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Reconsidering the Grand Canyon State

Learning that the National League of Cities will hold the fall “Congress of Cities” meeting later this week in Phoenix (meeting sites are selected four years in advance) has prompted me to think about what I’ve learned in the almost year and a half since I pushed forward a resolution calling for the City of [...]

Let’s Make the Duwamish River the Center for a Sustainable City

Cities thrive when they integrate the vitality of urban life with their natural surroundings.  That’s why so many of us live here and wouldn’t trade our access to Puget Sound, the Olympics, and Mount Rainier for anything. But at the heart of Seattle is a waterway that we turn our back on:  the Duwamish River [...]

Extending Light Rail South of the Airport

On Monday, October 31, Sound Transit submitted its application for a federal TIGER grant to construct light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to S. 200th Street, a critical move that begins the process of extending light rail to the south.  This extension was included in the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure in 2008, but the recession [...]

Land use in service of economic recovery

In my last blog, I talked about some of the goals I had in mind when I re-upped for two more years as chair of the Committee on the Built Environment, a term that is coming to an end this December. I wanted to look back on some of those goals and reflect on how [...]

City and State Agreement on SR 520

On Monday, October 24, the Seattle City Council approved legislation authorizing Mayor McGinn to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that will protect the City’s interests on the SR 520 bridge replacement project.   The City Council initiated this agreement to follow up on our comment letters to [...]

Peace Corps Revisit to Korea

Last week I traveled to Korea as a guest of the Korean government, which has invited Peace Corps volunteers back to Korea to thank and honor them.  My wife, Sue Ann Allen, was a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV), [...]

Mayor McGinn announces that First Hill Streetcar vehicles will be built in Seattle

News Release
Mayor Mike McGinn and Council President Richard Conlin, joined by labor and business representatives, today announced Inekon-Pacifica as the winning bidder to build six First Hill Streetcar vehicles. Inekon, based in the Czech Republic, is partnered with Pacifica, a Seattle-based manufacturer. The announcement, made at the Seattle Streetcar Maintenance Yard, highlighted investments in high capacity transit that are bringing, living wage manufacturing jobs to Seattle. The partnership will bring streetcar manufacturing jobs to Seattle and compete for other streetcar contracts around the country.