The Roundup: Small Businesses + Baseball = Less Crime?

From the Editor

What's up, South End?

I hope y'all had a good week.

I'm writing this newsletter from the Chinatown-International District. I had a nice conversation over a coffee at Hood Famous Bakeshop with co-owner (and member of hip-hop group Blue Scholars) Geo Quibuyen.

We discussed a potential recurring Emerald column about small businesses in Seattle and the relationship they have with the communities they serve.

Everyone knows about Hood Famous for the popular, and delicious, ube cookies and lattes. But the business is also on the cutting edge of progressive business practices that may change the face of small businesses and how they operate.

Hood Famous went tipless in 2024. The owners supported the staff to unionize, and today, Geo discussed the idea of restaurants and cafes becoming co-ops — and his take was rather surprising.

I'm looking forward to columns on tip culture and the social media buzz that flares up every few months on the controversial topic. Geo also talked about how the Mariners recent playoff run provided a significant, and critical, boost to business.

I may not be a Mariners fan anymore (long story), but for small businesses in the CID, a successful Mariners team not only provides foot traffic that leads to more sales, but Geo says that when the Mariners went on a deep playoff run last season, there was also a dip in crime in the neighborhood.

What role do vibrant community events and a successful baseball team play in deterring crime? Does more investment in arts and community activations have a higher impact on crime rates than police presence does?

Consider everything above my official teaser to an upcoming small-business column from Geo. And if you have any ideas on what you would like discussed, send me a note.

Have a good week, y'all.

The Roundup Rundown

In the face of long-standing concerns about conditions in the Tacoma immigrant detention center, Washington State health inspectors have spent months trying to access the facility.

Despite a federal court ruling last summer, Jake Goldstein-Street reports that the facility's operators are still denying access.

How are they allowed to do that? How will conditions improve if the state can't get access? How is the facility being held accountable for violations happening while the court order isn't being followed?

All of the answers to these questions are in Jake's reporting (originally published in the Washington State Standard).

Next week is Black Maternal Health Week, and it's kicking off with a free event at Rainier Arts Center.

Contributor Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero reports that today's event, "Rooted in Care," will provide resources, a diaper giveaway, and a screening of an Emmy-winning documentary.

For more information about the event, the roots of Black Maternal Health Week, and the documentary, narrated by Oscar winner Viola Davis, read Jacquelyn's latest article.

I bet you didn't know there was a photographer living in the Central District who works for National Geographic.

Not only do we have explorer photographer Kiliii Yüyan living in our community, but editor Yuko Kodama recently met with him to chat about his new book of documentary photos and essays.

I won't spoil it here — you can read her article for more details — however, I will say that Yuko's Q&A with Yüyan has a lot of cool behind-the-scenes details about a photographer who has traveled the globe to get shots, including of narwhals swimming along the sea ice outside the Greenlandic village of Qaanaaq.

Get a sneak peak of photos from the book in Yuko's article.

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This is an abbreviated version of The Roundup newsletter. To get the entire newsletter, including a weekly list of events to check out and my shout-out to South End Gems, subscribe here. See you next week!

Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.