THE READER
From the Office of Mayor Mike McGinn
News, Updates, and Information
Click here to receive this via email.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2011

Mayor’s statements on Occupy Seattle

Mayor McGinn has shown support for the goals of Occupy Seattle to address growing inequality. But as the mayor, he must protect public safety and the public interest in park spaces, while ensuring that individuals can express their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. For his approach see:

http://mayormcginn.seattle.gov/update-on-occupy-seattle-oct-11/

http://mayormcginn.seattle.gov/update-on-occupy-seattle-oct-9/

http://mayormcginn.seattle.gov/update-on-occupy-seattle/

---

Law Enforcement Assistance Diversion (LEAD)

Today Mayor McGinn joined King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and other law enforcement officials and community members to announce an innovative new pilot program to tackle drug dealing. Instead of arresting low-level drug offenders and prosecuting them, the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program will divert them to community-based treatment and support services.

“We know that the issue of chemical dependency in our society cannot be solved by law enforcement alone. It is a complex social problem that requires a comprehensive social solution,” said Chief Diaz. “LEAD provides our front line police officers with the discretion necessary to ensure that treatment diversion is utilized as a viable alternative to incarceration.”

LEAD was developed with the community to address the open air drug markets in Seattle and King County, and is based on a successful model that has been used in the United Kingdom for many years. The pilot projects will be conducted in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood and the Skyway neighborhood of unincorporated King County. If the project turns out to be successful, we will expand it to other neighborhoods in Seattle.

For more details, check out the coverage in the Seattle P-I or The Stranger.

---

Liquor Control Board moves forward on extended hours proposal

One of the eight proposals within Mayor McGinn’s Nightlife Initiative is flexible liquor service hours. Yesterday, the Washington State Liquor Control Board agreed to open the rule-making process, an important step toward the state allowing Seattle to adopt flexible hours. By transitioning to a flexible hours system, we hope to improve Seattle’s quality of life by eliminating issues of public safety and nuisances associated with the simultaneous push-out of bar patrons at 2:00 a.m. It also provides a boost to our nightlife industry. Here’s what Mayor McGinn said about the announcement:

“I thank the Liquor Control Board for deciding to proceed in considering changes to allow local jurisdictions the opportunity to apply for extended service hours. I look forward to continuing to work with Seattle residents, the Liquor Control Board, local businesses, elected officials, other local jurisdictions, and law enforcement to develop a policy that supports a more safe and vibrant nightlife in Seattle.”

The Liquor Control Board’s rule-making process will include information gathering from around the region about the possible impacts of extended service hours and will include public hearings. If these proposed rule changes are adopted, Mayor McGinn can then work with the public and the City Council to craft a specific proposal for extended hours service in Seattle. Click here for more details on the Liquor Control Board’s announcement.

---

Attend an Open House for the Transit Master Plan

Come see the vision for transit in Seattle, and learn more about the future of transit in your neighborhood. In addition to high capacity transit from Ballard to Fremont to Downtown, the University District to Downtown via Eastlake, Madison from Capitol Hill to Downtown, Queen Anne to Downtown and Westlake to Pioneer Square, there are substantial improvements suggested for transit speed and reliability on many other corridors throughout the city.

The Seattle Department of Transportation will host 5 open houses this fall to share information about the Transit Master Plan. Open houses will run from 6-8pm and will include a brief presentation at the beginning. Each open house will cover the same information. Here’s the schedule:

Oct 18 – Central District – Seattle Vocational Institute, Room 401 (2120 S Jackson St)
Oct 25 – Northgate – Aljoya Thornton Place (450 NE 100th St)
Oct 26 – West Seattle – Eagles Hall (4426 California Ave SW)
Nov 15 – Ballard – Ballard High School (1418 NW 65th St)
Nov 17 – Holly Park – New Holly Gathering Hall (7054 32nd Ave S)

If you would like to request an interpreter or ADA accommodation, please contact Allison Schwartz at allison.schwartz@seattle.gov or (206) 386-4654.

Can’t make it to an open house? You can provide your input online.

---

Upcoming Events (for more see http://seattle.gov/Engage/access.htm):

Oct 13: 6:00pm Central District Council, Central Area Senior Center (500 30th Ave S)

Oct 18: 6:30pm Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) Class, Northgate Branch Library (10548 5th Ave NE)

Oct 20: 6:30pm Dr. Jose Rizal Park Improvements, Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave S)

Oct 24: 6:00pm Road Safety Summit: Public Forum, Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall (600 4th Ave)

---

What we’re reading:

Healthy Travel Modes: Correlations, Causality and Caution

For Once, I’m Without Words

Occupy Seattle protest makes mayor perform balancing act

---

To subscribe to The Reader via email, click here.

Posted by: Nathaniel Merrill