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 →

Police investigate drive-by shooting at Denny and E Olive Way — UPDATE

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One person was reported shot and police were looking for a possible suspect vehicle in an incident under investigation near Denny and East Olive Way early Tuesday.

Police were called to the scene just before 3 AM where a man suffering from a gunshot wound was reported in front of the nightlife businesses along E Olive Way.

Seattle Fire treated the victim and transported him to Harborview. We do not have information on his condition. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | A low-power Hilloweekend — Plus, the Capitol Hill Trick or Treat Hot Zone map

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The blustery winds and widespread power outage that left some bars darkened and some bars miraculously still lit somewhat dampened the Hilloweekend spirit. The calendar may have also had something to do with it.

The weekend before Halloween on Capitol Hill often brings some of the most intense revelry of the holiday — especially when October 31st falls on, say, a Wednesday or a Thursday.

But in 2025 when Halloween aligns with a Friday night, the sexy ghosts, sexy bats, sexy Spidermen, sexy witches, sexy warlocks, sexy Bugonias, and sexy Zohran Mamdanis seem to have been mostly keeping their powder dry.

CHS still found a few revelers out and about despite the power outage, terrible weather, and calendar. Continue reading →

Sharyn Grayson House — county’s Health Through Housing Capitol Hill apartment building — ready for residents

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Grayson (Image: SF.gov)

As it touts the success of the program in keeping people housed, King County’s “Health Through Housing” Capitol Hill apartment building is ready to welcome its first residents after nearly three years of planning and preparation.

Just off Broadway, the four-story, 35-unit Sharyn Grayson House has been prepared to provide supportive housing for “queer, transgender, two-spirit, Black, Indigenous, people of color” experiencing chronic homelessness as part of the county initiative,

The Lavender Rights Project and Chief Seattle Club residential building is named to honor Grayson, a Transgender advocate and Trans community icon.

The county says the opening of Sharyn Grayson House will add to the success of its Health Through Housing developments in helping to break the cycles of homelessness. Continue reading →

This new 4-way stop is not a rogue project of the Capitol Hill Department of Transportation

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No, those stop signs were not another rogue project of the Capitol Hill Department of Transportation.

A new 4-way stop at 21st and John that appeared and then disappeared earlier this month is now permanently installed at this busy crossing near the Meany Middle School and Miller Playfield. Continue reading →

E Pike stabbing aboard Metro bus investigated

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A stabbing aboard a Metro bus brought a large emergency response to Pike and Minor Sunday.

Emergency units were called to the area just after 4:30 PM to the reported stabbing. Seattle Fire responded to treat the victim reported still aboard the Metro coach. The victim was being treated for non-life threatening injuries according to emergency radio updates. Continue reading →

911 | Pedestrian hit on E Olive Way by reported DWI driver

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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.

  • Pedestrian hit on E Olive Way: A pedestrian crossing E Olive Way was struck by a driver and sent to the hospital and the driver was taken into custody by police in an overnight collision early Saturday morning. Seattle Fire and Seattle Police responded to E Olive Way in front of Hula Hula around 12:10 AM for the reported “significant impact” crash. SFD reports the 31-year-old man was taken to Harborview in stable condition. Witnesses reports say the driver was evaluated for drug or alcohol use and taken into custody by police. Continue reading →

Transformer explosion and outages as windy rain soaks Capitol Hill — UPDATE

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(Image: Alex Garland/CHS)

View latest outage updates here

So far, the power outage has remained limited after electrical equipment exploded and caught fire at E Aloha and Harvard Ave Saturday night.

Seattle Fire was called to Aloha and Harvard around 7:10 PM to the reported transformer fire.

Seattle City Light reported more than 700 customers without power including swaths of Broadway north or Roy.

Blustery winds and bursts of heavy rain were forecasted to continue through the night.

UPDATE 9:38 PM: City Light says another more than 6,000 customers are now without power in the Capitol Hill core. Continue reading →

Seattle City Attorney challenger won’t enforce banishment zones including Capitol Hill’s SODA

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With reporting by Hannah Saunders

The Capitol Hill “Stay Out of Drug Area” leads the city in banishment orders. The challenger to Ann Davison in the race for the Seattle City Attorney’s office says she will not enforce it.

“This was a failed policy that my opponent championed back, despite experts opposing it,” Erika Evans tells CHS. “Banishing people does not work. Prosecuting someone’s presence is not effective.”

Evans says the policies are racist and inequitably applied. They are also having no impact on reducing the public drug use and street disorder they were intended to address. Continue reading →