Former Seattle Police Chief and Change Washington adviser Carmen Best says that despite the city of Seattle trying to address homelessness, “if you just walk around, you can see that it hasn’t necessarily worked.” Best’s message underscores the need for Seattle’s leaders to develop a real plan to address homelessness that matches the scale of...
Change Washington Adviser and former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best believes that the recent spike in gun violence in Seattle requires both additional resources for police to respond, but also deter crimes. “We do need to have more visibility with officers in the field so that there is a deterrent for people to gather in...
Change Washington adviser and former Seattle Police Department Chief Carmen Best cited lack of support from Seattle City Council as one reason more than 300 police officers have left SPD in recent years. Police officers “want to feel like they have a decent budget, like their job isn’t at risk every single day that, they’re...
Former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best told Change Washington that Seattle is on the edge of a precipice and that city leaders will determine whether we “turn and keep it the top-tier world class city that it is or if we’re going to just let mayhem and destruction take us in a different direction.” Chief...
Can we be honest about Seattle right now? Mary Lou Sanelli was painfully honest in a piece special to the Seattle Times that is heartbreaking to read. Heartbreaking because it resonates deeply in each person that cares about this city. “My question always becomes: Other than fentanyl dealers, who is profiting from all of this...
Mark Mason, CEO of HomeStreet Bank knows a lot about Seattle and what’s working and not for our city’s businesses. In a recent Seattle Times editorial, Mason makes a number of critical points that our elected leaders and candidates for office must address: Companies are leaving Seattle or abandoning plans to locate here. Mason points...
The latest Danny Westneat column is bleak. Business owners, residents, and visitors alike are reeling from the “wild, wild West” that Pioneer Square has become. There is no question what has gone wrong here. In a knee-jerk move, the Seattle City Council cut the police department’s budget leading to the loss of the first African-American...
The first day of school arrived last week and still the school district had not cleared the encampment of homeless individuals by Broadview-Thompson K-8 School. Parents are upset and why shouldn’t they be? At the same time, the Seattle Times Editorial Board called on the city to ensure that city parks and amenities are cleared...
If you had $216 million, what would you to do address homelessness? KOMO reports the City of Seattle now has a record $216 million to spend on homelessness this year and with about 8,000 people unsheltered, the city should be poised to make a serious dent in the number of unsheltered and unserved people…right? Recent...
KUOW sums it up: “Whatever statistic you look at, one thing is clear: gun violence continues to trend ever higher in Seattle.” So let’s check the statistics KUOW reported, as provided by Seattle’s interim police chief, Adrian Diaz: There have been 150 more shootings in 2021 than in 2019. More than 380 shots fired in...
Yesterday, Seattle was the subject of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial for its failure to reform policing while endangering poor and minority communities. Based on the recent federal hearing on the consent decree between the City of Seattle and the Department of Justice, the editorial board explained the simple facts: Seattle cut and demonized the...
The Seattle Times reports “several” shooting incidents last night around Seattle. We cannot seem to get through our weekends this summer without news of terrible violence in the city. People are getting hurt, losing lives and, yet, the city isn’t acting boldly enough to turn things around. All while the city’s businesses are in a...
Seattle Public Schools set a goal of clearing a homeless encampment on the campus of Broadview Thomson K-8 by September 1st when students return to classrooms. The district shared with parents this week, however, that while clearing the camp remains a “priority,” it will not be cleared in time to meet that deadline. According to...
Seattle Public Schools starts back in just one week. As this latest Covid-19 surge rocks our state and region, there is a great deal of uncertainty for all, but especially for students and parents. With that in mind, a column from Danny Westneat of the Seattle Times this past weekend struck a chord as students...