Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty

Archives

Burien Strengthens Public Camping Ordinance

Jonathan Choe
March 5, 2024
In a 5-2 vote Monday evening, the Burien City Council strengthened it’s public camping ordinance. Homeless now have to stay 500 ft away from libraries, schools, daycares, parks, and other “critical areas.” It goes into effect immediately. Mayor Kevin Schilling-Yes Deputy Mayor Stephanie Mora-Yes CM Jimmy Matta-Yes CM Alex Andrade-Yes CM Linda Akey-Yes CM Hugo Garcia-No CM Sarah Moore-No During Monday’s night’s Burien council meeting, I noticed several homeless guys making tons of noise in the bathroom. When I went inside, I saw a bowl of Cheerios and drug paraphernalia scattered across the sink area. Then I realized it was Austin, a young man I encountered last year. SPIRITUAL WARFARE: I've seen a lot in my day …

Human Feces Lines International District Sidewalks Before Mayor’s Lighting Celebration

Jonathan Choe
February 15, 2024
New Lights, Same Problems New lights, same problems in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. Thursday evening, Mayor Bruce Harrell will be at Hing Hay Park to celebrate the installation of new canopy and cafe lighting fixtures. But you can still see the obvious signs of drug addiction, mental illness, and homelessness everywhere. And the area around DESC’s Navigation Center homeless shelter continues to attract an inordinate amount of crime to Little Saigon. Serious question, is there any other community of color in this city that deals with such a high concentration of these problems? And will CM Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) show up to offer …

“Shamed for listening to our voters,” Kenmore Deputy Mayor Responds to Criticism

Jonathan Choe
February 14, 2024
Breaking Kenmore Deputy Mayor Melanie O’Cain just blasted WA Governor Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and state Democrats after they apparently criticized her city for blocking Plymouth Housing from setting up shop in downtown. Sources also say Governor Inslee verbally dressed down the progressive wing of the Kenmore council for failing to carry out his will on “affordable housing.” “Listening to our community and being shamed by our County Executive, and our Governor, and members of the Democratic party throughout our region is really galling.” -Deputy Mayor Melanie O’Cain O’Cain went on to say community input was crucial for Democracy and emphasized the importance of due diligence before making a decision. Kenmore …

Controversial Homelessness Nonprofit Asks Burien for More Funding

Jonathan Choe
February 6, 2024
Burien Leaders Stunned Late Monday evening, Mayor Kevin Schilling, Deputy Mayor Stephanie Mora, CM Linda Akey, and CM Alex Andrade saw the tent protest for the first time outside City Hall. Mora and Akey say former Burien City Councilmember Cydney Moore is using the homeless as political pawns after her failed venture trying to run the temporary encampment behind Oasis Home Church. She’s also being called out for orchestrating this stunt from the comfort of her living room. I have never seen someone’s reputation and credibility get smashed in such a short amount of time. Moore will likely never work again in this region’s homeless space. They’re Back After leaving during the day, the homeless have set up tents again in downtown Burien for the …

Governor Candidate Semi Bird Reacts to Seattle’s Fentanyl Crisis

Jonathan Choe
January 24, 2024
Top Priorities Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird (@bird4governor) says he’s moving away from failed “housing first” and “harm reduction” policies if he wins in WA. Recently, I walked with him through encampments in Seattle and watched as he collaborated with several faith based outreach groups in the city. Bird is an evangelical Christian. I also got a preview of some of his top priorities which includes mobilizing the National Guard to build drug addiction and mental health treatment facilities outside busy urban cores. Bird has skin in the game after losing his nephew to a drug overdose and says he will intervene and require treatment for addicts living on the streets. As for his competition, Bird is already taking shots at Attorney …

SODO Encampment Back After Continuous Sweeps

Jonathan Choe
January 24, 2024
SODO Today Out of all the encampments across Seattle, this one near 3rd Ave & Holgate St could be the most frustrating one for biz owners. I have watched this place get cleared close to a dozen times now. Lots of tax payer dollars wasted. But it keeps on coming back. The most recent sweep happened leading up to the MLB All-Star game back in July. It looked impeccable. But one by one, all the tents and RV’s started coming back. Once again, sweeping is not the issue. The city will probably do that again. However, nothing is being done to get in front of these situations before spiraling out of control. This is the epitome of whack a mole. Funny thing is, the spots with brand new concrete eco-blocks have zero RV’s and tents. That is the only thing that’s proven …