City Councilmember Sawant faces scant recall fueled by process

Real Change
The womb is a collective underworld

by Kamna Shastri | September 30th, 2020

Hanako O’Leary’s art dares viewers to question life, death and femininity

The womb is a place of birth and death, holding incredible power to create and destroy. But rarely, if ever, does society want to embrace this truth, instead policing the choices and opportunities available to womxn and womb-carrying individuals. Artist Hanako O’Leary is fearless and bold in her meditation on the possibilities of the womb, feminism and “the underworld” — themes she explores through three-dimensional clay and mixed-medium sculptural work.
Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
’We must be courageous in demands for investment in making our communities whole’

by Ann-Derrick Gaillot | September 30th, 2020

Since her election to the US House of Representatives, Omar has made a name for herself as a key progressive in American politics, while facing xenophobic, racist and sexist vitriol from the right. As a leader in affordable housing reform and loyalist of the Green New Deal, she answered questions from the International Network of Street Papers.

Over the course of her first term in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar has been a fierce advocate for the nation’s vast working class. And her pushes for progressive reforms have been arguably most urgent and forward-thinking when it comes to the country’s ever-growing housing crisis. Back in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic was first beginning to push American social systems to their breaking points, Omar proposed what some deemed a too-radical piece of legislation calling for the waiving of rent and mortgage payments until the pandemic is over.
Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
Study indicates spreading out of shelter residents helped save lives early on

by Ashley Archibald | September 30th, 2020

When you check into a traditional homeless shelter, you’re likely to encounter one of two scenarios: mat-on-the-floor, where people stretch out for the night on thin mats, tightly bunched together, or the bunk-bed configuration.
Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
Homes for the homeless | Say her name

by Ashley Archibald | September 30th, 2020

Homes for the homeless

King County Executive Dow Constantine unveiled the 2021-2022 budget proposal that includes $400 million to create housing for chronically homeless individuals, funded by a new sales tax.
Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
Seattle Council holds firm on budget rebalancing

by Ashley Archibald | September 30th, 2020

The City Council voted to override a mayoral veto for the second time in less than two months, moving forward with their 2020 budget revision that includes what proponents characterize as “modest” cuts to the Seattle Police Department.
Read more in the Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
To heal, ’God had to strip me down’

by Kamna Shastri | September 23rd, 2020

Vendor of the Year Darrell Wrenn shares his life story and the importance of healing

Darrell Wrenn was voted one of our Vendors of the Year. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, he moved to Seattle from Philadelphia in 2014. Darrell’s usual post is at the Issaquah PCC. He says, “Besides PCC having the best hot bar on the West Coast, the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life have been here.”

In his free time, Darrell enjoys music, reading and watching politically inspired news and TV series.
Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
’If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love anybody else’

by Lee Nacozy | September 23rd, 2020

Vendor of the Year Janice Dampier: A faithful soothsayer and humorist

Janice Dampier conveys wisdom so easily that you may not be ready for it and will wish you had a tape recorder. Gratefully, I knew this, because I’ve gotten to talk to Janice before. I downloaded high-tech audio software to interview her once she was named Vendor of the Year. When the interview started, I pressed “record” and told her I was excited.

She chuckled and said, “I’m a cool person. I like to talk. I have nothing to hide about myself.”
Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
City is starting property transfers to resident organizations

by Ashley Archibald | September 23rd, 2020

It took more than a decade, but it finally happened.

The Seattle City Council is poised to approve the transfer of former Fire Station 23 to Byrd Barr Place, a social services organization that has been operating in the Central District for more than 50 years.

The matter appeared before councilmembers in the Finance & Neighborhood Committee on Sept. 15, where Byrd Barr Place Executive Director Andrea Caupain could speak to the issue.

“It was surreal, presenting in that moment,” Caupain said. “Holy cow — this thing is really moving forward.”
Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
Lowering the Barr

by Ashley Archibald | September 23rd, 2020

U.S. Attorney General William Barr asked federal prosecutors to explore whether or not they could levy charges against Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for “allowing a police-free protest zone” in June, according to explosive reporting by The New York Times.

According to The Times, Barr also told prosecutors that they should consider sedition charges for people who had committed violent crime at protests or participated in riots.
Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.
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Real Change
City Councilmember Sawant faces scant recall fueled by process

by Ashley Archibald | September 23rd, 2020

A Superior Court judge ruled that a recall effort against Councilmember Kshama Sawant could move forward, making her the second elected official in Seattle to face recall in two months.

In his decision, presiding Judge Jim Rogers found that the four claims against Sawant had the “legal and factual sufficiency” to move forward. Ernest Lou, a Seattle voter who is spearheading the effort to recall the councilmember, dropped the two other charges against Sawant.
Read more in the Sept. 23-29, 2020 issue.
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