by Vee Hua 華婷婷
On Monday — Tax Day — 46 protestors blocked the entranceway leading to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), in solidarity with a global demonstration, organized by A15 Economic Blockades for a Free Palestine. Independent organizers and businesses in cities across North America participated in a strike that called for a cessation of school, work, and spending in support of an end to Israel's actions against Palestinians.
In King County, dozens of protestors locked their arms together using large PVC pipes and blockaded the entrance to Sea-Tac in the early afternoon, holding a sign that read, "Our Taxes are Funding Genocide." The organizers called out carriers like Alaska Airlines for their complicity in working with Boeing, which is known for supplying arms and military aircrafts to the Israeli Defense Force.
The protestors were arrested just before 6 p.m. — about three hours later — and transferred to South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines and King County Jail for processing. All were released from jail after paying $500 bail, according to SeaTac city spokesperson Kyle Moore.
On Tuesday, the City of SeaTac charged all 46 protestors with the misdemeanor offense of failure to disperse. Many were also charged with disorderly conduct, also a misdemeanor. They will be arraigned within the next month by the SeaTac City Attorney's Office.
Moore noted that the impact was minimal, as the airport was not particularly busy at the time the demonstration took place. At least 24 flights were delayed, including two international flights that were delayed over an hour.
The airport was also prepared for just such an event, due to similar demonstrations taking place earlier this year. As reported by The Seattle Times and shared by Perry Cooper, a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle, "airport 'stakeholders,' including the Transportation Security Administration, FBI and police officials, and people working in airport customer service, operations, and maintenance, met about a month ago to prepare for a similar situation."
The protest at Sea-Tac airport was one of at least three other local events that took place in support of Palestine on Tax Day. Others were held at the office of the U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, the University of Washington Sound Transit light rail station, and Tacoma's federal courthouse building. Across the nation, significant events that shut down airports or freeways also took place in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Since 2000, the City of Burien has contracted with King County to provide safety and policing services under what is known as the Interlocal Agreement. The latest in escalations between the City of Burien and King County over the city's anti-camping ordinance deepened last week, with the Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon calling for the hiring of a new police chief to replace the current chief, Ted Boe.
"I can no longer state that I trust Chief Boe to fulfill the requirements listed within the Interlocal Agreement," Bailon wrote to King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall on April 10, citing that he believed the chief's "actions no longer represent the City of Burien's best interests, vision, and goals, in a manner that supports trust between the City and King County Sheriff's Office."
Under the City of Burien's expanded ordinance, everyone is forbidden from sleeping on nonresidential public property — including streets, parks, or any other open area where city or governmental agencies have a property interest — between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. It also creates a buffer zone prohibiting anyone from sleeping within 500 feet of areas the City Council has defined as "critical," including libraries, day care centers, schools, and senior centers.
Following the March expansion of the ordinance, the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) announced that they would not enforce the law. Cole-Tindall and King County also filed a legal complaint with the U.S. District Court raising concerns about the ordinance's constitutionality under Washington State law.
The ruling is still pending, but in response to the lawsuit, Bailon instructed Burien employees to stop paying the Sheriff's Office. The City also sued the County and KSCO in return, alleging that they are violating the Interlocal Agreement between Burien and King County by not enforcing the ban.
The City of Burien's request to replace Police Chief Ted Boe will be difficult, as Boe is an employee of KCSO and King County, rather than the city. Cole-Tindall responded to Bailon's letter calling for a replacement for Boe the following day, on April 11, noting that the request came unexpectedly.
"The request was surprising because, approximately two hours prior to Bailon's letter, Burien was given detailed statistics on the first three months of 2024 that demonstrate the high level of police service in Burien," she wrote. "These results were consistent with preliminary 2023 stats, which showed a 7% decrease in Burien in both crimes against persons and crimes against property."
The Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance (SESSFA) is once again hosting their annual move-a-thon fundraiser in hopes of raising $500,000 to benefit approximately 7,000 elementary and middle school students.
The group's fourth annual fundraiser kicks off on Monday, April 22, and runs through Friday, May 3. Events will include interactive group bingo games, after-school activities, and weekend family events.
All funds raised will go toward schools in District 7 of Seattle Public Schools (SPS), which historically have had less access to raising funds at levels matching those of parent organizations elsewhere across the school district, and the PTA of each participating school makes decisions for funding allocation based on the needs of their student body.
"Our alliance of 17 PTAs and PTOs in our South End Seattle community acknowledges that since the fundraising capacity varies across our schools, fundraising can unintentionally create opportunities and access for some students and not for others," wrote Christina Jimnez, a founding member of SESSFA, via the group's press release. "By collaboratively fundraising and equitably fundsharing, all our students can have access to the benefits of PTA fundraising, not just those schools that have the capacity to hold fundraising events or solicit donations directly from their families. Our communities not only share funds but also share in our advocacy work, resources, and a recognition that collaboration and equity are at the center of our work together."
For the 2024—2025 school year, SPS is facing project budget shortfalls of $104 million. Funds raised by SESSFA could help to significantly close any budget gaps; last year, SESSFA raised and distributed $398,000 to 17 participating schools. PTAs chose to use their funds toward a number of services, such as food, library books, extracurricular programming, interpretation services, field trips, and emergency financial assistance.
This year's participating schools include Aki Kurose Middle School, Beacon Hill International Elementary, Dearborn Park International Elementary, Emerson Elementary, Dunlap Elementary, Graham Hill Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, Kimball Elementary, John Muir Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Maple Elementary, Mercer Middle School, Orca K—8, Rainier View Elementary, Rising Star Academy, Southshore Pre-K—8, and Wing Luke Elementary.
Learn more, donate, or become a sponsor via SESSFA's website or donate by texting D7Moves to 44-321.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: A protestor holds a sign calling for the end of Israel's war crimes against Palestinians during a march to the Boeing Military Delivery Center in November 2023. (Photo: Susan Fried)
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