The Stranger is reporting on a very good cause: providing some housing for a man made homeless by the March 9 natural gas explosion in Greenwood. Hal Miller, a 60-year-old who lives on disability, has been camping in Discovery Park for nearly a week after money from emergency support ran out. A reader who saw an earlier report from the Stranger has set up a GoFundMe page to help Miller until his apartment is repaired (possibly next month) but the effort is off to a slow start. But that can be changed, right?
"The Greenwood explosion left this man homeless. Our readers are trying to change that," The Stranger.
Just as everyone was heading off to the long holiday weekend, Mayor Ed Murray announced that he would not reappoint the head of the Seattle Police Department's internal oversight office. As Crosscut's David Kroman pointed out, it appeared to be the classic political move of announcing something controversial when it would receive the least attention. Now, though, the mayor is defending himself in detail, giving the Seattle Times a lengthy, rather thoughtful interview in which he basically says, How was I to know that the police union would do a victory dance on social media about the removal of Pierce Murphy, the director of the Office of Professional Accountability? Well, hmm, that sure did blow away any idea of keeping the move against Murphy low profile. Murray promises that, once any new arrangements for oversight are established, Murphy would be a strong candidate. And Murphy remains in office on an interim basis.
"Mayor defends not extending police watchdog appointment: 'I'm not in limbo land,' " Seattle Times.
