Tag Archives: king county

Zahilay to chair King County Council’s Law & Justice committee

Posted on by
1

Capitol Hill’s newly sworn-in King County Council representative Girmay Zahilay will chair the body’s Law and Justice committee.

The council sorted out its 2020 committee assignments in votes Wednesday. The council also unanimously elected former Bellevue mayor Claudia Balducci as its chair.

Zahilay took his oath of office prior to Wednesday’s vote in his first day of meetings on the council. He was sworn-in during a ceremony in December at Franklin High School.

CHS reported here on the race between Zahilay and incumbent Larry Gossett for the civil rights icon’s seat on the council in which the political upstart achieved a solid victory.

Zahilay, who was born in Sudan after his parents fled Ethiopia in the 1980s and arrived in Seattle as a refugee when he was three, grew up in Holly Park and Rainier Vista and graduated from Franklin before going on to Stanford University and law school. He then worked in Washington D.C. and New York City before returning to Seattle to be an attorney for Perkins Coie.

Zahilay now represents District 2 representing the Central District, Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, the Rainier Valley, Seward Park, Skyway, the University District, Fremont, Ravenna, and Laurelhurst.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO! SUBSCRIBE TO KEEP CHS GOING INTO 2020! We need your help. Support local journalism dedicated to your neighborhood. SUBSCRIBE HERE TODAY. Join to become a subscriber at $1/$5/$10 a month to help CHS provide community news with NO PAYWALL. You can also sign up for a one-time annual payment. Why support CHS? More here.

With Seattle approval, King County Regional Homelessness Authority will take shape in 2020

Posted on by
1

The Seattle City Council, with strings attached, approved its part of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority Monday paving the way for the effort to launch next year.

CHS reported last week on an ordinance shaped by the council to enable the city to pull out portions of its planned $73 million in funding for the $132 million new county authority hoped to reorganize how homelessness services are planned and deployed across the county. Continue reading →

King County Council vote another stop on making RapidRide G a 2022 reality

Posted on by
5

The King County Council’s Mobility and Environment Committee is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon on final approval for the alignment of RapidRide G on Madison connecting downtown to Madison Valley through First Hill and Capitol Hill.

The vote will make official the county’s RapidRide program for the planned “bus rapid transit” project expected to begin construction in mid to late 2020 and create a new east-west Metro route along Madison between 1st Ave and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

CHS reported on the project this summer as it moved into the “90%” design phase and decisions were being finalized on features and changes along the $120 million, 2.3 mile, 10-station route including what planners hope are improved crossings for pedestrians and the major decision to focus on a new diesel-hybrid bus fleet for the line.

Pending approval of federal funding that will cover about half of the costs, the start of construction is slated to start next year with service starting late in 2022.

Officials hope for solutions beyond Seattle from King County Regional Homelessness Authority

Posted on by
1

It has been a caveat on nearly every major Seattle effort to combat homelessness. The problem, many contend, is regional. Wednesday, the City of Seattle and King County rolled out the plan to try to address the crisis at a higher level.

County Executive Dow Constantine and Mayor Jenny Durkan announced legislation Wednesday that will create a new regional authority overseeing “a unified response to homelessness.” Continue reading →

For the first time in more than a decade, Gossett faces challenge to represent CD, Capitol Hill on King County Council

Posted on by
4

Girmay Zahilay, left, is set to challenge King County Council veteran Larry Gossett for the District 2 seat representing the Central District and Capitol Hill.

While much of CHS’s attention on Election 2019 has been focused on the race for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council, for the first time in more than a decade, a competitive race is shaping up for the District 2 seat on the King County Council as a young upstart flush with cash challenges a Washington civil rights icon first elected to the council in 1993.

Larry Gossett, former council chair and longtime incumbent, will have a competitor to remain on the council for the first time in 14 years with South Seattle lawyer and nonprofit leader Girmay Zahilay mounting a serious challenge.

The county needs to “target the equitable development of educational opportunities for all our kids, but with a particular focus on low-income and minority kids who are being left further and further behind,” Gossett said. Continue reading →

King County moves ahead with plan to pay for your ballot stamps

Posted on by

(Image: King County)

In an effort to buttress sagging turnout — especially among populations most likely to be disenfranchised by voting barriers — the King County Council voted Monday to move forward with prepaid postage for 2018 elections in the county:

King County Elections Director Julie Wise cites two successful pilots conducted last year, the unwavering support of councilmembers and the overall community need for the approval of this request as proof that prepaid postage works and is supported by all as a means towards stronger voter participation.

“I am grateful to the Council for their unwavering support in giving me the tools I need to continue removing barriers for our voters,” said Director Wise. “Prepaid postage along with our ballot drop boxes makes it easy for everyone to exercise their civic right to vote.”

The postage decision joins the county’s ballot drop boxes added in 2016 to locations including Broadway in front of Seattle Central across from E Howell as part of a King County-wide effort to increase turnout. In 2011, Washington shifted to all-mail elections but the percentage of eligible voters participating in midterm elections fell below 40%.

The decision would make $381,000 available to fund the free postage for King County voters. Gov. Jay Inslee is considering an emergency request by Secretary of State Kim Wyman for $2 million to fund prepaid postage for mail-in ballots statewide this year.

Capitol Hill cat cafe credited with helping boost King County pet adoption

Posted on by

A sleepy moment inside Neko

King County says it has been able to boost its pet adoption rate to 92% thanks to partnerships with pet stores and a new trend of cat-focused businesses — including Capitol Hill’s Neko Cafe.

The adoption rate has risen from a sad 51% in 2003, the county reports.

“The latest milestone is the result of several strategies, including partnering with cafes and pet stores to make it easier to adopt cats, starting a new dog playgroup to help staff and volunteers better assess a dog’s behavior, revamping the volunteer program, and significantly increasing the number of pets that are licensed,” a King County announcement on the happy numbers reads. Continue reading →

No New Youth Jail protesters shut down 12th Ave work site

Posted on by

With reporting by Alex Garland

Activists seeking a halt on construction of the new King County’s Children and Family Justice Center brought their protest to the work site Monday morning.

The construction site protest blocked work entrances at the 12th and Alder site and marked what organizers said was the beginning of a “People’s Moratorium on construction at the site.”

“We have fought this fight on many fronts -– in the courts, in county and city council chambers, in the press, and on the streets,” one activist said in a statement posted by a coalition opposing the new facility. “At every point, the county has refused to listen, so today, we’re stopping the construction with our bodies.”

The announcement did not describe the group’s plans for continuing to block the work site gates. Some protesters were chained together. Inside the fences, some work continued. Police were at the site and monitoring the situation with more units being dispatched in the area. Continue reading →

King County votes for new oversight for construction-fueled 4Culture cash

Posted on by

The King County Council voted Monday to adopt “targeted oversight” of 4Culture, the county’s cash flush “cultural funding agency.”

“4Culture would still be responsible for the fiscal management of the agency such as approving contracts, large expenditures, grant awards, and adopting a budget prior to Council review,” an announcement from the council read Monday following the vote. “The legislation makes the Council responsible for approving 4Culture’s budget prior to the County transferring funds to 4Culture for the following year.”

CHS reported here on the so-called accountability measures some on the council have pushed for as 4Culture’s funding from the county’s lodging tax and “1% for art” program has grown.

Monday’s vote set off a stream of press releases from the council’s communications office as vying factions sought to make it clear that the vote was not unanimous:

Due to the “super majority” vote for the plan, it is unlikely King County Executive Dow Constantine to can veto the new oversight legislation, KUOW reports.

 

Protestors against Children and Family Justice Center block 4th Ave

Posted on by

A group of protesters targeting King County Executive Dow Constantine and the under construction 12th Ave Children and Family Justice Center blocked the street outside the county administrative building at 4th and James Friday morning.

Seven demonstrators including members of the Ending the Prison Industrial Complex activist group were locked together in a “moving blockade” with a large group of protesters also on the sidewalk and others waving flags to help block the street. Continue reading →