Opposition to jail grows

The West Seattle Herald published a story on line today about the meeting in South Park, dealing with the proposed Jail sites near the Duwamish neck of the woods:

Fireworks arrived a week early as residents from Highland Park, South Park - and other communities - clashed with city representatives over two city jail sites being considered nearby.

The city sponsored a forum at the Aerospace Machinists Union Hall in South Park last Thursday night to give concerned residents the chance to speak - but some shouted...

Vocal critics said a jail in their backyard would lower property values, endanger their children with newly released prisoners drifting around their homes, and further stigmatize their communities which they consider more vulnerable to crime than other areas.

So far, the fact that Seattle and King County can't seem to manage the jail space they have, as far as human rights are concerned, and that neither government has taken seriously the kinds of programs necessary to reduce crime over the long term, thus making more jail space unnecessary--hasn't really hit the papers. Our city's media is obsessed with prostitution and homelessness as a "danger" to the general public while at the same time, advocating vigilantism. No surprise, that some kind of rational discourse isn't taking place in Seattle's dailies--but does seems to be shaping up and growing on the grassroots level, in neighborhood papers like the above, on other blogs news sites like WSB , blogs like Injustice in Seattle, and in newsletters like PLN.