Kshama Sawant Arrested, Downtown Safety & More News
The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today
By Lauren Mang November 20, 2014
Leading off on this rather warm Thursday morning:
Councilwoman Kshama Sawant was arrested yesterday at a protest at Alaska Airlines’ Seattle headquarters. The protest was in support of $15 wages for Alaska Airlines workers at Sea-Tac. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that three other people were also arrested, including two airport workers and a reverend.
Looks like that Paseo-related Kickstarter campaign is losing its footing: Geekwire reports the campaign, which intends to raise money and purchase the assets of the shuttered sandwich shop, plus hire back all the original workers and pay fair wages, has seen a standstill on donations after several former employees were quoted saying they weren’t interested in working for a new owner. Supporters of the Kickstarter campaign have actually withdrawn more than $5,000 in pledges.
Good news for you cold-weather active types: It’s snowing over Snoqualmie Pass.
By now, you’ve likely heard that The New York Times published a travel video called 36 Hours in Seattle. In it, the crew visits notable places around our city, including one of my favorite odd shops, The Belfry in Pioneer Square. It’s worth a watch and nice to see our city highlighted so well.
Downtown safety is once again in the hot seat: Another robbery–this time a violent crime involving teen perpetrators–happened at Third Avenue and Pine Street. KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson compared downtown to “Lord of the Flies” and noted he’s not comfortable bringing his family to the Pike/Pine area. With the holiday shopping season just days away, it will be interesting to see how the Seattle Police Department plans to make visitors feel safe and welcome. Last year’s Operation Happy Holidays sweep helped clear Westlake Park and other areas of nearly 30 suspects. But it’s certainly not a long-term solution.
Plan to leave a little early if you’re skipping town for the Thanksgiving holiday. According to travel agency AAA, 46.3 million Americans are expected to go 50 miles or more from home, which is a 4.2 percent increase over last year.
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