Here and Now
Monorail planning

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Three community meetings this week will focus on draft designs for a monorail system in Seattle. While the city is not the lead agency for the monorail project, it must approve certain public rights of way and property agreements.

Several City Council members and staff members are to attend this week's meetings. The first will be at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Ballard High School library at 1418 N.W. 65th St.

The second will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, in the first-floor Bertha Landes Room, 600 Fourth Ave., and the third at 6 p.m. Thursday in West Seattle High School's library at 3000 California Ave. S.W.

The draft design guidelines are posted on the city's monorail Web site — www.seattle.gov/monorail — for public review. Comments are encouraged.

A place to skate

Seattle Parks Department officials don't deny the need for places where skateboarders can gather. But where should those places be?

The department wants to get the public involved in a discussion about whether to include a permanent skateboard park in a new Ballard Civic Center Park. A temporary skateboard park at Northwest 57th Street and 22nd Avenue Northwest in Ballard has been heavily used since it was built three years ago, parks officials said.

Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds said a Skateboard Advisory Committee is being formed to help identify other sites. "The kids and young adults from all over the region who use the Ballard site are evidence that a skateboard park in the right setting can be a good neighbor and can provide much-needed opportunities for active recreation," Bounds said.

But department staff members say the Ballard location may not be the best place for a permanent skateboard park. They want to explore alternative locations, such as lower Woodland Park.
 
A meeting is set for 7 to 9 p.m. March 9 to review designs for Ballard's new park. The meeting will be in the old Safeway building at 5701 22nd Ave. N.W.

People interested in serving on a skateboard advisory committee can call 206-684-7046 or e-mail susan.golub@seattle.gov.

Today

• Jody Olsen, the Peace Corps' deputy director, will talk about her organization and its recruitment efforts in a free program at 4:30 p.m. in the Parrington Hall Forum at the University of Washington. Her topic: "Peace Corps: New directions for a changing world." The program coincides with the 44th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps.

Can you help?

Federal Way's Diversity Commission, wanting to get a variety of city residents involved in local leadership, will host a leadership forum at 7 tonight at Borders Books, 1824 S. 320th St. in Federal Way. Representatives of city commissions and boards, civic organizations, service groups, and charitable and church institutions have been invited to discuss their work and leadership opportunities.

Here & Now is compiled by Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and news assistant Suesan Whitney Henderson. To submit an item, e-mail herenow@seattletimes.com or call 206-464-2226.

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