Tag Archives: City of Seattle

Opinion

OPEN LETTER: Tammy Morales Calls for Mediation Between LIHI and Nickelsville

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Tammy Morales sent the following letter to the city of Seattle’s Human Services Department, Nickelsville, and the Low Income Housing Institute. It is reprinted here with permission. A petition calling for mediation between the organizations can be found here.

by Tammy Morales

Dear Nickelsville, Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), and Seattle Human Services Department Leaders,

I have immense admiration for the work that both LIHI and Nickelsville have done for years in serving our underserved homeless neighbors. Nickelsville, you have stood against corporate power in the city that wants to stop spending on human services. You have served the needs of our community members and have shown us that we can have permanent affordable housing.

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Opinion

OPINION: So-Called Affordable Housing is Still Out of Reach for Many Seattleites

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by Tyler Adamson

Considering the Seattle City Council’s recent conversations on zoning laws, it’s particularly pertinent to dig a little deeper into the topic, especially as it applies to accessibility and the racist and segregatory intent which these laws were originally designed. However, the notion that zoning laws are at the root cause of our disparate housing system is simply short-sighted.

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Opinion

OPINION — Snowy Winters & Smokey Summers: Preparing for the Future

OpEds by Got Green appear in the South Seattle Emerald every month.

by Hodan Hassan and Tanika Thompson-Bird

The climate is changing. We know that, but the past few weeks brought it to the forefront of our minds. Remember the snow? The snow that fell from the sky and trapped us in our homes for days? That was a sign of how the changing climate is impacting our weather patterns — snow storm in Seattle, a rainstorm in Southern California and 60-degree weather in DC. Seattle is not prepared for snow in any capacity. The streets weren’t cleaned, public transit was a disaster, and people couldn’t get out of their homes.

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Opinion

OPINION: Statewide Office of Equity Can Reduce Systemic Racial Inequalities

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by Mia Gregerson and Manka Dhingra

Ensuring mother and child thrive in childbirth and beyond are among the highest on our list of American values. However, the United States remains only one of eight nations in the world with a rising maternal mortality rate — and black mothers are dying at 1.5 to two times the rate of white mothers in childbirth.

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Opinion

OPINION: The Youth Green Corps is the “Future of Work” for Seattle Parks and Recreation

by Denaya Shorter

A quick online search of opportunities for Seattle youth yields pages upon pages of available services and programs — summer day camps for children, mentoring groups for tweens, internships for high school teens, fellowships for college students. But what about our young adults? What happens to our young people who make it through the struggle of societal pressures, and the many challenges of the journey to adulthood, and are looking to enter the workforce? How are we supporting these youth?

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News

HSD Staffers, Community Seek Racial Equity In Human Services Department Director Appointment

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by Aaron Burkhalter

City staffers from the Human Services Department, community members, and activists say that Mayor Jenny Durkan sidestepped the city’s own procedures and race-equity process in the appointment of Jason Johnson as the director of the Human Services Department (HSD).

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Civics

Seattle City Council $6 Billion Budget Reflects Incremental Change

by Carolyn Bick

With the exception of Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the Seattle City Council almost unanimously passed its $5.9 billion 2019-20 budget.

The nine-member council voted 8-to-1 in favor of passing a budget that included increases in funding for police and the city’s homelessness outreach program, as well as funding for a new program aimed at low-acuity mental health response. The budget largely reflected what Mayor Jenny Durkan originally proposed, with minor changes.

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Opinion

OPINION: Urge City Council to Support Green Pathways Fellowship Program

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by Lavanya Madhusudan

There is an acute lack of representation of people of color in the green sector. According to the thoroughly researched Green 2.0 report, the percentage of minorities on the boards or general staff of environmental organizations in the US does not exceed 16 percent. Once hired in environmental organizations, ethnic minorities are concentrated in the lower ranks. As a result, ethnic minorities occupy less than 12 percent of leadership positions in the green sector.

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Voices

OPINION: Passionate Testimony Brightens a Bleak Seattle Budget

by Geov Parrish

Sept. 23, hundreds packed Seattle City Council chambers and an overflow room for their first chance to offer public testimony on Mayor Jenny Durkan’s proposed 2019-20  budget, and potential council amendments to it. Some 140 people and groups signed up to offer testimony in what turned out to be a frequently emotional four-hour marathon that hopefully left council members — at least those who weren’t looking at their phones all evening — a lot to think about. To her credit, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw chaired the hearing with a notably fairer and more restrained hand than council President Bruce Harrell employs in contentious council meetings.

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