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Seattle artist Paul Castle, guide dog Mr. Maple kicked out of restaurant when worker didn’t believe he was blind

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Seattle artist Paul Castle, guide dog Mr. Maple kicked out of restaurant when worker didn’t believe he was blind


A blind Seattle artist and his guide dog were kicked out of a Seattle restaurant when one of the workers accused the customer of faking his blindness.

Paul Castle, who is legally blind, claimed he entered the unnamed eatery with his service dog, Mr. Maple, but was instantly met by the wary worker.

“I walked in with my guide dog, Mr. Maple, and immediately somebody rushed up to me and said ‘no pets allowed, only service dogs,’” Castle said in a TikTok post on May 7.

“I said ‘It’s ok, he’s a service dog.’” the author said. “He looked at me, he looked at Maple, he said ’emotional support dog?’”

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Paul Castle claims he and his service dog, Mr. Maple, were kicked out of a Seattle restaurant earlier this month, when a worker didn’t believe he was blind. KING5

According to WAFB, Castle has less than 10 percent of his vision.

He insisted that Mr. Maple was a “guide dog for the blind” before showing off the pooch’s designated harness to the worker.

Castle told the employee he was blind, but the man wasn’t buying the artist’s story.

“‘You don’t look blind,” the man stated before Castle explained that “a lot of people in the blind community still have some functional vision.”

“You’re looking right at me,” “Yes but it’s like I have a pinhole of vision, it is all I can see.”

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Castle tried to prove his dog was a service animal by showing off the harness Mr. Maple was wearing. @matthewandpaul /TMX / SWNS
Castle told his story to the “Matthew and Paul” TikTok account, which he shares with his husband. @matthewandpaul /TMX / SWNS

Castle described his vision as “sort of like looking through a straw. I have no peripheral vision, the rest of my visual field is full of static.”

“Listen, this isn’t my first rodeo,” the man reportedly said.

Castle offered to return to the establishment with Mr. Maple’s paperwork, but the employee threatened to call the police if they stepped “foot back in this restaurant.”

Castle and his husband Matthew run the “Matthew and Paul” TikTok account, which has garnered over 2.1 million followers, and was created to give viewers an inside look at the lives of blind people while also spreading awareness about blindness.

“I was speechless, I was shaking,” Castle told the outlet. “I was really upset and disappointed.”

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Castle described his vision as “sort of like looking through a straw. I have no peripheral vision, the rest of my visual field is full of static.” KING5

“When I encounter a situation like this where I’m fully rejected not only for my dog, but because my own disability wasn’t believed, it makes me really sad on top of all the struggles that I already kind of deal with,” Castle said.

Federal law prohibits private businesses that provide goods or services from discriminating against individuals with disabilities including those that need service animals.

The goal of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to goods and services.

The law also disallows businesses from asking for documentation, and animals do not have to wear a vest or harness that indicates they are trained for a specific service.

According to the ADA, To help separate service animals from pets, a business may ask two questions when a person with an animal enters a place of public accommodation:

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  1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
Castle, who is not taking any legal action, didn’t name the restaurant where he was thrown out, because he doesn’t want them to face backlash. Paul Castle

Castle, who is not taking any legal action, didn’t name the restaurant where he was thrown out, because he doesn’t want them to face backlash.

He says he shared his experience for educational purposes and, after his video went viral, reached out to the restaurant where he talked to the manager who was sincerely apologetic and promised to better train the employees.





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Seattle, WA

Seattle weather: 80s on the horizon before a long cooldown

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Seattle weather: 80s on the horizon before a long cooldown


Offshore winds at the surface will warm us well into the 80s on Tuesday. This will mark the warmest day of the week with some spots warming to the upper 80s, especially in the Cascade foothills.

Warmer afternoon forecast on Tuesday.

Offshore winds will warm many spots into the 80s on Tuesday.

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What To Know:

The ridge will begin sliding to the east, opening the door for some high clouds to increase throughout the day. A disturbance will produce showers and even a few storms in Oregon. These will eventually move northward into western Washington, increasing showers and rumbles of thunder. There is also a chance for showers in Central and Eastern Washington as well.

Chance of showers by Tuesday night.

A disturbance will push showers and even a few storms into the area beginning Tuesday night. 

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What’s next:

Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week. Days will quickly cool off beginning Wednesday with chances for showers through the weekend. Drier skies and mild weather will return by next Monday.

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The extended forecast for the Seattle metro area.

80s for Tuesday with a cooldown later in the week.

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The Source: Information in this story came from the FOX 13 Seattle Weather Team and the National Weather Service.

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Victim identified in deadly Seattle beer garden shooting on Lake City Way; suspect sought

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Victim identified in deadly Seattle beer garden shooting on Lake City Way; suspect sought


A north Seattle community is mourning the loss of a 25-year-old beer garden employee who was killed while closing the business Friday night.

Loved ones identified the victim as Quusaa Margarsa, known to many as “Q.” Seattle police are searching for the suspect but have not released details about the circumstances surrounding the killing, including whether investigators believe it was a robbery gone wrong or a targeted attack.

Police said Margarsa was working at The Growler Guys on Lake City Way NE on Friday night when he was killed. A co-worker discovered him the next morning.

“I want to know why. I think we all want to know why. What was the reasoning?” said Coreena Richards, a childhood friend of Margarsa.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Memorials, mourners honor young employee found dead at North Seattle beer garden

Throughout the weekend, friends, family members, and customers stopped by the north Seattle beer garden to leave flowers, candles, and messages at a growing memorial honoring Margarsa.

“Amazing, one of one — you’re never going to meet anybody like him,” Richards said.

Margarsa, a graduate of Nathan Hale High School, was a member of the school’s 2017 championship basketball team, according to the school’s alumni association. Friends described him as a “gentle soul” who was full of humor.

“He’s funny as hell. He was the life of the party. Very sweet, very kind,” Richards said.

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Family members said Margarsa was preparing to celebrate his 26th birthday later this month and had been planning a birthday trip. Instead, his life was cut short while he was closing the beer garden where he worked. Police said Margarsa died of apparent gunshot wounds.

ALSO SEE | Seattle beer garden employee found shot to death inside workplace

“He was very sweet, very nice — a young guy with his whole life ahead of him. Very sad,” said Robert Bishop, a customer at The Growler Guys.

Days after the killing, customers continued to visit the memorial site, lighting candles and calling for answers as detectives searched for whoever was responsible.

“I’ve been on social media asking everybody, because it’s one thing for a mom to find out on Mother’s Day,” Bishop said. “Everybody in the neighborhood should be up in arms about this.”

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As investigators work to solve what police say is Seattle’s 12th homicide of 2026, authorities have not said whether the attack was random or targeted. Police also have not said whether surveillance cameras at the business captured images of the suspect.

“You got nothing out of it. You gained nothing from this,” Richards said. “They took somebody very, very important to the people who knew him, loved him, and cared for him.”

Seattle police said the circumstances surrounding the killing remain under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact the department’s violent crimes tip line at 206-233-5000.



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Cities Only Work if We Show Up

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Cities Only Work if We Show Up


I have always been in love with cities. I joke with friends that I have crushes on cities the way they have crushes on good-looking strangers. Sometimes—as with Paris and London—my unrequited crush meant finding an excuse to move there. With Seattle, however, that initial attraction grew into a long-term relationship.

Liz Dunn

Phot by TRAVIS GILLETT

I arrived here as a “tech baby,” coming from Canada to work at Microsoft as a college intern. For a long time, I felt as though I were living in a bubble—until I realized I could pivot my career and work in and on the city I’d come to call home. Through my company, Dunn & Hobbes, I’ve done just that, spending more than 25 years building and renovating spaces for retail, restaurants, and creative work. I love old buildings—but what I love more is what happens inside and around them. I love making space for creative people and then watching them fully inhabit those places and thrive. I also love how a collection of structures on a block can become an economic and artistic ecosystem.

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Working in real estate is not just about making deals—you’re crafting pieces of the city, and that comes with both impact and responsibility.

Small businesses are the heart and soul of any neighborhood. Research shows that locally owned businesses generate a much higher multiplier effect in the regional economy than national chains. Beyond economics, the independent shops, restaurants, and designers that comprise the core fabric of a city are the secret sauce that makes it feel unique.

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Nowhere is that more evident than Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor, where I’ve conducted most of my work and lived out large chunks of my adult life. During the past 25 years, it has become a case study in what happens when you preserve character  and invest in small business. The area was once filled with old auto-row buildings that had fallen into disuse. Instead of wiping the slate clean, local developers, including me, saw an opportunity for creative reuse. Those buildings turned out to be perfectly scaled for independent retailers and restaurants, creating a unique critical mass that offers a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.

People sit at outdoor tables in a modern urban courtyard along Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor, surrounded by contemporary buildings and bicycles, with plants and umbrellas providing shade.

What makes Pike/Pine special is its texture and grit—the layered history you feel in both the physical architecture and the spirit of the shops and restaurants. A large percentage of businesses are owned by members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants, and people of color. The density of independent retailers and studios—and the inclusive community that supports them—creates omething you can’t replicate with a formula. It evolved over decades, shaped by artists, musicians, designers and small entrepreneurs willing to take risks and plant their flags.

Today, neighborhoods like Pike/Pine face challenges that threaten the tightly woven ecosystem that makes them thrive. There’s a difference between gritty and too gritty, and during the past six years, it’s become harder to attract people. Foot traffic in neighborhood retail districts is dropping, even as downtown begins to recover with tourism. Small businesses are dealing with crushing cost pressures, many tied to public safety concerns and well-intentioned policies with unintended consequences. Public safety has been the elephant in the room—though I do believe we are starting to see improvements. At the same time, our habits have changed. Seattleites have been hibernating, whether because of repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic or the convenience of delivery apps, streaming, and gaming.

And yet, people still deeply crave connection.

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That’s why what’s happening in Pike/Pine right now is inspiring and hopeful. Many of the people who helped shape the neighborhood are still here, investing their time, money, and creativity because they care deeply about its future. We’re doubling down on what makes it special—art walks, a slate of new murals, the On The Block street fair, and Capitol Hill Block Party—all invitations for the community to come back out and re-engage.

Six people gather outdoors on Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor; two are DJing near speakers while four sit around a fire pit on wooden chairs, surrounded by wooden walls—a vibrant scene that reflects the spirit of the LGBTQ+ community.

This spring, on Saturday, May 16th, we’re launching something new: the Pike/Pine Spring Fashion Walk and Social. It’s designed to be an annual celebration that stretches across the neighborhood, anchored by a collection of activations at Melrose Market, and a runway show on the “catwalk” at Chophouse Row that will include Seattle fashion apparel leaders Glasswing, JackStraw, the Refind, the Finerie, and Flora and Henri. Neighborhood-based designer and brand activations up and down the corridor will include open studios, DJs, wine tastings, in-store pop-ups, and involvement from local college students—bringing in the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs. One of the goals is to remind everyone that Seattle still has amazing fashion “game,” offering a scene that is just as creative and diverse as anything you might find in New York or LA. At its core, this event is not about shopping. It’s about creating a reason for people to come together, to reconnect, and to experience the neighborhood as a shared space.

Because that’s the point. Cities work best when we show up—for them and for each other. Seattle’s culture is not something that exists just for us to consume; we are all participants in shaping it. So, my call to action is simple: come out. Walk around and meet your neighbors. Engage in what’s happening. It feels good—and it does good.



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