Pierce Co. Executive Dammeier, “housing will never solve homelessness, community will.”
Pierce Co. Executive Dammeier, “housing will never solve homelessness, community will.”
We interviewed Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier on the innovative program (based on success elsewhere) his administration is using to reduce long-term homelessness. The “community first” method differs from the failed “housing first” philosophy in that it doesn’t ignore the fact that addiction and mental health are major contributors to the crisis. Executive Dammeier also...
What is Seattle getting for its ‘highest in nation’ sales tax?
What is Seattle getting for its ‘highest in nation’ sales tax?
Seattle has claimed the top spot in the nation as the city with the highest sales tax. Even with this incredible revenue stream, Seattle is now less safe. It has been misguided politicians and policies, not the lack of funds, that have made it a city where criminals feel comfortable while charities flee. Earlier this...
Time to close the ineffective and wasteful KCRHA
Time to close the ineffective and wasteful KCRHA
Last week King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a proposal to scrap the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (KCRHA) Implementation Board, the 13-person committee of “experience in the housing and homelessness fields” which shares responsibility for managing the much-maligned authority. According to the proposal, nearly all of the board’s responsibilities...
Seattle City Council takes a steady approach to correct past mistakes
Seattle City Council takes a steady approach to correct past mistakes
A recently released midyear crime report from the Council on Criminal Justice revealed that while murder is down across the U.S. when compared to 2019, Seattle’s homicide rate is 50% higher than it was five years ago. Frustrated Seattle voters, fed up with the mass exodus of police officers (Seattle currently has fewer police officers...
Executive Constantine stuck in the past
Executive Constantine stuck in the past
King County Executive Dow Constantine recent battle with Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison over incarceration of criminals is the latest proof that the 15-year incumbent is stubbornly holding onto failed progressive public safety and homelessness policies, which many now blame for making conditions worse. Constantine appears stuck in 2020 as he continues to advocate combatting...
Are we witnessing the “beginning of the end” for KCRHA?
Are we witnessing the “beginning of the end” for KCRHA?
A Seattle Times report reveals that political support for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) continues to erode as such former advocates as King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, are being very cautious about its future. But before we get to that, let’s recap the...
Taxpayer money paying for protests and defending chronic illegal squatters
Taxpayer money paying for protests and defending chronic illegal squatters
It was revealed earlier this week that a local non-profit organization which receives taxpayer funds, is the group behind the Friday, July 5 protests on I-5 which clogged the freeway near Boeing Field in South Seattle. Urban Family is a non-profit organization focused on youth and crime in Seattle’s Skyway neighborhood. They are funded by...
SCOTUS decision on homelessness is a win for common sense
SCOTUS decision on homelessness is a win for common sense
Advocates of a common sense approach to homelessness are pleased with Friday’s United States Supreme Court decision which allows local jurisdictions to again impose a ban on camping in order to stop large homeless encampments from being constructed on public property. Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, who has been locked in a battle with King County...
Citizens once again take the lead to keep the public safe
Citizens once again take the lead to keep the public safe
Nearly all restrictions imposed on police pursuits by previous state lawmakers were removed as Initiative 2113 finally became state law on June 6. The legislature passed the citizen Initiative (along with parental notification initiative and a ban on future state income tax) after Let’s Go Washington collected more than 400,000 signatures (around 325K were needed)....
Why homelessness continues to increase despite record breaking spending
Why homelessness continues to increase despite record breaking spending
As regional homelessness numbers continue to break records, the crisis has driven the unprecedented growth in the size and cost of government in the City of Seattle, King County, and Washington State. Moreover, nearly every department, agency, commission, council and authority at all levels of government have used the crisis to justify its budget expansion...
More than 50 elected officials demand alternatives to failed homeless & drug policies
More than 50 elected officials demand alternatives to failed homeless & drug policies
As homelessness and drug overdose deaths continue to spiral out-of-control in Washington State, a group of more than 50 local officials have taken steps to provide alternatives to the political philosophies which they believe are at the root of the problem – progressives’ Housing First homeless strategy and Harm Reduction drug policy. Last Thursday, Future...
Seattle and King County’s disturbing results of Housing First and Harm Reduction
Seattle and King County’s disturbing results of Housing First and Harm Reduction
Two very troublesome facts were revealed last week which provide more evidence that the progressives’ “Housing First” homeless policy and “Harm Reduction” drug policy are failing to end the suffering that is taking place on our streets. These numbers are similar to those in other progressive West Coast cities and states. These facts require us...
Spokane’s Homelessness problem is becoming progressively worse
Spokane’s Homelessness problem is becoming progressively worse
Progressive politicians now have complete control of Spokane’s city government, triggering local employers and community leaders to be concerned that their unchecked extreme homeless policies will cause their downtown neighborhood to decay as it has in Seattle. Last week these concerns came to the forefront as new Mayor Lisa Brown unveiled her transitional housing policy...
A must-see [un]Divided segment reveals yet another example of backwards thinking in Seattle
A must-see [un]Divided segment reveals yet another example of backwards thinking in Seattle
Things are completely backwards in Seattle where the government is creating the problems and then demanding the private sector clean up the city’s mess. In an illuminating segment sponsored by Future42, [un]Divided’s Brandi Kruse examined multiple examples of how the City of Seattle enforces one set of regulations on businesses, yet does not enforce the...
