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Editor

Ashley Archibald was the editor of Real Change through July 14, 2023, after working as a staff reporter for the newspaper for several years. She left to become a communication specialist for Purpose. Dignity. Action., previously known as Seattle’s Public Defender Association. Real Change is proud to know this talented person.

Articles by Ashley Archibald

Exhibit including colorful cloth swatches connected to network of thin wooden poles, against backdrop of green trees and light-blue city buildings on sunny day

Modeling a new housing method, with thoughtful design

By Ashley Archibald | August 31, 2022

On a clear day looking out from the park at the southern end of South Lake Union with its low, arching water feature and the gleaming former naval warehouse that is now the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), you’ll see the impressions of the Cascades, made hazy by their deceptive distance. ...

Free rides | Debt slashed

By Ashley Archibald | August 31, 2022

Free rides

Young people will be able to ride boats, buses, rails and more across the state of Washington for free when the Free Youth Transit pass debuts on Sept. 1.

Young riders will be able to use student ORCA cards, student IDs or just themselves to get many places. By 2023, youth will be able to use their smartphones or a special sticker affixed to their student IDs, according to the county. ...

Pennies and couch cushions | Records retention | Native clinic opens | Tax dollars at work

By Ashley Archibald | August 24, 2022

Pennies and couch cushions

Seattle’s economic forecast shows stormy weather going into the 2022 budget season, but Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda hopes that revenue from the JumpStart tax that she championed will protect key city services against a rainy day.

The city has been grappling with an impending budget gap, a situation that has only gotten worse as inflation spiked to its highest level in decades, outpacing key revenue sources such as property taxes. Property taxes are legally constrained in how quickly they can rise each year. ...

White man in glasses, wearing white goatee, beard, and cap stands outside a building

Remembering Ole Sorensen, Feb. 16, 1965–June 24, 2022

By Ashley Archibald | August 17, 2022

Ole Sorensen, a Real Change vendor since 2015, died on June 24. He was 57.

Sorensen was born in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, on Feb. 16, 1965. He lived there until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to Spain and then to the United States. Sorensen attended Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Ynez, a small town near Santa Barbara in the heart of Southern California’s wine country. He later attended Santa Barbara City College, where he studied graphic design. ...

Large crowd of people at a fairground dotted by vendor tents

Different time, same station: Trans Pride prepares for September celebration

By Ashley Archibald | August 17, 2022

Organizers of Trans Pride Seattle are sounding the alarm about the event, which is struggling to raise funds with just weeks to go.

In an Aug. 9 email to supporters, Gender Justice League — the nonprofit that puts on Trans Pride — announced that it had raised about 25 percent of the amount that it needs to put on the Sept. 2 event. Organizers aimed to bring in $40,000. ...

Investing in health | Missing money

By Ashley Archibald | August 17, 2022

Investing in health

Local government leaders announced a new partnership aimed at increasing the availability of behavioral health services in Seattle and King County in an effort to address a dearth of immediate support; a lack of long-term, inpatient beds; and long wait times.

The new coalition — composed of labor representatives, behavioral health professionals and government officials — will develop a policy proposal to go with King County Executive Dow Constantine’s fall budget that will strengthen the behavioral health system in the region. ...

Poster-style art depicting fat white man with money bag for a head plucking up a house while below him, a row of four tents bear signs reading, "Where Do We Go?"

Power, dignity and artistic expression

By Ashley Archibald | August 10, 2022

Paul Boden, the executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), has been fighting the same fight around sweeps of people experiencing homelessness for nearly 40 years. He’s got the video to prove it.

A media team put together clips of a progressively older — but just as salty — Boden in 10-year intervals going back to the early 1980s saying, as he puts it, “the exact same shit about sweeps.” ...

Unfriendly skies | No place like home | This so-called life on Earth | They’re waiting... | #TheFinalFlight

By Ashley Archibald | August 10, 2022

Unfriendly skies

The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Black Muslim immigrant men who claim they were removed from an Alaska Airlines flight in 2020 after another passenger complained that one of the men was texting in Arabic. ...

Wide-angle photo of park in Pioneer Square, Seattle on a misty gray day

Ownership and closure of City Hall Park sparks debate and concern among community activists

By Ashley Archibald | August 10, 2022

Community members called on a Seattle City Council committee to discard or modify a proposal to transfer ownership of City Hall Park to King County, a move that county officials have been formally pushing since the end of 2021.

The city and county executives reached a notional agreement to swap ownership of City Hall Park — which is currently held by the city of Seattle — to King County in exchange for 13 disconnected parcels spread throughout the city. ...