Clarification: Counting Kent’s homeless shelters

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Articles by Amy Roe

PUMPING LEAD

By Amy Roe | July 28, 2016

ACLU investigative journalist Curt Guyette exposed the Flint water crisis

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan hired veteran investigative reporter Curt Guyette to document the impact of the state’s controversial emergency manager law, which takes away the power of locally elected officials and allows a state appointee to take complete control of financially troubled school districts and cities.

In the course of reporting on the law, Guyette identified one of its most egregious outcomes: the story of how Flint residents ended up paying top dollar for toxic water that poisoned them and their children. ...

A patient at the Union Gospel Mission’s dental clinic

It’s like pulling teeth

By Travis Bassett and Amy Roe | June 18, 2014

Thousands of people in Washington who are too poor to afford dental care are now covered for it, thanks to the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

But there’s a catch: Many are struggling to find a dentist who will treat them.

Two recent changes to eligibility for government-funded dental insurance have created a “torrent of demand in the system right ...

Walking after midnight

By Amy Roe | April 10, 2013

Missing the last Number 24 bus to Magnolia means a steep hike over the Magnolia bridge, a much-repaired 1929 structure that seems to shudder with each passing car.

“It’s a long, long trudge; it takes about a half hour to get up that bridge,” Magnolia resident James McIntosh said.

At midnight on April 6, about 50 people, including King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, walked the narrow sidewalk as a way to drive home their point: Metro’s looming budget cuts will hurt the most vulnerable people. ...

Study shines new light on King County’s ‘food deserts’

By Amy Roe | November 21, 2012

In the 1990s, social scientists in the United Kingdom began using the term “food desert” to describe communities where people had a hard time getting access to fresh, healthy food.

Food deserts have since become a hot topic among public health officials in the U.S.. And, according to a map created by the USDA, there are few food deserts in our state.

Really?

“You look at the food desert [map] in Washington state, you have to laugh a little bit,” said Anne Vernez Moudon, professor of urban design and planning at the University of Washington. ...

Parks to homeless: Plug in somewhere else

By Amy Roe | August 8, 2012

Seattle Parks Department workers have covered up or otherwise disabled electrical outlets in Occidental Park and elsewhere so that they can’t be used by the public to charge laptops and cellphones.

“Our electrical outlets are for park use,” not for people to power their devices, said Seattle Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter.

“People were plugging stuff in and leaving it for a long time,” she said. ...

College gives gendered bathrooms a rest

By Amy Roe | June 13, 2012

Five pairs of restrooms were declared gender neutral last week for Gender Neutral Bathrooms Week at Green River Community College in Auburn.

The temporary change was to create an inclusive community for people who do not conform to the gender models of male and female, as well as those with a caregiver of a different gender, Shaan Wade, the event’s student organizer, said.

Wade, who got the idea for the event from a conference, said the campus community seemed to be taking it in stride. ...

A messge from Real Change Editor Amy Roe

By Amy Roe | May 2, 2012

FOR PDF OF SPECIAL PULLOUT SECTION FOR SPRING FUND DRIVE, CLICK ON LINK BELOW

20120502-Spring-Fund-Drive.pdf

I'm writing this on a Wednesday, the day the new issue of Real Change comes out and therefore my favorite day of the week. ...

Tax day protest takes aim at Amazon

By Amy Roe | April 18, 2012

On April 17 -- the day tax returns are due -- activists around the nation protested corporations for not paying their fair share in taxes.

Seattle-based Amazon was among them. The online retailer paid an effective federal income tax rate of only 5.5 percent, instead of the corporate tax rate of 35 percent, according to organizers with Working Washington, a group affiliated with the labor union Service Employees International Union (SEIU). ...

Don’t let the privatizers drive the bus

By Amy Roe | April 4, 2012

Activists will "occupy" Seattle buses and bus stops April 4 as part of an Occupy National Day of Action for Transit.

The Seattle Transit Riders Union, Occupy Seattle, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 will be protesting in solidarity with transit activists and unions around the nation.

Their message is, "no privatization, no service cuts, no fare hikes, and no excuses," said Katie Wilson, a coordinator with the Seattle Transit Riders Union. ...