Jonathan Choe

Total All Star Madness Tuesday at 1am, I saw the underbelly of downtown Seattle just one block from City Hall . It’s also a 10 minute walk to T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark) where the Major League Baseball All-Star Game (@mlb) will be played tonight. Tourists should AVOID 3rd Ave & Cherry St at all costs. This one stretch has turned into a full blown hang out for drug addicts and attracts all kinds illicit activity at all hours of the day. As I have reported all year, a lot of these men and women stay at the Downtown Emergency Service Center (@descseattle) Lyon Building and Morrison. These facilities serve the homeless and mentally ill. The city regularly sweeps the tents and Read More ›

Who Are They? I went on Brandi Kruse this past weekend to talk about my encounters with FAR-LEFT activists and groups like Stop The Sweeps Seattle. Unclear if these militant activists are behind the protest threat during MLB All-Star Week.

All-Star Weekend Test More fans are expected to pour into Seattle as we get closer to the actual Major League Baseball All-Star Game (@MLB) on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark.) Saturday night, I showed you the crazy open air drug scene and thriving black market that’s still happening in the downtown hot spots. So on Sunday, I wanted to see if conditions improved during the day time hours. Not really. LOL. But no doubt there were more officers and clean up crews on the streets. Right now, tourists should continue to avoid parts of Chinatown-ID(12th Ave & Jackson St) and the area around Seattle City Hall near the DESC (@DESCSeattle) facilities(3rd Ave and Cherry St/James St.) But the SODO hood Read More ›

Up and Running The former Lacey Days Inn is now called Maple Court, the latest property converted into a homeless hotel to house people living along I-5 in #ThurstonCounty. Wednesday afternoon, Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) and city leaders from #Olympia, #Lacey, and #Tumwater showed up for the ribbon cutting ceremony. So far, 16 men and women along with their pets are now in this temporary shelter. More homeless people from various encampments on WSDOT properties will be filling up this place in the coming weeks as part of the Right of Way Initiative. Up to 125 will be staying here. It will be run by the Low Income Housing Institute (@LIHIhousing,) known for it’s “tiny house” villages. This facility will Read More ›

Olympia’s Crisis in the Woods Outsiders think Washington state’s capital would be pristine and well maintained. But for the locals, the homeless and drug crisis has exploded over the past few years. And it’s become more visible and evident than ever, especially along Wheeler Ave. There are dozens of tents still on WSDOT (@wsdot) property. Unfortunately, tons of trash and drug paraphernalia’s starting to pile up as well. This is also turning into an environmental disaster. Look at all the rubbish in waterways. Some of the homeless are also chopping down fresh trees to make shelters. I’m sure there are some campers in this part of Olympia who would go into the new Lacey homeless hotel. But bottom line, most Read More ›

The city of Burien, Washington altered the parade route for its 100th Annual Independence Day Celebration to avoid a massive homeless encampment. The encampment on SW 152nd St near the entrance of a Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree is now close to 20 tents deep. “It’s best just to err on caution,” Debra George, who leads Discover Burien, a coalition of business owners responsible for making the last-minute decision, said. “We’re going to take a left on 4th and just head into town square park,” George added. Families, children, and tourists usually line downtown streets to get a glimpse of the floats and marching bands, but George says they have no choice but to alter the route since the city is refusing to remove the Read More ›

New Developments King County Metro (@KingCountyMetro) is removing the bus shelter at 12th Ave and Jackson St in #Chinatown-ID in the coming weeks. Neighbors say the signs were posted a few days ago. REASON: “Ongoing safety issues and unsanitary conditions.” In other words, city and county leaders are now desperately trying to find solutions to address one of the most notorious hot spots for drug dealing, sales of stolen merchandise, and other crimes. These bus shelters are ideal since it gives cover for all the illicit activity. Problem is, when it rains or snows, Asian American seniors and other riders will have to deal with the elements. As usual, I spent the weekend scoping out all the action. Whenever there’s Read More ›

Another OD Save People ask me how I capture footage of so many fentanyl overdoses in #Seattle. It’s not a real secret. All I do is follow the ambulances and sirens. Friday afternoon, all the commotion led me to the corner of 4th Ave & Spring St, right in the alley of The Executive Hotel Pacific. Once again, Seattle Fire (@SeattleFire) bailed out another addict passed out on the ground. The city continues to average around 2-3 drug overdoses a day and this is an undercount. Even though more people are being saved because of NARCAN, look at the amount of resources it took to revive this fella. In other words, those little tiny NARCAN sprays don’t always work. This Read More ›

What About Chinatown/international District? Some of the fundamental pillars of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s (@MayorofSeattle) “One Seattle” approach is unity and ethnic diversity. You could clearly see it behind him during Wednesday’s press conference as he laid out more details driving his Downtown Activation Plan. But afterwards, I asked why there wasn’t a single mention of the #CID in his game plan. Timelines for measurable change also remain unclear. Watch interview below. Other advocates noticed this omission as well since this predominantly Asian American neighborhood faces enormous and unique challenges related to fentanyl and the homeless crisis exploding on it’s streets. Dozens of small mom and pop immigrant owned businesses have also left in the past couple years due to unchecked Read More ›

No Regrets Wednesday’s press conference focused on revitalizing downtown #Seattle happened in West Lake Park, just a block away from one of the most notorious drug dens in the city along 3rd Ave & Pike St. As Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) was speaking, addicts were tweaking or passed out on the sidewalk. Arrests for open air drug use and possession are not happening right now because Councilmember’s Lisa Herbold (@Lisa_Herbold,) Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama,) Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales,) Teresa Mosqueda (@CMTMosqueda,) and Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) voted NO on giving City Attorney Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) the power to prosecute these gross misdemeanors. And there’s still no interim solution. Lewis is doubling down saying he has no regrets and says they’re working on something Read More ›