Category Archives: General

Everything that’s not something else

Preventable Tragedies

Updated September 25, 2018 ~ This is a list of recent (last 5 years) deaths and injuries that can be reasonably attributed to the inaction of the Seattle City Council on the homelessness crisis. The victims include both housed and unhoused … Continue reading

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Charade: Homeless camps and the abuse of public process

September 8, 2018 ~ The biggest gripe a citizen can have is that their government doesn’t listen to them, and that gripe has never been more on-point than when it comes to transients and drug addicts camping in Seattle parks … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, General, Homelessness, Nickelsville, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Letter from the ‘hood: No more homeless camps here, please!

August 11, 2018 ~ Camp Second Chance is a sprawling cluster of tents and shacks located on Myers Way South, in the Highland Park neighborhood of southwest Seattle, just inside the Seattle city line. The camp popped up in the summer … Continue reading

Posted in General, Homelessness, Squatters | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Banned on Facebook: Sex in the Cemetery

June 9, 2018 ~ The note and photos below document criminal activity. They were sent to us by Ari Hoffman, a Jewish man who has been fighting a years-long battle against the desecration of the Bikur Cholim cemetery in Seattle, where … Continue reading

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We the Living

June 9, 2018 ~ (Originally published on the Safe Seattle Facebook page) We’ve been talking with SODO business owner Ari Hoffman about his efforts to get the city to keep the area around the Bikur Cholim Jewish cemetery clean of … Continue reading

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The Seattle Head Tax: What we’ve been missing

June 3, 2018 ~ Everyone’s talking about the Head Tax, about how much money it would raise, about how the money will be spent (or misspent), about how it might affect business… Almost no one’s talking about who it was … Continue reading

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There Was a Crooked Trail

May 18, 2018 ~ The closer you look at the way bike lanes and trails are being put in around Seattle, the more disturbing the picture looks. I know what you’re thinking: Bike lanes? Disturbing? Come on, Quixotic. Lighten up.–No really. … Continue reading

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No Excuses: How Seattle’s activist judges endanger our citizens

May 13, 2018 ~ In a landmark court case last March, King County superior court judge Catherine Shaffer cited an obscure provision of Washington’s Homestead Act to rule that cities can’t impound vehicles or “excessively fine” their owners when those owners are living … Continue reading

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The Swindle Cycle

February 4, 2018 ~ I have a friend, “Joe,” whose mind zips along at a hundred miles an hour. He’s always analyzing city politics and connecting the dots. On a typical day, he’ll send me a dozen e-mails with various insights … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, General, Homelessness, Politics | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Taking Care of (Homeless) Business

Campaign finance laws and the Homeless Industrial Complex  January 12, 2017  Seattle perceives itself as a national leader in the effort to get money out of politics. Initiative 122, approved by voters in 2015, tried to attack the problem in … Continue reading

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Back to the Middle: Post-election Analysis of the Seattle 2017 Races

November 10, 2017  The following factors had the most influence on the Seattle races, in descending order of importance… ● Low voter turnout ● Low-info voting ● The media ● Labor unions ● National politics ● Local politics ● Money … Continue reading

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Recalling Mike O’Brien: The Basics

November 14, 2017  The right to recall an elected official is a constitutional right of the people set forth in our constitution. The procedure is governed by statute. A “typewritten charge” needs to be submitted and it has to allege … Continue reading

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The Ins and Outs of Recall Elections

November 12, 2017 This article is the first in a series of posts related to removing Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien from office. A recall election is one option we have for ridding ourselves of bad politicians. Recall elections are difficult … Continue reading

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Ethics Evasion Commission

November 7, 2017  The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission enforces the Seattle Code of Ethics, which was designed to keep Seattle government honest by applying fines and other penalties to elected officials, candidates, and city employees who violated the rules … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Democracy Voucher program, General | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Democracy Slouchers ~ Part 4: Where was Lorena?

October 1, 2017 ~ News of my complaint to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission on Lorena Gonzalez made the Seattle Weekly. Good on them. One correction to their story: Weekly writer Dan Person noted correctly that I was a candidate … Continue reading

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The New Witch Hunters

September 28, 2017  In the 1950s, Senator Joe McCarthy’s “House Un-American Activities Committee” hung like a noose around the liberal establishment’s neck, ready to draw tight at a witness’s refusal to name his associates in the Communist Party. Initially McCarthy went … Continue reading

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Democracy Slouchers ~ Part 3: What’s left of the Dream?

September 8, 2017 ~ Remember when the Democracy Voucher Program was proposed? It was supposed to get big money out of politics and get grassroots candidates in. We’re now six months into our first election with the vouchers and where are … Continue reading

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Democracy Slouchers ~ Part 1: “Honest” Elections

July 4, 2017 ~ I-122, the “Honest Elections” initiative (aka the Democracy Voucher Program) was supposed to get money and corporate influence out of Seattle politics. It looked great on paper. The PROBLEM: “Wealthy special interests have too much power in … Continue reading

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Ghostwriter

June 5, 2017 What would you think if you discovered automobile executives had written a bill on auto safety and handed it to your senator to sponsor? And what if you learned those same executives had penned pro-industry letters to the … Continue reading

Posted in General, Homelessness, Squatters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Puff Piece

April 29, 2017 In my years of trying to bring the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) to justice, I have been repeatedly frustrated by their slick public relations operation. Here’s an organization that engages in a number of deceptive or dishonest … Continue reading

Posted in General, Homelessness, Nickelsville, Tent City | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Call Me Reverend

April 11, 2017 Call Me Reverend:The Bill Kirlin-Hackett Story Mr. Mild The first impression one gets of the Reverend Bill Kirlin-Hackett is of someone we’d expect to find singing kum-ba-ya around the campfire or handing out coffee and hugs at a 12-step … Continue reading

Posted in General, Homelessness, Politics, SHARE | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Margin Dwellers

April 4, 2017 A word of advice to aspiring reporters: Don’t ever volunteer for the poverty beat. It’ll tear the heart out of you. Meet Jennifer Allison (on the left). She’s the manager at the Georgian Motel on Aurora Ave N. … Continue reading

Posted in General, Homelessness, Nickelsville, Politics, Stories | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Encampment Complaints: A suspicious pattern

March 23, 2017 The document in the link below was produced by Seattle’s Customer Service Bureau (CSB) in response to a public disclosure request from Safe Seattle. The document shows how many citizen complaints the City got in a six-week … Continue reading

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The Thin Veneer

March 13, 2017 In my time, I’ve been in some pretty bad places. Figuratively and literally. I was raised in an affluent home, but as a young man, I traveled to an embattled Third World country because I wanted to … Continue reading

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The tarnished halo of Rob Ferguson

March 12, 2017 Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is exulting in his successful court challenge to President Trump’s immigration ban. Ferguson obviously cares about immigrant rights, but has he been as diligent in protecting people who already live here? What … Continue reading

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Beyond the Pale: A neighbor’s view of the Ballard Locks homeless camp

March 10, 2017 The Ballard Locks (also known as Hiram M. Chittenden Locks) are a system of mechanically controlled channels that allow watercraft to travel between the inland waterways of Seattle (Lake Washington, Lake Union, the Ship Canal) and Puget … Continue reading

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Hello this is my daughter…

March 6, 2017 Seen in a Portland shop window in August 2017. It may have been there for some time, given the reference to winter clothes: HOMELESS IN DWNTWN PORTLAND Please help my ill daughter Hello this is my daughter … Continue reading

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Brandie Bright and Dark

February 13, 2017 Oh the irony! Seems that one of the ACLU’s two homeless plaintiffs – a woman who is crying foul over City crews removing her stuff from public land without due notice – is apparently quite the little thief … Continue reading

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ACLU vs. the People

*** TBQ Readers, your help is needed. Please read to the end to find out how you can help make us all safer. *** We were cautiously optimistic when we learned that the Mayor was moving ahead to clear dangerous … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, General, Homelessness, Politics, Squatters | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Great Enablers

January 12, 2017 Quick: What do you call a Detox Center, without the “De-” part? You’d call it a Tox Center, of course. And that’s just what it would be: a place where addicts could keep poisoning their bodies, free … Continue reading

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