Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty

Archives

Bellevue Landlord Attempts to Confront Squatter at Workplace

Jonathan Choe
June 24, 2024
With King County courts behind more than 2,000 eviction cases, Bellevue mom & pop landlord Jaskaran Singh is now going nuclear. Over the weekend, he tried to confront his deadbeat tenant at her workplace, but the owner of Forever You Aesthetic called the cops on protestors.

Accusers Confront Steve Hickey After Fire Commissioner’s Board Meeting

Jonathan Choe
June 12, 2024
A former secretary is now stepping forward and saying King County Fire Commissioner Steve Hickey installed locks for his very own fire district, even though his Meridian Build Group had its construction license suspended by the state. Some of his alleged victims also confronted him after Tuesday night's Fire Commissioner's board meeting in Ravensdale. So did I.

Mom & Pop Landlords Lead More Protests Against Deadbeat Tenants

Jonathan Choe
June 10, 2024
Coalition of mom & pop landlords rallied again this weekend to bring attention to deadbeat tenants and squatters in WA. Whether it's Sang & Youjin Kim in Bellevue or King County Fire Commissioner Steve Hickey in Ravensdale, they plan on being out here until lawmakers wake up and fix the broken system.

Protestors Demonstrate Against Squatter and Deadbeat Tenant Epidemic

Jonathan Choe
June 2, 2024
This weekend, a coalition of angry mom & pop landlords rallied in Maple Valley to spotlight the squatter and deadbeat tenant epidemic in Washington. While many came out to blast embattled King County Fire Commissioner Steve Hickey for taking over Katrina Freitag's house, we also heard other related horror stories.

Exposing Steve Hickey: Part Two

Jonathan Choe
May 29, 2024
Depending who you ask, King County Fire Commissioner Steve Hickey is a serial con artist or a faithful public servant moonlighting as an independent journalist. Either way, he's now facing numerous legal challenges and his entire reputation is on the line. In part two of our series, YouTube journalist Tyler Oliveira and I take a closer look at fresh allegations and Hickey's troubled past.

Exposing Steve Hickey: White Collar Squatter?

Jonathan Choe
May 22, 2024
King County Fire District Commissioner Steve Hickey is accused of squatting, fraud, and intimidation by a growing list of victims. Complicating matters, he's a well-known independent journalist with more than a million followers on TikTok and Instagram. YouTube's Tyler Oliveira and I recently confronted him and tried to get his side of the story.

King County Regional Homelessness Authority 5 Year Plan Approved

Jonathan Choe
June 2, 2023
KCRHA Absolutely Crushed In a scathing Op-ed, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) destroys Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) saying, “there are foundational issues that make the KCRHA doomed to fail and unfit to be trusted.” Click here to read the Seattle Times article. In Case You Missed It The King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (@KingCoRHA) 5-Year Plan has been approved. Vote happened Thursday afternoon. The Governing Committee is made up of elected officials like Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec.) Despite calls to dismantle KCRHA after the abrupt resignation of former CEO Marc Dones last month, they are still moving forward. It’s now on them. This agency …

Showdown in Burien: King County Says Deputies Will Not be Used During Encampment Clearing

Jonathan Choe
May 31, 2023
A showdown is looming in Burien over a homeless encampment in the center of downtown. Now more than 20 tents deep, a resident walking her dog near the site describes homeless encampments like this one as “a national humanitarian crisis.” The encampment is being blamed for open air drug use, a spike in thefts, and sex trafficking.  Burien City Councilmember Stephanie Mora tells me she has become aware that “there have been several underage girls sleeping there.” The city decided to lease out the property that the encampment is on to Burien Cares, a local non-profit with plans to turn the site back into a dog park. Burien Cares put up signs around the property asking campers to leave by Wednesday the 31st. This plan seemed straightforward until King County Executive …

Drug Crisis in Full View as MLB All Star Game Approaches

Jonathan Choe
May 29, 2023
Countdown is on First half of July, #Seattle will be on the global stage hosting the Major League Baseball (@MLB) All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark.) The stadium is located in SODO, just minutes from #Chinatown-ID and the downtown core. But the homeless and drug crisis remains problematic in this neighborhood. This Memorial Day weekend, I watched baseball fans (@Yankees @Pirates @Mariners) struggle to find parking on the side streets. The usual spots are now being taken up by massive RV’s. Drug addicts are smoking fentanyl in front of kids headed to the game. Holgate St. is relatively clear, but new encampments are entrenched on Utah Ave S. and 4th Ave S. If it’s a challenge right now to avoid all this, imagine what it will be like when the out of town …

Shooting at International District Pokemon Shop Rattles Business Owners

Jonathan Choe
May 29, 2023
Pokemon Shop Shooting Early Sunday morning, a stray bullet shattered a window at Tabletop Village (@TabletopVillage) in #Chinatown-ID. No injuries or serious damage. But this has rattled #Seattle‘s @Pokemon collector community. Children and parents were expected to pack this beloved location for a pre-release event related to the Scarlet & Violet Paldea Evolved build and battle kit. Shop owner Brian Meyers says the uptick in crime, fentanyl use by addicts, and homelessness in the CID continues to take a take a toll on businesses. He’s planning on staying in this spot for now. But wants city leaders, especially Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) to do more to protect this D2 community. Meyers wants investment in neighborhood watch groups or the next …

Fighting for Downtown Seattle: Brawls, Drugs, and Public Urination as Tourists Arrive

Jonathan Choe
May 28, 2023
Downtown Seattle Brawl I’m playing catch up on #Seattle news after being in Texas this past week on assignment. Saturday afternoon, I went straight to 3rd Ave & Pike St. Without fail, I witnessed drug deals happening on multiple corners, stolen items being sold on the streets, and an insane fight in front of tourists and children. Nothing has changed. The best part of the day, some WOKE IDIOT tried to snatch my phone saying I should not record because, “these people are having a crisis.” She went on to do absolutely nothing to help the victim being beat up. Virtue signaling at its finest. Then some looney tune says, “whoop his ass next” after I asked bystanders to call the police. We are living in a war zone and this city is still upside down. …

Dunn Lumber Hit by Theft Ring Targeting Seattle Businesses

Jonathan Choe
May 24, 2023
Retail theft is a story all too familiar for business owners in Seattle.  At Dunn Lumber’s Lake Union and Greenlake locations, surveillance videos show break in after break in. “They’re coming over the fences, just walking in and out,” says General Manager Nick Winnem. Winnem tells me it’s “very difficult to run a retail operation” in Seattle thanks to brazen criminals ransacking stores like Dunn Lumber. Most of the thefts happen in the middle of the night, but Winnem says they occur during retail hours too. He tells me that power tools always go first and are easy to flip on the black market.  “This is something you see even at box stores,” he says when I ask if the problem is isolated to Dunn Lumber. It’s hard to say exactly who …

Harm Reduction Experts Champion Autonomy Over Recovery

Jonathan Choe
May 24, 2023
Confronting Harm Reduction Tuesday afternoon, Seattle Councilmember Sara Nelson (@CMSaraNelson ) picked apart “harm reduction” experts during a Public Safety and Human Services Committee meeting. She asked for data and metrics showing the effectiveness of this model in addressing the out of control drug addiction crisis and record fentanyl overdose deaths in King County. The panel made up of activists and academics couldn’t give her a straight answer. Councilmember Lisa Herbold (@Lisa_Herbold) came to their rescue as Nelson’s direct questions brought up a lot of inconvenient truths. But the most stunning response came from Amber Tejada, with the Hepatitis Education Project: “I know it can be a little controversial, but one of the key tenets of harm …

RV Goes Up in Flames in Ballard

Jonathan Choe
May 24, 2023
Ballard RV Torched Tuesday afternoon, flames erupted inside an RV parked right next to the abandoned Jack in the Box (@JackBox) on NW Leary Way. Not sure if there were any injuries. Unclear how it started. Ironically, the fast food restaurant was burned down just a few months ago by homeless squatters. This part of Councilmember Dan Strauss’ (@CMDanStrauss) district remains packed with tents and RV’s on nearly every block. How many more incidents until the city moves in? Seattle Department of Transportation (@seattledot) is playing whack a mole out here. Every 72 hours, the RV’s just move around and come right back. Is the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) focused on Ballard? Back in March Homeless suspected of burning down part of …

“Now is a good time to look at the model,” Mayor Bruce Harrell After KCRHA CEO Resigns

Jonathan Choe
May 24, 2023
Political Liability Over the weekend, I caught up exclusively with #Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@mayorofseattle) and Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to discuss the recent controversies swirling around the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA.) 1) KCRHA Continuum of Care Board Chair Shanee Colston’s defiance and refusal to resign after her public outburst defending a convicted pedophile. 2) Former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones’ abrupt resignation, leaving the agency in an uncertain situation. Distancing Themselves @KingCoRHA clearly doesn’t want want to have anything to do with this hot mess created by Colston. If she refuses to resign, is anyone going to step up and remove her? I’m still trying to figure out if this can even be …

“We’re going to take our city back,” Mayor Harrell Leads One Seattle Day of Service

Jonathan Choe
May 22, 2023
All in on Seattle Massive turnout Saturday for Mayor Bruce Harrell’s (@MayorofSeattle) One Seattle Day of Service to help revitalize the community. Thousands of volunteers mobilized across the city to clean up trash, graffiti, and serve in various ways. Tremendous effort by faith based groups like Reach Ministry (@reachministrywa) and homeless outreach group We Heart Seattle (@weheartseattle). With that said, many volunteers also got a glimpse of the urban decay and problematic parts of the city still ravaged by homelessness and the fentanyl crisis.  I walked through the notorious 3rd Ave & Cherry St. drug den with former Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) player Jordan Babineaux (@jordanbabineaux. Nothing surprises him anymore. Btw, the “trap tents” have returned. …