Blog editor’s note: The following letter was written in response to an opinion piece in the January edition of Shorewood on the Sound Community Club’s newsletter. A copy of this piece was stapled to the White Center Chamber of Commerce’s agenda for their Tuesday, March 9 meeting. You can also read the original piece above.

March 9, 2010

Shorewood on the Sound Community Club

Kevin DeLashmutt, Editor

Michael Armstrong, President

Delivered via email to: kevinde@msn.com

RE: January 2010 Shorewood News edition

Dear Mr. DeLashmutt and Mr. Armstrong:

My organization received a copy of your latest Shorewood News edition at the March 9th, 2010 White Center Chamber of Commerce meeting and were quite disturbed by one of the articles titled “Dog-doo doings….Ewww.”

We are an organization formed by local residents to promote a vibrant neighborhood and high quality of life for White Center residents. We value treating everyone with dignity and acting with cultural competency by respecting the values, history and culture of our diverse communities. We also overwhelmingly believe in our community’s strengths and operate with an open partnership approach to our work.

This is why we were offended by your remark stating that “At our next community club meeting we will be discussing penalties for anyone caught not cleaning after their pets. Something equally if not more egregious, like maybe catapulting flaming bags of poo through their windows, or sending their beloved pets to White Center to be recycled (eaten).”

We do not find this remark funny- we find it offensive, as this stereotype is obviously applied to the communities of color in our diverse White Center. It is also abusive to our goal to market and promote our wonderful, hard-working, and largely immigrant owned small businesses and restaurants.

We appreciate community residents like yourselves getting together to improve your neighborhood. We’d implore you to please do so without dragging down a neighbor, especially one like White Center that has done so much to counter such negativity over the last few years.

Additionally, we’d welcome the opportunity for further conversation with your group as part of a larger North Highline community. Please contact me at aileen@wccda.org or 206-694-1802 x164. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Aileen Balahadia

White Center CDA Executive Director

Karen Veloria

White Center CDA Board President & Blvd. Park resident

Heather Downey

White Center CDA Board Vice President & Shorewood resident

Got Green, a program of the White Center CDA, is hosting its first open house on Wednesday, March 17!

Expect food, entertainment, multimedia presentations and the chance to network with Got Green and their community partners on how to support Green jobs, Green initiatives, youth, low-income communities of color and more.

Child care is available - this event is open and free to the public.

Please see flyer above for more information.

Photo courtesy of King County Parks blog.

From King County Parks regarding the new playground at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center:

“The new playground at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center is now officially OPEN! Featuring some very groovy Scandinavian-designed equipment for kids aged 2-5 and 5-12, there are slides, swings, and lots of spinny things. And of course, safety surfacing so you don’t get hurt when you fall down and go boom.”

Thanks to Darlene Sellers from the Teen Program for giving the White Center CDA a heads up about this!

Funding is available for facade improvements in Downtown White Center!

The program aims to:
Beautify Downtown White Center
Strengthen our local businesses
Increase public safety
Build pride in our community

The White Center Façade Grant program is designed to improve the appearance of the business district by encouraging property and/or business owners to make physical improvements in their storefronts. The White Center CDA will offer a grant to help offset the costs of the improvements. In some cases, the grant may pay for the majority of the work. This program will take place from February 2010 - July 2010. The program is administered by the White Center CDA.

Program Goals
• Stimulate economic activity and increase business viability through good design visible to customers, neighboring merchants and residents.
• Renew or improve the exterior of businesses in a manner that recaptures the integrity of the buildings’ design and character.
• Enhance the shoppers’ experience of the commercial district.
• Improve neighborhood safety.
• Encourage investment in the neighborhood.

Eligible projects include:
Non structural building improvements such as new signs, new awnings, painting, replacement of doors and windows, new lighting or lighting improvements, removal of bars on storefront windows.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE APPLICATION BY CLICKING HERE.

Please help us spread the word!

Why White Center and Seattle need each other

City council majorities have long opposed annexations. Some residents of nearby communities will tell you, sometimes bluntly, they dislike the idea of joining the city. But there are good reasons to hope the diverse neighborhood of White Center joins the city.

By Jordan Royer

It’s hard to find people working for the City of Seattle who have not been involved in the annexation question at one time or another. My first foray came on a summer night in 2000. I had just been hired by the city after working for Sen. Barbara Boxer for six years in San Francisco. We were trying to explain to the community of unincorporated South Park - the so-called sliver by the river - the benefits of joining Seattle.

As we set up our tables and started the meeting at the South Park Community Center, built and paid for by the citizens of Seattle, an older gentleman approached me and looked at my nametag. He squinted and said, “Royer, huh. You any relation to Charley?” I told him, “Yes, he’s my dad.”

Then he told me that when my dad tried to annex the area 20 years ago they told him to go to hell. And then he proceeded to tell me to go to hell.

This illustrates the difficulties ever since as all jurisdictions have struggled to implement the state Growth Management Act and get King County out of the business of providing local government services. My old friend can relax because the sliver by the river will not be annexed anytime soon due to the dilapidated South Park Bridge, which is owned by King County. Seattle will not soon take on that liability. But why is it so hard to annex even when it makes so much sense, as is the case with nearby White Center?

Not only is there deep distrust of Seattle in surrounding communities, there are also funding and infrastructure issues that are not easily resolved. There has been historically a solid majority on the Seattle City Council against annexation. That coupled with beliefs that Seattle will raise the cost of living and bring about gentrification have made annexation incredibly slow and difficult.

And there is another reason: In 2006, the state legislature passed annexation legislation that would allow jurisdictions to retain extra sales tax revenues when annexing smaller jurisdictions. However, there was a catch. The incentive to annex did not apply to jurisdictions of over 400,000 persons. Yes, that’s you, Seattle!

The city lobbied the legislature in 2007 and 2008 in order to be able to annex these smaller areas and help King County’s ailing budget. Finally, in a bout of sanity, the legislature approved a bill that would allow Seattle to recoup costs by diverting a share of the state’s sales tax to the city. Rep. Ross Hunter was the hero as he was able to amend SB 5321 on the House side that would basically fund $5 million per year over a 10-year period so Seattle could provide municipal services to White Center.

Hunter knew that King County cannot continue to provide urban-level local services to unincorporated areas and that North Highline (White Center) logically belonged in Seattle. While White Center and the Seattle neighborhood of South Delridge are split by Southwest Roxbury Street, it is really one neighborhood. Neighbors and commerce do not recognize arbitrary political boundaries. I worked on public safety issues in the area, and we were always challenged by that arbitrary boundary. While Seattle Police Department officers were able to patrol with King County sheriff’s deputies, crucial community building and crime prevention strategies were complicated by the Roxbury divide. We have a chance to change that, improve public safety, and help neighbors work together to strengthen the whole community.

As early as its March 8 meeting, the city council could consider whether to move ahead with the annexation of White Center. Annexation is being viewed as something that might go on the November ballot for a vote by the people of White Center. The council should vote yes, and then visit White Center early and often to talk to people and hear their concerns and aspirations for their community.

White Center is a unique neighborhood with the kind of economic and cultural diversity we value in Seattle. We would be lucky to have them join our city of diverse neighborhoods.

Jordan Royer currently works for the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents marine terminal operators and container vessels that serve the West Coast. He previously worked on public safety issues in the Paul Schell and Greg Nickels mayoral administrations. He was a candidate for Seattle City Council in 2009. Reach him by writing editor@crosscut.com.

Source: Crosscut.com

Got Green, a program of the White Center Community Development Association, recently received a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Below is the official press release:

Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Awards $4.6 Million in Grants

Latest grants continue focus on providing economic relief for region’s most vulnerable citizens and supporting asset building initiatives that promote long-term economic stability

SEATTLE, Wash. – January 26, 2010 – Providing foreclosure counseling for distressed homeowners in southern Oregon and supporting the development of a green jobs initiative for young adults in Seattle’s White Center neighborhood are among the grants recently awarded by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. These latest grants reflect the Foundation’s continued focus on strengthening the social safety net for those living on the financial edge as well as supporting longer-term initiatives to help low-income families and individuals achieve economic stability.

“During one of the most dramatic economic downturns in history, we remain committed to helping our nonprofit partners and the communities they support respond and adapt to these growing challenges,” said Susan M. Coliton, vice president of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “Our latest grants will help people build the long-term social and economic assets they need for economic stability in these uncertain times.”

READ THE REST OF THE PRESS RELEASE AT THE NEW GOT GREEN WEBSITE!

Got Green?, a program of the White Center CDA, produced a hip hop video highlighting the importance of green jobs, green initiatives, and energy conservation. This video debuted at the 2009 White Center Community Summit in December; featuring longstanding Seattle hip hop figureheads Silver Shadow D, Laura “Piece” Kelley, and more.

After watching that, check out Got Green’s partner organization Green For All’s hip hop video, The Dream Reborn (My President is Green):

Courtesy of Puget Sound Sage, who recently gave Got Green (a green jobs and green advocacy group funded by the White Center CDA) a “Vision of Justice” award on Oct. 29:

Puget Sound Sage’s year-long green jobs campaign has reached two milestones!
•    A first ever class of weatherization installers has completed the Laborers’ Union new weatherization training program, a majority of whom were young adults of color and
•    On November 5th the City of Seattle announced new contractor standards to ensure that new weatherization trainees will find jobs through the City’s low-income weatherization program.

Read the Seattle Times article here.

These achievements follow months of research, policy work, coalition and grass-roots organizing of Puget Sound Sage and its green jobs partners, the Laborers (LIUNA), Got Green, Climate Solutions, Sierra Club, Change to Win and Green For All.

The 19 new graduates completed a challenging two-week Laborers Union training program in Kingston, WA, where they learned general construction skills in addition to core weatherization competencies, such as caulking, insulating and duct sealing.

Ten of the graduates are from LIUNA Locals 242 and nine were unemployed young adults of color from low-income, urban neighborhoods, recruited by the Got Green Project.  Got Green is a community-based project led by young men and women of color to raise awareness in their communities about the benefits and opportunities resulting from the emerging green economy.

Michael Mann, Director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, provided details of the City’s new green jobs program, based on a proposal made in July by Sage, Got Green and the Laborers.

The City will require contractors in the City’s low-income weatherization program (called Homewise) to hire 75% of new workers from programs serving low-income people and disadvantaged workers.  The City has also established a goal of 50% of all hours worked be performed by these new workers.  The new hiring requirements will be in place for graduates to begin retrofitting Seattle homes as early as December 1st.

Read the Seattle Times article about the City’s announcement the recent weatherization training graduation event!

A weatherization contractor recently signed to a union signatory agreement, NW Green, came to the graduation and committed to hire from the group of new graduates. Sage and its allies will now advocate to make the Homewise green job standards a model for all of the City of Seattle’s residential energy efficiency programs and the model for other local governments in the region working on weatherization.

Sage’s green jobs coalition has proposed a similar “training utilization” model to the State of Washington’s Department of Commerce, which will be administering the $50 million in low-income weatherization stimulus funds Washington received under the ARRA in 2009.

Recently, the Samoan Islands were affected by large Tsunamis as a result of high magnitude earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean. Please attend this event, sponsored by World Vision.

Hearts United for the Samoan Islands

Saturday, October 24

Evergreen High School, 9:00am - 1:00pm

World Vision is also having Youth Volunteer Sorting Project for donated goods on Saturday, October 10 at the World Vision Storehouse in Fife. The address is 4200 Industry Drive East Suite D, Fife, WA 98424. For more information about this youth event, contact Reed Slattery at ReSlatte@worldvision.org.

Below is a list of acceptable items to donate:

The CDA is a proud sponsor of this event, as well as a proud partner with both Census 2010 and the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation.