Following a push in mid-May to clear The Jungle encampments of all residents, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Murray has announced yesterday that the city will not evict the roughly 100 people still living there after all. The Seattle Times reports the city will still clean up the area, but will not force the remaining residents to leave. “It is not physically or financially possible to fully clean out the entire greenbelt, and the mayor is not directing the police department to order people to leave,” spokesman Jeff Reading said. “The goal is to minimize the total number of people living in the greenbelt, and the city will continue to perform extensive outreach for the health and safety of those who choose to remain.” Around 250 people have already left The Jungle since the efforts to close it down, according to a status report from the Seattle Human Services Department, and 31 people have either returned or just moved into the area.
"Seattle mayor says he won't evict people still living in Jungle," Seattle Times.
Equal Rights Washington, an LGBTQ community organization, believes that Just Want Privacy — the Washington group pushing a ballot measure about school bathrooms and locker rooms — is getting support from a national anti-LGBTQ group and keeping quiet about it. As The Stranger reports, Equal Rights Washington filed a complaint with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) alleging that Just Want Privacy is failing to disclose receiving help from the Family Research Council, an organization that’s been called extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, as well as financial contributions from the Family Policy Institute of Washington. Just Want Privacy has posted about receiving help from the Family Research Council on its Facebook page, but this is so far absent from its own filings with the PDC, Equal Rights Washington notes. The campaign chair for Just Want Privacy told The Stranger his group were looking over the allegations but they are sure the claims aren't accurate.
"Is Just Want Privacy hiding help from a national extremist organization?" the Stranger.
The Seattle Police Department has found that officers acted reasonably according to department policy in the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old African American man named Che Taylor on February 21 this year, the Seattle Times reports. Taylor was shot in Wedgwood neighborhood after officers were attempting to arrest him, and believed he was reaching into his car for a gun. A full report on the internal investigation has not yet been released. Taylor’s brother and other family members dispute that the shooting was necessary. They are working to change Washington’s laws regarding charging police officers in shootings, which are some of the most protective of officer conduct in the country.
"Review finds Seattle police shooting of Che Taylor fell within department policy," Seattle Times.
