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They were stem cells. And then they were cardiac cells.
I toured the University of Washington South Lake Union building near Mercer and 9th this morning with Councilmembers Drago and Rasmussen and saw things both cool and creepy. The main reason for the...
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Food bank robbed
Is there a worse blow to your karma than robbing a food bank the week before Thanksgiving? I guess it could be worse if you rob a food bank in the part of Seattle with the lowest incomes. I guess that...
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Starting the new year with way too many people on food stamps
The New York Times Sunday edition carried this wake-up piece about the record high number of people using food stamps. The piece notes that the surge has happened under the radar which seems hard given...
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One Night Count
More than 970 volunteers strode streets, scaled hillsides and shone flashlights into dark spaces this morning as part of the annual One Night Count of homeless people in King County. The project counts...
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Nicotine conveyance devices
I wanted to blog about the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Schools meeting we held Tuesday night at Eckstein in Northeast Seattle with members of the Council’s Committee on the Built Environment,...
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No vaping inside the bar
What’s vaping, you ask? That’s the lingo for users of electronic cigarettes. Instead of smoking users of e-cigarettes vape. At the King County Board of Health meeting today we voted to regulate this...
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High school health centers
Growing up my mom would take my sister and me to see Dr. Whittemore for regular check-ups. The office he started is still there on N.W. Lovejoy Street in Portland. He could hear the pneumonia in my...
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Why I voted for paid sick leave for Seattle workers
Over the weekend I zipped down to visit my mom who is suffering through pneumonia. I didn’t have to miss work, but I also didn’t stress about whether I might miss work. Last year I had pneumonia and...
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See It, Send It… Do something
The recent launch of the See It, Send It campaign by the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau Street Scene Task Force has generated a new run of debate over Seattle’s attitudes and responses to...
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My team found Kathryn Ann Blair during the One Night Count
I participated in the annual One Night Count of unsheltered people in King County in the early morning hours of Jan. 25. Hundreds of volunteers participate each year to count and witness. Each year...
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One Night Count 2014
Another One Night Count to end homelessness has come and gone. Every year, more than 900 volunteers in the Seattle/King County area take to the streets the last Friday morning of January, 2 a.m.-5...
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Just say hello
A few years ago architect Rex Hohlbein arrived at his office on the ship canal in Fremont and saw a guy sleeping, a few possessions around him, on the grass by the canal wall edge. That proved to be...
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Seattle is raising its minimum wage
Over the past several months of minimum wage debate I’ve been told to adopt $15 now “because the rent won’t wait.” I’ve been told raising the minimum wage will cost jobs. In meetings I’ve heard...
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Momentum building for a housing strategy
One of my top priorities when I took over the Council’s housing committee this year has been to ignite development of a housing strategy for Seattle. We have master plans for pedestrian and bicycling...
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Home, it’s where I want to be.
Just got back from the official launch for our new housing affordability and livability plan. The plan, outlined in this resolution, convenes an advisory committee to establish a Seattle Housing...
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Linkage Fees
Councilmember O’Brien and I submitted a guest opinion piece to the Seattle Times about linkage fees. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can read it here: Guest: Seattle needs a linkage fee to make...
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Field trips during 2015 budget review
Councilmembers have been locked in 2015 city budget review for the past few weeks on our way to a final vote the Monday before Thanksgiving. It’s a little difficult to schedule other work during this...
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Budget 2015
We’re just about to end our work adopting a City budget for 2015. Each year we go through hours of review and discussion about available revenue, efficiency, effectiveness and values. This year’s...
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Housing affordability committee needs your voice
The City took our first steps this past September toward creating a plan for housing –particularly affordable housing — in Seattle by launching a Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory...
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Continuing the foreclosure fight
At the top of the year I’m lining up committee and “special project” priorities for 2015. We’ll launch new initiatives this year, but several projects started in 2014 will carry over. One of these...
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