December 6, 2017 The Skanner Page 5
News
Events & Announcements
Community
Calendar 2017
cont’d from pg 4
come and browse more than 50 vendors and bring the kids to
visit Santa while you enjoy a latte. We will be having a pet food
and blanket drive this year for Lucky Paws Rescue of Tacoma.
10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Station House 726, 427 N. Merdian, Puyallup.
2017 PATHWAY OF LIGHTS: This is a free holiday event for the
whole family. Come stroll the glimmering Green Lake circuit,
paths and docks which will be lit with thousands of twinkling
candles. While you wonder through the magic of sparkling
lights enjoy complimentary refreshments and live holiday mu-
sic. Please bring a nonperishable food donation. 4:30 p.m. – 7:30
p.m., Green Lake Pathway.
SATURDAY – MONDAY, DECEMBER 9 - 11
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
COME TO THE AQUARIUM AND GET IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLI-
DAYS: See Santa diving in the 120,000- gallon Window of Wash-
ington Waters exhibit. Enjoy special holiday concerts featuring
local Puget Sound groups. Saturday, Sunday and Monday at
Noon and 3 p.m. Donations will be accepted to help fund Dream-
Nights at the Seattle Aquarium. 1483 Alaskan Way.
Northwest Tap Connection
Northwest Tap Connection held their Fall Show “Da Freedum” Dec. 2 at the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center at Rainier Beach High
school. The two sold out shows were fundraisers for the NW Taps “Close the Gap” scholarship program which helps area youth afford
classes at the school and also helps fund master classes with professional artists and participation in local and national dance festivals.
Briefs cont’d from pg 4
photos with Santa are welcome.
Seattle News Briefs
Mayor Jenny Durkan: Addressing
Race and Social Justice Disparities
Must Be Focus of Seattle City
Government
At an event in Chinatown-International District
last week, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan signed an Execu-
tive Order affirming the City of Seattle’s commitment
to the Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI).
The Executive Order requires an extensive review
of the City’s current implementation of the Race and
Social Justice Initiative as well as recommendations
for areas needing additional work. In addition, the
action requires Department directors, personnel
within the Office of the Mayor, and Mayor Durkan, to
participate in implicit bias training. You can read the
full Executive Order here.
The City of Seattle launched the Race and Social Jus-
tice Initiative in 2004, led by the Seattle Office for Civ-
il Rights (SOCR), with the vision of achieving racial
equity in the community and the mission of ending
institutionalized racism in City government, promot-
ing inclusion and full participation of all residents,
and partnering with the community to achieve racial
equity across Seattle.
County Council Takes First Steps
to Making County Code Gender-
Neutral
In 2016, County voters supported a change to King
County’s “Constitution,” the King County Charter,
replacing gender specific terms with gender neutral
language. The Metropolitan King County Council
today unanimously adopted the first step toward re-
moving gendered terms wherever possible, thereby
rendering the County Code gender-neutral.
The charter amendment approved by the voters
adjust identifications such as “Councilman” and
“Chairman,” to gender-specific neutral terms such as
“Councilmember” and “Chair.” A motion that was ad-
opted as part of the charter amendment directed the
clerk of the council to develop options for how to ap-
ply gender-neutral references throughout the King
County Code. Today’s ordinance was the first step to-
ward achieving that goal.
Gendered pronouns such as he, him, she, or her are
replaced with the title of the actor in impacted sen-
tences. One example would be replacing “he or she”
and “his or her” with “the individual” and “the indi-
vidual’s” respectively.
The adopted ordinance is consistent with legisla-
tion adopted at the state level in both 1983 and in 2007,
which was sponsored by then-Senator Kohl-Welles,
concerning the use of gender-neutral language in the
Revised Code of Washington.
This is the first revision of the County Code. The
next steps will include the development regulations
(surface water, roads, construction codes, zoning,
etc.) and then the remainder of the Titles.
Juvenile Justice, Addiction
Treatment and Tax Reform
Highlight King County’s Agenda for
State Legislature
Battling addiction, improving the treatment of ju-
venile defenders, and providing tax equity top the
agenda that King County will take to Olympia during
the 2018 Session of the State Legislature. The Metro-
politan King County Council today unanimously ap-
proved the county’s Legislative Agenda, the roadmap
the County will use in their discussions with mem-
bers of the Legislature during the 60-Day session.
Providing access to treatment for those suffering
from mental illness and addiction remains one of the
County’s highest priorities. The County is calling on
the state to help provide mental health and addiction
treatment on demand. The County is also asking for
funds that will focus on stabilizing community be-
havioral health rates as a step toward delivering bet-
ter health outcomes.
The Council is leading the effort toward improving
the juvenile justice system and reducing the num-
ber of children of color who are disproportionally
represented in the system. For 2018, the County is
asking for the ability of juvenile courts to use diver-
sion funding pre-adjudication, an opportunity to aid
youth prior to a verdict. King County will also focus
on implementing policies that support rehabilitation
and reduces recidivism.
King County taxpayers are responsible for almost
half of Washington’s revenue, but less than a quarter
of that revenue comes back to the County. This imbal-
ance is likely to grow as County homeowners are go-
ing to be impacted by the state’s school funding plan
adopted during the last legislative session. To miti-
gate the state’s reliance on King County taxpayers,
the County is calling for a more equitable tax system.
To aid those on fixed incomes who are paying proper-
ty taxes, the County wants the state to adjust qualify-
ing income level on senior property tax exemption to
a percentage of county median income as well as al-
lowing an extension of the exemption to local levies.
The 2018 Legislative Agenda also calls for:
• Investment in infrastructure by addressing the un-
derfunded county regional road system,
• Increasing the affordable housing supply,
• Strengthening state laws to deter hate-motivated
criminal activity,
• Support state policies that reduce carbon emis-
sions and accelerate a transition to clean energy.
The 2018 Session of the Washington state Legisla-
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12
ALZHEIMER’S CAFÉ: A unique opportunity for people living with
dementia, their care partners, family and friends to enjoy com-
panionship, good food, music and fun in a relaxed environment.
Free. 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., Frye Art Museum, 804 Terry Ave.
FRIDAY – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 – 16
HOLIDAY SALE – DRESS FOR SUCCESS SEATTLE: Sing by Friday or
Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and grab those last-minute holi-
day purchases. Dress for Success Seattle, 1118 5th Ave.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16
FUN WITH FROSTY: Frosty the Snowman at Country Village. Meet
Frosty and his friends. Enjoy a magic show, participate in fun
games and activities, make a winter craft project. This is a free
event for children of all ages. Noon – 5 p.m., Country Village
Shops, 23718 Bothell Everett Highway, Bothell.
ture begins January 8.
Facebook Global Director of
Diversity to Speak in Tacoma
The Race & Pedagogy Institute and African Ameri-
can Studies Program at University of Puget Sound in-
vite the public to a free event with Maxine Williams,
“A Conversation on Diversity and the Tech Industry,”
from 11 a.m.–12 noon on Wednesday, Dec. 13, in Whee-
lock Student Center’s Rasmussen Rotunda. Williams,
a Rhodes Scholar, lawyer, broadcast journalist, and
Facebook’s current director of diversity will give a
talk and take questions from the audience. Everyone
is welcome. A link to directions and a map of campus
is below.
For four years Maxine Williams, global director of
diversity for Facebook, has worked with her team to
develop strategies to attract and support underrepre-
sented people at the social media giant, which reaches
a global community of more than 2 billion people.
This summer Williams told Facebook’s newsroom
readers that, “We aren’t where we’d like to be, but
we’re encouraged” by the growth of underrepresent-
ed employees at Facebook. Over the year the number
of women on staff edged up, to 35 percent, as did His-
panic (5 percent) and African American representa-
tion (3 percent). Women now make up 27% of all new
graduate hires in engineering and 21 percent of all
new technical hires. She highlighted three programs
Facebook is pursuing to ensure the company contin-
ues to find, grow, and keep the best talent. The innova-
tive programs impact hiring managers, unconscious
bias, and learning opportunities for college students.
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