You know all this from my previous blog entries (Part I, Part II, and Part III): Our city proudly counts 465 parks spanning 6,200 acres of beaches, forests, fields, playgrounds, ball courts, community centers, and rain-kissed open space. We rely on these parks for respite from city life, room to stretch our legs, space to […]

On Monday, June 10, the Council unanimously approved the First Quarter Supplemental to the 2013 Budget. As the title suggests, we amend the approved budget four times during the year, to correct errors, add expenditures for priorities that have emerged since the budget was approved, and/or make cuts if revenues are coming in below target. […]

On the first day of 2013, I joined many neighbors and Seattle visitors by taking a long walk in the glorious sunshine along Myrtle Edwards Park. I got there on the new Thomas Street Bridge from Uptown and I am happy to say, it was packed! I loved seeing all the people out in regular […]

While it’s been wonderful to be in New York and focused on being a grandmother, I find I’m already itching to get home and back to the office. Now that budget is almost wrapped up, we can get back to Committee work. In fact, PaN has a special meeting on Tuesday, November 20th. We have […]

Let me state the obvious — Council’s 8-week review of the city’s proposed budget is a busy time. The city’s budget is about $4B. The General Subfund is roughly $950M. City Council is presented the proposed budget in late September, in this case September 24th to be exact, and we spend the next seven or […]

The deadline for the fall round of applications to the Neighborhood Matching Fund’s Small and Simple Projects Fund is a week away. The Small and Simple Projects Fund provides matching funds of up to $20,000 to support community members as they work together to build a stronger and healthier neighborhood through civic participation. It is a program […]

If you happened to be downtown Monday, July 30, you might have noticed something a little unusual going on at Westlake Park. For example, a bouncy castle fully occupied by bouncing children, a temporary stage where a chicken, a space alien, and other The Bears Upstairs band members traded places at the piano, and a […]

I met 26-year old Jeremy Hopwood at the Jefferson Park Jubilee last weekend.  While standing in line at one of the many vendors, he thoughtfully opened a bottle of water for me and we started talking.  “Want to see my van?” he tentatively offered.  Every bit as tentatively, I said, “Hmmmm.”  We were enjoying  a […]

Just based on today’s Land Use Information Bulletin, there seems to be an increase in sidewalk café permit applications in Seattle as the summer weather sets in. I’m delighted by this. Sidewalk cafés make our streets more inviting, present opportunities for neighbors to meet and get to know one another at a “third place,” (other […]

This Thursday, February 2nd, 2012, the City’s Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery will host an opening reception from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for their new exhibition “Souls of Sweetness”. The exhibit will run through April 15th in the 3rd Floor Gallery of Seattle’s Municipal Tower at 700 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.