May 10
Seattle Sites of the Day:

Northeast Everett Community Organization

"... the area of contamination is roughly bordered by the Snohomish River on the east and north, 14th Street on the south and Wetmore Avenue on the west." ...

"Over the years a neighborhood grew up directly over the site of the smelter until 1990 when dangerous levels of Arsenic were found. The levels are so high that Mr. Ron Langley, a spokesman for the Department of Ecology was quoted in The Everett Tribune 'Some places, we're not talking soil, it's just arsenic.' ... Asarco, the Department of Ecology and representives from the Northeast Everett Community Organization and the Riverside Association (amongst others) have been involved in the drafting of the Department of Ecology's Draft Cleanup Action Plan."

NECO's next meeting is Tuesday, May 16 at the Everett Community Center at 1401 Poplar St. Coffee at 6:30pm. Meeting at 7:00pm.

Fremont Public
Association

"We are members of a thriving, prosperous community. There is no reason why ALL of our neighbors cannot have access to affordable housing, livable wage jobs, adequate health care and a decent education. And if we can accomplish it here, we can serve as a model for other communities.

"Imagine what it would be like if there were no homeless people sleeping in our parks and no children going to bed hungry at night."

Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office
   FAST JOBS Coalition

"The Family Wage Jobs Project is a grassroots effort: 1) to change practices of the construction industry that have historically excluded people of color, the unemployed and under-employed, women, and recent immigrants; 2) and then to organize the entry of people of color, the unemployed and under-employed, women, and recent immigrants into the construction trade." ...

"After several months and dozens of sessions a final PLA agreement [Project Labor Agreement] was ready for ratification, signatures from individual craft unions and Sound Transit. ... The 'final' agreement contains the most progressive language and provisions to increase the participation of people of color and women in training and employment found in any previous PLA."

"The REAL (Reconciliation, Education, Action and Leadership) Project will train police and leaders in our Communities of Color to work as bridge builders and advocates for on-going liaison relationships. Over an eighteen month period, the REAL project team will recruit potential leaders from the communities and the Police Department, train them in NCBI leadership skills, facilitate the creation of community plans to improve Police/Community relations, and aid in the implementation of these plans.

"... One of the unique aspects of the REAL Project is that it is a community-initiated outreach to the Police. This is a powerful opportunity for community members and Police to take responsibility for building bridges to one another."

NCBI will hold a 3-day Leadership Development Clinic this Tuesday through Thursday, May 9 - 11. The next REAL Public Workshop is June 10, at Seattle Central Community College, Room 3115.

May 20 - 23
CPSR Conference:
Shaping the Network Society

"There is more to the Internet than e-commerce! Join Veran Matic, Bill Joy, Howard Rheingold, Nancy Kranich and many others from around the world in an exciting and historic exploration of how people can influence the directions of communication technology. Shaping the Network Society: The Future of the Public Sphere in Cyberspace. University of Washington HUB."
- Doug Schuler