Author: Per Johnson

A group of Roosevelt High School alumni, following the murder of George Floyd, began meeting to discuss their experiences with racism. Ultimately these informal discussions evolved into the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity…or RARE.  Upon their formation, RARE first setup a scholarship to fund 2 economically disadvantaged students of color at Roosevelt pursue higher education.  Additionally, RARE has produced a documentary film titled “Roosevelt HIhg School: Beyond Black and White” which debuts online on Monday, January 31st, at 7PM (register here). The film, which can be previewed below, delves into past issues of race at Roosevelt High School including the Read More …

You’re invited to join us for our first board meeting of 2022 on Tuesday, January 4th at 7PM via Zoom (see meeting details below). Our agenda is a bit light, but is intended to allow for discussion on our 2022 work plan and how we implement all the good ideas we hope you help us come up with. The agenda may change a bit over the coming days, but the meeting will likely include time to discuss the following: Welcome and Introductions Public comments Review and approve past meeting minutes Social equity check-in Board Member Terms Land-Use Committee check-in QFC Read More …

Happy holidays to all those who celebrate and an early Happy New Year to everyone as well! While the snow has added a thematic feel to the holiday season, it has unfortunaely caused a bit of havoc on Seattle Public Utilities’ collection schedule. Initially, those of us in Wedgwood with a Wednesday pick-up had our garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection pushed to today (Thursday). However, with last night’s snow SPU has canceled collections for the week and instead will allow us to put 2X as much out for collection next week. A tweet with their notification is below. You Read More …

You’re invited to join us for our December board meeting on Tuesday, December 7th at 7PM via Zoom (see meeting details below). Our agenda remains a bit light, so this may be a bring your questions. The agenda may change over the coming days, but the meeting will likely include time to discuss the following: Welcome and Introductions New board member candidates Public comments Review past meeting minutes Social equity check-in Duwamish Real Rent payment confirmation Think Big Wedgwood missing banners Officers and Roles discussion Park update Land-Use Committee check-in QFC 2022 work plan and priorities discussion Questions Wedgwood Community Read More …

It’s been nearly 11 months since Kroger, the parent company for QFC, announced they were closing their Wedgwood and Capitol Hill stores. Two stores that Kroger claims were “underperforming” but whose closure was “accelerated” due to the city’s “hero pay” mandate for grocery workers. Seattle was one of several cities where Kroger closed stores and blamed “hero pay” legislation. Whether or not their stated reasoning was true is for others to say. But, the store did close on April 24th with a nice send-off to QFC staff and the store has basically sat empty – apart from fixtures – since. Read More …

Last week, a couple of signs popped up at the land-banked park site at 35th Ave NE and NE 86th Street. The two signs indicate the progress that has been and is occurring behind the scenes which we mentioned in our February update on the park. Despite the budget for design and construction being eliminated and the development of Wedgwood’s future park site put on hold, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department (Parks) has continued the necessary permitting of the project. First, a large informational sign was installed on-site summarizing the project status and indicating that Parks is ‘working to Read More …

Think Big Wedgwood, a local social and racial justice group that has helped to activate the currently land-banked future park site at 35th Ave NE and NE 86th Street, had their hand-sewn and painted banners removed from the park site on November 8th. If you know anything about the whereabouts of these banners, which were created by many people investing their resources and time, please reach out to hello@thinkbigwedgwood.com.

To honor Native American Heritage Month and the first people whose traditional lands our community calls home, the Wedgwood Community Council contributed $500 to Real Rent Duwamish this month. This follows the $500 we contributed in 2020 and continues our commitment to positively contribute towards a more equitable and inclusive Wedgwood. As we approach Thanksgiving, we give thanks to the Duwamish Tribe, their ancestors, and the Coast Salish peoples who have and continue to steward these traditional lands of theirs throughout our neighborhood, city, and region.

You’re invited to join us for our November board meeting on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7PM via Zoom (see meeting details below). Our agenda remains a bit light, so this may be a bring your questions. The agenda may change over the coming days, but the meeting will likely include time to discuss the following: Welcome and Introductions New board member candidates (yay!) Public comments Review July-October meeting minutes Modify past meeting minutes to include link to recording of past meetings. Social equity check-in Native American Heritage Month Diwali, November 4th Transgender Day of Rememberance – November 20th Hanukah starting Read More …

We regret to announce that out of an abundance of caution, the WCC has made the unfortunate decision to cancel our annual trick-or-treat along 35th Ave NE for the 2nd year in a row. We love to help organize opportunities and events to bring together and build community. However, we do not think we can organize a safe event with the resources we have which would be safe for the lil’ trick-or-treaters (many of whom would be too young for vaccines), their parents/guardians, and the businesses and their employees. Stupid pandemic.