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 [...]
Press Releases
The latest press releases from Seattle City Councilmembers.
Money and energy saving LED streetlight installations continue under budget and ahead of schedule
News Release
In late September of this year, Seattle City Light began installing LED streetlights on residential streets from North 65th Street in Seattle all the way to the northern boundary of City Light's service territory in Shoreline. The latest round of installations brings the total of installed LED streetlights to 18,000.
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 [...]
Councilmember O’Brien and family participate in National Bank Transfer Day
News Release
Councilmember Mike O'Brien and his family will participate in National Bank Transfer Day and he encourages other city residents to do the same. The O’Brien family joins more than 650,000 Americans in transferring their bank accounts to local banks or credit unions.
Arborist sought for Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission
News Release
The Seattle City Council is looking for a new Urban Forestry Commission (UFC) member to fill the Arborist role in Position # 5. The term would start December 1, 2011 and extend through December 1, 2014.
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.
Seattle City Councilmember Rasmussen applauds plans to build new streetcars in Seattle
News Release
Seattle City Councilmember and Transportation Committee Chair, Tom Rasmussen hailed today's announcement that the vehicles for the new First Hill Streetcar will be assembled in Seattle. The streetcars will be assembled by Seattle-based Pacifica, a company that specializes in the assembly and refurbishment of ground transportation vehicles in partnership with Inekon of the Czech Republic.
New Solar and Green Power Programs at City Light
Seattle City Light has launched a new solar and green power program that sets out a bold new approach to bringing renewables to Seattle. The ‘Community Solar’ program will ask customers to participate directly in new solar projects. The expanded ‘Customer Generation’ program will encourage customers to install solar projects, and is designed to dramatically [...]