Monthly Archives: February 2017

Another Capitol Hill re-start, Adana reboots at 15th and Pine

Posted on by

There is another Capitol Hill food and drink opening we should recognize and this one also represents a re-start, of sorts. But unlike Contadino where a new chef/owner came in to launch a new concept, Adana at 15th and Pine is fully Shota Nakajima’s reboot.

The young chef/owner unveiled his second play on traditional Japanese earlier this month and is now running at full speed with the new, more comfortable, reportedly more affordable take.

“I am simplifying everything. Simplifying labor, simplifying food,” Nakajima told CHS in January as he closed down the meticulously fussy Naka to make way for the new Adana. “But I haven’t given up on what I wanted to do.”

Adana is centered around a $37 three-course menu of classic Japanese with dishes fully based around Nakajima’s focus on details and quality. The dishes will rotate seasonally so expect a shift from month to month as the availability of fresh ingredients changes. After early feedback, Adana will also loosen up and offer items a la carte. To really loosen up, head to the bar where favorite katsu sandwiches are planned to be a holdover from the Naka days with quality drinking food like yakisoba also available. Meanwhile, Nakajima’s new project is also open seven days a week — 5 PM to midnight.

One thing not part of the change: Adana has no plans to add a service charge, a restaurant rep tells CHS.

In the end, the shift at Adana is a matter of degrees. It has dropped a $ from its $$$$ ranking at review sites and, Nakajima hopes, made itself an easier place for his neighbors to stop by.

Adana is located at 1449 E Pine. You can check out adanaseattle.com to learn more.

‘Fictitious’ porn recruiter may owe thousands in sex scam case

Posted on by
m79Oi78s

Via Hickey’s Twitter account

Former Capitol Hill resident Matt Hickey and what prosecutors say was his “fictitious talent recruiting company” may be forced to turn over photographs and track down and remove images that have spread across the internet after failing to respond to a consumer protection lawsuit brought by the Washington Attorney General.

Last week, Hickey was found in default in the case in which the tech blogger and photographer was alleged to have created a fake porn business “solely for his personal gain and sexual gratification.”

Hickey is currently being held on three second-degree rape charges in King County Jail and faces charges in a string of sexual assaults in which women said they worked with the photographer “under false pretenses or stated Hickey had sex with them when they were too intoxicated to give consent.”

The Stranger reports that Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Hickey’s lawsuit “marked the first time that state consumer protection laws were invoked to respond to a scam like this one.”

The court must now rule on what punishment Hickey will face in the consumer protection case in which the attorney general’s office asked Judge Jeffrey M. Ramsdell to establish that Hickey violated the Consumer Protection Act, block him from any similar activities in the future, “restore” property to victims including electronic and physical copies of photographs taken of the victims, order Hickey to relinquish any rights to those photos, order “that the Photos Defendant obtained through unfair and deceptive conduct are removed from the internet,” and, the kicker, nail Hickey for $2,000 for every violation of consumer laws. The AG also is requesting “reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.”

Capitol Hill Community Post | Two-Way Traffic Resumes Today on 23rd Avenue from East Union Street to East John Street

Posted on by

From the Seattle Department of Transportation

SDOT advises travelers that crews will reopen two-way traffic on 23rd Ave from E Union St to E John St today, Tuesday, February 28. This milestone marks the end of a northbound detour that has been in effect while crews constructed important safety and mobility improvements.

By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, travelers can expect the following:

  • Northbound travel will return to 23rd Ave from E Union St to E John St
  • 23rd Ave will be open to two-way traffic (northbound and southbound)
  • King County Metro is expected to resume northbound Route 48 service on 23rd Ave at the next service change on March 11; southbound Route 48 will continue service on 23rd Ave
  • Expect temporary lane shifts and intermittent construction activities on 23rd Ave between S Jackson St and E John St through spring as crews complete minor close-out activities; northbound and southbound travel on 23rd Ave will be maintained

SDOT would like to thank the public for its patience during construction for the 23rd Avenue Corridor Improvements Project.

– See more at: http://onthemove.seattle.gov/2017/02/28/two-way-traffic-resumes-today-on-23rd-avenue-from-east-union-street-to-east-john-street/#sthash.ms4bFURz.dpuf

Why Capitol Hill’s newest restaurant — and plenty of others — are adding service charges

Posted on by

Chef and owner Brian Clevenger is celebrating the opening of Contadino and its sibling pizzeria on 19th Ave E. While he would prefer to talk about fresh pasta and pizza, he, like a growing number of Capitol Hill food and drink owners, is answering questions about an italicized note at the bottom of his menus notifying diners of a “5% service charge” that is “distributed in full to the employees you do not see” —

Screen Shot 2017-02-27 at 12.00.52 PM

While pro-labor advocates call the new crop of service charges added by owners like Clevenger protests of “the fact that they have to pay their workers a living wage,” the Contadino restaurateur says he is trying to find a new path to solve an issue close to his heart. And he might soon find some help from the last guy you might expect to lend a hand to a restaurant atop Capitol Hill, Seattle. Continue reading →

Africatown, sustainability nonprofit Forterra make offer to buy 23rd and Union’s Midtown Center

Posted on by

There is a new deal in the works to purchase the Central District’s Midtown Center that would put Africatown at the center of redeveloping the 2.4-acre property while giving a nonprofit dedicated to sustainability an even greater new focus beyond the region’s forests on the streets around 23rd and Union.

“Whether proving a home for old growth forest, or preservation of the African American legacy in Seattle,” Forterra’s Michelle Connor tells CHS a deal with Africatown to purchase the property would be about “preserving places for people to have thriving assets.”

The organizations have submitted a letter of intent to purchase the property, Connor said Monday.

Acceptance of the offer would mean “a greater chance for inclusive development at 23rd and Union that provides sanctuary for a valuable part of the community that is being pushed out,” Africatown head K. Wyking Garrett tells CHS.

Continue reading →

After two years of East Precinct testing, SPD can roll out $2M body cam program

Posted on by

Despite concerns remaining about when the devices will be turned on (and off), how privacy issues will be handled, and how the recordings might be made available to federal authorities, a 2016 Department of Justice survey showed Seattle residents want their police to wear body cameras. Monday, the City Council voted 6-2 to lift budget restrictions and allow the Seattle Police Department to move forward with a $2.3 million plan to outfit every officer with the devices starting later this year. Continue reading →

City planning 2017 changes to speed up First Hill Streetcar

Posted on by

Denny-and-Broadway_6033-600x400Capitol Hill pedestrians you might soon have to up your pace to beat the First Hill Streetcar in a footrace.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is planning a roster of changes in three sections of the 2.5-mile line to help boost the performance of the streetcar connecting Pioneer Square, the International District, First Hill, and Capitol Hill including the addition of a “southbound Business Access and Transit lane” to Broadway. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Community Post | Bright Horizons at Seneca St. collects Diapers for the Community

Posted on by

image002From Bright Horizons at Seneca St.

BRIGHT HORIZONS AT SENECA ST. is giving back to Seattle as part of their mission to help those in need in the community.  The center recently collected over 2,250 diapers which will be donated to Northwest Harvest and St. Mary’s Place to help local babies in need.  The center’s long track record of providing the highest-quality child care and early education is coupled with a commitment to support children and families in need in communities where center employees work and live.

“We can give children the best start in life by providing them with a caring and nurturing environment.  That environment starts with a community where teachers and families support each other and where they work together to support those in need.  It teaches children the most important basic lessons of respect for others and service to the community,” said the center’s director Jamie McMurdie.

Children at the Bright Horizons at Seneca St. get that start in life with a professional faculty and Bright Horizons’ unique early learning curriculum for children.  The World at Their Fingertips program for learning offers each child a world full of discovery opportunities guided by skilled teachers who recognize each child’s individual strengths and helps them to learn, grow and live fully.  Engaging programs, teach skills in language, math, science, art and other skills.  And The World at Their Fingertips’ newest program Toward a Better World addresses the importance of tolerance, respect, understanding and giving back to the community.

The Bright Horizons at Seneca St. is located at 1002 E. Seneca St., Seattle, WA.

Contadino and its sibling pizzeria begin new story on 19th Ave E

Posted on by

After “a thoughtful but speedy remodel,” a classic Capitol Hill restaurant space is ready to go back into motion. Contadino and its sibling pizzeria make their 19th Ave E debut Monday night:

Contadino is an intimate room that offers seating for 45 in an understated space defined by simple lines and shades of gray and white. A banquette runs along the north wall with marble table tops and black bentwood chairs adding a bistro vibe. The open kitchen has a bar height four-person chef’s counter, where diners can enjoy a $70/person tasting menu, plus a full bar with seating for 12. There is also a semi-private dining area for up to eight guests. Continue reading →

‘The project pause has been lifted’ — Officials satisfied for Volunteer Park museum expansion to move forward

Posted on by

Over the weekend, CHS reported on the last visits to the Seattle Asian Art Museum before two years of construction and word from Seattle Parks official Michael Shiosaki of an “un-pausing” of the $49 million plan to overhaul the infrastructure of the 1933-built museum and expand it 3,600 square feet into its home Volunteer Park.

Monday morning, a spokesperson for parks and rec head Jesus Aguirre confirmed that the superintendent is ready for the project to get back on track.

The responses that SAAM provided to the issues raised by the community display an alignment with the mission and values of Seattle Parks and Recreation. The museum contributes to the use and activation of Volunteer Park and is an asset of our parks system that we treasure. We look forward to continuing public discussions about the project and have communicated to SAAM that the project pause has been lifted.

Continue reading →