Seattle’s Prosperity Depends on Light Rail, Do Social Service Agencies Contribute to Violence on Capitol Hill? SeattleIAM

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Are There Too Many Social Service Agencies on Capitol Hill?

Over at Miller Park Neighborhood Association, Andrew Taylor takes a closer look at the neighborhood in which Shannon Harps was murdered on New Year’s Eve. After a suspect was arrested in the murder, the Seattle Times wrote an article about him, noting that “he was living in a squalid housing complex on Summit Avenue East [with] recovering addicts, mental-health patients and recently released convicts.”

A second article in the Times “dealt at length with the problems at boarding houses on Capitol Hill, and gave the addresses of several of them in that immediate area.”

Taylor states in his post that this reminded him about the Capitol Hill Community Council’s old concern about “the high concentration of social services in that immediate area,” which resulted “in an exclusion zone to prevent any more locating there.” This in turn “resulted in the large number we have just north of Madison.” The culprit is more likely a “bad apple,” however, the Times does note “various failures in the way the needs of residents are assessed and monitored and in the upkeep of the homes.” A long-term resident recently wrote to Taylor concerned about why that particular neighborhood is “prone to such violent crime.” The resident is puzzled and isn’t sure that “social service institutions of themselves” are the attraction.

Health Care and Education Big Topics in Olympia Today

Today on the Slog, Josh Feit gives the scoop on what’s happening in Olympia today. One bill in particular getting a hearing today is Sen. Karen Keiser’s (D-33, Kent) bill “to create a healthcare plan [through the private sector] that will cover all state residents by 2012.” Co-sponsoring the bill is Seattle-area Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles(D-36, Ballard). Feit adds, however, that “with about 600,000 uninsured adults in Washington, it’s not encouraging that the bill doesn’t identify a funding source.”

Another bill mention in the post deals with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. “The K-12 Education Committee is hearing a bill that looks at ‘using multiple measures to meet high school requirements.’” According to Feit, there is bi-partisan support to snuff WASL,” although most offices have been vague about it. And finally, “both the Senate and Transportation committees are meeting this afternoon. These are committees to keep your eyes on.”

Light Rail is More Than Just a Green Issue

The latest post on Seattle Transit Blog by daimajin asks where the rail is in Gregoire's Climate Action Plan. She’s talking about “fast action” for climate change, but “diesel buses sitting in congestion aren't going to get us back to 1990 levels very quickly,” where as “light rail could help.” Gregoire’s plan calls for “shared rides,” which is great, but “in a region where most of the electricity comes from zero-emission hydro, you had better start talking about rail, because transportation is the majority of the GHG emissions here.”

This issue is serious, as lack of transit could “break Seattle over the next 30 years.” And it’s not just about climate change. The post points to a recent column by Jon Talton which states, “It's not just that Portland builds popular light rail while Seattle dithers and argues… It's that top-drawer competitors such as Singapore and Ireland are fast, efficient and agile” in terms of building infrastructure and “embracing the next waves of wealth-creation.” This is about our “future prosperity.” We need to look at what kind of city Seattle will be in 50 years.

Husky B-Ball Fans Should Remain Optimistic

Mike Seely at Buzzer Beater says that “despite two impressive home wins against the Oregon schools,” he thinks that the Huskies are more likely to be “outside looking in come NCAA selection time.” However, a recent column by Steve Kelly in the Seattle Times “should give Dawg hoop loyalists cause for optimism.” He points to the “relative youth of UW's key players” and to the improvements of freshmen Venoy Overton and Matthew Bryan-Amaning. One thing Seely does dispute, is Jon Brockman playing for the NBA next year, which “seems to be a foregone conclusion amongst local media.”

Seely argues in his post that Brockman is a good college player, “but he's a 6'7" power forward with average hops and not much of a dribble-drive or post game.” He writes that while players like him “often find their way to the ends of NBA benches for respectable lengths of time, they're rarely considered sure things” and is betting that Brockman returns for his senior year. “His offensive game is in need of serious refinement before he's mentioned in the same breath as the Kevin Loves and Roy Hibberts of the world.”

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