Author Archives: CHS Staff

Laurel, now open for coffee, beauty, and light on E Olive Way

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A picture of workers preparing the new Laurel cafe and bar for opening

The crew readying the 500 square feet for its daytime start (Image: Laurel)

Seattle is a big city and sometimes it takes a really long time to open something new here — even one of the tiniest joints on Capitol Hill.

After a year of planning, paperwork, and elbow grease, Laurel has opened for daytime hours along E Olive Way. You can stop in for daily 9a-2p coffee service starting Friday. Its nighttime hours will follow.

Little Laurel might be the most personal of Kate Opatz’s food and drink ventures. CHS reported here last summer on the light, beauty, daytime coffee, neighborhood investors, love for a lost friend, and mom behind the project transforming the former home of Crumble & Flake Pâtisserie. Continue reading →

As Seattle debates 20-year growth plan, mayor issues order hoped to strengthen $45M in anti-displacement spending

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As his administration bolsters its political will to update Seattle’s growth plan and address the region’s housing affordability crisis, Mayor Bruce Harrell issued an executive order Wednesday hoped to strengthen the city’s anti-displacement strategies.

The order includes five components hoped to address Harrell’s focus on helping existing homeowners in challenged communities hold onto their family properties while also bolstering Tenant Relocation Assistance, Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance, and Emergency Rental Assistance programs, and doing more to track housing statistics at displacement’s core: Continue reading →

City of Seattle announces $7M in youth mental health spending

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From the city’s 2024 report (PDF) on youth mental health

Seattle has announced $7 million in new partnerships as it expands mental health services for teens and young adults.

The spending was included in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s priorities as his office responded with a $14.5 million plan focused on intervention, mental health, and “school-based safety specialists” following last year’s deadly shooting at Garfield High School.

The spending announced this week includes a new partnership with Talkspace, an online therapy platform, increased staffing at school-based health centers, and “other holistic approaches,” plus seven local mental health and wellness organization serving youth ages 13 to 24 “through a suite of virtual and in-person care options,” the city said,

The funding through the Department of Education and Early Learning will expand access to in-person and telehealth mental health services to support Seattle’s middle and high school students, as well as youth up to age 24, in 2025 and 2026.

The new services are being readied to launch early this year. Continue reading →

No Capitol Hill-U District light rail service this weekend to repair damage at University of Washington Station and get trains back up to speed

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(Image: Sound Transit)

This one is a little different. Sound Transit says to prepare for another weekend of disrupted light rail service around Capitol Hill Station — but this time, preparations for the planned late 2025 full opening of the system’s 2 Line are not to blame.

Service between the University District and Capitol Hill will be suspended Saturday and Sunday as work takes place to repair equipment damaged in September that has had trains running slowly through the area:

As regular riders through University of Washington already know, Link trains have been traveling slowly through the station and interlocking since September, when a train with a broken pantograph damaged the Overhead Contact System (OCS). Crews were able to make emergency repairs, and to prevent further disruptions trains have been speed restricted entering and exiting the station until full repairs could be performed.

Sound Transit says the service interruption is necessary because repairs of the high-voltage electrical components involved cannot be performed “without a complete shutdown of the impacted area.” Continue reading →

City Council chooses Solomon to fill open International District and South Seattle seat

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(Image: Seattle City Council)

Mark Solomon has ten months to change Seattle. Monday, the Seattle City Council voted to appoint the longtime Seattle Police Department community crime prevention coordinator to finish the term of Tammy Morales representing the International District and South Seattle’s District 2 at City Hall.

Solomon has pledged to focus on the job at hand and says he will not run in the November election to re-fill the seat.

Solomon has said his priorities will be representing D2 neighborhoods in the city’s comprehensive plan update and address street disorder in Little Saigon. Continue reading →

You could be the $70K a year Capitol Hill ‘Neighborhood Safety Coordinator’

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The GSBA chamber of commerce is hiring for a key role established in the city’s latest round of budgeting to be part of an increased effort around public safety in Capitol Hill’s core.

The chamber, “Washington State’s LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce,” has posted its call for applicants for a new full-time Neighborhood Safety Coordinator for Capitol Hill.

“The Neighborhood Safety Coordinator (NSC) will work with the Capitol Hill business community and be responsible for building relationships, outreach, coordination with key city departments and communication to the community regarding safety issues,” the organization says. Continue reading →

This week in CHS history | Capitol Hill gay bars push back on ‘lewd conduct,’ Seattle U COVID-19 vax freezer failure, Comet ‘code of conduct’ debuts

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(Image: Comet Tavern)

Here are the top stories from this week in CHS history:

2024

 

‘Lewd conduct’ — Capitol Hill gay bars and clubs band together to push back on liquor board inspections


Continue reading →

911 | First Hill shooting, helicopter search over Capitol Hill for stolen truck

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt/Signal (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.

  • First Hill shooting: Police are investigating an overnight shooting inside a First Hill apartment building that sent a man to the hospital early Friday:
    At 2:20 a.m. Friday, a dispatcher received a report of a shooting inside a building in the 800 block of Spring Street. Officers arrived to find a 37-year-old man in the building’s stairwell, suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Officers provided aid until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived, and the victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.
    SPD says a passerby found the victim on the 13th floor and called 911 but the circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation.
  • Helicopter search for stolen truck: The King County Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter aided in the search for a stolen truck on Capitol Hill Wednesday. According to police radio updates, officers were assisting with a victim near the Capitol Hill Safeway who reported their truck had been stolen and said they were in contact with the thieves who were arranging to meet up for a deal to give the stolen vehicle back. The chopper was called in to search for the Chevy Silverado with Mexico plates around 3:15 PM and circled the area without locating the vehicle. There were no reported arrests.
 

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Seattle outlines $22M in Equitable Development Initiative funding including boost for Central District’s Africatown Plaza

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Africatown Plaza (Image: David Baker Architects)

A program hoped to help slow and reverse displacement in Seattle has announced its latest roster of funding including $1 million to help open the Africatown Plaza affordable development in the Central District.

According to the announcement, Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative is funding more than $22 million across 42 projects as part of the city’s effort to support property ownership in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.

“Our city is steadfast in its commitment to delivering real results for communities disproportionately impacted by displacement,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in the announcement. “With our largest investment in Equitable Development Initiative projects to date, we are taking meaningful steps to expand opportunities in our most marginalized communities and build a future where every Seattle resident can thrive. Continue reading →

Yeobo Cafe and Bar now softly open on E Madison

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A peek inside the overhauled space (Image: Yeobo Cafe and Bar)

Yeobo Cafe and Bar is overcoming a later than expected start with intention and good vibes on E Madison.

The new venture in the old Two Doors Down burger space got started with its “soft opening” phase last weekend as chef and first-time owner Mars Minas overcame a slew of challenges in opening the overhauled restaurant including a gas leak and some final rounds with the health department.

With a successful first weekend including selling out on its cold case musubi and generating much needed revenue, Yeobo is ready to continue its ramp-up to full power. This weekend is hoped to bring the introduction of Yeobo’s breakfast sandwiches to the menu. Minas says brunch should follow in a few weeks.

As far as its nighttime hours, the plan is for Yeobo to turn on the bar end of things with cocktails and bites plus late night musubi by the end of March.

In the meantime, Friday through Monday visitors can enjoy Yeobo’s cold case snacks, musubi (“until they sell out”) and all of the cafe’s espresso and tea drinks. Continue reading →