2020 presented unprecedented challenges for cities across the world.?While many?families?faced grief and loss,?we saw the resiliency, compassion and determination of our?community,?neighbors, friends, essential workers, and first responders to respond to a once in a lifetime pandemic and economic crisis.??
As we weather the crises?of?2020, the City of Seattle has made new?and significant investments to help our residents, businesses, and city emerge stronger, more just and equitable from?these crises.?Because of the commitments of Seattle residents, our City now has one of the lowest rates of?COVID-19?cases of any major city. In addition to?following public health guidance?to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, the City has also created a?number of programs to respond to the virus?like grocery vouchers, small?business?grants, rental?assistance, and utility assistance.??
Hope is on the horizon?with a vaccine. Our?first responders, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, health?care workers, and workers and residents of Long Term Care Facilities are among the first vaccinated against COVID-19.?Early next year, I will announce the City?s plan?to ensure our residents and workers as vaccinated as the?doses of vaccine?increases.?As vaccines are more widely distributed, we will focus on reopening and our economic recovery, especially downtown.??
Beyond our pandemic response, there are many accomplishments to be proud of. In 2020,?we began to reimagine?community?safety, with the?expansion?alternatives to policing like?Health One?program?and $100 million of new investments in racial equity.?This?year, the City, Seattle Colleges, and Seattle Public Schools celebrated the?largest enrollment in Seattle Promise?in the program?s history.?In 2020, we were civically?engaged?and elected a new President who will work with Seattle?? not against all our shared values.?In 2020, we also announced our largest?investment?in affordable homes to date, including 600 new?units of permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing?homelessness that will open in 2021. The City has now invested $1.7 billion in housing?leveraging?$400 million of City funds to build?6200 affordable homes.?In 2020, we also passed a budget that?expands our?funding?in homelessness,?so we can bring more?individuals?off the street and into safer spaces.?I also announced that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is moving forward to continue?repairs to the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge?- another unexpected challenge of 2020.???
2020 has been?hard. Yet, in 2021?I?ll?be hopeful. Cities like Seattle will build back stronger, better and more equitable. We still have some tough months ahead, but we have the grit and determination to not just get through them, but to create a better future for the next generations.??
May the New Year bring us all peace, joy, and happiness. Goodbye 2020 and hello 2021.?
 
The Space Needle will usher in 2021 with a sensational and innovative new show broadcast locally on KING 5 and streamed around the world for T-Mobile New Year?s at the Needle. This year?s celebration will feature striking visuals in a wondrous display of digital effects, engineered to bring viewers bigger thrills than ever before ? all safely from the comfort of home. For the eighth year in a row, hometown partner T-Mobile, America?s Un-carrier, is the exclusive sponsor of the West Coast?s premier New Year?s Eve celebration.?
Using sky-mapping technology and real video footage, the Space Needle will be layered with immersive, digital artistic expressions to create an illusion of color and wonder. In reality, the tower will be lit in T-Mobile?s distinctive magenta color, but on their screens, viewers will be dazzled by a virtual spectacular surrounding the Space Needle and the skies above.?
Organizers of the famed New Year's Eve Ball Drop Celebration are bringing the world's biggest party right to your home, live and direct from the crossroads of the world, Times Square.?Jamestown, owner of One Times Square ? home of the iconic New Year's?Eve Ball?? has collaborated with Ultimate Gamer, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Samsung, and others to create a first-of-its-kind virtual New Year's Eve?experience?to allow people to ring in the New Year safely.
Gov. Jay Inslee this week?announced a one-week extension of the "Stay Safe?Stay Healthy"?proclamation, along with the statewide restrictions imposed. The extension of the statewide restrictions will now expire on January 11, 2021. No changes were made in the proclamation aside from the expiration date.?
"Our consistent mission has been keeping Washingtonians safe and ensuring health care system and hospital capacity," Inslee said. "We understand the profound impact COVID is having on our healthcare system, families, and businesses, but I am heartened by the number of Washingtonians who continue to do the right thing. If we continue distancing from others, wearing facial coverings and avoiding social gatherings, we will make it to the other side of this pandemic together.??
Seattle's public utility has designated an employee to knock on RV doors around the city and ask if the occupants want their sewage tank pumped.?
A couple years ago, Seattle faced a problem. The number of homeless people in the city was increasing, and many were living out of old RVs. Since there was no place to empty their waste water, much of it ended up spilled onto the streets and in the storm drains. Then Seattle Public Utilities assigned one of its employees to deal with it. Reporter Erin?Slomski-Pritz?spent a day with him.?
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