by Vee Hua 華婷婷
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Sound Transit has once again resumed its fare-enforcement practices after a multiyear hiatus during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tickets will be issued by Sound Transit fare ambassadors, who will inspect ORCA cards or paper tickets to ensure riders of the light rail and Sounder have paid prior to boarding.
Those who have not paid and are caught will receive two warnings a year before being fined $50 for their third. Following that, riders will be fined $75 for their fourth infraction and may be fined $124 for their fifth infraction; if the fifth happens within a 12-month period, it would be considered a civil infraction, and may be considered a misdemeanor if left unpaid.
According to KING 5 News, Sound Transit is opting for this practice after estimating that only 55% of those who ride the light rail pay for its services — although that number includes riders 18 and under who are not required to pay. However, Sound Transit also conducted a study with a small sample size that included 1.4% of its ridership and discovered that 86% of riders were in compliance. The fare-enforcement practices may help it more accurately determine the percentage of riders who pay. It will be hiring additional fare ambassadors to assist in the work.
Riders of Sound Transit who have opinions on its services are now invited to participate in a systemwide evaluation. The survey will track passenger satisfaction and their opinions about the organization's performance, cleanliness, and safety of its services. The survey can be found via an online portal.
Seattle Parks and Recreation maintains a comprehensive list of youth after-school programs on its website. The programs are available at reasonable costs and take place throughout the city. Many are still open for registration and cover topics such as child care, swimming, small crafts, tennis, and much more. Some are more in demand than others and may fill quickly, but interested participants are encouraged to sign up for the waitlist in such scenarios.
Those of particular interest to South Seattle communities may be the following:
Licensed child care programs that aim to create supportive and engaging programs that provide safety as well as celebrate individuality and original thinking. Available in Monday, Wednesday, Friday segments or Tuesday, Thursday segments.
Schmitz Park, 5551 SW Admiral Way
Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW
Childcare Room, High Point Community Center, 6920 34th Ave. SW
Hasselberg Hall, Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Ave. S.
Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave. S
Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW
Blaine Gym, Magnolia Community Center, 2550 34th Ave. W.
Pool Childcare Room, Rainier Beach Community Center, 8825 Rainier Ave. S.
Multipurpose Room, Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave. S.
After School Room, Van Asselt Community Center, 2820 S. Myrtle St.
Ten Seattle-area artists have received $10,000 each in unrestricted grant support from Sonic Guild Seattle, a nonprofit that was established in 2020 to help support the local music scene. The grant is intended to support the development of each artist's music career and will culminate in a celebratory show on Saturday, Feb. 17, featuring current and past Sonic Guild artists. The show takes place at The Triple Door in Seattle, and tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. on Nov. 20 via the Sonic Guild website. All proceeds from the event go to support the 2024 grant pool.
Formerly known as Black Fret, Sonic Guild has contributed over $4 million to musicians in grants and direct payments since 2013. The project operates on a membership model and has outlets in other cities.
Musicians who have received funding in Sonic Guild's 2023 grant cycle include the following individuals:
Those who wish to join Sonic Guild or learn more about its projects can visit the Sonic Guild website.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: Sound Transit's Link Light Rail gets ready to depart a station in July 2009. Photo is attributed to SoundTransit (under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED license.)
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Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald™ is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With around 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald™ is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible.
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn’t have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference.
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!