Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

BB Gun Drive-Bys in West Seattle

Two west seattle residents were hit in drive-by BB gun shootings last weekend, a police report says. Around 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, the man was walking his dog in the 6700 block of 35th Ave SW when he was hit by several BBs fired from a moving vehicle.

Minutes later, a woman on 35th Ave SW and SW Brandon was also struck in the leg in a drive-by bb-ing. The woman told police she was fired upon by a man in an older model Toyota or Honda sedan, which was dark blue or black.

Officers were unable to find the vehicle in the area. Neither victim was seriously injured. 

In 2007, police investigated a string of BB gun drive-bys in South and Southwest Seattle.




  • Tim Flanagan

    I wonder what the motive or goal could be with this? I’m not asking for something deliberate and rational…just whatever quirky, screwed up “it made sense at the time” motivation lies behind this. What does the crime appear to accomplish, from the perspective of the perpetrator? Any ideas?

  • Dub Polton

    But I messed around with BB guns when I was a kid and I think that shooting someone with a BB gun is its own reward. It’s funny, in a fart-joke, ha-ha-wedgies-and-titty-twisters-are-funny kind of way. (I do not endorse shooting strangers with BBs, nor do I encourage wedgies or titty twisters. I’m just saying.)