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.

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

Steve Rowley, executive director of K-12 Schools, speaks to parents at Cascade Middle School on Feb. 9. Photo by Ian Dapiaoen.

Last night, a meeting was held at Cascade Middle School to discuss how two School Improvement Grant (SIG) time lines will affect the school. The issue was to discuss pros and cons of the time line(s), and to identify one model that the school should implement in either the Fall 2010 or Fall 2011.

The two time lines are (typed directly from a handout given last night):

Voluntary Action (short)

Jan 28 - District alerted as to eligible schools

Feb 4-5 - Meet with staff, letter home to parents; inform others

Feb 10 - Supt/Board recommendation on “Voluntary vs. Required”

Feb 11-28 - State Visit Board decision on model

March 5 - Submit application

March-April - District notification of grant award

April-Aug - Major Planning & Prep work around implementation

Sept. 2010 - New model begins

Required Action (long)

Feb 4-5 - Meet with staff, letter home to parents; inform others

Feb 10 - Supt/Board recommendation on “Voluntary vs. Required”

Feb 11-28 - Possible state visit, alert OSPI to whether we will be going the voluntary or required route

Spring 2010 early - Winter 2011 - Comprehensive planning in preparation for selection of reform model, draft and submit plan to OSPI for approval of plan, status of plan request received from OSPI.

Sept 2011 - New models begin

NOTE: There will be a HSD board meeting tonight at the ERAC Special Eduation Building, 6:00pm at 15675 Ambaum Boulevard Southwest Burien, WA 98166. The board will decide which time line to adapt.

The four models are:

Turnaround model. Replace the principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff, and grant the principal sufficient operational flexibility (including in staffing, calendars/time, and budgeting) to implement fully a comprehensive approach to substantially improve student outcomes.

Restart model. Convert a school or close and reopen it under a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process.

School closure. Close a school and enroll the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving.

Transformation model. Implement each of the following strategies: (1) replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; (2) institute comprehensive instructional reforms; (3) increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and (4) provide operational flexibility and sustained support.

For questions/concerns, email Steve Rowley at rowleysr@hsdr401.org.

From Seattle Times:

Mayor Mike McGinn says he wants to ask White Center voters this November whether they want to be annexed into Seattle.

Read the full article here

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):

Below is an excerpt and down-loadable file of a report made after the 2009 White Center Community Summit. Results of the E-Polling session, the Neighborhood Plan, Photos and Video from the Summit will be coming soon. Thanks to all for attending and making the Summit a successful one!

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Each of the 48 attendees was asked the following: As a result of coming to the summit did you do any of the following? Circle all that apply. Their responses, in order of frequency are presented below.

Download the report HERE (PDF file).

Click on images above for the large version of the flyer

White Center Community Summit 2009

Presented by White Center Community Development Association

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Mt. View Elementary (10811 12th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98146)

9:30am - 4:00pm

Free Admission / Free Food / Free Childcare

Translation and Interpretation in 9 different languages

- Community workshops around Education, Housing, Safety, Health

- Resource Fair featuring many community partners

- Reveal of the White Center Neighborhood Plan

- Electronic polling regarding the many topics that affect White Center and its residents

- Diverse array of food

- Diverse lineup of entertainment

- Networking opportunities for services, employment

- How to become a member of the White Center CDA

And much more!

For more information, please contact Virgil Domaoan at virgil@wccda.org.

For general inquiries and how you can volunteer for the Community Summit, call the White Center CDA at (206) 694-1082.