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The next meeting of the NRV Trafffic & Safety Committee will be Monday, May 7 from 6:45 to 8pm at the NRV Neighborhood House. Items on the agenda include debriefing March’s Community Safety Meeting, a report on Living Room Conversations, an update on the Youth/Parent Focus Group and a possible sign posting rules for the Central Park.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board is holding a public hearing in Seattle on March 12, 2012 regarding the City of Seattle’s petition to open rulemaking for extended hours of alcohol service. Under the City of Seattle’s proposal, individual cities would have the ability to seek an exemption from the 2:00 a.m. deadline for alcohol sales at on-premises locations. Cities would be able to set their own hours, including allowing alcohol sales around-the-clock.

Prior to making a determination of whether to pursue rulemaking, the Board is interested in hearing from community members and leaders, communities surrounding Seattle, law enforcement at the local, county and state level, neighborhood and community groups and other interested parties. For more background information on the City of Seattle’s petition, please see the LCB website.

We want to make sure you have a chance to provide your comments to the Liquor Board at this hearing. Whether you support the City of Seattle’s request or oppose it, we want to hear from you.

Please join us:
March 12, 2012 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Seattle City Hall
Bertha Knight Landes Room
600 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

The NRV Traffic and Safety Committee cordially invites all NRV residents to join your neighbors to

• address community safety issues around the NRV neighborhood
• improve community safety through education; come learn how to engage with neighborhood police officiers
• share ideas for effective public safety programs and community involvement
• meet representatives from the Seattle Police Department, the Neighborhood Security Patrol, and SHA Property Management

Monday, March 5, 2012
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Neighborhood House Community Room

All are welcome. Interpretation provided in Somali, Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese. Refreshments will be served.

For more info, please contact Evelyn Larsen or Naomi Chang

There is a Community Safety Meeting on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7pm at the Lakewood/Seward Park Clubhouse (4916 S. Angeline St). This is a joint meeting of the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Club and the Southeast Crime Prevention Council and will be attended by City Councilmember Bruce Harrel, SPD Chief of Police Diaz, City Attorney Peter Holmes and SPD South Precinct Captain Nolan.

A huge community turnout will help drive home the point that Southeast Seattle residents take our community safety seriously. Come if you can.

The recent snow didn’t cause any power outages for us in NRV, but lots of other people lost power. And we’re certainly not immune. The following info comes from Public Heath-Seattle & King County.

Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill you. Carbon monoxide gas comes from burning fuels such as gasoline, propane, oil, kerosene, natural gas, coal or wood.

Prevent poisoning from carbon monoxide:

• Only use a generator outdoors and far from open windows and vents
• Never use a generator or portable propane heater indoors, in garages or carports
• Never cook or heat inside on a charcoal or gas grill.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen suddenly and without warning. Physical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include splitting headache, nausea and vomiting, and lethargy and fatigue.

If you believe you could be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, get fresh air immediately. Call for medical help from a neighbor’s home. The Fire Department will tell you when it is safe to re-enter the home.

For a full list of carbon monoxide prevention tips and other safety and disaster information in English and other languages, visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/disaster.

Staying warm indoors safely
If you have a power outage, use safe ways to stay warm:

• Find places where you can go to get warm, such as the home of friends and family whose homes have power. Many cities have opened centers where people can go during the day to stay warm. Center locations can be found at www.kingcounty.gov/safety/prepare
• Wear several layers of light weight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear hats, mittens, and blankets indoors.
• Close curtains and cover windows and doors with blankets. Everyone should try to stay together in one room, with the door closed, to keep in body heat.

Stay safe

• Check on elderly friends, family, and neighbors to make sure they are safe.
• Watch your footing on surfaces that may be icy and slick, and wear shoes that provide traction.
• Be careful not to overexert yourself when shoveling snow, especially if you have heart disease or high blood pressure, as the cold weather puts extra strain on your heart.
• Do not sled on streets or on slopes near streets, ponds, or streams.
• Avoid driving if you can. If you must drive, allow safe stopping times and distances.

Help others

• Warn others about carbon monoxide poisoning. Share the information with neighbors, friends, family and community groups.
• Check on family, friends, and neighbors, especially if they are elderly or if you think their power might be out.
• If you know someone who has lost electricity, invite them to your home to stay warm.

Food safety
If power goes out where you live, keep food safe:

• Keep the doors closed on your refrigerators and freezers as much as possible. This keeps the cold air inside. A full freezer can stay at freezing temperatures about two days; a half-full freezer about 1 day.
• If you think the power will be out for several days, try to find some ice to pack inside your refrigerator. Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Refrigerated foods should be safe as long as the power is out no more than a few hours and the refrigerator/freezer doors have been kept closed. Throw away foods that spoil easily (such as meat and fish) if they warm up above 41º F.
• Frozen foods that remain frozen are OK to eat. If potentially hazardous foods are thawed (such as meat and fish), but are still cold or have ice crystals on them, use them as soon as possible. If potentially hazardous foods are thawed and are warmer than 41º F, throw them away.

The next Rainier Vista Traffic Safety meeting will be held this coming Monday, January 9th from 6:45pm to 7:45pm at Neighborhood House Paul Allen Room. Subjects on the agenda include:

• Phase III update
• Update from January SE Seattle Crime Prevention Council Meeting
• Discuss a joint Traffic Safety Committee with RV Phase II & III, Tamarack Place & RV Northeast
• Update RV Youth Focus Group, a joint project with RV Traffic Safety and Multicultural Committee (last discussion held on November 21)
• Plan/discuss “Safety Meeting” on 2/6

The eighth annual National Preparedness Month kicked off September 1^st. This year’s slogan is: “A Time to Remember. A Time to Prepare.” The campaign’s goal is to move beyond education and encourage people to take the necessary steps to ensure that their homes, workplaces and communities are prepared for disasters and emergencies of all kinds.

The Seattle Police Department’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is joining with Target to make that step easier for families in Seattle. Target has generously donated $10,000 to help families build emergency kits. Each participating family will receive a $100 gift card that they can use to build their own emergency kits. Seattle Police Department will be on hand to help people identify basic items for an emergency kit, as well as help them customize their kit to meet their specific needs. Participants will need to be at the West Seattle Target on September 29, 2011 at 9:00 AM. They will be given a map of the store with locations where items for emergency kits can be found highlighted and the gift card to make their purchases.

Families with children are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. If you are interested in participating in this one of a kind event please email the Seattle Office of Emergency Management at snap@seattle.gov or call us at 233-5076.

The next Traffic & Safety Committee Meeting will be held Monday, June 6 from 6:30 to 7:45pm at the Neighborhood House’s downstairs meeting room.

Seattle Neighborhood Group offers The Club® vehicle anti-theft device to Seattle residents at reduced cost. It’s easy to use, and is a proven deterrent against auto theft.

They are offering The Club® in two sizes, one for automobiles and another for trucks and SUVs. Regular Clubs are $20.00, and SUV Clubs are $25.00 if you order by mail using this form. Or order from their website and receive a $2 discount! Final price includes S&H and 9.5% Washington State Sales Tax.

The Seattle City Council invites you to a discussion of the science of policing with a special focus on the concentration of crime in “hot spots” and the innovative approaches police and others can take to reduce it. Research shows that over a 14-year period fully 50% of reported crime in Seattle was committed on just 4.5% of our street segments or blocks. What do these facts mean for policing? What is the role of the community to reduce crime? What prevention strategies are most effective? How can city governments and community partners collaborate to make neighborhoods safer by reducing crime?

This will be a presentation to the Seattle City Council, scheduled to begin at 9:30am on Monday, May 2nd, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (600 4th Ave). It will be followed by a public conversation at 10:30am, also at City Hall, in the Bertha Knight Landes Room.

These sessions will provide vital information about how we can apply the power of science to urban policing and be more just and effective by focusing on where crime occurs more than on individual offenders and by integrating and better coordinating a range of public and community resources that responds to the places where crime occurs. The research also suggests that police resources can and should be applied more judiciously and that police-community relations can be strengthened by partnering police with a host of public agencies and community organizations in the effort.

To RSVP or to ask questions, please contact Betsy Graef at betsy.graef@seattle.gov or 206-684-5341.

For more information on this topic, please see:

• “Police Science: Toward a New Paradigm,” by Weisburd and Neyroud
• “The Importance of Place in Policing,” by Weisburd, Telep and Braga
• Geography and Public Safety Bulletin, March 2011
• “Addressing Crime and Disorder in Seattle’s ‘Hot Spots’: What Works?” Seattle City Auditor Report
• “Controlling Drug and Disorder Problems: Oakland’s Beat Health Program,” by Mazerolle and Roehl