Tag Archives: Renton Innovation Zone Partnership

News

Skyway Community Receives Funding for Affordable Housing and Early Learning Center

by Lauryn Bray

At the end of April, the Washington State Senate Committee released the amended 2023–2025 Biennial and 2023 Supplemental Capital Budgets, which included $6 million in funding for an affordable housing and early learning center project in Skyway. Originally, the proposed budgets allocated only $3 million for the affordable housing part of the project; however, after residents, activists, and legislators continued to advocate for the needs of the Skyway community, an additional $3 million was carved out in the amended budget for an early learning center.

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News

Old U.S. Bank Building in Skyway Set to Become HUD EnVision Center

by Elizabeth Turnbull

A new HUD EnVision Center is set to open in the old U.S. Bank building in Skyway in 2023 — providing connections to economic, health, and other resources — after U.S. Bank donated the land and the building to the King County Housing Authority (KCHA).

The space, which will be known as the Skyway Resource Center and is located at 12610 76th Ave. S., will replace and expand on the existing mobile resource center the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP) launched roughly a year ago to provide resources during the pandemic. 

“For too long, Skyway has not received sufficient public and private investment, and that has slowed the development of economic opportunities and the provision of needed community services,” Stephen Norman, KCHA’s executive director, wrote in a statement released by U.S. Bank. “We are excited to work with the Skyway community and King County to reverse this trend and assist in the development of a new community asset that will provide additional tools and resources to help residents to move ahead.”

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Community

Skyway Coalition Celebrates Cynthia A. Green Day

by M. Anthony Davis

Cynthia A. Green has been a pillar in the Skyway community for decades. Her work and dedication to serving her community while working at the Renton Area Youth Services family center led to the center being renamed the Cynthia A. Green Family Center in her honor in 2014. In that same year, King County Councilmember Larry Gossett proclaimed Sept. 6 to be Cynthia A. Green Day across the county. 

This year, in celebration of Cynthia A. Green Day, the Skyway Coalition created a series of social media posters with tributes from community leaders, colleagues, and friends of Green. 

“We are very conscious of our history,” Rebecca Berry, manager of the Skyway Coalition says. “We’ve gone through decades of advocacy and work to try to get the support and resources that our community needs.”

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News

NEWS GLEAMS: Masks Required Again, Big Day of Play, $50K for Skyway/West Hill Youth, & More!

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curated by Emerald Staff

A round-up of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

A person wears a rainbow Black Lives Matter mask. (Photo: Chole Collyer)

Mask Mandates a Thing (Again) & Public School Employees, Others, Required to Get Vaccine

Gov. Jay Inslee announced during an in-person-only press conference held in an Olympia elementary school Wednesday, Aug. 18, that he would reinstate the statewide indoor mask mandate — for those vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. Inslee said in a tweet immediately following the press conference that COVID-19 cases are “skyrocketing” due — in large part, he said — to the delta variant and that “the best way to protect everyone is to get vaccinated and wear a mask.” He also announced that vaccinations would be required not only for those working in K–12 schools but also in “most childcare and early learning” as well as in higher education. In his tweet, Gov. Inslee listed out highlights of the new vaccine requirements for workers.

Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS: Masks Required Again, Big Day of Play, $50K for Skyway/West Hill Youth, & More! →
News

Food and Housing Resource Pop-Up Opens In Skyway

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by Elizabeth Turnbull

A free, multi-service resource center hosted by Renton Innovation Zone Partnership will be stationed at 12643 Renton Ave. S.on Sept. 4, Sept. 18, and three dates in October, to provide Skyway residents with housing assistance, school supplies, and food resources, among other things. 

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Community

Community Collective Providing Students And Families in Renton and Skyway With Resources During COVID-19

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by M. Anthony Davis

The Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP) has emerged as an amazing community collective that works to support families in Skyway, West Hill, and the Renton Highlands with basic needs, early learning opportunities, and community and family engagement resources. 

RIZP started in 2017 when Renton School District Superintendent Dr. Damien Pattenaude began looking for community involvement to help support students living within the Renton Innovation Zone, where 5,023 students currently live. 

“He [Dr. Pattenaude], along with a couple other organizations, convened a bunch of providers, nonprofits, and city government, and was like, ‘schools can’t do it alone,’” said Ryan Quigtar, Executive Director of RIZP. Quigtar is excited about the prospective partnership, but acknowledged that partnerships like this have been tried in the past. 

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Community, Education

Partnership Tackles Opportunity Gaps Facing Skyway Youth

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by Carolyn Bick

Ryan Quigtar grew up in the Skyway community. Even then, he said, there was a lack of educational and enrichment opportunities for school kids like him. Decades later, this lack of opportunity persists. But as the Executive Director of the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership, Quigtar is now in a place to help do something about it. Continue reading Partnership Tackles Opportunity Gaps Facing Skyway Youth →