Program Venture Fund

Yesler Terrace: Mixed Income Neighborhoods And The Seattle Housing Authority

Dominic Black — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:19:04 +0000

When Yesler Terrace finally becomes a planned, mixed-income neighborhood in the next 10 or 15 or maybe even 20 years, it won't be the first in the city. New Holly, Rainier Vista and High Point are all former public housing projects. They were redeveloped through Hope VI, a federal program that came into being in 1993, at a time when public housing was seen by some as a social policy failure, an example of how government got things wrong.

After 40 Years In Yesler Terrace, One Resident Looks To The Future

Dominic Black — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:48:45 +0000

Kristin O'Donnell loves meetings. "Absolutely my hobby. I do enjoy meetings," she tells me over a cup of tea in the Panama Hotel. Meetings, she says, offer a way to affect change in her community. And besides, she likes to put on a show. "To a large extent community organizing is theater; it works just often enough that I'm hooked."

From Profanity Hill To Yesler Terrace

Dominic Black — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:33:37 +0000

Rumor has it that somewhere in a forgotten corner of a basement somewhere in Seattle there's a decaying 3-D model of a brand new Yesler Terrace. It was dreamed up in the late 1960s but, like the R H Thomson Expressway or the parking lot that was planned for where the Pike Place Market still stands, it never made it out of the world of imagination and onto the grid of the real world.

In 2013, after six years of planning, it appears another vision of a brand new development will take root where Yesler Terrace now stands. It's not the first transformation this patch of ground has seen though. This is the story of two places that occupy that ground -- one in the present and one in the past.

This NOT Just In: The Last Episode Of J.P. Patches

Feliks Banel — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:02:44 +0000

Chris Wedes passed away earlier this year after a long battle with cancer. Wedes was the host of the long-running JP Patches Show on KIRO TV and one of the region's most beloved figures. "This NOT Just In" looks back to the final weekday episode of the popular program, back in December 1978.

How We Mourned John Lennon Before The Internet

Feliks Banel — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:02:00 +0000

John Lennon was murdered 30 years ago. We'll look back at how Seattleites mourned the death of the former Beatle in a time before the Internet, social media and cell phones.

Search For Cause Of High Rates Of MS In Northwest Could Lead To New Treatments

Carol Smith — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:20:45 +0000

The mystery of why the Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world is as enduring as the mystery of the D.B. Cooper hijacking — and has proven about as difficult to crack.

Recently, however, scientists have been closing in on some likely triggers that may be causing the body to hijack its own immune system and turn on itself. Those new findings could lead to new treatment strategies in the future.

Pediatric MS Cases Rise In The Northwest: Younger Patients Put A New Face On An Old Mystery

Carol Smith — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:19:18 +0000

The Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world, yet the reasons why remain elusive. It’s an old mystery, but one that now has a new face. Today, doctors are seeing a growing number of cases in kids. They hope these young patients will yield more clues to what causes the disease.

Hijack, Ransom, Parachute Plane Jump: The Unsolved Mystery Of D.B. Cooper

Feliks Banel — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:52:03 +0000

On November 24, 1971, a man who is referred to as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 on a flight between Portland, Oregon and Seattle. He extorted $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted from the plane. A look back at the hijacking which has become legendary in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of America.

The Radical Roots Of Yesler Terrace

Dominic Black — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:44:14 +0000

Yesler Terrace is Seattle's oldest public housing project. It was revolutionary when it was completed in 1940. In the near future, though, it will be completely demolished.

In its place will sprout a series of high rise towers with a limited number of low-income housing units alongside up to 4,000 market-rate private housing units, offices, retail and commercial spaces. The ultimate goal, says the Seattle Housing Authority, is to create a sustainable, healthy, mixed-income neighborhood.

It's a radical plan, controversial, and every bit as transformational as that which gave rise to Yesler Terrace in 1940.

For Young Adults, Autism Diagnosis Opens Doors, Minds

Bryan Buckalew — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Growing up, Jordan Howard always felt like an outsider. He had trouble making friends, and he felt awkward in groups. He says he felt like one of those misunderstood high school clichés. And he could never put his finger on why.