An InternationalWorkingWomen‘s Day march is planned to step off on Capitol Hill Friday night.
The International Working Women’s Day Coalition says it is organizing the event to mark the day commemorating “massive strikes by largely immigrant women garment workers in New York City on March 8 in 1857 and 1908.”
“Seattle’s public observance of International Working Women’s Day is being organized by a strongly international combination of organizations, including feminists from Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Philippines, as well as communities of color, reproductive justice activists, and others from the U.S.,” the group said in its announcement. “The action will express a commitment to survival, equality, labor rights, and justice for women, LGBTQI+ people, and allies around the world, with a special focus on opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza.”
The Friday, March 8th march will begin with a “speak-out, info fair, and cultural activities” in the AIDS Memorial Plaza above Capitol Hill Station from 4 to 6 PM. “At dusk, a dramatic night march will circle the area for approximately an hour,” organizers say, with plans for “several hundred people” to participate.
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A view from the 8th floor of the under construction Heartwood development, an affordable mass-timber apartment building from Community Roots Housing at 14th and Union (Image: atelierjones)
The mass timber Heartwood’s central stairs (Image: atelierjones)
Housing, and how to make more of it across the state, has been the driving theme in Olympia’s 2023 session. While some proposals fell flat, others including what amounts to an end to single-family zoning, pushed through and look likely to become law. There were, of course, dozens of other laws passed this session, and a budget is still pending.
The Legislature is set to adjourn April 23. In a budget year, like this one, whether or not a given bill is dead is tougher to pin down. There are a number of cutoff dates built into the system, and in theory, a bill needs to meet those dates, which typically involve being passed by either the senate or house. If it doesn’t meet the date, it won’t become law. However, if a bill has budget implications, then it can be revived even if it missed the dates. And since virtually everything has some budget implication, virtually everything can be brought back.
With that in mind, these are where many efforts stand as of the writing of this story, but, some things that seem dead make yet be revived, we won’t know for sure until adjournment. For details about any of the bills in the story, go here, and enter the bill number.
Keep in mind the session is not over. If you see something up in the air that you find compelling, now is the time to contact your legislators, state Reps. Nicole Macri and Frank Chopp, and state Sen. Jamie Pedersen.
(Image: seattle.gov)
HOUSING Washington needs about 1 million new homes by 2044, according to the state Dept. of Commerce. To open up options for more housing, the Legislature has decided to, essentially, end single-family zoning as we know it across much of the state with HB 1110. Cities with populations more than 25,000 will need to allow for at least duplexes on every lot. Cities with populations of greater than 75,000 will need to allow at least four houses on every lot. Some of the space is to be set aside for affordable housing. There are some exceptions and fine print surrounding environmentally critical areas and other specially designated areas. Cities will also be required to allow at least six of nine so-called middle housing types. These are all varieties of more density than single-family, without going full blown apartment building. The state defines them as: duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing. All this adds up to lots of potential infill development in the coming years.
This does not mean, however, the bulldozers are going to start rumbling toward the big old houses in North Capitol Hill, let alone the rest of the city. Just because a type of building is allowed does not mean it is required. Homeowners can continue to live in their existing houses. They can tear down an existing house and replace it with another single family house if they so desire. This simply mean they would have the option of tearing down the single-family house, and replacing it with more units. In land use circles, the general expectation is that over time, most properties are eventually are built out to the highest density levels permitted and practical, though it can take a generation of more before it actually happens. Continue reading →
UPDATE 5/4/2022: A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 people gathered in Seattle’s Westlake Plaza Wednesday night for an abortion rights rally and march that filled the city’s downtown streets with hundreds calling for protection of reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court leak. Continue reading →
Cal Anderson frequently provides a staging ground for protests and demonstrations for some of the biggest issues we face. This weekend will add another important cause to the park’s history of activism — the state’s National Period Day Rally will take place on Capitol Hill:
Organizers are calling on Washington lawmakers to kill the “tampon tax” and join the ranks of 15 states that have already moved to make pads and tampons more affordable. Continue reading →
Thousands made their way from Cal Anderson Park to the Seattle Center Saturday in a third year of marching for women’s rights in Seattle and as part of the national Women’s March movement. There were fewer people compared to the two previous marches in the city with the 2017 inaugural march of around 120,000 people setting the record for largest demonstration in Seattle’s history and the largest event ever hosted in Cal Anderson. The 2019 march still brought out thousands to the streets of Capitol Hill.
Colleen Echohawk-Hayashi and Monserrat Padilla led the morning rally to start the day in Cal Anderson. “We have to be more than just marching today, we have to donate, volunteer, we have to lead,” said Echohawk-Hayashi, executive director of Chief Seattle Club.
“I’m undocumented and unafraid. Transgender and unashamed. A woman and unapologetic about it,” Padilla shouted into the mic. The crowd cheered. Padilla, coordinator with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, then asked the audience to call out after her, “Trans women are real women.” Continue reading →
Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno by Jill Chang (Image: @sageq via Instagram)
Women still only earn 77.9 cents on the dollar, but in the past few years, there’s been a much more concerted push to address the gender wage and opportunity gaps.
There’s still an elephant in the room, however, says Capitol Hill businesswoman Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno.
The pay and opportunity gap for women of color remains the obvious but unaddressed truth. On average, women of color experience a much higher wage deficit than white women.
“Women of color are on the bottom of the totem pole,” Quiamno says. Continue reading →
Despite national controversy and local concerns about diversity and respect for annual MLK Day actions and celebrations, a third year of January marching and organizing for women’s rights activism is coming to Seattle with Cal Anderson again an epicenter of action in only a few short weeks.
Liz Hunter-Keller, the communications chair for Seattle Womxn Marching Forward, which organized the inaugural march in 2017 and has continued to shepherd anniversary events, estimated that 50 to 70 organizations are involved in making this year’s Seattle Womxn’s March a reality.
“There has to be more work and more connection, and more love and more understanding and that comes from deeper experiences, like the ones we’re going to try to provide at Seattle Center,” Hunter-Keller said.
The Seattle events haven’t been easy to pull together. The 2018 Women’s March in Seattle was planned by another group as officials and organizers were unsure how many thousands to expect on Capitol Hill. Continue reading →
“I grew up believing that being female was weak. That my tears…meant I was weak, and that I should be able to take it…And so, when I was assaulted and when I was raped, I didn’t tell because I thought it was my fault for my weakness, or because I went out, or because maybe I wore something, or maybe I had something to drink. Somehow, it was going to be my fault…I think that it’s time that we stopped thinking that taking it is somehow a positive thing. I think that it’s time we stopped buying the idea that, if we speak up, we’re bitches or pushy broads or battle axes or any of those pejorative comments that people use to describe strong women.”
Those were the words of a woman, one of many, who spoke at a vigil held in Cal Anderson Park Wednesday night to protest the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and respond to the allegation that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford and others.
“Our tears might look like weakness on one level but they are part of our strength, because being strong doesn’t mean I don’t feel sad,” the woman continued. “There are lots of other people who have been oppressed for a very long time and I’ve done my best to try to use whatever privilege my white skin gives me to stand up and speak for other people and be a decent ally. Today I’m here for myself as well, and I hope that we all will put value on ourselves as well and stand up and, if anyone’s getting treated like that, don’t take it.” Continue reading →
Capitol Hill’s monthly art walk brings a dose of political action in May. Tonight from 6 to 9 PM at E Mercer’s Generations gallery, NARAL Pro Choice Washington will host an event with artist Mari Shibuya and State Rep. Nicole Macri.
“I’m doing this event with NARAL to promote access to reproductive health care, and I am very glad to support them,” Macri said. “What they’re aiming to do at this event is to make sure we keep and elect legislators both in the House and the Senate in Olympia who will be strong pro choice voices.” Continue reading →
Sunday night, the #metoo movement shaped many of the most memorable moments at the 90th annual Academy Awards ceremony. District 3’s City Council representative Kshama Sawant is helping lead another #metoo moment in a downtown rally marking Thursday’s International Women’s Rights Day:
We’ve had enough. We will not accept gun violence, sexual harassment, or abuse in our schools, our streets, our homes, or our workplaces. Continue reading →
An International Working Women‘s Day march is planned to step off on Capitol Hill Friday night.
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