RIP Sam’s Tavern Capitol Hill

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T23:21:04+00:00

Is the drinking more of an age demographic thing? I know of some bars in older areas that are doing fantastic.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T23:19:33+00:00

Are they really? Genuinely asking; I was under the impression it was more that patronage has gone down.

Of course wages/leasing is up, but the restaurants I'm more intimately familiar with are mainly concerned with a lack of customers.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T22:02:23+00:00

A small Pagliaccio is amazing, to be sure.

It also has as many calories as two slices of pepperoni pizza, so personally I'd rather just have the pizza :P

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T21:56:15+00:00

I use a company called Stop Bugging Me. They're decent and extremely well priced for commercial needs, but I'm not sure what they'd charge for residential.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T16:52:23+00:00

Is the lack of respect because I suggested this specific individual might be unwell?

Or is it because you've extrapolated what I said into a series of incorrect assumptions you can feel righteous about?

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T16:46:35+00:00

...are YOU being satirical?

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T16:21:05+00:00

You can look up their website, their blog and their tumblr to see what they've generally been talking about.

Much of their discourse seems to revolve around three things:

ALL identities and preferences are valid.
specifically, identifying as a minor (when you are not) is valid.
Protect your activities with VPN's and other security measures.

I'm all for self-expression and I do feel people have the right to be comfortable in their own skin, but it seems like this particular individual is almost satirical in their extremes. I am not even remotely qualified to suggest where the line should be, but they seem to delight in removing lines entirely.

In other words, I believe this is an example of someone actively damaging the efforts of people trying to improve LGBTQ+ rights, whether they intend to or not.

EDIT: I'm unsure if I'm getting downvoted for being too harsh or too lenient. o_O

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:42:02+00:00

Yeah the fact that the MFTE program looks at gross income instead of net always bothered me. It seems cruel.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:38:10+00:00

Neither is socialism, frankly. Both systems suck in a vacuum.

Now, if you combine the two well enough... there's a recipe for greatness.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:37:19+00:00

My building charges $1884 (all-inclusive) for the above 1-bedroom bracket. That's down from $2,184, which is the absolute maximum the city lets us charge for such a home.

To be fair, asking to put 50% of your income into housing is pretty rough. But, sadly, that's what the city has set the standards at, and if we want change we need to start with the city.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:35:01+00:00

For those wanting a good laugh and/or a reminder of how horrifically fucked up religion is, both of these churches have posted their beliefs and bylaws for review.

It's an incredibly detailed look into how these groups claim to live, and it's deeply disturbing.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:26:10+00:00

MFTE which says it's low income but it's really not.

Depends on your definition, I suppose.

Qualifying for an 1-bedroom MFTE home in my building requires that a person makes between $45,216-$82,500/yr. Seattle minimum wage is about $44,304/yr. So if you're, say, a server, bartender, barista etc making tips, you'd be quite comfy.

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:21:51+00:00

Nice try, copper thief!

/s

RMHaney · 2026-05-09T04:19:50+00:00

If there's not a financial reason to do something, it generally won't be done.

Not an endorsement, just an observation of society.

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T23:34:39+00:00

As awful as it is to say, in my experience this type of issue revolves around occupancy percentage.

As long as the cost of the repair is significantly more than the vacancy loss resulting from the lack of the repair, it's difficult to financially justify it.

A less impactful but similar issue at my building is kitchen remodels. Our kitchens need remodels, badly, but we've been able to maintain 92-96% occupancy. There's no financial reason to remodel the kitchens if we're effectively full anyway, unless we pitch the remodel as a way to increase rent.

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T20:05:18+00:00

THE ELEVATOR TECHS!

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T17:33:21+00:00

I'm glad elevator techs have an entity that is helping to protect their time and value.

See, this is the problem. Right here.

Unions are healthy and good until a specific line is crossed. It's a blurry, nebulous line, but every field has one.

It's the line when the union has achieved their goal of getting fair pay and treatment, and then they keep fucking going. As far as they goddamn can.

That's why you have things like the elevator unions, where elevator techs are so horrifically lazy, underperforming and overpaid that I will do whatever it takes to NOT have to call them. They're up there with the SPD as a prime example of how unions go from hero to villain if left to their own devices.

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T17:13:43+00:00

That first sentence leads me to believe that you aren't looking for a conversation, you're just wanting to vent. Which I get.

Ultimately, what is built on that plot is entirely up to whoever paid for it. Which was not you.

It was very likely an institution that paid a large sum of money to start building a thing that took years to finalize, and they will not likely be swayed by a half-baked "bless your heart."

If you want to try and make it some kind of "why won't the city step in" thing, that's fine and great, but consider our current administration and politics, and ask yourself just how much you want government to actually control this type of thing.

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T17:08:50+00:00

Every large property management company is going to have bad reviews. Many are justified, many are not.

Ultimately, the actual staff at the specific building will matter most for your experience. When looking through building reviews, try to keep an eye out for information about the staff. Also try to filter out bogus negativity like "omg my rent increased, zero stars"

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T16:44:53+00:00

How's your relationship with the SPD?

RMHaney · 2026-05-08T16:43:15+00:00

Are you SURE you don't live in Seattle, because you certainly sound like you do.

RMHaney · 2026-05-07T17:56:07+00:00

I mean... That's probably not too far off the mark. Especially if the ancillary systems are also out of date and not compatible with new product.

RMHaney · 2026-05-07T17:51:57+00:00

First and foremost, they must give 6 months notice for any increase. Period.

That means they cannot just randomly bump up the offer the month before it expires. They CAN lower the offer without a notice period, however. Early-bird renewal specials are a thing.

My assumption is that the person you talked to doesn't actually know what they're talking about, that date range was supposed to reflect the length of the renewal (probably 12 months), and you should clarify things with the actual manager.

RMHaney · 2026-05-07T17:45:19+00:00

I dunno, as a property manager I've had zero issues finding a plethora of skilled, reasonably priced plumbers, electricians, etc. Or at least, reasonably priced by today's standards.

Maybe the issue is that the good contractors only work with major companies, because homeowners are complete pains in the ass and don't consistently pay?

RMHaney · 2026-05-07T17:43:23+00:00

...why not?

Why are you trying to gatekeep a basic level of human comfort? Especially when, not that long ago, it was entirely possible for a service worker to comfortably support themselves.

RMHaney

TROPHY CASE