🏙️ Is downtown so back?

Is Downtown Seattle Really Bouncing Back?

It’s no secret downtown Seattle had a big summer, with 3.7 million visitors in July, beating the 2019 pre-COVID record by 12%. But, as tourist season starts to wind down, we wanted to check in on the state of downtown, so we invited Jon Scholes, President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, to talk about his hopes for the heart of the city. Here are some quotes from Scholes on key issues:

• What is the Downtown Seattle Association? ‘We were founded in 1958 to create a healthy, vibrant downtown for all…we came together when the Nordstrom family and other business civic leaders…saw a lot of investment and growth happening outside of our downtown…it made sense to form an organization that could work together and really create a tent for those who had an interest and an investment in the heart of Seattle to be able to work together, work alongside city hall, city government, and other community organizations who had similar interests.’
• Making Pike Place pedestrian-friendly: ‘I think for forever it seems the fourth rail of Seattle politics was this debate over whether there should be cars in the market or absolutely no cars. And we were just sort of stuck, and there's an unwillingness to just try and experiment and learn and to listen. And I credit the market and the Seattle Department of Transportation and others who said ‘No, let's try this and let's pilot, let's learn.’ And so I think we should continue. And I think the experimentation and what was done around the World Cup in Pioneer Square on match days created a pretty unique experience where you just kind of wander in the middle as a pedestrian. So I think experimentation in our downtown's a great thing.’
• The association’s view on CCTV cameras: ‘We've been pretty vocal as proponents and supporters of public safety cameras and…we should look to expand them in areas where we're hosting large events and where there's large gatherings. We think it's smart, modern public safety technology that is particularly important in a city where we're down several hundred officers from where we were and several hundred more than that from likely where we should be…I'm not sure there's many people in the city that aren't sitting here today, you know, wishing that we had that technology on the campus of Seattle Center so we really understood who was involved, who did what, and we didn't have a situation that we have today where a suspect or suspects are on the run.’
• For the rest of our conversation with Jon Scholes, listen or watch the full episode
• What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on the state of Seattle’s downtown? Shoot us an email at [email protected] or a voicemail/text at 206-‪880-3931‬.

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🪧 Striking workers must job hunt, says federal government: In a major change to unemployment benefits in Washington state, striking union workers must meet job search requirements to receive benefits. Previously, this requirement was waived as striking employees were considered “attached to an employer,” but the U.S. Department of Labor says that doesn’t conform to federal law. [Washington State Standard]

🏳️ Half-staff for Dolly: Washington will fly its flags half-staff until September 10 to honor the great Dolly Parton, who passed away Tuesday after a fight with cancer. Parton’s Imagination Library sends books to kids under five across the country, including in Washington, a program that was just reinstated locally after being paused due to a lack of funding. [Seattle Times]

🏠 Spokane returns to burned, potentially toxic homes: Spokane residents who had been evacuated due to the fires in August are being allowed to return to their burned homes, but the ground and area are unsafe due to toxic debris left behind from the fires. Remediation could take months or years, and fire damage across Spokane is expected to cost $1 billion. [KUOW]