The new, all-ages Capitol Hill arcade features claw machines, giant gashapon dispensers, and blind boxes in a mix of collecting, tactile problem-solving, and social entertainment that only kurēn gēmu can provide.

“It’s not just for kids. It’s for grown-ups who still love arcade lights, capsule surprises, and that ‘just one more try’ feeling,” the arcade’s promo reads.

The arcade’s debut has double-upped the all-ages good times on the block. Chibi Tings neighbors The Tilted Table — the arcade bar and tabletop gaming hangout that has grown out of new ownership of the longtime Raygun Lounge. The space has previously been home to the Kpop Nara boutique before the shop made a classic Capitol Hill move to E Pike.

Chibi Tings is owned by Brent Hanada, a first-time Capitol Hill entrepreneur.

Chibi Tings and Tilted are part of a robust assortment of Capitol Hill pinball and arcade venues including Capitol Hill carnival bar Unicorn and its Narwhal underground sibling, and 10th Ave’s 21+ dedicated arcade bar, Time Warp.

Coming soon on Broadway

The overhaul of a Broadway axe-tossing venue will add another as the space becomes home to the Seattle location of the growing Recess adult play and multi-attraction social hub concept. This update from Kansas City’s Arcade Supernova shows some of the goodies being installed on Broadway. The company restores, maintains, and rotates vintage 1980s/1990s arcade cabinets and pinball machines and is now adding the Seattle Recess location to its roster.

Back on E Pine, Chibi (ちび or チビ) is a Japanese slang term meaning “small,” “short,” or “tiny.” In pop culture, anime, and manga, it describes an art style often called “super-deformed” where characters are rendered in an exaggerated, cute, miniature form with oversized heads, large expressive eyes, and tiny bodies.

Crane games are ubiquitous across Japan but they operate at scale, anchoring multi-story arcade centers run by major brands like GiGO, Taito, and Round1. Unlike Western machines that rely on payout algorithms and generic plush, Japanese UFO Catchers function as skill games offering prize-only anime figures and licensed collectibles that can’t be bought at standard retail. The venues are famous for floor attendants who help reposition stubborn prizes for struggling players. The machines also typically accept coins or transit IC cards.

While you can’t tap your ORCA card at Chibi Tings, the arcade’s bright lights and buzzing machines whir with the same fun and workers are part of the hullaballoo. “We cheer wins,” Chibi Tings promises.

The E Pine venue operates on a token system called “tings” where a $20 buy-in typically provides enough plays to win a few prizes across their lineup of traditional Japanese UFO catchers, mini claws, giant instant-win gashapon capsule dispensers, and curated blind-box stations stocked with imported plushies, anime collectibles, and specialty Asian snacks.

Chibi Tings is open at 501 E Pine. Learn more at chibitings.com.

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Co-hosted with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Delta Sigma Theta Seattle Chapter, and the Central Area Neighborhood District Council, the drop-in event invites residents to review sample ballots, make voting plans, and complete their ballots alongside neighbors ahead of the November 3 General Election.

The gathering will also offer coffee, snacks, and children’s activities.

“Plenty of people who skip a midterm aren’t apathetic. They’re unsure,” said League Development Chair Susan Waller. “We can fix unsure.”

What: Ballot Party, a drop-in event to make a voting plan, get answers and fill in ballots

When: Sunday, Oct. 25, 11 am to 2 pm. Drop in anytime.

Where: Garfield Community Center, 2323 East Cherry St., Seattle

On the table: Snacks, beverages and coffee, sample ballots, children’s activities and conversation about what’s on the ballot

CHS reported here on the major issues Capitol Hill and Central District voters will decide on in November. You can find all CHS Election coverage at capitolhillseattle.com/tag/elections/

The General Election is Tuesday, November 3rd.

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(Image: City of Seattle)

A key land use process has begun as officials aim for a planned end of 2027 opening of the Central Crisis Care Center emergency mental health facility on Broadway.

The Master Use Permit application for the 1110 Harvard Ave medical facility marks an important regulatory milestone in King County’s $56 million push to transform the three-story former Polyclinic building.

“The Project consist of the renovate an existing building into an acute behavior health care center,” the paperwork begins.

A Master Use Permit serves as the city’s official land-use gatekeeper, legally establishing changes in building use and occupancy before physical construction permits can be issued. According to project filings submitted on behalf of property owner King County, the renovation will convert the site into an acute behavioral health facility designed to maintain a “no wrong door’ approach” and an “open-door, 24/7 walk-in policy to serve all individuals who come to the center.”

Project plans call for interior and exterior upgrades that “apply the principles of trauma-informed design, and recognize the unique needs of individuals across the lifespan.”

The MUP also formalizes substantial exterior and access reconfigurations. it proposes eliminating 17 existing on-site parking stalls to rely on two proposed accessible on-street spaces, while managing more than 2,000 square feet of earth disturbance across public rights-of-way on Harvard, Broadway, and E Union as entrances to the facility are reconfigured.

The south end has been an empty lot for decades (Image: City of Seattle)

The plan does not specify any planned upgrades or use of the parcel’s empty southern portion long ago home to the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

Litigation and administrative appeals can delay or halt a Seattle Master Use Permit though the legal threshold required to substantially alter or kill a project is high. In most cases, litigation forces additional environmental studies, or extracts design concessions rather than outright stopping a permitted land use.

For renovation projects like 1110 Harvard Ave, standard building work without major exterior expansions or rezoning applications have limited targets for appeal.

On top of the $41.5 million acquisition cost of the building, officials have earmarked $11.5 million to $14.5 million in spending for renovation and operational start-up costs.

Recent filings also will enroll the property in the city’s Vacant Building Monitoring program as medical use of the building winds down.

This land use review intersects with neighborhood public safety efforts.

As the citizen-led Seattle Community Advisory Group formed to help shape planning for the project works to allocate a $3 million county mitigation fund to address street disorder and crime gaps, MUP filings dictate physical crime prevention through environmental design updates including sidewalk grading, frontage lighting, and secure access corridors.

CHS reported on the advisory group’s early work around public safety improvements focused heavily on surrounding street conditions. During an April session, members raised worries over “open-air drug markets, gun violence, property crime, and disorder,” warning that without strong post-crisis discharge planning, “people across King County could concentrate issues in Capitol and First Hill.”

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.

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

With officials targeting an opening in late 2027 now at the earliest, securing MUP approval is a critical step needed to clear contractor bidding and keep renovations on schedule.

The Central Crisis Care Center advisory group will hold its monthly meeting Thursday:

Notice of Regular Meeting:

Meetings are hybrid

Date: Thursday, October 22, 12-1:30pm

Location: King County Department of Community and Human Services, 401 5th Ave., Seattle, WA 98104, Room 124 and Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/257653745895211?p=F6gpUoUTgKZBWlxv3D

Meeting ID: 257 653 745 895 211

Passcode: 8pJ2eb2k

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View the interactive map showing “Centers and Corridors” rezoning proposals here

The City of Seattle is launching a response to a state growth board ruling that has put plans on hold for new zoning for neighborhood centers and increased density along high-frequency transit corridors.

On September 9, the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board upheld major elements of Seattle’s updated Comprehensive Plan including racial equity and water infrastructure but ruled its Environmental Impact Statement inadequate.

The matter was appealed to the board by anti-growth activists and conservation groups, including the Orca Conservancy, the Orca Network, and the Puget Sound Harvesters Association.

Under the State Environmental Policy Act and Growth Management Act appeal rules, petitioners can establish legal standing through organizational mission or geographic proximity. Membership total is not a factor.

The board directed the city to re-evaluate impacts using “maximum possible development” rather than standard 20-year growth estimates.

In response, Mayor Katie Wilson and City Attorney Erika Evans have challenged the ruling in court.

Meanwhile, the Office of Planning and Community Development began supplemental environmental analysis due by September 2027.

The decision has fully halted the Seattle City Council’s review of the Centers and Corridors legislation and the Downtown Regional Center Subarea Plan, slowing new housing expansions along transit routes.

CHS reported here on the Centers and Corridors plans and proposals that will bring renewed debate around future growth in areas like Montlake, Madison Valley, Madison Park, and Madrona.

The Centers and Corridors legislation “updates zoning in new growth areas identified in the Comprehensive plan, including: 30 new Neighborhood Centers, new and expanded Urban Centers, and transit corridors,” city officials say. The second phase of comprehensive updates focus on the 30 proposed Neighborhood Centers including Montlake, Madison Valley, Madison Park, and Madrona in the Capitol Hill area. The designation will “allow residential and mixed-use buildings up to six stories in the core and four and five-story residential buildings toward the edges,” according to one city summary. Once the neighborhood framework is in place, future Neighborhood Centers like Roanoke Park could be in play.

CHS reported here in December 2025 as the first phase of legislation setting the framework for the city’s new 20-year growth plan including state-mandated “Middle Housing” laws expanding zoning to allow a greater range of housing types in more parts of the city was finally wrapped up under leadership by District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth.

“Every neighborhood should have housing choices for people across all incomes and backgrounds,” the city’s statement on the path to completing the second phase reads. “New residents should be able to settle in, longtime residents should be able to stay and thrive, working families should be able to comfortably raise their kids, and communities should be able to remain safe without fear of displacement.”

“Our land use policies and programs will support this vision,” it concludes.

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Salyer

A tragic death at 12th and Yesler is headed to the courts.

The family of Christian Salyer, the 30-year-old Thurgood Marshall Elementary teacher who died after being struck while riding his bicycle at 12th and Yesler, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in King County Superior Court against waste contractor Recology and the employee operating the collection truck.

The City of Seattle is not named in the suit despite criticism that officials had scrapped safety improvements in the area where the deadly crash took place.

The legal action stems from the fatal collision on the afternoon of June 1st at the intersection of 12th Ave S and E Yesler Way. According to court documents filed by personal injury firm Panish, Shea, Ravipudi LLP on behalf of Salyer’s estate, parents, and sisters, Salyer was riding southbound in a designated bicycle lane when the Recology driver made an abrupt right turn across the cyclist’s path, striking Salyer and running over him and his bicycle.

Recology has not yet responded to the lawsuit. UPDATE: “Recology cannot comment on pending litigation,” the company said in a statement sent to CHS.

The complaint asserts that video evidence shows that the driver didn’t use his turn signal, “failed to check his mirrors or surroundings, and failed to slow the vehicle before initiating the right turn.”

Beyond alleging operational negligence and traffic code violations, the suit makes claims against Recology for negligent hiring, training, retention, and supervision.

“Recology knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that operating a large commercial refuse vehicle creates substantial and foreseeable risks to bicyclists, including when a driver turns across a designated bicycle lane,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit directs its claims at the private waste collection contractor and its employee and does not name the city and the Seattle Department of Transportation as defendants. Fatal bicycle collisions at high-density intersections often lead to liability claims alleging deficient street design, inadequate signal phasing, or visual obstructions. In 2016, the city agreed to a $3.5 million settlement following the 2014 death of cyclist Sher Kung, who was killed by a commercial vehicle turning across an unprotected bike lane on 2nd Ave.

The city has also made more than $6.25 million in combined settlements over cyclist crashes in the past decade along the First Hill Streetcar route that passes through the 12th and Yesler area. The case over Desiree McCloud’s death in 2016 that occurred after a crash on the tracks near 13th and Yesler are included in that total.

When video or physical evidence indicates commercial driver failure, wrongful death actions have bypassed municipal road design claims to pursue corporate carriers and fleet operators directly. The Salyer lawsuit places the blame on Recology.

Across the West Coast, commercial garbage and recycling operators including San Francisco-based Recology have faced scrutiny and wrongful death litigation concerning side-impact visibility, blind spots, and vehicle fleet safety when maneuvering heavy equipment through bicycling corridors.

Similar lawsuits include multi-million-dollar settlements in the Bay Area over fatal right-hook collisions involving cyclists and collection trucks, as well as a $38.8 million Nevada jury verdict against Republic Services after a truck struck a young pedestrian in a crosswalk.

In Seattle, an example is the 2011 wrongful death settlement reached on behalf of cyclist Kevin Black, who was killed by a driver making a right turn in a commercial truck in Ballard, as claims centered strictly on the driver’s failure to yield the right-of-way and the commercial operator’s duty to manage turning blind spots.

At 12th and Yesler, meanwhile, the city is taking action.

The intersection has long been identified by transportation advocates as one of Seattle’s most complex transit junctions, characterized by First Hill Streetcar tracks, converging multi-lane arterials, driveway cutouts, and a mix of painted lanes and concrete barriers. Following Salyer’s death, cyclists placed a white ghost bike at the corner during a memorial gathering.

In August, Mayor Katie Wilson remembered Salyer while signing an executive order aimed at accelerating the city’s Vision Zero initiative, directing transportation officials to speed up safety updates on high-collision corridors, including improvements along 12th Ave.

“Seattle should be a city where families can feel safe getting where they need to go — whether they’re walking their kids to school, biking to the park, or taking transit,” Wilson said. “We’ve made important progress, but every serious injury or death on our streets is one too many. We know what makes our streets safer.”

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