Erica C. Barnett

Bill Gates gets caught in Epstein's wicked web The remarkable thing revealed about Jeffrey Epstein over the past year is his huge talent for making connections with rich and powerful people.

oh, PLEASE.

(in his writeup, Horsey refers to Gates' cheating on his wife with at least two women, both Russians, as "love affairs.")

www.seattletimes.com/opinion/bill...

I don’t think libraries can keep people from dying on their properties, by happenstance, from their addictions. That’s not how addictions (or overdoses) work. But libraries do provide a safe, warm, and monitored space where people can feel safe, and that’s immensely important.

Seattle Nice: Are These Three Local Controversies All About Union Power? - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett This week’s podcast, as I promised last week, featured just me, Sandeep, and David, and guys:…

Seattle Nice: Are These Three Controversies All About Union Power?
We discuss backlash over the mayor's new pick at City Light, the police guild's stranglehold on alternative first response, and city workers' effort to remove their boss for what they call discriminatory behavior.

In Rare Tragedy, Man Dies Inside Rainier Beach Library Branch - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett A 41-year-old man died at the Rainier Beach library just after 3pm February 13 after library…

In Rare Tragedy, Man Dies Inside Rainier Beach Library Branch

The man, who staffers initially thought had overdosed, died of chronic alcohol use, according to the county.

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Opinion | America, We Have a Math Problem

Did I ever mention how much I love a pedantic math correction? Shit like "300 percent reduction" drives me nuts

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/o...

Former City Department Director Broke Election Law; City IT Director Resigns; LGBTQ Advocates Call for Removal of Civil Rights Director - PubliCola 1. Seattle’s IT director since September 2024, Rob Lloyd, step down on March 27. “Leading IT and our dedicated teams…

Former City Department Director Broke Election Law; City IT Director Resigns; LGBTQ Advocates Call for Removal of Civil Rights Director

Three stories in today's Afternoon Fizz.

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Jonathan Choe, a chud in sunglasses with a "verified"tag, tweets: "Watch this Pharisee curse truth teller Tyler Oliveira. Tyler is living rent free in his head. 🤣" He is retweeting a post from Tyler Oliveira, another chud in sunglasses, of a video showing a young, bearded rabbi in a hat reading prayers and saying he hopes Oliveira doesn't succeed. Oliveira's tweet reads: "Jewish Rabbi literally CURSED me bro 😭"

Jonathan Choe, a Trump sycophant influencer from Seattle, is now slinging obscure anti-Jewish slurs.

Rabbis don't "curse" people, but I can see how a rank antisemite who believes Jews practice witchcraft would casually make such a remark.

Elevator Followup: Reform Bill Watered Down - PubliCola By Josh Feit The state legislature got stuck on the second provision of the elevator reform bill we reported on…

Elevator Followup: Reform Bill Watered Down

The bill would still allow smaller elevators in many new buildings, reducing costs and making missing-middle housing more viable.

New from @joshfeit.bsky.social
publicola.com/2026/02/27/e...

Elevator Followup: Reform Bill Watered Down - PubliCola By Josh Feit The state legislature got stuck on the second provision of the elevator reform bill we reported on…

Elevator Followup: Reform Bill Watered Down

The bill would still allow smaller elevators in many new buildings, reducing costs and making missing-middle housing more viable.

New from @joshfeit.bsky.social
publicola.com/2026/02/27/e...

I'm not even kidding, I relaxed immediately and was like "ah, okay, NOW things are going to get done"

but that is a literal quote from a ridiculous thing they kept saying, not scare quotes around a neutral phrase!

The Pitt going all-manual (whiteboards! carbon copies) is the nonsexual fetish I didn't know I had

Progressive taxes are those in which the tax increases with income. They aren't "so-called progressive taxes," it is literally just what the thing is called. The scare quotes just insinuate the mayor is hiding something or that progressive taxation is something sinister.

Wilson, in her years as a city hall advocate and, later, as a candidate for mayor, has pushed for more “progressive” taxation that targets the rich and corporations to help solve the city’s budget woes while expanding programming.

Progressive is a word with a definition. Not sure why the Seattle Times (in a news article, not on the editorial page) decided it required scare quotes?

when using anonymous sources, it's important to make it clear how many people you talked to and, ideally, why they requested anonymity

the story also repeated an assertion that the library is being "privatized" which was not explained further

The Seattle Public Library responds to Feb. 23 Urbanist article Dear patrons and community, Some of you may have read or heard about a Feb. 23 article published by the Urbanist regarding implementation of The Seattle Public Library’s Community Use Agreement und…

interesting

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Or cooking a stew/chili/soup one day and letting the flavors meld in the fridge. It makes me sad to see people fall for this kind of advice (in part because I lived through South Beach/fruit diets/cabbage soup/scarsdale/grapefruit/and on and on and on. This is just the latest.

I reheat food often because I have one big cooking day, but this is a level of planning (and dietary obsession) that I just couldn't manage even if I was doing fad diets. I was a kid in the 80s and 90s so I lived through a previous golden age of diet trends and they didn't work then either.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, could chilling your carbs help? Can chilling carbohydrates help you lose weight? Here's what the science does and doesn't say.

Imagine always refrigerating and microwaving fried rice, perfect al dente pasta, crispy fried potatoes, and every other starch, all on the psuedoscientific idea that it'll cut your calories.

Moderation (or avoidance if you get blood sugar spikes) actually works. Ruining your food probably doesn't.

SPD's National Recruitment Push Includes Police Chief's Alma Mater; Chief Attended Tiny Desk Concert with Security In Tow - PubliCola 1. Seattle Police Department officers are traveling across the country on a college recruitment tour, including a five-day trip this…

SPD’s National Recruitment Push Includes Police Chief’s Alma Mater; Chief Attended Tiny Desk Concert with Security In Tow

Today's Morning Fizz.

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After I reached out to him, I started to hear he was contacting reporters and editors to tell "his side" of the story before my story could come out. But neither he nor his staff ever responded to any of my questions or attempts to reach him in January and February.

When I contacted Wheeler-Smith in January, I apologized for asking so many questions in an email; "however, I always think it’s better to put everything out there than for anyone to be blindsided by allegations or concerns that they were unaware of or would like the opportunity to respond to.”

I spoke to about a quarter of SOCR's current staff, who agreed to be quoted but asked to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation. The deputy mayor was not a source for my story.

After PubliCola Story Details Discrimination Claims, Civil Rights Office Director Accuses Deputy Mayor of Threats and "Defamation" - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett On Tuesday, after PubliCola reported on turmoil at the city’s Office for Civil Rights, SOCR director…

Today, I posted a followup on Wheeler-Smith's complaint against the deputy mayor that includes a chronology of my efforts to interview him, or get a response by email to dozens of detailed questions, in January and February.
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After my story came out, the director sent an email to reporters, editors, and city officials, accusing the deputy mayor of colluding with me and the union representing city employees, PROTEC17, to plant a false story based on lies from "a few disgruntled employees" who wouldn't even use their names

Staff Call for Removal of Civil Rights Office Director, Citing "Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, and Mismanagement" - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett Three years ago, before the City Council unanimously appointed Derrick Wheeler-Smith as director of the city’s…

On Monday, I published a story detailing allegations against the director of the city's civil rights office, Derrick Wheeler-Smith, by his staff. Their union urged Mayor Katie Wilson to remove the director based on these allegations last December.

I think Wilson SHOULD be taking bolder steps now, given her campaign commitments, but she's doing what centrists want and the Seattle Times should be thrilled. That they aren't just shows how emotionally invested they are in hating her.

Also, the Times never criticized Bruce Harrell for taking credit for work that began before his term, like Jenny Durkan's Seattle Restored effort. They explicitly criticize Wilson for not thanking Durkan, while Harrell took credit for this exact program constantly. Wonder what's different now.

Dear Mayor Wilson: Campaigning is easy. Governing Seattle is hard | Editorial Mayor Katie Wilson must stop trying so hard to co-opt others’ work, give credit where credit is due and put a lot more details around her own proposals.

This chiding, condescending attack on Mayor Wilson is especially disingenuous considering Wilson is doing EXACTLY what the Seattle Times said they want: Going slow, listening to all sides, not making giant changes without input. They wanted that, now they say it shows Wilson lacks "substance."

Primary dispatch of CRs can occur for the types of calls set forth in Subparagraphs A-C below; provided that dispatch has confirmed: • The individual that is the subject of the call is located in an open public location (meaning an area such as a City street, sidewalk or park) or a publicly-owned building (e.g., City Hall, a library, a community center). The individual is not in a vehicle or private business that is open to the public. • The area is not a known hazard (i.e., flagged in CAD). • There is no report of aggressive or threatening behavior towards others, destructive or confrontational behavior, or behavior posing a danger to others. • There are no visible narcotic paraphernalia or weapons. • There are no minors present with the individual who is the subject of the call • There is no indication that a crime has occurred. • The subject of the call is not located in a homeless encampment, which is defined as four (4) or more tents or structures that appear to a reasonable person to be used for camping. • There is no extreme behavior that might warrant investigation for a potential involuntary commitment (e.g., public nakedness accompanied by crisis).

These are the situations where they can't respond, including "areas where a person could be trespassed, such as parking lots" in the prohibition on places where a crime may have been committed. Note that SPOG's examples include a person who gets naked in public, a clear example of a mental crisis.