SDOT PROPOSES PARKING CHANGES THROUGHOUT SEATTLE

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is considering updating a parking program that would significantly affect neighborhoods around Seattle, including the U-District. The changes are being proposed to help increase the number of available parking spots by decreasing the amount of available parking permits per household. The update to the program would also affect guest parking passes, the permit application process and—unfortunately, for those students borrowing a family car—would require students to have the vehicle parked in the area registered in their name and at their current address. This would considerably affect both students who live in the zone parking areas, as well as those who park off-campus. Students have until Oct. 20 to submit comments to the SDOT on the proposal.

Phone company sued for overcharging study abroad students

Last month a class-action lawsuit was filed against PicCell Wireless for undue roaming and currency charges towards study-abroad students. Several individuals, including at least one parent of a study-abroad student, filed against the Seattle-based company for violating the Washington State Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Credit Billing Act by overcharging customers. The cell phone rental company charged the students unfounded fees, and in one instance billed for calls made before the student had arrived in the country.

UWPD Chief of Police forums to be held on campus

Over the next two weeks students will be able to meet the finalists that the UWPD have chosen to potentially be the new Chief of Police. The three candidates are John Vinson, the current Undersheriff for the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Brad Thompson, the current Chief of Police for the city of Sammamish, Wash., and Andrew Staubitz, the Police Commander for the Arizona State Capitol Police Department. Candidates have been hosting a forum to answer student questions and discuss their position.

UW Medical Center and nurses reach agreement

The University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) reached a tentative agreement with the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) last week over issues of benefits, pay and rest shifts. While the hospital was looking to lower the nurses’ amount of time off work for illnesses, vacation time and rest time between shifts, the WSNA actually came away from the meeting with the negotiations in their favor. Pending a new contract’s ratification by union members, nurses would be looking at not only a pay increase, but also no reduction in hours.

FIRST MEETING FOR NEW COLLEGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Last spring the UW Board of Regents approved the creation of a new College of the Environment (CoE). Wednesday marked the first meeting of the Visions and Governance Committee for the college, where discussions were held on how to meet the goal of having a grand opening only a year away. Topics under consideration for the meeting included how to bring in faculty, as well as how the Bachelor of Science degree would be affected by the college. The creation of the college comes at the perfect time, with environmental issues increasingly becoming more well-known and companies from Honda to Hewlett-Packard attempting to “go green.” If the program becomes established, it would be one of the nation’s largest environmental colleges.

Reach columnist Julian Martin at news@dailyuw.com.