Group launches campaign for paid sick leave in Tacoma

Jobs, Journalism, Justice

Staff Reporter

Articles by Rianna Hidalgo

Arts education added to city-funded program to prevent youth violence and create opportunity

By Rianna Hidalgo | June 19, 2013

The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI) — created after a surge in teen violence in 2008 to provide mentoring, counseling and employment opportunities to at-risk youth — is moving forward with new funding and a new component: the arts.

Mayor Mike McGinn recently announced the Work Readiness Arts program, which will connect up to 70 youth in central, southeast and southwest Seattle with organizations that will help them gain work experience and life skills through the arts.

Mariko Lockhart, director of SYVPI, said the inclusion of arts is overdue. ...

First Hill Stockbox is micro-grocer’s second location

By Rianna Hidalgo | June 12, 2013

When Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery opens its second location in August on the corner of James Street and Ninth Avenue, some First Hill residents will be within walking distance of a grocery store for the first time since M Street Grocery closed in 2011.

Developed by Carrie Ferrence and Jacqueline Gjurgevich while they attended the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) MBA program, Stockbox has reaped national attention as an innovative way to bring fresh, healthy, affordable food choices to urban areas where previous access had been limited. ...

As city ponders new regulations for microhousing, proponents say officials are ‘micromanaging’

By Rianna Hidalgo | June 5, 2013

In another addition to the spirited debate over microhousing — multistory buildings consisting of tiny housing units with shared kitchens — a May 22 panel discussion addressed concerns of community members who have seen the compact developments crop up since 2009.

Hosted by PubliCola and moderated by Q13 Fox political analyst C.R. Douglas, the panel consisted of the director of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Diane Sugimura, Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, neighborhood activist Bill Bradburd and director of Smart Growth Seattle Roger Valdez. ...

Group launches campaign for paid sick leave in Tacoma

By Rianna Hidalgo | June 5, 2013

Hoping to follow the lead of Seattle and a handful of other cities across the nation, the Healthy Tacoma coalition launched a campaign to require that businesses in the city provide paid sick leave for their employees.

Comprising more than 30 organizations representing communities in Tacoma, the Paid Sick Days for Tacoma campaign is pushing for an ordinance that would allow workers to accrue about five to nine days of paid sick leave per year to tend to illness or injury, take care of sick family members or manage the impacts of domestic violence, known as “safe time.” ...