Don't miss the Sunday, Jan. 31 Citizens Budget Conerence, noon to 5 p.m. at Seattle Center House.

Don't miss the Sunday, Jan. 31 Citizens Budget Conerence, noon to 5 p.m. at Seattle Center House. Only once every two years can you engage on budget issues with such a wide range of Seattle officials!

WHAT: THE CITY OF SEATTLE'S 2010 CITIZENS BUDGET CONFERENCE
WHEN: SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 12-5 P.M.
WHERE: SEATTLE CENTER HOUSE, MAIN FLOOR AND THIRD FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOMS

Sponsored by Seattle’s City Neighborhood Council and Seattle Center, in cooperation with the Mayor, City Council, City Budget Office, and Department of Neighborhoods

Be there for the kickoff of Seattle City government’s two-year budget process! Find out why budgeting matters and how to get involved in the decisions that affect you! Join the Mayor, his new Budget Director, City Councilmembers, and representatives of more than 20 City departments in dialogue about Seattle's revenue and spending priorities.

The Sunday, Jan. 31 Citizens Budget Conference begins with a budget fair (noon to 12:30, but some agency tables and exhibits will be ready by 11 a.m.) where you can talk one-on-one with agency representatives. At 12:30 there will be addresses by Mayor Mike McGinn, City Council Budget chair Jean Godden, and City Budget Director Beth Goldberg. At 2 and 3 p.m. there will be presentation/discussion groups where you can hear and quiz more than 20 City agencies large and small. The conference will end with a 4-5 p.m. panel discussion among City Councilmembers.

Agencies invited include the Seattle Department of Transportation, Department of Parks and Recreation, City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, Police Department, Fire Department, Municipal Court, Law Department, Department of Human Services, Office of Housing, Seattle Public Library, Department of Information Technology, Department of Planning and Development, Planning Commission, Design Commission, Seattle Center, Seattle Animal Shelter, Department of Neighborhoods, Office of Economic Development, Office for Civil Rights, Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, City Auditor, and Ethics and Elections Commission. There will also be a discussion group about Youth Issues in the Budget.

Only once every two years can you engage on budget issues with such a wide range of Seattle officials. The conference is open to the public, free of charge, with snacks and beverages. Seattle Channel 21 will record the conference for later video rebroadcast, and streaming video will also be available anytime on the City web site. Interpretive services are available upon request. Publicity in English, Mandarin, Korean, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese can be found at http://seattle.gov/neighborhoodcouncil.

Don't miss the Citizens Budget Conference--Sunday, January 31, noon to 5 p.m. at the Center House at Seattle Center! For further questions: (206) 322-5463, cleman@oo.net; or credmond@mac.com. The City Neighborhood Council is an official City of Seattle advisory body, composed of one representative from each of the thirteen district councils, which are also official advisory bodies.

January 2010 meeting has been cancelled.

Seattle Community Council Federation

January 2010 meeting has been cancelled.

Instead, please attend the service in honor of Federation Vice-President Glover Barnes at Eastshore Unitarian Church,

12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue, 98005

on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made with a donation to the charity of your choice in Glover's memory.

Sign Glover's on-line Guest Book at http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=GB000138315456O

Dr. Glover W. Barnes died peacefully in his sleep at Virginia Mason Hospital on Dec. 20th, 2009

Dr. Glover W. Barnes

Glover died peacefully in his sleep at Virginia Mason Hospital on Dec. 20th, 2009 of complications from congestive heart failure. He was a strong but gentle, compassionate soul who was preceded in death by Miriam, his loving wife of 56 years and 2 younger brothers, Carson and Hershall. Born in poverty on Sept. 7th, 1923 in Birmingham, Alabama, he left the south to study Biology and Microbiology, earning a bachelor's degree in Biology at Akron University in Ohio in 1949. He then earned his Masters Degree in Biology and his PhD in Microbiology in 1956 and 1962, respectively at the State University of New York in Buffalo, N.Y. He has held several professional positions spanning over 5 decades beginning in 1955, including Assistant Cancer Research Scientist at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.; Consultant for the Urology Research Program at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo; Research Associate of Microbiology and Assistant Professor of Pathology at the State University of New York at Buffalo; and Associate Professor and Lecturer of Urology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Washington. He became a tenured Professor at the University of Washington in 1976 and continued to serve in that capacity after Miriam's death on Feb. 6th, 2008. He also served on several committees; which included, during his 40 years at the University of Washington, the Committee for Encouragement and Recruitment of Minorities in Health Sciences (CERMIHS); Faculty Council on Community Services; Human Subjects Review and Policy; Vice-Chairman, Section A, Review Committee; Human Subjects Policy Board; and Black Faculty and Administrator's Organization (BFAO).

Recognized as a "Diversity Trailblazer," Dr. Barnes has served on many boards and commissions, focusing his activism on human and civil rights, health issues, public transit, neighborhood representation, and more. He was an officer of the Board of Directors of the Seattle Federation of Community Councils. He is survived by his two sons, Erik (Lisa) Barnes of Dallas, Texas; Noel (Nancy) Barnes of Renton, WA; grandchildren Ivan, Jalen and Zoey; sister Louise Wood Green and brother Ted of Akron, Ohio; brother Calvin of Decatur, Georgia and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He will be deeply missed by his family and by those whose lives were touched and inspired by his way of encouraging people to better themselves. A memorial service in his honor will be held at Eastshore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue, WA 98005 on January 23rd, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made with a donation to the charity of your choice in Glover's memory. You may rest in peace Dad; you're with Mother in eternity now.

Sign Glover's on-line Guest Book at www.Legacy.com

WASHINGTON STATE OPEN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE IS THIS SATURDAY, JAN. 16,

Friends—

 

It has been a pleasure for the Washington Coalition for Open Government in working with its partners the Society of Professional Journalists and the UW Department of Communication in planning this Saturday’s Washington State Open Government Conference (Jan. 16, 8:20 a.m. to 2 p.m. in UW’s Kane and Parrington halls).  The WCOT staff has done an excellent job of designing the program agenda handout and it is now posted at http://www.washingtoncog.org/pdfs/WCOG_Conference_Handout.pdf.  

 

In that handout, the audience will have the one-paragraph descriptions of what each presentation/discussion group will address, as worked out with the group conveners in December for our successful application for Continuing Legal Education accreditation.  It wouldn’t hurt for the group participants to review those descriptions, to make sure that the topics mentioned receive at least glancing mention in your presentation/discussion group!  By the way, one and possibly both sessions of each group will be video recorded, and it is our hope to produce a video afterwards.  If you have any questions, or think we’ve forgotten anything in the conference preparations, just let me know.

 

Also, below is a brief announcement of the Jan. 16 conference and the Jan. 15 pre-conference reception in case you might want to remind friends a final time.  At this point, there are 116 signed up for the conference and 33 for the reception—healthy numbers, but there’s room for more in both.  The reception will be lovely, so please come, whether or not you make a donation.  And who’s to know how soon we will do another conference of this scope?  Let’s make sure others don’t miss the chance—and let’s determine to enjoy it ourselves, despite all the hard work.  Thanks for all you’ve done to make these the very successful and memorable events they will be!

 

Chris Leman (206) 322-5463

Coordinator of the conference and reception

 

 

WASHINGTON STATE OPEN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE IS THIS SATURDAY, JAN. 16, 8:30-2 P.M. AT UW'S KANE AND PARRINGTON HALLS; THERE'S ALSO A DOWNTOWN PRE-CONFERENCE RECEPTION FRIDAY, JAN. 15, 5-7 P.M. AT THE WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY CLUB

 

Learn your rights to open government and get practical tips on exercising them at the federal, state, and local levels.  Hear the latest on court battles, issues expected at the 2010 legislative session, and the Obama administration's open government initiatives.  Network with other community leaders, and meet the most knowledgeable experts in the field--all at the Washington State Open Government Conference this Saturday, Jan. 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UW's Kane and Parrington halls.  The conference is presented by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, Society of Professional Journalists, and University of Washington Department of Communication.  The program is now posted at http://www.washingtoncog.org/pdfs/WCOG_Conference_Handout.pdf.  Registration for the conference is $35, at the door or preferably online: http://www.washingtoncog.org/20100116_registration.html.   

 

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna will give the opening address and British-American journalist Heather Brooke will give the closing address.  Brooke, a UW graduate with dual U.K. and U.S. citizenship who has worked as a journalist in both countries, recently used open government techniques first learned in Washington state to expose improper use of government funds by members of Parliament, triggering the largest scandal of its kind in British history.  The BBC is filming “Bringing Down the House,” a one-hour satirical drama starring Anna Maxwell Martin as Heather Brooke, and to air in early 2010.  

 

Conference attendees can choose among four presentation/discussion groups (held twice in succession) that each explain existing laws and practices of open government, how citizens can assert their rights, possible improvements in the laws, and proactive steps toward greater openness that governments can take beyond the minimum requirements of laws.  The group leaders are attorney William Crittenden (on state and local public records), attorney Michelle Earl-Hubbard (on state and local open public meetings),  Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eric Nalder (on federal, state, and local campaign finance and lobby disclosure), and attorney and environmental leader Gerry Pollet (on federal public records and open public meetings).  Other speakers include former Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld, environmental leader Tom Carpenter, attorney Bruce Johnson, and journalists Steve Miletich and Daniel Lathrop.  Journalist Kirsten Grind will speak about her fight to force the Office of Thrift Supervision to release documents about its seizure of Washington Mutual.   

  
On the previous evening at the Women's University Club, 1105 Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle, WCOG and SPJ are also presenting a reception (Friday, Jan. 15, 5-7 p.m.) to honor Heather Brooke.  Hosts of the reception include TV commentator Enrique Cerna, Bullitt Foundation director Denis Hayes, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, labor union leader Anna Jancewicz, State House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, musician Krist Novoselic, radio personality Dave Ross, State Auditor Brian Sonntag, and Alliance of People with disAbilities director Lucille Walls.  For information and to register on-line (with $25 the suggested minimum donation):   http://www.washingtoncog.org/20100115_reception.html.