Commentary

Recently, Councilmember Will Chen wrote a letter to the editor (Commentary: Facing this financial crisis together – calling for unity between the administration and city council – My Edmonds News) in which he addressed the current fiscal challenges that the city is facing. In that letter, Councilmember Chen wrote: “The fact that our city has…

This commentary is submitted from my perspective as an individual councilmember, and my views are entirely my own. The City of Edmonds is in a financial crisis and a fiscal emergency as I am writing this article; in fact, according to the 2023 Monthly Financial Reports published on the city’s administrative service webpage, the city…

For the better part of 20 years, I had the honor of serving thousands of victims of violent crimes in Snohomish County — child sexual assault victims, adult domestic violence vicitms, adult and juvenile assault victims, and families of homicide victims. I served as a community mental health clinician, a Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office victim/witness…

I want to share with you something that’s close to our hearts – the stories of the families who will benefit from an important housing initiative right here in our district, the Housing Hope Scriber Place. Imagine being a child, showing up at school homeless, uncertain of where you’ll sleep at night. This initiative aims…

On 310 6th Ave. N. stands a 100-year-old brick-red building. Since the Edmonds Boys & Girls Club opened in 1968, it’s been a place of belonging, adventures, and academic support for over 80,000 youths. Within its walls, kids have thrived with newfound confidence, skills, and friendships. Heavily worn gym floors have experienced the thunder of…

Consider them Santa’s elves and angels among us; dozens of Meals on Wheels volunteers converged this month at Homage, the largest provider of services for older adults and people with disabilities in Snohomish County, to ensure one thousand local seniors have a week’s worth of shelf-stable food packages in their pantries. Each week, nutritious frozen…

Arjun Joy Nand Born: May 28, 2018 Rescued: Aug. 13, 2018 Died: Dec. 9, 2022 In honor of Arjun, please support legislation banning backyard breeders at the local, state, and national levels. Arjun got to enjoy four wonderful years as a pet rabbit after I rescued his brother Raj and him from a meat breeder….

  In Edmonds, mental health challenges and housing insecurity, exacerbated by the pandemic, are rattling our community. As residents, we see the impact of these issues every day. But many of us, when contemplating what we can do to help, find ourselves at a loss – until now. Compass Health is building a bridge to…

There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Washington and across the nation that must be stopped: the bad behavior of coaches, parents and fans at high school and middle school athletic events. We’ve all seen it: the yelling, harassing, berating, disrespecting and even physically assaulting referees, umpires and other officials during and after games. And oftentimes,…

As a city councilmember, I’ve received hundreds of emails and comments from residents regarding the draft six-year PROS (Parks, Recreation and Open Space) Plan update. I appreciate all input and have met with a number of citizens and exchanged emails. Being an elected official has afforded me the rewarding experience of being supported and endorsed…

The new council majority has rejected the voices of thousands of Edmonds’ residents. Voices who want more equitable distribution of our parks, more open space, more trails and more walking paths. They dismissed the community’s input as flawed. They say they want citizen input but reject any opinion that doesn’t align with their own. Instead,…

In response to Mayor Nelson’s press release of 1/28/22, there is no point in debating the hyperbole and fear-mongering he chose to dispel in his statement. Edmonds’ citizens can rest assured that this council has no intention of negatively impacting public safety, the environment, or keeping the public uninformed. Most of the amendments to be…

In a time when our local economy is strong with record revenue and stable city finances, some of our city councilmembers want to cut critical city services taking Edmonds backwards 30 years. Their threats of cuts to the 2022 city budget (which was passed last year after months and months of review) has already delayed…