grab your ghouls, and come back to us after a full on resurrection.

Hilloween, of course, is one of the most wonderful times of the year for Pike/Pine’s nightlife industry.

The opening comes three months after fire destroyed the Post Options business next door. Continue reading →

In race for Seattle Mayor, Katie Wilson addresses ‘Momgate’

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Half-jokingly referring to it as “the first scandal of my political life,” Bruce Harrell challenger Katie Wilson has produced a smart video response to what she is calling “Momgate” after the incumbent’s campaign seized on last week’s report from KUOW that raised a political tumult over Wilson’s finances and affordability in the city.

In the video response, Wilson shares the screen with her mother who now has a surprising role in the 2025 election after KUOW reported that candidate’s parents are providing financial support for Wilson, her husband, and their young daughter.

Katie Wilson can barely afford to live in Seattle. That’s why she wants to be mayor, the headline reads.

“Mom, did you hear about this?,” Wilson asks her mother in the video, showing her a Harrell campaign text about the KUOW piece. Continue reading →

CHOP: Report details new evidence and videos in unsolved killing of Antonio Mays Jr.

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Mays Jr.

A CHS reader shared this image from the night Mays Jr. was shot and killed on 12th Ave (Image: CHS)

UPDATE 10/31/2025 9:00 AM: The trial date in the case has again been pushed back and is now scheduled for December. In the meantime, the city is continuing its motions in efforts to have the case dismissed.

Original report: Documents and records unearthed as part of a lawsuit against the City of Seattle over the killing of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. inside a Jeep Cherokee that had been driven at high speeds through the 2020 CHOP protest camp have revealed new details of the unsolved homicide.

The suit is scheduled to go to trial next week as the two sides argue over final decisions on testimony and expert witnesses. In one recent filing, City Attorney Ann Davison has asked the court to reject the defense’s witness responsible for establishing a monetary value for the teen’s life. Similar lawsuits were settled by the city before trials began.

The deadly shooting — one of two killings of Black teens in the camp — came early on a Monday morning amid a night of drive-by shooting fears around the protest zone.

The explosion of gunfire left Mays Jr. dead. His teen companion in the vehicle survived but suffered a brain injury. It was a final straw as Seattle Police stormed the protest encampments and cleared the area two days later.

No suspects have been publicly identified in the case.

More than five years later, a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Antonio Mays Sr. has revealed details and corroborated accounts of the confusion and panic that led to the 16-year-old’s death and how the Seattle Police Department stood by in the hours following the shooting. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council to decide on emergency ban on ‘negative use restrictions’ for grocery stores and pharmacies — APPROVED

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Plywood at 1001 Broadway after the sudden closure of Whole Foods earlier this year (Image: CHS)

The Seattle City Council will vote Tuesday afternoon on the mayor’s plan to prohibit “negative use restrictions” as Seattle faces ongoing big chain grocery and pharmacy shutdowns.

UPDATE 3:22 PM: The council has unanimously approved the legislation saying in a statement that the ban comes “in direct response to several store closures including Whole Foods Market on Capitol Hill and Fred Meyer in Lake City, recognizing that neighborhood grocery stores and pharmacies provide essential goods and services for community members throughout Seattle.”

In addition to the ban on the lease restrictions, the legislation also declares a public health emergency due to the recent number of store closures, the council said Tuesday.

Original report: The emergency legislation is skipping the council’s regular committee process as officials look to get in front of more closures.

CHS reported here on the proposal from Mayor Bruce Harrell that would “prohibit the use of restrictive or negative covenants preventing a property from being used as a grocery store or pharmacy” his administration says could be a growing problem as stores close.

The proposal comes amid an ongoing wave of closures including several major retail spaces around Capitol Hill. Continue reading →