Paul Bascomb, a member of the East Precinct Advisory Council and chair of SPD’s African American Community Advisory Council has received an FBI award for community leadership.

From SPD:

SPD’s African American Advisory Council Chair and East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition Board member Paul Bascomb will be presented today with the FBI Seattle Division’s 2011 Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA).

Since 1990, the Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) has been a principal means for the FBI to publicly recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations that make extraordinary contributions to crime prevention, violence prevention, and education in their communities.  Each FBI field office selects one individual or organization each year to receive this prestigious award.  Each office announces the recipient at a local ceremony and the FBI Director later presents the recipient with the award at a national ceremony at FBI Headquarters—this year, on March 16, 2012. 

Paul Bascomb’s leadership has brought about advances in cooperation between the African American community and law enforcement.  Before his current career as a real estate professional, Mr. Bascomb was a corrections officer for more than 16 years in the Washington state juvenile justice system.  In 2011, Mr. Bascomb graduated from the FBI Seattle Division’s Citizens’ Academy.

Visit the Seattle Division Community Outreach page for more information about past DCLA recipients and about the FBI Citizens’ Academy.

If you would like to get involved with either council, the next African American Community Advisory Council meeting is 6:30 p.m. November 17 at Seattle Vocational Institute (first floor, room 102).

The next EastPAC meeting is  6 p.m. December 8 at Chardin Hall Room 142 on Seattle University campus.

This week has good and bad news for lovers of the city’s electric trolley bus network.

The good news: King County has budgeted $238.6 million to replace Metro’s aging fleet of 155 electric trolley buses, CHS reports.

A statement sent out by County Council member Larry Phillips, head of the transportation committee, says the funding will ensure “trolley buses will keep rolling in Seattle for decades to come.” CDN reported last spring on the reasons Metro chose to move forward with new trolley buses versus changing them to diesel buses. Metro has said its 25-year-old fleet needs to be replaced by 2014.

Passage of King County’s 2012 budget by the Metropolitan King County Council settles once and for all the debate over whether to replace Metro’s aging trolley bus fleet. The budget includes $238.6 million to replace Metro’s fleet of 100 40-foot trolleybuses and 55 60-foot trolley buses, ensuring that Seattle’s urban neighborhoods will continue to benefit from clean, quiet electric buses.

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 “I was pleased to support funding to keep our popular trolley buses rolling in our urban neighborhoods, cutting down on noise and pollution,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Council’s Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. “A lifecycle cost analysis showed that replacing our existing aging trolley buses with new off-wire capable trolley buses is the most cost effective and beneficial investment for the people of King County.”

 Metro’s trolley bus fleet has reached the end of its useful life. A performance audit of Metro raised questions about whether replacing the trolley buses with diesels could save money and recommended further study. Phillips sponsored a proviso in the 2011 Budget directing Metro to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of replacement options that would work best on current trolley routes. The evaluation concluded that electric trolley buses with off-wire capability to avoid construction and traffic blockages were the lowest cost, most beneficial option for replacing Metro’s trolley bus fleet.

 With the passage of the budget, Metro will be issuing a Request for Procurement for new trolley buses by the end of this year and should have a contract in place by fall of 2012. 

A slide from a 2010 Metro presentation (Image: Metro)

The bad news for trolley buses is that Seattle Transportation Benefits District Proposition 1 was defeated in the polls 60-40 (count as of November 10). Prop 1 designated an annual pool of money to be spent on trolley bus wire expansion, and 23rd Avenue through the CD was high on the priority list. This would have allowed for the 48 to run as an electric route between Mount Baker Station and the University District.

Metro’s grant proposal for electrifying route 48 depends on about $9 million in local government funding and nearly $7 million in Federal grants.

Alleycat Acres is hosting a work party at the 22nd and Union farm from 1-4 p.m. November 12 to build low-cost and simple cloches to keep the veggies warm during the winter.

From Alleycat Acres:

On Saturday, November 11th, well be putting on our thinking hats and rain jackets and will be building custom cloches to keep veggies warm this winter – as well as to help with our spring kickoff as we all know how time flies and March will be here before we know it!

From using salvaged wood, tent poles and sheet plastic, the project will be lead by a longtime neighbor + farmer, Rich.

If you’re curious how to build these, why they help and don’t mind getting muddy, well be out in the CD farm from 1 to 4 working like the mad cats we are.

We may also have some awesome news to share by then and you’d be among the first to hear it!

High fives in advance,

Alleycat Acres

The Lake Washington Girls Middle School will host an event November 10 about promoting healthy relationships among adolescent girls. Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee of Seattle Girls School will speak at the event, which starts at 6 p.m.

The event is put on by the Northwest Girls Coalition, which is a networking and education group for “members of the girl-serving community.”

From the CDN event post:

Join the Northwest Girls Coalition for a special upcoming Supporting Girls in the Teen Years event…
Sugar and Spice But Not Always Nice: Gender, Bias, and Aggression in Adolescent Girls
A talk with Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee

Odd Girls Out. Queen Bees. Girl Bullying. When did we lose our sweet little girls? Examine the cross-section of socio-emotional development, gender bias, and adolescence in the emergence of the “Mean Girl” phenomenon. What can we do as parents, educators, and supporters to promote healthy relationship among girls?

November 10, 6–8pm
Hosted by Lake Washington Girls Middle School
810 18th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122

Register today!
Free for NWGC members
$7 suggested donation for non-members.
If paying at the door, please bring cash or check payable to NWGC.

Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee is a faculty member at Seattle Girls School, as well as an experienced educator and diversity consultant whose passion and expertise ranges from science and ethics for middle school students, gender equity in STEM education, cross-cultural communication, gender bias, relational aggression, identity development, anti-bullying, brain and learning, and more. Driven toward empowering youth to make a better future for themselves and their communities, and at the same time working with adults to help create inclusive communities that will help empower youth of all races, ethnic origins, genders, abilities, sexual orientations, and other identities.

Organizations Rosetta has worked with include the Junior League, Washington State Association for Multicultural Education, Seattle Public Utilities, and numerous nonprofits and schools. She has served several years on the faculty of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Summer Diversity Institute, as well as its diversity think-tank cadre, Call to Action.

Here’s a quick roundup of a couple street robberies in the past week.

22nd and James, 8 a.m. November 4

Two men robbed a man in wheelchair, knocking him to the ground in the process before fleeing. The robbers got away with the backpack attached to the front of the victim’s wheelchair. They even started rooting through it in front of the victim while he was on the sidewalk, the man told police. The victim was left with scrapes on his hands.

From the police report:

14th and Alder, 6:30 p.m. November 27

Three suspects robbed a woman walking down the sidewalk on 14th Ave near Alder. She was walking down 14th talking on her phone when one of the suspects asked her for the time. One suspect then grabbed for her backpack, causing her to fall to the ground. Another suspect tried to grab her phone, while the third may have been on lookout.

One of the suspects started screaming at her, telling her to give them her stuff, but she refused. She started screaming herself, drawing the attention of a neighbor who came outside and started walking toward the scene. The attempted robbers then ran off.

They did not get any of her stuff, and she was not injured. The suspects were described as follows, according to the police report:

Unknown/Suspect #1 Black male with English accent possible east African, approximately 5′-9″, medium build, brown eyes, facial hair, wearing a black puffy jack with a orange lumber jack shirt and black baggy pants.

Unknown/Suspect #2 Black male approximately 5′-9″, medium build, wearing a black jacket and black pants.

Unknown/Suspect #3 Couldn’t further describe.

The big annual Glitter Sale at the Dearborn Goodwill is November 12-13. Seattle Goodwill is also highlighting some of the choicest items on the Glitter Sale Blog.

Last year’s sale raised nearly $160,000. The sale benefits Goodwill’s job training and education programs.

From Seattle Goodwill:

From the Glitter Sale blog.

Dates:              Saturday, November 12 & Sunday, November 13, 2011, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

 Location:        Seattle Goodwill’s Dearborn St. Store, 1400 South Lane St., Seattle, WA 98144

 Admission:     Free

 Description:    The 28th Anniversary of Goodwill’s annual sale of holiday and formalwear as well as designer and vintage clothing and accessories. As always, merchandise will be priced at Goodwill’s fabulously low prices.

 Extras:            * Special selection of vintage hats available

      * PEMCO’s WALLY (We’re A Lot Like You) truck will be on hand bright and early Saturday morning to serve coffee and donuts to early risers

      * The Storm’s mascot, Doppler, will be on hand Saturday morning to greet shoppers as the doors open and for photo opps.

      * Merchandise will be restocked throughout the weekend.

Proceeds:        All sales benefit Seattle Goodwill’s free job training and education programs in our community. Because jobs change lives.

Preview           Read the Glitter Sale Blog for a “sneak peek” at sale merchandise www.glittersale.blogspot.com; Follow us on Twitter at GlitterSale_Gal.

Designers:       Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, Carolina Herrara, Tignanello, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana

Shopping tips: Wear a leotard or swimsuit to try on clothes; there are no dressing rooms.

* Keep an open mind – The Glitter Sale is the ultimate treasure hunt – you never know what you will find!

* Arrive early for best selection.

* Take a number for assistance at the jewelry counter.                       

* Bring a friend for fun and advice.

* Goodwill will provide mesh shopping totes.

Here’s a video of last year’s sale:

Magpie has been selling kids clothes and toys next door to Tougo Coffee for several weeks, and they are now ready for their grand opening.

They are holding a celebration November 19 from 1-4 p.m. at the store on 18th Ave just north of Union.

The shop, which is located in a space formerly used by Tougo, sells used clothes as well as clothes and accessories designed and made by shop owner Malia Keene right in the back room of the shop. Keene (who also happens to be my landlord) studied apparel design at Seattle Central and worked many years in bridal, including 12 years at Cicada Bridal in downtown Seattle. But she has always wanted to design clothes for children.

Keene is working to find more good looking clothes for children from birth to eight years old. While finding interesting clothes for girls is not too hard, she also wants good items for boys.

“It’s harder to find things that are more stylish or a little more interesting,” she said of boys clothes. Often clothes for boys past a certain age are either plain or are t-shirts with graphics on them. She trades kids clothes for store credit and urges people to bring bags of clothes by the shop. However, there is limited rack space and little storage, so she may be a bit picky.

Aside from clothes, Keene said she has been selling a lot of toys. The shop focuses on toys that teach some kind of skill, she said. They have kits for sewing, crafting and baking projects, for example, and they have been selling well.

“I want to encourage that kind of creativity,” she said. “A lot of these things I loved when I was little.” They are practical items meant to “last longer and do more things,” she said. Most of all, the items are cute and stylish.

“Both the kid and parent should want to wear it, use it and have it in the house,” she said. Therefore, she does not sell annoying battery-powered toys.

Keene is interested in selling locally-made wooden toys or other kids items. If you are interesting in making products for Magpie, stop by during business hours (Tuesday-Saturday from 10-5).

Four men with their faces covered robbed a business at 25th and Jackson around 6 p.m. November 5, according to police. One of them was armed with a chrome revolver. The fled the area in a newer gray Nissan Maxima.

From SPD:

On 11/05/11, at approximately 6:00 p.m., 4 males entered a business in the 2500 block of S. Jackson St.  Their faces were covered and one was armed with a chrome colored revolver.  The suspect’s demanded money.

The suspects emptied the contents of the safe into a plastic shopping bag and took a locked box with more cash and checks inside.  The suspects then ran out of the business southbound on 25 Ave S.  A K9 unit tracked the suspects to an apartment complex but no suspects were located.

The suspects were described as black males wearing dark clothing, with t-shirts covering their faces.  They may have been Somali, according to victim’s judgment of suspects’ accents.

A witness stated they saw four males leave the area in a gray newer Nissan Maxima. An Evidence Technician responded and processed the scene.

Plans to remove a fence separating a park just north of Madison Park Beach from the waterfront have proven to be controversial among locals, who cite children’s safety and summer parking issues as reasons to keep the fence.

Citizens packed the November 3 Parks Board meeting to express their thoughts on the controversial fence, which has separated the north beach since 1945. A recent Parks staff proposal would increase access to what little waterfront property the city owns, not to mention add more waterfront access within easy access of the Central District.

One commenter wanted to defend the “exclusive” nature of the neighborhood, while another was concerned about property values if “all kinds of other people” came to use the park. Other commenters argued that parks are for everybody, and that the city has experience creating many miles of safe shoreline parks.

You can get a sampling of the comments from Seattle Channel below (it appears some of the comments are missing from the SC website). A decision from the Parks Board is expected next month, and the Parks Department Superintendent will have the final say.

Madison Park Blogger has a summary of the debate:

Those residents of the “surrounding neighborhood” who live closest to Swingset Park, however, are the adjacent condo owners; and they don’t seem to be particularly happy about the new “opportunities” that the fence removal might create for them. Apart from the safety-of-children issue, their apparent principal concerns are parking disruption and the noise and crowding that may result from increased park usage.  It is rumored (and was reported today as a fact by The Seattle Times) that residents have chartered a bus to bring Madison Parkers to tonight’s hearing.  Local opposition to the fence’s removal has been successful in the past, according to the briefing memo, which states that in 2003 a proposal to take the fence down was “shelved due to the volume of negative comments received.”

Since the Parks Department staff acknowledges that the reason for the fence when erected was the safety of children, we asked what has changed since that time.  According to spokesperson Dewey Potter, what’s different now is a change in public attitudes. “Public awareness and interest in public spaces being open to the public is not the same as it was in 1945,” she told us.  The policy of providing maximum access to the the Lake Washington shoreline is what’s driving the process this time.

With huge cuts to King County Metro service narrowly avoided just months ago, more transit funding on the ballot due Tuesday and some major route changes on the horizon, transit is almost always a major topic on people’s minds and an important part of their lives.

Now, a group of people who say they are focused on expanding transit for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds is forming a democratic group to add another voice to the city’s transit conversation.

The Seattle Transit Riders Union will officially launch with a forum at 6 p.m. November 15 at the 2100 Building (2100 24th Ave S). James Bible, President of the Seattle Martin Luther King County branch of the NAACP, will speak at the event.

They also have a survey you can take online.

From the Transit Riders Union:

You are invited to a Public Forum and Inauguration of the Seattle Transit Riders Union on Tuesday, November 15th, 6-8pm

Featured Speaker:

James Bible 
President of the Seattle Martin Luther King County branch of the NAACP*

Why do we need a Transit Riders Union?

• Deep bus service cuts were only narrowly avoided in King County…
• Public transit is under attack in cities across the country…
• Unemployment is rising and social services are shrinking…
• The planet is warming and natural resources are dwindling…
• The global economy is in crisis…

As individuals we feel helpless to do anything, because alone we are helpless. But what can we accomplish when we organize, when we stand up together? The new Transit Riders Union intends to find out.

Join us on November 15th for a discussion of the fate of public transit in Seattle and beyond. We will talk about the Transit Riders Union’s plans for the future, and announce our upcoming campaign. Short presentations by a panel of speakers will be followed by open discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.

Location:
The 2100 Building
2100 24th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98144

The 2100 Building is wheelchair accessible, and is served by the 4, 7, 8, 34, and 48 buses. It’s about half a mile from the Mt Baker light rail station.

RSVP not necessary, but if you’re sure you’ll be there and can let us know, that will help us to plan. Email [email protected], or call (206) 651-4282.

*for affiliation purposes only