Two projects that provide insights into the state of development in their respective neighborhoods take steps in the Seattle Design Review process this week -- one a 300-foot-tower at the base of First Hill, the other a 4-story multifamily project just off 15th Ave E.... (more)

The changes we reported here involving a transfer in operations and overhaul of the Capitol Hill Times have hit the street -- or at least the Web. So far, the typical stacks of copies of the free paper aren't showing up around the Hill but the new Wordpress-based Web site is live and a new sortie of articles has been posted including a look back at the recent snow. Meanwhile, Pacific Northwest journalists are taking their cracks at trying to tell the peculiar story of RIM Publications, a company built on the back of our region's manifestations of the mortgage crisis.... (more)

Every night is industry night at CHS. Got a tip? Lay it on us here.

• The re-birth of Restaurant Zoe on Capitol Hill is imminent. Scott and Heather Staples, with fingers only a little crossed, tell CHS they expect to be serving diners in their new 14th and Union space in time for Valentine's. And when we say new, we mean new. It seems that all that is coming along with Zoe from Belltown are most of the employees and the Stapleses' reputation for creating great Seattle dining experiences.

"When you're moving a 10+ year-old business, you're essentially opening a brand new restaurant," Scott told CHS Monday as he and Heather got ready to rush off to yet another crunch time meeting as the restaurant prepares to open. "We changed everything. The look. The logo. Even the music. Everything has loosened up. As well as the price point."... (more)

The suspect in a hate crime case stemming from an alleged anti-gay taunt and threats in a parking lot at Pike and Broadway remains jailed after pleading not guilty to malicious harassment and a weapons charge in Seattle Municipal Court.

Michael Roderick, 25, returned to court today for a pre-trial hearing.

In the alleged bias crime, police say Roderick yelled anti-gay taunts and attempted to pick a fight with the victim in the parking lot on Thursday night, January 12th. After the victim reported the incident to 911 and police responded to the scene, Roderick reportedly approached officers and was pointed out by the victim. Police placed Roderick under arrest and found he was carrying an air pistol and alleged drug dealing paraphernalia including a scale and containers with drug residue. No drug charges are currently filed in the case. He is currently jailed on $5,000 bail.

A female also arrested in the incident has been charged with assault and has pleaded not guilty.

Eat Local's Greg Conner (Image: CHS)

CHS has learned of two more pieces set to fill in the puzzle that is the Joule building's remaining 13,000 square feet of Broadway retail space. According to people involved with the ventures and city records, Capitol Hill will soon have a new outlet for a major vitamin and wellness chain on north Broadway. But the more interesting addition is a market concept featuring locally-sourced, sustainability-minded prepared meals and foods that has become so popular on Queen Anne that many customers were making the trek from Capitol Hill to shop there.

"It made sense," Eat Local's owner Greg Conner tells CHS. "We have a lot of customers up there. Our customers asked us to come to the Hill."... (more)

(Images: Suzi Pratt for CHS)

CHS wonders if the Capitol Hill residents of the future mixed-use apartment building destined to arise from the ongoing demolition on this backside of Pike and Pine will ever think about the love that preceded them.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, that love was on full display as Babylonia Aivaz did solemnly take the 10th and Union warehouse building as her bride. And vice versa.

Aivaz wore white, her bride, mauve.... (more)

12th Ave Regraded, 1920 with pieces of 2012 (Images: Rob Ketcherside)

Righteous indignation has a long history in Seattle. More than 100 years ago, the Eleventh Avenue Improvement Club got pissed off at City Engineer R. H. Thomson's plan to regrade Capitol Hill. In 1908, he wanted to flatten out 12th Avenue from Jackson to Aloha, providing new access to Capitol Hill from Pioneer Square.

Before we dig into the regrade, how about a quick survey of the landscape here looking north from Madison on 12th.... (more)

If you are one of the many Capitol Hill and Central District urban farmers, a place to find worms and wholesale feed just got a little closer. Seattle Farm Co-op — a member-owned urban farm co-op — moved-in at 18th and Jackson late last year.... (more)

Here are the top stories from the last week of January, 2011 on CHS:

• No $125 tickets, yet, for being a jerk at night on the streets of Capitol Hill
• Terra Plata this summer but first a spring of new openings
• SPD: Woman's attempt to light crack pipe caused Capitol Hill apartment fire
• CHS Pics: Boba Fett chainsaw carving vs. Jimi Hendrix on Broadway
• Car takes out chunk of building near Tully's 19th Ave parking lot
• Appeal clouds Cascadia Center's ambitious solar-powered future on Madison
• Viva Poquitos: Project from duo behind Bastille now slated for Pike/Pine

Check out last week's 1 Year Ago here.

Webster Crowell has looked to the carbonated past to create a new business on Capitol Hill and he's looking for community support to help things bubble up to the next level.

"Before we turned into a culture of disposable everything, you drank sodas at the soda fountain or you had a seltzer man," Crowell says in a the fundraising pitch for his Under Pressure Seltzer Works. "Like you had a milk man only carbonated."... (more)

Gang units were called to the scene to investigate a shooting near Seattle University and 12th and Jefferson just after midnight.

Police and medics responded to the reported shooting at 12:12a and found a 20-year-old 25-year-old male with a gunshot wound to his leg.

SPD gang units were called in to assist with the investigation. The area is near Waid's nightclub which was hosting a benefit party Friday night. (more)

As part of our Capitol Hill celebration of Soup Swap culture, we have been offered the opportunity to give away a copy of Soup & Bread Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at at Time. All you need to do to win is tell us about your favorite soup on Capitol Hill in the comments. We'll draw a random winner Sunday night at 9p Seattle Soup Time.... (more)

A car struck a woman crossing the street at 15th Ave E and E Denny Way Friday afternoon. The woman in her 30s was taken to the hospital alert and conscious but with serious injuries. A pool of blood and a pile of clothing was being photographed at the scene by SPD investigators.

A drug recognition was called to the scene to evaluate the driver.

The collision happened just before 3p and closed 15th AveE to traffic for 30 minutes as medics and police responded.

Brenna- 10th & Pike... (more)

Babylonia, your relationship is clearly doomed. But here's the thing, girl. You can't give up just because she'll be gone soon. There are so many worthy lovers on Capitol Hill. You must go on and live your life. To inspire you, here are a few Capitol Hill buildings we'd consider giving our big, big love to. We assume CHS commenters will have more.

• Former Horizon Books house, 15th Ave E: She's been empty since 2009 and sits waiting as 15th Ave E shuffles by her chain-link fences. She's lonely but she's adorable....

Chen enters the courtroom for an August hearing (Image: CHS)

The document filed following a hearing announcing the competency decision held Thursday is below.

Dr. Louis Chen is charged with two counts of first degree murder. He faces life in prison after prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty for the 39-year-old. According to prosecutors, Chen killed his son Cooper with a knife and stabbed his partner Eric Cooper more than 100 times in the attack.... (more)

Authorities have identified the man found dying on a Harvard Ave sidewalk after he was shot in the chest late on the night of January 17 behind Seattle Central Community College's Capitol Hill campus.

Darek Darewski died of his wounds at the scene as police attempted to resuscitate him.

The 49-year-old was shot to death just two weeks after serving one day in jail following his guilty plea in a 2010 harassment case.... (more)

Thanks to Adam for the picture and Mary for the headline. Here's to love.

UPDATE: Babylonia says Sunday's wedding is still on. Picture of the lovely couple together from @adamantra, below.... (more)

Police responded to a First Hill apartment early Wednesday morning after a man reported that his marijuana smoking buddy had just robbed him.

According to the report on the incident, police were called to an apartment building in the 1100 block of 8th Ave around 4:30a Wednesday. The victim told police he and his friend have medical marijuana cards and had planned to get together that night when the man showed up with a stranger in tow.

(more)

(Images: Flora and Henri)

Children's clothing boutique Flora and Henri has announced it is closing its E Pine shop next week after two years in the space. The upscale shop opened next to Molly Moon's in September 2009 after closing their downtown Seattle location earlier that year.... (more)

There's probably still a dirty patch of snow or two left on Capitol Hill but things are decidedly back to normal. Go stomp in a puddle. Add your Capitol Hill events to the CHS Calendar.

Thursday, January 26

• The 2012 Children's Film Festival Seattle opens at 12th Ave's Northwest Film Forum tonight. CHS is a proud co-sponsor. Plays through the weekend and into the week. And there are still tickets left for Saturday's pancake breakfast....

Three nights before its biggest party of the year, Capitol Hill's largest dance club received a troubling letter. The Seattle Fire Marshal was threatening to shut Neighbours down by New Year's if the club didn't cut its capacity by 70% to less than 400 people before the event, a requirement the club's management said would cause irreparable damage to its business. The standoff, clearly, was resolved -- you only need dig through the piles of photos posted from the party by Seattle Gay News to see that the party went off as planned. But behind the scenes, a deal was struck that has the nightclub on the clock for a series of expensive changes that must be made if it wants to continue to operate as it has for decades on Broadway.... (more)

Here is a round-up of community initiatives around the East Precinct including a new City Attorney liaison assigned to the area and two upcoming community meetings on policing -- including one tonight.

• The City Attorney's office has announced it will again assign liaisons to the city's police precincts to "to augment the City's response to emerging and increasingly complex neighborhood public safety and regulatory issues." The positions were an early cut as Peter Holmes took office in 2010. According to the announcement on the new positions, the new assistant city attorney will be good news for the East Precinct's bars and restaurants as the role is intended to help streamline much of the regulation of the nightlife industry at the city level.

The precinct liaisons -- Melissa Chin (South/Southwest), Jana Jorgensen (North), Sumeer Singla (West) and Matt York (East) -- will provide critical legal services on the issues of high importance to their particular precincts. They also will be accountable for managing a number of regulatory provisions in a more effective and efficient manner because they will better understand the dynamics in the individual communities.

"It's an opportune time to launch a completely reengineered Precinct Liaison Program 2.0," said City Attorney Pete Holmes, "simultaneously bringing closer together SPD's five precincts, the City Attorney's Office and Seattle's diverse communities to better address local problems and concerns. Relying on input from across Seattle government, we have retained what worked and rethought the challenges ahead. Our selection process was inclusive and yielded excellent candidates from whom we've selected some of our most promising attorneys. They represent a direct link to me and will be instrumental in helping Seattle to move forward during the work ahead with the Department of Justice."... (more)

(January 24, 2012  - Seattle, WA)  Ingersoll Gender Center announces a new support group for people in the Transgender  community who want to find work or improve their career.  Seattle Transgender Economic Empowerment Project (STEEP), a program of Ingersoll Gender Center, will meet twice monthly, on the first and third Thursdays.  We will address issues related to the challenging job market.  The group will be led by veteran Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Joy Shiels and Ingersoll Board Member, Ryan Blackhawke.  Joy has 25 years of experience working in vocational rehabilitation and currently... (more)

Remember that guy who got nailed with an $800 bill after his truck was towed from a 13th Ave E apartment complex? The holidays and snow and such conspired to bury this one, but a judge let him off the hook -- on a technicality:

The judge didn't rule the bill was too high (there's no legal limit on what a tow company can charge). But rather that the tow-away sign in the lot was obscured by a tree. And also that Citywide hadn't given Swanicke the proper forms.... (more)