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.

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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.

Extra Fizz: Clemmons' Plea to Huckabee for Clemency

News   November 30, 2009 at 8:55 am Josh Feit

The Arkansas Parole Board released Maurice Clemmons’ application for clemency.

Here is Clemmons’ statement to Gov. Huckabee from July 1999 when he was 27 years old. He was serving 47-and-a-half years (with a minimum release date of late 2015) for crimes including: Robbery, aggravated robbery, and bringing a firearm to school. Gov. Huckabee granted Clemmons clemency in May 2000.

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  • Timothy

    So…he appealed to the brotherhood of Christianity!

  • Timothy

    So…he appealed to the brotherhood of Christianity!

  • eeeezeee bails R us!

    please focus on the judge here in Washington state who let this felon out on bail on eeeezeee terms….we can dis elect this judge. About Huckabee, well, he’s not going to run for anything and he would not get our votes anyway.

    what is the name of this judge? what evidence did he have before letting the guy out? what is our bail system in which $150K really only means $15K case, that’s nothing!?

  • eeeezeee bails R us!

    please focus on the judge here in Washington state who let this felon out on bail on eeeezeee terms….we can dis elect this judge. About Huckabee, well, he’s not going to run for anything and he would not get our votes anyway.

    what is the name of this judge? what evidence did he have before letting the guy out? what is our bail system in which $150K really only means $15K case, that’s nothing!?

  • Giffy

    @2, If memory serves the law requires that people have the option of the bail except for first degree murder. Judges have discretion in the amount but it has to be reasonable given their likelihood to return for trial.

    As for how 150k becomes 15k, well you can blame the bail bond system for that.

  • croydonfacelift

    How could anyone believe this mental defective could compose even a single one of those sentences? Why don’t they just make hand puppets of the defendants and have their lawyers make a puppet plea in front of a puppet judge? It would be about as truthful a process.

  • croydonfacelift

    How could anyone believe this mental defective could compose even a single one of those sentences? Why don’t they just make hand puppets of the defendants and have their lawyers make a puppet plea in front of a puppet judge? It would be about as truthful a process.

  • Alki Postings

    How could we have kept this guy in jail? We NEED our jails to hold our pot smokers and bad check writers!

    For f**ks sake, there should not be a SINGLE person in jail unless they need to be physically separated from society for safety (like this guy). Martha Stewart does not need to take up a jail cell. Non violent drug offenders, and ‘fiscal’ crimes should be dealt with by fines and other mechanisms. The ACTUAL violent dangerous people should be the sole occupants of actual prisons.

    As for #2, Huckabee isn’t running for anything? Better tell the GOP, he’s one of the top 3 leading contenders for the 2012 Presidential race.

  • Alki Postings

    How could we have kept this guy in jail? We NEED our jails to hold our pot smokers and bad check writers!

    For f**ks sake, there should not be a SINGLE person in jail unless they need to be physically separated from society for safety (like this guy). Martha Stewart does not need to take up a jail cell. Non violent drug offenders, and ‘fiscal’ crimes should be dealt with by fines and other mechanisms. The ACTUAL violent dangerous people should be the sole occupants of actual prisons.

    As for #2, Huckabee isn’t running for anything? Better tell the GOP, he’s one of the top 3 leading contenders for the 2012 Presidential race.

  • Adam Parast

    Sounds like a big political liability for Huckabee, and you can tell from his press release he knows that.

  • Adam Parast

    Sounds like a big political liability for Huckabee, and you can tell from his press release he knows that.

  • eric

    Let’s all remember that during our recent city council and mayoral campaign’s Publicola regularly derided anyone who supported more police and stronger enforcement of laws here in Seattle. Erica Barnett even said in her campaign analysis that council candidate Jessie Israel lost support when she went over to “the law and order dark side”. Publicola like it’s Stranger sibling has been a welcome venue for the cop haters in our city. Your disdain for law and order is irresponsible and runs absolutely counter to the necessary framework for a civil society.

  • eric

    Let’s all remember that during our recent city council and mayoral campaign’s Publicola regularly derided anyone who supported more police and stronger enforcement of laws here in Seattle. Erica Barnett even said in her campaign analysis that council candidate Jessie Israel lost support when she went over to “the law and order dark side”. Publicola like it’s Stranger sibling has been a welcome venue for the cop haters in our city. Your disdain for law and order is irresponsible and runs absolutely counter to the necessary framework for a civil society.

  • croydonfacelift

    The hipster logic boils down to a quasi-syllogism:

    A. Black people are cool
    B. Black people hate cops
    C. Hating cops is cool

    I realize that A and B are bogus generalizations, but they’re right there in the hipster handbook of indispensable axioms.

  • croydonfacelift

    The hipster logic boils down to a quasi-syllogism:

    A. Black people are cool
    B. Black people hate cops
    C. Hating cops is cool

    I realize that A and B are bogus generalizations, but they’re right there in the hipster handbook of indispensable axioms.

  • Michael G

    I know that the liberal blogs are having a field day over this, but I wish they wouldn’t. Think about what happens when political partisans try to score points over a high profile crime. Politicians all over the country, who are already afraid of the “soft on crime” label, are scared that they will take personal blame if they offer clemency, and the convict proceeds to commit a serious crime, and will come to view the hardline approach as the politically safe approach, even when it is not the right approach. I’ve worked to reform the Three Strikes law in Washington, and I see the cheap shots as being extremely damaging to my efforts.

    This particular post seems to be informational, not intended to promote a particular agenda, and so the above criticism is not directed toward Publicola in particular.

  • Michael G

    I know that the liberal blogs are having a field day over this, but I wish they wouldn’t. Think about what happens when political partisans try to score points over a high profile crime. Politicians all over the country, who are already afraid of the “soft on crime” label, are scared that they will take personal blame if they offer clemency, and the convict proceeds to commit a serious crime, and will come to view the hardline approach as the politically safe approach, even when it is not the right approach. I’ve worked to reform the Three Strikes law in Washington, and I see the cheap shots as being extremely damaging to my efforts.

    This particular post seems to be informational, not intended to promote a particular agenda, and so the above criticism is not directed toward Publicola in particular.

  • Timothy

    The issue is, in part, a problem with the criminal justice system, sure.

    But, more likely? The mental health system is completely inadequate. This guy is looney. He’s been a looney for a long time. We’ve locked him up, increasing his skills as a criminal, but likely done very little to moderate his mental illness.

  • Timothy

    The issue is, in part, a problem with the criminal justice system, sure.

    But, more likely? The mental health system is completely inadequate. This guy is looney. He’s been a looney for a long time. We’ve locked him up, increasing his skills as a criminal, but likely done very little to moderate his mental illness.

  • Giffy

    @2, If memory serves the law requires that people have the option of the bail except for first degree murder. Judges have discretion in the amount but it has to be reasonable given their likelihood to return for trial.

    As for how 150k becomes 15k, well you can blame the bail bond system for that.