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Nickels Newsletter - March
2007
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Dear Friends,
March 25, 2007, I joined hundreds of people at Seattle Center to honor and remember six young people who had their lives cut short by a gunman in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It was a touching tribute as family and friends shared memories about each young life. It seemed only fitting that on that same day, the Greater Seattle Jewish Federation, which was the site of another shooting, reopened its renovated offices. The challenge ahead is to not just remember, but channel our emotions into positive action to reduce gun violence in our communities.
To further our efforts to become the best prepared city in the country for responding
to emergencies and disasters, we hold periodic exercises to test our City resources.
This month we held a daylong exercise with pandemic flu as the emergency. Often
a real event, such as the December windstorm (see below) provides us with a real
test. Either way, we learn valuable lessons from these experiences so we are
that much better prepared when the next emergency hits.
As we found in December, a large part of getting through these emergencies rests
with the individual, and we can help. We have a new preparedness program called "Seattle
Neighborhoods Actively Prepare" (SNAP) to help you, your family and your
neighborhoods become better prepared for the next disaster. We have been taking
the message around town. If you haven't attended a session yet, click
here for upcoming dates. (Acrobat PDF)
One final note: thank you to all Seattle voters who cast ballots this month. The message was clear -- whether it's above or below ground -- "don't build another freeway on our waterfront." Now, after all the debate and discussion, we can unite with one goal -- to find a solution that is good for our city, good for our waterfront, and good for our region.
Sincerely,
GREG NICKELS
Mayor of Seattle
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Community celebrates opening of new Southwest Branch Library
 Seattle has the distinction of being a smart and literate city -- in part because of our strong public libraries. Since the passage of the Libraries for All levy in 1998, we have renovated more than 20 of our branch libraries throughout Seattle. The Southwest Branch in West Seattle is the 22nd branch to undergo renovation. And it was a great community celebration when it reopened this month. This beautiful new library is almost twice as big as the original, adding nearly 7,000 square feet and lots of room to house an updated collection of more than 66,000 books and materials. There are new computer workstations, a community meeting room, improved seismic safety, more accessible and safer parking, and more.
Read more about the Southwest Branch
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Lessons learned from December storm
Whenever we experience a citywide emergency -- whether caused by nature or humans, we activate the City's emergency response, just as we did when we were hit by the historic December storm. By their very nature, these events are unexpected and much of our response goes outside of our usual routines. To make sure we learn from these experiences so we will be that much better prepared for the next one, once the emergency has passed each City department critiques and analyzes its response and develops recommendations for improvement. All of this becomes an "After Action Report," which we will use to strengthen and improve our response next time.
Read more about the After Action Report
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Clean and Green Lake City – March 17
 It seems only fitting to participate in a Clean and Green event on St. Patrick's Day. And this year that's just what I did -- the 64th Clean and Green Seattle event was held in the Lake City neighborhood. As always, these events provide a great chance for members of the community to come together and roll up their sleeves and make a difference in their neighborhood. And I was especially pleased to be joined by students from Summit, Nathan Hale and University Prep.
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Vera Project opens at Seattle Center
 One of the great things about Seattle is its music and we have an international reputation as home to a rich and vibrant music scene, regardless of how we fared on the latest installment of American Idol. Seattle Center is now the official home of the Vera Project, which just opened in its new digs in what used to be the Snoqualmie Room. This 6,500-square-foot conference room has been transformed into a two-story multi-purpose music venue for youth, including a 300-400 capacity showroom with professional level stage, lighting and sound/recording system, classrooms and much more. The Vera Project is an all-ages, volunteer-run music education and music venue.
Read the news release
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Public plaza will complete Civic Center
 It's been a long time coming, but we are on the way to completing our Civic Center campus with an iconic new landmark in the middle of Seattle. Where the Public Safety Building stood for more than 50 years, we will have a new Civic Plaza with new homes, new jobs and a much needed public gathering place. We selected Triad Development to do the job. Triad will engage the people of Seattle in the design process so that the plaza will truly reflect the community. It will feature a residential tower, public plaza, underground parking and retail, and will incorporate sustainable elements. I look forward to watching this empty lot become a new gathering place for Seattle.
Read the news release
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Upcoming Events:
- Neighborhood Policing Community Open Houses:
Tuesday, April 3 -- Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 S. Myrtle St., 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 10 --Magnolia Community Center, 2550 34th Ave. W., 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 25 -- Woodland Park Zoo, ARC Building, 5500 Phinney Ave. N.,
6 p.m.
- Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago -- Photo Exhibit
-- Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave.
Exhibit will be on display until Friday, April 13.
- Laurelhurst Community Center Dedication -- 4554
- N.E. 41st St. -- Saturday, March 31, 1:30 p.m.
- Madrona Creek Restoration Groundbreaking -- Madrona
Beach Park, 853 Lake Washington Blvd. -- Monday, April 2, 11:30 a.m.
- Weekday with Steve Scher -- Call in to Mayor Nickels
on KUOW 94.9 FM -- Monday, April 9, 10 a.m.
- Ask the Mayor -- Seattle Channel -- Wednesday,
April 11, 7 p.m.
- Seattle University Climate Change
Rally -- Seattle University -- Friday, April 13, 1:30 p.m.
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