Seattle, WA
Seattle proposal looks to crack down on crime, prostitution on Aurora Avenue
Seattle legislation looks to crack down on prostitution
Seattle leaders say they’re fed up with the violence and sexual exploitation in the north part of the city, specifically Aurora Avenue.
SEATTLE – Seattle leaders say they’re fed up with the violence and sexual exploitation in the north part of the city, specifically Aurora Avenue.
On Tuesday, Seattle City Council members are expected to move forward with plans to crack down on gangs and prostitution along the infamous roadway.
The newly proposed law would hold pimps and johns accountable to the fullest extent of punishment, and work to save sex-trafficked women with diversion programs and resources.
Back in 2020, the Seattle City Council dumped its old prostitution ordinance. Since then, city officials report dangerous gangs have infiltrated the northern part of the city.
Police say just one sex worker can make up to $7,000 a night for a pimp on Aurora.
There’s also serious concerns over gun violence in the area.
Between May and July 2024, Seattle police reported 30 shootings in North Seattle along Aurora Avenue. That’s a shooting about every two days.
Investigators say they are targeting children, recruiting kids at local high schools, and even some middle schools.
Seattle Councilmember Cathy Moore’s proposal targets people circling the block looking for sex, or gangs loitering in the neighborhood.
The proposal goes as far as banning convicted offenders from returning to the hot spot of sex crimes on Aurora. It would allow judges to issue a “Stay Out of Area Prostitution” order.
For sex workers, Moore’s proposal looks to provide diversion opportunities instead of jail time.
“It will serve as an ongoing deterrent to this criminal activity,” said Moore.
If the law passes, Seattle Police are expected to provide their officers with mandatory training on how to deal with victims of sex trafficking.
The Public Safety Committee is scheduled to have its second hearing on the proposal Tuesday morning.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
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