Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

2000 Thanksgiving dinners given away at Rainier Community Center

On Tuesday, November 22, they came from Ballard and Rainier Beach, West Seattle and Madrona for a take home Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Young families with children, the elderly and disabled, lined up for local NBA stars Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford, Will Conroy, Isaiah Thomas and Spencer Hawes (the “Home Team”), Seahawk player Kam Chancellor to bag and help distribute Thanksgiving dinners for 2,000 Seattle families.

Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy and Councilmember Bruce Harrell.

People pack the Rainier Community Center.

The “Home Team” partnered with Safeway to purchase 2,000 turkeys. In return, Safeway provided all of the traditional Thanksgiving trimmings.

People began gathering in the gym around 4:30 p.m. Before long, the gym was packed with people waiting to sign in and pick up their dinners. There were plenty of volunteers to get everyone signed in and to help ensure that the event ran as smoothly as possible.

Families enrolled in the Seattle Public Schools free and reduced lunch program were encouraged to pre-register at one of eleven Seattle Parks and Recreation Community Centers. The gym was packed by upwards of 2,000 families who came to take advantage of the giveaway and to meet professional athletes and elected officials. They were not disappointed! The event was a success, with smiles all around.

Photo Credit: http://sportswashington.net/turkey/

Press Release issued – Nov. 7, 2011

LED streetlights now installed from North 65th street
in Seattle all the way through Shoreline

SEATTLE – In late September of this year, Seattle City Light began installing LED streetlights on residential streets from North 65th Street in Seattle all the way to the northern boundary of City Light’s service territory in Shoreline. The latest round of installations brings the total of installed LED streetlights to 18,000. This is ahead of the original schedule of 15,000 installations by the end of this year and nearly $5 million under budget. The savings are a result of the decreasing cost of the fixtures which are purchased each year instead of all at once.

“As our city continues to look for ways to save money, our new LED streetlights are already saving more than $300,000 each year and with the latest round of installations the annual savings is expected to grow to nearly $900,000,” said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Chair of the Council’s Energy, Technology and Civil Rights Committee. “These and future savings can be used to help fund libraries, social services and parks, they will pay for themselves in less than 10 years.”

In February of 2012, Seattle City Light is scheduled to begin installation of LED streetlights at the southern end of its service territory all the way up to Brandon Street in South Seattle. By the end of 2014, all of the City’s residential streetlights will be converted to LED. Once all 41,000 residential lights are installed, City Light expects a $2.4 million reduction in operating costs each year.

Customers seem to like the LED streetlights. City Light surveys have found that 85 percent of residents are satisfied with the new lighting and City Light has received complaints on less than 2 percent of the installations to date. The most recognizable change of the LED streetlights is the color of the light. The old high-pressure sodium streetlights had an amber hue, while the new LED streetlights have a hue that is more natural and comparable to moonlight.

Press Release issued with Seattle City Light – Nov. 1, 2011

Mobile Web Features Available on All Smartphones

SEATTLE – Seattle City Light is making it easier for customers to connect with their utility while on the go.

“We want to give our customers the ability to connect with us wherever they might be,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “Making it more convenient to interact with us is our commitment. And we want customers to let us know how we are doing.”

Mobile phone users can now access mobile versions of key City Light web pages at http://m.seattle.gov/light. On the site, customers can report a streetlight problem, get information about outages, read City Light news, get money-saving energy conservation tips, or find links to contact the utility on other matters. Customers who are signed up for eBilling also can pay their bills.

The mobile site is accessible to any phone with an Internet connection. A free mobile app is now available on the Android Market that will launch the mobile-enabled web pages. An iPhone version is pending with Apple for distribution in the iTunes store.

“Smartphone use in our country continues to rise, with the latest figures showing 35 percent of adults owning a smartphone,” said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Energy, Technology and Civil Rights Committee. “This new smart phone app from City Light allows ratepayers to engage where they want and when they want. This reflects our commitment to great customer service.”

City Light already is looking at ways to enhance its mobile site. Customers who use it are encouraged to send feedback and suggestions for potential additions to webteam.scl@seattle.gov.

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.