NEWS GLEAMS | Seattle City Council Passes Safety Bill for Late-Night Lounges; Free Health Care Clinic Seeks Volunteers and Patients

Summary

Seattle City Council Passes Safety Bill to Regulate Late-Night Lounges

Seattle/King County Clinic's Free Dental, Vision, and Medical Clinic Seeks Volunteers and Patients

Wa Na Wari Hosts Cake Walk Celebration of Dance and Food

Yesterday, in a unanimous 6-0 vote, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance that will regulate unpermitted after-hours establishments that function as private clubs. Often based on a membership fee and operating between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. after bars are closed, the private clubs have recently been the focus of the Council, following the March 30 fatal shooting at Capri Bar and Restaurant.

Council Bill 120956 will go into effect 30 days after being signed by Mayor Bruce Harrell. It will require that such venues maintain up-to-date permits and licenses to operate legally and limit after-hours alcohol sales, especially for venues not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages during normal business hours.

The new ordinance will also require that each venue maintain two security guards and video surveillance technology, draft a safety plan, and allow police officers to enter the premises during business hours.

Violations would lead to an initial $1,000 citation, followed by $5,000 citations for each following offense. City officials predict that the regulations will affect between 20 and 30 venues in the city.

"The after-hours lounge legislation is an overdue measure to protect these businesses, their patrons, and the surrounding neighborhoods. I'm proud that we took a collaborative and strategic approach to developing these regulations," stated Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7), head of the Public Safety Committee.

After the recent shooting at Capri, Police Chief Shon Barnes declared the venue a "chronic nuisance." Under the Seattle Municipal Code, properties can be declared a chronic nuisance when they have three or more nuisance activities within 60 days or seven or more nuisance activities within 12 months. They must then correct the problems or face fines of up to $500 a day until they do.

The owners of Capri Bar and Restaurant have since alerted the City Attorney's Office that the site will be closing.

For Prospective Volunteers

In preparation for its next clinic from April 24 to 27, the Seattle/King County Clinic is seeking volunteers to assist in various positions. The roles span various days for the duration of the clinic and include positions in dental, medical, and vision services. The clinic is also seeking health care resource workers, such as health insurance navigators, social workers, and general support assistants, including interpreters. 

Interested parties can sign up at SeattleCenter.org/Volunteers.

For Prospective Patients

The clinic takes place at Seattle Center and provides free health care services, including dental, medical, and vision, for all who are in need. No identification or specific immigration statuses are required, and interpreters are available.

Positions are first come, first served, with a limited number of admission tickets. Distribution for the tickets begins at 5:30 a.m. in the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center.

More information can be found online at SeattleCenter.org/Patients.

Wa Na Wari returns in 2025 with Cake Dance!, which is an afternoon celebration of Black dance performance spanning the ages, mixed with a tasty cake walk and a dance party! This year's lineup is curated by dancer and choreographer Dani Tirrell.

The event is a modern-day variation on "cakewalks" — also known as "prize walks" — which first originated prior to the Civil War. The dance was performed by enslaved people on plantations and mimicked the movements of "white attitudes and manners," according to author Richard Kislan. Winners received an elaborately decorated cake, and the name of the event is connected to the origins of the phrases "takes the cake" and "cake walk."

Participants of the Wa Na Wari event will purchase a $15 ticket to participate in each round of the cake walk, or a $250 ticket to participate in as many rounds as they'd like. During each round, participants will walk around a numbered circle to various types of music that reflect historic Black dance styles. Once the music stops, participants will stop on the number closest to them, and the emcee will select a number to call out. Whoever is called has the chance to choose their selection from the option of available cakes!

Cake Dance! takes place on Saturday, April 19, from 12 to 2 p.m. at Georgetown Ballroom (5623 Airport Way S.). Entries are $25 with $15 per cake walk round, or $250 for unlimited cake walks. Tickets can be purchased online on Wa Na Wari's website.

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Editors' Note: This article was updated to correct a misspelling of Dani Tirrell's name.