Tag Archives: Dow Constantine

News

King County Unveils Plans to Shut Down CFJC Youth Detention Center and Seattle Jail by 2025, Activists Demand Closure Now

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by Elizabeth Turnbull

King County Executive Dow Constantine released a tweet on Tuesday, July 21, committing King County to converting all remaining youth detention units at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) to new uses by 2025 and to closing the Seattle jail. Activists welcomed the news but called for immediate changes.

“Phasing out centralized youth detention is no longer a goal in the far distance,” Constantine wrote in a tweet pertaining to the announcement. “We have made extraordinary progress and we have evolved to believe that even more can be done.” Continue reading King County Unveils Plans to Shut Down CFJC Youth Detention Center and Seattle Jail by 2025, Activists Demand Closure Now →

News

King County Officially Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis

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by Emerald Staff

Today, King County and Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) officially declared that racism is a public health crisis. 

In a statement, King County Executive Dow Constantine committed the County and its public health authority to implementing a racially equitable response to racism, centering on community.

Continue reading King County Officially Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis →
News

UW Medicine Demands Elected Officials Declare Racism and Police Violence a Public Health Issue

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by Elizabeth Turnbull

Healthcare professionals and protestors marched from Harborview Medical Center to Seattle City Hall at 9:30 a.m. yesterday to protest racial violence and demand Washington elected officials declare racism a public health issue.

“We have to not just accept progress, but demand change!” said Dr. Estell J. Williams, Assistant Professor of General Surgery and Executive Director of the Doctor For A Day outreach program through the UW School of Medicine and one of the individuals who spearheaded the march. Continue reading UW Medicine Demands Elected Officials Declare Racism and Police Violence a Public Health Issue →

News

As County Opens More Non-Congregate Shelter to Prevent Spread of COVID-19, City Plans to Remove Two More Encampments

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by Erica C. Barnett

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

Nearly two years after King County first announced that it planned to open a modular shelter for people experiencing homelessness on county-owned property in Interbay, the project is almost ready to open for a new purpose: Providing non-congregate shelter for between 45 and 50 homeless men over 55 from the St. Martin de Porres shelter, run by Catholic Community Services. The modular buildings, which are essentially trailers with windows, fans, and high-walled cubicles to provide privacy and protection from disease transmission between the four men who will share each unit, were originally supposed to be dorm-style shelters housing up to eight people on beds or cots.

Continue reading As County Opens More Non-Congregate Shelter to Prevent Spread of COVID-19, City Plans to Remove Two More Encampments →
Voices

Protestors Won’t Stop Fighting King County’s New Multi-Million Dollar Youth Jail

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by Sharon H Chang

When Seattle’s new $242 million youth jail opened Tuesday, the third week of Black History Month, there were already Black and Brown children locked inside. King Country authorities had transferred incarcerated youth from the old facility next door six days earlier. And though Tuesday was a beautiful winter day, the youth could not see the clear skies or enjoy the sunshine outside. The updated jail may be new, but the children’s cells are still small and sterile, windowless and lonely–and still cages. Continue reading Protestors Won’t Stop Fighting King County’s New Multi-Million Dollar Youth Jail →

Community

Mercy Housing’s New Transit-Oriented Complex Already At Capacity

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by Kelsey Hamlin

Near the Link light rail’s Othello Station, a passerby can easily spot a new red and grey apartment building called Othello Plaza, seemingly compatible with the other developments directly surrounding it.

However, Othello Plaza is considered affordable, received over 2,000 applications and only accepted approximately 100. Othello Plaza is now full, containing 53 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedrooms. Continue reading Mercy Housing’s New Transit-Oriented Complex Already At Capacity →

News

County Finally Moves to Topple Concrete Mountain

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words and photos by Alex Garland

A tiny community center conference room was packed to the brim Tuesday morning to hear Dow Constantine provide remarks on the removal and clean-up of West Hill’s man-made mountain. It’s known by West Hill residents as “Mt. Anderson,” and it has been the source of suffering for nearby residents for over 30 years. Continue reading County Finally Moves to Topple Concrete Mountain →

Column

Health Services Desert: West Hill’s Public Health Crisis

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Words by Anne Althauser (Photos by Matt Mills McKnight)

It’s 7:15am on a Monday morning and I need to get downtown by 8am for a meeting at Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC). I’m weighing my transportation options as I check the weather: 35 minutes walking, 15 minutes by bike, or 25 minutes by bus. Overcast with a low chance of rain, I opt for a nice brisk walk on this Seattle fall morning. As I leave my apartment on Capitol Hill, within 2 blocks of my front door I pass the bus stop, a QFC grocery store, a Walgreen’s pharmacy, yoga and dance studies, and a handful of cafes and coffee shops. Just 5 blocks away I walk past Group Health Capitol Hill Campus, where if I needed, I could visit an emergency room, family doctor, pharmacy, or any one of the 30 or so specialists on campus. I continue walking. Continue reading Health Services Desert: West Hill’s Public Health Crisis →