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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 8m

Seattle Nice: CoLEAD Brings a New Approach to 12th and Jackson
Listen to our conversation with Nichole Alexander, the Purpose Dignity Action outreach director who's working to house and help people around one of the city's most challenging corners.

publicola.com/2025/10/14/4...

Seattle Nice: CoLEAD Brings a New Approach to 12th and Jackson - PubliCola

By Erica C. Barnett This week’s special guest on Seattle Nice, Purpose Dignity Action’s Director of Outreach and Special Initiatives…

publicola.com

Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1h

One thing you learn in recovery circles is that an apology for your behavior should not include any justification words like "while I never intended to harm anyone." Otherwise it's a walls-up personal defense, not an apology.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

King County Assessor John Wilson apologizes, will not seek reelection

John Wilson dropped his campaign for county executive after he was arrested outside his ex-fiancée's home in July on investigation of stalking and harassment.

www.seattletimes.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1h

First comment is from someone who thinks I should have written the standard "prolific criminals finally brought to justice" zero-nuance version of this story you can literally see on every local TV station and the Seattle Times

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1h

Seattle Spent Thousands on "Organized Retail Theft" Operation at Marshall's, Arresting Five and Recovering $400 in Merchandise
The operation involved at least 10 officers and suspects were jailed for up to a week for stealing knit caps, sweatshirts, and a pet toy.
publicola.com/2025/10/14/s...

Seattle Spent Thousands on "Organized Retail Theft" Operation at Marshall's, Arresting Five and Recovering $400 in Merchandise - PubliCola

By Erica C. Barnett Last week, the Seattle Police Department announced it had completed a successful “Organized Retail Theft Operation”…

publicola.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 6h

Spoken like an unenlightened person who doesn't Care About Wine.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 6h

Further reading: His defensive piece about how wine is different, in which he strangely claims to have been a wine writer for more than 30 years, rather than the "more than 20" in his more recent piece. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/d...

Should You Change Your Wine Consumption?

www.nytimes.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 6h

And after you read this doofus for a while, you realize that defending his elitist drinking choices is ALL this guy is about. There's no argument, just "wine gives life joy and meaning."

But wines with meaning — those that come from a place, from people who are either upholding traditions or starting new ones — are not immune to a downturn. I believe these wines will always have an audience, but they are far more susceptible to environmental and economic pressures than the commodity brands. These are the wines that I care most about. When wildfires, hailstorms and spring frosts occur, calamities that are often the direct result of climate change, these producers are threatened. They don’t have the resources to survive continued crises. When you layer on the effects of tariffs and health warnings, the threat becomes more acute.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 6h

Later in the piece, he says "the truth is hard to get at" about whether moderate drinking is good for you. It actually isn't—drinking less or not drinking at all is healthier. We all do stuff that's bad for us, but it is WEIRD to be so defensive that you ignore science.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 6h

I always click when I see a piece by the NYT's wine critic, mostly because of his insane elitism and insistence that people should ignore all scientific studies about the harms of drinking. Here's what he thinks of all you poors who would just as soon chug Four Loko as whatever shit wine you buy:

On one extreme is the largest body of wine buyers. They are not interested in how it’s produced, where it comes from, vintages or aesthetics. They mostly want an inexpensive alcohol delivery system that tastes good. They enjoy wine but are not wed to it. They might replace it with hard seltzer, premixed cocktails or cannabis if that were cheaper and just as enjoyable.

On the other extreme is a smaller group, people who love wine and care deeply about all the geeky pleasures it offers. Like everybody else, they are sensitive to economic fluctuations. They may adjust their spending, but they continue to buy wine regularly and spend more per bottle than less-committed consumers.

In between are many different shades of wine buyer. But generally, people either care about wine or see it as a means to an end.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 17h

especially a story about SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS, gah. There are also female political consultants—you just have to, you know, seek them out instead of quoting the same three guys over and over and over.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 17h

I realize no one gives a fuck about gender parity anymore (the number of all-male panels is at, like, 1995 levels) but come on—did NO ONE notice an all-male story, particularly one with such a huge number of quoted sources?

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 17h

can't believe I just read an entire KNKX story about Seattle candidates' online campaign strategies and all nine people the man who wrote it quoted were men.

there was also a paraphrase of a quote by a man, along with a description of a Katie Wilson video (but no quotes from her).

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 23h

Harrell Says King County Public Health is "Failing Us," Talks Tough on Trump, and Muses About an AI Wall Where You Can Ask MLK What He Had for Breakfast

The mayor talks to a friendly audience at event sponsored by Seattle's police union, We Heart Seattle, and the Discovery Institute.

Harrell Says King County Health is "Failing Us," Talks Tough on Trump, and Muses About an AI Wall Where You Can Ask MLK What He Had for Breakfast - PubliCola

By Erica C. Barnett As readers may know, I’ve spent much of the last month attending Seattle mayoral debates and…

publicola.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 23h

Harrell Says King County Health is “Failing Us,” Talks Tough on Trump, and Muses About an AI Wall Where You Can Ask MLK What He Had for Breakfast

publicola.com/2025/10/13/h...

Harrell Says King County Health is "Failing Us," Talks Tough on Trump, and Muses About an AI Wall Where You Can Ask MLK What He Had for Breakfast - PubliCola

By Erica C. Barnett As readers may know, I’ve spent much of the last month attending Seattle mayoral debates and…

publicola.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

God damn it, save this fountain.

This could be an incredible part of the excessively sanitized waterfront. San Francisco prevents apartments in the name of (house) preservation, when they should be spending money to preserve this (to me, beautiful) piece of history.

Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 1d

I don't have a huge opinion on the Vaillancourt Fountain, except that if it is to be saved, it should actually circulate water and become a fountain again.

San Francisco Wants to Destroy a 96-Year-Old’s Defining Artwork

www.nytimes.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

No worries, I am as well! Just figured you probably aren't familiar with the local media scene here in Seattle. :)

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

Hi Linda! I'm the Seattle reporter who recorded this and it is 100% accurate. The clicking in the recording is me tapping on my laptop keyboard while simultaneously pulling my jaw off the floor.

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Reposted by Erica C. Barnett

Matt Baume 🏳️‍🌈 @mattbaume.bsky.social · 1d

This seems fake but it's completely real: Audio of Seattle's current Mayor dreaming of a giant computer-simulated Martin Luther King, something the King family has explicitly asked people not to do.
Big thanks to Erica Barnett for being the only reporter in town covering these events so closely!

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

Tirana has never had an actual, human female mayor.

balkaninsight.com/2025/10/13/a...

AI ‘Candidate’ Proposed for Albania Mayoral Election

After Albania’s government appointed an AI-generated digital assistant as a ‘minister’, a group of information technology experts have proposed an AI ‘candidate’ for the upcoming Tirana mayoral electi...

balkaninsight.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

This is still a VERY rough transcript, so forgive omissions and grammatical errors, but better than the original.

Made it special for you freaks who like to read long quotes. ;)
publicola.com/wp-content/u...

publicola.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

Go for it!

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 1d

By semi-popular request, here's the full hour and four minute audio of Mayor Bruce Harrell talking and taking friendly questions at the Washington Athletic Club yesterday. The emcee is Julius Caesar Robinson, The Great Debate founder and Harrell endorser. publicola.com/wp-content/u...

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

I can post just the AI transcript, of course, but Otter is TERRIBLE at certain things, particularly names and proper nouns, and generally produces incomprehensible run-ons that I have to clean up by listening to the audio. If so, let me know and also DONATE, since I am working insane hours lately!

Support - PubliCola

If you like the work we’re doing here, and would like to support PubliCola financially, please consider becoming a monthly…

publicola.com

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

A lot of people have been asking if there's a recording of this. I haven't found one online, but I have a (pretty low-quality, with keyboard sounds) recording from Otter. Would people be interested in hearing all or parts of it and/or seeing a cleaned-up transcript?

Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

Downtown could have "like, a 10-foot wall" where people could talk to AI versions of historical figures. "How cool would this be if we had like, a 10 foot wall. It's interactive and it's historical. And you could talk to Martin Luther King."...

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

He was in the front row filming the whole time. I don’t think he live streams. His whole thing is misleading edits.

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