News Release:
The Council voted 6-2 today to approve a revised agreement with private investor Chris Hansen for a new sports and entertainment arena. The final version of the bill includes technical amendments discussed over the past ten days with the King County Council.
I am pleased that after months of discussion, we are seriously considering a new arena for our SuperSonics and potentially an NHL team. I have moved from “Really? Spend public money on yet another sports arena?” to a qualified, “Yes.” The proposed plan can work for the people and entities that concern me deeply: the City [...]
On September 17, 2012, former Seattle City Councilmember Cheryl Chow received special recognition for her public service in Seattle. The Seattle City Council presented her with a Proclamation and declared Monday, September 17, 2012 as "Cheryl Chow Day."
Yesterday was our last committee meeting before our annual 6-week plunge into the budget, so we had a longer agenda than usual. Councilmembers Godden and Conlin joined me at the table this week. You can see the Seattle Channel video of the whole meeting here. After Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams gave us his Superintendent’s Report, we [...]
News Release:
As part of the Mayor’s upcoming 2013-14 budget proposal, Mayor McGinn recently announced his proposal to transfer the operations and programming of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (LHPAC) to the City’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (OACA) from the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR).
If you ride the bus, please get ready for what we call a “period of transition” in early October. By now you’ve probably already heard that the downtown ride free area (or RFA) is ending on Saturday September 29. It was eliminated (after 40 years of service) by the King County Council to help the [...]
One of the programs I am especially happy to see taking shape is the Department of Neighborhood’s work to make city government accessible and intelligible to traditionally underrepresented communities, that is to say, immigrants and refugees, seniors, people living with disabilities, renters, small businesses, youth and more. DON’s director Bernie Matsuno, and employees James Bush [...]
News Release:
The Seattle City Council voted unanimously today to approve legislation allowing the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to redevelop the 22-acre Yesler Terrace public housing neighborhood.
Last month I participated in a brown bag forum in Council Chambers that focused on caregiver issues. It was held as a special meeting of the Housing, Human Services, Health & Culture committee chaired by my colleague Councilmember Nick Licata. I was surprised to learn that King County’s services for caregivers—available through the King County [...]
After many discussions, and much debate, Seattle City Council passed Ordinance 123698 on September 12, 2011. That law, also known as Paid Sick/Safe Time (PSST) takes effect on September 1. While those who worked hard on this issue know about this important date, our job now is to make sure others know about it as [...]