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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 ›

After Senior Fellow Jonathan Choe spoke with Dunn Lumber owner, Mike Dunn, about the impact of theft on his Seattle stores, Mike Dunn joined Fox News to share. Watch the clip on Fox News here. Watch Jonathan Choe’s exclusive coverage here.

May 17, 2023 Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), a senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee, unveiled legislation to reform the failed Housing First policy at a press conference at the House Triangle. The Housing Promotes Livelihood and Ultimate Success (Housing PLUS) Act of 2023 is intended to end the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) exclusive reliance on the so-called “Housing First” methodology, which recent U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness data demonstrates is a failed experiment. Specifically, this bill would prohibit the HUD Secretary from prohibiting, limiting or otherwise restricting award of Continuum of Care (CoC) funds to providers because they require wraparound services (e.g., job training, addiction treatment) or because they are 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 ›

My answer to the headline question: I don’t know. But Memorial Day is only ten days away, so it seems an appropriate time to ask about those who may have been victors in their own war on homelessness — or maybe not. First, some backstory. One reason journalists get a reputation for caring more about publishing than people: We write lots of one-and-done articles. We search for human interest and specific detail. We start stories with a “face,” someone whose personal situation brings to ground-level observation what could otherwise be an abstract story. But then we forget about the person we asked readers to care about. I’ve been guilty of that, but sometimes I check back after a few years, Read More ›