Category Archives: News

News

Congressman Smith Rejects Trump’s Call for Military Intervention

by Emerald Staff

Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA 9th Congressional District, including South Seattle), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, answered questions from journalists at a press conference on Tuesday about President Trump’s call to utilize the U.S. military to intervene to stop the “insurrection” of demonstrators protesting the murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers. According to Trump, states have been weak in handling demonstrators and he said he would call in the military if states don’t bring order to their cities soon. Many legal experts and communities are concerned about the constitutionality of Trump’s proposal to use the military in a domestic situation.

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News

Vote for Access: New Video Series Addresses Obstacles Facing Disabled Voters

by Mark Van Streefkerk

If disabled people voted at the same rate as non-disabled people, there would have been 2.3 million more votes in the November 2018 elections. Breaking down barriers to access and getting votes counted is not a partisan issue; it’s part of a healthy democracy, and it’s the law. A new video series “Votes for Access,” hosted by writer and disability advocate Imani Barbarin, takes a look at the hindrances disabled citizens face when it comes to voting, and how accessible voting should be a priority for everyone, especially in the new normal of COVID-19 life. 

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News

SPD Officers Only Required to Display Last Name and First Initial, Despite Potential Name Overlap

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by Carolyn Bick

Police officers are allowed to cover their badge numbers, when in mourning, because they are required to wear their names on the left side of their uniforms, Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a press conference on June 1.

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News

A Tale of Two Protests

by Elizabeth Turnbull

Editor’s Note: This post was updated after publication to include information about the protesters who marched to I-5 and successfully blocked traffic in both directions, for at least an hour, on 5/30/20.) You can also read how community members came together to take care of each other, the following day, with many going on the record to say the previous day’s protest was hijacked by vigilantism.

Seattle activists and protesters responded to the murder of George Floyd in distinct ways on Saturday in downtown Seattle. Activists at the main gatherings expressed anger and a need for police reform, with an emphasis on peace, while some protestors later in the day looted buildings and burned police vehicles, leading to 27 arrests for charges ranging from assault to arson.

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News

King County Will Apply June 1 to Move Into Modified Phase One, Plans to Increase Testing in South End

by Carolyn Bick

King County will apply for a modified Phase One with eased disease benchmarks under Washington State’s new Safe Start guidelines, which Gov. Jay Inslee announced at a May 29 press conference. King County officials said in a later press conference that they will also increase access to testing in South King County in tandem with the move into the modified Phase One.

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Mayor’s Office Refuses to Budge on Encampment Removals as Nearly Six-Hour Meeting Ends in Stalemate

by Erica C. Barnett 

(This article was previously published on The C is for Crank and has been reprinted with permission.) 

If you’re looking for a takeaway from last Wednesday’s nearly six-hour hearing on legislation that would place some limits on the city’s authority to displace homeless people from encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s this: Nothing is going to change. Representatives from Mayor Jenny Durkan’s administration made it abundantly clear, loudly and repeatedly, that the mayor does not consider policies governing encampment sweeps to be a matter that can be legislated under any circumstance, and that now is also not the time for discussing non-legislative solutions, such as changes to the administrative rules governing encampment sweeps in general.

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State Institutes More Protections for Agricultural Workers, Considers Creating Relief Fund for Undocumented Workers

by Carolyn Bick

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee said in a press conference on May 28 that the state will be instituting additional protections for agricultural workers, and that his office is looking into the possibility of creating a relief fund for undocumented workers who do not have access to unemployment benefits, despite paying taxes.

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Rats, Moldy Food, and a Dearth of Staff: Community Demands Better Conditions, Options at Othello Safeway

by Carolyn Bick

The last time Michelle Timson visited the Othello Safeway was when the novel coronavirus pandemic first broke out.

“I won’t go to the Othello Safeway. It’s way too crowded. There’s no social distancing at all being enforced from what I have seen from the one time that I went,” Timson said.

But the lack of social distancing was just the rotting cherry on top of a fermenting sundae for Timson. Like many of her fellow Othellians, the South Seattle resident had had enough of the store, which many in the neighborhood have complained about for years, citing everything from rotting produce, expired packaged food and rat sightings to an overworked, understaffed employee base and an unsafe parking lot. Because of this, Timson and more than 1,500 others have signed a petition started by local activist and 37th District legislative candidate Chukundi Salisbury calling for better store conditions.

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News

Co-LEAD Allowed to Start Moving People From Seattle Streets Into Hotels, Too Late to Help Those Removed in Last Three Sweeps

by Erica C. Barnett 

(This article was previously published on The C is for Crank and has been reprinted with permission.)

More than six weeks after the Seattle-based Public Defender Association (PDA) launched its Co-LEAD program in Burien, the diversion program has come home to Seattle and began serving five homeless clients last week. Co-LEAD provides hotel rooms, case management, and other basic supports to people experiencing homelessness who have been in the criminal justice system and lack legal options for making money during the COVID-19 pandemic. After launching the program in Burien in April, the PDA had hoped to enroll some of the people who were dispersed throughout the city during several recent encampment sweeps, but were unable to do so because the city moved ahead with the removals before Co-LEAD case workers could identify and enroll new participants.

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