sweep

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 ›

Encampment Shooter on the Loose Monday morning, I got tipped off about a shooting in #Chinatown-ID. But once I got there, law enforcement officers were swarming a homeless encampment off Dearborn St. under I-5 on Washington State Department of Transportation (@WSDOT) property. It’s finally being cleared later this week. One person was shot in the ankle. The circumstances remain unclear. Shooter is still on the run. I returned later in the evening and bumped into some fentanyl addicts who were clueless about what happened. More crime and drug related problems in Councilmember Tammy Morales’ (@CMTammyMorales) district. Lets see how she votes on the proposed bill to make open air drug use a misdemeanor. #Seattle @GovInslee @MayorofSeattle @kcexec @SeattleCouncil @KCCouncil @KingCoRHA Read More ›

(The Center Square) – The One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan’s first count of 2023 reveals the verified homeless tent count is down 42% from the end of last year. The latest count conducted in March by the city found 414 tents within the city limits. That is down from 712 counted in December 2022. The SODO District had the most tents and RVs counted with 158 combined. The city attributes the drop in tent numbers to its recently-launched Unified Care Team, alongside its partnership with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. According to the city, its Unified Care Team facilitated 1,831 referrals to shelters and tiny house villages last year, with the help of the authority and 30 outreach providers.  The city Read More ›

It Keeps Expanding Four new tents popped up near the skate bowl over the weekend at Hubbard Homestead Park (@SeattleParks, @SeattleShines) bringing the grand total to 19. This homeless encampment is on the city’s radar, but there is no timeline yet on when it will be removed. Neighbors and local biz owners say it’s become a blight on the Northgate community. Along with the overwhelming use of fentanyl, some of the campers are also being blamed for thefts in the area. Someone went on the Nextdoor app and claimed a tent was being used to run a meth lab. Of course I had to check it out. Otherwise, everyone living here was super accommodating and wanted me to tell their Read More ›

It Was Inevitable First tent just showed up to the Leary Triangle in Ballard. City removed the fencing and concrete blocks around this parcel last week, hoping to turn this into a dog park. Meanwhile, the tent encampments in the area continue to expand. The 72 hour parking rule is being enforced, but the RV’s keep coming back. Councilmember Dan Strauss (@CMDanStrauss) has his hands full. Marc Dones and the @KingCoRHA needs to do more outreach here. I counted at least 30 tents and RV’s in this area alone. No end in sight for this part of #Seattle. @GovInslee @kcexec @MayorofSeattle @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @SeattleParks @seattledot Block Party’s Over…Sort of Earlier this month, SDOT removed the blocks around Leary Triangle. But Read More ›

Block Party’s Over…Sort of On Tuesday, the Seattle Department of Transportation (@seattledot) removed some of the “eco-blocks” near the Leary Triangle and Fremont Brewery in Ballard. But the agency says only a few were taken out because it’s time to re-open this piece of land that’s expected to be turned into a dog park. Otherwise, no sign of any other slabs of concrete being removed by the city even though it’s technically a violation. These were quickly put up all over Ballard to prevent tents and RV’s from moving in. But as you can tell, this part of #Seattle is still dealing with the homeless crisis. How soon until tents start moving back in? It really is turning into whack Read More ›

Final Look I was there on Wednesday when King County crews started clearing out this SODO encampment, a shell of it’s former self. Hard to imagine at one point there were at least 40 people living here. This location has seen fires, fights, drug overdose deaths, and been a source of crime in the neighborhood. It was also going to be one of the parcel’s used for Dow Constantine’s (@kcexec) failed HOMELESS MEGAPLEX before #Chinatown-ID residents fought back. No sign of Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) as encampment sweeps continue in #Seattle. @MayorofSeattle @GovInslee @seattlecouncil @KCCouncil @CMSaraNelson @CMTMosqueda @D5Juarez @KC_RHA

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 ›

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 ›