LEAD Letter In the 2020 City budget, the City Council added new funding to expand the geographic scope of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, in addition to the funding included in the Mayor’s proposed budget, $1.5 million from the Ballmer Group, and funding from King County and other sources.  This funding would allow […]

Downtown Shootings This Week On Thursday I attended a press conference with the Mayor, Police Chief and Fire Chief at the West Precinct headquarters. At the press conference the Seattle Police Department announced they are placing a mobile precinct near the location where the shooting took place; bringing in additional officers to the area, including […]

MLK Day on Monday 2015 City Hall, City of Seattle Employees Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and City Council offices along with many other government offices will be closed.  The week’s City Council Briefing and Meeting will occur on Tuesday, January 21 instead.   Here are a couple of ideas for ways to celebrate […]

This Week in the Budget On November 6th, Budget Committee Chair Bagshaw proposed an Initial Budget Proposal, which incorporated some of the Councilmember proposals presented between October 29 and November 1. The three overarching priorities Bagshaw announced are homelessness, housing and hygiene. The proposal includes funding for each, including $3.5 million in additional funding for […]

This Week in Council Budget Deliberations This week the City Council Budget Committee met on October 2 to discuss: The Citywide Homelessness Response The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, with a community panel (which included King County Prosecutor Satterberg) and a City department panel The Mayor’s proposed tax on Transportation Network Company (TNC) vehicles […]

Delridge Light Rail Alternatives: Initial Assessment Results, Public Comment Open through October 4 Sound Transit has taken a critical next step in implementing Sound Transit 3 in releasing its “initial assessment” of potential additional alternatives to study in the Draft Environmental Impact statement for the West Seattle/Ballard light rail project.   If you recall, in May […]