Open Gov conference, City Hall, March 26-27

Open Gov conference should help government be more of an open book

The city of Seattle is sponsoring a conference on using technology to open up government to citizens, writes guest columnist Sarah Schacht. She asks where better than Seattle to guide technology to meet the needs of citizens to access information across government agencies

By Sarah Schacht

Special to The Times

OPEN Government, or "Open Gov," is the developing civic idea of the moment. The discussion is about promoting democratic applications of technology to make government accessible and accountable. Buzzwords like "Gov 2.0" or "sunlight as disinfectant" are bouncing around government circles.

There's still a distance between the ideal and reality. From local to federal levels, some government agencies have begun opening their databases of government information via data.gov sites and "apps" competitions. But so far this is often more window dressing than useful tools for citizens who want to become informed and empowered within government.

Too many of these early experiments publish already available government data, not new sets of data like legislation or tax statistics. In the rush to hop on the "open gov" bandwagon, emphasis can easily fall on providing data for data's sake, rather than information that is accessible, easy to understand and empowering.

Given this newfound interest in sharing information, there's an opportunity to adopt standardized, efficient technology across governments. Essentially, it's an opportunity to get our governments to speak the same data "language." This would enable easy information sharing across governments and with the public, saving taxpayer money and increasing efficiency.

The importance of this was exemplified by the recent tsunami warning that went out to 58 countries around the globe, each with individual formats for tidal-warning information.

On the morning the news reported that a tsunami might reach as far as the Pacific Northwest, I was concerned about my family's home on Whidbey Island, just 5 feet from the beach. Checking the Internet and wondering if we should board up our windows and evacuate, I found different sources were giving various projections of the likelihood of tidal surges. The best information I found wasn't from local news or NOAA, but from Canada, giving tidal surge information for Vancouver Island.

I had the knowledge and networks to find information across borders, but what if all this data from different sources had been able to "talk to each other" and extrapolate predictions? More citizens could have made critical decisions more quickly.

Whether in emergency response or day-to-day operations, we could be working more efficiently across borders, bringing down costs and engaging more citizens. Now is the time to get government and nongovernmental agencies from around our region working together, using a common data language from city to county to state to the national level.

That's why I'm delighted that Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn seems to be signaling a commitment to a new era by sponsoring a conference on making "Web 2.0" and government work together. On March 26-27, Open Gov West will host decision makers, citizen activists and government technology managers from across the greater Pacific Northwest and British Columbia to discuss strategies for regional collaboration and opening government.

READ MORE HERE

Participate

OPEN GOV WEST, hosted by the city of Seattle and Knowledge as Power, will be held at Seattle City Hall March 26-27. For more information, go to:http://opengovwest.wordpress.com

GLASS OR GRASS in SEATTLE CENTER PARK?

Another Backward, Half-Baked Idea for Seattle Center

The Owners of the Space Needle Want a Massive Chihuly Glass Museum Next Door

by JEN GRAVES

Seattle Center is winning no awards as a city park. It is a haphazardly designed campus choked with badly placed buildings you have to pay to get into. The most visible and infamous of these is Experience Music Project, a shrine to Paul Allen's collection of music and science-fiction memorabilia, which has only occasionally been able to transcend its underthought beginnings as a vanity project. Surely, Seattle has learned lessons from its past planning at Seattle Center, right?

Maybe not. An idea for a huge, new, ill-defined pay-to-play tourist attraction—a Dale Chihuly exhibition hall, to sit at the base of the Space Needle—is already in the design stages. It was the idea of a wealthy local family, the Howard Wright family, which owns the Space Needle. The plan calls for a 44,550-square-foot exhibition hall of Chihuly's glass art, to be placed inside and to extend the current Fun Forest arcade pavilion. The plan does not describe Chihuly's vision, but it calls for a whopping 21,500 square feet of exhibition space, plus a retail shop and cafe. (By comparison, the Henry Art Gallery has about 14,000 square feet of galleries and the Frye Art Museum about 12,000 square feet.) Admission would be paid, and the venture would be for-profit. The Wrights would pay for construction, and the museum—the Wrights prefer it not be called a museum, and they have a point, since it won't have curators, but no other word is quite right, either—would be privately run.

MORE HERE

Council Seeking Input on SDOT Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2010

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Lockard, Council Communications Office: (206) 684-8159, Cell: (206) 650-6692

Seattle City Council seeking public input on confirmation of Acting SDOT Director Peter Hahn SEATTLE – Today Seattle City Councilmember and Transportation Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen announced the confirmation schedule and is seeking public comment on theconfirmation of Acting Department of Transportation Director Peter Hahn. Councilmember Rasmussen strongly urges all citizens to participate in this confirmation process. “The Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation holds a critical leadership position in this city,” said Councilmember Rasmussen. “The Director’s position requires the experience and training to manage a large department with responsibilities for regional and local transportation projects. It also requires the ability to meet the daily challenges of a large department that affects the lives of people in Seattle every day. This is the community’s opportunity to tell the Council what they would like to see in the person who would lead their Transportation Department.” The Director's Office oversees all of the functions, staff and services of the department, guiding and shaping SDOT to attain their values, vision, mission and goals. It also manages centralized administrative services, community relations, city-wide Commute Trip Reduction and Rideshare programs, street use appeals, and coordinates development and implementation of major transportation projects. Discussion of Acting SDOT Director Peter Hahn’s confirmation will occur at the upcoming transportation committee meeting, Tuesday, March 23, with a public hearing in council chambers at 9:30 a.m. At this meeting, Mr. Hahn will outline his vision and approach to managing SDOT while Councilmembers will have the opportunity to share with him their expectations and goals for the department. The Transportation Committee is scheduled to have further discussion and take a final vote, Tuesday, April 13, followed by a Full Council vote Monday, April 19. Public comment will be accepted until Monday, April 19 and may be emailed directly to Councilmember Rasmussen at tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov. The confirmation packet can be located online at C.F. 310432. About Peter Hahn: Mr. Hahn has over 25 years of leadership experience in all areas of public transportation and infrastructure management. He was most recently the Deputy Public Works Administrator – Transportation, for the City of Renton. He managed a team responsible for the implementation and improvement of major works, including a bicycle master plan, regional trails, Sound Transit facilities, bus and other transit services. Before joining the City of Renton, Mr. Hahn was the Director of Public Works for Snohomish County from 1992 to 2006. He successfully led a department of 650 employees and oversaw a budget of $200 million. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s in Engineering from City College of New York. Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21 and Webcast live on the City Council’s website at http://www.seattle.gov/council/. Copies of legislation, archives of previous meetings, and news releases are available on http://www.seattle.gov/council/. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook at Seattle City Council.

Laura Lockard

Communications Manager

Seattle City Council

206-684-8159

206-650-6692 (bberry/cell)

laura.lockard@seattle.gov

www.seattle.gov/council

SALLY BAGSHAW AT SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION SATURDAY,MARCH 13

SNC -- SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION

Is pleased to invite you to their next discussion.

Our guest will be Councilmember Sally Bagshaw when wel meet for breakfast at 9:00 A.M. Saturday morning March 13th, at the Salmon Bay Cafe in Ballard, 5109 Shilshole Ave NW, in a semi industrial area. Click here for a map and directions. Please note: Use of this meeting place is contingent on each of us placing an order and leaving a generous tip for the competent and pleasant waitstaff. See you there.

We are pleased to have an opportunity to meet and talk with Sally Bagshaw in her first year on the City Council. Will she become our champion? We could ask.

The notion of livable neighborhood that we all cherish is sometimes a very abstract set of values. How can we communicate those values into decisions council members will need to make? We may need to become better and more persistent at explaining what those values are.

Some of those values might be open space, protecting our urban forest, protecting views of our beautiful mountains, privacy, even the very abstract concept that in these NW climes we need sunlight on our streets and in our neighborhoods. We would like to walk about and feel safe and have a place to park our cars when we use public transportation getting to work. Restricting density to urban villages is a thought. And maybe we can ask her to continue to listen to neighborhoods her entire term as she is doing now.

Sally is a mom as well as a being a very multidimensional woman. Do you suppose we could ask her what happens if you feed way too much candy to a little kid? Likely she knows instinctively when a child has had enough and reached their capacity. Let’s hope she can take that instinctive sense of reaching a reasonable capacity and apply it to City Council decisions on growth.

As citizens we are fortunate to have a Council Member who brings such a rich background and experience to the job. While she admits to not having extensive experience with Seattle’s neighborhoods she has already demonstrated an amazing willingness to visit neighborhoods and listen.

Sally was Chief of the Civil Division for KC prosecutor Norm Maleng, where she and other attorneys advised on legal issues for KC council, Metro, Harborview,and the Sheriff's office. She worked on creating a region-wide transportation system, she also worked on projects for the Port of Seattle, homeless issues, and environmental issues. She pursued a lifelong passion and learned to fly and works now as a volunteer for an organization called Angel Flight to get sick kids to medical facilities.

Sally's committees include:

Chair: Parks and Seattle Center - Parks, public grounds, recreation, community centers, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, and Seattle Center

Waterfront Planning

Vice-Chair: Public Safety & Education

Member: Built Environment

Alternate: Housing, Human Services, Health, & Culture

Magnuson Park Privatization

The city has long restricted the sort of tenants that can lease space in Magnuson Park: concession stands, recreation-equipment rentals, a few nonprofits, and art studios. Certainly no commercial offices were allowed—a park rule prohibited them. But in the last year, the city has used fancy footwork to eliminate that restriction for Building 11, on Magnuson's north shore, and 20-odd artists are being evicted to make room for commercial development.

Under the plan, more than one-third of the 1940s building in Magnuson Park—one of several warehouses and hangars among the lawns and ballfields—would be renovated for commercial office space, rentable to any tenant, regardless of its contribution to the community.

"I think we're drifting away from our original vision of what Magnuson Park was supposed to be," says city council member Nick Licata, who in 1999 brokered the official deal transferring the naval property at Sand Point to the City of Seattle. (The U.S. Navy–owned land had been used as a park since the 1970s.) The city envisioned a park dedicated to the arts, recreation, and environmental stewardship. Now, Licata—along with the council's Parks & Seattle Center Committee chair Sally Bagshaw and Council Member Tom Rasmussen—is concerned with the changes under way.

It wasn't until August 2009 that Seattle Parks and Recreation skirted around land-use covenants put in place to keep the parcels from being leased to just anybody. "This property shall be used and maintained for public park and recreation purposes in perpetuity," the covenants on Magnuson Park state. Adding, "The property shall not be sold, leased, assigned or otherwise disposed of except to another eligible governmental agency."

Last year, the parks department (with the city council's blessing) persuaded the federal government to let the city transfer the covenant from Building 11 to property next to the former Crown Hill Elementary in Ballard. The parks department didn't make any announcements or field input regarding the covenants, and it is currently undergoing the same process for Building 2. The spaces would be divided into offices, a restaurant, and other commercial ventures.

Read the full story here:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/open-for-business/Content?oid=3538310

Arboretum --Construction of "Gateway to Chile"

Pacific Connections Phase II

Construction of “Gateway to Chile”

Join in a tour or participate in a public meeting for the future development of the Chilean focal forest in the Pacific Connections Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. The “Gateway to Chile” project is situated at the southern intersection of Arboretum Drive and Lake Washington Boulevard and will go into construction in late spring 2010.

The project includes the restoration of the now overgrown Holmdahl Rockery and creation of an eye- catching display of colorful Chilean plant species. Before construction starts on the project, Parks will remove 34 mature trees, which include some native species, to make way for the new Chilean garden.

The project includes the planting of 72 Chilean trees that will contribute to the horticultural collection.

The Washington Park Arboretum is a living museum that hosts a diverse world of plants and is a valuable educational tool for the people of Seattle and the entire northwest. Both of these events offer an incredible opportunity for the public to learn more about this development in one of the city’s most prominent Olmsted parks.

Public Tour

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

5:30 p.m.

Meet at Washington Park Playfield (parking area at the south end)

2500 Lake Washington Blvd E., Seattle, WA 98112

Public Meeting

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

6:30-7:30 p.m.

Graham Visitor Center, Washington Park Arboretum, 2300 Arboretum Drive E.

For more Information or If you requIre special meeting accommodations, please vIsit:

http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/arboretum/

or contact: Andy Sheffer, Project Manager, Seattle Parks and Recreation

800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98134. 206-684-7041, andy.sheffer@seattle.gov

visit us at seattle.gov/parks

Jill Simmons appointed as acting director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

NEWS RELEASE

City of Seattle

Mike McGinn, Mayor

For Immediate Release: February 26, 2010

Contact: Aaron Pickus, (206) 233-2650

aaron.pickus@seattle.gov

Jill Simmons appointed as acting director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment

Charged with coordinating citywide approach to sustainability

SEATTLE – Mayor Mike McGinn today announced the appointment of Jill Simmons as acting director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE). Simmons replaces the OSE’s outgoing acting director, Michael Mann.

As part of her new role, Simmons has been asked to recommend ways to strengthen sustainability efforts across City departments. She will co-lead the effort with Marshall Foster, the new City Planning Director in the Department of Planning and Development (DPD).

“While Seattle is a national leader in sustainability, I believe we can be more coordinated and efficient in our efforts,” McGinn said. “I am asking Jill to carry forward the work of the Office of Sustainability and Environment and to partner with key departments like the Department of Planning and Development to develop an action-oriented approach – one that sets clear goals and identifies specific actions to reduce carbon emissions, improve environmental quality and create sustainable communities.”

Prior to the appointment, Simmons served as OSE’s climate protection program manager. Before coming to OSE, she worked in the city’s Finance Department as a fiscal and policy analyst, and also worked on community development and sustainability initiatives at the Northwest Area Foundation. She holds a law degree and master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington.

“Jill brings the right combination of strategic thinking, dedication to sustainability, and city experience,” McGinn said. “I look forward to working with Jill to enhance OSE’s work and to develop a bold sustainability agenda for Seattle. “

Simmons will begin her new role on March 1.

###