Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 8/17

[SVPete]

Former Assistant Anoka County Attorney charged for alleged role in prostitution ring

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/courts-news/former-assistant-anoka-county-attorney-charged-alleged-role-prostitution-ring/89-e724a3c0-e2f7-4843-938d-c6ce1c25c776

ANOKA, Minn. — A former Assistant Anoka County Attorney was arrested and charged Friday with more than two dozen crimes connected to an alleged commercial sex trafficking operation that spanned several years.

Andrea Leigh Sampson, 35, is charged with 13 counts of promoting prostitution and 13 counts of receiving profits from prostitution after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Human Trafficking Task Force uncovered an alleged sex trafficking operation within Minneapolis, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park and other surrounding areas.

According to the charging documents, the operation alleges that numerous individuals, including Sampson, obtained apartments for "commercial sex transactions." Law enforcement later learned that some of Sampson's properties were allegedly used for some of those transactions, and where photographs of the victims were taken for commercial sex ad postings.

In a statement, Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson confirmed that Sampson had been the Assistant Anoka County Attorney and was working in the office's Family Law and Civil Divisions, but said she was immediately placed on administrative leave when his office was made aware of the investigation in February 2026. Her last day of employment was March 9, 2026, the statement reads.

[SVPete]

Recall Petition Filed Against Seattle’s Far Left Mayor Katie Wilson

https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=72850

Certainly the current crop of far-left “Democratic Socialists” mayors ruining American cities are not the sharpest knives in the drawer (though Zohran Mamdani seems to display the sort of unprincipled cunning exhibited by many confidence artists), but Seattle’s Katie Wilson, someone who was still being financially supported by her parents at age 43 when running for mayor, strikes one as possibly the very dullest in the lot. From refusing to investigate fraud at Somali-run daycare centers to encouraging capital flight from Seattle via a proposed “billionaire’s tax” (“I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are, like, super overblown. And if, you know, the ones that leave, like, bye!”), Wilson seems a particularly obtuse example of the breed. Now two Seattle citizens have filed a recall petition against her.

Two Seattle residents filed recall charges against Mayor Katie Wilson on Tuesday, August 11, alleging she has neglected her legal duty to maintain public safety and peace in the city.

Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud submitted the charges to the King County Elections Office, accusing Wilson of dereliction in addressing crime, gun violence, open-air drug activity and related issues across multiple neighborhoods during her first eight months in office. The filing also criticizes her decision to seek the resignation of Police Chief Shon Barnes.

The charges are the initial step under Washington state law for seeking a recall of an elected official. The charges must undergo technical review by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. If these meet requirements, prosecutors will prepare a ballot synopsis for King County Superior Court, where a judge will determine whether the allegations meet the legal standard of misfeasance, malfeasance or violation of the oath of office. Only then could proponents circulate petitions.

If approved, organizers would have 180 days to gather roughly 70,000 valid signatures from registered Seattle voters — equal to 25% of the total votes cast in the previous mayoral election. Sufficient verified signatures would trigger a special recall election.

Why do I have a feeling this won't even get to the point of trying to get 25% of Seattle voters' signatures? I get there are reasons to have hurdles to hinder frivolous recalls, but giving elected officials the ability to block or torpedo valid recall petitions? That 25% of voters who voted hurdle seems excessively high as well. I don't think Wilson's Reign of Error is much threatened by this.

[SVPete]

‘I Don’t Know What We Would Do Without Them’: Fed-Up CA Residents Hire Ex-Gang Members To Curb Homelessness

https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/17/residents-venice-california-hired-ex-gang-members-homeless-encampments/

Residents of Venice, California, have hired ex-gang members to combat the homelessness crisis impacting their city.

A group of 250 residents and businesses, including apartment owner Rick Swinger, are paying “Ghost Town Consultants” to serve as private security and protect Venice from havoc caused by the homeless encampments plaguing the city, according to the California Post. The firm was founded by Bobby Luna and Ricky Myers, both of whom have ties to the area. Luna is a reformed alcoholic, and Myers is a former homeless teen turned reformed gangster.

Residents, including Swinger, pay Luna and Myers $300 each to monitor their properties, photograph conditions, and provide updates, according to the California Post.
...
“We were in a war zone. We saw everything. I got hurt, my wife got threatened. We called for help — no one showed up,” he described conditions in Venice prior to working with Luna and Myers. “It just kept getting worse.” Swinger also told the outlet he would wear a full hazmat suit during attempted cleanup efforts in the city.

Myers offered a similar sentiment.

Myers alleged that people were high on meth, and pipes and needles were found on the ground near the local Penmar Recreation Center where he was coaching children. Practice was eventually canceled because the area wasn’t safe for the children to play.

So, these residents of the Venice neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles pay taxes to the city for policing that does not happen and another $300 (monthly?) to have this private security company to actually do some of the needed policing. Welcome to Karen Bass's Los Angeles!