Economic Impact

A low barrier homeless shelter anticipated to open in Kirkland, Washington, is driving business owner Bryan Mistele and his company out of the city. Mistele is the co-founder and CEO of INRIX, a transportation company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. Kirkland is moving forward on a plan to convert a hotel across from INRIX into a homeless shelter, with no drug testing or treatment required. Mistele appeared on the Jason Rantz show to discuss why this is a bad idea, and why it has forced his company — one of the largest employers in Kirkland — out of the city. Announcing INRIX’s Move Kirkland Low Barrier Housing Pushed Through Despite Community Concerns

Tipping Point Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is losing Chinatown-ID. Numerous business owners say Harrell has prioritized the downtown shopping core over this predominantly Asian American neighborhood. Despite warnings from community advocates, most of the open-air drug use, crime, and chaos from 3rd Ave & Pike St has been allowed to move into Little Saigon. Numerous CID biz owners are planning to leave the neighborhood by the end of the year or possibly file a class action lawsuit against the city.

Crime is down in Seattle? Try telling that to these SMALL biz owners who just went off on Mayor Bruce Harrell. Read the horror stories on this thread that are barely being reported by local media. How do entrepreneurs make a living in this city? A lot of these small biz owners are dealing with repeat offenders and drug addicts. Everyone is now acknowledging the downtown shopping core has fewer hoards of drug addicts and crime due to intentional enforcement of laws. But when will the rest of the city like Chinatown-ID get attention? Bottom line, you get what you vote for.

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 ›