The King County Council should transfer to 4Culture 60 percent of new funding for historic preservation and heritage programs for five years. The county’s historic preservation program should receive 40 percent. Those are the key recommendations of the task force created last year by the county council to study the distribution of filing fee revenue collected under HB 1386. The Historic Preservation and Historical Programs Advisory Task Force delivered its report to the council on Monday. Read the rest of this article »

The legislative session is winding down this month, and many are feeling shell-shocked by drastic program cuts necessitated by dire state budget numbers. Somewhat remarkably, prospects for gaining an extension of lodging tax revenue for heritage and arts causes were still alive as of this writing. Read the rest of this article »

Hard choices in the Obama administration’s 2010 federal budget have left heritage advocates dismayed by proposals that would eliminate two important preservation programs, Preserve America and Save America’s Treasures (the nation’s only bricks-and-mortar grant program), and slash by half the funding for National Heritage Areas. Read the rest of this article »

The Washington State Jewish Historical Society (WSJHS) presented its program highlights and progress for a Jewish Heritage Center in this State at the February 24th Heritage Caucus. The Caucus is a meeting held weekly in Olympia while the legislature is in session of lawmakers interested in heritage issues and other heritage advocates. In preparing for our presentation, we realized just how much we have done this past year. Read the rest of this article »

In addition to our March 30 meeting, which will be hosted by the Kirkland Heritage Society at the Kirkland Heritage Hall (click here for details), we are pleased to offer our members a diverse and informative slate of programs for 2010. Please plan to come to as many as you can to meet, learn from, and be inspired by one another. Read on for descriptions of upcoming meetings. Read the rest of this article »

Good attendance and great information characterized the February AKCHO membership meeting as over 40 members attended the meeting at the Preston Community Center. The Mountains to Sound Greenway was our host and Doug Schindler, MTSG Deputy Director, presented the history of the Greenway and its many accomplishments and plans. Looking beyond its 20th anniversary, he presented plans to study new strategies for sustaining the landscape and exploring opportunities in collaborative interpretation. Read the rest of this article »

Photo of Franklin resident Mary Donckers Verchueven, courtesy of Black Diamond Historical Society

One hundred years ago in Washington State, after decades of crusading, women from all economic and ethnic groups persuaded the men of Washington State to give them the right to vote. Washington was only the fifth state in the nation to make women’s suffrage the law — this was nine years before the passage of the 19th Amendment. March is Women’s History Month, so check the AKCHO calendar for details on programs that highlight the contributions and courage of women. Many other inspiring programs as well — our on-line calendar is updated regularly with interesting and entertaining heritage events throughout King County!

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation invites nominations for its Most Endangered List – a statewide roster of historic resources that face a variety of threats. The current list includes the P-I globe, Alki’s Homestead Restaurant, the Nuclear Reactor Building on the UW campus, the Surrey Downs subdivision in Bellevue, and some brick buildings at Sandpoint Naval Station, You have until March 15 to submit nominations for the 2010 list.

The Virginia V Foundation is preparing to celebrate the historic steamer’s 88th birthday this month. In addition to throwing a party with cake and champagne (see AKCHO calendar for details), the Foundation also has launched a new web site, and is running a special outreach campaign. From now until the end of March, the Foundation is offering special introductory one-year individual memberships for only $10 – a good opportunity to support an important piece of Puget Sound history.

Photo courtesy of Anna Sturgeon

The Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society has declared Anna & Scott Sturgeon of Phinney Ridge the winners of the “Oldest House” contest. While their house is not the oldest in the neighborhood, they did complete the required research including obtaining their building permit from 1902, which fulfilled the spirit of the contest – researching and treasuring our architectural heritage. Read the rest of this article »