1. Outgoing city council member Jan Drago spent her final week in office selling off (and giving away) the objects that have made her council office one of the city’s most interesting (and opulent) over the last 16 years.
The sale, held this week, raised $580 for a local women’s charity. And, at Monday’s city council meeting, Drago distributed some of the things that didn’t sell to her council colleagues, including a WNBA notebook to Bruce Harrell “in recognition of your strong support of the Storm” and a “Congee Not Congestion” painting for Nick Licata.
2. The city’s parks department is considering rules that would outlaw smoking in parks when children are around, as part of a larger “code of conduct” that would take all the rules governing behavior in parks (e.g., no guns, no open booze containers) and put them in one place.
Parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter says “there’s discussion of including” an anti-smoking rule in the code (which will be put together by the parks department and does not require city council approval), but adds that no decision is likely until January at the earliest.
3. Rumors continue to swirl about the latest appointments and firings by Mayor-elect Mike McGinn. Popular housing director Adrienne Quinn is still reportedly among those who may be asked to leave, as is Seattle Center director Robert Nellams, who has been in charge of the park for the last three years.
As he did regarding yesterday’s news that Greg Nickels insider Marco Lowe will head up McGinn’s lobbying shop, McGinn spokesman Aaron Pickus said he couldn’t comment on personnel matters.
4. The waterfront tunnel makes a list of country’s four most wasteful highway projects. Washington state, in fact, has two clunkers on the list of four. The cross base highway (SR 704) is on there too. (Erica wrote about that one here.)
The list was published on a nerdy site called the Infrastructurist (edited by a former New York Times editor, Melissa Lafsky), and it links a Wall Street Journal article on the $4.2 billion waterfront tunnel that we apparently missed. It quotes Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn:
Mr. McGinn said in an interview that he thought the tunnel remained a bad environmental choice with a “very high probability” that it would become an expensive boondoggle. Mr. McGinn said that as mayor, he would ask “tough questions” about the project, and if they couldn’t be answered, “perhaps the legislature and city should reconsider” their support for it.
“Nothing has made me think the tunnel is a good idea,” says Mr. McGinn, 49 years old, who favors improving mass transit and biking options.
5. Today at noon, Erica will be speaking to the board of the Alki Foundation (the political arm of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce) about this year’s elections, along with other local media folks.
It’s not open tot he public, though. We’ll let you know if any interesting revelations come out of those discussions.
Then, on Friday at 7 pm, Josh will be on the Seattle Channel’s “City Inside/Out” talking with C.R. Douglas and a panel of other journalists about the biggest stories of the year. Tune in on Channel 21 or online.
Today’s Morning Fizz brought to you by Office Nomads:
