Hey folks, welcome back to the Osprey Update. I’m David Mendez, your friendly neighborhood newsman and reporting resident of Shoreline, Wash.

First things first, a mea culpa: I erred by omission last week. Our initial reporting of Legislative District 23’s primary election results didn’t include Snohomish County vote totals — rather, it only counted King County’s first-night results. I’ve yet been unable to find the first night’s vote totals, so I can’t update the initial story to include the complete count.

Our most recent update reflects the current — and ongoing — reality: Cindy Ryu leads Jesse Salomon in the Senate primary; Keith Scully and Danica Noble are first and second in the House Seat 1 primary; and Lauren Davis leads Imraan Siddiqi in the House Seat 2 primary.

Personally, I’m looking forward to checking out the final campaign finance numbers, and getting a better sense of the splits between the King County and Snohomish County portions of the 32nd District. Check back in the coming weeks for those updates.

This week: A whole lot of stories about federal immigration enforcement from the last few weeks of coverage, as well a mini community calendar looking forward to a few fun — and at least one important — events going on over the next week or so. If you’ve got items you’d like us to publish in the next round, or comments to share on our stories, please send them to [email protected].

If you like what we’re doing or have learned something new, please consider sharing to friends and neighbors. We’re working to be the place for in-depth reporting on Shoreline — from local government to public safety to schools to events — and spreading the word will only help us grow.

Thanks for reading,
David

A handful of federal immigration agents surrounded a man along a residential street in Shoreline late last month, saying that they had gotten into a “fender bender” — one in which agents apparently rear-ended a driver as he was moving through a four-way stop on his way to work.

It’s unclear if any of the half-dozen or so people who stopped along the street to keep an eye the encounter saw the crash itself. But many that The Osprey spoke to — including the driver — think that the agents intentionally struck the man’s car as a pretext for performing a stop that afternoon.

Read more: ICE agents surround man on Shoreline side street after 'fender bender' crash

King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall told the Shoreline City Council that she believes the community “has unrealistic expectations about what law enforcement can or should do related to ICE” — and that her office has effectively no ability to deal with federal immigration agents, even when they’re unidentified in the field.

During a meeting that was largely focused on staffing matters, a councilmember asked Cole-Tindall if deputies would respond to a call reporting an arrest by an unidentified person claiming to be an ICE agent.

“Yes, and all we could do, we could go out and we could say, ‘Hello, I’m Deputy So-and-So. Can I see your credentials?’ And they could say ‘pound sand,’ and that’s what we would do,” Cole-Tindall replied.

Read more: King County Sheriff: ICE can tell us to 'pound sand' and that’s what we would do

Sheriff Cole-Tindal, in her meeting with the Shoreline council, shared that the Shoreline Police Department has 88% of its positions filled — the most of any agency under the purview of the King County Sheriff’s Office. The staffing has allowed Shoreline Police Chief Tommy Collins to fill his traffic unit to cover both day and night shifts, though he also dreams of setting up a motorcycle unit in the city.

But the sheriff’s office, like much of the law enforcement agencies in Washington, faces a major challenge: making policing in the state an exciting, attractive proposition despite the perception that officers have their hands tied by policy.

“Part of it is police reform laws here. It is more restrictive to be a police officer in this state, so if I’m a young person and I wanna go run and gun, I’m not doing it here — but I can do it in Texas,” Cole-Tindall said. “While they pay a lot less — I’m talking half, less than half — what they can do there versus here, I think some potential candidates feel that it is restrictive here to be a police officer.”

Read more: Shoreline PD increases staffing, but Washington agencies still face shortages

Saturday, Aug. 15: Celebrate Shoreline 2026 - A party commemorating Shoreline’s 31st birthday since incorporation on Aug. 31, 1995. The event will feature multiple stages, music, dancing and family-friendly fun — including pony rides and a petting zoo. Free. Noon–9 p.m., Cromwell Park, 18030 Meridian Ave. Info.

Tuesday, Aug. 18: Neighborhood Meeting for a Proposed Family Housing Development - Catholic Community Services of Western Washington will host an information session regarding a proposed 100 unit multi-family affordable housing project located near the corner of Aurora Avenue and North 165 Street. 6–7 p.m., Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave. RSVP here.

Wednesday, Aug. 19: North City Monthly Meetup - The North City Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting gives neighbors a chance to meet neighbors and get to learn a bit about what’s going on in their neck of the woods. Free. 7–9 p.m., Sodam Chicken, 17551 15th Ave. Info.

Thursday, Aug. 20: Ridgecrest Art Walk - The second in a series of three art walks in “Downtown Ridgecrest,” the heart of the neighborhood’s business hub. Check out art, crafts and enjoy the best of Ridgecrest. Free. 6–9 p.m., 521 NE 165th St. Info.