Tag Archives: seattle central

Seattle Fire responds as loud puffs of steam pulse from Seattle Central heating system malfunction

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A cloud of steam above Seattle Central

What sounded like a giant train puffing across Capitol Hill overnight was Seattle Central’s aging infrastructure letting off a little steam.

Actually, a lot of steam. For hours.

Thanks to a reader in the CHS Facebook Group for capturing the scene on video

Seattle Fire rallied a full response early Monday just after midnight after reports of smoke pouring and pulsing from the roof of the Broadway college’s main building. As crews struggled to gain access to the building, it was determined the situation was the result of steam pulsing from a ventilation shaft connected to the school’s steam-powered heating system.

SFD crews were on the scene for two hours making sure there was no fire and then working with the school to figure out how to shut the steam line off. Continue reading →

Affordable, tiny, and bright, Cafe Ashiana making lasting impression at Harvard and Pine

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(Image: Cafe Ashiana)

(Image: Cafe Ashiana)

By Brenna Gauchat

Walking through Harvard and Pine, you might find your eye catching on the handwritten menu posted on Cafe Ashiana’s front door. Its sunflower-yellow walls will certainly catch your attention.

The Indian fast-food joint is one of the latest tiny additions to Pike/Pine, greeting customers with the smell of chicken tikka grilling behind the counter as its owner, Syed Begum, chats with his regulars.

Begum told CHS this is exactly the type of restaurant he always envisioned opening. No flashy signs or grand openings, just serving fresh meals that are affordable.

It sounds impossible on Capitol Hill. But Begum and his mother, Sawar Begum, own Asiana Caterers that serves larger events like weddings. They buy ingredients in bulk to split with the catering service allowing the restaurant to keep prices low for storefront customers.

“You get a good meal, not just fried stuff. Good protein, good rice portions,” Syed Begum said. Organic meat is grilled in front of guests and Begum uses a dough rolling machine – similar to those in pizza parlors – to make their roti, an Indian flatbread, fresh for every wrap.

“Coming off the grill, that’s the best thing you can have.”

Items on Cafe Ashiana’s menu are priced under $20 and options are kept simple: chicken, lamb or beef offered in a few different marinades and served in a sandwich, Rumali wrap or rice plate. Almost everything is made-to-order, with exceptions including curries and biryani plates. Continue reading →

‘This is student housing’ — Tent makes statement for new leader at Seattle Central College

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Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture

A tent marked as “Student Housing” on the sidewalk along Broadway outside Seattle Central College is drawing attention.

“On Broadway outside the main entrance of Seattle Central College, there is a tent that popped up over the weekend. It’s maroon and spray painted in yellow on its sides, it says ‘This is student housing. I am a student,’ the SCC faculty member who sent CHS the picture writes.

This student shouldn’t be bothered, of course, but their tent is such a statement on the reality that many of our students face. (I’m an SCC faculty member.) Actual student housing at SCC is in the long-term plan, but that’s years from now if it does actually happen.

The tent and its message have greeted the new interim president at SCC. Continue reading →

Amid budget woes, Seattle Central’s Wood Technology Center is on the chopping block

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More than 2,000 people have signed a petition calling on Seattle Colleges not to put the 23rd Ave Wood Technology Center on the chopping block as the board of trustees wrestles an ongoing budget deficit.

The board is scheduled to meet in a private “executive session” Monday afternoon.

Seattle Colleges officials are considering a plan to close the center and put the property up for sale, the South Seattle Emerald reports.

The city’s community college system including North Seattle College, South Seattle College, and Capitol Hill’s Seattle Central College has been scrambling to overcome a deficit once feared to reach depths of $30 million as costs have risen and enrollment and revenues have not kept pace. Continue reading →

Ideas for ‘short-term rentals and long-term leases’ are lining up to put Capitol Hill Egyptian back into motion

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The Egyptian (Image: CHS)

The screen at The Egyptian hopefully won’t stay dark much longer.

A spokesperson for Seattle Central College that owns the 110-year-old former Masonic Temple building the movie theater calls home says the Capitol Hill school is currently “reviewing applications for short-term rentals and long-term leases of the Egyptian.” Continue reading →

Groups planning Capitol Hill ‘No Kings 2.0’ rally before meeting up with Saturday’s Seattle Center march

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Marchers crossed Capitol Hill during the June No Kings demonstration

This summer, an estimated 70,000 marched from Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park as part of a nationwide “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration. Saturday, thousands are again expected again to march in the city — but this time the gathering spot will be the Seattle Center before the demonstration fills the streets for a march downtown.

A group of organizers are planning a “No Kings 2.0” demonstration on Capitol Hill before meeting up with the downtown crowds.

CHS has reported previously over the years on the spirited, grassroots-organized, and sometimes lightly attended rallies, demonstrations, and marches led by the Capitol Hill Pride group formed long ago around efforts by the long-gone Museum of Mysteries on Broadway to create an alternative queer Pride event in the neighborhood every summer.

Saturday, Capitol Hill Pride is hoping to capture some of the No Kings 2.0 spirit for its planned, rally, “chalk-in,” and march scheduled to step off from Seattle Central in time for the procession to make its way to the Mexican Consulate on Harvard Ave and then to Seattle Center to meet with the larger rally. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | The Korean Food Promotion Institute held a cooking contest at Capitol Hill’s Seattle Culinary Academy

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Moore on her way to victory

Anybody wondering about the wave of Korean-flavored food and drink that continues to wash over Capitol Hill can probably find a few answers in the spicy sweetness and umami of gochujang chilli paste. It also helps that the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle is really into food and drink.

Last month, CHS stopped through a Korean cooking competition sponsored by the consulate and the Korean Food Promotion Institute held at the Seattle Culinary Academy at Seattle Central College as a battle over bulgogi and bibimbap played out. At stake in the 2025 “Culinary Class Wars” competition? An all-expenses-paid trip to Korea to compete in the International Namdo Food Festival in October where the winner will “represent Seattle & U.S in the final global round, with flights, accommodation, meals, local transportation, and interpretation fully provided.” Continue reading →

Rinck to debate Woo in battle for citywide Position 8 council seat next week on Capitol Hill

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This Tuesday night, Kamala Harris is scheduled to face off against Donald Trump in what could end up being the final presidential debate before November. But next week, you will find more useful political discourse happening much closer to home.

The Seattle City Club is coming to Capitol Hill’s Seattle Central College for a night of debates in local races.

At 7 PM, Wednesday, September 18th, Seattle City Council candidates for the body’s citywide Position 8 seat Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Tanya Woo will take the stage.

CHS reported here on Rinck and Woo going through in the August primary as Seattle’s progressive vs. centrist political battle lines were drawn. Continue reading →

In midst of public safety worries, Capitol Hill EcoDistrict hopes to help change the way neighborhood spaces are used — including activating the top of the massive Seattle Central parking garage

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Seattle Central used the top of its massive Harvard Ave parking garage as the setting for its pandemic-era graduation ceremonies — a new plan hopes to activate the garage’s top level space

Catenary lights above Nagle (Image: @blitzurbanism)

As community representatives and city officials hope to make strides in addressing public safety worries around Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine and Broadway core and its popular Cal Anderson Park, an organization with deep neighborhood roots is helping to reshape streets and design in the area.

The Capitol Hill EcoDistrict has been working to increase sustainability and equity in the neighborhood for over a decade but its latest projects come as part of a large puzzle with some dire stakes.

“We have a bond to this neighborhood. We’re very deliberate in our work and specific to Capitol Hill,” said Donna Moodie, executive director of the EcoDistrict.

CHS reported here on the challenges facing Capitol Hill around Broadway between Union and Pine where the city says street crime and deadly drug use overlap at some of its highest levels. City officials are weighing initiatives for these areas that will include increased policing and prosecution as well as possible creation of a neighborhood ambassador program.

There are deadly consequences. The most recent example? 23-year-old Kenji Spurgeon, gunned down in an E Pine parking lot amid Pride weekend nightlife crowds.

Changing the way these streets look and feel is part of a longer –and hopefully more complete — path to making Capitol Hill safer. Continue reading →

Central District’s Wood Technology Center gets ‘skilled trades careers’ boost from Lowe’s

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A WTC Student, Alumni, and Industry Partner Demonstration at the Seattle Colleges Board of Trustees last year (Image: WTC)

As budget concerns continue to ripple through education and Seattle’s city college system, a corporate gift will help the Central District’s Wood Technology Center as part of a national campaign to boost skilled trades careers.

The Lowe’s Foundation has announced a $750,000 gift to the Seattle Colleges system’s 23rd Ave facility that officials said to add staffing at the center, “particularly for student recruitment, retention and outplacement.” The funds will also support a site manager to coordinate center logistics, “which will become increasingly complex as programs grow in coming years, partly through this grant.” Continue reading →