drug epidemic

Hot Spots Remain Hot #Seattle‘s City Hall Park has re-opened. Amazon workers are back a few days in the office. Tourists are passing through the city. But even with the on going efforts to reactivate downtown, the fentanyl crisis is still raging out of control. The ecosystem of open-air drug use remains centered at the corner of 3rd Ave and Pike St, especially around the Ross store (@ross_stores.) Every vestibule is packed with addicts and dealers. It’s also spilling into the side streets and alleys. If you go back and look at all my coverage since April, nothing has changed out here. Major League Baseball All Star Weekend (@mlb) is about two weeks away. Will all this illegal activity be Read More ›

Heading into last week’s Seattle City Council meeting, everyone in attendance knew the vote on proposed drug legislation would be close. As a result, the council chamber was packed with people waiting to give public comment. In the room and online, public comment was overwhelmingly against the proposed drug bill. The legislation would give city Attorney Ann Davison authority to prosecute for illegal possession and drug use in public spaces. Critics of the ordinance said it would create a new “war on drugs” and disproportionately impact minority communities. Councilmembers Sara Nelson and Alex Pedersen sponsored the bill and brought Deborah Juarez and Dan Strauss onto their side. As expected, the far-left socialist progressive wing of the council voted no on Read More ›

Breaking Embattled #Seattle Councilmember Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) loses another major endorsement from a community leader. This time it’s Joy Shigaki, President & CEO of Friends of Waterfront Seattle (@friendsWFS.) Lewis is getting hammered by many biz owners in downtown who expected him to vote YES on the drug bill that would have given City Attorney Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) the power to prosecute illegal drug use and possession in public. Instead, he voted against it. Earlier in the week Jon Scholes, President & CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association (@downtownseattle) had his name removed from Lewis’s endorsement page. I’m being told others are still wavering and more could head for the doors. LEWIS ENDORSEMENT PAGE: Scholes Distances Himself Jon Scholes (@downtownseattle) Read More ›

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 ›

Send in Reinforcements With the sun shining and temps rising, I wanted to see what it looked like in #Chinatown-ID Thursday afternoon during the lunch rush. Without fail, I saw a crush of fentanyl addicts passed out on the street with foil littering the ground. One dude even spit on me and tried to punch me in the head. Remind me never to go out to a #Seattle drug den with flip flops. Thankfully, King County Sheriff’s Deputies were there and gave me some disinfectant to clean my sleeve and bailed me out. Otherwise, listen to the dire situation right now in the King County Jail. Deputies say they are NOT arresting anyone for misdemeanors out here! In other words, Read More ›

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.

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

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 ›

After being chased by a knife wielding maniac near #Seattle City Hall Monday afternoon, I walked down a few blocks to 3rd Ave & Pike St. The drug addicts were still out. But the insane crowds and the black market of stolen goods that I saw this past weekend were gone. Once again, all the illicit activity just ebbs and flows. It gets bad once the sun starts to set. However, the city is still hoping Mayor Bruce Harrell’s (@MayorofSeattle) Downtown Activation Plan will start paying off before the warmer summer months hit the area. Area needs way more outreach and police. WA state drug laws need to be fixed. Call a special session and figure it out. The addiction Read More ›

Exclusive On Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) announced his plan to revitalize downtown #Seattle and tackle the fentanyl crisis flooding our streets. Afterwards, I got an update from Dr. Faisal Khan, the top doc in King County. This past January, he sounded the alarm on the medical examiner’s office running out of room to store bodies because of the drug overdose epidemic. They eventually found extra storage space but Khan says they’re on pace for even more drug overdose deaths this year. He’s now calling for bolder action before it’s too late.