(Seattle) "Council complains McGinn 'distmantling' Neighborhoods Dept."
Chris Grygiel (seattlepi.com):"The neighborhoods are where Seattle is," City Councilmember Jean Godden said during a budget hearing. "It was at a neighborhood council where I met the current mayor, the Greenwood one....it seems like there must be a better way of organizing this cut - indeed if it's going to be as high as 20 percent. There must be some way to shape it."
City Council President Richard Conlin said "it feels almost like there's a dismantling of the department of neighborhoods."
(SNIP)
The Council is completing its review of McGinn's budget. It will pass a final spending plan next month. City officials are nervously eyeing the Nov. 2 election to see the results of several initiatives that could affect the budget. Measures that would privatize liquor sales and eliminate recently-passed soda taxes could increase next year's deficit by millions. MORE...
Howie P.S.: The West Seattle Blog
covers what the cuts would mean to one Seattle neighborhood:One day after facing the City Council Budget Committee to explain the cuts proposed for her section of city government, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao faced what arguably could be considered a tougher, and even more personally involved, group: The West Seattle neighborhood-group/organization reps who comprise the Southwest District Council.
“We took a big hit,” Chao acknowledged – including a 22 percent cut in the Neighborhood Matching Fund program, which has helped pay for community-generated projects such as parks and traffic projects.
But the part of that “big hit” which concerned the SWDC members even more was the proposed closure of the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and the elimination of the Neighborhood District Coordinator job headquartered there – a job held by Stan Lock, who sat just two seats away, and has declined comment on the proposed job cut since it was announced.
As Chao listened to member after member declare that even if the center itself had to be lost, Lock’s role is too vital to cut, for the health of the neighborhood and the issues it’s dealing with, she reiterated: While it’s important for her to hear, the people who most need to have the case made to them, are the City Council members who will be here in West Seattle for a public hearing next week. MORE...
Chris Grygiel (seattlepi.com):
1 comment:
Greetings, Howie! In the aftermath of the poor Sammy's Thanksgiving Day electrocution in Seattle, please disseminate this vital public service to preclude more tragedies. Many thanks and happy safe new year!
Just so you know, I confer with Con Edison's Stray Voltage and Public Affairs Units and contribute to Wet Nose Guide and New York Dog Chat.
HOW TO SLAY AN INVISIBLE DANGER.
Blair Sorrel, Founder
http://www.StreetZaps.com
Contact voltage is a chronic hidden hazard that can readily victimize an unsuspecting dog, walker, or both. No dog lover could possibly observe a more horrifying scene than witnessing his beloved pet instantaneously maimed or tragically electrocuted. When you exercise your pooch, please exercise greater prudence. Common outdoor electrical and metal fixtures may shock or even kill your vulnerable dog. And depending upon the current, the walker will be bitten and like poor Aric Roman, suffer permanently. But you can, indeed, self-protect.
Just start to adopt this simple strategy — EYEBALL THE BLOCK, AND AVOID A SHOCK. Take a few seconds and make your trajectory toward generally safer, free standing, non-conductive surfaces, ie., plastic, wood, cardboard. Intuit your dog’s cues and if it’s resistant, change directions. Work site perimeters may be live so try to elude them. If necessary, switch sides of the street or your hands when leading to skirt hazards. If you traverse the same route, you may memorize locations of potential dangers. Carry your pooch when in doubt. Consider indoor restroom products like PottyPark when external conditions are chancy or RopeNGo’s hardware-free leash and harness. And don’t rely on dog booties as a palliative as they will actually put your pet at even greater risk since the dog can’t tell you they’re leaking! To learn to more, please see StreetZaps. A safer walk is yours year round if you are willing to open to your eyes and mind to it.
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