🇵🇸 UW protestors charged

Ten Months After UW Occupation, Pro-Palestine Protestors Charged With Trespassing

Thirty-three participants in last year’s pro-Palestine occupation of a UW building were charged with first-degree criminal trespassing; 23 of those charged were UW students. The King County District Court filed the charges 10 months after SUPER UW occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB), calling for the school to sever ties with Boeing. [Seattle Times]

• Two Of The Students In Their Own Words: We interviewed two of the students involved. To hear those students in their own words, listen here 🎧They told us they chose the IEB because Boeing contributed $10 million to the building, and the U.S. government has brokered deals for Boeing to build fighter jets for the Israeli military. The night of the occupation, police officers in riot gear from Washington State Patrol, UW Police, and Seattle Police arrested 33 people. Some of the arrests led to concussions, a wrist injury requiring surgery, and nerve damage. [City Cast Seattle]
• Ten Months of Consequences: These criminal charges are the latest in a long list of consequences for the protestors. UW issued an 8-month emergency suspension for all 23 students, which led to some students being evicted from campus housing, losing on-campus jobs and healthcare, and being required to repay financial aid due to being barred from attending classes. [City Cast Seattle]
• Pressure To Crack Down From The Federal Government: After submitting a records request, students learned UW issued these suspensions the day after receiving a letter from the federal government stating it would “be reviewing all contracts and active grants between the University of Washington, its affiliates and the federal government” and that it “has the right to terminate any of those contracts.” [City Cast Seattle]
• UW Dropped Case Against Students, But Criminal Charges Persist: Arraignments for the 33 people are set for March 25. The charge carries a penalty of up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. In February, UW told City Cast Seattle that the students were part of “a group that blockaded exits and sealed emergency exits closed, posing a significant safety risk, and trapping at least one staff member inside the building for a period of time, and did considerable damage inside the building” – including four new manufacturing machines, valued at $35,000 to $120,000. [City Cast Seattle]

King County Bans Immigration Detention Facilities on Unincorporated Land 🚫

King County has issued an emergency moratorium on building or expanding new detention facilities in unincorporated King County. The measure does not apply to Seattle or other cities within the county. Introduced by County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, the emergency measure lasts for a year. The county has not received any permits for a new detention facility so far. The City of Seattle is working on passing something similar, and the City Council plans to vote on it next week. [KUOW]

Starbucks To Open New Tennessee Corporate Offices ☕

Starbucks plans to relocate some of its corporate jobs from Seattle to Tennessee when it expands operations there later this year. The company’s global headquarters is currently located in Sodo and a Starbucks spokesperson said that “Seattle remains our North America and Global Support HQ.” [Seattle Times]

Inside the Breakdown of Seattle’s Acclaimed Restaurant Sophon 🪧

Greenwood’s Sophon is one of the only Khmer restaurants in Seattle, and is frequently included on ‘best of’ lists. But behind the scenes, the restaurant struggled financially – bouncing paychecks, delivering late payments to vendors, leaving rent unpaid. This month, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries opened an investigation into the restaurant for alleged wage theft. [The Stranger]