open drug scene

That Didn’t Take Long Tuesday afternoon, 12th Ave & Jackson St was clear. The open air drug use was gone. No more sales of stolen merchandise. Actually saw a clean sidewalk. But by sunset, it was back to business as usual at this notorious intersection in Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood. The common denominator, no more cops on patrol at night. Btw, a lot of the hustlers now use baby strollers to transport stolen merch and drugs. They say it puts people at ease and cops are less likely to check. Why didn’t I think of that? The one lone bright spot, volunteers with Mosaic Church feeding some of the fellas and providing supplies. They come out here every Tuesday night.

Slow Night Just hours after a shooting near 12th Ave & Jackson St. Tuesday evening, the open air drug den and black market of stolen goods only had around 60 people. Most nights this place is packed with more than 100 peeps. How low are you willing to go if you are trying to flip a stolen toy kitchen for $10 bucks? For real. I want to say the city’s new drug bill is working, but we’re just in the “educational” phase. No one is really being arrested for smoking fentanyl. They’re just being told to move along. CM Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales, @TammyMoralesSEA) voted against this watered down drug bill. But she has no solutions to address this on going Read More ›

Another Encampment Shooting Late Monday evening, multiple witnesses in Belltown sent me video showing officers responding to a shooting at 2nd Ave & Blanchard St. My sources on the ground say the victim was targeted and “had it coming to them.” What led up to all this remains unclear. Victim’s condition is unknown and so far no arrests. This is a well known stretch for 911 calls, open air drug use, and tent encampments in the city. Earlier this month, street preacher Matthew Meinecke and I searched for Kaylee Gordon at this location. It’s also right around the corner from REACH, Plymouth housing, and other social service agencies. CM Andrew Lewis’ (@cmandrewjlewis) district remains a war zone.

Across the street from Arrowhead Gardens senior living community on Myers Way in Seattle sprawls a massive homeless encampment. On Tuesday evening, frustrated seniors at Arrowhead Gardens unloaded their concerns over the encampment and slammed the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for mishandling the response. The seniors said they were “ashamed of the state,” and “feel threatened” living in close proximity to the encampment. The encampment has raised concerns about open air drug use, human trafficking, gun violence, and an overall increase in crime. Diane Radischat, president of Arrowhead’s senior living association, says a homeless person from the encampment “defecated in one of our washing machines.” A theme of the comments made Tuesday evening was a sense that the Read More ›

Fentanyl Free…Sort of On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Pride Parade (@OurSeattlePride) flowed through downtown #Seattle and brought in a ton of people. There was also a heavy police (@SeattlePD) presence at many street corners along the parade route. For the first time in nearly a year, I saw the potential of 3rd and Pike St, free and clear of drugs and the black market of stolen goods. In reality, a few addicts were still lingering around the Ross Store vestibules and bus stops. But the insane hoards of people congregating in the drug dens were gone this past weekend. Will it remain this way at least until Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game (@mlb) in less than two weeks? Highly unlikely. Read More ›

Pokemon Shop Shooting Early Sunday morning, a stray bullet shattered a window at Tabletop Village (@TabletopVillage) in #Chinatown-ID. No injuries or serious damage. But this has rattled #Seattle‘s @Pokemon collector community. Children and parents were expected to pack this beloved location for a pre-release event related to the Scarlet & Violet Paldea Evolved build and battle kit. Shop owner Brian Meyers says the uptick in crime, fentanyl use by addicts, and homelessness in the CID continues to take a take a toll on businesses. He’s planning on staying in this spot for now. But wants city leaders, especially Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) to do more to protect this D2 community. Meyers wants investment in neighborhood watch groups or the next Read More ›

When Blake Mara and her business partner, Brian Cheeseman, started Heritage Coffee and Plant House in Tacoma’s Dome District last summer, they wanted their unique concept to become a destination for local artists and a community gathering place. Mara says she “saw the potential of the local neighborhood,” and Cheeseman adds he wanted to make the area “better for our whole community, not just us.” Like any new business, Mara and Cheeseman knew there was financial risk involved. Mara says she invested everything she owned in Heritage, but “had absolutely no idea how bad it was going to be.” Mara and Cheeseman could never have prepared for the homelessness crisis spiraling out of control at their doorstep. They tell me Read More ›

Mother’s Day Weekend Madness The warm weather is bringing out even more open air drug use and dealers in downtown #Seattle and the #Chinatown-ID area. I’m seeing clusters of people passed out on the streets as locals remain desensitized and tourists literally just walk past the problem. The black market of stolen goods is hopping. People are jumping on and off the King County Metro (@KingCountyMetro) buses with tons of stolen merchandise. It comes and goes in waves. Without fail, evenings are the worst. Might as well call in the National Guard (@WANationalGuard) for a weekend stint. Can’t hurt right? It’s now been about a month since Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) announced his Downtown Activation Plan and signed the Executive 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 ›

Total Disaster It keeps getting worse on 3rd Ave & Cherry St in downtown #Seattle, just one block from City Hall. More “trap tents” have been set up by the same folks this weekend. Many are DESC (@DESCSeattle) residents who just spill out into the street and hang out, smoking fentanyl and conducting illicit activity. This drug den continues to draw all kinds of bad actors to the area. Even though city sweeps are happening weekly, it just keeps on coming back! On occasion folks like Mac Larkin will accidentally wander on to this notorious intersection. He immediately regretted it. Watch this interview. It pretty much sums up the state of the Emerald City. Once again, some random homie recognized Read More ›