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Justin is publisher of Capitol Hill Seattle and Central District News. You can reach him at [email protected] or call/txt (206) 399-5959.

Chuck’s Central District hosts community open house

Soon to be filled with beer (Image: Chuck's via Facebook)

Soon to be filled with beer (Image: Chuck’s via Facebook)

This just in from Facebook tipster Craig:

Chuck on 20th and Union is having an open house today. Not their official opening I guess, but they wanna meet the community and will have some of their taps up and running.

The just-a-little delayed beer shop taking over the old Copymaster building will host food trucks, serve ice cream, and pour beer from 50 taps. It’s a sequel to the very popular Chuck’s Hop Shop in Greenwood we’ve been waiting for since first reporting the project in spring of 2013.

Friday’s open house is slated to run from 3 to 11p.

You can learn more on Chuck’s Central District Facebook page.

Loud boom reported near Powell Barnett Park

A loud boom heard across the city and possible smoke reported by a nearby resident brought out Seattle Fire emergency crews and police early early Sunday morning near Powell Barnett Park but the responding units could not immediately find the source of the mystery disturbance.

According to Seattle Fire dispatch logs, a “minor” explosion was first reported around 3:20 AM near 27th and E Alder. Arriving SFD units and police searched the area but could not find any fire, damage or electrical issues.

911 calls came in from across the city following the thunderous early morning bang. We’ll update if we find out more about the situation.

Lark celebrates 10 years on 12th Ave, whole hog

Sundstrom at his Election Night 2012 pig roast (Image: Lark)

Sundstrom at his Election Night 2012 pig roast (Image: Lark)

Chef John Sundstrom wants to do something only a little larger than normal to celebrate small-plate Lark’s ten-year anniversary and a decade of survival in Seattle’s restaurant business.

“I’ve roasted a lot of whole pigs. It’s one of my favorite things to do,” Sundstrom said. “It just felt like a way to make a fun and casual party.”

Thursday, Sundstrom is inviting all comers to the 12th Ave restaurant for a pig roast starting at 6 PM and running “until the pig runs out.” The $50 for your plate will go to Northwest Harvest.

Sundstrom says his ten years on the northern edge of the Central District have been good ones with only a few bumps along the way. A decision to sell off his neighboring offshoot Licorous in 2011 to make way for now legendary Canon helped, he says.

“The recession… we’re happy we made it through,” Sundstrom said. “We had some great opportunities.”

With the decade milestone reached, Sundstrom says Lark is now signed for the space for another five to ten years. He’s also making plans for a new investment.

“We’ve got another project in the works,” Sundstrom said. More on that soon.

You can learn more at larkseattle.com.

Blotter | Seattle U street robberies, Close shave on S Main

See something others should know about? Email the tips line.

  • Rash of Seattle U street robberies: Seattle University is warning students about a rash of crime in the past few days around the campus on the southern edge of Capitol Hill. In the most serious incident, two suspects beat their victim and stole his car near 13th and Jefferson early Monday morning. According to the report on the incident, the two assailants stole a gold Honda Civic in the 1:25 AM attack. The suspects were described as two dark skinned males in their 20s, both around 6-foot tall and both had what the victim believed to be East African accents. Seattle Fire Department medics were called to the scene to treat the victim who was bleeding from the mouth.Later that day around 5:25 PM, a SU student waiting near 11th and E Marion was approached by two men who asked her if she had cigarettes. “After the student gave the unknown men cigarettes, one of them put their arms around her, reached into her jacket pocket, and unknowingly stole her Iphone,” the report states. The men then left on 11th Ave. through campus as the victim realized her phone was missing and sought help. Both suspects ”appeared to be East African in their early 20’s. One was wearing a dark colored light weight hooded jacket with dark jeans, approximately 5’ 8” tall. The other was wearing a light weight black jacket, dark jeans, cornrow braids, and approximately 5’ 10”,” according to the report.Meanwhile, late Saturday night “two SU community members” were robbed as they waited for a taxi in the area of 21st and E Jefferson:

    A person described as being a dark complexion male, in his early twenties (21-25) of average build and height, wearing a black hoodie approached them and grabbed onto the victims clutch wallet. The wallet strap was around the victim’s wrist so she was pulled to the ground and dragged several feet before the suspect freed it from her and fled the area. SPD responded to the location for a report, and the victim was treated for minor injuries by SFD. No weapons were seen or mentioned during the incident.

  • Close shave on S Main: The report on this 12th/Jeff hair cut gone very, very badly is pretty much one of a kind:

    Screen Shot 2013-12-10 at 10.40.18 AM Screen Shot 2013-12-10 at 10.40.26 AM

Police shoot and kill armed suspect in 23rd/John standoff

Seattle Police responding to reports of an armed man in an apartment window near 23rd and John early Friday morning shot and killed the suspect as he opened fire on officers with a rifle, SPD says.

The area around 23rd an John remained blocked as the investigation of the incident that began unfolding around 4 AM continued.

Screen Shot 2013-11-29 at 6.58.48 AMThe incident began around 4:10 AM when 911 callers said there was “a male up in the window” hanging out the 22nd Ave side of the building with a gun in his hand “looking for somebody.” Police arrived moments later and set up outside the building. A “shots fired” report was broadcast by SPD radio around 4:20 AM. The suspect was reported down by police seconds later.

The initial response was reported at 109 23rd Ave E in the Elizabeth James House, a Capitol Hill Housing building. Continue reading

‘Potrepreneurs’ place applications across the city, including at 23rd and Union

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 4.07.48 PM

See full size map below

The Liquor Control Board has released a roster of the first wave of applicants in a 30-day window for entrepreneurs to sign up for the privilege of producing, processing or retailing legal marijuana in the liberty-blessed State of Washington.

In all, CDN counts 88 line items in the database for applicants within Seattle’s city limits — though there are a few players dealing in with multiple hands. A map of the initial Seattle applicants is below.

We predicted a possible “Little Amsterdam” to emerge at 23rd and Union; the first applicants fulfilled the prediction with two entities filling the area with a handful of applications. One of those entities — Uncle Ike’s — is backed by 23rd/Union landowner and business owner Ian Eisenberg. How the board’s lottery for areas with multiple applicants will work isn’t entirely clear nor is how the board will vet the applications for elements like leases and rental agreements. A “letter of intent” requirement was relaxed during the process, one applicant told CDN.

Applications will be accepted through mid-December with the first licenses scheduled to be issued in February. The first stores are expected to be open by the start of summer.

The full map of the initial Seattle applicants is below.

 

 

Police make arrests, clear Horace Mann

Police arrest a fourth man during Tuesday's raid

Police arrest a fourth man during Tuesday’s raid

Screen Shot 2013-11-19 at 1.15.01 PMSeattle Police say they have made arrests and are searching the building as groups occupying the Horace Mann school are being cleared from the Seattle Public Schools property on E Cherry near 23rd.

SPD says that three four adult males were arrested as police continue to search the building after entering the barricaded facility Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: Police say Tuesday’s raid began around 1 PM and has been in planning for “a while” as SPD had heard threats of a sniper and explosives at the barricaded facility. An SPD spokesperson said the SWAT raid was planned for a time when intelligence gathered by the department indicated there would be no children at the site. SPD says only four men were found in the building in the raid — three were arrested immediately and a fourth was found after about 30 minutes of searching, hiding in an attic space. All four will likely be cited for criminal trespass. SPD said its arson and bomb squad was searching the building for any weapons or explosives.

A scene from inside the building earlier this  month (Image: Alex Garland with permission)

A scene from inside the building earlier this month (Image: Alex Garland with permission)

The arrests come after months of talks between the school district and groups occupying the building dragged on. Schools has sent the Africa Town and More for Mann groups multiple letters notifying them they would need to clear the building to make way for planned renovations so the school can re-open next fall. The groups continued to occupy the building despite those demands.

“We want to continue to show the unified community of African-American parents, educators and students working together to take responsibility for the education of our children,” the More for Mann group said in a statement earlier this year. “Now is the time to rectify the past inequities and ineffective methods to educate our children.”

UPDATE x2Wyking Garrett, founding director of the Umoja Peace Center and a member of the Africa Town Center for Education and Innovation, said an Africa Town task force that had been formed to work with schools last talked to the district at a presentation at the last school board meeting and that the Mann groups did not know this was going to happen today.

“We were all shocked and surprised,” Garrett said.

Garrett said that talk of a gun in the school was a “distraction.” “It’s a tragedy,” he said of the way things ending up unfolding.

Garrett said the More for Mann movement isn’t over. “We’re going to continue to say the same things,” he said.

“They talk about parent engagement, this is parent led movement.”

Garrett said the group will continue to push to use the building.

“We’re still committed to honoring the legacy of African Americans in that building,” Garrett said. “It’s an ideal location. Of course the community is going to move forward.”

Garrett said the larger issues behind the Africa Town effort are far from over saying the real issue is black students of in Seattle schools are being excluded from the curriculum and funding they deserve.

“The issues did not go away today, the police can not make those issues go away,” Garrett said.

Here is the SPD report on the incident:

Police Arrest Three At Horace Mann School Building

Written by  on 

At the request of the Seattle Public Schools, Seattle police entered the Horace Mann school building in the Central District Tuesday and arrested three people for criminal trespassing.

School district officials requested police assistance after several groups began using the vacant school without authorization from the district, delaying planned renovations of Horace Mann and costing the school district tens of thousands of dollars in construction penalties.

School district officials began negotiations with the group in an attempt to come to a peaceful resolution, while also working with Seattle police and the City Attorney’s office to determine of

While the school district was able to negotiate with the majority of the group’s members, a small contingent remained inside the Horace Mann building and refused to leave. Members of the smaller group claimed to be in possession of explosives, and warned that anyone who approached the building could come under fire from a rooftop sniper.

After working with school district officials and monitoring the situation at Horace Mann for weeks, Seattle police learned that only a few members of the group would be inside the building today.

As this smaller group presented a lower risk for an arrest team, police requested that nearby Garfield High School go into shelter-in-place, and stationed additional uniformed officers on the school’s campus shortly after 12:30 PM. An SPD tactical team then entered the Horace Mann building, where officers arrested three people for criminal trespassing without incident.

As of 1:15 pm, police were still searching the building for other trespassers.

Police will continue to work with the school district to secure the school site.

Police officer helps victims from burning house, keeps flames from spreading

A Seattle Police officer helped people — and a few pets — escape the flames and removed a burning rug from a smoky house fire near 32nd Ave E and E Thomas Wednesday afternoon.

According to East Precinct radio, the police officer alerted dispatchers around 12:30 PM that she was escorting people from the house and had removed the burning rug preventing the flames from spreading. According to dispatches, the officer apparently saw the house fire while on patrol in the area. Damage was reportedly limited to smoke damage thanks to the quick response.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene to assess the situation and continue the fire response.

We will confirm details as they become available.


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With community input, a smaller step to build higher at 23rd and Union

MidTown Center -- a rezone could allow future development to reach 65 feet high -- just short of that cloud (Image: CDN)

MidTown Center — a rezone could allow future development to reach 65 feet high — just short of that cloud (Image: CDN)

The next step in making the southeast corner of 23rd and Union more appealing to developers has been taken — and it’s a slightly smaller step than first planned. The Department of Planning and Development’s director’s office has recommended the rezone application brought by the longtime owner of the block to allow the more than 100,000 square-foot property to be built to 65 feet.

Midtown Center owner Tom Bangasser said he hopes the decision will help him bring more jobs to the area. The move comes as the United States Post Office nears its planned move-out target in January. At this point, however, there is still no development plan attached to the rezone push and DPD records don’t indicate any activity around the property.

In a change from the first plans for a rezone reported by CDN in April, Bangasser says that community input helped change the application to “neighborhood commercial 2” zoning instead of “NC3” to help keep development more in line with the surrounding area. NC2 zones still push building heights to 65 feet but limit potential commercial space to 25,000 square feet or less. The land is currently zoned with a height limit of 40 feet. Continue reading

Have you joined the Seattle District 3 Facebook group yet?

Who will lead the (hopefully) United Neighborhoods of District 3? We don’t know though Socialist Alternative City Council candidate Kshama Sawant appears on her way to a head start on the district’s first election in 2015. In the meantime, there’s another father of our country type to thank — The Stranger’s Dominic Holden has set up a Seattle District 3 Facebook group that is open too all comers:

Hey, everyone. Welcome to this page about Seattle District 3! Please invite anyone who may be interested–it’s public (if I set it up right, that is). Folks should discuss everything related to Seattle City Council elections for District 3, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, and a bunch of adorable little neighborhoods on the lake. Hurrah!

Holden vs. Sawant in 2015? Fun to see the burst of energy around something new in the city. Let’s see how long it lasts!

Meanwhile, open district groups have also been set up for the rest of the city. You can find the roster here.