As the chair of the Council’s Budget Committee I also chair the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) Board. At the request of the 350Seattle.org which is fighting global climate change, SCERS asked our investment consultant NEPC (of Boston) to give its recommendation on how the city might divest from fossil fuel stocks, commonly referred […]
Tag: Energy
Revising Seattle’s Green Building Standard
Should the City scrap its green building regulations in favor of Europe's Exemplary Buildings or Passivhaus programs?
Council Passes Resolutions about Investing in Fossil Fuels and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Today the Council voted on two resolutions that I had the privilege of sponsoring. Below are short summaries on both. I. Resolution 31525 Resolution 31525 strengthens the City’s commitment to greenhouse gas reductions by formalizing the City’s policy begun under the previous administration to not invest the City’s cash pool in corporations and other entities […]
UP #353: Is City Light CEO’s Raise Justified?
Does the city's highest paid employee deserve a 45 percent pay hike? Here, I explain my vote on the City Light CEO salary.
Pass It On Campaign
About 13,000 people are currently in the program, but we know there are at least 20,000 people out there who would qualify.
Urban ArtWorks + Sci-Fi Writing Contest
Sci-Fi Short Story Contest: winners announced March 1st; Urban ArtWorks: 70% of at-risk youth who complete an Urban ArtWorks project do not re-offend.
Community Power Works Getting the Work Done
The City’s Community Power Works program, funded out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA – the ‘economic stimulus’ legislation of 2009) received some critical reviews for starting up more slowly than the original plan. It did turn out to be challenging to ramp up as quickly as had been hoped, but the good [...]
Parks and Neighborhoods Committee recap: Parks saves taxpayer money, Levy Oversight committee spends it wisely
We held the first meeting of the new Parks and Neighborhoods committee Thursday, January 19, 2012. See the meeting agenda. Our committee attendance was VERY small, due to icy conditions on the roads. I missed our usual crowd, but I’m glad people were wise and stayed warm and safe at home. One important note for [...]
The Comp Plan: a roadmap for the next 20 years
I’ve posted this reminder before, but here’s a new push to remind people that the decisions the city makes now will have great implications in the future. We need your thoughts on updating Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan – the vision for how Seattle will evolve over the next two decades. There’s a great YouTube video that explains the purpose of the Comp Plan and directs [...]
Seattle Farm Bill Principles adopted by Council, to go before National League of Cities
On Monday, May 23, the City Council adopted Resolution 31296, supporting the Seattle Farm Bill Principles as policy guidance to the Federal Government in the renewal of the 2012 Farm Bill. Our goal is to have Seattle’s actions will serve as a model for other jurisdictions. On June 4, I presented the Farm Bill principles [...]