The city settled a lawsuit this week after former mayor Jenny Durkan illegally deleted thousands of emails and messages
Ah, Seattle, that environmentally obsessed city where all is decorous, the sidewalks immaculately swept, the parks rigorously trimmed, proverbial for its shimmering lakes and charming rows of variegated tents housing those of no fixed abode — and recently, too, for a municipal government with much the same level of restraint as a bus being driven downhill by the Marx Brothers.
An hour down the road from Vancouver is the U.S. port city of Bellingham, Wash.
Known for its craft beer and hippie vibe, it has long held a reputation for being one of the most progressive, laid-back cities in Washington State. Over the years, it has been a reliable ally of the Democratic Party at election time.
Which is why a recent move by the city council there is somewhat shocking: a decision to authorize police to arrest people who are injecting, ingesting or inhaling drugs such as fentanyl or methamphetamine on downtown streets.
A shocking surveillance video released Monday by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office shows the moment a Walgreens security guard shot and killed an alleged shoplifter.
The footage was made public by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins as she defended her decision not to go forward with charges against security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony in the April 27 death of 24-year Banko Brown.
#BreakingNews The San Francisco District Attorney’s office has released the Walgreens Security Camera Video of the fatal shooting of Banko Brown by a security guard. pic.twitter.com/eBnBXnZJhx
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) May 15, 2023
“What the f—k happened to this place?” he asked during his set, according to SFGATE’s review of the show.
During the performance, Chappelle, 49, spoke about the homelessness problem in San Francisco, and allegedly told a story about seeing someone poop right in front of the restaurant he was about to dine at.
What it’s like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed.
In the spring of 2019, Marc Benioff surveyed his kingdom and it looked good. He stood on the top floor of the Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco, named after his company, then the largest employer in San Francisco. You could see every part of the city and out across the bay. The UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and the Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland (to which Benioff had donated $250 million). The site of a 200-bed Navigation Center for the homeless (which Benioff had defended in the face of other rich — but less rich — San Franciscans who tried to fight it off). The city looked sun-kissed and thriving from this view: the elegant Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, the surreal green of the Marin Headlands.
“It’s cool up here, right?” said Benioff. “And the vibe. Are you getting the vibe, too? There’s, like, a vibe.”
Woke lawmakers pushing to DECRIMINALIZE the camps
Shocking new images show Portland’s mounting homeless crisis as encampments take over streets and sidewalks – and fed-up residents want the city to take action.
Local authorities in Oregon are also considering calling in the National Guard to help with Portland’s homeless issue – while residents reveal they now no longer walk in certain areas because of the drug and encampment problem.
The Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee met last month for an emergency meeting to deal with the crisis – with more than 5,000 estimated homeless people in the city. According to WGME, city leaders say there are more than 100 tents in the city.
This is Toronto’s future under Chowcescu.
A town which once prided itself as being the “most hippie” in Washington has taken drastic action to outlaw drugs, after state-wide decriminalization led to spiking crime and child overdose deaths.
The proudly liberal city of 92,000 has been pushed to its limit, with the fire department responding to 223 overdoses — 2.5 calls per day — between January and April 12, according to Cascadia Daily.
If you search “San Francisco crime spike” on the internet, you will find countless stories—going back years—about how the city’s problems are no big deal or are due to forces beyond the control of its policymakers.
The problem isn’t crime, it’s crime rhetoric, they say.
But rhetoric didn’t cause a cascade of businesses to close and flee the city.
I recently wrote about how San Francisco’s policies—born of the left-wing ideology that drives the city’s leadership class—are leading directly to its woes. The City by the Bay is on a road to perdition of its own making.
This is Toronto’s future.
Hundreds of locals in one of San Francisco’s wealthiest counties have been forced to pack up their lives into RVs and trailers after being pushed out of the housing market.
Shocking photos show the ever-growing line of trucks and other vehicles along 101 Highway – which now stretches over two miles in one of the largest encampments in the country.
Cities in Marin County, where on average homes cost $1.4million, are pushing for the line along the highway to end after the number of residents living in their cars ballooned during the pandemic.
“We’ve spent more than 35 years serving customers in downtown San Francisco, building relationships with them and investing in the local community,” Nordstrom told impacted employees.
“But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
SAN FRANCISCO — Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in the rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a gritty San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a giant flagship store in a part of the city that is home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug dealing.
But the store was soon confronted head-on with many of the problems plaguing the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. They flung food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the floor, according to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many depicting scenes of mayhem.
Arguably the most beautiful big city in America looks more and more like a ghost town as San Francisco learns yet another painful real estate lesson.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that a “fire sale” on the 22-story 350 California office tower could see the $300 million building sell for as little as $60 million.
Not a good sign.
A homeowner who allegedly allowed his Portland property to be turned into a squat rife with drug use, gun fights and explosions has been revealed as a multimillionaire marijuana entrepreneur.
Aaron Mitchell brought the property in the Hazelwood district in 2020.
Jacob and Beth Adams, who live nearby, bought their neighboring home in 2017, and said they enjoyed living in the quiet district.
Drug-related deaths surged by 41% in San Francisco in the first quarter of this year – with one person dying of an accidental overdose every 10 hours, as the fentanyl crisis continues to ravage the US west coast.
San Francisco saw 200 people die of overdoses in the past three months compared to 142 in the same months a year ago, according to reports by the city’s medical examiner.
Those living on the streets were particularly hard hit – with twice as many unhoused people dying of overdoses between January and March compared to a year earlier.
A day in the life of the Left.
It was another weekend of violence and disorder in Chicago. “At least 32 shot, 8 fatally, in weekend violence across city,” read one headline on the WLS-TV news website. Another headline said, “15 arrested in connection with Loop chaos after 2 teens shot.” That story went on to report that a “large disturbance” — more accurately, a small riot — took place in the city’s downtown area. Videos of the incident showed crowds of young people jumping on cars and buses. Later, at least one person pulled out a gun.
