Time to vote! This is just a reminder that your ballots are due TODAY! If you would like to see your vote guide, you can look it up here. On this ballot should be two ballot measures, both for currently expiring property tax levies supporting schools.
Make your voice heard on this beautiful sunny Seattle day. Make sure North Seattle is a big voting block. Vote!
Also, if you can’t get to a mailbox, a reminder that there’s a drop box in Magnuson park today.
Neighbors – it’s that time of year again; time to vote. On this ballot: two expiring property tax levies for Seattle Public Schools. Regardless of your views on this, it is extremely important that we all vote on issues like this.
Obviously, you can vote by mail; which is probably the typical way for submitting your vote this year, but there will also be a drop-off van available in Magnuson Park this Saturday, next Monday and Tuesday.
Here’s a screenshot with a map of where the van will be:
Other locations include:
There’s also a few more on the Eastside and South County, all of which can be found here.
Happy Voting!
When it comes to affordable housing, North Seattle seems to leave something to be desired. However, we want to balance the amount of new housing being built with the existing housing and families that are here.
Mayor Murray has declared a State of Emergency when it comes to homelessness in Seattle. While affordable housing does not equate to homelessness, housing as a whole is a big part of the homeless issue. And, as we increase supply of housing at all levels of need will benefit.
One of the ways that we can help is with the Housing Affordability and Living Agenda – also known as HALA. Fortunately, Mayor Murray wants to talk with a large portion of our Seattle residents about what’s going on with HALA. Therefore, he is hosting a town hall over the phone on HALA.
There have been two town hall meetings already, but one more remains, here are the details:
Thursday, February 4, 2016, 6 – 7pm
Call in at: (855)-756-7520 Ext.31028#
Thanks to open communication with our Seattle Mayor’s office, I’ve heard about this event. Also, if you’re interested on serving on a HALA Focus group – here’s an application. Please apply if you’re interested in serving the rest of the North Seattle Community!
Also, if you’re able to make the call, let me know. Unfortunately I will be busy, but would love to know what happened.
Hopefully we can provide housing for everyone in Seattle, because this will benefit all of us!
Check out this cool video from Sound Transit (@SoundTransit) that’s being discussed a lot among North Seattle residents. Here’s the first foray that Light Rail will make into North Seattle.
Light Rail has a long and tumultuous history here in Seattle – several times the voters approved massive transportation system studies and encouraged the government move ahead with building grade-separated rail for easy transport. Every single time, these proposals failed.
Finally, Sound Transit cleaned up its act (and we really mean that) and started building Light Rail. Though this tends to be one of the least efficient ways to transport people, it’s what we’ve got and we need a lot of it.
Note in this video the proposed 130th St station. This would be a big deal for North Seattle, if we could get this built. Also, what if we had a line that went up through Ballard under 15th, followed Holman Road, went under Northgate Way, connected with the Northgate Transit system, hung a left at Lake City Way and went up to Bothell, Kenmore and eventually Woodinville. We can only dream, right?
Make sure you stay in contact with Sound Transit if you’re interested in Light Rail. They are typically helpful, and most of their recent projects have come in ahead of schedule and under budget. Also, this is something that I’m very interested in, and can have a seriously positive impact on our neighborhoods here in North Seattle.
Check out the video and discuss!
It all started with a conversation. A digital conversation, that is. Who knew that nextdoor.com was the hotbed of local discussion, but it is Seattle – and in this tech-centered city, it only seems right. The conversation was about suspicious activity right around the corner from my house, and it brought up a gaping hole in the North Seattle community – effective police presence.
I started to think more as I got up the next morning, put on my shoes, walked down the pothole-filled alley and onto the street – because there’s no sidewalk – to Lake City Way where I would take a crowded bus downtown to work. My thoughts led me to look up more information about these seemingly normal services that were just lacking from the North Seattle that I have come to love.
North Seattle was annexed from unincorporated King County in the mid 20th century through several different acquisitions. It was largely communities that didn’t have a strong central presence and just needed a local government to represent them. But, as is typical of annexations like North Seattle’s, it wasn’t quite what it was cracked up to be. Sidewalks were ignored. Representation on the City Council was nonexistent. Services were low. It was largely a bedroom community for people who wanted to live cheaper but still live close enough to downtown Seattle.
But this doesn’t define the North Seattle that I know. Neighbors watch out for each other. They engage in spirited debate. People go out to places like Elliott Bay, Cloud City Coffee, Roosevelt Ale House, Naked City Brewery, Diva Espresso, Thornton Place, and more. They commune with friends for Seahawks games. Or maybe I’m just describing my life…
But there’s something about the North Seattle community. Though we lack centralized organization, fair representation on boards and committees, and adequate services like Ballard or Queen Anne have, this is an amazing community.
So walk with me down the small gravel patch on the side of the road as I meet business owners, community leaders, and update you on the happenings of North Seattle. And maybe, just maybe, through our community here, we can show the rest of Seattle what they’re missing.