FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/30/2013
City Councilmembers to vote on gun safety public health funding
Seattle - The City Council's Government Performance and Finance Committee will consider tomorrow morning an amendment to budget legislation to fund ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/30/2013
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmembers Bagshaw, Godden, Harrell to appear on
May's City Inside/Out: Council Edition
The opportunity is yours:...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2013
Councilmember Nick Licata
Randy Engstrom Confirmed as Director of City's Arts Office
Brings Wealth of Community Organizing Skills to the Position
Seattle - Seattle City Council confirmed Randy Engstrom as perma...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2013
Councilmember Richard Conlin
City Council Adopts Food Action Plan
Plan aims to increase access to healthy food, support local food production and strengthen local economy
SEATTLE - Seattle City Council today...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2013
Metro Executives to brief City Council on potential bus cuts
Metro Head to present routes at risk in Seattle, King County
SEATTLE - King County Metro will brief Seattle City Council Monday morning on 65 bus routes...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2013
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Councilmember Rasmussen responds to briefing from Metro managers on potential bus cuts
Transportation Chair responds to presentation on routes at risk
SEATTLE -- Councilmember Tom...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2013
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Tim Burgess responds to Metro briefing on pending service cuts
Seattle - City Councilmember Tim Burgess issued the following statement today after the Council received a...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/25/2013
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember O'Brien's statement on opting out of yellow pages
Consumers should opt-out at www.yellowpagesoptout.com by May 6th
to meet upcoming delivery deadline
Seattle -- The City of Seattle and yellow pages publishers recently reached an agreement to provide residents and businesses easy control of the delivery of yellow pages directories to their homes through www.yellowpagesoptout.com. Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien issued the following statement in response:
I encourage Seattleites who are still receiving yellow pages directories to go to www.yellowpagesoptout.com. May 6 is the deadline for opting out of Dex yellow pages directories, if they have not done so already. There they can set their preferences so they only receive the directories they want, or they can opt out of all directories at once.
I thank the industry for agreeing to honor all existing opt outs and for taking significant steps to develop this nationwide opt-out system, which has participation from all major publishers, a new user-friendly interface and a complaint system where concerned residents can get quick, reliable feedback.
"Residents who already opted out of yellow pages directories will not need to opt out again, maintaining the savings of over 1,000 tons of paper that we accomplished through our previous system."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/23/2013
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Bagshaw visits Olympia to advocate for transportation options
OLYMPIA - Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw today will meet with key state legislators to advocate for local transportation funding options. Bagshaw will travel to Olympia as part of the "Keep King County Moving" Coalition, highlighting the need to preserve King County Metro transit service and critical roadway maintenance.
Metro faces a $75 million annual shortage if the state Legislature fails to approve transit funding tools, a shortfall that would result in the reduction of up to 17 percent of Metro's bus service. According to King County Metro, 65 transit routes are at risk of being cancelled, with another 86 routes at risk for service reductions. "Keep King County Moving" has coordinated business, government and community advocates to speak with one voice in Olympia about the threat transit cuts pose to business, growth management and quality of life.
"I'm looking forward to sitting down with our friends in Olympia to find some real solutions for our transit system," said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. "I'd also like to extend my gratitude to the legislature for passing the Safe Streets bill (House Bill 1045 and Senate Bill 5066), which will allow for lower speed limits on Seattle's neighborhood greenways."
Seattle City Councilmembers frequently meet with legislators as part of the "Seattle for Washington" program, which is intended to strengthen relationships with key policy makers and better understand issues important to communities around the state. For more on Metro's funding shortfall and what it could mean for the future of transit riders and our economy, please visit Metro's website.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/22/2013
Councilmember Richard Conlin
City Opposes Genetically Engineered Salmon
Seattle -- Seattle City Council adopted a resolution today opposing the commercial production of genetically engineered (GE) salmon. A proposal is currently before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would allow GE salmon commercial production. The Mayor concurred with the resolution.
The City's action supports a bipartisan coalition, supported by Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, which is seeking to ban the genetically engineered fish or require it to be labeled as transgenic. More than 400,000 fishermen, environmentalists, food safety advocates and others have written to the FDA with concerns about the FDA's preliminary finding that this project should be allowed to proceed.
"This is a threat to the livelihood of Northwest and Alaska fishermen," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, sponsor of the resolution. "I'm also deeply concerned about potential health concerns related to consuming genetically engineered salmon. That's why we felt the need to act."
AquaBounty Technologies Inc., is seeking permission from the FDA to alter Atlantic salmon with genes taken from the Pacific Chinook salmon and the eel-like Ocean Pout. Adding these growth genes from other species causes fish to produce growth hormones continuously, allowing them to grow larger and faster than natural salmon.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is also alarmed about this proposal. Chairman Brian Cladoosby, said, "Genetically engineered salmon pose a grave threat to the environment and to the health of the general population. We strongly believe that it would be an error for the FDA to accept the unsupported "guarantee" that all genetically engineered fish can be contained and not adversely impact people, the wild salmon species and the environment. "
"Salmon are an important part of Seattle's environment, our heritage, and our economy," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "I stand with fishermen, environmentalists and food safety advocates to protect salmon and the public from genetic modification."