Dramatic reversal in count numbers raises questions

Staff Reporter

Articles by Ashley Archibald

Life, Death and Dignity: Robert Fuller planned every detail of his wedding — and his death soon after

by Ashley Archibald | May 22nd, 2019

Part one of a three part special report

Reese Baxter-Fuller puts a ring on his new husband Robert Baxter-Fuller’s hand during their wedding ceremony in their apartment. Photo by Wes Sauer

For the last hours of his 75 years on Earth, Robert Fuller was married to a man who he loved.

“I anoint you,” said Nancy Rebecca, a nurse, clairvoyant and sometime wedding officiant, “Mr. Robert and Mr. Reese Baxter-Fuller.”

Reporter’s Notebook: Yes in my backyard

by Ashley Archibald | May 22nd, 2019

YIMBYs rejoice — the city of Seattle is one step closer to saying yes to letting you build in your backyard.

Deputy Hearing Examiner Barbara Dykes Ehrlichman decided that the city’s investigation into the environmental impacts of attached (ADU) and detached accessory dwelling units (DADU) was sufficient, putting to rest an appeal brought by the Queen Anne Community Council in October of 2018.

Medical Examiner Report: Homeless community deaths up nearly 15 percent

by Ashley Archibald | May 22nd, 2019

The number of deaths of people presumed homeless investigated by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office jumped by nearly 15 percent to 194 in 2018, marking the fourth consecutive year that the number has grown.

Thirty-eight percent of the deaths were due to natural causes such as cardiovascular or respiratory illness, slightly more than the 32 percent of deaths attributed to drug overdoses.

Health One promises smarter, faster crisis response in downtown core

by Ashley Archibald | May 15th, 2019

Come the fall, Seattle will launch a new mobile response unit in the downtown area to care for people suffering from behavioral health issues, substance abuse disorders and other chronic health conditions in order to cut down on calls to emergency services.

The Health One team will include firefighters and social workers, and will respond to calls that are considered “low- acuity,” meaning they require less intensive care.

Reporter’s Notebook: affordable housing investment, hate crimes up, shifting the poverty line

by Ashley Archibald | May 15th, 2019

Cooperation makes it happen

Seattle will invest nearly $5 million to fund an affordable housing cooperative in south Seattle.

The project, located at Othello Square on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, will include small-business assistance and affordable commercial space as well as market-rate and affordable homes. There will be 68 affordable units.

The goal of the development is to prevent displacement and help people build familial wealth, according to a press release.

Remembering Robert Sawyer: A gold miner and history buff who preferred his coffee blonde

by Ashley Archibald | May 8th, 2019

Robert Sawyer became a Real Change vendor in 2002.

Real Change vendor Robert Sawyer died from bladder cancer on Sunday, April 28. He was 73.

Sawyer became a Real Change vendor in 2002 after a life spent mining gold in various places including the Snoqualmie Pass and as a member of the Air Force. Gold mining was both his job and his hobby until the work dried up and he found Real Change.

He sold the paper near the Safeway grocery store near 23rd Avenue and East Madison Street.

Remembering Sharon Jones: Big dreams, faith and community are what inspired ’Ms. Real Change’

by Ashley Archibald | May 8th, 2019

Real Change vendor Sharon Jones was passionate about the Seattle Seahawks. Photo by Jon Williams.

If you ever inquired how Sharon Jones was doing, the response would almost invariably be the same.

The slight woman, often wearing a beanie and a white Real Change T-shirt, would fix her warm eyes on you, smile a slow smile and say, “Blessed and well.”

Jones passed away at age 66 on Sunday, April 28. Her passing has left a hole in the Real Change community.

Homeless polling highlights compassion

by Ashley Archibald | May 8th, 2019

Despite skewed perceptions, most are willing to pay for solutions

Homeless advocates are unifying around a series of talking points in an attempt to shift the conversation around homelessness in Seattle.

A “Messaging and Tools” document informed by a poll of Seattle and King County residents conducted in April that showed that many locals have inaccurate perceptions about who is homeless in the region and why, but that many want to embrace compassionate solutions.

Reporter’s Notebook: May Day, new life for Lichton Springs

by Ashley Archibald | May 8th, 2019

May Day, and no riots

Another May Day has come and gone peacefully in Seattle, a city that gained a bit of a reputation for sometimes-destructive acts and law enforcement’s hard crackdowns on previous markings of the workers’ day.

The march, organized by El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition, began at Judkins Park at 1 p.m. and meandered down to Capitol Hill, through the downtown, circled around the Amazon Spheres then onto Seventh and Stewart where it ended with a rally at the federal courthouse. Marchers were championing immigrants’ and workers’ rights.

Dramatic reversal in count numbers raises questions

by Ashley Archibald | May 8th, 2019

For the first time in seven years, the number of people tallied in King County’s annual point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness dropped, and no one is precisely sure why.

The decreases were dramatic — the total count went down by 8 percent overall, from 12,112 to 11,199, with the largest change in the number of people sleeping unsheltered — 17 percent. The count of people sleeping in shelters went up by 3 percent.