Governance

Community Cancer Neighbors and business owners are sounding the alarm about a problematic homeless shelter in Seattle’s picturesque Madison Valley neighborhood. It’s Virginia Mason’s Bailey-Boushay House that’s now being blamed for attracting crime, open-air drug use, and mentally unhinged individuals into the community. This facility gets millions of taxpayer dollars but critics say no one is holding them accountable. This is another black eye for the constellation of “low barrier” facilities that are being championed by Mayor Katie Wilson.

All on the Taxpayers’ Dime What a time to be alive if you are a transgender homeless migrant in California. Check out what taxpayers are funding. Welcome to America.

Dashed Hopes The support Mayor Katie Wilson once had among the homeless is fading faster than many expected. On the street, a different narrative is emerging, one that doesn’t match the optimism that followed her election. No Solutions Several people I spoke with say sweeps have actually increased since she took office, with little meaningful progress toward permanent solutions. For many, it feels like more movement without direction being pushed from block to block, but never off the street. What makes this shift more striking is who’s saying it. Broken Promises Many of the homeless individuals I interviewed identify as far left and were genuinely excited when Wilson was elected. They believed they were finally getting an ally in City Read More ›

Drugs Fuel Street Crisis Listen to Seattle’s homeless fentanyl addicts. They’re now admitting illegal drugs are fueling the street crisis. But Mayor Katie Wilson and other Democrats think they can build their way out of this problem. Meanwhile, nothing will change in this city until elected officials focus on making treatment mandatory before giving away free taxpayer funded apartments and studios. That will only benefit Homeless INC and all the builders. We’ve already witnessed the failure of Housing First for more than a decade.

Starbucks: From Foe to Friend Last year Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson blasted Starbucks while standing in solidarity with workers on strike. This week, she announced the local coffee giant would help fund the first phase of the city’s homelessness response. So is the mayor now pandering to Starbucks or is Starbucks pandering to the mayor? Either way, we all know how the last public-private partnership to end homelessness turned out for local donors and the government. Past Failed Attempts Remember We Are In? The King County Regional Homelessness Authority under former CEO Marc Dones got corporations like the Gates Foundation to pony up millions of dollars to solve homelessness. Amazon, Microsoft, Ballmer Group, and the Raikes Foundation were also involved. Read More ›

Mega Sweep Thursday morning, Seattle city crews went on a MEGA SWEEP and cleared out multiple drug encampments at Daejeon Park, Sturgus Park, Lewis Park, and even removed tents at Dr. Jose Rizal Park. This is all happening in the Beacon Hill hood. With the impending sweep, I visited some of the homies last night to find out what they were up to. One guy said he already had a tiny house and was just chilling at the encampment. Another fella said he wouldn’t take a tiny house since illegal drug use is allegedly banned. But we all know that’s not the case.

No Plan for Drug Treatment and Recovery Options Wednesday evening, Mayor Katie Wilson shared more details about her plan to address the homeless drug crisis destroying the city. As expected, Wilson put an emphasis on how her office was taking the initiative to build more tiny houses and pallet shelters before the FIFA World Cup in June. But Wilson shared virtually ZERO details on drug treatment and recovery options for addicts suffering on the streets. Wilson just said “wrap around services” would be offered to residents at these shelters. In other words, no requirement to use the treatment and recovery options. It’s the same talking point parroted for more than a decade by every King County Democrat that’s presided over Read More ›

A City in Urgency Seattle is moving rapidly to expand shelter for homeless drug addicts before the FIFA World Cup comes to the city. Faster than the public has been given time to fully understand. Mayor Katie Wilson set a goal of adding hundreds of new units in a matter of months. The strategy relies heavily on taxpayer dollars to expand tiny house villages. No one questions the urgency. But speed should not replace accountability and transparency. Lack of Transparency Right now, Seattle is making high-impact decisions about land, funding, and service delivery through a relatively tight network of policymakers, advisors, and providers. And the public has not been given a clear, transparent picture of how those decisions are being made. Read More ›

The Sweeps Continue Aggressive drug encampment sweeps in Seattle are happening on Easter weekend under Mayor Katie Wilson. On Saturday, city crews removed the so called “service resistant” from the corner of 3rd Ave and Blanchard St. But they all came roaring back after cops left the area. The game of Whack-A-Mole is out of control. This is near REACH HQ, the homeless outreach division of Evergreen Treatment Services. This non-profit has received millions of dollars in taxpayer funding from the city to address the street crisis. Yet they can’t even handle the problem right in front of their building. If one of the primary agencies tasked with getting men and women into housing can’t figure this out, how are Read More ›

Gavin Newsom stood before the cameras in early March and once again blamed local governments for the state’s spiraling homelessness crisis. “No more excuses,” he thundered, threatening to strip funding from counties he claims are underperforming while promising to redirect “every damn penny” to those “getting things done.” Newsom is once again attempting to shift blame for California’s homelessness crisis — the very crisis he has repeatedly pledged to solve, including his 2021 vow to end family homelessness within five years. Since 2017, homelessness in California has surged by more than 40 percent — from roughly 134,000 people to nearly 187,000 in 2024 — despite an estimated $30 billion in spending he authorized. His latest tirade against counties ignores the Read More ›