Latest news with #EmilyRandall
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about Seattle Pride Parade 2025
The Brief The Seattle Pride Parade will occur on June 29 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in downtown Seattle. Congresswoman Emily Randall and Cheer Seattle will be grand marshals for the 51st annual parade. Boeing, Expedia Group, and Amazon's LGBTQ+ Resource Group are not sponsoring this year's event. SEATTLE - More than 300,000 people will gather in June to take part in Seattle's annual pride parade. Here is everything you need to know about this year's event. The Seattle Pride Parade will take place on Sunday, June 29 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with preshow entertainment beginning at 10 a.m. The parade will run through downtown Seattle along 4th avenue. Preshow entertainment will be held at the Westlake Park stage. There will be several stages along the parade route with ADA seating. Note: several downtown roads will be closed starting as early as 7 a.m. Boeing, the Expedia Group, and Amazon's LGBTQ+ Resource Group are not returning as sponsors for the 2025 Seattle Pride Parade. The Seattle Pride Parade is a community-led event, focused on LGBTQIA2S+ visibility. Every year, over 300,000 people march for joy, justice, and belonging. "This is not a time to be quiet. This is not a time to acquiesce to extracting a list of words from our vocabulary, said Seattle Pride Executive Director Patti Hearn. "It is not a time to be a bystander or to allow others to stand by while bullies — those who were elected and those who were not — try to harm us. Try to erase us. Try to silence us. We're not going to let that happen, said Hearn. "We will stand up. We will speak up. We will get loud." Seattle Pride announced in May that Congresswoman Emily Randall, the first queer Latina in Congress, and Cheer Seattle, a non-profit cheerleading organization raising funds for the LGBTQ+ community through their performances, will serve as grand marshals for the 51st annual parade. Joining Randall and Cheer Seattle will be a host of Seattle Pride Parade announcers, including Lemon Boy, Versace Doll, Ceasar Hart, Deejay Hershe, DonnaTella Howe, Sable Jones St. James, Kimere, Justice Manslayer and Rowan Ruthless. Visit the Seattle Pride Parade website to learn more and to register to march or perform on the parade route. The Source Information in this story came from Seattle Pride and FOX 13 Seattle reporting. Anti-ICE protesters clash with police at Seattle Federal Building Home of Seattle rapper Macklemore invaded, nanny maced: police 2 dead after 'tragic' bus accident at Seattle retirement home WA deputies arrest teens for pistol-whipping boy, armed robberies Cyberattack hits supplier to Whole Foods and PCC; could impact store supplies To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's what Tacoma's U.S. Rep. Emily Randall saw in tour of ICE detention center
On a Tuesday morning tour of the privately-run immigration detention center in Tacoma, Democratic U.S. Rep. Emily Randall intended to see for herself what conditions are like for people held there. Randall, a Democrat who represents Washington's 6th Congressional District, spoke to reporters outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center after her tour. She pointed out issues with under-staffing, limits to outdoor recreation for detainees and the renewed stoppage of funding for a legal-aid information program for people facing deportation. Her visit came in response to what she called a concerning increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting labor leaders in immigration raids, such as last month's arrest of 25-year-old Alfredo 'Lelo' Juarez Zeferino, a farming labor activist in Whatcom County. Randall was also concerned about the facility lacking compliance with medical and sanitary condition requirements. 'I saw it really important for Congress, particularly Congressional Democrats because no one else is doing it, to step up and use our oversight authority,' Randall said. 'I wanted to come firsthand and check some of the rumors that we've been hearing, understand what's happening here within these walls.' Randall is a member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, and she said she didn't think this would be her last visit. The congresswoman's tour did not include meetings with detainees. She spoke with staff from ICE and the GEO Group, the federal contractor that runs the facility, as well as a healthcare official. There were talks about returning to visit individuals detained there, she said, noting that she's heard from colleagues in Congress who have constituents from places such as Los Angeles who are detained in Tacoma. More than 1,300 people were detained at the NWIPC on Tuesday, Randall said, just a couple hundred short of its capacity. About 700 people were detained there in November, according to ICE statistics, and Randall said she would expect that surge to require a 'pretty intensive' staff increase. Randall said what was most heartening to her was that healthcare positions at the detention center are almost entirely filled after a 30-percent vacancy. She said there are gaps in the rest of the staff, with openings for 40-plus jobs. 'While they maintain that they're able to do the work, I worry about people's timely access to some of the services that are available,' Randall said. Prior to Randall's tour, the congresswoman met with immigrant-rights organizations including the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Firelands Workers United and Mi Centro. Mi Centro, a decades-old nonprofit in Tacoma, offers services to the Latino community such as English-language classes and domestic-violence resources while also doing advocacy work on immigration rights. Maria Chavez, executive assistant at Mi Centro, told The News Tribune she was grateful Randall took time to listen to the concerns Mi Centro has been hearing, particularly what she said were inhumane conditions at the detention center. 'We believe that she can make a difference, even though it will be a tough, tough run,' Chavez said. Top of mind for Chavez was state-level oversight of the NWIPC. She said she hoped for the passage of House Bill 1232, which is the state Legislature's latest attempt at increasing oversight of privately-run detention facilities. The bill is still moving through the statehouse before the legislative session ends Sunday. 'Many people that are detained do not have criminal records, and yet they are being mistreated,' Chavez said. Access to outdoor recreation has been curtailed in recent weeks because of an escape last month from a recreation yard behind the building. According to court records filed in the related criminal case, a 24-year-old man from Venezuela scaled a perimeter fence to escape on foot. Randall said she saw the fence being repaired during her tour. Typically, according to Randall, everyone in the facility is rotated through two yards, but not everyone can get access every day now that they're down to one. Randall said that means some people have gone three weeks without regular access to outdoor recreation. Federal funding for legal-aid information programs has recently been stopped at the NWIPC, including for the Legal Orientation Program, which educates noncitizens in deportation cases about their rights in the immigration process. The programs had restarted after being halted days after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, but funding was cut off again April 16 by the U.S. Justice Department. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project previously had staff go to the facility three to five times a week to give 'Know Your Rights' presentations to people who are detained and don't have an attorney. Randall said the organization can still do them if they cover their own costs and ask for permission to enter the facility to do the presentations, but there's no longer a contract funding the work. Twelve nonprofit organizations that operate the programs have joined a lawsuit suing the U.S. government to restart funding, but a motion for a temporary restraining order was denied April 15 by U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C. In a sworn declaration, Vanessa Gutierrez, a deputy director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said more than 200 people were in need of intakes due to the 'dramatic' increase in the number of people detained at the facility. Gutierrez said the loss of funding means the organization can't continue the Know Your Rights presentations at the same scale, and many unrepresented people will go into immigration court with little to no knowledge of what to expect or what forms of relief they might be eligible for. 'This will certainly only further delay the courts ability to adjudicate cases and protect individuals' due process rights,' Gutierrez said in the declaration.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic congresswoman, state party chair to hold Spokane townhall
Apr. 16—U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, a Democrat who represents the Tacoma and Olympic peninsulas in Congress, will host a town hall in Spokane Friday evening along with state Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad and others to discuss "illegal and damaging actions by Trump, Musk, and their allies," according to a news release. The town hall, which will be held in the Spokane Community College Lair Student Center at 5:30 p.m. Friday, is open to the public. Attendees may bring signage. Those hoping to attend are encouraged to RSVP, as seating is limited to 350, with around 100 seats already reserved. The RSVP form is available on the Spokane County Democrats website. In addition to Randall and Conrad, Spokane County Democrats Chair Naida Spencer and Spokane Public Schools Board Member Jenny Slagle will participate; Mayor Lisa Brown will deliver opening remarks. The event is meant to let local voters voice their concerns about the federal government, Washington Democrats spokesman Stephen Reed said in a brief interview. Spokane's Republican congressman, Rep. Michael Baumgartner, hosted town halls in Ritzville and Spokane last month. The one in Spokane was particularly disruptive, and he criticized some of the attendees for their behavior. Reed noted that the state Democratic party would do "everything possible" to elect Democrats across the state in 2026, including in what has become a historically uncompetitive Eastern Washington district.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The power remains with the people as we speak up
Last Saturday I celebrated National Women's Day with hundreds of citizens from the Sixth Congressional District, participating in a town hall with Congresswoman Emily Randall. The community participation far exceeded the venue capacity of 300 people at the Olympic College theater, resulting in a subsequent Town Hall discussion with an additional 300 people, who were willing to wait more than an hour to participate. It's clear that the people of the Sixth Congressional District realize that there are big problems happening in the other Washington that impact everyone living here. As I listened to stories of veterans, federal employees, service members, students and retirees, the urgency in the room was palpable. Our community is gravely concerned by the immediate and future impact of decisions made by executive action and Congressional inaction. I hope that our community continues to stay engaged and willing to share stories with the power to effect change. The power of a democratic republic lies with the people, by design. I encourage my community to continue speaking up about the impact of legislative decisions before any more rights are removed. I am grateful to live in a community that cares deeply about the needs and rights of all people and hope that more elected officials will intentionally listen to citizens, here and nationally. The diversity of our voices is important. Laura Rarig Pugh, Bremerton This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Community participation in Kitsap shows power of democracy | Letters
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Massive turnout at Democratic lawmakers' town halls as Republicans hide from voters
As Republican lawmakers dodge in-person town halls, avoiding direct engagement with voters furious over the Trump administration's devastating policies, LGBTQ+ Democrats like Washington Rep. Emily Randall and Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan are doing the opposite. They're meeting people where they are and making themselves accessible. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. Randall, the first out queer Latina elected to Congress, hosted a morning town hall Saturday at Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash. that filled up in minutes. Rather than turning the overflow crowd away, she immediately held a second session. 'I want to hear from everyone who took the time out of their day to be here,' she wrote on social media. That same day in Wisconsin, Pocan, who is gay and served as the previous chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, held a town hall in the small village of Belmont, strategically placing the event as close as possible to the district of his Republican colleague, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who has refused to hold town halls of his own. Despite the town's population of just over 1,000, hundreds showed up — some forced to stand outside and peer through windows to hear him speak, Madison's WKOW reports. He listened as constituents voiced their fears about Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts, including a mother who worried her disabled daughter would lose access to essential care. Pocan used the event to call out Van Orden directly. 'If you don't have town halls, if you don't have ways to communicate with constituents, you're not really doing your job,' he said. Related: Why queer Democrat Emily Randall says she walked out of Trump's presidential address Meanwhile, Republicans are actively avoiding these conversations. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advised GOP lawmakers to skip town halls altogether, dismissing them as 'political theater.' Some, like Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga, have opted for telephone town halls to control questions and avoid the intensity of public scrutiny. 'I know this may not be satisfactory to some who would like to just create a scene,' Huizenga said, downplaying concerns from his constituents, CBS News reports. A large crowd of constituents stands in line awaiting entry to Olympic College theater to hear Rep. Emily Randall take questions at a town Randall But Democrats aren't backing down. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has encouraged members to engage directly with voters and expose the real impact of Trump's policies. 'House Republicans and Donald Trump have proposed the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,' Jeffries warned on Thursday. 'Republicans are trying to rip healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans. Children will be devastated. Families will be devastated. People with disabilities will be devastated. And older Americans will be devastated. Hospitals will close—including in rural America—all across the country and nursing homes will shut down. Those are the implications of the House Republican budget, and every single Democrat [is] going to continue to stand against it.' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has openly mocked Republicans for hiding from their constituents. 'Anyone who lets this stuff be an excuse to hide from the public and stop doing town halls is not cut out for the job,' she wrote on X. Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ro Khanna, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have floated the idea of Democrats hosting town halls in Republican districts to offer voters a chance to be heard when their representatives refuse to show up, MSNBC reports. Randall's town halls came just days after she joined fellow Democrats in walking out of Trump's joint address to Congress, where he attacked gender-affirming care and celebrated Medicaid cuts.
