This week, Real Simple magazine named Seattle the nation’s #1 time-saving city, thanks to our extensive public transit, plethora of Wi-Fi spots and coffee shops, proximity to one of the country’s most on-time airports, 50 miles of new bike lanes in the last two years, even our “impressively short waits for a doctor’s appointment.”

“Our 13 Neighborhood Service Centers are huge time-savers,” OED’s Karin Zaugg Black explains in the article. “At many of them, you can apply for a passport, pay utility bills or parking tickets, or have a hearing with the magistrate.”

The article also highlights Seattle’s state-of-the-art signal-optimization program, which synchronizes traffic lights to facilitate smoother travel through the city.

Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California, ranked second- and third-best time saving cities.

Browse the full Real Simple feature here.

CNN recently featured this great article as well!  Please click here to view their story.

We have long understood that educational attainment affects income. However, the difference in economic outcomes for those with the most education and those with the least education has never been starker. In 2008 and 2009, unemployment figures for those without a college degree have increased on average almost three times as fast as those with at least a college degree.

Turns out, increasing the rates of postsecondary attainment for low-income parents is also one of the best ways to help their children succeed. Recent research from the Gates Foundation suggests that parental education levels are the single most important driver of a child’s future – and that postsecondary education is the critical pathway that leads individuals and their families out of poverty.

OED invests in several partnerships that help adults attain the education and skills they need to attain living wage jobs. These are just few of our 2010 partners:

• Seattle Jobs Initiative – to provide job skills training and support services for up to 1200 low-income clients with approximately 400 of them obtaining jobs;
• SkillUp Washington – a new partnership encompassing leaders in philanthropy, government, education, and industry, to design new ways for working adults to obtain postsecondary degrees and credentials that have genuine labor market value; and,
• The Manufacturing and Industrial Council – to place Seattle youth aged 16-24 in short term, paid work experience internships – a partnership that not only drives real living-wage careers, but makes sure that workers’ skills can meet changing industry demands.

The changing economy requires increasingly sophisticated workers who have access to ongoing education and training opportunities while they are working to support their families. The Office of Economic Development is leading this effort to bring vital post-secondary education and training to the workers who need it most – workers who will pass on the benefits, and knowledge, to their children.

Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED) is currently seeking partners to help provide business services, neighborhood business district support, and “Buy Local” guidance.

• Learn more partnering with OED to provide business services (proposals due by 5:00 p.m. on March 5th)
• Learn more about supporting OED’s neighborhood business district program (proposals due April 2nd)
• Learn more about consulting on our new “Buy Local“ marketing campaign (proposals due April 2nd)

Questions? Comments? E-mail us at oed@seattle.gov.

“These priorities reflect our commitment to the people of Seattle,” said Council President Richard Conlin. “Residents need to know what specific initiatives we plan to work on and what the Council should be helped accountable for accomplishing.”

The council also announced a goal of carbon neutrality for the city of Seattle. City Councilmember Mike O’Brien pledged that the council will present its target year for carbon neutrality by the end of 2010.

Download the Council’s full press release (PDF) or visit Seattle City Council online at seattle.gov/citycouncil.

Bryan Pearce, CEO of University Book Store, recently met with Office of Economic Development Acting Director Steve Johnson to discuss the future of the iconic store. Pearce explained that the store hopes to attract even more customers this year with its new, on-demand book-publishing machine, the “Espresso Book Machine” (EBM).

The EBM downloads, prints, and binds quality paperback books—including any of the 2 million public domain titles available through Google Books, and over 1 million print-on-demand titles from local and international publishers—all while customers wait. The U-Bookstore EBM is one of only a handful of the machines available for public use in the U.S.

Pearce is excited about the technology and is already exploring how it can be used beyond his store. Pearce recently used the machine to manufacture 100 English to Creole dictionaries, formerly out of print, which he sent to Haiti to aid healthcare workers who were treating victims of the January earthquake.

Learn more about the Espresso Book Machine or visit the main University Bookstore website.

In a letter sent today to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Under Secretary Jane Lubchenco, Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council argue that consolidating NOAA’s operations in Seattle at existing federal facilities is the best option for NOAA and the best deal for federal taxpayers.

The proposal is the latest effort of a years-long program, led by the city, to retain the marine center in Seattle, where it has made its home for more than 50 years. Roque Deherrera, the Office of Economic Development’s Business Services Manager, has served as the lead City coordinator of this interdepartmental effort to retain NOAA.

Click here to view the Mayor’s news release.

Click here to view the full letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke.

 In April of 2008, Seattle City Council adopted Resolution 31019, the Local Food Action Initiative, outlining a series of actions developed to promote local and regional food sustainability and security. The goals of the Local Food Action Initiative include improving the local food system through advancing the City of Seattle’s interrelated goals of race and social justice, environmental sustainability, economic development, and emergency preparedness

In 2010, the City along with community partners will be advancing a number of initiatives related to urban agriculture including opening a new urban food bank farm, developing additional community gardens through the Parks Levy, and considering new land use codes that support urban agriculture.

For more information please visit the 2010: Year of Urban Agriculture homepage.

Two important tools are Open for Business: A Disaster Planning Toolkit for Small Business,  a downloadable PDF guide for small to medium sized businesses, and the Disaster Resistant Business Toolkit, a free interactive software application that helps businesses build a customized, comprehensive emergency management strategy.

In addition to these resources, OEM has public education materials and a preparedness video available to help you educate and encourage your employees and their families to prepare before a disaster happens. All OEM material is available in 14 languages in print format and in electronic format via OEM’s website. 

Free on-site preparedness programs, taught by training specialists, can also be scheduled for groups of 20 or more. For more information call 206-233-5076 or visit www.seattle.gov/emergency.

More than 50 top sustainable business leaders will speak at this innovative one-day event.  Attendees will be able to connect, discuss and engage with the speakers and attendees while learning actionable next steps to sustainability at work.

Speakers at the event will include:

The Open House is taking place this Wednesday, February 3rd from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall. Deputy Mayor Smith and representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Department of Finance (DOF) will also be in attendance to present information and answer questions.

Download the one-page invitation: Seawall Replacement Open House Invitation (PDF)

For more information, contact Seawall Project Manager Stephanie Brown at 206-386-4635 or via e-mail at stephanie.brown@seattle.gov.