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The corner’s Rione XIII Italian restaurant and its sibling Rubinstein Bagels shop are closed immediately. Bar Vacilando, which just marked its tenth year on 15th Ave E, will close this weekend.

“We can confirm Bar Vacilando’s last day is this Saturday,” a spokesperson for the hangout said and provided a statement on the shutdown:

We are deeply grateful to every employee who helped shape Vacilando, and to every guest, neighbor, friend, and regular who spent time with us. Thank you for giving this place a life. We are grateful we were able to serve you over the years.

A person familiar with operations at the Italian restaurant and bagel shop of the Ethan Stowell–helmed founded One House Hospitality restaurant group confirmed the immediate closures with CHS and said that landlord and building issues were behind the lost leases.

“Unfortunately, ongoing issues with the building have made it so we can no longer continue operating in this space,” the company later said in a statement.

The simultaneous endings will darken a corner of a street already challenged by closures and the paused redevelopment of the neighborhood’s QFC. The grocery is coming up on six years since it was axed by parent company Kroger.

(Image: Rione XIII)

On the other side of the street, the long ago Piggly Wiggly grocery market building home to Rione XIII, Rubinstein Bagels, and Bar Vacilando has had a rough couple years capped off by a situation in August when crumbling bricks were reported along the structure’s E Harrison-side facade. According to a Code Compliance Complaint filed in early August, the matter had been referred to the city’s building inspections team but there have been no updates in the weeks since.

There have been other major problems afoot at the property.

According to King County tax records, the longtime family ownership behind the property has not paid taxes on the parcel since 2023 with over $135,000 owed through this year.

In Washington, prolonged tax issues coupled with abrupt lease terminations can signal issues including estate hurdles or ownership transitions to looming structural repair mandates the property cannot absorb. Older unreinforced masonry buildings face increasingly costly maintenance, and commercial leases typically allow landlords to terminate tenancy when mandated repairs become economically or structurally impractical.

It is not clear if there are legal, estate issues, or other matters behind the absence. A check of court and property records shows no active cases or major liens against the property.

The ownership’s holdings include the neighboring buildings home to neighborhood favorites Grandad’s Barber Shop — previously Tim’s/Jim’s — and Rainbow Natural Remedies but those structures, for now, seem to be free from the issues that led to the closures next door. Both Grandad’s and Rainbow say they are open for business.

15th Ave E’s current era of growth has been on pause as the old QFC block awaits a six-story redevelopment stalled along with major development across most of the Hill by high interest rates, inflation, and a suboptimal rental economy. In the meantime, groups like LOVECITYLOVE and the Punk Rock Flea Market are keeping the area busy. And small businesses like Sweet Mary’s Cherries are making temporary homes in the someday to be demolished buildings.

Still, the street is slowly changing. Major mixed use development the Hilltop Apartments building opened in 2024 on the site of the neighborhood’s former service station. Acrosss the street, the corner home to the liver damaging Canterbury Tavern is about to become home to a new spirit lifting MOOV fitness studio.

2026 has also left the former Ada’s Technical Books shuttered but new businesses are joining the area including a rebirth of Bar Cantinetta and delayed but still in motion plans for Fire Tacos & Cantina to join 15th in the old Coastal Kitchen building.

The latest new projects include Ha Ha Coffee — CHS visited here — and RUAM – Thai Bowls and Noodles. A Best Smoke & Vape Shop also recently opened on the street in a former office space.

Still, the closures at 15th and Harrison hurt and bring some long running staples and a pocket of neighborhood jobs to an abrupt end.

Rione XIII’s closure ends a 14-year-run for the Stowell “Roman trattoria” concept. His 2012 buildout of the space formerly home to the “difficult for children” boutique Tilden led the way in the longtime commercial building’s transition from retail to fully food and drink. Stowell’s restaurant group remains invested in Capitol Hill with a Tavolàta location on E Pike.

Rubinstein Bagels, meanwhile, launched what CHS called the golden age of Capitol Hill bagels when it opened in the former Wandering Goose space in 2021. Founder Andrew Rubinstein later parted ways with the Capitol Hill shop and the other RB locations, selling his interest to Stowell and exiting the partnership with the prolific restaurateur to focus on his own joint, Hey Bagel in the University Village mall. The Rubinstein Bagels locations in Eastlake, Redmond, and South Lake Union remain.

(Image: Bar Vacilando)

Capitol Hill’s golden age of bagels? Well, there is hope. “Seattle’s premier halal bagel cafe,” TOASTED is opening a Capitol Hill counter on E Pike. There are also newer additions like Mt. Bagel and a highly respected showing from the one and only Dingfelder’s which has grown from a popular walk-up into a full blown Jewish deli since its 2018 debut.

For Bar Vacilando, CHS marked a decade of the bar from the Black Bottle Group restaurant family this summer with a celebration of the space’s legendary patio.

And as for the old building, there is no current record of any construction plans or major changes. The city’s historical report for the property says, in addition to its years as a grocery, the corner also served as home to a furniture and appliance store, a TV shop, and even an evangelical church for a few years and that it remains an “unusually ornate and intact small commercial building.” Now, it has suddenly become much less intact with a past that seems much brighter than its immediate future.

UPDATE: We need to clarify some details about the restaurant group. “One House Hospitality is led by CEO Ian Courtnage,” a spokesperson tells CHS. “The company was previously known as Ethan Stowell Restaurants and recently changed its name following Ethan’s departure last year.”

Saying the company has been “dealing with ongoing issues with the building for some time,” the spokesperson shared a statement about the exit of Rione XIII and the Rubinstein shop:

There’s a lot we’ll miss about both restaurants, but mostly it’s the people. We’re incredibly proud of our teams, past and present, and grateful to all of the regulars, neighbors and guests who made these places what they were. Both restaurants became part of Capitol Hill in their own way, and we feel really lucky for the time we got to spend in the neighborhood with them.

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Watch the mayor’s budget address

Mayor Katie Wilson outlined a city budget Tuesday to close an inherited $175 million deficit without tax increases or withdrawals from city reserves as Seattle’s fiscal plans have surpassed the $9 billion mark.

“We cannot keep lurching from shortfall to shortfall year after year,” Wilson said in her address at the Seattle Central Library unveiling her 2027-2028 budget proposal. “We cannot keep kicking the can down the road, because there is no more road.”

The Seattle City Council will now pick up and shape the edges of the mayor’s proposed $9.15 billion budget for 2027 and $9.49 billion for 2028.

Seattle’s $175 million General Fund shortfall stems from years of spending outrunning revenue growth, worsened by pandemic economic shifts.

During the rapid growth of the 2010s, the city expanded services, staffing, and homelessness programs. Revenues did not keep pace due to state caps on annual property tax increases, job losses in the regional tech sector, and high inflation that drove up municipal operational and labor costs.

The city’s leaders have been bridging these annual gaps using one-time federal relief money, hiring freezes, and short-term transfers rather than permanent spending cuts.

To end the cycle, Wilson’s budget cuts roughly $50 million annually in General Fund spending by eliminating 128 positions and aligning departmental budgets with historical costs, pairing these cuts with $50 million in shuffled funding — primarily leveraging JumpStart payroll tax revenues to cover core services and homelessness programs — and enabling the city, Wilson says, to project balanced budgets through 2030 without drawing on reserves.

For Capitol Hill and the Central District, the spending plan directs funds to specific neighborhood programs while setting citywide policy on policing, growth of the CARE Department, emergency shelters, and transit.

In her address, Wilson explained why she decided to forge ahead without a push for new tax revenue citing the growth of new programs over recent years including the JumpStart payroll tax on large employers and last year’s B&O tax restructure approved by voters.

“All these measures asked the large businesses that benefit from everything our city and workforce have to offer to give back more,” Wilson said. “But right now, we don’t have good options to raise more progressive revenue that don’t also come with great risks.”

Those recent revenue shifts form a structural backbone in Wilson’s budget. Out of $454 million in 2027 JumpStart appropriations, the proposal transfers $173 million to the General Fund for basic operations while $65 million of homelessness response contracts are also being piled into the JumpStart Fund. Meanwhile, the voter-approved “Seattle Shield” restructure of the B&O tax generates about $86.8 million in new revenue annually, lifting total B&O collections to $495.7 million in 2027 and $520.4 million in 2028 — the General Fund’s largest tax stream.

Public Safety and Crisis Response
Wilson’s proposed budget funds police staffing targets while supporting alternative community response units, according to her announcement:

• 1,250 Seattle Police Department sworn officers funded in both 2027 and 2028 (up 66 officers from 2026 adopted levels) within a $556.5 million SPD budget, city tables show.
• 28 civilian positions cut at SPD (including 4 filled jobs), trimming $9.5 million.
• $525,000 kept in the Department of Neighborhoods for Community Safety Coordinators working in five areas, including Capitol Hill and the Chinatown-International District.
• $72.5 million for the CARE Department, keeping Community Crisis Responders in the field from 6:30 AM to 1:00 AM while leaving 14 vacant responder jobs unfilled, according to officials.
• $1.2 million moved from Human Services to CARE to set up operations for the mayor’s Gun Violence Plan.
• $5.08 million in Community Violence Intervention contracts transferred to CARE, leaving HSD with $8.3 million for school safety and violence prevention work.
• $14.8 million maintained for police oversight across the Office of Police Accountability, Office of Inspector General, and Community Police Commission.

“Seattle believes in putting the right responder on the scene when someone is in crisis, and our CARE Department is central to that vision,” Wilson said, saying the framework frees up officers “so that our police can focus on policing.”

Homelessness, Shelter, and Addiction
With the countywide Point-in-Time count at 18,365 homeless individuals in 2026, the city will run its shelter contracts in-house under a slowed homelessness plan, according to the proposal:

• $183.5 million for homelessness programs in 2027, moving roughly $65 million in program expenses from the General Fund into the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax Fund, according to the proposed spending plan.
• $126.8 million in provider contracts and 29 staff positions returned to HSD from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
• $37.0 million for the Shelter Accelerator Initiative to set up 960 to 1,000 shelter beds by the end of 2027, serving an estimated 1,750 to 2,000 people each year, mayoral staff reported.
• $1.59 million annually to lease and run 60 supportive housing units for Co-LEAD clients facing behavioral health and substance use challenges.
• $1.83 million from Opioid Settlement funds in 2027 for addiction treatment and harm reduction services.

Wilson said the planned shelter investments are “paired with the services that actually help someone rebuild a life, not just survive a night.”

Affordability, Food Access, and Community Stability
For District 3, the budget focuses on anti-displacement efforts, rental protections, and food assistance:

• $347.7 million allocated to the Office of Housing in 2027, backed by $140.2 million from JumpStart payroll taxes
• $22.0 million from JumpStart for the Equitable Development Initiative, alongside $6.8 million from Short-Term Rental Tax receipts for community anti-displacement grants.
• $16.3 million for rental assistance in 2027, including $6.5 million in 2027 and $6.5 million in 2028 pulled from Housing Levy cash balance interest.
• $791,000 from higher SDCI rental unit fees to enforce the city’s residential rental junk fee ban
• $294,000 to fund a Housing Ombud to help affordable housing builders work through city permitting.
• $10.2 million for HSD contracts to cover a 3.8% inflation adjustment for provider staff wages in 2027.
• $6.28 million to expand Fresh Bucks to 20,000 households with $60 monthly vouchers.
• $4.14 million from the 2025 FEPP Levy in 2027 and $2.1 million in 2028 to fund free breakfast and lunch across all Seattle Public Schools.

Transit and Mobility
The mayor’s transportation proposals are hoped to handle capital shortfalls by adjusting project schedules:

• $110 million three-year deficit in the Transportation Fund resolved through project deferrals and spending adjustments
• Commercial Parking Tax raised to 17.0% from 14.5%, projected to bring in $63.2 million in 2027 and $65.4 million in 2028.
• Continued funding to operate the First Hill Streetcar and South Lake Union Streetcar.
• Funding preserved for Vision Zero street safety projects and transit upgrades on major corridors, city plans indicate.
• Capital project delivery maintained under the voter-approved 2024 Transportation Levy.

Capital and Cultural Programs in Capitol Hill & the Central District
Specific line items for Capitol Hill and the Central Area include:

• $65,000 (a 120% funding hike) spread across Seattle’s five designated Cultural Districts, including the Capitol Hill and Central Area districts, according to the Office of Arts and Culture.
• $500,000 per year for a new Queer and Trans Stabilization Fund run through HSD and the Office for Civil Rights.
• $209,958 moved from the General Fund to Admissions Tax revenues to run the Teen Summer Musical at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.
• $1.4 million per year to contract for up to 10 automated public restrooms (Throne units) in busy neighborhood commercial areas.
• $66.96 million in 2027 operations and capital spending under the renewed 2026 Library Levy, supporting operating hours, facility maintenance, and book collections at the Capitol Hill and Douglass-Truth branches.

Business Community Reaction
Wilson’s proposed budget seems to have cooled some of the heated rhetoric being fired at the administration over its first year running the city. Local business associations backed the budget’s fiscal stance and public safety investments. In a joint release, the Seattle Metro Chamber, Challenge Seattle, and the Washington Roundtable highlighted the decision to avoid new employer taxes while funding the police department’s 1,250-officer target. Seattle Metro Chamber CEO Joe Nguyễn called the plan a “thoughtful approach to a difficult fiscal challenge,” while Challenge Seattle CEO Chris Gregoire cited the mayor’s “pragmatism” in managing city expenses.

What’s Next: City Council Budget Process
With the mayor’s budget release, the proposal moves to the City Council for review, according to the city charter timeline:

• September–October: Council members review department budgets and question city officials during public hearings led by Budget Committee Chair Dan Strauss, council staff stated.
• October–November: The Council collects public feedback and writes amendments, Statements of Legislative Intent, and budget provisos.
• December 2: State law and the City Charter require the Council to vote on and adopt the final operating and Capital Improvement Program budgets by this date.
• Mayor’s Review: Once passed, the Mayor can sign the budget, let it take effect without a signature, or veto the package in its entirety; the City Charter does not permit a line-item veto.

Wilson’s proposal continues a run of relatively austere city spending plans from the city’s mayor’s office following then-Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposal last year that focused on staving off cuts to departments and an overhaul of the city’s B&O tax. By the time the council was done fine-tuning Harrell’s proposal in 2025, the incumbent had lost the election and was making way for Wilson to inherit the city’s fiscal challenges.

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From Destination Pike

Since the road is currently closed, we decided to throw a party! Come to a popsicle party on Pike between 11th and 12th this Thursday from 5-8pm. We’ll have free popsicles (hot cocoa if it’s cold), a band, a few tables, and discounts for takeout at local restaurants. Bring your blankets and enjoy some good vibes.

We’re Destination Pike, a community group pushing for the heart of the Pike/Pine corridor to be the most vibrant and walkable destination in Seattle. This means better sidewalks and public space improvements for Pike and the intersecting streets, along with fun activations that delight people of all ages. It’s obvious that we need more space for people along this stretch of Pike where the street was never built to match the neighborhood’s density.

CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY POSTS 
Have a Capitol Hill related issue people should know about? Anybody can post on CHS. Contact chs@capitolhillseattle.com to learn more.

In an attempt to make sure that we shape our advocacy to meet the needs of not just Destination Pike, but that of the neighborhood, last month we tabled at Capitol Hill Art Walk. Inside and outside of Vermillion, we talked to neighbors and visitors about what they wanted from the streets of Pike. One thing we heard was that people want more free events and more public spaces for people. Normally there’s very few places to host a free event, but we currently have a special opportunity. The road on Pike is already closed- let’s activate the empty space.

This year has been rough for the businesses at the heart of Pike/Pine with an endless array of closures and disruptions. Notably on top of national trends, the 6 week road closure caused by the sewer repair project around 12th and Pike as well as the multiple shootouts in the streets, and many other public safety issues. We’ve seen a wave of business closures, and many other businesses telling us they’re barely making it by.

With the hope of bringing temporary relief to some local businesses, we’ve decided not to bring in a street market with vendors and food trucks. Instead, we’ll create the centerpoint with two performers and a place to sit, and we’ll offer discounts and some freebies from the local businesses. We hope you’ll head into a shop, grab a bite, and then enjoy the music. Stop by our table for some information and discount details.

The city is evaluating how to make Capitol Hill a Low Pollution Neighborhood. SDOT wants to hear from the community and have them shape a vibrant center where people come to visit, shop, and spend time. SDOT is gathering your ideas for how to create welcoming streets, support local businesses, and pilot innovations like EV charging, e-cargo delivery, and other sustainability tools that make your neighborhood easier to access. Join the Low Pollution Neighborhood team at their open house this Sunday Sept. 27th, from 1-4 for visioning and free food. Details and RSVP on Eventbrite or Partiful.

Making permanent improvements is possible. After speaking with business owners, managers, residents, and visitors about these streets, we’ve found common ground on wider sidewalks and more space for people. This would mean moving Lime bikes and trash off the sidewalks and widening the sidewalk so that lines for Neumos or Wild Rose don’t block the entire space. There also need to be more places to stop and sit (or stand) out of the way. With many driveways, parking lots, and loading zones in this area, we aren’t asking for a blanket restriction on vehicle entry. Let’s make sure the city builds something that supports the many needs of our community.

Other ideas for areas across the neighborhood have also come up. A few worth noting: pedestrianizing Barbara Bailey Way (the stretch of Denny already pedestrianized twice a week for the farmers market), slowing traffic on 11th and 12th with stop signs and improved crossings, and possibly a running track around Cal Anderson that brings activity onto Nagle Place. If any of these ideas resonate with you, please attend the open house this Sunday and tell SDOT how you feel. We’re sure you have more ideas, so don’t let us stop you from shaping their work to connect our neighborhood.

About us
Destination Pike is a community group spun off from Central Seattle Streets for All in partnership with Capitol Hill Community Council. We’ve been engaging with the many stakeholders of Pike/Pine including residents, businesses, property owners, and visitors to make sure that these streets can become the vibrant heart of our neighborhood.

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The Seattle Community Advisory Group grew out of political compromise surrounding Seattle City Hall’s conditional approval of the Capitol Hill facility.

While the need for citizen oversight was a major component of debate by the King County Council during deliberations over approval of the Crisis Center acquisition last year, the process of forming an advisory group to launch the process and prioritize the spending of the $3 million earmarked for the neighborhood was not spelled out.

In late 2025, after his defeat in the November election, then-Mayor Bruce Harrell made a series of last minute appointments to fill the advisory council and advised the county of the choices.

A person close to the process said the county “sat” on the list until newly elected Mayor Katie Wilson took office.

“Wilson had opportunity for changes,” the official told CHS, but her young administration never acted on the list. District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth also did not ask for any changes. The group began meeting in April.

Across four sessions between April and July, the panel worked to define what authority it holds, coordinate with police, and evaluate street-level impacts around the property.

The board’s six core community voting members are Heather Smith, Andrew Haas, Erin Reinhart, Matt Corsi, Scott McClellan, and David Selander.

Meetings also bring together municipal liaisons, department staff, and observers, including representatives from the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) and King County Council staff. Seattle City Hall has provided a rep from the mayor’s office, health policy advisors, and community liaison Joe Elenbaas of the Seattle Police Department, plus occasional attendees including Hollingsworth’s chief of staff—but not Hollingsworth.

One person who has attended advisory group meetings said the process has been slower than hoped and has left some asking if the right people are in the room. There have also been frustrations in the layers of bureaucracy and decisions like the county’s choice to bring on a private consultant instead of working with SPD on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) components for the planning.

“Procedural items and discussions to date have focused on how the group can be most effective in their role and creating a charter,” a King County spokesperson said regarding the group’s early work. “The near-term goal (by the end of the year) is to conduct a gap analysis of the types of crisis response services near the future Crisis Care Center site so that the group members can make a decision about how they want to spend the $3 million. The SCAG meetings are open to the public and notice is on the SCAG website.”

CHS reported here on the 2025 approval of the $56 million plan to acquire the property, overhaul the building, and hire an operator for what is planned to be the second in a network of five county facilities providing 24-7 walk-in and emergency care mental health clinics funded by a 2023 voter-approved levy.

In November, CHS reported on the selection of Connections Health Solutions to operate the center.

The current advisory group board has not been publicly announced. Information like occupation and job titles from meeting documents reviewed by CHS were scrubbed of details like job titles and organizations. While municipal and agency attendees are identified by department, the board removed titles and professional affiliations for its six community members during its July 23 meeting.

Minutes for the meetings are posted here.

The advisory group includes a mix of backgrounds but leans heavily toward real estate and nearby institutions:

• Reinhart is part of the Circle the Blocks group that has been organizing neighborhood walking tours to support public safety and small businesses. In July, the group organized a walk to call for more public safety support and policing in the neighborhood in the wake of a burst of summer gun violence.
• Haas is a past member of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board a member of the East Design Review Board, a member of the Cal Anderson Park Alliance, and has worked as a Capital Projects Coordinator with the city.
• Smith represents 4N Associates, a Seattle real estate and property management firm.
• Corsi is a multifamily real estate developer and principal on the Pike Motorworks project.
• McClellan serves as Vice President for University Affairs at Seattle University.
• Selander serves as Interim Chief Medical Officer at Swedish and is also a Seattle U board member.

In addition to allocations around the $3 million funding pool, the advisory group will also be part of shaping a Good Neighbor Agreement with the provider. During its May 19 meeting, a county official clarified that the group holds the power to “concur on up to $3 million of King County funds (not up to $2 million)”. In July, county staff confirmed that this “$3M allocation” remains “available for allocation through the end of 2027.”

Hollingsworth led the call for the county to triple its planned budget for street and safety clean-up near the planned facility to $3 million. The advisory group is now shaping the plan on how that $3 million should be spent.

On July 23, the advisory group unanimously voted to approve its charter. The vote followed previous debate over Open Public Meetings Act rules, voting standards, and community fears that oversight would dissolve once the center opens. To prevent an abrupt end to community input, members added language “about revisiting how SCAG engagement may continue beyond one year after opening.”

Under the timeline adopted with the charter, members will review a full neighborhood gap analysis in October 2026, followed by a formal vote in December to allocate the $3 million.

Along the way, a second citizen advisory group is also planned to be formed to handle community issues around the facility. More on that planned hand-off and the $3 million process already underway soon.

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(Image: City of Seattle)

• Grocery ‘surveillance pricing’ ban: The bill to to ban algorithmic-based pricing on groceries and essential items in the city is up for a final vote. Wilson has championed the grocery industry ban, calling for restrictions on surveillance pricing in Seattle. Under the bill co-sponsored by Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dionne Foster, a Seattle “Fair and Transparent Pricing” policy would prevent large grocery chains and delivery platforms from using personal consumer data to charge different prices to different shoppers. The ban would apply to businesses with 20 or more locations globally. Baseline prices must be posted and publicly available. The ordinance prohibits using electronic shelf labels to display prices dynamically modified through personal data algorithms. However, the bill permits standard business practices, including manufacturer coupons, storewide promotions, and group discounts for seniors, veterans, students, or employees. Grocers can also offer loyalty discounts based on purchase history if savings are organized into standardized customer tiers rather than individualized prices and are not merged with external behavioral data. The Department of Finance and Administrative Services will oversee rulemaking with a $175,000 budget, while the City Attorney receives subpoena authority to investigate and prosecute civil violations. The proposal also establishes a private right of action, allowing consumers to sue. Council members will consider a raft of amendments prior to Tuesday’s vote:
  

  Amendment	Sponsor	Title / Topic	Summary of Proposed Effect
  Amendment A	Kettle	Prohibit Using Algorithmic-Based Price Discrimination To Increase Prices	Prohibits using algorithmic-based price discrimination to increase the price of goods above the bona fide market price, rather than prohibiting any modification of price. Allows discounts based on personal information, removes regulations regarding discounted prices and qualifying tiers, and requires covered retailers to disclose whether personal information was used to set a discounted price.
  Amendment B	Hollingsworth	Exempting Discounts on Gas from Definition of Algorithmic-Based Price Discrimination	Clarifies that discounts on motor fuel (gas) earned through a loyalty, membership, or rewards program are permitted under the ordinance, provided they satisfy applicable loyalty program requirements.
  Amendment C	Kettle	Providing more flexibility for providing discounts using personal information	Provides flexibility for covered retailers by allowing them to share personal information to target manufacturer or third-party coupons, removes the requirement to offer discounts on equal terms to consumer groups, allows purchase history as an eligible criteria without requiring that any consumer could potentially qualify, and allows loyalty program discounts to be based primarily on purchase history groupings without strict parameters.
  Amendment D	Kettle	Clarify Definition of Electronic Shelf Label System	Clarifies the definition of an electronic shelf label system to explicitly mean hardware, software, or connected technology used to display or update prices electronically at the shelf.
  Amendment E	Kettle	Limiting Records Retention and Private Right of Action Statute of Limitations to One Year	Reduces the record retention requirement for covered retailers from three years to one year, and shortens the statute of limitations for filing a civil action under the private right of action from three years to one year.
  Amendment F	Hollingsworth	Clarifying permissible surveillance	Clarifies that Chapter 7.35 does not prohibit technology used solely for security, loss prevention, safety, fraud prevention or detection, or legal compliance, provided the technology and resulting information are not used for algorithmic price discrimination.
  Amendment G	Kettle	Clarifying Preemption in the Event of State Legislation	Specifies that Chapter 7.35 will be superseded and unenforceable upon the effective date of any law enacted by the State of Washington regulating algorithmic-based price discrimination by covered retailers.
  Amendment H	Kettle	Annual Reporting	Requests that the Executive conduct an annual grocery price analysis using a Bureau of Labor Statistics “basket of goods” methodology and transmit an annual report to the Council by December 31 comparing Seattle prices to neighboring King County cities, tracking loyalty/rewards program availability, and detailing the count and geographic distribution of covered retailers.

• Denny Blaine resolution: District 3 rep and council president Joy Hollingsworth will seek the full council’s support for her resolution recognizing Denny Blaine Park as a site of historical and cultural significance to Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community and establishes City support for preserving and interpreting its heritage. The resolution from Hollingsworth formally recognizes the beach as part of Seattle’s “historic Olmsted park system” and a “site of historic and cultural importance to Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community,” celebrating its role for more than half a century as an “affirming and meaningful gathering place” with particular significance for “transgender and gender-diverse community members.” Noting that the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation recently granted it historic recognition, the resolution endorses collaboration with the Friends of Denny Blaine and Seattle Parks and Recreation to “document, interpret, and share the park’s LGBTQ+ history,” while encouraging the installation of signage reflecting the park’s historic significance and the “placement of a Pride flag or similar honorary symbol” following community engagement and departmental review. The resolution comes as the city has held public meetings to form new guidelines for the popular nude beach after a victory in the courts against a bid from park neighbors to close the public space. You can read the full proposed resolution here.
• Bruce Lee street name resolution: Another resolution up for a vote would support an honorary designation of S King between 6th Ave S and Maynard Ave S as “Bruce Lee Way.”
• Wilson ‘recall’ legal costs: The council is also set to sign off on ordinance authorizing the city to pay an estimated $24,131 in legal defense expenses for Mayor Katie Wilson in the punted recall effort against her. CHS reported here on the withdrawal of the charges over concerns about Wilson’s public safety policies and the removal of the police chief. The payment fulfills the city legal obligation to cover defense costs in judicial proceedings evaluating the sufficiency of a recall petition.

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