Dear District 2 Friends and Neighbors:

Please join me this Saturday, October 2, 2004, for a District 2 Town Meeting dedicated to Regional Human Services. Our meeting will be held 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Hearthstone Retirement Community (6720 East Green Lake Way North). My guest will be Laura Wells, of Child Care Resources and Chair of the King County Alliance for Human Services. I will also be available until noon to discuss other issues important to you. I look forward to seeing you there!

I hope you enjoy District 2 E-News. Please contact me with any questions or comments. To unsubscribe, please see directions at the end of this message.

Newsletter: Regional Human Services Funding Crisis
Many of you received my newsletter (pdf, 885kb) last week focused on the Regional Human Services Funding Crisis. I hope this will begin a community dialogue on human services at our town meeting this Saturday, October 2. If you would like to read the newsletter online, please visit my website or call my office, (206) 296-1002, and we will mail you a copy.

Equal Benefits Ordinance: Benefits for More!
On September 13, the King County Council passed the measure that I introduced to amend the County’s Equal Benefits Ordinance. That ordinance applies to entities that have contracts with King County in excess of $25,000.

To comply with the law, a contractor had two choices; to provide equal benefits to all of their employee’s spouses and domestic partners or to deny benefits to both spouses and domestic partners.

My amendment which took effect on September 27 provides a third option, allowing contractors to provide benefits to their employees and another adult living in the employees’ homes chosen by the employee. This amendment increases and expands benefits coverage beyond spouses and domestic partners to include an elderly parent, sibling, or roommate. The amendment is similar to the equal benefits policy in the city of Seattle.

This amendment will also allow groups like Catholic Community Services to continue contracting with the County by giving them three options for complying with the County’s non-discriminatory benefits policy. Catholic Community Services and other faith based organizations approached the County to find a way to offer benefits to their employees’ spouses without going against their religious teachings by specifically providing benefits to domestic partners. With this amendment, faith based groups can now offer benefits to whom their employee indicates without recognizing domestic partnership.

This was a bipartisan effort and co-sponsored by Councilmember David Irons (R-Sammamish). The Council approved this amendment with a 12 – 1 vote.

County Budget Faces $20 Million in Cuts

King County Executive Ron Sims will deliver his 2005 Executive Proposed Budget on Monday, October 11, to the King County Council. The 2005 budget address is scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 10th floor of the Courthouse (516 – 3rd Avenue, Seattle). The address will be aired live on CTV (channel 22) and on the Council’s website.

The County budget is in crisis and facing $20 million in cuts this year alone. As a member of the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, I look forward to reviewing the Executive Proposed Budget and will keep you posted on our work.

Controversial Critical Areas Package
The Washington State Growth Management Act requires King County to protect critical areas, vital groundwater, and natural habitat, including wetlands. Councilmember Dow Constantine, Chair of the Growth Management and Unincorporated Areas Committee (GMUAC), released his striking amendments to the Critical Areas package last week. For an overview on Critical Areas and to review the amendments, please visit the Council's Critical Areas web site. The GMUAC voted on the Critical Areas package yesterday and will send the ordinance to the full Council for consideration. Although I do not serve on the GMAUC, I look forward to hearing the recommendations of the Committee when the full Council reviews the Critical Areas package in October.

Upcoming Important Meetings:
Monday, October 18 at 9:30 a.m. in Council Chambers (10th Floor of Courthouse, 516 - 3rd Avenue). Public Hearing is scheduled on the Critical Areas package before the full Council, with possible action expected.

If you are unable to attend, please note that both committee meetings will be aired live on CTV (channel 22) and on the Council's website. You may also let the Council know how you feel via your computer and online public testimony.

In the Community

Internship: Public Service Minded Student Wanted

I am currently accepting applications from interested college students for an internship in my office. The selected student will participate in community outreach efforts and have the opportunity for a hands-on experience with local government. Please pass this along to a public service minded student you might know.

Coffee with Bob
Every Friday, I meet constituents for one-on-one coffees at a local coffee shop in District 2. If you have an issue or question to discuss, please join me. To set-up a thirty minute coffee, please contact my office at bob.ferguson@metrokc.gov or at (206) 296-1002.

District 2 Arts & Heritage Highlight: Northwest Puppet Center
I recently had coffee with Dmitri Carter, Director of the Northwest Puppet Center. He told me about this great resource just a few blocks away from my house— The Northwest Puppet Center.

The Northwest Puppet Center, located in Maple Leaf, is the only puppet center in the Northwest. The Carter Family Marionettes, world renowned puppeteers, established the Northwest Puppet Center to have a permanent facility focused on the puppetry arts, including a theater, museum, and library. The Northwest Puppet Center offers workshops and education programs, performances for children, and hosts puppet theaters from around the world.

Now in their 17th season, the Northwest Puppet Center presents this fall:

Strega Nona: October 8 – 24, 2004. An Italian folktale about Big Anthony left alone with Strega Nona’s magic pasta pot, performed by award winning Paul Mesner Puppets of Kansas City.

Q'weti: Tales of the Makah Tribe: November 5 – 21, 2004. Working closely with Elders of the Makah Tribe, Carter Family Marionettes bring the stories of the trickster Q'weti, Raven, Octopus Women, and Burden Basket Ogress to life on the stage with marionettes carved by Duane Pasco.

The Northwest Puppet Center is located at 9123 – 15th Avenue Northeast in Seattle. For more information, please contact info@nwpuppet.org or (206) 523-2579. To view the entire season schedule, including performances for Thumbelina and The Magic Flute, please visit http://www.nwpuppet.org/.

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Phone: (206) 296-1002 | Fax: (206) 296-0198 | TTY/TDD: (206) 296-1024 | Toll Free: (800) 325-6165
Mailing Address: King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle, WA 98104-3272