Street Report

They’re Back On Wednesday, crews were polishing the sidewalks on 3rd Ave near #Seattle City Hall and there were zero tents in sight. Today, a few new tents have already popped right back up and the street hustlers are back. Open air drug use with Mariners fans walking by for Opening Day. Keep sweeping @MayorofSeattle. No other options. Gotta separate the criminal element from the actual homeless who need help. Still waiting for Councilmember Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) to come out with me for a walk through the hood. #Seattle Just Yesterday Aside from the open air drug use which is everywhere, 3rd Ave & Cherry St was looking better. This is just one block from #Seattle City Hall. Mayor needs Read More ›

Day After Sweep This evening, the fence is up at the former King St. homeless encampment on @WSDOT property after Wednesday’s clear out in #Chinatown-ID. But multiple tents, a couch, and a generator have already popped up on the other side. These sidewalks are city of #Seattle‘s responsibility. How soon until crews move in and clear this out? Unreal. Residents and biz owners are afraid @govinslee will surrender #CID again. They want @mayorofseattle to continue with on going sweeps. These are the folks who have refused housing options. Still no sign of Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales.) @JoeMcDermottWA @kcexec @seattlecouncil @kccouncil @CMSaraNelson @CMTMosqueda @D5Juarez @WAStateCommerce The Other Side At the former Jackson St. encampment in #Chinatown-ID, crews were still cleaning the Read More ›

Washington State Department of Transportation Confronted Thursday, The Washington State Dept. of Transportation (@WSDOT) gave some members of the media a final tour of the U. District side of the Ship Canal Bridge encampment before it gets fenced off. Some parents showed up to direct pointed questions at WSDOT Region Administrator Brien Nielsen. Otherwise, outreach workers say 14 homeless men and women were placed into housing situations that met their needs. Unfortunately for the folks who showed up recently to this encampment, they did not get housing they wanted so are headed back on to the streets of #SEATTLE. Otherwise, no sign of KCRHA CEO Marc Dones. Have not seen him at a sweep since the 10th and Dearborn removal Read More ›

Attempted Baseball Bat Attack I know Mariners Opening Day is right around the corner, but what happened to me Wednesday morning had nothing to do with America’s past time. I’m on 3rd Ave near #Seattle City Hall, following up on the progress being made to keep tents off the streets. The area has been looking decent. Then I noticed a guy with a mini torch set up trying to light his meth pipe. I go over to interview him. As I am recording, this maniac wielding a baseball bat comes charging at me from across the street saying he wanted to kill me. You can hear the fellas warning me to get out of the area. I have never seen Read More ›

Dozens of frustrated neighbors and business owners are mobilizing in Burien. They formed a coalition on Monday evening to address what they consider to be a failure on the part of city leadership to deal with public safety related to the homelessness crisis. According to attorney John Kannin, the coalition is preparing to launch a class action lawsuit against the City of Burien to recuperate their losses due to a homeless encampment around city hall and the library. Kannin says that taking legal action is “the only way to get any traction.” Although it is set to be cleared by the end of the month, the encampment has been a thorn in the side of the city due to its Read More ›

Calling Out Politicians Jay Yanamura watched Wednesday morning as @WSDOT crews cleared the King St. encampment in the #Chinatown-ID. He also hoped some elected officials would show up to support this Asian American community as it tries to heal and move forward from all the dangerous homeless encampments that were allowed to flourish on state property. Especially Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) since he showed up to meet with parents at John Stanford Int. School near the Ship Canal encampment, and took a victory lap with a PR event at the 1st. Ave Bridge encampment. But the Governor never showed up. Once again, politicians only coming to #Chinatown-ID when they want dim sum or a photo opportunity during Lunar New Year. Read More ›

Sweeps All Week Day 1 in the books at the Ship Canal Bridge encampment on the Wallingford side, right across street from John Stanford Int. School. @WSDOT crews expect to be on this for a few more days. Then on Thursday, they move across I-5 to tackle the U District side. This type of undertaking in the same week is unprecedented for The Washington State Dept. of Transportation. But critics say Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) should not be taking a victory lap since he allowed this all to flourish under his watch. If anything, he should be on an apology tour. Later this week, WSDOT is also moving in to clear two notorious homeless encampments in #Chinatown-ID.#Seattle @MayorofSeattle @kcexec @KC_RHA Read More ›

Breaking Washington State Dept. of Transportation finally SWEEPING two notorious #Chinatown-ID encampments on Tuesday. One at King St. and the other on Jackson St. All on @WSDOT property. These camps have been linked to drug deals, fires, a meth lab explosion, shootings, overdose deaths and other crimes. Residents and biz owners have heavily criticized @KC_RHA CEO Marc Dones for slow outreach due to his “housing first” ideology, disappointed in Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) for not taking control from the state sooner, and say Gov. Jay Inslee( @GovInslee) should not be taking a victory lap since he allowed situation to flourish for so long. Summit Sierra High School students also walked through this insanity for nearly a year. This Asian American Read More ›

Breaking Gonna be a busy week for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation. Along with the #Chinatown-ID sweep, state will finally clear the notorious Ship Canal Bridge homeless encampment on MONDAY. It’s also been the scene of multiple fires, deaths, drug overdoses, fights, and other crimes. It’s right across the street from the John Stanford Int. School. Parents held a protest earlier this month to call out Governor Jay Insee (@GovInslee), @KC_RHA CEO Marc Dones, and other WSDOT (@wsdot) officials for allowing this encampment to remain in place for so long. #Seattle @wastatecommerce @mayorofseattle @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @kcexec Major Protest Earlier this month, parents and neighbors launched a demonstration targeting Gov. Jay Inslee for allowing the Ship Canal Bridge homeless encampment Read More ›

Real Talk Before the SODO sweep, I ran into “Strawberry,” a woman who recently found an apartment after living on #Seattle‘s streets for years. But Strawberry says she came back to see her homeless friends because this is her community and she can’t let them go. She says the reason why some people return back to the streets is because of loneliness. Let that sink in. I hope every non-profit leader, elected official, policy maker considers this crucial detail before trying to warehouse homeless people…out of sight and out of mind. They need community. Not just “housing first” or “wrap around services.” They need to be surrounded by people who genuinely care for them.