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Ashley Archibald was the editor of Real Change through July 2023, and is now a communication specialist for Purpose. Dignity. Action.

Articles by Ashley Archibald

Power of the pen | Get them gone

By Ashley Archibald | June 15, 2022

Power of the pen

At the beginning of June, the city of Seattle announced that it would have to refund or cancel nearly 200,000 parking tickets because of a technicality that meant that the officers issuing them didn’t have the legal authority to do so.

While that loophole was swiftly closed, it still meant a loss of as much as $5 million to the city.

As it turns out, lucky over-parkers and the city finances have one person to thank: PubliCola’s Publisher and Editor Erica C. Barnett. ...

Sticker shock | Parking problems | Timm for a change | King County getting even?

By Ashley Archibald | June 8, 2022

Sticker shock

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is asking for a 75 percent increase in its budget for 2023, a figure that has members of the Seattle City Council calling on the authority to identify new sources of revenue.

KCRHA is funded jointly by the city of Seattle and King County, with the city providing the majority of the organization’s budget. Despite the fact that the KCRHA helps coordinate homelessness policy throughout the county, no other cities contribute. ...

Sick and jailed | Bridging the gap | Confirmed

By Ashley Archibald | June 1, 2022

Sick and jailed

A Washington state superior court judge dismissed a case brought by Columbia Legal Services (CLS) that sought to force the Washington state Department of Corrections (DOC) and Department of Health (DOH) to better protect incarcerated people from COVID-19. ...

QR code to be scanned to access reader survey

Reader survey: What do you want from your local media?

By Ashley Archibald | May 25, 2022

We want to hear from you, dear readers! Real Change, the International Examiner, and the South Seattle Emerald are conducting a survey in order to better get to know the people who pick up a paper or click a link to read one of our publications. The goal is to learn more about what you get out of our content and — just as important — what you wish to see in our pages. ...

On the road again | Pay me, Seymour

By Ashley Archibald | May 25, 2022

On the road again

People who live in their vehicles are no longer safe from the pre-pandemic requirement to move their homes every 72 hours.

The city announced that parking enforcement would start citing people for leaving their vehicles on a single block for too long. The practice was suspended in 2020 when various levels of government declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. ...

Vaccinated | Elections

By Ashley Archibald | May 18, 2022

Vaccinated

More than 98 percent of county employees have provided proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, the county announced on May 12. The remaining roughly 2 percent lost their jobs over refusal to get the vaccine.

King County Executive Dow Constantine told county employees that they would need to get vaccinated in October 2021. All told, 83 people received temporary exemptions, and 290 people were fired. ...

New sheriff in town

By Ashley Archibald | May 11, 2022

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that he had selected Patti Cole-Tindall to the position of King County Sheriff. The King County Council will hold a hearing and confirmation process beginning May 18. A final vote is expected later in the month.

Cole-Tindall is an internal hire who began with the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) in 2015. However, she has served in other roles in the county including as the director of Labor Relations and interim director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO), a body meant to hold the KCSO to account. ...

Trouble in paradise | Earth daze

By Ashley Archibald | May 4, 2022

Trouble in paradise

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison publicized a letter sent to Seattle’s Municipal Court and King County’s Department of Public Defense on April 27 saying that negotiations around blocking certain people charged with crimes from an alternative court process had “come to an impasse.” ...

Screenshot of Sara Nelson sitting by window and desk; chyron reads, "Public Safety & Human Services Committee/ SPD Staffing Update"

Nelson asks for more bonuses for Seattle cops

By Ashley Archibald | May 4, 2022

Councilmember Sara Nelson pushed for the City Council to release as much as $4.5 million on hiring bonuses for potential new Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers at the April 26 Public Safety & Human Services Committee meeting, occasionally speaking over Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the committee.

Herbold has offered up a $650,000 proposal to pay for moving expenses for new officers and a recruiting position to bring new officers in, which, PubliCola reported, addresses to requests from the Mayor’s Office. ...