January 17, 2018 The Skanner Page 5
News
Events & Announcements
Community
Calendar 2018
cont’d from pg 4
Seattle Metro
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20
SMARTS FOR ADVOCACY: The Seattle affiliate of the National Alli-
ance on Mental Illness will be hosting an advocacy. The training
event called “Smarts for Advocacy”. The training provides step-
by-step advocacy skills and hands-on practice. 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.,
Lake City Public Library, 12501 28th Ave. NE.
SEATTLE’S WOMXN’S MARCH 2.0: This event takes place on the
first anniversary of the Women’s March. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Cal An-
derson Park, 1635 11th Ave.
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
MONDAY, JANUARY 22
ENJOY A LUNCHTIME THRILLING TALE AT THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LI-
BRARY: “Mailman” by Jonathon Stone. This is a lunchtime break
for grown-ups. 12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. Central Library, 1000
Fourth Ave. Level 1.
MLK Unity Celebration
Ilyasah Shabazz, an author, social justice activist and the the daughter of Malcolm X was the keynote speaker at the City of Seattle’s
4th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Celebration Jan. 11 at Seattle First Baptist Church.
Briefs cont’d from pg 4
to Bus Project Foundation, City Club of Portland, El-
ders in Action, League of Women Voters of Oregon,
League of Women Voters of Portland, MetroEast
Community Media, Northwest Family Services, Or-
egon Tradeswomen, Inc., Saturday Academy, and
Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees.
Grants are awarded to 501(c)(3) organizations
whose programs advance civic education and engage-
ment and increase the public’s understanding of the
justice system.
Criteria for letters of inquiry and more informa-
tion about the grants program may be found at http://
mbabar.org/foundation/grants.html. Letters of in-
quiry should be emailed to mbf@mbabar.org. The
deadline is Jan. 31.
Founded in 2005, the Multnomah Bar Foundation
is the 501(c)(3) charitable and educational arm of the
Multnomah Bar Association, a professional organi-
zation, primarily serving the legal community in the
Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The mission of
the MBF is to increase the public’s understanding of
the legal system, to promote civic education, public
participation and respect for the law, to improve the
quality and administration of the legal system, and to
support programs and projects related to the MBF’s
purpose.
Seattle News Briefs
Mayors to DOJ: Rollback of Federal
Marijuana Policy is a Misguided
Legal Overreach
Seattle Mayor and former U.S. Attorney Jenny A.
Durkan and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock led a
letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticizing
the Department
of Justice’s mis-
guided rollback
of the “Cole
Memo,” which
provided guid-
ance on federal
marijuana en-
forcement pol-
icy. The letter
signed by ten
Mayors from the
across the coun-
try,
including
Portland mayor
Ted
Wheeler,
asks the Depart-
ment of Justice to
prioritize their efforts to combat the opioid epidemic
instead of wasting law enforcement resources on le-
gal marijuana.
“Reversing course now is a misguided legal over-
reach and an attack on cities where legal, safe, and
high regulated recreational sale and use occurs,
and on the majority of states where the voters have
made their voices heard loud and clear on this issue,”
wrote the Mayors. “With overdose deaths, primari-
ly caused by opioids, at an all-time high throughout
this country, the federal government should be a bet-
ter partner to help combat this epidemic. President
Trump and DOJ should not waste our law enforce-
ment resources and taxpayer money on prosecuting
legal activity and instead prioritize their efforts on
ending the scourge of the opioid crisis.”
The letter was co-signed by: Bill de Blasio (New
York, NY), Michael B. Hancock (Denver, CO), Robert
Garcia (Long Beach, CA), Paul Soglin (Madison, WI),
Karen Freeman-Wilson (Gary, IN), Jim Kenney (Phil-
adelphia, PA), Ted Wheeler (Portland, OR), Jonathan
Rothschild (Tucson, AZ), and Pauline Cutter (San Le-
andro, CA).
The full text of the letter is below and at www.seat-
tle.gov/documents/departments/mayordurkan/Ses-
sions-Letter-01-10-2018.pdf.
Mayor Durkan Proposes “Building a
Bridge to Housing for All”
In her first major legislation, Mayor Durkan pro-
posed “Building a Bridge to Housing for All,” a plan
to sale an underutilized City property to address
Seattle’s affordability and homelessness crisis. Her
plan would leverage $11 million from the sale of an
underutilized City property to create urgently need-
ed bridge housing for those in our community expe-
riencing homelessness and to support households on
the verge of homelessness, while also reinvesting in
essential City services.
Mayor Durkan’s legislation is co-sponsored by four
Councilmembers including Council President Bruce
Harrell (District 2, South Seattle, Georgetown), Coun-
cilmember Rob Johnson (District 4, Northeast Seat-
tle), Councilmember Debora Juarez (District 5, North
Seattle) and Councilmember Sally Bagshaw (District
7, Pioneer Square to Magnolia).
This one-time investment would leverage $3.5 mil-
lion for essential City services and $10.7 million for
affordable housing, safer spaces for those without
shelter, and provide housing stability for households
on the verge of homelessness. The sale of the proper-
ty located at 1933 Minor Avenue is expected to close
in Summer 2018. Mayor Durkan’s proposal includes:
• Investing $5.5 million in a Bridge Housing Invest-
ment Strategy to increase our capacity to quickly
and cost-effectively move people experiencing
homelessness to safety through new bridge hous-
ing and shelter. Several options of bridge shelter
or bridge housing will be examined including but
not limited to mass shelter tents, hard sided tents,
wood-frame sheds, portable modular bunkhouses
or cabins, backyard cottages, and the master leas-
ing of existing apartments. This strategy will kick
off with a project to serve chronically homeless
women in our community by the end of Spring 2018
with additional solutions to be deployed later this
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26
NATURE MOVIE “FROM POLE TO POLE”. The first episode of Plan-
et Earth illustrates a journey around the globe, revealing the
effects of gradual climate change and seasonal transitions. All
ages welcome, free. Please RSVP to MSEEC@bellevuewa.gov or
call (425) 452-2565. 5 p.m. – 6 p.m., Slough Environmental Edu-
cation Center, 1625 118th Ave. SE Bellevue.
year;
• Investing $2 million to maximize housing options
for those on the verge of homelessness by piloting a
Seattle Rental Housing Assistance Pilot Program;
• Reinvesting $2.5 million into our City’s communi-
cations capabilities including the relocation of the
Seattle IT’s Communication Shop and a new lease;
• Investing $1 million for design and pre-planning
costs for a new Seattle Fire Department facility;
and,
• An upfront Mandatory Housing Affordability pay-
ment of $2 million, for affordable housing. The City
will be able to leverage the full payment of approx-
imately $7.7 million several times over through oth-
er funding sources.
You can view the full “Building a Bridge to Housing
for All” Fact Sheet at www.seattle.gov/Documents/
Departments/mayor/Building_a_Bridge_to_Housing_
for_All_FINAL.pdf.
City Holds Workshops on
Neighborhood Matching Fund
The Neighborhood Matching Fund, a program of
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, is hosting
three workshops for those interested in applying to
the fund. Each workshop will provide an overview of
the Neighborhood Matching Fund, the qualities of a
strong application, and the review process. Neighbor-
hood and community groups interested in the fund
are invited to attend.
Workshop dates and locations are as follows:
Jan. 31, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N
Feb. 15, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Montlake Community Center, 1618 Calhoun St.
Feb. 27, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Columbia City Library, 4721 Rainier Ave S
The Neighborhood Matching Fund has two funds
– the Small Sparks Fund and the Community Part-
nership Fund. The Community Partnership Fund
provides funding up to $100,000 with three opportu-
nities to apply this year. The deadlines are March 26,
June 25, and September 10. The Small Sparks Fund
provides funding up to $5,000 per project, and appli-
cations are accepted on a rolling basis through No-
vember 30.
To attend a workshop, RSVP at surveymonkey.
com/r/LMRCDFJ or contact us at 206-733-9916 or
NMFund@seattle.gov.
More than 5,000 projects have occurred across the
city since this program began in 1988. To learn more
about the Neighborhood Matching Fund and its sup-
port to community-initiated projects, visit seattle.
gov/neighborhoods/neighborhood-matching-fund.