NEWS GLEAMS: Concrete Workers Strike, Rainier Beach High Revisions, City Crime Crackdown
curated by Emerald Staff
A round-up of news and announcements we don't want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!
✨Gleaming This Week✨
City, County, and Regional Officials Call for Sides to End Concrete Workers Strike
City and County officials implored concrete companies and striking workers Wednesday to return to the bargaining table and resolve their differences as the region's critical infrastructure projects fall behind schedule.
According to a recent Emerald story, "For nearly eight weeks now, drivers and workers have been striking at Gary Merlino Construction and the region's five major concrete suppliers. As a result, many of Puget Sound's largest construction projects — including affordable housing and the Federal Way Link light rail extension project in the South End — are now on hold."
"Concrete is quite literally the foundation of our region's infrastructure, and it's clear the impacts of this labor dispute are far reaching. Without these construction projects, our region will fall behind at a time when we need to push further and faster," King County Executive Dow Constantine said Wednesday in a press release. "All parties need to get back to the negotiating table quickly and resolve the dispute so everyone in King County can get back to work building our future."
Constantine also announced that King County is "seeking one or more suppliers of concrete building materials to ensure projects can resume without further delays and disruptions."
Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff said, "The inability to get concrete to Sound Transit job sites is causing serious delays to needed transit expansions and pushing construction workers into unemployment. On Sound Transit's projects alone, we've missed more than 2,200 deliveries, equivalent to a line of concrete trucks more than 14.5 miles long. Our contractors have laid off more than 200 workers, and another 165 jobs are threatened.
"It's critical that the parties to this dispute work together to negotiate a resolution. If that doesn't happen quickly enough, this procurement that King County is leading will provide us with a potential tool to help us get our projects back on track and our workers back on the job."
Read the full press release for more details.
Public Comment Sought for Rainier Beach High School Revisions
The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is inviting the South Seattle community to share its feedback regarding proposed site plan revisions at Rainier Beach High School located at 8815 Seward Park Avenue South. The Seattle School District is requesting site plan revisions in addition to recently completed departures, which are exemptions from specific provisions of the land use code.
The proposed site plan revisions include:
- One temporary portable structure for two classrooms, to be located at the front of the school on Seward Park Ave. S.
- Proposed visitor ticketing, concessions, and restroom building, to be located near the proposed visitor bleachers.
The Seattle School District has a detailed presentation on the revisions which you can view on the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods website.
Public comments will be shared with the director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Andrs Mantilla. After reviewing, the director will provide their recommendations regarding the proposed revisions to the director of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections for the final decision.
Those interested can submit your written comments by Friday, February 25 to:
Nelson Pesigan
Email: Nelson.Pesigan@seattle.gov
Mailing Address: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649
City Officials Announce Moves to Crack Down on Crime and Speed Up Prosecutions
Friday, Mayor Bruce Harrell pledged a crackdown on Seattle crime in a mix of "hot spot" policing, more arrests, and more efforts to address core problems of poverty, addiction, and mental illness. "We want to make valid, lawful arrests when appropriate. We want to get people treatment, when appropriate," Harrell said, according to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
A post on Capitol Hill Seattle Blog on Monday, Feb. 7, reads: "Monday morning, City Attorney Ann Davison unveiled her 'Close in Time' plan to prosecute more of those who are arrested in a faster process and dig her office out from a pandemic-bogged backlog of misdemeanor cases.
"'Effective immediately,' Davison's office announced Monday that filing decisions will be made in all incoming cases within five business days. 'This change will stop adding to the case backlog which has grown over the past three years and is the most effective way to immediately tackle crime in Seattle,' Davison's announcement reads."
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