Free Republic

SEATTLE — If you stand between Second Avenue and Bell and Blanchard streets, you can glimpse Seattle’s rock 'n' roll past. The area was home to the Crocodile Cafe and Mama’s Mexican Kitchen. Today, a daytime open-air drug market and a sidewalk encampment have taken shape nearby, with several business owners saying they are afraid to speak on the record about what they described as a recent trend. Wilson also said the city is working on neighborhood-based public safety plans. She named Belltown among neighborhoods with persistent safety concerns and said long-term progress requires addressing root causes as well as...

Seattle has long been a hotbed of crime under Democrat rule, but things have gotten so bad recently that business leaders are publicly demanding change. Seattle has long been a hotbed of crime, open-air drug use, and other antisocial behaviors thanks to the city’s left-wing governance. But things have gotten shockingly worse in recent months following the election of socialist Mayor Katie Wilson last year – so bad, in fact, that major businesses are now publicly pressuring the government to do something about the city’s descent into lawlessness and chaos. On September 10, more than 30 major Seattle companies, including...

The slippery-slope is nearing the bottom now. The City of Seattle wants to keep employers, businesses, and private citizens from discriminating against people who like to sleep around and/or identify as an infinite list of genders. .... Notice how "male and female" has now been struck from the municipal code altogether. The law will "recognize genders outside the gender binary, recognize pansexuality and asexuality as orientations, and include consensual relationships with multiple partners as an element of attitudes, preferences, and practices pertaining to sexual orientation." This idea of normalizing multiple partners is a growing movement on the Left. ... It's...

A 21-year-old man barely survived after he was shot three times during an encounter with a ‘street takeover’ in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood last weekend. Matthew Lanske and his friends had just finished dinner in Belltown when they were confronted by a group of armed thugs participating in a ‘street takeover.’ Lanske was shot twice in the stomach and a third time in the pelvis during an attempted robbery as he heroically tried to protect his friend, who tragically died. After being shot three times, Lanske walked two blocks looking for help. Bystanders filmed him rather than calling 911 for help....

SEATTLE - Seattle small business owners say they are exhausted and running on empty as they struggle to stay afloat in an increasingly expensive city. While local entrepreneurs grapple with thin profit margins and mounting tax pressures, city leaders are attempting to offer a path forward.Business owners seek reliefWhat's next: For neighborhood shop owners, daily operations require making tough calls just to survive."I can't even keep track of all the taxes, but it's crippling," Thompson said.

A teachers' union has been given a harsh reality check by Seattle's new superintendent after threatening to delay the start of the academic year with a strike. Ben Shuldiner castigated the Seattle Education Association (SEA)'s threat to walk out unless a 12 percent pay increase was authorized by revealing the huge salaries that public school teachers in the city already earn. The majority take home $142,584 per year, according to a letter Shuldiner sent to parents on Sunday. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) teachers are paid a base salary of $118,000 for 180 days' work, plus an additional $3,298 for five...

Some things never seem to change. The Mercatus Institute recently released a study about American moving trends, and the overall gist isn’t surprising: those in blue states are still picking up and heading to red ones.States like New York, ranked number one for outbound movers, have long counted their own people as their number one export. Electing socialists like Zohran Mamdani, who are hostile to businesses and taxpayers, probably doesn’t help.According to Mercatus, the number one destination for relocating Americans is the proudly Republican state of Idaho. And as Chris Cargill writes, “Washington was Idaho’s single largest source of newcomers,...

SEATTLE — A 44-year-old citizen of Mexico who federal prosecutors say is illegally in the United States is now in federal custody in Seattle after being charged with returning to the U.S. following removal, a case that authorities say follows years of arrests tied to DUI-related offenses and more recent allegations including rape. Isidro Ocampo-Cayetano appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Wednesday for the federal charge, according to an announcement from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Prosecutors say Ocampo-Cayetano was arrested and removed from the United States five times between 2007 and 2013, with most of...

Very informative video of the mayor's approval ratings. At 37% it is a historic low for a mayor at the stage of the term.

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved an amendment to its budget on Wednesday that would reallocate $300,000 to fund resources for members of the trans community from across the country who wish to move to Seattle. A leading Seattle Democrat argued for the amendment, claiming there is an “ongoing crisis and displacement of queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people.” “This amendment responds to the ongoing crisis and displacement of queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people that are seeking refuge from hostile jurisdictions from across the country,” Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said at the Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee...

There’s been a real mess brewing in the city of Seattle, and things have just about reached a fever pitch. Criminal activity has reached an all-time high within the city, thanks to an inept Mayor, Katie Wilson, who can’t seem to figure out how to benefit her police department more. But then came a terrifying act – a mass shooting during the Bite of Seattle food event – on Sunday evening that has managed to leave three dead and a toddler wounded. The police have acted quickly enough to apprehend a suspect, but they are still investigating the matter. But...

Saturday on MSNOW’s “Connect,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said President Donald Trump intends to kick “all” naturalized citizens out of the country.

Washington state Democrat Krista Perez, who is running for a state House seat, was seen on police video admitting to drinking wine, declining field sobriety tests and begging to go home before praying and crying in the back of a patrol car after her DUI arrest. Perez finished first in last month’s primary in the 29th Legislative District, Position 1, and will face incumbent state Rep. Melanie Morgan, also a Democrat, in November, as the top two candidates advance to the general. Tacoma Police said Perez’s 2019 Chevrolet Silverado allegedly struck a parked car on South G Street shortly after...

William Tolliver, one of three men involved in a 2020 mass shooting in downtown Seattle, has been released. The Washington State Department of Corrections confirmed to KIRO Newsradio that Tolliver was released this week. In January of 2020, Tolliver and two other men got into a gunfight near 3rd Ave. and Pine St. that was sparked by a Facebook post insulting a friend of Tolliver’s. Tanya Jackson, a 50-year-old woman, was killed, and seven others were hurt, including a 9-year-old boy who was shot in the femur while walking with his family after a visit to the Pacific Science Center....

SEATTLE—Like New York, this West Coast city narrowly elected a Democratic socialist as mayor last year. On the campaign trail, Katie Wilson pitched an ambitious agenda: lower costs, tax the wealthy and build thousands of shelter units for the homeless. Then came reality. In recent days, the mayor stunned allies and observers alike by proposing a city budget with no new taxes, scaled-back pledges and nearly $50 million in cuts across various departments—all while boosting spending for police officers. The small-c conservative proposal bears little resemblance to the rent freezes, city-run grocery pilots and luxury second-home taxes emerging from Mayor...

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal questioned the competence of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson during the confusion over the news conference after the July 26 Bite of Seattle triple-fatal shooting, new records The Center Square obtained Thursday show. At 10:12 p.m., Jayapal messaged Gov. Bob Ferguson, writing “I’m wondering if we should be there at all. I don’t think she knows what she is doing.” The city's response to the shooting and getting timely information out to the media and public has haunted Wilson's administration, resulting in her requesting the resignation of the police chief and apologizing for a lack of quick...

A hearing on the merits of a recall petition filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is scheduled for Aug. 31 in King County Superior Court as a new poll showed a majority of voters want her to leave office. The 9 a.m hearing before Judge Patrick Oishi was scheduled Wednesday after the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reviewed the petition by a North Seattle couple, Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud, and forwarded it to the Superior Court. The Prosecuting Attorney's Office review is the first step in the review process.

Recall charges have been filed against Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, beginning a legal review that must be completed before supporters can begin gathering signatures to try to force a recall election. King County Elections received the charges Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to a stamp on the filing. The charges accuse Wilson of failing to adequately address public safety concerns in several Seattle neighborhoods and criticize her handling of police leadership and the city's surveillance camera system. Recall charges filed against Mayor Katie Wilson amid Bite of Seattle shooting controversy | 3:18 KOMO News | 415K subscribers | 435,698 views |...

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes was relieved of his duties Wednesday night by Mayor Katie Wilson, five different sources tell FOX 13 Seattle. According to sources, Barnes began texting individuals Wednesday night discussing his dismissal. Barnes had been scheduled to conduct 1-on-1 interviews with Seattle media Wednesday afternoon, but those interviews were abruptly canceled. At 6:30 p.m., he appeared at a silent vigil for victims of the Bite of Seattle shooting. He left abruptly, and sources tell FOX 13 he had a meeting with the mayor after the vigil, which is when he was asked to resign. The backstory: On...

Back in April, Seattle’s socialist Mayor Katie Wilson laughed at the idea of millionaires fleeing the city over the prospect of new and higher taxes.In fact, so many of them have moved there in recent months that the nonprofit community in the city, which offers various services, is completely overwhelmed.She is seemingly unconcerned about the fact that downtown Seattle is becoming a ghost town with tons of unoccupied commercial space. On the other hand, she is probably overjoyed that transgender people are migrating to Seattle in huge numbers.“Though trans people make up just 1 percent of the population in Washington...