Blog | Page 89

Jonathan Choe joins Newsmax National Report to share his exclusive coverage of the drug crisis in cities like Seattle and the cost of covering such a reality.

National Guard Time? This is now the third weekend in a row I’ve been out to the downtown #Seattle core since Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) announced his Downtown Activation Plan and signed the Executive Order to address the fentanyl crisis. HOT SPOTS: 3rd Ave & Pike street/ 12th Ave and Jackson St/ 3rd Ave & Cherry St/Westlake Park Easily one of the worst weekends for open air drug use and the thriving black market of stolen goods. There were also more drug overdoses. This is all happening with construction projects in the area. But even that did not keep the addicts and dealers away. We haven’t hit the warm summer months in the city. Imagine how bad it’s going to Read More ›

Exclusive The Yang Gang is in #Seattle this weekend! Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) energized a room full of movers and shakers in the city’s business, media, and political scene. Very impressive crowd. The first Asian American Democrat to ever run for the Oval Office continues to captivate folks from all across the spectrum and on both sides of the aisle. Saturday evening, I was in the same room with people labeled far-left or far-right, searching for common sense solutions. That’s how bad things have gotten in this city. LOL. Of course I had to ask Yang about the drug addiction and homeless crisis happening front and center. BTW, he’s now all in on the Forward Party (@Fwd_Party.) #Math#FWD#ForwardParty#Forward

I left San Francisco just in time — at the end of 2016. Sure, I saw the occasional junkie shooting up in public when I still worked in the city. And yes, I saw men use the sidewalk at the intersection of 5th and Market Streets as a toilet. But I never saw swarms of shoplifters emptying pharmacy shelves. If I needed new shoes, I could pop over to Nordstrom at the Westfield San Francisco Centre at 5th and Market. The number of friends who had stopped going into the city entirely — and switched to shopping in suburban malls — was unsettling, but tourists could help fill the gap. This week, sadly, Nordstrom announced it won’t renew its lease Read More ›

Overdose After Overdose This past weekend, I personally saw three people overdosing on drugs and then being revived by first responders in downtown #Seattle. I always check on people if they are doing the “fentanyl fold” or just slumped over. This woman was totally knocked out near @PiroshkyBakery. But once @SeattleFire arrived, they got her up without NARCAN. Drug overdoses happen multiple times a day in this American city. Why are we allowing this? When it comes to drug over dose deaths, Councilmember Sara Nelson (@cmsaranelson) says #Seattle has seen “a death toll rivaling that of Covid-19.” So where is the government intervention? Where are the mandates? Lockdowns? Just wondering. I think we need to continue this conversation. Drug Bill Read More ›

Total Disaster It keeps getting worse on 3rd Ave & Cherry St in downtown #Seattle, just one block from City Hall. More “trap tents” have been set up by the same folks this weekend. Many are DESC (@DESCSeattle) residents who just spill out into the street and hang out, smoking fentanyl and conducting illicit activity. This drug den continues to draw all kinds of bad actors to the area. Even though city sweeps are happening weekly, it just keeps on coming back! On occasion folks like Mac Larkin will accidentally wander on to this notorious intersection. He immediately regretted it. Watch this interview. It pretty much sums up the state of the Emerald City. Once again, some random homie recognized Read More ›

You can see, and smell, the gasoline staining the black top at Wallingford, Seattle’s United States Postal Service (USPS) station. But these aren’t your usual spills. John Pierce is a supervisor at the Wallingford station and says for the past few years, several homeless men have been siphoning gas from his delivery trucks in the parking lot. The men even go underneath the vehicles to cut fuel lines. “Every day’s a challenge,” says Pierce who tells me that the men “collect [gas] with a bucket” and siphon it out of their trucks with hoses. One of the postal service’s most prolific offenders comes by in broad daylight to steal fuel. The man has removed the license plates from his blue Ford Read More ›

By Marvin Olasky and Covenant College students Emma Fallmezger, Jacob Sonke, Elysse Carrillo, Anna McDonald, Charity Chaney, and Lydia Dorman. Los Angeles has been the poster child of homelessness. The first official act of new mayor Karen Bass was to place the city in a “state of emergency.” The Los Angeles Business Council scrutinized LA public opinion on homelessness and found almost unanimous agreement that the problem is serious, with 73 percent saying “very serious.” Most saw a lack of inexpensive housing as the prime reason for homelessness. National attitudes are different. Yes, a recent Rasmussen poll showed 92 percent of American adults saying homelessness is a serious national problem in America — and 65 percent said “very serious.” That Read More ›

Crisis Management Time The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) just dropped this slick promo video featuring embattled CEO Marc Dones who rarely takes questions from the media. This comes at a time when his agency is being accused of incompetence and mismanagement. Dones is dealing with complaints from service providers about late payments, elected officials continue to scoff at his $12 billion dollar homelessnesss plan, and there have been numerous communication missteps this past year. Remember when Dones incorrectly cited state law and insisted no one could be removed from encampments unless a “permanent housing solution” was offered? Even Gov. Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) had to correct Dones. And King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) still wants KCRHA to be Read More ›

Fire Fire Fire Just making my rounds Wednesday afternoon in SODO when I spotted this character. Dude was wearing a blonde wig, torching a pile of plastic, and then threatened to kill me. “Blow your f****** head off N****. ” He started off by calling me the N-word but eventually corrected course and went with Jackie Chan. LOL. Just another day in #Seattle. This is your district Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales.) Hey, at least 3rd Ave & Holgate St. remains clear of RV’s. Gotta take the W’s when you can. @MayorofSeattle @GovInslee @kcexec @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @CMSaraNelson @CMTMosqueda @KingCoRHA @DiscoveryCWP