information from Small Business Administration
Building on a month of strong results, the Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration are takingsteps with the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses.
By Ken Robinson
Managing Editor
When Jenny Durkan announced she would not seek re-election, I was not surprised but was a little dismayed.
I think she has done a remarkable job leading the city during a time of high turmoil. The civil disobedience that took place at Cal Anderson park was fomented by forces way outside of the control of the mayor. Her response, which led to the departure of the the police chief and some days of violent actions and property damage, could not have been predicted.
From the 10,000 foot view, what took place is a pretty small thing—and I place some of the blame for that on a group of malcontents who reveled in the carnival atmosphere.
If interviewed about the reasons for their participation, I doubt they would be able to explain the politics of their involvement in the mob mentality.
By Katy G. Wilkens
This year I grew savoy cabbage in my winter garden. What a find! The bright green, crinkly leaves are much more interesting in salads, slaws and cabbage rolls than plain green cabbage. I will grow it every year.
While all cabbages are reasonably cold-hardy, savoy cabbage is the toughest. It can even tolerate snow. Another bonus of savoy cabbage is that you can clip off the outer leaves as it grows, adding the tender leaves to salads.
Cabbage can be grown in the spring or fall. I prefer the fall because the weather is more consistent, and truly, being able to harvest a big head of leafy greens in the middle of winter is quite a plus.
By Jean Godden
If you are sick and tired of reading and hearing about vaccinations, stop reading this column. Right now. Like many of you, I have grown weary of hearing nothing but stories from friends and acquaintances who -- maybe not really entitled to receive a shot -- have somehow been able to game the system.
The news is all around us. Pick up any newspaper and you'll read many column inches about how super-efficient clinics have opened to give shots. You'll see stories about employers who are offering bonuses to employees who get vaccinated. You can count pictures of people getting a shot: minor celebrities, sports stars, the state's governor, the city's mayor and even notorious folks like O. J. Simpson.
By Jean Wong
New initiatives from Seattle Goodwill aim to speed the process of accepting donations, while maintaining COVID-19 safety precautions following CDC guidelines.
In March of last year, as the pandemic was starting to spread, Seattle Goodwill temporarily closed all store and donation locations for around 90 days, and locations gradually reopened in conjunction with the state’s reopening plans.
“We were overrun,” said Brent Frerichs, who is the vice president of stores, donations, and e-commerce for Seattle Goodwill.
“Even before we opened the stores, we opened about four donation centers and they were overrun with donors because people had completely ‘Marie-Kondo’-ed their houses and they were just waiting to give us all this stuff. So it resulted in a lot of donations, and a lot of long lines,” Fredrichs explains, “Donors were extremely patient.”
District 1 Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared this update via her newsletter to constituents.
Earlier this year Interim Chief Diaz spoke to the 2020 citywide homicide rate, which increased from 31 homicides in 2019 to 50 in 2020. As he noted, this is the highest number of homicides in 26 years, and it disproportionately affects young black men. He also spoke to the importance of work with external partners about addressing gun violence, which is a public health issue.
Here is crime data specifically for the Southwest Precinct, which has the same boundaries as District 1. Below is data for crime rates in the SW Precinct for 2018, 2019 and 2020, for violent crime and property crime.
By Jean Godden
Columnist, Westside Seattle
We asked mayor candidate Lorena Gonzalez 11 questions to get a sense of her views on how she would respond as mayor.
*1. What plans do you have to reduce homelessness?
I grew up in poverty, and lived in labor camps without toilets or running water as my family worked in the orchards of central Washington. So I see our growing homelessness crisis as, at its core, both a housing availability and a poverty emergency.
The new Ross Dress for Less store at Westwood Village in West Seattle is set to open on March 6.
The address is 2600 SW Barton Street. The new store has moved into the former Barnes and Noble Books just next to Target.
Ross has locations in Burien, Tukwila and Downtown Seattle but this is their first in West Seattle.
They have 1483 stores in 37 states, Washington DC and Guam. Founded in 1982 they are headquartered in Dublin, California and are the largest chain of stores of their kind.
Known as an off-price retailer Ross carries clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, toys, and housewares.
The store hours will be 8am to 11pm, seven days a week.
The company is still hiring. If you'd like to apply visit www.rossstores.com
Store phone is 935-3349.
