curated by Emerald Staff
by Ari Robin McKenna
When Seattle Public Schools’ (SPS) mass COVID-19 screening flagged seven of their coworkers last Monday, Kimball Elementary School staff knew they were in for a week. A tight-knit group who has a strong relationship with their Parents, Teachers, and Students Association (PTSA), Kimball’s staff braced themselves.
As the week progressed, Kimball — in Southeast Seattle and serving 75% students of color — was without one Instructional Assistant (IA) after another, as well as multiple teachers and an administrator. By the end of the week, Kimball was short six IAs. School staffs across Seattle have been worn down by factors including a national substitute teacher shortage, the challenges teaching students returning to in-person school after a such long break, and unrealistic pressure to “catch up.” Yet while the entire system is in crisis, throughout last week, Kimball staff approached its actual breaking point.
Kimball Music Teacher and Seattle Education Association (SEA) Union Rep KT Raschko, described staffs’ still-determined ethos in the hallways of the Van Asselt building, where Kimball is housed while its new building is constructed:
Continue reading Why School Was Cancelled at Kimball Elementary for the Past Three Dayscurated by Emerald Staff
by Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
The Emerald has received an email that appears to show that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) distributed false information about the Proud Boys moving through Seattle internally among various City departments on the evening of June 8, 2020.
The email from Seattle Public Utilities’ (SPU) Emergency Manager Chad Buechler, timestamped at 6:39 p.m. on the evening the lie was perpetrated, states that “I was asked by the [Seattle Office of Emergency Management] EOC director (Kenneth Neafcy) and Seattle Police for this information not to be distributed further than for operational needs,” and goes on to list the following (emphasis by the Emerald): “SPD is preparing for a possible counter protest at Volunteer Park that could lead to significant volatility in the area. Intelligence reports that the Proud Boys group may be active in the area.”
Continue reading BREAKING: Email Reveals Even City Officials Fell Victim to 2020 Proud Boys Hoaxby Agueda Pacheco Flores
The Seattle Globalist was a daily online publication that covered the connections between local and global issues in Seattle. The Emerald is keeping alive its legacy of highlighting our city’s diverse voices by regularly publishing and re-publishing stories aligned with the Globalist’s mission.
Jeri Moomaw doesn’t hesitate to say she’s a survivor of child sex trafficking. At 19 years old, she escaped her trafficker but was then faced with a new life where she had little to no support. Now, as the executive director at Innovation Human Trafficking Collaborative, she dedicates her life to advocating for survivors of human trafficking.
Continue reading Washington State Joins National Effort as Part of Human Trafficking Awareness Monthby Ben Adlin
Expanded voting rights, limits on disposable plastic utensils, and increased access to attorneys for young people questioned by police were among the changes to state law that took effect with the new year. While most laws passed during the last legislative session took effect in July, a number of notable changes didn’t take place until 2022.
Other newly effective laws include a ban on the use of Indigenous names and symbols for most school mascots or logos, the establishment of a new capital gains tax, and planned increases to the minimum wage both in Washington and the City of Seattle.
Here are some of the biggest new changes to Washington State law:
Continue reading New State Laws for 2022 Expand Voting Rights, Create Capital Gains Tax, and Moreby Carolyn Bick
The Emerald’s Watchdragon reporting seeks to increase accountability within our city’s institutions through in-depth investigative journalism.
In early December 2021, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington announced that several cooperating law enforcement agencies had arrested a man suspected of taking part in a plot to burn down the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) during the 2020 Labor Day protest.
The man, Justin Christopher Moore, is the person the Emerald refers to as “Tan Gloves” in this story about the 2020 Labor Day protest in front of SPOG. The complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Seattle on Nov. 23, 2021, confirms not only what the Emerald laid out for readers in that story — specifically that Moore was never at any point during the protest targeted for arrest — but also provides new details about the events of that day.
Continue reading Renton Man’s Arrest Further Belies OPA’s Version of Labor Day 2020 Eventsby Sally James
The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) warned the public on Jan. 6 that rising cases of COVID-19, as well as staff shortages due to illness, are challenging the ability to provide care.
The group held a media event via livestream on Jan. 6. Later the same day, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) held a separate press event and explained how millions of home-testing kits for COVID-19 will be distributed beginning late next week.
Continue reading Hospitals, Medical Orgs Warn of Rising Crisis; Officials Promise Masks, Home COVID Testsby Ben Adlin
After working for more than 30 years for Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods, Ron Angeles understood the importance of community ties. But he worked in West Seattle while living in Rainier Beach, and after retiring, he wanted to get to know his neighbors.
The first thing that came to mind was the Seattle Police Department’s Block Watch program, under which residents are supposed to alert law enforcement to suspicious activity. “I wanted to do something a little bit more positive,” Angeles said. “Block Watch — you know, crime — it’s kind of negative.”
So he got in touch with Cindi Barker, a West Seattle–based emergency preparedness organizer he knew from his old job, and launched an emergency communications hub instead.
Continue reading After a Disaster, South Seattle Will Be on Its Own — Emergency Hubs Are Here to Helpcurated by Emerald Staff
