March 15 was one of the hardest days of my professional life. That was the day Governor Jay Inslee announced expanded limitations on large gatherings and closures of certain small businesses to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Immediately after his order came down, my email inbox and social media channels were flooded with messages from terrified King County residents. I heard from restaurant owners saying the restaurants they had operated for generations were in jeopardy; barber shop and beauty salon owners wondering how they could continue paying their commercial rent; Uber drivers facing imminent financial demise.
The lone media report about the Jan. 16 shooting that broke the chill, silent night along Renton Avenue South and South Kenyon Street is brief: “Several shots were fired across a South Seattle neighborhood Thursday night and police are still searching for the gunman.”
The shooting came just six days after the Seattle Police Department released its annual gun violence report, which showed an increase in gun violence throughout Seattle, and in five neighborhoods, in particular. Three of those five neighborhoods –– New Holly, Rainier Beach, and North Beacon Hill –– are located in South Seattle. Continue reading Morales, Zahilay Take Part in Community Dialogue Addressing South End Gun Violence→
Girmay Zahilay, the King County Council’s newest member, chose to be sworn into office on Sunday evening at Franklin High School, a place close to his heart. It was a place where Zahilay, born in Sudan to Ethiopian refugees and raised in the South End, found himself and found community. Continue reading Girmay Zahilay Sworn in as Newest County Councilmember at Franklin High School→
The South Seattle Emerald met with candidates running for King County Council’s District 2 seat. District 2 spans from the University of Washington to Skyway and encompasses the Central District and Southeast Seattle. Incumbent Councilmember Larry Gossett has run largely unopposed for years, but this race faces newcomer Girmay Zahilay, who led the race in the August Primary. These interviews invite the candidates to talk about their campaigns in their own words. Today, we speak with Larry Gossett.
The South Seattle Emerald met with candidates running for King County Council’s District 2 seat. District 2 spans from the University of Washington to Skyway and encompasses the Central District and Southeast Seattle. Incumbent Councilmember Larry Gossett has run largely unopposed for years, but this race faces newcomer Girmay Zahilay, who led the race in the August Primary. These interviews invite the candidates to talk about their campaigns in their own words. Today, we speak with Girmay Zahilay. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
King County Elections has already received more than 30,000 ballots, but there are still five more days to vote before the results are tallied on Aug. 6. The results will determine which candidates move forward into the general election, most notably in the packed races for Seattle City Council seats representing seven geographic districts around the city.
On stark display Thursday night at Dimmitt Middle School in Skyway was the generational, and in turn experiential, divide between a septuagenarian incumbent who has been in office nearly a quarter century and his insurgent challenger for the District 2 seat on the Metropolitan King County Council.
