encampments

System Failure All the elected officials in King County know about the Green River Rd encampment. They know about the crime, shootings, fires, drug overdose deaths, stolen vehicles, and environmental damage. Yet it’s being totally ignored. This stretch of road between Kent and Auburn has been littered with tents and RV’s for years. At the end of the day, this is on Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) but he’s MIA as well. The King County Sheriff’s Office is now being told to avoid this encampment unless it’s a serious emergency. After the latest incident of vandalism, Valor Soccer (@ValorSoccerUSA) is also ejecting from the area. Making matters worse, the deep woods are packed with tents and all kinds of forts. Dozens Read More ›

Bailing Out Government Again At this point, most of us know about the incredible exploits of We Heart Seattle (@weheartseattle.) This homeless outreach group is consistently one of the most impactful in the region because of the dynamic leadership of Andrea Suarez. She continues to mobilize volunteers and also empowers the men and women living on the streets to help clean up encampments. This weekend, Suarez and her crew focused on one of the most problematic corridors in North Seattle, removing around one million pounds of trash. But they barely scratched the surface. The WSDOT (@wsdot) right of ways in this part of Seattle are now overwhelmed with tents and structures. From Northgate to University District, it’s almost like the Read More ›

Interpreting Homeless Law Once again, I asked Burien Deputy Mayor Kevin Schilling how the city is interpreting the landmark ruling Martin V. Boise that says cities cannot enforce anti-camping ordinances if there aren’t enough homeless shelter beds available. This piece is frequently cited and misinterpreted by FAR-LEFT activists and other homeless advocates against SWEEPS. Even King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec)weaponized it earlier this year and blocked sheriff’s deputies from assisting during the Burien dog park encampment removal. But Schilling makes it very clear, nowhere in the law does it say the offers of shelter must be in the city where the homeless are camping. In other words, if there is an open shelter bed in nearby Seattle or Renton, Read More ›

What’s Next Burien After weeks of contentious debate and public comment, the Burien City Council finally passed a “no camping” ordinance this week. This common sense bill was first championed by CM Stephanie Mora (@CmStephaniemora) and ended up being a close 4-3 vote. Now the heavy lifting begins. More than 60 people remain at the Ambaum Blvd encampment. I went there again this week. The open air drug use and trash is out of control. And sadly, Burien PD has taken multiple reports of young women being trafficked out of this encampment. Meanwhile, listen to Deputy Mayor Kevin Schilling describe what Highline Public School Dist. is doing in response to this situation. The city is now in talks to bring Read More ›

Getting Worse? There are so many unresolved homeless encampments in Seattle. But this one in Greenwood behind the Fred Meyer keeps getting worse. I counted close to 30 tents, including one with a door. Neighbors keep flooding my DM’s saying the city along with Councilmember Dan Strauss (@CMDanStrauss) are ignoring the problem. Same issues: open air drug use, more crime, yelling at all hours of the day, trash spilling out into the streets, etc. There’s also concern this place is being used as a CHOP SHOP. One guy told me he was sawing off the metal part of a brand new hose line to sell at a local scrap yard. Perfectly legal, as long as it’s not stolen. On a Read More ›