Your Daily Guide

What’s the Solution to Little Saigon’s Public Safety Crisis?

Seattle City Council passed an amendment to allocate $500,000 to South End neighborhoods impacted by substance use and homelessness, particularly around Little Saigon and North Rainier. This funding would go toward hiring neighborhood outreach coordinators to “bring relief” to these areas. This is the city’s latest effort to address open-air drug use and other illegal activity in the area, after Mayor Katie Wilson announced in June that the city was cracking down on a problematic intersection in Little Saigon and promised an increased police presence and more than $1 million in city funds for outreach and treatment services. In the immediate aftermath of that announcement, residents noticed that the area seemed to clear out when the police were around, but weren’t sure if law enforcement was having any long-term impact. [South Seattle Emerald]

• How did we get here? Little Saigon has struggled with crime for years, especially since the COVID pandemic. In fact, a quarter of all Seattle police-reported, drug-related incidents earlier this year took place at the intersection of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street. “We must disrupt the drug dealing, public disorder, and other illegal activity that has destabilized this community,” the mayor said in a statement when announcing the crackdown earlier this summer.
• Meanwhile, in Little Saigon: On Sunday, the annual Celebrate Little Saigon block party took place in Hoa Mai Park. The nonprofit Friends of Little Saigon hosts this festival, and also advocates for community-owned spaces, supports small businesses, and works toward systemic solutions to the public safety issues plaguing the neighborhood.
• What do Little Saigon residents think? Last week, journalist Yuko Kodama came on the City Cast Seattle podcast to talk about how things are going for small business owners in the neighborhood. While there are only half as many Asian/Vietnamese businesses in Little Saigon as there were in the early 2000s, and it’s been especially rough for some in the last couple of years, many are hopeful for change and plan to stay in the area.

🚗 Uber to pay delivery drivers $4.4 million: After being accused of failing to consistently provide minimum payments to workers for canceled orders, Uber Eats agreed to settle with the City of Seattle. In addition to this hefty payout to more than 14,000 local workers, the company also owes the city $6,000 for allegedly violating a gig worker protection law. This isn’t the first time the city has settled with Uber Eats; last summer, the company agreed to a $15 million settlement. [Seattle Times]

🧑‍⚖️ Court hearing set over recall petition: Last week, a Seattle couple filed a civil recall charge with King County Elections to remove Mayor Katie Wilson from office. A public hearing in King County Superior Court has been scheduled for Aug. 31. At that time, a judge will determine whether the petition’s allegations meet the legal criteria for a recall, and, if so, what the next steps are before it appears on a ballot. [KOMO]

✈️ Boeing in the hot seat: The newly released Netflix documentary “Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing” tells the story of what’s happening at Boeing and its factories from the perspective of whistleblowers, especially in light of former employee and whistleblower John Barnett's death. On today’s episode of City Cast Seattle, contributor Chase Hutchinson breaks down the film, the company's recent scandals, and the latest in its union contract negotiations. [Seattle Times]

🪂 Amazon takes to the skies: The tech company is planning to expand drone delivery of small packages to 500 cities by the end of the year, up from the 11 delivery sites it currently operates. Cities on the list include Atlanta, Boise, and Cleveland — but not Seattle. This would mean that Amazon customers could receive deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes. Regulatory hurdles and noise concerns are among the potential challenges to this plan. [GeekWire]