The U.S. Supreme Court will uphold President Obama’s health-care plan, 6-3. That prediction today from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott during a “Coffee with Your Congressman” Q/A session attended by more than 50 people at Dubsea Coffee in White Center’s Greenbridge neighborhood. Rep. McDermott wore a White Center Spring Clean T-shirt in honor of the big event that’s keeping hundreds of volunteers busy in WC right now, including some at Greenbridge Plaza right outside Dubsea. Other topics included the foreclosure crisis, the upcoming presidential election – the president “should be stronger,” Rep. McDermott said, while adding that he has in many aspects been “a very good president.” The congressmember is up for re-election this fall too. We’ll add more toplines plus video of the entire hourlong event later; he had a similar event at West Seattle’s C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) a year ago.

3:25 PM: Video added. Audio quality fluctuates since this event was in a busy working coffeehouse and Rep. McDermott roved a bit.

A high-ranking guest helped wrap up South Seattle Community College‘s Civics Week today, a week focused on both student-government elections and participation in the larger political/civic scene. U.S. Senator Patty Murray came to the West Seattle campus this morning – her second appearance there in 7 months (here’s our report from last October) – for a rally about the fight in D.C. over raising interest on student loans. In our 14-minute video of today’s speeches, you hear from SSCC president Gary Oertli, former SSCC president and current system chancellor Jill Wakefield, United Student Association president Dante Obcena, USA VP & legislative liaison Tysen Hillquist, before a few minutes by the senator:

Sen. Murray has long been active on veterans’ issues as well, as college president Oertli noted in his introduction. After the speech, Sen. Murray talked with local activist and U.S. Army veteran Dorsol Plants:

As you heard the senator say if you viewed the video, the bill to keep student-loan rates from rising sharply is currently tied up in a Republicans vs. Democrats fight, with the former trying to keep it from coming up for a vote.

Initiative 103 Informational & Volunteer Meetup

5/21 6:30-8:00 PM at C&P Coffee 5612 California Ave. SW.

Learn about Initiative 103, get questions answered about the ordinance and get involved. For more general information about Initiative 103, visit http://i103.org.

Sign up and find out about additional meetings at http://www.meetup.com/initiative103/

Envision Seattle is holding a series of community based ‘meet-ups’ where people can learn about Initiative I-103, which elevates the rights of residents over those of corporations. The meet ups will provide information on how peoplecan help get the measure onto the Seattle ballot. Over 20,000 signatures are required to get the measure before the voters.

‘I -103’ is Seattle’s offering within a grass roots, nationwide strategy to counter the effects of the recent Supreme Court “Citizens United” decision granting ‘personhood’ to corporations. The proposed Seattle initiative bans corporate spending on elections within the city, creates a citizens bill of rights, and protects air and water quality by giving ‘rights’ to nature in law. Similar ordinance campaigns are underway in Bellingham, Spokane and Portland, and have been successful in other cities such as Pittsburgh PA and Dryden, New York.

To learn more about the initiative and read the proposed ordinance, go to http://envisionseattle.org. For more about the community rights movement see http://CELDF.org

From our notes (we missed the State Treasurer decision – the official list should turn up before long on the 34th DDs’ site):

SECRETARY OF STATE: The 34th DDs declined to endorse West Seattle-residing ex-mayor Greg Nickels; Kathleen Drew won their support instead, with 61 percent of the vote. Under the rules, once someone is nominated for endorsement, there can be pro and con speakers; the anti-Nickels speaker was the 34′s county committeeman alternate, Dorsol Plants, who offered the caveat that he wasn’t really speaking against the ex-mayor, but did want people to think about the Highland Park homeless encampment that bears his name because of policies during his administration.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF: Only one candidate was nominated for endorsement, former KCSO sergeant and media liaison John Urquhart. Speaking to the group, he said it was his first legislative-district meeting, and noted that he has family in West Seattle so he’s here often. Urquhart was endorsed on a show of hands.

SUPREME COURT POS. 9: On the first ballot, neither John Ladenburg (49 percent) nor Bruce Hilyer (51 percent) won a sole endorsement; the second ballot in these cases is either dual endorsement or no endorsement – the former won with 79 percent.

STATE AUDITOR: 79 percent was also the vote share received by Craig Pridemore for this position, over state legislator Mark Miloscia.

BLOCK VOTE ENDORSEMENT TONIGHT: Endorsed in a unanimous single voice vote were candidates for Supreme Court Pos. 2 – Justice Susan Owens; Supreme Court Pos. 8 – Justice Steven Gonzalez; insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler; KC Superior Court Position 19, Bill Bowman; KC Superior Court, Pos. 40, Ken Schubert.

KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT POS. 20: No endorsement

KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, POSITION 25: Elizabeth Berns got the endorsement with 79 percent of the vote.

KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT POS. 29: After the first ballot split 48 percent for Sean O’Donnell and 52 percent for Hong Tran, it went to a second ballot and dual endorsement won with 73 percent.

KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, POSITION 46: Judy Ramseier was endorsed, also with 79 percent of the vote.

ALREADY ENDORSED LAST MONTH: As reported here in April – the block vote endorsement last month put the group on the record as supporting President Obama, Sen. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, governor candidate Jay Inslee, attorney general candidate Bob Ferguson, lands commissioner Peter Goldmark, State Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon.

That was it for the endorsements. One more thing – the day’s hottest topic:

MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Must be something about second Wednesdays. The 34th DDs’ February meeting was the same day as the State Legislature’s historic finalization of the marriage-equality bill (WSB coverage here); today, three months later, chair Tim Nuse drew cheers with his recapping of President Obama’s declaration of support for marriage equality hours earlier, and the president’s impending Seattle visit.

WEST SEATTLE FOOD BANK FUNDRAISER: $98,000 raised at last Friday’s event, according to WS Food Bank board member Pete Spalding‘s announcement tonight.

WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK FUNDRAISER: There’s one coming up June 23, 5-7 pm, with local politicians on hand – watch the 34DDs’ website for details.

34TH DDs’ GARDEN PARTY: The date for the group’s annual fundraiser is set for August 17th at West Seattle Nursery.

The 34th District Democrats meet on second Wednesdays at The Hall at Fauntleroy.

Mayor McGinn has just wrapped up a two-hour visit to West Seattle, starting with a walking tour that began at Mountain to Sound Outfitters in The Triangle…

… and then moving on to an hour-long Town Hall Q/A session at the Senior Center of West Seattle. We’ll be adding more photos, but first, here’s our as-it-happened highlights from the Q and A:

QUESTION: Dick Hurley said he’s lived in West Seattle more than 30 years and sees lots of transportation expenditures “while my alley has fallen apart – it’s so bad that cars will bottom out, just in my alley.” He wondered why Local Improvement Districts to fix things like that are no longer available.

MAYOR: “It’s news to me … I’ve always thought we should make it easier to form those, because if people want to tax themselves, we should make it easier to form one.” He talked about his history in the Greenwood neighborhood and getting sidewalks put in to alleviate pedestrian challenges. He went on to acknowledge that the city has been neglecting road problems, though he is “blowing away pothole records set by previous administrations” – though he would just as soon not have the potholes there in need of filling. And he wishes he could find more funding for street and right-of-way improvements/repairs: “That’s what makes this special down here, how it feels on the street.”

QUESTION: From Sam with Standup America: “I spoke to you at another town hall last week about the salary gap” – he meant the mayor’s salary: “You’re talking about money you can’t get for roadways, but you’re giving yourself an annual increase … Why do you think it’s right that your income continually grows while (others’ income doesn’t)?” An audience member asks where Sam lives; “Capitol Hill” he replies.

Much more ahead, including news of a major paving project for Delridge Way:

MAYOR: Notes that he has had this exchange before. The mayor’s salary is set by charter, he says, and he donates $10,000 to charity each year, chosen by his wife and children, charities that “provide resources to people in need in Seattle.” He says that his adminstration has tried to streamline salaries, and has negotiated with unions, plus “my offices is one-third smaller than (mayor’s offices) in prior administrations.”

QUESTION: History teacher Jim Lockerbie says he’s concerned about transportation. “A good argument could be made that West Seattle is (the most poorly served part of the city). No light rail, no monorail, buses that are … 5, 10, 15 minutes late if they show up at all. … My friend and I set a record coming home from a Mariners’ game the other year; we left at 4:40, came home at 7:10. It’s faster to get to Husky stadium by driving to the Eastgate park and ride than to take buses from here.” He is concerned about synching lights, too.

MAYOR: Says he can’t answer all of Jim’s questions. Regarding lights at 7th and Olive, he says his staff will look into it and e-mail him back – he invites anyone here who has a question that needs a followup to leave an e-mail address. Regarding transit system: “You’re right, we don’t have a monorail … that’s one of the reasons we updated the Transit Master Plan … what we see for this trip out here, we’re looking at what Metro calls RapidRide.” He says he met today with Metro boss Kevin Desmond, regarding the challenge of 99 when there is no offramp once the tunnel’s built, and buses needing to get off by the stadium to get to the 3rd Avenue Corridor. “That’s one of the questions – how are they going to get there?” (Editor’s note – this was discussed at last night’s Southwest District Council meeting and the story’s coming up.) The mayor sounds optimistic about RapidRide in terms of reliability and speed and frequency. He acknowledges that “neighborhood-to-neighborhood connections aren’t as good as they could be.” He talked about potential cuts in Metro service looming if the Legislature doesn’t approve the authority for more money to be raised, beyond the temporary boost they approved last year.

QUESTION: “I’m known as mom, the worrier,” a woman begins. She mentions the city having plenty of preparedness information ready, but “I have looked very hard for how to communicate with the person in charge of the aircraft carriers.” She thinks that might be the solution to problems if the West Seattle Bridge is taken out by an earthquake and we are left in need of services such as health care and water desalination, and she wants to know who to talk with at the Navy regarding an aircraft carrier coming here to help if need be. The water is deep enough off Alki Point, she thinks.

MAYOR’S ANSWER: He says he should check in with the Navy one of these days, and then steers the answer toward reassuring her with information about the city’s Office of Emergency Management, including the Emergency Operations Center. He says the EOC would also communicate with other jurisdictions including the federal government if need be. “We will be looking to the assistance of other jurisdictions in the case of a major event,” he said, and promised he will ask Emergency Management director Barb Graff what is set up for possibly checking with the Navy. “It would mean a lot more coming from you than from a little old lady like me,” she thanks him.

QUESTION: A woman says that “we in West Seattle seem to not be able to get in and out” – a reference to the bridge. That is a prelude to asking him “how do you feel about another stadium in SODO? There’s too much down there … and why is there so much pressure to build another stadium there?”

MAYOR: He explains about Chris Hanson, who is “prepared to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to construction of a basketball arena.” He makes a point of saying it would be a lot smaller than the existing baseball and football stadiums. He says the additional 4,000 or so vehicles a day that would result from a new arena “isn’t that big,” at least in the context of “what a city deals with every day.” He reiterates points she didn’t ask about (how it will be financed, jobs it will create). He then brings up a proposed project with “18 two-mile trains of coal coming through SODO” daily and says he just wanted “to raise that issue.”

QUESTION: A man who describes himself as a big fan of light rail says he winds up driving to Beacon Hill to take it – but “it’s tough, there’s no parking, and the 2-hour limit limits (usage).” He suggests longer-term parking should be available near the station there. “It’s asking too much of the average guy who is a convert to one form of transportation … the way it is set up is tough.”

MAYOR: “I agree with you,” he begins, and then mentions how he changed the rules so some extra parking could be created in that area. He also mentions that neighborhood businesses are often the fans of 2-hour parking, to ensure some turnover, and doesn’t want that to be lost, though he says he does support the concept of more longer-term parking in station areas. As for park and rides, he says Pacific Place is a seven-digit loss each year – “I don’t mind being in the parking business, I mind being in the money-losing business.”

QUESTION: A woman named Charlene offers a “beautification and transportation suggestion.” She says the Admiral Way hill is “a pretty disgusting-looking area when you come off the bridge … What about a beautification area, like (one in Ravenna)?” She mentions Walking on Logs (not by name) as the only “gateway” type decorations in the area.

MAYOR: Directs his staff to talk with her.

QUESTION: A woman who identifies herself as a bicycle rider thanks him for “taking a stand in favor of bicycle lanes.” She asks about Delridge, “what kind of plans you have for fixing Delridge, because they have great big wide bicycle-tire-size ruts in Delridge, and most of the city’s riders in the Cascade Bicycle Club … often come here to West Seattle … and come under the bridge and travel to Delridge a lot and it’s dangerous.”

MAYOR: “It’s hard to believe but it’s true – the overall amount of driving in Seattle has dropped by about 7 percent.” (He mentioned that point in his opening remarks, which we have on video.) “The number of trips taken by bicycles has skyrocketed – 150 percent of what it was a decade ago. A lot of people are choosing this mode and we have to keep adjusting our roadway to meet it.” Delridge, his staff confirms, is slated for repaving in 2013. Bill Bryant from SDOT comes up to talk about it. Actually, Bryant says, “partly in 2012 .. the limits right now are between Orchard and Henderson Streets, so it’s not the whole thing, and depending on what the costs look like … it could be extended all the way down to Roxbury, to the city limits. Where the streets are repaved, there will be bike facilities installed,” even if only sharrows.

QUESTION: Woman who lives on Alki says she is “delighted to see the number of people using the Water Taxi. The challenge for us who live there is when people fill the streets and those of us who live there can’t find parking … are you going to get us some relief?”

MAYOR: Says he talked with County Councilmember Joe McDermott about options for parking in areas during the offseason. He says he will followup with whether anything is being studied regarding commuter traffic around the water taxi area.

QUESTION: Dennis Ross from Admiral has a public-safety question, regarding 3rd and Pike downtown, where bus riders wait to go back to West Seattle. “It’s getting worse every day.”

MAYOR: Talks about his “Center City Project … pulling together a multi-agency response to this.” He says a work plan is being developed.

QUESTION: A woman who says that she is with Sam from StandUp America and has similar questions – “as a member of the younger generation” she has questions about income inequality. She wants to know if he thinks it’s a dangerous trend.

MAYOR: Says yes, he does, and has felt that way for a long time. “Everybody has to have hope, and a sense of fairness and justice …. associated with the income inequality issue, people who should be assets to our community, some of them are just struggling to hang on.” Regarding his salary, he says it’s the best he’s ever been paid, and also “the hardest job I’ve ever had.” But he says he’d “probably do it for a lot less.” He alludes to next year’s election, saying “I’m not a career politician, I may not have a career in politics, we’ll see how it turns out.”

QUESTION: Pete Spalding from Pigeon Point follows up on Delridge, saying the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council has a committee working with Councilmember Tom Rasmussen on “a plan for the entire Delridge corridor.” Spalding notes that the mayor did not even mention the greenways – “there are other things that are going on in addition to the Bridging the Gap levy money” (which funds paving).

MAYOR: Thanks him for mentioning greenways and talks about looking at residential streets for a different use. And, “Next time we come to you folks and ask for money we’ll make sure we have a good plan,” a reference to the ballot measure that was defeated last year.

Join the Seattle City Council for one of three conversations in May about the City budget and community priorities. Participants will engage City Councilmembers and neighbors in conversation centered on five thought-provoking questions about the future of our City.

North Seattle
Monday, May 7, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way North, College Center, Room 1161

Central Seattle
Monday, May 14, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Seattle Central Community College, 1701 Broadway, Broadway Edison Building, Room BE1110

South Seattle
Monday, May 21, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave South

All sorts of city budget background is available via this council webpage.

Of all the volunteers who helped make this afternoon’s Democratic precinct caucuses happen around West Seattle and beyond, they might have had the best job – hanging out in the sunshine to help people find their way into the Chief Sealth International High School Galleria. Inside, it was a little lonely – one woman asked the check-in-table volunteers, “Am I the only one?” She wasn’t the only one there – we counted more than 30 before the caucusing officially began at 1:30 pm – but she might have been the only one from her precinct. Each precinct had a table, and some tables were empty. But that made it a convivial gathering – Chris Porter rallied everyone around as he read the introduction and rules:

As is usual for caucuses, this was the first step in a process that could lead a determined delegate all the way to the Democratic National Convention in September in Charlottesville. Unlike 2008, when the caucuses were packed because the party hadn’t settled on its nominee yet – today was more about trying to rally the party to look ahead to November, including a pitch for support, monetary and volunteer. “What a difference four years makes,” someone observed, looking around. The bright side of low turnout: High odds of getting elected as a delegate; Porter extolled the virtues of moving on to higher-level caucuses and making an impact on the party platform.

Things were buzzing at our second stop, West Seattle High School:

Most balloon-festooned tables had lively conversations going on – the official business part of the caucus was scheduled to “start no sooner than 1:30, and end no sooner than 2:00,” per the rules. 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse was circulating; former State House candidate Mike Heavey told us he had counted about 100 people on hand, and our informal count tended to agree. And while at Sealth, we’d seen just one candidate sign – for President Obama – as well as an advocacy table (for marriage equality), WSHS had campaign signs galore, not just Obama/Biden, but also for governor candidate Jay Inslee and U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott. WSHS also is where West Seattle Republicans caucused on a gray day six weeks ago (WSB coverage here), with a packed house, but that was their sole spot for the entire peninsula (today the D’s also caucused at Madison Middle School, West Seattle Elementary, and Highland Park Elementary). Next step for the Dems: The district caucuses on April 28th.

That would be the Democratic precinct caucuses – happening this Sunday at 1 pm at locations all around the district (if you’re a Democrat, find your location here). Even though the presidential candidate is not up for debate, the 34th DDs say there is much to talk about and many reasons to attend yours. But after that pep talk, last night’s meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy moved on to many ways of looking ahead to August and November, including a surprise speech by our area’s Congressmmember, and three mini-campaign-forums – we’ve got them all on video, ahead:

U.S. REP. JIM McDERMOTT: He wasn’t on the agenda but he showed up and declared this year’s election to be one of the most important elections in our nation’s history. “The single last piece of safety net in this country is health care,” he said. “And the opportunity to be there and to work on it is what I’m looking forward to.” He says he believes President Obama “has accomplished a tremendous amount in the face of continual opposition.” Here’s our unedited video of everything he said:

EARLY ENDORSEMENT SLATE: Rep. McDermott was part of a slate of Democratic incumbents/candidates that the group gave an early block endorsement to last night: President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Rep. McDermott, Jay Inslee (governor), Bob Ferguson (attorney general), Peter Goldmark (lands commissioner), State Rep. Eileen Cody, and State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon. First, they also heard from one candidate’s spouse – Trudi Inslee, for 39 years the wife of governor candidate Jay Inslee.

She declared the 34th “the biggest LD [legislative district] meeting we’ve been to.” She was accompanied by their daughter Samantha; she explained he was at a meeting tonight in Lacey. “We’re excited about this race, we feel good about it, we’re going to have a lot of ups and downs, as you know … but we’re going to win this thing with your help,” she said.

Other endorsements will be considered at the next meeting May 9th.

CANDIDATE FORUMS: The meeting included three candidates’ forums for three statewide offices. We recorded each on video so you can watch, unedited, now or when the August primary is closer. First, secretary of state, with candidates Kathleen Drew, State Sen. Jim Kastama, and former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels:

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Next, State Supreme Court:

State Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens is running unopposed but made a very brief speech toward the start of the meeting – we picked it up after her quip that she’s from Forks and doesn’t have to explain any more where that is.

Finally, the two-candidate forum for state auditor:

As we mentioned, the next 34th DDs meeting is May 9th – 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy, or come at 6:30 to mingle – but first, the aforementioned caucuses, 1 pm this Sunday (April 15th), lots of info/resources here.

At right with Democratic governor candidate Rep. Jay Inslee are, left, Farhiya Mohamed, and at right, Shukri Olow, High Point community builder – Shukri put together tonight’s forum at High Point Community Center, during which he spoke to and with an audience of more than 50 people. Their questions touched on topics from health care to jobs and beyond; we recorded the forum on video and will add it to this story once it’s ready here it is. (added 12:39 am)

The sponsoring High Point Neighborhood Association invited Republican candidate Attorney General Rob McKenna as well, but says he told them he could not attend. (He sent a representative.)

ORIGINAL 6:28 PM REPORT: Mayor McGinn has arrived, community organizations and city departments have been tabling for almost an hour, and the Town Hall is about to begin at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, with a performance by the Vicious Puppies Crew breakdancers. Seattle Channel is here to webcast the event, so we’ll put up their code in a minute so you can watch even if you’re not near a Channel 21-equipped TV. More shortly.

6:33 PM UPDATE: Here’s the code:

6:46 PM UPDATE: The mayor has started speaking – so the feed should be live – click the “play” button to watch.
(Substituted early Wednesday: Here’s our video, from the mayor’s first word to his last:)

8:18 PM UPDATE: The town hall is over. Topics ranged from arts funding to traffic/transportation challenges to the DESC Delridge project, and more.

ADDED 9:23 PM: Video clip above – that’s the VPC performance in its entirety. Text toplines to come.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: The aforementioned toplines:

After the mayor’s opening remarks included his declaration that he has “made a personal commitment” regarding K-12 education in the city, a related topic dominated the first half-hour: It centered on a revelation regarding the city’s latest Families and Education Levy, passed last year by voters. Under its terms, Youngstown-based Arts Corps – whose leadership says it serves 800 area youth – no longer qualifies for funding.

After listening to impassioned speeches about how Arts Corps and its programs have changed or even saved lives – one person talked about arts saving him from a troubled path, and said, “If you want your outcome, you’re looking at it” – the mayor described the non-qualification as an “unintended consequence.” Basically, the terms of the levy now require measurable outcomes, and unlike, say, a tutoring program that can be measured by checking a student’s grade before and after, results of arts studies and participation cannot be measured that way.

“Every applicant (for levy funding) has to show the capacity to deliver outcomes,” the mayor said. “This process is important.”

Arts Corps executive director Elizabeth Whitford said that process required agencies to “show (they) have access to attendance and academic data … Something went wrong in that process and there needs to be a public acknowledgment of that.” The 2004 Families and Education Levy, Whitford said, supported Arts Corps classes, including some taken by the Vicious Puppies Crew breakdancers whose performance had preceded the mayor’s appearance. “African-American and Latino youth re half as likely to have an arts education as their white peers,” she said. “(The levy) has worsened that.”

In the end, after program participants past and present spoke, the mayor said “there is more than one pot of money in city government” for programs like the ones Arts Corps offers, so he is “making a commitment” for his office to find something to help ensure the 800 participants don’t go unserved.

The ensuing hour touched on a variety of topics, from traffic to the DESC Delridge project. One man said he was concerned about freeway development that in effect would turn the Highway 509 corridor into an alternate north-south freeway from Burien to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, though in his view it’s been happening “piecemeal” and there should be “more transparen(cy)” about the end result. The mayor said he was concerned too, because a future connection could result in up to 40,000 more cars a day going over the 1st Avenue South Bridge, which is “already at capacity.” The Port of Seattle, McGinn said, is responsible for the next stage of the project and “I don’t think the port is thinking it through.”

West Seattle community activist Michael Taylor-Judd, who ran for City Council last year, took the microphone to speak about what he views as a “breakdown between city departments and neighborhood groups” – particularly regarding communication. Often, he offered, “folks feel blindsided.” Asked by the mayor to cite a particular example, Taylor-Judd brought up the Department of Neighborhoods cuts last year, which closed some Neighborhood Service Centers (including the one in The Junction) and cut the number of neighborhood coordinators around the city. (The end result of the changes led to both of West Seattle’s district councils, Southwest and Delridge, losing their longtime coordinators, one of whom retired and one of whom was moved elsewhere.)

The mayor suggested that Taylor-Judd talk to Neighborhoods director Bernie Matsuno (who was one of a sizable contingent of city reps on hand) but also offered that he thinks hers is not the only department that needs to deal with neighborhood issues: “People should get a high level of service from all (departments).”

Another West Seattle neighborhood activist, Admiral Neighborhood Association vice president Karl DeJong, brought up his group’s campaign for a traffic signal at 47th/Admiral, scene of a deadly crash in 2006 and this ANA rally last year:

(WSB photo from November 2011)
He asked the mayor if he plans to pursue a measure to “fully fund” that signal and other needed signals this year. Short answer: No; the mayor said the Elliott Bay seawall was a higher priority this year.

Shortly afterward, Tanya Baer from the Delridge Community Forum, which has been active in gathering detailed information about the DESC Delridge Supportive Housing program, stepped to the microphone to ask the mayor “what steps the city is taking to disperse this (kind of) housing throughout the city,” also asking whether he had any concerns about this type of project going into a neighborhood where low-income housing is already abundant, and what he sees as the project’s benefits for a neighborhood like Delridge.

“This is just a big challenge … homelessness is a big challenge,” McGinn said. His contention is that “wet housing” (where alcohol is allowed) is “realistic and pragmatic” and that it has even cut down on substance abuse by some longtime users.

He called on Office of Housing director Rick Hooper – who has participated in several meetings regarding the DESC project, including last week’s second meeting of the Advisory Committee – to handle part of Baer’s inquiry. Hooper said the city has “dispersed” this type of housing as much as possible, claiming that most of the projects in development in the city right now are in the north end, citing locations such as Ballard and Lake City. “We recognize that these kinds of projects need to be spread out – concentrating them in any one location is not good.”

Baer had also brought up the change in the DESC project, downsizing from 75 to 66 units, as the result of a data flaw that meant the area should not house as many additional subsidized low-income units as had been thought – a data flaw brought to light after neighborhood activists’ research. Hooper’s only nod to that was that “questions were raised, forcing us to go back and doublecheck.”

A bit later, Patrick Baer, also from Delridge Community Forum, returned to the DESC topic and asked the mayor his thoughts on whether the city should help make sure that opportunities for commenting on such publicly funded projects are known to neighborhood residents. In short, the mayor said “yes.”

Transportation-related issues dominated most of the rest of the discussion. A Delridge resident mentioned an alley behind her home is in horrible shape. The mayor said the city wasn’t even able to afford all regular road work these days, let alone alleys. … Pigeon Point resident Pete Spalding told the story of two years of back-and-forth with SDOT to get a speed-limit sign on the north stretch of Delridge Way moved closer to the bridge, for optimum effect; the mayor agreed that it sounded like an inefficient way to do things. … Then came a resident who aid that since the Highway 99 work has begun, “my commute has gone to hell,” and he didn’t think the “two-lane tunnel” would help matters. That gave the mayor a chance to revisit his longtime opposition to the tunnel (and his acknowledgment that last year’s ballot measure meant “the voters have spoken” in favor of it). The discussion moved on to transit, as the resident suggested the bus lane on the West Seattle Bridge might have a better use since it seems “empty” most of the time he sees it; the mayor said the city is pushing for more state funding to improve transit service and be sure “the bus lane will be used.”

The final comment came from a High Point woman who asked the mayor for city funding to enable affordable women-only exercise programs at community centers, to help women whose culture/religion does not allow them to engage in such programs in a gender-mixed environment.

Wrapping up, the mayor said that he enjoys coming to neighborhoods not just to hear about problems, but so that residents can show him what they are proud of.

(Again, we have the entire Town Hall on video in the first clip featured in this story. Seattle Channel webcast it and their version of the video should be online sometime today.)

By our count, there are about two dozen people participating in the Occupy West Seattle rally in The Junction. Police are there too – including Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen. Our crew at the scene says it’s gone as the group had said it would – they walked from KeyBank to Chase, and are now on the California/Oregon corner.

The announced 4 pm start time of the rally coincided with a blast of snow and hail.

ADDED: Our video from the event, and a few more photos:

After walking to Chase, the group repeated one man’s speech, in what has become the Occupy movement’s “human microphone” style

They were there for at least an hour and a half – we drove by just after 5:30 and groups of protesters were still standing on the corners around the California/Oregon intersection. It wasn’t all continuous chanting or singing (yes, they did sing “Happy Birthday” in honor of Chase Bank’s CEO) – one man was trying to hand out “corporate trading cards”:

Police stood guard alongside the bank:

The rally spanned multiple generations – this photo is courtesy of Dina Lydia Johnson:

She told WSB about her rally participation, “I’m feeling good about it, and hope West Seattleites who were curious or even doubtful will feel welcome to join us and add their ideas.” The group handed out leaflets saying their next “general assembly” is Saturday at Alki UCC.

Local filmmakers made that video clip (featuring actors from the West Seattleites-featuring “The Collectibles“) to educate you, entertain you, and inspire you to give them a hand. Not the applause kind – the making-a-call or writing-e-mail kind. ASAP. They’re trying to save their industry from an unhappy ending.

As West Seattleite Todd Downing explains, SB 5539 – regarding incentives for the film industry in our state – is hung up in the State Legislature. The State Senate has passed it (including a “yes” vote from our area’s Sen. Sharon Nelson) but it hasn’t come to a vote in the State House, and it might fade to black if that doesn’t happen by Thursday. A phone call or note from you might help it get there. Todd elaborates:

Just about every state in the US has a film industry tax incentive program to entice productions to the state, and local areas within the state. Washington’s program is about mid-range in comparison to other states. What it does is refund a certain percentage of a production’s expenditures based on budget level and local talent/crew hired.

As we are sandwiched between Oregon and BC, both of which having superior incentive programs, much of our talent and skilled crew end up leaving the WA film community for jobs in Portland or Vancouver. Our existing incentive program is the baseline that we must build on to create more jobs for skilled crew and support personnel, as well as keeping performance talent in the state … Anyway, the numbers are pretty overwhelmingly in favor of continuing the current incentives by a huge margin of return per dollars spent.

Want to give SB 5539 a boost? We noticed on the Legislature’s website that it’s scheduled for a public hearing in Olympia at 10 this morning, before the House Ways and Means Committee (whose members include West Seattle State House Rep. Eileen Cody). You might not be able to get there, but you can call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000, and e-mail/call Rep. Cody to urge that she support getting the bill to a vote.