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September 28, 2023
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Governance
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Burien Passes “no camping” Ordinance

Jonathan Choe
September 28, 2023
Governance

What’s Next Burien

After weeks of contentious debate and public comment, the Burien City Council finally passed a “no camping” ordinance this week. This common sense bill was first championed by CM Stephanie Mora (@CmStephaniemora) and ended up being a close 4-3 vote. Now the heavy lifting begins. More than 60 people remain at the Ambaum Blvd encampment. I went there again this week. The open air drug use and trash is out of control. And sadly, Burien PD has taken multiple reports of young women being trafficked out of this encampment. Meanwhile, listen to Deputy Mayor Kevin Schilling describe what Highline Public School Dist. is doing in response to this situation. The city is now in talks to bring on Kristine Moreland’s (@kmmoreland) homeless outreach group “The More We Love,” to help these men and women get off the streets. Most of the other housing/service providers in King County have just been ineffective in doing their jobs. @KingCoRHA But once again, it appears the FAR-LEFT activist class in this city could try to derail Moreland’s efforts. All because of ideology. I listened to the public comment and some of these folks also spewed total misinformation about what’s really happening on the ground. The homeless remain caught in the middle of this insanity. Something to closely watch in the coming weeks. #Burien

Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.