NEWS GLEAMS | SPS to Post Notices of Its Discrimination of Union Employees; 5 People Shot at Hookah Lounge in CID

Following a court decision, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) will post public notices on its buildings that admit its discrimination against union employees who were exercising their legal rights. The notices will also include the ways in which SPS intends to correct its violations.

In a decision made last month, it was found that the former principal of Rainier View Elementary School, Anitra Jones, had unlawfully discriminated against three staff members who were undertaking union duties.

The signage, written in first-person perspective from the viewpoint of SPS and taking Jones' behavior into account, admits points such as, "We unlawfully included negative comments in employees' summative evaluations in reprisal for their protected union activity," and "We unlawfully discriminated and interfered with employee rights by considering an employee's protected activity when evaluating their job performance."

Jones was first temporarily removed from her position in early spring, after staff and parents filed a number of grievances to organizations, such as the Seattle Education Association, Seattle Public Schools, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington. Many people alleged that the school, under Jones' watch, had created a "culture of fear and anxiety" that disproportionately disciplined Black and Brown students, carried out religious discrimination, and misused Title 1 funds.

Five people were shot at Caravel Hookah Lounge in the Chinatown-International District early on Saturday morning. One was seriously injured and four others suffered minor injuries at the hookah lounge, located near South Lane Street and 8th Avenue South.

The Seattle Police Department currently is not aware of any suspects or the cause of the shooting.

When police arrived just before 4 a.m. in response to reports of gunfire, they found shell casings inside and outside the venue, but the victims were nowhere to be found. Four of them took private vehicles to Harborview Medical Center, which treated their gunshot wounds. There, one of the four needed emergency surgery. The fifth victim called 911 from SoDo and was treated by the Seattle Fire Department.

The GREAT for All CID Coalition will be hosting a virtual community teach-in on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m. The event is intended to educate the public about the incoming expansion of the Sound Transit light rail station in the Chinatown-International District (CID), which has experienced a great amount of controversy based on differing opinions within the CID community around which of the seven proposed station locations may be most beneficial and least impactful.

Sound Transit began its 45-day "scoping period" for a Ballard Link Extension (BLE) for the Link light rail. The expansion has a construction timeline that runs through its launch in 2039, and included among the BLE is the controversial new light rail station in the Chinatown-International District (CID) neighborhood.

The scoping period ends on Dec. 9, which is the last day the public can submit questions regarding the expansion. Those questions help instruct Sound Transit on how to investigate and review the light rail stations' draft environmental impact statements (EIS). Next, Sound Transit will publish a new draft EIS that includes feedback on the environmental impacts of each proposal, alongside proposed actions that will help mitigate such impacts.

Register for the virtual community teach-in at https://bit.ly/CIDteachin.

Following the teach-in, Sound Transit will have a System Expansion Committee Meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 1:30 p.m. at Union Station (401 S. Jackson St.). Concerned community members are invited to attend.

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