(Image: Seattle Municipal Archives via Flickr)

Here’s the latest from City Hall:

• Pre-K plan: Wednesday, the City Council’s education committee will take up legislation from the mayor’s office for implementing Seattle’s new pre-K education plan:
  The implementation plan provides details about how the preschool program will be rolled out, and how it will work toward meeting its goal of closing the achievement gap for Seattle’s youngest learners.“Included in this implementation plan are the key ingredients to creating a successful program that will make a difference in the lives of young children and their families across our city,” said Murray. “With the plan’s focus on quality, we’re working to ensure that the children participating in the Seattle Preschool Program will be ready for school and have the foundation to succeed in school and life.”
• Homeless encampments: The planning and land use committee and chair Mike O’Brien approved the city’s plan to regulate homeless encampments by permitting three camps in Seattle. Kshama Sawant’s amendment seeking to expand the area where the camps will be allowed to include residential neighborhoods was not adopted but an extension of the bill to allow the University of Washington and other schools to potentially host the facilities was approved. The full council will vote on the legislation March 23rd.
• Only in Seattle funds: Wednesday, Mayor Ed Murray will make a public announcement about the $2 million in funding going to Seattle neighborhoods as part of the city’s Only in Seattle economic development grants. CHS reported on the plan for the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and Capitol Hill Community Council to put some of that funding toward staffing and administrative support.
• Seattle Transit Advisory Board: Part of the city creating its own Transportation Benefits District was creating a Seattle Transit Advisory Board of citizens to help oversee it. You should jump in — “Seattle residents interested in serving on the Advisory Board should submit a resume and a letter of interest to Bill LaBorde of the Seattle Department of Transportation at [email protected]”
  The Board will be comprised of 11 members, plus a member of the Get Engaged program, all of whom will serve staggered two or three-year terms. Five appointments will be made by the Council and six appointments by the Mayor. The Board is expected to meet monthly.The legislation passed today calls for Board members to be representative of:

  ·         Different geographic areas of the city;

  ·         Different transit rider groups (persons with disabilities, senior and school age citizens, commuters, low-income riders);

  ·         Travelers of different modes of public transportation (e.g. bus, light rail, streetcar, and ferry);

  ·         Seattle residents with an interest in improving transit conditions within the City and region, and have experience with urban transit issues;

  ·         Transit-related organizations/clubs; and

  ·         Schools, business, and neighborhood organizations that particularly depend on the City’s public transportation system.