Annex Theatre celebrates 40 years of live performance — including 19 above 11th and Pike

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(Image: Annex Theatre)

The building Annex calls home

By Brenna Gauchat

On Saturday, the volunteer and artist led Annex Theatre will celebrate 40 years of producing live theater in Seattle. In its second floor venue above E Pike, the company will host its 40th birthday party and announce its 2027 season lineup which will premiere this January.

“We are very humbled by the legacy of people who have kept the place going for 40 years,” Lucien Oberleitner, who first visited the theater for its 2014 production of Blood Countess years before becoming the theater’s current Artistic Director.

Annex’s origin is a story of a few local artists advocating for and working with other artists to create a space for independent and self-sustained live theater. Continue reading →

Proposal would slash Seattle development fees up to 80% — if builders hurry up and break ground

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Faced with a growing map of stalled projects and empty lots, the Seattle City Council has a plan to temporarily slash affordable housing fees on large residential buildings while setting the groundwork on new requirements to push much needed below-market housing into newly upzoned single-family neighborhoods.

Councilmember Dionne Foster, chair of the Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights committee, is proposing the legislative package to revive stalled apartment production while expanding hopes for affordable home development across the city.

The “Housing Accelerator” bill set to be presented Friday aims to spur construction amid declining permit filings by amending Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability program. It would mean massively cheaper city fees for developers — but only if they break ground and pass a foundation inspection by a strict deadline. Continue reading →

Facing pushback, Kaiser holds off on ER billing change at 15th Ave campus

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Following pushback over planned billing hikes, Kaiser Permanente has paused a plan to bill walk-in clinic visits at its Capitol Hill Medical Center as emergency room services.

Visits to the Seattle campus’s emergency unit will continue at lower urgent care rates while the provider explores long-term options to host both urgent and emergency care. Continue reading →

What should Capitol Hill’s new ‘Low Pollution Neighborhood’ streets look like?

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Capitol Hill residents and business owners will have their first chance this month to shape the future of their streets and public spaces as Seattle kicks off community outreach for its $9.2 million Low-Pollution Neighborhoods pilot program.

The Seattle Department of Transportation will host an in-person public workshop on Sunday, September 27, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Cathy Hillenbrand Community Room, located above Capitol Hill Station on 10th Ave E. The event is free and open to all, featuring food, project information, and opportunities to talk directly with city planners.

The meeting comes after Capitol Hill was selected alongside Lake City and South Park/Georgetown for the citywide pilot. Backed by $8 million in local transportation levy funds alongside federal support, the initiative is aimed at cutting car exhaust, cooling heat-island concrete, and making crossing the street safer.

“Pedestrianization and these types of streets are an ingredient to making a whole neighborhood that encourages use of transit, walking, cycling, and other modes,” SDOT climate officer Radcliffe Dacanay told CHS earlier this year. “It isn’t that a pedestrianized street reduces all emissions all at once. It’s part of a broader collective of efforts that are combined to make that impact on reduction.”

Continue reading →

Following court win, Seattle Parks gathers input on Denny Blaine rules

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The park had a busy summer of events including a visit from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

By Brenna Gauchat
More than 40 Seattleites gathered at the Miller Community Center on Tuesday evening to comment on Seattle Parks and Recreation’s proposed Denny Blaine Park Supplemental Use Guidelines, focusing on protecting its historically recognized LGBTQ+ clothing-optional beach.

The community meeting followed a favorable King County court ruling in July for the City of Seattle and Friends of Denny Blaine, a volunteer group dedicated to protecting the beach. The lawsuit was filed by Denny Blaine Park for All, a neighbor group seeking to prohibit nudity or close the park entirely.

The court ruling included mandatory directives that shape the updated guidelines, which will be implemented once the public comment period closes.

“We just want to be clear that several elements of what we’re proposing in this policy are set by court order and can’t be unilaterally changed by the City,” Justin Hellier, SPR’s Strategic Policy Advisor, said in response to community questions about which regulations in this non-negotiable list may become changeable in the future. Continue reading →

Proposal would include Pike Place Market transportation oversight in Vision Zero overhaul of Seattle traffic laws

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(Image: City of Seattle)

A package of legislation hoped to overhaul Seattle traffic safety will be up for committee debate Thursday at the Seattle City Council including a key proposed amendment that would strengthen the City Traffic Engineer’s jurisdiction while refining roadway oversight in the city.

Sponsored by Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, a key amendment would strengthen the City Traffic Engineer’s authority across all city rights-of-way, explicitly including designated historic, landmark, and special review districts including Pike Place Market.

Changes in these areas currently face review by volunteer boards facilitated by the Department of Neighborhoods. Continue reading →

Cafe watch: Ha Ha Coffee and Cha Chak on Capitol Hill, plus four more nearby — Yoka Tea, Casa Ella, Visible Coffee Roasters, and Coffee TAB Central District’s grand opening

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The Mango Sticky Rice Sundae (Image: Cha Chak)

The cafe scenes in the neighborhoods across and around Capitol Hill have some new — and new to CHS — additions heading into fall:

Ha Ha is now open — thanks to Harry in the CHS Facebook Group

  • Ha Ha Coffee and Tea: The new owners of a 15th Ave E building have brought milk teas and smoothies to the top of Capitol Hill. Ha Ha Coffee and Tea is now open at 324 15th Ave E. CHS reported last year as book shop Nook and Cranny lost its lease for the space. The building’s new owners include Diem Le who moved the book shop space neighboring the Red Chair Salon through the city’s streamlined change of use process to open the new cafe with a menu of milk tea, fruit smoothies, and coffee. While bubble tea shops and Asian-style tea offerings have proliferated along Broadway and through Pike/Pine, the quieter edges of Capitol Hill have mostly gone unserved. You can check out the Ha Ha menu here.
  • Cha Chak: Another long awaited Capitol Hill cafe opening has taken place. Above Capitol Hill Station next to the plaza across from Cal Anderson you will now find Thai tea and dessert shop Cha Chak. CHS reported in March on plans for the cafe from Montida Lertkiatsakul and Suphanita Roumsak. Lertkiatsakul was part of opening Manao Thai Street Eats at 14th and Pine. Cha Chak debuts with treats including green tea ice cream lattes, Thai tea chiffon cake, and an incredible looking Mango Sticky Rice Sundae. Find it at 118 Broadway E next to the station plaza across from Glo’s. Follow @chachakseattle for updates. Continue reading →

911 | Patrol cars vandalized outside East Precinct, a rash of trash, brush, and car fires, Club Z death ruled accidental overdose

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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.

  • East Precinct patrol car vandalism: A man was arrested early Friday after he was caught vandalizing Seattle Police vehicles outside the East Precinct at 12th and Pine. According to SPD’s brief on the arrest, officers inside the station were alerted to a male outside tagging patrol cars with a paint marker and damaging a cruiser’s window around 1:30 AM. Officers rushed outside and quickly arrested the suspect, while documenting the damage to three police vehicles. There were no reported injuries. Continue reading →

206 Burger teaming up with Capitol Hill sports bar Pitch the Baby on 19th Ave E

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(Image: 206 Burger)

Capitol Hill “sports bar for everybody” Pitch the Baby appears to still be in the game but a new food and drink player is joining the 19th Ave E scene.

A few dark nights and unexpected closures caused a few concerns — and emails to CHS — but the sports bar was open and serving this week as the Mariners spent their evenings sinking another season. The change is coming next door where signage has gone up announcing a new Pitch the Baby neighbor.

206 Burger Company is set to move in next door and revive the space adjoining the sports bar that has struggled to find its footing. Continue reading →

Wilson taps Seattle CARE Department as command center in new gun violence plan

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Police place evidence markers after a July shootout on 11th Ave that injured bystanders caught in the crossfire

Seattle’s mayor has unveiled her budget plan to address shootings in the city that would make the CARE Department the central command center for gun violence reduction, focusing $13 million in spending on the city’s emergency response system and human services to power a new approach that integrates Seattle’s 9-1-1 resources with community responses and intervention teams.

Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled her administration’s gun violence reduction plan this week designating the Community Assisted Response and Engagement Department as a new central command center to take on the public safety priority.

The goal, Wilson says, is for Seattle City Hall to take “faster action when shootings occur.” The result is a possible new direction for the city that would focus new energy — and spending — on community public safety and intervention resources at CARE and not with traditional policing at the Seattle Police Department.

“Together, these efforts aim to give the city stronger regulatory authority, reinforce youth focused safety programs, and improve protections for neighborhoods experiencing persistent harm,” the plan reads. Continue reading →