by Heidi Groover
Last year, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole and Mayor Ed Murray Ed Murray touted the 9 1/2 block strategy as a way of reducing crime downtown. City of Seattle
Did Mayor Ed Murray's 9 1/2 Block Strategy Work? A Seattle Times analysis of crime data shows mixed results for the controversial strategy to crack down on drug crime in the downtown core. While reports decreased in the targeted area, they increased in surrounding areas, like First Hill, Belltown, and the Chinatown International District. Some say that means the so-called "9 1/2 block strategy" just pushed crime elsewhere. Others say it's a sign that crime is on the upswing citywide and the targeted area in downtown was an exception because of the increased enforcement.
Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Protesters with Dogs: As protesters attempted to stop bulldozers working on the pipeline over the weekend, security for the pipeline company attacked protesters with dogs and tear gas. If constructed, the pipeline would carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others are protesting, arguing the pipeline threatens culturally significant sites and their water supply.
Democracy Now's video of the confrontation is gut-wrenching:
"Water is life," one protester who traveled from the Pine Ridge Reservation and was maced and bit by a dog told Democracy Now. "Without water, we wouldn't be here... I wish they'd open their eyes and have a heart to realize if this happens we're not gonna be the only ones [who] are gonna suffer. They're gonna suffer too."
The Stranger's Sydney Brownstone is on the ground in North Dakota now. Follow her here.
Washington State University Student Reports She Was Raped at Fraternity: Police say an 18-year-old reported she was given alcohol and raped at the Delta Upsilon fraternity and a 17-year-old said she was given alcohol and became sick, the Associated Press reports.
Is the City's P-Patch Program Defending Homeless Encampment Sweeps? Erica C. Barnett has an email from the supervisor of the Department of Neighborhoods gardening program calling attention to a proposal to limit sweeps of homeless people living outside. While DON hasn't officially taken a position on the proposal, the P-Patch email warns it would make it "more difficult for the city to address various issues as it relates to unauthorized encampments."
More Fuck Ups for the City's New Utilities Billing System: The system has been delayed and gone significantly over budget. Now, it has finally launched, but a glitch gave thousands of customers access to other customers' information.
If You Saw Smoke in West Seattle Yesterday: A barge of shipping containers on the Duwamish caught fire yesterday because of rotting garbage inside one of the containers, KOMO reports.
Lawsuit Alleges Postal Service Ignored Complaints About Letter Carrier's Sexual Assault and Harassment: "According to the lawsuit, USPS received complaints from at least a dozen women about letter carrier Robert J. Taitano," KING 5 reports. "According to the suit, in spite of complaints that Taitano grabbed women, entered homes and made sexual comments, USPS kept him on a mail route." The suit was filed by a woman who said she found Taitano in her home in 2014.
"Tame Impala are stadium-psych-rock band we deserve," writes Dave Segal. "I mean that in the most ambivalent way possible." Josh Bis
What You Missed at Bumbershoot: Dave Segal on the good, the just OK, and the totally overrated.
Remember that Professor Who Was Fired from the University of Missouri after Trying to Remove a Photojournalist from a Protest? Gonzaga has now hired her for a one-year position in the school's communications department.
Motorcycle Racer Killed at State Fair: The Seattle Times reports that the racer, traveling at about 97 miles per hour, overshot the track during a race at The Evergreen State Fair.
The State Is Back in Court Over Education Funding: On Wednesday, lawyers for the state will once again face lawyers representing parents, school districts, and education groups before the state supreme court. At issue: whether the state is doing enough to increase education funding. The News Tribune explains the stakes.
Costco Opposes City Scheduling Law: The retailer won't support a proposed new law requiring large companies to offer workers more advance notice of their schedules and pay extra for last-minute changes to their schedules
Hillary Clinton Coughing Is News, Apparently: And not just to Breitbart. Jesus Christ.
Phyllis Schlafly Is Dead: Schlafly fought feminism, abortion access, and the Equal Rights Amendment. She was 92.
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