by Alex Garland
After weeks of protests, the Washington Department of Corrections lifted a ban on used books that had been quietly implemented in mid-March. The ban blocked nonprofits who sent books to prisoners. The policy reversal followed an onslaught of news coverage, including a report from the Seattle Times that found that the DOC’s claims that the books were used to transport contraband were untrue.
Continue reading DOC Ended the Book Ban, but the Media Celebrated Too Soon
story and photos by Alex Garland
According to Alec Connon, an environmental activist with 350 Seattle, “JP Morgan Chase is the largest funder of fossil fuels in the world, with $196 billion invested in the fossil fuel industry” since 2015. The company’s investments contradict CEO Jamie Dimon’s statements that he disagrees with Trump’s decision to remove the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Continue reading Indigenous Activists Lead Environmental Protests to 44 Area Branches of Chase Bank
by Carolyn Bick
Walking out of Safeway, Jared Houston took a picture of the tower-like Seattle Police Department watch box in the Rainier Avenue store’s parking lot.
Continue reading Police Box Towers Over South End Safeway Parking Lot
by Aaron Burkhalter
with reporting by Alex Garland
People shared the post more than 300 times, igniting an online debate over the city’s response to homelessness. And the claims were grisly, but ultimately remain unconfirmed: A body was found at an encampment on Beacon Hill, the post claiming that the person was found decapitated with a bloody saw nearby.
Continue reading Social Media Post Sparks Debate With Unconfirmed Murder Claim
by Carolyn Bick
After allegations of village leaders abusing their positions, three tiny home villages will no longer be affiliated with Nickelsville or its staff.
Continue reading LIHI Staff Replaces Nickelsville in Tiny Home Villages
by Aaron Burkhalter
A King County judge has dismissed a lawsuit by business owners from SeaTac Center, a commercial complex in in the city of SeaTac that is set to be sold and redeveloped, displacing a business community made up of Muslim immigrant populations, predominately people of color.
Continue reading Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by SeaTac Business Owners Seeking Displacement Benefits
by Carolyn Bick
When Vickie Williams died in 2017 of a pericardial effusion, her godson, Hassan Messiah El, slid into the role of managing L.E.M.S. Bookstore, the last Black-owned bookstore in the Pacific Northwest that’s focused on the African Diaspora.
But things weren’t easy financially, and Messiah El found himself struggling to make ends meet at the bookstore, while juggling a family and two other jobs as an actor and ecommerce merchant on Amazon.
Continue reading Fundraiser for L.E.M.S. Bookstore Surpasses $40,000
