City faces tight deadline for Fort Lawton development

Staff Reporter

Articles by Ashley Archibald

QueenCare empowers Black women while fighing gentrification

by Ashley Archibald | June 19th, 2019

Monika Mathews opened the squat, cylindrical container, scooped out a bit of lavender-scented cream and rubbed it into my hand.

She instructed me to cup my hands near my face and breathe in… 1,2,3,4,5 … and breathe out.

The cream — not lotion, she emphasized — is meant to nourish the skin. The scent is meant to nourish the soul.

Reporter’s Notebook: RV program changes, funding affordable housing, UW heat study

by Ashley Archibald | June 19th, 2019

Your home is a hazard

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a pair of new policies that will make it easier to junk vehicle residents’ homes and prevent them from renting vehicles deemed unsafe.

The goal is to prevent vehicles — predominately recreational vehicles (RVs) — that are severely damaged or inoperable from being purchased at auction after they have been towed and returned to Seattle’s streets.

Annual Juneteenth celebration fills Pratt Park with those commemorating the end of slavery in the US

by Ashley Archibald | June 19th, 2019

The sun shone down on hundreds of community members who gathered in Pratt Park over the June 15 weekend to dance, sing and chow down on chicken sandwiches and collard greens in commemoration of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the liberation of Black Americans from the scourge of slavery.

The two-day event was a celebration of Black culture in Seattle. The Central Area Chamber of Commerce, which put on the Juneteenth event, packed the schedule of entertainers with artists and dancers.

Report: Seattle tops list of murdered and missing Indigenous women

by Ashley Archibald | June 12th, 2019

On April 22, 2012, Nicole Westbrook was shot.

According to a Seattle Times report at the time, the bullet from a passing car went through her left cheek and shattered her spine. Although doctors eventually restored her heartbeat, Westbrook’s brain had been deprived of oxygen. She died.

Westbrook was a Native woman. Her family came to Seattle from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico to say goodbye to her body. Her mother washed and braided her hair.

Reporter’s Notebook: historic venue vote, Fort Lawton advances

by Ashley Archibald | June 12th, 2019

File photo of The Showbox Theater on First Avenue.

Saving the Showbox

The Seattle City Council voted to extend protections for the Showbox Theater for another six months as they attempt to save the historic venue from demolition.

The measure passed 8-1 with Councilmember Abel Pacheco the sole no vote.

City council members initially voted to extend the historic district that protects the Pike Place Market to include the Showbox over protests from owner Roger Forbes who sued the city claiming $40 million in damages.

The fight over the fate of the Showbox has been deeply divisive.

Life, Death and Dignity: Solace in a trying time

by Ashley Archibald | June 5th, 2019

Part 3 of 3

As Robert Fuller lay dying, he knew he was not alone.

His husband, Reese, stood by his head, crying into a pink towel. They’d been married that morning. A soprano sang over the mezzo piano melody of a violin, soft, but enough to fill the small, crowded room. Those closest to him laid their hands on his arms, torso, thighs and shins.

Reporter’s notebook: Count us out

by Ashley Archibald | June 5th, 2019

The geographic location and composition of King County’s unsheltered homeless population has changed compared to 2018, according to a new report released by All Home King County.

Life, Death and Dignity: Learning how to die

by Ashley Archibald | May 29th, 2019

Part 2 of 3

When Robert Fuller decided to die, it was a choice informed by personal experience.

Fuller, 75, suffered from terminal cancer. He started feeling sick in July 2018. By September, a CT scan found a tumor growing under his tongue. The news didn’t surprise him.

“I knew it was there,” Fuller said in April. “I could smell it.”

Reporter’s Notebook: jail deaths, abortion protests

by Ashley Archibald | May 29th, 2019

People die in WA jails

A new report from Columbia Legal Services found that 210 people died in Washington state jails between 2005 and 2016, most within just days of booking.

A review of files from records from the 59 county, local and joint-jurisdictional jails found that the ages of death ranged from 18 to 82. The average age of death was 40.

More than 72 percent of deaths occurred within 14 days of incarceration, most within the first week they were in jail.

City faces tight deadline for Fort Lawton development

by Ashley Archibald | May 29th, 2019

The city is pushing forward on its plan to develop 238 affordable housing units on a former military base adjacent to Discovery Park in an effort to meet the January deadline set by the federal government for the transfer of the property.

City officials have been trying to develop the Fort Lawton site for more than a decade but hit a delay when the Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council successfully sued in 2008 to force the city to undergo an environmental review for the project.