by Luna Reyna
After over an hour of public comment, the Seattle City Council voted, 6 in favor, 3 opposed, to pass legislation that many argue is a regressive and harmful step back to the war on drugs era, while others claim it will help mitigate officer bias and improve access to substance use disorder care.
Continue reading Seattle City Council Passes Controversial Street Drug Legislation Amid Concerns Over Punishment Versus Treatment Optionsby Luna Reyna
On March 3, 2020, Manuel Ellis was pronounced dead while in police custody. After the Pierce County Medical Examiner determined Ellis’ death was a homicide, three Tacoma police officers who had been involved in detaining Ellis, Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins, and Timothy Rankine, were charged with Ellis’ murder. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday, Sept. 18.
Continue reading Activists Demand Accountability as Trial Starts for Tacoma Police Officers Charged in the Homicide of Manuel Ellisby Luna Reyna
In May, Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) acknowledged the impact on youth mental health of social isolation due to remote learning and gun violence and responded to Seattle students’ demands for mental health services with the creation of the Student Mental Health Supports Pilot. In collaboration with schools, students, community organizations, Seattle Public Schools (SPS), and Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC), DEEL selected five pilot schools to receive $125,000 each to implement services through August 2023. Now, up to four additional schools can apply for funding for the fall 2023 school year.
Continue reading Student Demands for Mental Health Services Are Being Met With New Investmentsby Luna Reyna
Seattle’s Indigenous Advisory Council presented its first strategic plan in the City Council’s Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee in July. The Indigenous Advisory Council was created by an ordinance sponsored by Council President Debora Juarez in 2021. Juarez commented that other than the liaison in the mayor’s office on the executive side, there were limited channels for Indigenous engagement on the legislative side.
“I merely wanted to create the body on the legislative side so my colleagues have a place to go from an Indigenous group that understands Indian country, and understands the political relationship between tribes and governments, the government-to-government (relationship), ” Juarez said at the Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee meeting. “It is not racial. It is political because we have treaties and a land base.”
Continue reading Beyond Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Advisory Council Hopes to Create Tangible Change in Seattleby Luna Reyna
Music, laughter, the aroma of good food, and a generally cheerful and familial lightheartedness usually emanate from the parking lot when Marty Jackson, executive director of SE Network SafetyNet Program, and her team at Boys & Girls Clubs of King County are in the Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot. “We want people to come in, we want people to come here and be able to decompress. We want you to feel loved in this space,” Jackson said.
Continue reading SE Network SafetyNet Responds to the Recent Shooting at Rainier Beach Safewayby Luna Reyna
Tuesday evening, the Seattle City Council Public Safety and Human Services Committee held the only public hearing where community members could give input on the upcoming Seattle Police Management Association (SPMA) contract before closed-door negotiations.
Continue reading Public Hearing on Seattle Police Union Contract Considered a ‘Sham’ by Some, Progress by Othersby Luna Reyna
Mayor Bruce Harrell announced new efforts this week to address the impacts of fentanyl and other illegal drugs on Seattle residents and businesses in hopes that including financial investments on drug treatment and overdose response will win the approval of the City Council, which rejected a similar bill in June.
Continue reading Mayor Proposes New Plan for Approval of City Council to Stem Street Drug Useby Luna Reyna
On Sunday, July 30, as many as 120 Indigenous, First Nation, and Alaska Native canoe families made the journey from their homelands across the ancestral highways of the sea, just as their ancestors had since time immemorial, to gather at Alki Beach. Many elders were scattered across the beach in their lounge chairs with their toes in the sand, smiling out at the water, welcoming each canoe family as the canoes rowed in. Large families sat together under the sun, with the kids playing in the sand or banging on their drums. Each canoe family cheered as they got closer to the beach, celebrating their long journey. They lined up next to one another, waiting to ask permission to come ashore to share the medicine of songs and dances of healing with this year’s host tribe, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.
Continue reading Paddle to Muckleshoot: A Celebratory and Ceremonial Healing Experienceby Luna Reyna
Seattle summer is at its peak this month, and with local music and food festivals, Seafair, beach days, and major league baseball and basketball games to attend, an Aug. 1 primary election is not top of mind for most people. Unfortunately, that doesn’t bode well for the key races in the South End.
Continue reading Primary Elections in the South End Will Impact the Everyday Lives of South Seattle’s Residentsby Luna Reyna
In 2018 the University of Washington Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) began collecting data on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights with the assistance of Yakima Immigrant Response Network. These flights, also called ICE Air, were once carried out by the U.S. Marshals. Today, they are carried out by private businesses through private deportation contracts for ICE that are worth millions. According to Phil Neff, project coordinator for the UWCHR, the data revealed that nearly 600 people transferred to Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in June 2021 — the most transfers from ICE Air to the facility since June 2014. With these transfers came the transmission of COVID-19, resulting in the worst outbreak of the virus the facility has ever seen.
According to the Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health, an outbreak is considered two cases within 14 days of each other. NWIPC reported 32 cases in under 14 days. According to ICE reports, each new case was a transfer from the southern border. “My understanding is that most of them are asylum seekers …” Neff explained. “Under human rights terms, asylum seekers shouldn’t be indefinitely detained.” This number has only increased since June. At least 150 people, including nine guards and one medical personnel, have tested positive.
Continue reading COVID-19 Outbreak at ICE Detention Center Continues
