0/10, would not recommend: Some community members told the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) board that they’re failing at their jobs in a meeting yesterday afternoon, KOMO reports. The authority planned the meeting to give community members a chance to offer feedback for KCRHA’s $13 billion five-year plan, but the attendees also complained about an encampment in Wallingford where a man was shot and killed late last month. One parent said, “If the authority cannot resolve this encampment with any urgency given $50 million, how can you expect the public to support you with $13 billion?”

Dones will “resolve” the encampment: KCRHA CEO Marc Dones acknowledged the safety concerns and said they’re working seven days a week in preparation to “resolve” the site. Update: In an earlier version of this blurb I said “resolve” is usually code for a sweep unless the County has a bunch of open tiny shelters (which they rarely do) and can hand out referrals in advance (which is difficult because shelter is prioritized for the sweep-of-the-day, according to social workers). A KCHRA spokesperson said that explanation conflated "sweeps" with "resolutions," a process they say ticks the boxes I mentioned. The spokesperson said a "resolution" means everyone gets housing, and that the State Legislature “requires emphasis” on permanent housing, so the Wallingford encampment resolution will take as long as it takes to get everyone in housing.

I cannot help myself: KOMO embedded a poll in the story about the KCRHA public meeting. The poll asked “When should officials be required to clear a homeless encampment immediately?” When I checked this morning, 68% said after violence, fire, or health concerns and 10% said when there’s enough shelter for everyone at the site. 

Hmmm. Curious: According to the Seattle Police Department 2022 Crime Report, Lincoln Towing cracked the top five for most police responses in a given location, a whopping 448. The owner of Lincoln Towing blames a nearby encampment, alleging residents have damaged his fence and even pointed a gun at a clerk. What KOMO did not include in this article is that Lincoln Towing is the City’s go-to company for impounding RVs during sweeps, so Lincoln Towing’s conflict with unhoused people is far from one-sided.  

No comment: I’m asking all the City Council Members how they’ll vote on I-135, House Our Neighbor’s initiative to establish a public development authority that would put Seattle on a path to social housing. The council’s opinion matters because—if the initiative passes—it will take their political will to fund the authority and make it actually functional. So far, only one Council Member told me they won’t comment: Council Member Sara Nelson.

What is Nelson saying by not saying anything? The most charitable read is that Nelson doesn’t want to risk breaking any ethics rules by responding, though other council members have responded. Another interpretation is that she doesn’t want the council to sway voters—she made a similar argument when Council Member Andrew Lewis proposed putting Ranked-Choice Voting on the ballot along with Approval Voting. Or maybe she just doesn’t want the progressives to use her bad take as a powerful anti-endorsement. Who knows! She didn’t explain. 

Street car, baby! According to the Seattle Times, a new audit is mad at Seattle for sitting on grant money that is meant to extend the street car. Read the story and think of D3 council candidate Alex Hudson, an urbanist who named the streetcar extension as one of her top priorities. 

Someone check on Tim Eyman: Yesterday the Washington state Senate voted to repeal advisory votes, which are meaningless conservative push-polls that clutter the ballot with misleading information about bills that the Legislature passes. In 2008, Tim Eyman backed the initiative to create them. Senate Republicans said that these votes give Washingtonians the chance to “weigh in on taxes that were passed by the Legislature without their direct approval.” They also argued that advisory votes are “often the only time voters hear of a new tax." To replace the "educational" aspect of advisory votes, the bill would require the state to set up and run a website to explain government spending. Nothing's final yet. The bill still needs approval from the State House. 

Nothing For Us Without Us: Rep. Darya Farivar doesn’t want the state to leave marginalized people out of task forces that could directly impact their lives. 

Day In Day Out announced its lineup: Jas thinks the festival presents "an even balance of acts both millennials and Zoomers will want to flock to." Read all about it here. 

ACAB: New records show that the cop who pulled Tyre Nichols out of his vehicle and pepper-sprayed him before Memphis police officers beat him to death took photos of the victim and sent them to at least five people. 

Turkey-Syria earthquake: The death toll continues to climb after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday. Nearly 20,000 people have died, and it's becoming less and less likely that anyone still trapped in the rubble will survive. As one expert said, "The survival ratio on average within 24 hours is 74%, after 72 hours it is 22% and by the fifth day it is 6%."

I’m begging you to stop being weird about what people eat: I am not one to defend Nancy Pelosi, but we really have to stop caring about what other people eat. Just say your mom gave you an eating disorder and let Pelosi eat her daily hot dog with mustard and relish for lunch.

Hiring: Come write for The Stranger! We’re hiring a criminal justice reporter to hold the Seattle Police Department and the City Attorney accountable (this person will also need to be my friend and laugh at my jokes in pitch meetings, following in the footsteps of Will Casey). If that’s not your thing, then you can still work for us! The Stranger is also hiring a social media manager, and our sister paper, the Portland Mercury, wants a new reporter, too! 

Why is this Glee performance all TikTok can think about?