Seattle apartment building plagued by drugs, crime from homeless camps

foreign the city has been out to inspect the site and people out there have seen some steps in the right direction but the encampment does continue to grow really concerned that it's going to take a tragedy to really get somebody's attention Daryl Christensen manages the Sunnyvale apartments in Capitol Hill where he says a growing encampment causing safety issues so they got into this unit um and my maintenance guys in here working and they stole some of his tools he says the thieves got away with close to a thousand dollars worth and he estimates he spent up to three thousand dollars repairing other damage to the building it's just on and on every day there's something new to deal with residents say Seattle Fire has responded here for multiple issues including small fires and Seattle Police responded to a shooting on June 25th after a dispute among people living out here there's been a fire there's been a break-in last night across the street several people passed out blocking entrances Jason Lauren is one of the owners of Captain blacks across the street spending more money hiring more security the biggest thing is the safety of our employees you know there's concern especially if they get off late at night two o'clock in the morning and there's people around it might be on some type of drugs City officials say they've been by the encampment several times for inspections and to remove trash and the site is a priority those living at the encampment also say the city has been by to offer services and connect people with transitional housing and not the kind of treatment that they were used to in the past of like just they roll through take everything you own and kick you out of where you live with you know very short notice residents here estimate five people step in the right direction it certainly is it's really crowded across the street at the Space Needle it's Americans and spending is really shifting from home furnishings appliances and goods to hotels restaurants bars and attractions this is now leaving the hospitality Association in a situation where they have to work overtime struggling to hire enough staff to cater to all of these tourists you know Staffing and hiring is Tough All Around Karen Olson CEO at the Space Needle tells me the tourist season is really taking off right now nearing pre-pandemic levels to be ready for all of these visitors Olson tells me they doubled their staff at the Space Needle from 200 to 400 during the summer months this year they did it by recruiting more high school kids and foreign exchange students this year we have students from Poland Czech Republic Spain France numbers in the hotel industry not so great they're 44 short of the workforce they need uh to have a successful season that amounts to more than 5 000 people they need to hire right now in the Seattle area time for hotels to up the ante about 90 percent of Hotel managers say they increased wages according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association 71 percent now offer flexible hours and 43 expanded their benefits don't just put up a sign and put a post on LinkedIn and pray um you got to become the Hunter and in in a positive way Jared Prince general manager for Seattle Tacoma area McMenamins hotels and pubs tells me they added hiring bonuses last spring he said they tripled their Workforce in the last three months but they're still running short in their kitchens and banquet Staffing he tells me they're actually bringing workers up from Oregon to cover some big events this month hiring managers say they've really got to be creative to find help for all of the visitors they expect to serve this summer we're really pushing that referral program so if you refer a friend you can get up to a thousand dollars for referring their friend and you're probably gonna get a thousand dollars for getting the job Preston a group called Tacoma ceasefire was on hand at a vigil for that murdered girl yesterday now the co-founder says that there is a lot of healing that needs to happen and it starts by showing kids how much we care the deadly shooting of Ayana essary has stirred Tacoma like few other crimes members of Tacoma ceasefire say it's these kinds of tragedies that drive their Outreach we want to circle around you know those families and let them know listen uh we're there 14. James Watson joined others at a vigil for Ayanna where people search for answers about the gangs and gun crimes overrunning the city we need guns out of the hands of our children amen check your children see what they're doing know where they are Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore will detail his new strategy to confront violent crime next week even as Tacoma sees fire forges ahead to help families so Columbus ceasefire is we're on the streets where you know with the young people we're talking to them and that's what we want to do Watson is opening a new center where Tacoma ceasefire can host programs for the Youth he says the city needs so many more of these opportunities and needs to include the very youngest by the time you reach them when they're teenagers it's it's oftentimes they already know how to hold a gun they already know you know how to smoke a blunt prosecutors say Ayanna was killed when two 17 year old gang members opened fire on the car she was in according to court documents Jeremiah averitt and Christopher felizardo were aiming for another boy in the car who belongs to a rival gang but struck Ayanna instead prosecutors say Ayana had no ties to gangs herself we need to stand up we need to get tired of this you need to speak up you know we need to show up we need to show these children that we care about them developing tonight the world continues to react to the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe he was gunned down while making a campaign speech for a candidate ahead of this weekend's parliamentary elections President Biden called it a quote tragedy for Japan and later left flowers and assigned condolence book at the home of the Japanese ambassador to the U.S former President George W bush called Abe a patriot of his country Secretary of State Anthony blinken offered his condolences to the people of the net of Japan this is shock profoundly disturbing in and of itself it's also such a strong personal loss for Sonic people Abe security quickly tackled the shooter who used a homemade gun he reportedly confessed to police saying the shooting was not politically motivated instead he admitted having hatred for a certain group and believed Abe had links to that group Abe's death stunned people around the world including here in Seattle kermo's mohider spoke with local Japanese Americans about Abe's Legacy nearly every corner you turn at the Japanese cultural and Community Center of Washington you'll find a piece of Japan's history to learn about and to teach you as executive director Karen yoshitomi but after learning about the death of the country's former prime minister Shinzo Abe yoshitomi is having a hard time talking about the nation her grandparents moved from decades ago I think it is shock for a lot of people and just trying to process just like we were asking staff is there anyone prepared to comment on I have no words yoshitomi says when she thinks of him his work internationally is what stands out to her I think the thing that he will be remembered for is strengthening U.S Japan relations and and that's exactly what we're trying to do here too earlier today Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell also tweeted Shinzo Abe was a champion for strengthening relationships and advancing shared progress between the United States and Japan Uwajimaya is an Asian grocery store in Seattle where Rex Hashimoto who is third generation Japanese American serves as a store director he says what's hard to take in is how this could happen in a nation with strict gun laws it's very shocking because in Japan gun violence is so rare and is a prominent um person figure and not just in Japanese government but just in Japanese life in general and the fuel steps will be taken so history doesn't repeat itself because this is such a high profile event that everyone it might change their how they approach things in the future in Seattle moheiter Como news hi everyone I'm Preston Phillips from come on news thanks for checking out the Como YouTube channel you can see more of our videos right here by clicking on the video links for more news from the Seattle area and Western Washington oh and don't forget to click the Subscribe button below so you don't miss our YouTube updates

Channel: KOMO News

Views: 37,316

Keywords: homeless in seattle, seattle homeless crisis, homeless in seattle 2022, homeless crisis in seattle 2022, KOMO, KOMO News, News, Seattle News, Washington News, Breaking News, TV News, Seattle Local News, Seattle Sports

Id: sMa_tYfeF2E

Length: 8min 59sec (539 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 11 2022