Jonathan Choe

Confronting Harm Reduction Tuesday afternoon, Seattle Councilmember Sara Nelson (@CMSaraNelson ) picked apart “harm reduction” experts during a Public Safety and Human Services Committee meeting. She asked for data and metrics showing the effectiveness of this model in addressing the out of control drug addiction crisis and record fentanyl overdose deaths in King County. The panel made up of activists and academics couldn’t give her a straight answer. Councilmember Lisa Herbold (@Lisa_Herbold) came to their rescue as Nelson’s direct questions brought up a lot of inconvenient truths. But the most stunning response came from Amber Tejada, with the Hepatitis Education Project: “I know it can be a little controversial, but one of the key tenets of harm reduction that I Read More ›

Ballard RV Torched Tuesday afternoon, flames erupted inside an RV parked right next to the abandoned Jack in the Box (@JackBox) on NW Leary Way. Not sure if there were any injuries. Unclear how it started. Ironically, the fast food restaurant was burned down just a few months ago by homeless squatters. This part of Councilmember Dan Strauss’ (@CMDanStrauss) district remains packed with tents and RV’s on nearly every block. How many more incidents until the city moves in? Seattle Department of Transportation (@seattledot) is playing whack a mole out here. Every 72 hours, the RV’s just move around and come right back. Is the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) focused on Ballard? Back in March Homeless suspected of Read More ›

Political Liability Over the weekend, I caught up exclusively with #Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@mayorofseattle) and Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to discuss the recent controversies swirling around the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA.) 1) KCRHA Continuum of Care Board Chair Shanee Colston’s defiance and refusal to resign after her public outburst defending a convicted pedophile. 2) Former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones’ abrupt resignation, leaving the agency in an uncertain situation. Distancing Themselves @KingCoRHA clearly doesn’t want want to have anything to do with this hot mess created by Colston. If she refuses to resign, is anyone going to step up and remove her? I’m still trying to figure out if this can even be done. Global Attention This story Read More ›

Retail theft is a story all too familiar for business owners in Seattle.  At Dunn Lumber’s Lake Union and Greenlake locations, surveillance videos show break in after break in. “They’re coming over the fences, just walking in and out,” says General Manager Nick Winnem. Winnem tells me it’s “very difficult to run a retail operation” in Seattle thanks to brazen criminals ransacking stores like Dunn Lumber. Most of the thefts happen in the middle of the night, but Winnem says they occur during retail hours too. He tells me that power tools always go first and are easy to flip on the black market.  “This is something you see even at box stores,” he says when I ask if the problem Read More ›

All in on Seattle Massive turnout Saturday for Mayor Bruce Harrell’s (@MayorofSeattle) One Seattle Day of Service to help revitalize the community. Thousands of volunteers mobilized across the city to clean up trash, graffiti, and serve in various ways. Tremendous effort by faith based groups like Reach Ministry (@reachministrywa) and homeless outreach group We Heart Seattle (@weheartseattle). With that said, many volunteers also got a glimpse of the urban decay and problematic parts of the city still ravaged by homelessness and the fentanyl crisis.  I walked through the notorious 3rd Ave & Cherry St. drug den with former Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) player Jordan Babineaux (@jordanbabineaux. Nothing surprises him anymore. Btw, the “trap tents” have returned.  #Seattle Sightings in the Wild Read More ›

Follow the Money According to a 2022 document from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) the agency dished out a staggering $107, 396, 057.97 to providers. Look at all the non-profits and players in this industry. Stunning amount of money being spent to address the region’s homeless crisis. It’s broken down by agency name and project. So much to unpack. I encourage all journalists in #Seattle and #KingCounty to start picking this apart. According to a recent KCRHA call, homeless service providers also complained about late payments being an issue this year and last year as well. Post Mortem Check out this tweet showing records of KCRHA staff salaries. 30 of the 100 employees made at least $100,000.

Post Mortem Even before Marc Dones abruptly resigned on Tuesday as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA), the agency was under heavy scrutiny for it’s performance or lack thereof. Questions were being raised about spending and salaries, especially after Dones asked for $12 billion dollars to fund housing in the region. As Helen Howell becomes interim CEO, the KCRHA Governing Committee and other boards have a lot of soul searching to do. Do they stay the course and stick to the framework left by Dones, or is it time for a total gut rehab? Clearly, the “HOUSING FIRST” strategy is not working. The public is asking for more transparency and accountability, like actual measures of success and Read More ›

When Blake Mara and her business partner, Brian Cheeseman, started Heritage Coffee and Plant House in Tacoma’s Dome District last summer, they wanted their unique concept to become a destination for local artists and a community gathering place. Mara says she “saw the potential of the local neighborhood,” and Cheeseman adds he wanted to make the area “better for our whole community, not just us.” Like any new business, Mara and Cheeseman knew there was financial risk involved. Mara says she invested everything she owned in Heritage, but “had absolutely no idea how bad it was going to be.” Mara and Cheeseman could never have prepared for the homelessness crisis spiraling out of control at their doorstep. They tell me Read More ›

Mother’s Day Weekend Madness The warm weather is bringing out even more open air drug use and dealers in downtown #Seattle and the #Chinatown-ID area. I’m seeing clusters of people passed out on the streets as locals remain desensitized and tourists literally just walk past the problem. The black market of stolen goods is hopping. People are jumping on and off the King County Metro (@KingCountyMetro) buses with tons of stolen merchandise. It comes and goes in waves. Without fail, evenings are the worst. Might as well call in the National Guard (@WANationalGuard) for a weekend stint. Can’t hurt right? It’s now been about a month since Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) announced his Downtown Activation Plan and signed the Executive Read More ›

Send in Reinforcements With the sun shining and temps rising, I wanted to see what it looked like in #Chinatown-ID Thursday afternoon during the lunch rush. Without fail, I saw a crush of fentanyl addicts passed out on the street with foil littering the ground. One dude even spit on me and tried to punch me in the head. Remind me never to go out to a #Seattle drug den with flip flops. Thankfully, King County Sheriff’s Deputies were there and gave me some disinfectant to clean my sleeve and bailed me out. Otherwise, listen to the dire situation right now in the King County Jail. Deputies say they are NOT arresting anyone for misdemeanors out here! In other words, Read More ›