December 19, 2018 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 5
News
Events & Announcements
Community
Calendar 2018
cont’d from pg 4
Seattle Metro
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
BLOEDEL SOLTICE WALK: Experience the beauty and fellowship
of Bloedel’s trails by candlelight, as we celebrate the shortest
days of the year. We trek the trails with glowing lanterns, mak-
ing a spectacle out of ourselves for owls and other creatures of
the night, quietly winding through forests and meadows for a
truly magical experience. Arrive as early as 4:30 p.m. for cook-
ies, cider and holiday cheer; walk leaves promptly at 5:30 p.m.
Bloedel Reserve, 571 NE Dolphin Dr, Bainbridge Island.
NIGHT MARKET AT PIKE PLACE: Pike Place Market’s pavilion will
stay open late for your last-minute gift needs. Find hand-craft-
ed goods and fill up on food truck offerings. Located at the Mar-
ketFront Pavillion. From 5 – 8 p.m., 1501 Pike Place.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21
100 Black Parents
Aamira 9, writes a list of things she wants for Christmas during the 100 Black Parents Free Santa visit at Langston Hughes Performing
Arts Institute Dec. 16. Kids could have their picture taken with Santa, write him a letter and drop it in a special mail box.
Briefs cont’d from pg 4
ing and the Dead: Three Generations of Exile along
the War Roads of Europe, was published in 2017. Her
work as a feature writer for the Oregonian was recog-
nized by the Pulitzer Prizes.
Kimberly A.C. Wilson is director of communica-
tions for Meyer Memorial Trust. She has worked as
a news reporter and investigative journalist at the
Oregonian, the Baltimore Sun, the Seattle Post-Intel-
ligencer, and the Associated Press.
Les Zaitz is editor and publisher of the Malheur
Enterprise newspaper, based in Vale, Oregon. He has
worked in journalism in Oregon as a reporter, editor,
and publisher for more than forty years. He recently
cofounded the Salem Reporter, an online media out-
let covering the Salem area.
This event will take place from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at
the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., in
Portland. Snacks and conversation will follow the
program. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and minors are
welcome when accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and are avail-
able at albertarosetheatre.com. No-cost tickets are
available. The event will be streamed live at oregon-
humanities.org and on YouTube.
Since 2008, Think & Drink has sparked provocative
conversations about big ideas. Past presenters have
included local and national civic leaders, journalists,
writers, community organizers, scholars, and politi-
cians.
Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas
that change lives and transform communities. More
information about our programs and publications—
which include the Conversation Project, Think &
Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Public Program
Grants, Responsive Program Grants, and Oregon
Humanities magazine—can be found at oregonhu-
manities.org. Oregon Humanities is an independent,
nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for
the Humanities and a partner of the Oregon Cultural
Trust.
Seattle News Briefs
Mayor Durkan Signs into Law Her
Legislation to Create an Independent
Office of the Employee Ombud
Joined by members of the City of Seattle’s Anti-Ha-
rassment Interdepartmental Team (IDT), Mayor Jen-
ny A. Durkan signed into law her legislation to estab-
lish an independent Office of the Employee Ombud
(OEO) to combat harassment, discrimination, and
misconduct at the City of Seattle. The OEO is expected
to begin functioning in early 2019.
Mayor Durkan’s legislation was passed unanimous-
ly by the City Council on Monday.
The mission and function of the Office of the Em-
ployee Ombud will be to:
• Assist individual employees in understanding and
assessing their options and resources for address-
ing concerns about or claims of workplace miscon-
duct;
• Provide analysis and recommendations on poten-
tial policy and rule changes to address departmen-
tal or systemic inefficiencies;
• Submit an implementation plan by the second quar-
ter of 2019 to the Mayor and the City Council; and
• Deliver an annual report to the Mayor and the City
Council that includes recommendations on how to
improve City Personnel Rules, complaint and in-
vestigations systems, workplace expectations, and
other applicable City processes and systems.
In January 2018, Mayor Durkan quickly established
the IDT to review the City’s policies on harassment,
discrimination, and other forms of misconduct. Fol-
lowing an extensive analysis, in September, Mayor
Durkan issued an Executive Order to implement a se-
ries of changes, including the creation of the OEO, to
reform and update how the City addresses allegations
of harassment, discrimination, and other forms of
misconduct. In October, she transmitted her legisla-
tion to the City Council. These actions were informed
by the 35 recommendations and 125 strategies devel-
oped by the IDT and submitted to Mayor Durkan.
The City is currently accepting applications for
the director’s position, which will remain open until
filled.
Mayor Jenny Durkan Nominates
Human Services Department
Interim Director Jason Johnson
and Office for Civil Rights Interim
Director Mariko Lockhart to Serve
as Permanent Directors
Jenny A. Durkan announced today she is nominat-
ing Human Services Department Interim Director
Jason Johnson and Seattle Office for Civil Rights In-
terim Director Mariko Lockhart to permanent posi-
tions, pending confirmation by the City Council.
Johnson began serving as Interim Director on
May 2, 2018. In his role as Interim Director, Johnson
helped oversee the largest emergency shelter and
bridge housing expansion for people experiencing
homelessness in the City’s history; coordinated with
King County and community stakeholders to help lay
a path towards a regional structure and approach to
tackling the homelessness crisis; and oversaw a sig-
nificant improvement in the City’s homelessness cri-
sis response, with HSD programs helping 30 percent
more households exit homelessness to permanent
housing than in the same time frame in 2017. Johnson,
a licensed social worker, has managed housing and
human services at the City of Kent, Washington, and
BENEATH THE MISTLETOE, THE LESSER-KNOWN BOTANY OF
CHRISTMAS: Come join us and learn more about the plants and
fauna behind the traditional holiday festivities, all the while en-
joying a few glasses of wintry cheer. Ada’s Technical Books, 7
p.m., $5 entry, 425 15th Ave. E.
FILM & DISCUSSION: THE BLACK CANDLE: Watch the “first fea-
ture film on Kwanzaa,” narrated by Maya Angelou and directed
by M.K. Ashante, then discuss it afterwards with Africatown
members. Free, 6:30 p.m., Africatown Center for Education and
Innovation, 3100 S Alaska St.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22
SEATTLE SECULAR SOLSTICE: Join us to celebrate humanity’s
accomplishments, reflect on our past, and consider the future
with food, light, song, and camaraderie. Donations accepted, 4 –
9:30 p.m., The Factory Luxe, 3100 Airport Way S.
SOUL HOLIDAY MARKET: Africatown-Central District will host
a local vendor market with food trucks, games, and live
music from Zach Bruce and Omega. Free to attend, 1 – 8 p.m.
1150 23rd Ave.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23
SILENT WALK: We trek the trails with glowing lanterns, making
a spectacle out of ourselves for owls and other creatures of the
night, quietly winding through forests and meadows, for a truly
magical experience. Arrive as early as 4:30pm for cookies, cider
and holiday cheer; walk leaves promptly at 5:30 p.m. Bloedel
Reserve, 571 NE Dolphin Dr, Bainbridge Island.
View the Community Calendar and regularly
updated News Briefs for Seattle and Portland at
has a long tenure in the nonprofit sector managing
housing programs for seniors, families, and people
living with terminal illness or permanent disabili-
ties.
Effective January 2018, Lockhart began leading the
Office for Civil Rights. Under her leadership, the de-
partment has made critical contributions to the May-
or’s work to reform the City’s policies on harassment,
discrimination, and other forms of misconduct, in-
cluding participating in the Anti-Harassment Inter-
departmental Team with the Seattle Department of
Human Resources; has developed and held the 2018
RSJI Summit; and helped create the Domestic Worker
Bill of Rights, among other significant achievements.
She previously led the 100,000 Opportunities Initia-
tive – Demonstration Cities for the Aspen Forum
on Community Solutions working to connect young
people with private sector employment, and served
as the Director of the City of Seattle’s Youth Violence
Prevention Initiative.
In November 2017, the City Council passed Ordi-
nance 125470, which requires the Mayor to solicit
advice from Office for Civil Rights staff, the Seattle
Women’s Commission, the Seattle Human Rights
Commission, the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, and the
Seattle Commission for People with disAbilities on
an appointment of a director for the Office for Civil
Rights. The Mayor’s Office had conversations with
these stakeholders, as well as additional stakehold-
ers from community organizations that work closely
with OCR, before nominating Lockhart as OCR’s per-
manent director.