Comments on: Meeting to discuss homeless shelter tonight

By: chopper_74

chopper_74 — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:52:24 +0000

Revenue absolutely did increase, however, they spent way more than the increase.
=deficit. Revenue did not fall, period.

By: lauram

lauram — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:12:04 +0000

How about something far more sensible, like voting him out?

By: gmer

gmer — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:17:09 +0000

I'll agree with you that seattle has a lot more psychotics as opposed to criminals compared to the tenderloin. I've seen some hardcore stuff happen down in SF compared to anything in seattle. Psychotics are annoying and dangerous, criminals are extremely dangerous. This is why we need to petition gregoire to maintain the general assistance unemployable (GAU) program through all of these budget cuts. If these people don't get the treatment they need, its going to cost us all a lot more in the long run.

Check out this link:
http://news.opb.org/article/4791-wa-house-and-s...

By: Free Ballard 4 Real

Free Ballard 4 Real — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:51:27 +0000

Hello? He got 86st from Starbucks and tried to burn the building down by lighting his underwear on fire and setting the bathroom ablaze… You are living in fantasyland. The guy is dangerous as hell.

By: Free Ballard 4 Real

Free Ballard 4 Real — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:49:29 +0000

Hello? The guy was in a brawl in the middle of Bergen Park the saturday before last… It was blogged about here in fact. He is in fights all the time.

By: gmer

gmer — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:17:26 +0000

You have it wrong, those "a** holes" budgeted spending based on projected revenue. You are just plain ignorant if you think that revenue has been up, most of the revenue is from sales tax and the economy is s***. The bubble burst and all the projected revenue went down the toilet.

Fact is there is a much higher number of police on the streets than a few years ago, and our crime rate is still way lower than comparable cities of our size.

The fact is no one has a decent platform to run against Nickels. Thats why there isn't any real candidates opposing him. Anyone with half a brain supports his policies and isn't going to run against the incumbent.

By: chopper_74

chopper_74 — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:58:12 +0000

All they want is free food 24/7, we might as well just hand it over….

By: chopper_74

chopper_74 — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:55:11 +0000

Thanks, me too. I've fed the dog, many times, and see it as enabling these days.
“excuse me sir…do you have a dollar for my lazy ass?”
…”yeah, leave me the dog, here's twenty bucks”….
I wish I could, but , my cat says 'hell no!'

By: chopper_74

chopper_74 — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:45:37 +0000

The car jacking 'perp' was apprehended thanks to thugs that were assaulting folks in Ballard that night, the numerous 911 calls had the men in blue on hand to do the job for that incident.
Realist, change your name. The revenue for the state, the city, the county, are all up, period. They (our not so humble elected a**holes) decided to spend more than the increased revenue. Obviously, it wasn't spent to improve public safety. Any questions? Direct them to McCheese…

By: gmer

gmer — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:16:52 +0000

In fact there is more of a police presence in ballard, we just haven't seen any beat cops. They are busy taking 911 calls and reports on property crimes. Remember that car jacking a month ago? They had the perp in a hot second. They are prioritizing by focusing on crime, not vagrancy.

Nickels has a great plan but it hasn't been completed yet mostly due to funding. The city is in the red when it comes to money now days. Maybe someone needs to start a city initiative to raise some taxes in the short term for neighborhood police. With the major decrease in sales tax revenue, just about everything is on the chopping block and only so much can be done.

By: Ballardite

Ballardite — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:06:35 +0000

It was also nice, sunny and warm out today. A lot better than the past two days.

By: Ballardmom

Ballardmom — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:04:37 +0000

Thanks for posting that. This is something I would interested in supporting – something that aspires to actually help people instead of just tossing them in an abandoned building and calling it charity.

By: Ballardite

Ballardite — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:04:30 +0000

Exactly, thats why you should turn him down and walk away. I'm sure they are used to it and we haven't heard any reports of them attacking anyone that simply said “no”. Keep the community informed of about these two, and report any crimes you see committed. Don't be scared though, nothing will happen if you leave them alone.

By: Ballard_Sucks_Now

Ballard_Sucks_Now — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:58:49 +0000

Hah! That's laughable.

People here have tried to work with the city, tried to get more cops in Ballard. They're told it's not going to happen, period.

Nickels is a liar.

By: Free Ballard 4 Real

Free Ballard 4 Real — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:43:14 +0000

The guy is very very violent. He has come totally unglued many many times, totally out of the blue, on strangers. That is a fact

By: Ballardite

Ballardite — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:39:21 +0000

Simply ignore them and keep posting to warn others, but absolutely report them if you see a crime committed. In the past 6 months I have overhead at least 3 business owners complain about them and I'm not even that well connected. Eventually they will move on or be taken away. Don't be scared though, they won't do anything if you simply walk away.

By: Ballardite

Ballardite — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:33:13 +0000

Oh please do BSN. I'd love to see a blog post on here about some wacko walking down market with a bat.

By: Ballard_Sucks_Now

Ballard_Sucks_Now — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:26:48 +0000

Carry a baseball bat when strolling down Market Street?

By: watch these folks

watch these folks — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:47:33 +0000

I have seen the heavy woman and husband with the pit bull following a smallish homeless man around making threats to him. They were walking behind him, hissing , and harassing him, and wouldn't back off. Their level of aggression seems to be growing since they first showed up a couple of years ago. It is difficult to report something like this to 911 since it is happening on the move. It is also too scary to step into with good intentions because of the pit bull. They play very roughly with the dog, not advisable with a pit bull. Any suggestions on handling something like this?

By: giz

giz — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:46:48 +0000

For those seeking an alternative to the sham that is SHARE, please consider attending an upcoming meeting to learn more about Congregations for the Homeless. I saw this posted in the forum section:

Meeting announcement to come and learn about "an exciting possible resource,
a new model that assists the homeless into health, housing and stability."

Here’s the link:

Congregations for the Homeless*
http://www.cfhomeless.org/
* First suggested by "giz" posted on the MyBallard blog

CFH Newsletter
http://www.cfhomeless.org/newsletter/CFH-newsle...

We’ve invited Paul Tomilinson of the “life coaching” part of the program to
be with us Sunday evening May 24th at 7pm. We’ll meet at Trinity United
Methodist (6512 23rd Ave. NW)

The exciting part of all this is that most of us are seeking for different
models than merely putting a roof over heads and food in bellies. That
good, charitable work has driven us to seek the next step so that we can
help birth new possibilities that result in the homeless learning anew to
stand on their own two feet as contributers towards the common good.

The model assumes cooperation between congregations and networks. It is a
very exciting possibility.

So, ya’ll come … let’s begin this phase of conversation leading toward
action. Feel free to invite others interested. If you are a member of a
congregation, let the Pastor and the congregation know. If a community
member, let your networks know. We’re all in this together.

Rev. Rich Lang
Trinity United Methodist

By: Trix

Trix — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:59:37 +0000

Drunks and junkies with homes to go to piss on lawns too. I've seen it, I've lived with it.

By: gmer

gmer — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:37:12 +0000

Have you ever heard of nickels' neighborhood policing plan? Nickels has added quite a few cops since he has been in office with many more to come and is definitely not just focusing on downtown. The demand for new officers has actually outpaced the supply with the department having trouble finding applicants.

By: nomorebums

nomorebums — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:25:44 +0000

these are the same people. why is that so difficult to understand? these are freeloaders who are taking a free ride at our expense. there is nothing in the share system to force them back on their feet. homeless for 20 years? typical.

By: Ballardmom

Ballardmom — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:57:21 +0000

I feel sorry for their dog. :(

By: Ballardmom

Ballardmom — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:54:41 +0000

I had lunch on Greenwood a couple days ago and some crazy guy started screaming at me and threatening me when all I was doing was sitting and eating a sandwich. I actually lived in the Tenderloin in S.F. years ago. There were a lot of criminals but Seattle has a lot more untreated psychotics roaming the streets.

By: It's_Tricky

It's_Tricky — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:36:41 +0000

Yes, beacuse you are lumping all these lawn pissers in with homeless folks trying to get it together. I really truly believe these folks will prove themselves good neighbors.
You are all so ready to convict, or have already.

By: nomorebums

nomorebums — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:12:19 +0000

apololize? Are you freaking kidding me? i havent received a single apology from the angelic homeless who pissed all over my lawn, use it as a bed and a garbage can. The ones who were shooting up in the neighbors driveway actually threatened me. I'm sure these new fellas will be a higher caliber of bum. all i want is for these bussed in non-residents to behave. they seem to be incapable of it and i wont apologize for not wanting them in my neighborhood. And yes i live across the street from this proposed damn shelter.

By: Ballard Coalition

Ballard Coalition — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:01:45 +0000

Strongly agree with Free Ballard 4 Reel; the church is a done deal. Let's go after the low-hanging fruit. Keep taking pictures and video tape. If you see a bunch of folks in one spot drinking or using, call 911. The police will respond. At some point, it would be great if we could all brainstorm and come up with a list of our top ten action items. At this time, I'm personally looking for and documenting areas of concern. For example, RVs and car campers that haven't moved for days on end. I'm also looking for makeshift shelters and piles of trash. I feel profiling chronic offenders is necessary as well.

By: SeaSpider

SeaSpider — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:52:40 +0000

All I can say is you really need to get out and travel!! Hell?? Are you kidding me?? How sheltered a life you must live! You want hell try visiting the Tenderloin in SF, the South Bronx in NYC, south Phoenix, most of Detroit or Cabrini Green in Chicago. Seriously, have ever spent any time outside of Seattle?? Yeah, things in Ballard have gone downhill but seriously if you think it's hell then you really don't know what you're talking about.

BTW I had lunch on Market and wasn't harassed once.

By: jim

jim — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:45:58 +0000

Sorry I just cant buy into your neighbor claim,,except as a share wheelee

Thats all….