Community Forum on Carbon Neutrality Hosted by Seattle City Council, Tuesday

Seattle City Councilmember Mike O'Brien invites citizens interested in Carbon Neutrality as a goal for Seattle to a Community Forum this Tuesday at 6pm in Bertha Knight-Landes Room.


This could be a great venue to emphasize the value that preserving existing trees and increasing the canopy would have in the carbon neutrality goal. The goals of carbon neutrality and tree canopy are not counter active, but should work in tandem to really balance community values and community character.


The Council is looking for input and ideas from citizens on how "Carbon Neutrality" can be implemented on policy, private sector, non-profit and personal levels.

The Council will hear from community members who will present their recommended actions Seattle can take over the next 1-3 years as we start down the path towards carbon neutrality.

I’ve reviewed drafts of many of these recommendations, and I am impressed with the thoughtfulness of these recommendations that are both grounded in reality but will challenge us to tackle bold issues. We are hosting a website for these efforts, which can provide helpful background on this effort here: 

http://m1e.net/c?124061708-hKkzbAe5R3yAY%405692292-X3Uju66bJNuKw

If you would like to RSVP to this event, please reply to mike.obrien@seattle.gov

I hope to see you there!

 Best,

 Councilmember Mike O'Brien
 Seattle City Council
 Po Box 34025
 Seattle, WA 98124-4025

No on Prop I Shoreline- News Announcement

This message provided by the NO on Prop 1 Shoreline Committee


http://noonprop1shoreline.com/

32^nd District Democrats Join Opposition To Tax Increase In Shoreline

Last night (Wednesday) the 32^nd District Democrats voted to endorse the No on Proposition 1 position, which opposes increasingproperty taxes, in order to compensate for the City’s projected shortfall.

Their decision follows a similar choice by the 32^nd  District Republicans.

The No on Proposition 1 group advocated budgetary restraint, rather than increased tax revenues. They argued that Shoreline taxes, when combined with increases by King County and the State would affect those who could least afford them, and would divide the city into haves and have-nots.

The Democrats were especially anxious about the open-ended nature of the City’s proposal, which would have tied the property tax to the Consumer Price Index of Seattle for five years. There would be no guarantee of how high the index might go, and no public scrutiny of the annual changes.

Lavish expenditures during the past decade on Aurora Avenue and a new City Hall,  have given pause, as did the fact that they have been achieved partly by diverting millions of dollars from operating budgets.

The Democrats were persuaded that fiscal austerity and a review of salaries and benefits, such as other cities have practiced, should produce more than enough resources to carry on the services that make Shoreline a good place to live.

Contact:

Dwight Gibb 206 546 1864

dgibb@earthlink.net

Shameful Chapter in Shoreline Communty's History Beginning-Editorial

Shoreline Area News has finally posted a story about the upcoming demise of the Shoreline Historical Museum in Ronald School

Shoreline Historical Museum and Garden
photo credit-Vicki Westberg

The story presents the facts about the eviction of the museum from the 1912 Landmarked building, the Shoreline Historical Museum.

However, the dry facts do not convey the enormity of this fiasco about to be perpetrated by the Shoreline School District.

Of Paramount Importance has its own view and we believe that passion needs to be utilized to fully relay the real impacts. The facts need to be laid out, but so should the moral outrage. Here is our Editorial comment:

The Shoreline School District presented the community with a Levy and Bond choice in January 2010 and then succeeded in "snookering" everyone into supporting a $150 million dollar Bond, because of a last minute "Agreement in Principle" with the Museum, when they were likely to lose that election. The Agreement in Principle called for a joint action to move the nearly century old building less than a block. The District was to assist the Museum in that move. However, the proposed location turned out to be untenable, due to previous committments the owner had made. This fact was well known before the Agreement in Principle was inked by many community leaders.


But the Museum Board was so anxious to be "helpful", they agreed to a plan that would never come to fruition. They signed and Agreement in Principle, that sowed the seeds of their destruction.


Now they are left to move the entire collection and abandon the building they've called home since 1976.


The Shoreline School District has sold the community a bill of goods. They've convinced the voters that
a fancy new facade for Shorewood HS is more important than a community asset, their Historical Museum.  It is clear from the record that the District never had any intention of preserving the Museum. They set out to destroy it and carry out their hostile takeover of the Ronald School and evict the Museum, and used "parity" with other school districts and with Shorecrest as a ridiculous excuse.


If this comes to pass as looks likely, it will mark the most shameful chapter in the Shoreline Community's history and of the District. They've decided to put their own history in a boat and set it adrift in order to have a shiny new image.


The Shoreline School Board has gone along with this plan and they are completely responsible. The voters, including museum supporters were suckered into buying a bill of goods that includes the destruction of their most valued possession, the landmarked Ronald School housing a priceless collection.  The School Board must be held accountable for this disaster.


If citizens are upset, they can let the School Board and Shoreline Area News know their feelings.


This outcome will mark a new low point as the community tries to dig itself out of this great recession.


Shoreline will never be the same without its Shoreline Historical Museum in Ronald School. The Museum was to be a part of our Town Center and now it will be, heaven knows where.  What kind of community are we that we'd allow this to happen?


With Regrets,
Janet Way

More Wildlife Activity at Thornton Creek Park #6

Racoons and Woodducks swimming in Thornton Creek Park #6 Wetland
photo credit-Don MacCall

Thornton Creek Park #6 is a "Hub" for urban wildlife encounters, just as Northgate itself is a hub nowadays for people.

It's almost like other wildlife say to the beavers "if you build it we will come".  I stopped by for a look today and noticed how the light has changed around this pond, because the beavers have taken down many trees in their "building" activities.  They have transformed this site into a wildlife haven.

A Northwest Indian legend from the Haida people once said...."beavers taught the salmon how to jump". Maybe they also taught some other critters how to use their habitat.

This site is Martinez Beavers.org. It is a blog advocating for protecting beaver dams and habitat  for the benefit of fish and other wildlife.

Below is an update on the creature count at Park #6 from Ruth Williams and Don MacCall of TCA.

Young Beaver swimming at Park #6 Beaver Pond

"Ragged Dragonfly"-photo credit Don MacCall

Here are the latest photographs and sightings from Park Six.

Beavers:  They are building a new dam a little downstream of the existing

one.  Half-grown beavers are becoming a common sight.  They are nibbling on

trees, including the big cottonwood, in the SW corner of the pond that will

take down overhead wires whenever a tree finally falls.

Wood Ducks:  They are finally back after their stark summer-long absence,

and in considerable abundance.  They are now in their non-breeding plumage.

The picture that shows raccoons and Wood Ducks has a juvenile Wood Duck to

the right.

At the July work party one volunteer noted several species of dragonflies

over the pond, I spotted a muskrat, in about 1.5 hours we saw 3 adult and 7

baby raccoons.

Ruth

New beaver dam at Thornton Creek Park # 6
photo credit-Don MacCall

Resourceful Racoons at Thornton Creek Park #6

Nimble Racoon
Photo credit-Don MacCall

Report on Racoon activities at Thornton Creek Park #6
by Ruth Williams and Don MacCall

This is a great series of shots by Don MacCall and Ruth Williams of Thornton creek Alliance. They are longtime stewards of Thornton Creek Park #6 near Northgate.  The downstream section of this park has been adopted by beavers who have utterly transformed the place into an active wetland, and haven for many urban wildlife species. Racoons are just one of the species attracted to this place.

They are well adapted to the urban forests and are fascinating for people to observe because of their obvious intelligence and resourcefulness.

Goofy Racoons-
Photo credit-Don MacCall

On the banks, Racoon Family going for a swim

The racoon babies are just too cute to ignore. The picture of the group on the creek bank

shows a mother with FIVE babies.  A couple of weeks ago we saw two adult

raccoons sauntering down Northgate Way!  Again, these pictures were taken by

Don McCall.

Ruth

Publicola "Jolt" Winner - Great Pick

Publicola gives its "Afternoon Jolt Winner" slot today to attorney Knoll Lowney. 

They could not have picked a more deserving winner. Knoll Lowney has an amazing record of holding the corporate set accountable. He is a public interest, landuse and environmental attorney based in Seattle. He has taken on the BIAW over the last many years in one of his roles as
an advocate for progressive candidates and the public interest.

Publicola recognizes him for being singled out by the Wall Street Journal in an editorial!

Here's the Publicola Post -
http://www.publicola.net/2010/09/03/afternoon-jolt-13/

Afternoon Jolt

By Afternoon Jolt, Friday, September 3, 2010 at 4:20 PM
7 Comments and 1 Reaction

Today’s winner: Knoll Lowney

The country’s most prominent conservative paper, the Wall Street Journal, felt compelled to write an editorial condemning lefty Seattle attorney Knoll Lowney for his anti-Rossi tricks.

Congrats Knoll.

The WSJ is aghast a Lowney’s successful record:

Mr. Lowney convinced a judge to allow him to depose Mr. Rossi—eight days before the 2008 election. Mr. Rossi arrived at the Lowney deposition to a swarm of cameras, and the spectacle was enough to sow doubt in voters’ minds. True, 2008 was a bad year for Republicans—but the deposition certainly played a role in Mr. Rossi’s defeat.

Owls in Thornton Creek Park #1

Kelly Dole, creek steward at Thornton Creek Park #1 (S of Jackson Park Golf Course)
reports a great sighting of a wise character watching over the wildest place in the watershed.

Looks like a Barred Owl? Photo credit-Kelly Dole

Lately the critters are really coming back over here. I think much of it is ultimately due to shading the creek. Yesterday my son and I saw 10" fish, crawdads, raccoon, a falcon (I think) and the awesome owl (I snapped those photos yesterday). Later on and this morning we watched him hunt for about 30 minutes. Very cool for an urban woodlands. A neighbor regularly sees heron, hawks and coyote and I would bet that the beaver that used to live around here might be coming back. 

Keeping an eye on things

Barred Owls are a species that seems to thrive in the urban forests. They are considered an invasive species though lately, especially in "Spotted Owl Territory", where they have been said by scientists to be out competing the smaller and shier endangered species.