Tag Archives: washington d.c.

With ICE concerns swirling in Seattle, mayor ‘reviewing options’ for pause of Real Time Crime Center expansion to Capitol Hill and the Central District

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Tuesday, multiple South Seattle public schools were under “shelter in place” security protocols after unconfirmed reports immigration agents were in the area to target families near the campuses.

As the Trump administration’s ICE battles are felt in Seattle, worries about how the city’s police — and their technology — respond to federal agents is a top concern at City Hall. A planned expansion of the city’s Real Time Crime Center camera system to include parts of Capitol Hill and the Central District is a key area of worry.

Despite the street disorder and public safety issues the new cameras are hoped to address, calls to put the expansion on hold have the mayor’s ear.

Mayor Katie Wilson shares the concerns and is “currently reviewing options,” the mayor’s office told CHS late Tuesday about a pause.

Wilson says she is sorting out what is possible including a proposal from Seattle City Councilmember Eddie Lin to stop the approved and funded expansion and redirect funding to help immigrant communities targeted in the Department of Homeland Security crackdown.

District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth representing Capitol Hill and the Central District where the new cameras will be located, has supported the Real Time Crime Center growth and joined Mayor Bruce Harrell last year in his push to include the area around the Central District’s Garfield High School in the expansion.

Hollingsworth said Tuesday she is “open to a conversation” about a pause but continues to support the community public safety effort that she says buoyed to Garfield area camera plan in the first place. Continue reading →

Saturday in Cal Anderson: SNAP to Action Food Drive

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As states including Washington tussle with the Trump administration over the ongoing government shutdown and emergency funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food stamps, local efforts are being rallied to help make sure Seattle food banks are well stocked.

Donating to existing food bank programs is one of the best ways to help and this weekend a group is going to make it a lot easier to support one of Seattle’s most important providers, the Rainier Valley Food Bank.

The Cascadia Democratic Action group will be in Cal Anderson Saturday for a SNAP to Action food drive in support of RVFP:

Join Cascadia Democratic Action in Seattle’s Cal Anderson park between noon and 3 pm on Saturday, Nov. 1 as as we gather food donations and facilitate online donation of funds in support of Rainier Valley Food Bank. We’ll have collection boxes available ONLY for Rainier Valley Food Bank specific requests (must be unopened): cooking oil, seasonings, soy sauce, flour, rice and pasta, infant formula, canned chicken, SPAM or tuna, and UHT (non-refrigerated) soy, rice or almond milk. Diapers and feminine hygiene products are also needed. Drop off at our station at the entrance to Cal Anderson Park at 11th and E. Howell Street.

In addition to efforts like Saturday’s drive, the most direct way to help is to make a financial donation directly to the food banks. You can find a roster of Seattle food banks here. Continue reading →

‘Full control of police practices’ — 15 years after an officer killed John T. Williams, feds lift oversight of the Seattle Police Department

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A mural dedicated to Williams was created on 11th Ave (Image: Wooster Collective)

SPD in the summer of 2020

Future Seattle generations may be surprised that 13 years of federal oversight of their city’s police force stemmed from the death of an Indigenous wood carver and not the department’s heavy handed response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

This week, the United States Department of Justice announced it has returned “full control of police practices to the City of Seattle” — Continue reading →

No Executive Order required — There is now a pedestrian island at 10th and Pike

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Don’t tell Donald Trump but the latest safety improvement for walkers, joggers, bikers, scooter riders, and drivers at one of Capitol Hill’s busiest crossings is being paid for with federal cash.

The new pedestrian island at 10th and Pike is part of 80 planned safety upgrades across Seattle under the Safe Streets for All program. The island helps protect people using the crosswalk at the busy intersection in the heart of the Pike/Pine nightlife district.

CHS reported here as Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), then-Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, touted the $25.6 million grant to Seattle under the program to help local governments carry out “Vision Zero” upgrades. By the way, to give you a little idea of how times have quickly changed, that committee is chaired by Ted Cruz these days. Continue reading →

Seattle Council considers ‘Welcoming City’ resolution in support of immigrant rights

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The City Council is set to vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution expressing Seattle’s “Welcoming City” support for immigrant rights out of its committee set up to battle against the ongoing barrage of Trump administration executive orders.

The resolution was shaped and passed by the Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Changes led by citywide Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck earlier this month. Committee members Joy Hollingsworth, Bob Kettle, Mark Solomon, and Dan Strauss joined Rinck in the unanimous vote.

The resolution recognizes that Seattle “fosters a culture and environment that makes it a vibrant, global city where immigrant and refugee residents can fully participate in and be integrated into the social, civic, and economic fabric of Seattle” and calls for the city to maintain its commitment “to welcoming and actively supporting immigrants and refugees from all nationalities, religions, and backgrounds with policies programs, and dedicated resources that foster inclusion, meaningful participation, and economic opportunity for all.” Continue reading →

Family calls on Congress to probe unsolved killing of teen at CHOP camp

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Mays Jr.

A CHS reader shared this image from the night Mays Jr. was shot and killed on 12th Ave (Image: CHS)

The father of a 16-year-old shot and killed in a slaying inside the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest is calling on Congress to probe the city’s actions five years ago and the Seattle Police Department’s investigation into the shooting that left his son mortally wounded in a bullet-riddled jeep on 12th Ave in the midst of a chaotic, dangerous night in the protest camp.

Lawyers for Antonio Mays Sr. have called on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to hold a hearing on the deadly shooting that remains unsolved by Seattle Police. Continue reading →

The FBI is reportedly looking for duo who set a Tesla on fire on Capitol Hill

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You can buy anti-Elon bumper stickers like this from Jeff Bezos

The FBI has issued an alert to owners and a joint task force involving the bureau’s counterterrorism division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles including an arson fire that damaged a 2022 Model S parked near the busy restaurants and bars of Capitol Hill’s 15th Ave E earlier this month.

“These incidents have involved arson, gunfire, and vandalism, including graffiti expressing grievances against those the perpetrators perceive to be racists, fascists, or political opponents,” the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center alert reads. “These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night.” Continue reading →

Seattle moves to protect gender-affirming and reproductive health care in the city as council committee formed to counter Trump meets for first time

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Demonstrators at the People’s March in January

Seattle’s mayor is proposing new legislation hoped “to strengthen local protections and safeguard access to gender-affirming and reproductive health care services” in the city. The legislative push comes as leaders in the nation’s most progressive cities are sorting out how to best represent their constituencies in the shadow of a second Trump administration’s vindictive threats.

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office says the proposal “reiterates and affirms the city’s stance as a welcoming and supportive place for LGBTQ+ community members” while extending existing Washington State “Shield Law” into city law, and protecting people “seeking or providing reproductive or gender-affirming care in Seattle from arrest or prosecution.”

The ordinance expressly extends the requirement to protect the provision of protected health care services to City employees and creates a local cause of action enforceable by the city, the mayor’s office says. Continue reading →

‘Save our Science’ rallies — with some of the best protest signs so far — bring fight against Trump cuts to Montlake Blvd E

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Montlake Blvd E above 520 isn’t where you might typically see a protest in Seattle but a “Save our Science” demonstration there Wednesday morning caught the city’s attention.

Workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are raising alarms over looming job cuts they say threaten critical scientific research, fisheries sustainability, and the livelihoods of coastal communities. Speaking anonymously out of fear for their jobs, employees at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Alaska Fisheries Science Center are calling attention to the far-reaching consequences of federal funding and staffing reductions.

“Many of us work at NOAA, right here, and a lot of our co-workers are being threatened with their jobs,” one worker said. These employees emphasize their role as public servants, working not just in Washington, D.C., but in communities across the country.

A stock assessment scientist explained the importance of their work: “We set annual catch limits for fisheries on the West Coast and in Alaska to make sure that we can keep catching fish sustainably.” This focus on sustainability is critical to maintaining healthy fish populations and supporting the commercial fishing industry.

Nick Tolimieri, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 8A, represents workers at NOAA’s Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Science Centers. He warns that funding and staffing cuts jeopardize their ability to deliver essential research required by laws like the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Endangered Species Act. Continue reading →

Seattle crowds protest Trump’s federal layoffs at the VA, USFS, CDC, FAA, EPA, IRS and more

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(Image: Alex Garland/CHS)

A crowd two to three thousand strong gathered around Seattle’s Federal Building Monday for a Presidents’ Day demonstration in support of federal workers caught up in the Trump administration’s ruthless attempts to shrink the government.

Some 10,000 federal workers across agencies including the CDC, FAA, EPA, and IRS have already been let go with threats of more to follow. Continue reading →