Street Report

Failing Neighborhood How can the city of #Seattle allow drug addicts to take over #Chinatown-ID? 12th Ave and Jackson St. is out of control on Tuesday evening. It isn’t even a weekend night, but the black market of stolen goods is lit! Large cans of Almond Roca for $2 dollars. Rib eye steaks being sold for $5 bucks a piece. Fentanyl foil everywhere. People zonked out of their minds. Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) has given up on this part of her district. Meanwhile, I had to escape on to a King County Metro bus after some enraged dudes started coming at me. This is truly “TAMMY TOWN.” When is it Going to Stop? That’s what Asian American senior citizens in Read More ›

KCRHA Absolutely Crushed In a scathing Op-ed, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) destroys Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) saying, “there are foundational issues that make the KCRHA doomed to fail and unfit to be trusted.” Click here to read the Seattle Times article. In Case You Missed It The King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (@KingCoRHA) 5-Year Plan has been approved. Vote happened Thursday afternoon. The Governing Committee is made up of elected officials like Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec.) Despite calls to dismantle KCRHA after the abrupt resignation of former CEO Marc Dones last month, they are still moving forward. It’s now on them. This agency is responsible for the bulk of homeless Read More ›

Exclusive Finally tracked down D2 Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales.) She’s been dodging me all year. I simply asked some basic questions on behalf of her constituents in the #Chinatown-ID, still dealing with a crush of crime and open air drug use. The homeless crisis is spreading into South Seattle neighborhoods, especially off Rainier Ave S. But she continues to be MIA on these issues. SODO also remains a mess before the Major League Baseball ALL-Star game but I didn’t have time to ask her about that since she ran off. Morales seems unfazed about canidates running for her city council seat. By the way, first time dealing with Evelyn Chow. She’s one of Tammy’s handlers and is now using the, Read More ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

Follow the Money According to a 2022 document from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) the agency dished out a staggering $107, 396, 057.97 to providers. Look at all the non-profits and players in this industry. Stunning amount of money being spent to address the region’s homeless crisis. It’s broken down by agency name and project. So much to unpack. I encourage all journalists in #Seattle and #KingCounty to start picking this apart. According to a recent KCRHA call, homeless service providers also complained about late payments being an issue this year and last year as well. Post Mortem Check out this tweet showing records of KCRHA staff salaries. 30 of the 100 employees made at least $100,000.

Exclusive Seven inmates from the Snohomish County Jail were transported to the hospital with signs of opioid overdose on Wednesday evening. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office released a statement reporting that a corrections deputy witnessed the first inmate with signs of overdose, and while staff were treating the inmate, others began overdosing.  Five of the inmates have been released from the hospital and returned to the jail, and the other two are expected to do the same. A criminal investigation is underway by the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, and the detectives have identified an inmate who is suspected of smuggling fentanyl into the jail. As of this morning, a 37 year old inmate from Arlington has been charged with possession Read More ›

Post Mortem Even before Marc Dones abruptly resigned on Tuesday as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA), the agency was under heavy scrutiny for it’s performance or lack thereof. Questions were being raised about spending and salaries, especially after Dones asked for $12 billion dollars to fund housing in the region. As Helen Howell becomes interim CEO, the KCRHA Governing Committee and other boards have a lot of soul searching to do. Do they stay the course and stick to the framework left by Dones, or is it time for a total gut rehab? Clearly, the “HOUSING FIRST” strategy is not working. The public is asking for more transparency and accountability, like actual measures of success and Read More ›