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Earlier this week, I held a press conference with City officials and our partner agencies to help ensure Seattle residents are prepared for a potential storm. The National Weather Service is reporting that Seattle and King County could experience snow beginning this weekend and continuing well into next week. In addition to snow, we could experience heavy rain, freezing temperatures and high winds. I encourage all of you to be patient ? the bottom line is we don?t know exactly what?s going to hit us.
 In the event of extreme winter weather and snow, there are five key things we need you to do:
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Stay informed: Be sure to check the National Weather Service for updates, and sign up for AlertSeattle for emergency notifications.
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Shovel your sidewalks: It?s your responsibility to make sure the sidewalk in front of your home or business is safe and accessible. It?s not only the law ? it's just the right thing to do to make sure people can move through Seattle safely.
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Don?t drive unless you absolutely have to: Driving during a storm is dangerous ? please avoid driving, and choose to take public transit whenever possible. If you have to drive, check out these tips on how to stay safe.
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Check on your neighbors: Make sure your neighbors have everything they need to be prepared for a storm, and if they?re older or disabled, be a good neighbor and offer to help get supplies, and shovel their sidewalk.
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Get prepared: Make sure your emergency kit is up-to-date, and make sure you have a plan in the event of a power outage.
After last year?s snowstorm, we heard stories from seniors and our disabled neighbors ? some of whom were trapped in their homes for days on end, simply because the sidewalks in their neighborhood were covered in snow, making them dangerous and inaccessible. We cannot let this happen again ? it's all of our responsibility to make sure Seattle stays safe and accessible for all. Do your part and shovel your sidewalk.
The City is prepared to do our part to make sure we weather this storm. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is monitoring weather, traffic, and road temperatures 24/7, and our entire fleet of snowplows is ready to be deployed at a moment?s notice. If it does snow, have patience, and don?t expect your neighborhood street to be plowed immediately. SDOT prioritizes clearing the most critical routes for transit and emergency response vehicles. Click here for more information on how SDOT is preparing for the winter weather.?
And our Human Services Department has opened its Severe Weather Shelter starting Sunday, January 12 through Sunday, January 19. We know that extreme winter weather can be perilous for our neighbors living unsheltered. Please be compassionate, help those in need, and call 2-1-1 for help finding shelter options.
I encourage you visit www.seattle.gov for more information, and follow @CityofSeattle on Twitter for regular updates. And remember: Have patience and be a good neighbor. It?s up to all of us to keep Seattle, safe, warm, and accessible this winter.
As always, please continue to write me at?[email protected], reach out via?Twitter?and?Facebook, and stay up-to-date on the work we?re doing for the people of Seattle on?my?blog.
Sincerely,
 
 Mayor Durkan signed an?Executive Order? this week committing Seattle to new steps to combat climate change. The order requires that all new or substantially altered City of Seattle buildings operate without fossil fuels, and by January 2021, the City will develop a strategy to eliminate fossil fuel use in existing City buildings. Through the Executive Order announced today, the City will set an example that buildings can and should operate entirely without fossil fuels.
The?Executive Order?also directs City department to work with the Green New Deal Oversight Board and the Mayor?s Youth Climate Council to integrate the following Green New Deal principles into City work:
- Reduce pollution at the rate of progress scientists say is necessary to limit average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C;?
- Promote economic opportunity and inclusive access to stable, well-paying jobs; and
- Advance environmental justice by ensuring the benefits and investments of the clean energy transition accrue to those communities and populations historically most burdened by the fossil fuel economy.?
This week, Mayor Durkan launched the City?s new Small Business Stabilization Pilot Program to help vulnerable micro-businesses remain in business after a destabilizing event. In 2019, the Mayor directed the Office of Economic Development (OED) to develop a strategy to help micro-businesses better navigate the impacts of rising commercial rents, displacement, and destabilizing events.
?Seattle has been the fastest-growing city in the country over the last several years. That growth has brought incredible opportunities, but it has undoubtedly brought challenges. As rents rise, communities who have long called Seattle home are being pushed out of their neighborhoods, and that?s true for our small businesses as well,? said Mayor Durkan. ?Our small businesses are part of the fabric of our city, and they make Seattle a better, more vibrant place. With this Pilot Program, we?re telling our small businesses that their City will support them in moments of uncertainty, and they can count on Seattle as a reliable partner and ally.?
The program awards $25,000 in grant funding to eight small businesses whose operations were jeopardized by a destabilizing event. All eight Small Business Stabilization Pilot Program grantees are women and minority-owned businesses.
For more information on this program, and a full list of grantees, click here.
Mayor Durkan and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich made a friendly wager ahead of this Sunday?s playoff contest between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. The wager is inspired by Mayor Genrich?s ?Win-Win Playoff Challenge,? which encourages both playoff communities to give back through service to highlight a community organization and effort.
To celebrate our cities? shared ties, Mayor Durkan and Mayor Genrich also agreed to wager three things Seattle and Green Bay know well: Beer, cheese, and coffee. If the Packers win on Sunday, Mayor Durkan will send Mayor Genrich two growlers from Seattle?s unparalleled Georgetown Brewing, a selection of cheese from Beecher?s Handmade Cheese, and two bags of fresh coffee beans from Caf? Avole. When the Seahawks win, Mayor Genrich will send Mayor Durkan beer from Stillmank Brewing, cheese curds from Ron?s Wisconsin Cheese, and coffee from La Java Roasting House.
 ?Our Seahawks are the best team in the NFL, and with Beast Mode back, there?s no way we can be stopped,? said Mayor Durkan. ?I hope Mayor Genrich and the Packers are ready to face the music when Russell Wilson (a former Wisconsin Badger) and our Hawks score a touchdown at Lambeau Field.?
Go Hawks!
 In this week?s edition of the Weekend Read, we encourage you to check out the Seattle Times? coverage of the City?s preparations for potentially snowy weather in the forecast:
Mayor Jenny Durkan urged residents Thursday to make sure they have supplies on hand that may not be a given for Seattleites: snow shovels and salt.
?The bottom line is we don?t know what?s going to hit us,? Durkan said.
Seattle officials say they?re readying plows and salt as the forecast shows a possibility of snow in the coming days.
The National Weather Service in Seattle?predicts some snow this week?in places like the Issaquah Highlands and Everett, but isn?t certain yet whether an Arctic front headed for the region will bring snow to Seattle early next week.
The area will see bitter cold next week, with temperatures in Seattle expected to drop Sunday night. The weather service is forecasting highs of around 30 degrees during the workweek, with temperatures as low as 18 degrees on Tuesday, which is expected to be the coldest day of the week. Other parts of Western Washington will see even colder temperatures.
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