🏙️ Mayor plans 12th & Jackson strategy

Mayor Wilson Announces New Strategy for 12th & Jackson

Last week, Mayor Katie Wilson issued a statement that began with “we’re taking a new approach to 12th & Jackson.” This approach includes additional police presence, but also additional social services. [Seattle.gov]

• “We will no longer tolerate open-air drug use and vending stolen goods”: Wilson says they are expanding police presence in the area to engage with people who are participating in these behaviors. If it continues, they will be booked into jail or enrolled in the LEAD diversion program.
• “We know we can’t arrest our way out of these problems”: Wilson also announced just over a million in funding to support services in the neighborhood, including mobile overdose treatment, prevention teams, and support for businesses and more.
• Community support: Local organizations and community figures like Friends of Little Saigon, Councilmember Eddie Lin, and others offered support for this plan. To quote Lin, “It should be easier to get healthcare, housing, and treatment than it is to get illegal drugs.”
• Criticism of the city: In April, the Seattle Times ran a piece about business in the neighborhood, and quoted Asian Plaza Owner Dennis Chin, who argued in a lawsuit that the city wants “to concentrate the problem in an immigrant minority community in order to reduce the problem in other areas of the city.”
• Today on the podcast: Jane speaks with Marcus Harrison Green and producer Liam Billingham about the history of 12th and Jackson, what Wilson’s announcement says in light of similar actions on Aurora Avenue, and how systemic issues can be addressed by the city.

🏢 Unemployment numbers stuck: Despite the addition of 10,000 new jobs in May, WA state’s unemployment rate has stayed at 5.2%, the same as in April. That’s higher than the national unemployment rate, which was 4.3% last month. If you’re among the locals represented in that number, it should come as no surprise that this is “an increasingly challenging labor market for job seekers.” [Washington State Standard]

🏙️ Businesses still want to call Seattle home: Despite concerns that downtown is in decline, lots of businesses want to be here, including the AI companies that have rented more than 292,000 square feet of office space in the Puget Sound area. They include new AI companies like Yoodli, but also bigger players like OpenAI and Anthropic. “This is a place to make money for investors,” said one recent transplant. [Seattle Times]

🗳️ Democrats endorse newcomer: With the summer primary coming up on August 4, local races are heating up. This week, the 43rd District Democrats endorsed Hannah Sabio-Howell, a labor leader running on a "Tax the Rich" platform, over incumbent State Sen. Jamie Pedersen. Pederson is a 20-year veteran and current Senate Majority Leader. [Capitol Hill Seattle]