Councilmember says Capitol Hill park got a public safety ‘facelift’ with new strings of lights, improved maintenance

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Catenary lights, improved maintenance, and a volunteer group are helping give a challenged Capitol Hill park a “facelift,” Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth says.

“Tashkent Park in Capitol Hill just got a little facelift. New lights and regular maintenance that make a real difference,” the District 3 representative said over an instrumental soundtrack of T-Pain’s “I Can’t Believe It” in a video posted to social media Friday.

“Seven Hills Park, you’re up next for some love and upgrades,” Hollingsworth’s post concludes.

The announcement follows a community meeting held by the city in November to gather feedback as Seven Hills Park remained fenced-off while the city has planned changes there and at the Broadway Hill Park and Tashkent Park spaces due to complaints of crime and disorder. Continue reading →

CHS asked 7 people — and 1 pony — on Capitol Hill about why they were protesting against Trump

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OK, we didn’t actually ask Bass the mini therapy pony why he was there

With reporting and photographs by Alex Garland

Tuesday, a few hundred people and one pony marched from Capitol Hill to Seattle’s Waterfront, blocking some traffic along the way but mostly having a good time raising their voices and waving signs.

Local organizers rallied around a national “Free America” day of walkouts and protests against Homeland Security and ICE for the Seattle demonstration. Concern over ICE in the city has continued to grow after the rising conflict with federal agents in Minneapolis.

The pony? Tuesday’s organizers included the plucky Capitol Hill Pride group that has spun off from its old days of UFOs and Sasquatch around Broadway’s Museum of the Mysteries into a grassroots organizer of everything from fairy parties in the park to demonstrations against the tyranny of Donald Trump.

Never mind the pony. What is important is that people were there. CHS stopped through to meet a few and ask them what they were marching for.

Jordan and Patricia
Jordan and Patricia, both participants in the protest, shared their motivations for attending. Jordan expressed a straightforward opposition to harmful behavior, while Patricia emphasized the importance of human dignity and solidarity. She explained, “I care about people and the people around me, and you know, we’re all human, and so we should be treated as such.”
When asked about the impact of gathering, Patricia highlighted the emotional and psychological significance of the event. She said that witnessing “like minded people” provides hope amid troubling national events and emphasized an inclusive message: “no one’s alone, and that’s what I want people to know too. Yeah, even those that can’t come out, we can and we will.” For her, collective action serves as a reminder that despite the challenges reported in the news, community solidarity persists and individuals are not isolated in their concerns.

Continue reading →

2026 Capitol Hill and Central District James Beard semifinalists: Cafe Suliman, Temple Pastries, Ramie, and Surrell

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(Image: Cafe Suliman)

(Image: Cafe Suliman)

The talented food and drink creators behind a Levantine flavored cafe inside Melrose Market, a Central District bakery, elevated Vietnamese on 14th Ave, and an E Madison house dedicated to “modern Pacific” fine dining have been honored as semifinalists in the annual James Beard Awards.

The announcement of the semifinalist lists is the first step in what has grown into an expanded process for the foundation’s awards. Final nominees will be announced in March with winners celebrated in June.

By then, you will have hopefully paid a visit or two to these Capitol Hill and Central District honorees. Continue reading →

Seattle’s CARE Department makes three responses a day around Capitol Hill — That number is expected to rise in 2026

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(Image: CARE)

A heat map of CARE call for service responses so far in 2026 — Source: seattle.gov

By Brenna Gauchat

Seattle’s expanding force of crisis responders has been busy with calls across the East Precinct including Capitol Hill and the Central District about three times every day so far in 2026. Amy Barden, chief of Seattle’s CARE Department, says there is more to do to continue to address public safety around Capitol Hill.

After taking a brief sip of hot tea, helping a sore throat through a bad cold, Barden answered questions on how the new department plans to help tackle Capitol Hill’s most pressing safety concerns in the new year.

“Capitol Hill is not doing well,” Barden said this week in a community meeting with the GSBA chamber of commerce. “So it very much frustrates me when leaders are calling ‘mission accomplished’ about crime statistics.”

The neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Central District aren’t the busiest areas for CARE right now. Currently, only around 18% of the department’s responses take place in the East Precinct. The city’s largest precinct geographically leads the way with CARE calls as the North Precinct generates more than 30% of the department’s current activity.

Still, the areas around the core of East Precinct near Broadway and Pike/Pine are some of the busiest for CARE, and responders can be seen there daily. Around 70% of East Precinct CARE work is currently taking place in these densely populated areas near downtown. Continue reading →

Wilson Seattle leadership changes include Department of Neighborhoods, Parks, and OED

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Quynh Pham of Friends of Little Saigon will lead the Department of Neighborhoods for Wilson (Image: Friends of Little Saigon)

Mayor Katie Wilson has announced a slate of changes at Seattle City Hall as she has selected new leaders — and a few Harrell administration holdovers — to lead key departments.

The changes join Wilson’s earlier selections on some of the higher profile roles including change at Seattle Department of Transportation with the selection of Angela Brady, previously a leader on the city’s Waterfront projects, to take charge at SDOT.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins, Office of Emergency Management director Curry Mayer, and CARE Chief Amy Barden are all lined up to continue their leadership roles under Wilson.

Wilson’s last major round of changes and retained directors is below. You can learn more about the new leadership updates here. Continue reading →

Thursday night: All-ages ‘Let’s Fix some $h*t – Activism Fair’ at Capitol Hill’s Stoup Brewing

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Capitol Hill’s Stoup Brewing is teaming with nonprofit mentorship and support group Community for Youth for a Let’s Fix some $h*t – Activism Fair Thursday night at the Broadway and Union beer hall:

Our January 22nd Activism Fair will introduce you to local non-profits focused on Civil Rights, Racial Equity, Environmental Issues, Animal Rights, and more. Come meet the people behind Common Power, PAWS, Community for Youth and Washington Conservation Action and learn how they are working across the spectrum to preserve democracy and uplift our community.

The Activism Fair is meant to be “a casual, fun way to learn about their missions, ask questions, and chart your own path toward getting involved,” organizers said.

The event takes place Thursday, January 22nd from 6 to 8 PM at Stoup Brewing Capitol Hill, 1158 Broadway.

 

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With ICE concerns swirling in Seattle, mayor ‘reviewing options’ for pause of Real Time Crime Center expansion to Capitol Hill and the Central District

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Tuesday, multiple South Seattle public schools were under “shelter in place” security protocols after unconfirmed reports immigration agents were in the area to target families near the campuses.

As the Trump administration’s ICE battles are felt in Seattle, worries about how the city’s police — and their technology — respond to federal agents is a top concern at City Hall. A planned expansion of the city’s Real Time Crime Center camera system to include parts of Capitol Hill and the Central District is a key area of worry.

Despite the street disorder and public safety issues the new cameras are hoped to address, calls to put the expansion on hold have the mayor’s ear.

Mayor Katie Wilson shares the concerns and is “currently reviewing options,” the mayor’s office told CHS late Tuesday about a pause.

Wilson says she is sorting out what is possible including a proposal from Seattle City Councilmember Eddie Lin to stop the approved and funded expansion and redirect funding to help immigrant communities targeted in the Department of Homeland Security crackdown.

District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth representing Capitol Hill and the Central District where the new cameras will be located, has supported the Real Time Crime Center growth and joined Mayor Bruce Harrell last year in his push to include the area around the Central District’s Garfield High School in the expansion.

Hollingsworth said Tuesday she is “open to a conversation” about a pause but continues to support the community public safety effort that she says buoyed to Garfield area camera plan in the first place. Continue reading →

Seattle details $155M in 2025 affordable housing support including construction, preservation, and new ‘stabilization’ spending on existing buildings

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12th Ave’s Jefferson building (Image: Community Roots Housing)

Seattle City Hall has released its roster of 2025 affordable rental housing investments including funding for the development of three new buildings, plus $33 million to support preservation of existing affordable apartments. The 2025 roster includes support for 2,116 affordable homes across 20 buildings with $155 million in total funding.

The millions, part of the 2025 Notice of Funding Availability, represents Seattle’s strategy to expand the city’s housing supply while trying safeguard existing residents from displacement.

The 2025 investments are distributed across 20 different buildings and focused on new construction, the preservation of existing units, and a first-of-its-kind “stabilization” fund. Continue reading →

Charges weighed as 12-year-old arrested in screwdriver attack and mugging at 23rd and Jackson

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The arrest of a 12-year-old who police say attacked a woman with a screwdriver in a Central District robbery is being closely watched as an example of the challenges for the area’s justice system when it comes to juvenile crime.

The King County Prosecutor’s office says a judge found probable cause to hold the boy in a hearing Wednesday. The office expects to make a charging decision in the case Thursday.

“While is seems clear that this 12-year-old needs appropriate help, Robbery in the First Degree – a felony crime that involves a deadly weapon or a bodily injury – is not the kind of case that King County prosecutors send to diversion; cases like this one go before a judge with input from juvenile probation counselors,” a statement on the case to media reads. Continue reading →

Seattle Fire makes hazmat response after alarm at Capitol Hill diner

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Seattle Fire rallied a full hazardous material response Wednesday morning and the building was briefly evacuated as reports of a possibly dangerous leak inside the Lost Lake diner turned out to be a lesser alarm.

SFD was called to the 10th Ave restaurant between Pike and Pine just before 7:30 AM to a report of a possible nitrogen leak in the venue’s kitchen. Liquid nitrogen leaks can be extremely dangerous as they quickly displace oxygen. Continue reading →