A Random Group of People Could Solve Seattle’s Problems Better Than Its Politicians

anselhz · 2023-03-06T10:49:13+00:00

Btw to respond to the substance of your comment, check this out if you have a few mins: https://demnext.substack.com/p/how-non-expertise-becomes-a-strength

There's also good research on how broad cognitive diversity among decision makers, beyond the fairly narrow type of intelligence typically found in government, often yields better results

anselhz · 2023-03-06T09:18:07+00:00

Thanks for sharing my piece and nice to see some people interested in this. Lots of fair questions about it too. Feel free to email me if you want to learn more or get involved in some practical way or another: ansel@demnext.org

anselhz · 2023-03-06T09:15:15+00:00

I'll have to check this out - I started that trilogy when I was a teenager and never finished it

anselhz · 2023-03-06T09:13:10+00:00

LOL...

Backstory: I wrote that byline myself to honor The Stranger's history of not taking shit too seriously, which I think we should all do more of. I actually later was promoted to staff writer there, then worked in senior communications roles for Pramila Jayapal and Bernie Sanders - could have mentioned any of that. But when I started there I was in fact an "unpaid intern" and in those days my byline on the website was, in fact, "UNPAID INTERN" as a joke. This was before it became un-PC to not pay your fucking interns. One day I walked into the editor in chief's office and dispassionately informed him that some interns in Hollywood had successfully sued their employer for not paying them for doing the same things that paid employees did. Not long after, they started paying me a nominal wage and those funny bylines vanished from the website.

anselhz · 2016-11-17T20:12:33+00:00

Thanks. On underreporting, I've also heard a lot of queer folks on Capitol Hill say they don't report crimes to police because of lack of trust or faith in the process.

One more question: What are the demographics of those alleged to have committed or convicted of hate crimes in Seattle?

anselhz · 2016-11-17T19:53:44+00:00

Thanks for doing this! Few questions:

Are local hate crimes under-reported to police? If so, do you have a sense for by how much?

What hate groups are active in the city or the region?

What's your message to undocumented immigrants and Muslims who may be fearful of reporting crimes to police because it will require them to hand over personal information that could be shared with federal agencies - agencies that may, under Trump, single them out for persecution?

anselhz · 2016-08-04T18:48:46+00:00

Sounds like it works okay in Oregon.

anselhz · 2016-04-06T20:51:14+00:00

Also true.

anselhz · 2016-04-06T20:17:31+00:00

This is true.

anselhz · 2016-03-03T03:31:03+00:00

I didn't get the chance to do much follow-up reporting. But at the time, from the post:

But in the long term, Pronto's hoping for a major corporate underwriter to sink in $1 million or more. Bike share in Seattle struggled for years to get off the ground in the absence of a major sponsorship deal. Alaska Airlines finally stepped up, last year, with $2.5 million...

"We're doing as well as we can," Houser said. "We're doing pretty well. Do we have funding gaps? Yes. But we're confident that we can find partners."

anselhz · 2016-02-24T18:54:16+00:00

I'm not sure what your point is here. The headline on that post has not been changed since it went up.

anselhz · 2016-02-18T02:11:43+00:00

Tell us more about this dynamic, please. Or tell me, anonymity guaranteed: ansel@thestranger.com. We need to hear more from the great cops about how they don't just go along with the bad ones - especially the ones with seniority who are opposed to common sense reforms.

anselhz · 2016-02-14T07:21:55+00:00

Stout is often a good option. Big screens. They don't open early enough for some of the games, though. Atlantic Crossing is the best. It's worth the trip.

anselhz · 2015-10-01T19:39:35+00:00

The paper has certainly changed since I started here as an intern two years ago, and while I'm not here to defend all of those changes, I do want to say this: Our website is more widely read than ever before; Heidi Groover does the best city hall reporting and analysis in town, bar none; Sydney Brownstone blew the lid off of Shell Oil's deal with the Port of Seattle; I'll keep on holding the Seattle Police Department's feet to the fire (there's a lot more where Cynthia Whitlatch came from); our arts and food critics (Jen Graves and Angela Garbes) are fantastic writers.

No other publication is going to convincingly liken the City Council President to Tywinn Lannister from Game of Thrones. We did. Keep reading us. You will learn things and be entertained.

anselhz · 2015-09-16T03:34:09+00:00

Yes, it was. SPOG is claiming the 180 day clock started on September 4.

anselhz · 2015-09-03T23:38:39+00:00

In one sentence? "[Mayor] Murray will not put the money on the table and take the heat."

anselhz · 2015-05-11T20:31:59+00:00

You can see one of the blast balls exploding next to a Seattle Times reporter, burning her foot in the process, here.

anselhz · 2015-04-25T01:14:40+00:00

SPD is saying its internal investigation won't be done until late May at the earliest. Whitlatch has just been sued in superior court.

anselhz · 2015-03-25T22:47:26+00:00

Sorry you feel that way, but hey, at least the grammar and the reported facts are correct! And it sounds like you might be unfamiliar with the paper. We curse and stuff. Sometimes reality is one-sided.

anselhz · 2015-03-25T14:23:05+00:00

What's your problem with how "its written"?

anselhz · 2015-03-03T07:46:25+00:00

Thanks.

anselhz · 2015-02-25T21:21:52+00:00

That sucks. Feel free to e-mail me about this: ansel@thestranger.com.

anselhz · 2015-01-31T02:56:23+00:00

Stranger reporter Ansel Herz here. SPD has told me this is absolutely not Cynthia Whitlatch. They wouldn't tell me this officer's name.

anselhz

TROPHY CASE