We are a locally based team of independent bloggers and journalists dedicated to publishing neighborhood news and views for the Phinney Ridge and Greenwood neighborhoods of Seattle. As an unbiased source – our goal is to share opinions to build a stronger and more vibrant community. We plan to bring hyperlocal bloggging to the next level in the evolution of journalism around Seattle and in specific neighborhoods and communities including Phinney Ridge and Greenwood.
We are committed to journalism standards including:
1.) Maintain editorial independence from governmental, commercial, or special interests, and do not engage in public relations, marketing and lobbying.
2.) Do not plagiarize.
3.) Do not trade coverage or favored treatment for money, gifts, or favors.
4.) Clearly disclose any conflicts of interest, including with sponsors and advertisers being given placement preference in editorial sections or “over-focused” in coverage.
5.) Be accurate and honest.
6.) Be accessible and accountable to the public.
Our Team- Neighborhood Voices – Community Balance:
We believe strongly in maintaining balanced voices for a community and avoiding dependence on a dominant, single media source. We employ neighborhood writers and volunteer citizen bloggers to maintain diverse voices on neighborhood issues.
Jay Hathaway is a Seattle-based irreverent blogger, and member of the Greenwood-Phinney community for over five years. Jay focuses on land use issues and participates regularly in community meetings of deep impact to the neighborhood. Jay’s professional writing career has made him a leading writer for several national blogs.
Alicia Craven has lived in the Greenwood neighborhood for over a year. After college, she fled the country for a few years to live in Thailand and Ecuador, but is happy to have temporarily traded in her vagabond boots for a return to the resplendent northwest. She is a freelance writer, interested in travel and the arts.
We would love to offer our community garage sale listings in the phinney-ridge-greenwood-Seattle areas.
I live in Broadview Neighborhood but shop in your area. I support you. No to rezone. Fred Meyer should just update the look of the store and plant more trees in the parking lot. Keep it simple.
Ballots Arrive in Mailboxes; Voters Urged to Support 47,000 Public School Kids
State cuts to local education total more than $32 million since 2008. Washington State’s $4.5 billion budget shortfall promises even deeper cuts… unless voters approve a school levy this November.
Seattle voters are being asked to support their public schools by approving a 3-year, $48.2 million levy that will be on the ballot this November. The levy is deigned to offset just some of $32 million the state has cut from local schools since 2008, and lessen the impact that future cuts will have on education.
Schools First, the grassroots organization that works to pass levies that support public schools, is spearheading the campaign. Sharon Rodgers, President of the organization, stresses how critical this funding is for kids and schools:
“Over the last two years, the state has cut more than $32 million from Seattle schools. This means kids are using outdated textbooks, teachers can’t get basic classroom supplies, and cuts have already been made in critical programs.
The state is now facing a $4.5 billion budget shortfall and our schools are bracing for even deeper cuts. These cuts are real and they hurt kids in our schools. That’s why we need to pass the Seattle School Levy on November 2.”
The Seattle Public Schools’ website further breaks down how the funds support education, and what failure of the levy to pass would mean for schools:
“The state legislature — recognizing that budget cuts to school districts will continue for the next several years — has created the opportunity for school districts to ask voters for additional operating levy funds. These levy funds will:
■ reduce the number and severity of state cuts to education;
■ support students and teachers in the classroom; and
■ fund new textbooks and classroom materials.
Without these levy funds, Seattle Public Schools anticipates the need to make dramatic cuts across the system.”
The cost of the $48.2 million levy is about 12 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, or about $48 per year for the owner of a home valued at $400,000.
Says Rodgers, “Local support for this levy will help to restore just some of the cuts made to our schools, so our kids don’t get shortchanged.”
Among its many supporters, the campaign to pass the school levy includes Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn; numerous Democratic-affiliated organizations; leading education advocates, like the Seattle teachers’ and principals’ associations; and countless PTAs, community groups and private citizens.
Earlier this week, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution in favor of the measure, and called on Seattle voters to support public schools by approving the levy. The Stranger’s Election Control Board recently endorsed, arguing that “More cuts would mean less staff, worse schools, and a life of perpetual guilt.”
Although education is often a top priority for many voters, the school levy is located at the very bottom of the ballot because it’s a local issue. In a year when there are more than twenty state and county initiatives, referendums, and other political races for voters to act upon, the school levy has been pushed to the back side of the ballot, at the bottom.
To help raise awareness of the levy, Schools First recently called on supporters through its Facebook page to “turn that ballot over and make your YES VOTE on the school levy your FIRST VOTE!”
More information can be found at the Schools First website, and also at the district’s Levy Information website.
Ballots must be signed and postmarked by 8:00PM on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
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Not sure where news tips should go, but here is a story you might be interested in publishing:
Washington Policy Center’s Public School Accountability Index rates the quality of more than 2,000 public schools across the state including those in the Seattle School District. The Index is based on data compiled by the State Board of Education’s 2010 Achievement Index.
Here are some key findings:
• 597,000, or nearly 60%, of Washington children attend Fair or Struggling public schools.
• Only 93,000, less than 10%, of students attend a Very Good or Exemplary public school.
• The great majority of schools, 1,208, rank as only Fair or Struggling,
• Only 212 schools, barely 10%, rank as either Very Good or Exemplary.
• The poor academic performance is not due to lack of support from taxpayers – funding for Washington public education is at record highs.
• Public schools receive just over $10 billion a year, or $10,200 per student, in operating funds, plus an additional $1.3 billion for school construction.
• Since 1980 education spending, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled, while the number of students, due to smaller families, has increased by only a third.
• There are fewer students today in relation to the total population than in the past, and spending per student is the highest ever.
In Seattle, the highest-scoring school was Olympic Hills Elementary with a score of 5.71 (1-7 rating). Hawthorne Elementary scored a 1.0 and was the lowest-scoring school.
To find how a school in your area is performing, please visit: http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/research/education/public-school-accountability-index
To read the policy note, please visit: http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/notes/washington-policy-center-public-school-accountability-index
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greyhound group invites all breeds to Bellevue
Walkathon at Downtown Bellevue Park on July 24
All breeds are invited to join retired greyhounds for a meet and sniff and easy walk in downtown Bellevue on Sunday, July 24. Bring your Afghan, Airedale, or alphabet soup dog to the First Annual Greyt Walkathon around Bellevue Downtown Park, 10201 NE Fourth Street, next to Bellevue Square.
Sponsored by Greyhound Pets, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 adoption group for retired racers, registration begins at 10 a.m. A donation of $20 per person includes a T-shirt, doggie bandana and dog treat.
People unable to make the walk can still help with fundraising by collecting donations. More details are available at the Greyt Walkathon page on the group’s website: http://www.greyhoundpetsinc.org, or by contacting Yumi Burnett at
425-483-7998 or yumibob@comcast.net.
For further information contact:
Yumi Burnett, volunteer
425-483-7998
yumibob@comcast.net
December 1, 2011 is World AIDS Day—a show of collective support in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and a day of remembering those lost. For 30 days in November, Rosehedge/Multifaith Works and a long list of organizations and local businesses will mark the 30th Anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis with 30-Strong, a series of events culminating in the Stronger Together Breakfast, December 1st. These events will increase awareness, fundraise, and inspire our community to continue the dialogue about HIV/AIDS.
In 1988, when Rosehedge/Multifaith Works and a large team of volunteers began serving those living with the disease, the programs, for lack of any alternative direction, focused on providing for the dying. Creating housing for those displaced or unable to live independently, the team created a space for a marginalized population to die with dignity. They also created two emotional support programs, CareTeam and Shanti. These volunteers practice nonjudgmental listening and compassionate care, affording clients the most crucial medicine: love.
Over the years, as drugs improved and the life expectancy rates of those infected with HIV/AIDS has increased our programs have had to adjust. In addition, our programs have developed to empower those living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses to stabilize their housing, health, and to re-establish compassionate human connections.
With the support of about 30 area businesses, such as Rudy’s Barbershops and Whole Foods, our programs are gearing up to reach more people than ever this World AIDS Day. With events all over town, from a tea tasting at Unity on Union Bookstore (Nov. 15th, 4:30), and the Red Party at Purr Cocktail Lounge (Nov. 16th), there are multiple ways to participate. On December 1st, we join area organizations Gay City Health Project, Seattle Counseling Service, and Seattle Area Support Groups to present the Stronger Together Breakfast, featuring Keynote Speaker, Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). The event will be emceed by actor, director and producer Amanda Bearse, best known for her role as wacky neighbor Marcy D’Arcy on Married… with Children. More information and to RSVP to the breakfast can be found at http://www.strongertogetherseattle.com .
We are raising awareness, fighting stigma and discrimination, and reminding the community that in the last 30 years we have made incredible progress in the fight against AIDS. However, the fight is far from over, so we are sending a message to Seattle that there is still a community of compassion fighting this disease and that none of us are alone.
For a full list of events and partners in the community, visit http://www.rosehedge.org/rosehedge-multifaith-works-events/. All inquiries can be directed to CJ Lebert at cj@rosehedge.org.