I have had many conversations this past week about the City’s new compost requirements.  Friends and strangers alike are asking, ” Why are we doing this?” The answer simply is that we are on the vanguard of recycling, and over two decades ago we set a goal for ourselves of recycling over 60% by 2015 and up to […]

The Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods (SPUN, like spoon) Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, January 14th. Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Councilmember Kshama Sawant and I were at the table for two Directors’ reports, from the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), and two presentations, a Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Program Update and the Urban […]

Today in the Parks and Neighborhoods Committee meeting, we did the following: Passed two pieces of legislation on to full council, Held a public hearing on the partial transfer of jurisidiction of two pieces of subterranean property from Parks to SPU, Heard from our wonderful Parks Trusts volunteers, and Got caught up on events and […]

We held the first meeting of the new Parks and Neighborhoods committee Thursday, January 19, 2012. See the meeting agenda. Our committee attendance was VERY small, due to icy conditions on the roads.  I missed our usual crowd, but I’m glad people were wise and stayed warm and safe at home. One important note for […]

As I walked to work in the sunshine last Thursday, I noticed something I’ve seen too many times downtown lately – private clean-up crews out with noisy gas powered blowers blowing leaves off of their sidewalks directly into the street. Property owners may think they are doing the right thing by cleaning off their sidewalks, but […]

I’ve posted this reminder before, but here’s a new push to remind people that the decisions the city makes now will have great implications in the future. We need your thoughts on updating Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan – the vision for how Seattle will evolve over the next two decades. There’s a great YouTube video that explains the purpose of the Comp Plan and directs […]

I had a great time participating in last year’s Spring Clean of Pioneer Square and I’ll be there again tomorrow. There’s opportunities for participation. Just check the information provided below by Seattle Public Utilities. Spring Clean—held each year in April and May—is Seattle’s premier clean up event. Spring Clean provides opportunities for citizens to clean […]

Last week we joined our fellow Councilmembers, the Mayor, and several local business leaders on a trip to Portland to learn more about their transportation system. One of our favorite parts – and not just because we got to ride our bikes – was a tour of Portland’s “Neighborhood Greenways.” Portland has connected specific neighborhood […]