News Release:
The Seattle City Council’s Yesler Terrace Special Committee voted unanimously today to approve legislation allowing the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to redevelop the 22-acre Yesler Terrace public housing neighborhood.
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Category: Councilmember Godden
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Lake City Revisited
I said goodbye to Lake City more than a dozen years ago. I had raised my sons there and originally expected that it would always be my home. It was a difficult decision to move and Lake City is still near to my heart.
It’s the kind of leafy, compact neighborhood that sports a walkable business district, a handsome public library and a colonial office building that once was the neighborhood school. When I lived there, Lake City was a populist neighborhood. You could have a janitor living on one side and a university professor on the other. You’d meet your neighbors at places like Bakers, the local bakery where they served the best weekend breakfasts and where, … Continue Reading »
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You Gotta Have Soul
If you’re looking for Seattle’s soul – and that word has been bounced around a lot lately – you need look no farther than the Seattle Library. This city and its citizens have invested in soul, expending finite resources to create one of the most magnificent library systems in the country.
At the heart of the system is the Central Library, an architectural masterpiece that attracts visitors from all over the world. The Central Library connects to 26 branches located throughout our city’s unique neighborhoods. Each branch has its own character, defined by varying cultures and needs.
But the Seattle Library is not composed of buildings and equipment alone. Seattle soul lies in the services that the library delivers. It rests … Continue Reading »
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Seattle City Council special committee supports initial Central Waterfront concept design and strategic plan
News Release:
This afternoon the Seattle City Council unanimously approved Resolution 31399 supporting the overall direction of a Central Waterfront concept design and strategic plan. This resolution also addresses a funding plan for public, private, and philanthropic sources for the Waterfront Improvement Program and states the City’s intent to form a local improvement district to help pay for the waterfront improvements. The resolution calls for partnerships with the Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium and supports formation of a Friends of the Seattle Waterfront non-profit organization.
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Royal Moment
I never thought I could be overwhelmed by royalty, but I certainly was in awe Wednesday night. The event was the Mayor’s Seafair Party, held in the Norman B. Rice Room at City Hall. Guests included naval personnel resplendent in dress whites. Also on the guest list were prominent Seafair Board Members, as well as [...]
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Seattle City Council in discussions with investor Chris Hansen to modify proposed arena agreement
News Release:
A majority of Seattle City Councilmembers signed a letter today to investor Chris Hansen, continuing discussions regarding modifications to the proposed agreement for a sports and entertainment arena in SoDo. The letter outlines areas of concern in the current proposal and states the City Council's desire to address these concerns before moving forward with a final agreement.
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Seawall meets its nemesis, the gribble
Originally published July 20, 2012, on Crosscut.com
There’s a piece of wood on desks down at City Hall. The chunk, with its dozens of air pockets and traverse cavities, resembles a rotting wedge of Swiss cheese. But, in reality, the crumbling wooden chunk is a piece of the Seattle seawall, the nearly mile
and a half wall that separates downtown Seattle from the salty waters of Elliott Bay.
That barrier, built between 1916 and 1936, extends from South Washington Street to Broad Street. It was never designed to withstand earthquakes or heavy tides. Nor to resist invasion by generations of gribbles, a tiny marine worm.
The city has been patching breaks its seawall for decades, but there is no getting around reality – … Continue Reading »
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Tears for an Icon
J. P. (short for Julius Pierpoint) Patches left us Sunday morning. The clown — real name Chris Wedes — was a hero to children of all ages, but especially to baby boomers who grew up watching the KIRO-TV children’s star from 1958 through 1981. J. P. styled himself “mayor of the city dump.” J.P. starred [...]
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Chris Hansen’s Sodo arena plan: Seattle Storm should be more than an afterthought
Originally published July 15, 2012, in the Seattle Times,
AMID all the hoopla over a potential new arena, there has been one forgotten player. No one, it seems, is talking seriously about what the addition of another professional sports franchise or two — and another sports emporium — would mean to the future of the Seattle Storm.
Failure to talk with, and about, the WNBA franchise is quite an oversight. For openers, it’s worth reviewing the team’s history. Remember that in 2008, when the Oklahomans were determined to hijack the Sonics, it looked as if they were going to drag the Storm off, caveman style, to Oklahoma City as collateral damage.
At almost the eleventh hour, a group of professional women miraculously came to the team’s rescue and managed to scrape … Continue Reading »
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Have a question for the Seattle City Council? Get it answered on Seattle Channel’s Council Edition
News Release:
Do you have a question for the City Council? How can residents voice their opinion on the proposed NBA/NHL arena? Will there be program or staffing cuts in next year's budget? How are city leaders working to curb Seattle's rise in gun violence? Whatever your questions, submit them now.