Category: News

Do you lack health insurance?

Starting tomorrow, October 1, the Washington Healthplanfinder will open for enrollment for coverage starting January 1. Washington Healthplanfinder is Washington’s health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”). It will allow you to compare insurance plans from different carriers and see if you qualify for subsidies to help you afford coverage.

Health plans at Washington Healthplanfinder are brand new, and all the basics are covered: doctor visits, prescriptions, maternity care, emergency care, preventive care like cancer screenings and vaccinations and more. No one will be denied coverage because they are sick or because they have a pre-existing condition. 

Visit www.wahealthplanfinder.org or call 1-855-WA-FINDER toll-free to learn more and enroll. If you need assistance, trained staff will be available Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through the end of the year at the Seattle Central Library, 1000 4th Avenue. Check with Public Health – Seattle and King County for exact hours.

You must register by October 7 to vote in the November election.

Registration is now open for Fall 2013 programs at the Belltown Community Center. Learn more here.

A group of neighborhood activists in Belltown felt that their community was full of resources and strengths, but that community groups, businesses, non-profits, and the government could be working more collaboratively. Through a series of discussions, the Belltown Community Council and other local organizations decided to form a steering committee and plan a 1-day training to encourage cross-sector cooperation.

Read more at the Department of Neighborhoods Front Porch blog.

Metropologie, a new, local touring company, is looking for Belltown residents knowledgeable about the neighborhood to lead tours this summer.

Does this sound like you? Download this PDF for more information.

View or download [PPT, 70 MB] Jim Diers' presentation from the Belltown ABCD Training.

Join State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and State Representatives Reuven Carlyle and Gael Tarleton for a discussion the legislative session and share your questions and concerns.

The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Vancouver/Calgary Room at the new City University of Seattle at 521 Wall St. Robert Nellams, director of the Seattle Center, will be the moderator.

Join us Wednesday for our March meeting.

Representatives from Sound Transit, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and the Mayor's Office will be presenting on the Ballard High Capacity Transportation Study.

Wednesday, March 13
7 PM
Belltown Community Center, 415 Bell Street

The Asset Based Community Development training has been rescheduled for March 9th. It will be held at the City University of Seattle, 521 Wall Street, and we are happy to announce Jim Diers, community development expert and author of Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way, will be our trainer.

Register for free online. Hurry, seats are limited!

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Downtown Seattle Association are excited to announce the construction schedule for installing the new Westlake Children’s Play Area, presented by Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Work is projected to begin on Monday, February 18, 2013 and to last 5-7 days with an opening celebration on Friday, March 1, 2013 at 11:30 a.m.
Half of the park will be required for installation and construction staging. The play space will be located on the east edge of the park, about midway between Pike and Pine Streets, across from the Metropolitan Building. Westlake Park is located in the heart of downtown Seattle at 401 Pine St.
DSA has partnered with Parks to help make downtown more family and kid-friendly by providing this small play space for children. This is a two year pilot program.
The play space will be encircled by attractive low fencing and benches where guardians can relax. Inside the play area will be two exciting play elements. The first is called a Mini Geode, a climbing structure with a combination of rounded and linear beams forming the outside sphere and a complex inner structure of ropes. The second structure is a grouping of three rolling climber domes made of stainless steel. The surfacing will be a forgiving rubberized material that rests directly on top of the existing pavers, allowing it to be removed without much disruption. Some of the existing planters have been relocated and pedestrians will be able to move smoothly past and around the play space.
Mithun volunteered their creative skills to design the space and Lease Crutcher Lewis generously volunteered to install the play equipment. Seattle Children’s Research Institute is the presenting sponsor for this project.
For a list of partnering organizations and to learn more about the project please visit
the Parks project page.