Street Report

Dismissing Dow In what may be one of the most defiant moments of the year, the #Burien business community and volunteers decided to ignore legal threats made by King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec,) and proceeded to sweep a problematic homeless encampment on their own. No law enforcement showed up Thursday morning and it was completely orderly. This could be a playbook for other communities tired of being strong armed by #KingCounty. It all depends on how Martin v. Boise is interpreted and applied. Back in 2018, the landmark ruling struck down Boise’s city-wide public camping ban because it lacked adequate emergency public shelter beds. Non-profit Burien Cares (@BurienCares) officially took over the lease for this plot of land and Read More ›

Political Liability? As the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) figures out it’s identity and role after a tumultuous year, KIRO Newsradio politics reporter Matt Markovich (@mattmarkovich) is offering some tremendous insight into the agency. Markovich has followed KCRHA since it’s inception. There may be no other reporter in this region who knows the inner workings better than this 30 plus year news veteran. Here’s his hot take on why it was formed and how former #Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (@jennydurkan, @MayorJenny) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) essentially wanted “deniability” when it came to addressing the region’s homeless crisis. And according to Markovich, there’s been on-going tension between former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones and current #Seattle Mayor Bruce 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 ›

A showdown is looming in Burien over a homeless encampment in the center of downtown. Now more than 20 tents deep, a resident walking her dog near the site describes homeless encampments like this one as “a national humanitarian crisis.” The encampment is being blamed for open air drug use, a spike in thefts, and sex trafficking.  Burien City Councilmember Stephanie Mora tells me she has become aware that “there have been several underage girls sleeping there.” The city decided to lease out the property that the encampment is on to Burien Cares, a local non-profit with plans to turn the site back into a dog park. Burien Cares put up signs around the property asking campers to leave by 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 ›

Countdown is on First half of July, #Seattle will be on the global stage hosting the Major League Baseball (@MLB) All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark.) The stadium is located in SODO, just minutes from #Chinatown-ID and the downtown core. But the homeless and drug crisis remains problematic in this neighborhood. This Memorial Day weekend, I watched baseball fans (@Yankees @Pirates @Mariners) struggle to find parking on the side streets. The usual spots are now being taken up by massive RV’s. Drug addicts are smoking fentanyl in front of kids headed to the game. Holgate St. is relatively clear, but new encampments are entrenched on Utah Ave S. and 4th Ave S. If it’s a challenge right now to avoid Read More ›

Downtown Seattle Brawl I’m playing catch up on #Seattle news after being in Texas this past week on assignment. Saturday afternoon, I went straight to 3rd Ave & Pike St. Without fail, I witnessed drug deals happening on multiple corners, stolen items being sold on the streets, and an insane fight in front of tourists and children. Nothing has changed. The best part of the day, some WOKE IDIOT tried to snatch my phone saying I should not record because, “these people are having a crisis.” She went on to do absolutely nothing to help the victim being beat up. Virtue signaling at its finest. Then some looney tune says, “whoop his ass next” after I asked bystanders to call 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 ›