A blurry Geena Davis (thanks to my colleague, Sally Clark, for snapping the pic)

Women’s charities used to be funded by the farmer’s wife contributing egg money to overseas missions. That’s definitely not true today — not since the YWCA began its tradition of Inspire Luncheons 25 years ago.

What began modestly a generation ago has become a three-venue production, raising somewhere around $1 million annually to empower women and families. This week’s 25^th anniversary event at the Washington State Convention Center first paid tribute to the late KOMO Anchor Kathi Gertzen who would have celebrated her 55^th birthday that same day, April 29. For 24 of the 25 years of luncheon fundraisers, Gertzen served as mistress of ceremonies.

The tribute to Gertzen was followed by a keynote address by actress Geena Davis who heads the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, dedicated to reducing gender stereotypes. The actress has built a career depicting women of strength including, but not limited to, her performances as the first female president of the United States and a World War II baseball star in “A League of Her Own.”

Davis told the story of how surprised she was to hear from a woman who told her that she was trying to relive Davis’ role in “Thelma and Louise.” Seems a little much to pattern oneself after a heroine, no matter how strong, who brandishes guns, commits robbery and ends up killing herself. But still, Davis believes it matters that there are some strong roles for female characters.

An interesting statistic cited by Davis was a survey, taken by her institute, that shows that at all levels of the movie industry (actors, technicians, extras etc.) women only constitute about 17 percent. It’s very much a male-dominated industry.

Davis said that, growing up, she’d never played baseball or other sport as she always thought of herself, tree-top tall, as uncoordinated. When it came to basketball, she didn’t know how to play, but because of her height – more than six feet – she was told that she should “just stand there.”  She told the Convention Center audience that she finally took up archery at the age of 41 and, surprisingly, became a semi-finalist for the Olympics’ team. She describes attaining that goal as “changing the course of my life.”

Davis’ stories of groundbreaking achievement served as a powerful metaphor for the YWCA’s mission in supporting women and families. Few were yesterday’s luncheon guests – more than 2,500 women and a few good men – who didn’t leave the event with a warm glow. Once again, the luncheon was taking women-centered philanthropy to a whole new level.

Cathy Allen, CEO of the Connections Group, posing with two of the visitors.

What I learned from these visitors is invaluable. I heard how they have been working on behalf of women and children in their countries to combat violence against women, counter human trafficking and address child sexual abuse.

At the dinner event, sponsored by the Center for Women and Democracy, I was lucky enough to be seated next to Daniella Misail-Nichitin from Moldava, a small land-locked nation between Romania and the Ukraine. Daniella is a well-spoken young woman and co-founder of the NGO La Strada (“the road”).  Since 2012, she’s been that organization’s executive director and is regarded as the leading expert in the field of human trafficking prevention.

Her principal role is to assist Moldavan women and prevent them from falling victim to trafficking. Her agency fills that role since, as she noted ruefully, “Moldova’s law enforcement and judicial systems are underfunded, poorly trained and corrupt.” Although young and slight, she shoulders heavy responsibilities. Not only does she direct counter-trafficking work in her country, she is also an international trainer on issues related to trafficking and domestic violence.

During our meal, she leaped up frequently to photograph speakers who included three international visitors as well as Seattle women who have been active in working for women’s rights. All of the speakers provided insights into the remarkable work that’s being done, sometimes under adverse circumstances, to protect women and children.

I was especially impressed by Freshta Karimi, who came here from her native Afghanistan. She directs Da Qanoon Gshtunkay, a non-governmental organization that works to assist women and children in her country. She told of some of the hardships she has faced. Local Talibs forced her office in Kandahar to shut down, despite her urgent calls to local and national leaders. She has continued to work in Southern Afghanistan while looking for ways to reenter Northern provinces

She mentioned one recent case involving a young girl who had been compelled to marry at the age of five. The youngster had been beaten and badly mistreated by her inlaws and, eventually, was sent off to an orphanage. It was from there that Freshta, over protests, managed to rescue the child.

During the question period, Freshta was asked if she had received personal threats. She readily admitted that she had and said that she often is the target of threats. However, she brushed aside the risks as part of the price of her calling. She said that she “balances” safety with the urgency of doing work on behalf of women and children.

Over and over, those of us at the dinner heard stories of the foreign visitors’ remarkable determination. The work they have been doing parallels Seattle efforts. But, whereas areas like Seattle see women trafficked from poorer nations, the international visitors are working to prevent their women from being caught up in the web of trafficking schemes.

The rescue efforts are mostly mounted by women. But it is not exclusively women’s work. The one man in the delegation was Parneet Singh, a passport officer from India. He   has made it his mission to improve the lot of women and girls in his district, working with women who have been abandoned by husbands residing overseas. To help the women left behind, he started a “Women’s Grievance Cell,” finding legal justification for his action in a little-known portion of the Indian Civil Code. He denies passports abroad to men until they resolve their wives’ claims.

The evening with the State Department visitors gave the Seattleites in attendance a sense of how important working internationally has become. It’s also gave them an appreciation for the courage and determination of those who work to help women around the world.

One of 28 groups nationwide, the club takes its name from the late Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner. After Radner contracted ovarian cancer, she was helped by friends. Her wish was that people everywhere could enjoy such support.

Although Gilda’s Club Seattle maintains a hard-working core staff, much of the support work –  hosting support sessions, teaching yoga, art, cooking and exercise – is done by dedicated volunteers.

Sunday afternoon, Executive Director Anna Gottlieb handed out more than a dozen “we couldn’t do it without you” awards recognizing the service of those volunteers. The large audience was seated in the comfortable mismatched easy chairs and sofas that occupy the salon of the 1911 colonial style building, a former funeral home at the corner of Broadway and East Union.

Gilda’s Club has no membership fee and all programs are free to its many thousand  members.  The no-fee financial miracle is made possible by fundraising events, individual donations and grants.  Still, the club had to cut back during the recession years, dropping some programs and cutting staff hours. More than ever, the club relied in those willing volunteers

Take the husband and wife team (John and Velerie Backus) who volunteered to help with the annual essay contest. Little did they know what lay ahead. Last year, more than a thousand youngsters submitted “It’s Always Something” stories about their families’ experiences with cancer. Imagine the dedication of reading through all those poignant tales to honor teens with scholarship awards.

Or there’s my friend and former Seattle Times co-worker Terry Tazioli who has long been a volunteer at Gilda’s Club. After his late sister Kai Leamer contracted breast cancer, he became a regular at the club. Terry raises money for scholarships awarded in her name. But, more than that, he — like many of the volunteers — enlists friends, co-workers and associates to help with Gilda’s programs.

The club’s website, tended, not so incidentally, by Jerry Liebermann, who came to the Club after years of dealing with leukemia, credits director Anna Gottlieb for founding Gilda’s Club Seattle.

The way Gottlieb tells it, she spotted an article in People Magazine 15 years ago, while waiting for a friend at her doctor’s appointment.  She says, “It was almost as if a light bulb went off in my head.” She flew to New York to see the first Gilda’s Club and returned in awe, thinking “how hard can it be?”

As she now says, “It’s a good thing I didn’t know.”  The fact that Gilda’s Club has survived and made a difference in so many lives is due to her hard work, the work of the enthusiastic staff and those many volunteers. As Gottlieb says, “We really can and do make a difference. Our members tell us so every day.”

The complex includes a 14-screen multiplex, a sports arena with three tiers of suites, enough restaurants to feed a ravenous army, a 1000-room hotel and a revived convention  center.

The 23-acre site once was under-utilized land, a scary part of town where no one walked alone at night.  Now thanks to can-do vision and a slew of public/private partnerships, L. A. Live is a people magnet, drawing stars and average Joes alike from all over the vast urban area. The Staples Center, L.A. Live’s giant sports complex, covers three acres and hosts everything from the Lakers basketball team to Rihanna concerts.

The visit to L. A. Live was one of the highlights of the 2013 Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Study Mission.  For over 25 years, the chamber and the City of Seattle have partnered on an annual visit to a North American city to learn best practices and challenge traditional thinking.

L. A. Live certainly qualifies for the latter – it’s definitely an outside the ballpark experience. It’s obvious that those who would build a new arena in SODO are thinking in a similar vein, although it’s difficult to imagine that such an over-the-top complex could be replicated in Seattle. For starters, the Mariners’ Bart Waldman grimaces over the news that the LA Live area boasts 35,000 parking spaces within a 10-minute walk.  Says Bart, “Not even in half-an-hour’s walk do we have 4,000 spaces.”

Although entertainment glitz was part of the three-day visit, it was scarcely the only L. A. experience. The trip started with a visit to L.A.’s 26-story City Hall, which has played a starring role in crime dramas such as Dragnet, Perry Mason and L. A. Confidential. While there, the Seattle delegation enjoyed the view from the observation deck and met Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and heard how Los Angeles is working to accelerate economic activity and invest in transit and highway projects.

A deputy police chief highlighted positive changes in the aftermath of the Department of Justice’s “consent decree” and subsequent work with the Merrick Bobb, the federal monitor now overseeing Seattle’s DOJ settlement. In the last eight years, Los Angeles has seen a significant decline in violent crime. The police force has added 1,000 new officers and has a strong focus on community policing. To hear the deputy chief tell it, most Angelinos are engaged in Neighborhood Watch programs.

Another major focus of the Seattle mission was education reform. Our speaker at the second morning’s breakfast at the historic Biltmore Hotel, scene of early Academy Awards ceremonies, was Dr. John Deasy, former education leader at the Gates Foundation and now superintendent of the largest public school district in the country. Dr. Deasy’s district serves 640,000 students at 900 schools and 187 charter schools.

Deasy described his vision in working to ensure that all students succeed, a dream that he hopes can be realized now that California Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30, a $6 billion annual tax to save underfinanced public schools, passed in November with 54 percent of the vote.

Later on, we visited KIPP L. A. Preparatory, a tuition-free, college-prep charter middle school, which opened in 2003 and serves grades five through eight. Students attend classes from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. three days a week and from 7:30 to 1:30 two days a week, spending their afternoons preparing for college. There is also an extended school year with classes into the summer months.

The Seattle mission at times seemed a forced march to gain as much knowledge about the region as possible in a limited time. Highlights included a tour through American Apparel, one of L.A.’s fashion houses. Style changes happen so quickly that the apparel industry has started to moved production back from China to the U.S.

Also on the program was a boat tour of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, fifth busiest container hub in the world. The ports are investing nearly $6 billion in upgrades to keep the roughly 40% share of Asian import trade that they  handle. The ports recent emphasis has been on larger and cleaner ships and clean technology.

So, Does L. A. do better than Seattle? Certainly the region and its industries are worthy competitors. And it would not be surprising to find that many of the lessons learned on the 2013 Study Mission in La La Land will be fueling future innovations in Latte Land.

On paper, it’s known as the Windermere Basin project.

In practice, it’s a super-sized undertaking, a 2.05 million gallon underground storage tank that’s under construction near Magnuson Park. The tank sinks several stories into the glacial till and is, literally, the size of a football field. When finished it will have state-of-the-art technology to keep heavy rainfall from flushing stormwater and wastewater into Lake Washington.

Previously, the basin area was protected by a storage tank known as Windy Junior that is hidden beneath a private park in Windermere. However, in recent years that tank has been inadequate during heavy downpours. Consequently, storm and wastewater stream into Lake Washington several times a year.

The remedy is a key element of the new CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) system. A well-versed crew of men and women are constructing a giant new tank, one that boasts self-cleaning equipment as well as technology designed to handle odor and pumping. The design calls for the storage tank to empty stored contents back into the existing system once rainfall subsides.

The project now underway also calls for construction of a pipeline from the existing tank to the new facility. The 2,000 feet of new sewer main will run along N.E. 65^th and then under Sand Point Way NE, using advanced drilling technology. Turns out Big Bertha isn’t the only boring machine at work in Seattle. Seattle Public Utilities plans to use a combination of open-cut and trenchless methods to install the new pipeline that leads to the new storage tank. The idea is to keep impacts to a minimum.

Once crews install the giant tank and pipeline, they will restore the sections of street and surfaces, enhancing the streetscape and making use of green infrastructure elements wherever possible. Infrastructure may not be the showiest addition to the city. But it’s easily one of the most valuable when it’s engineered to protect our waters for generations to come.

It’s a topic that still merits discussion. And it’s particularly relevant in this era of states competing with one another to see which can most severely limit women’s health and reproductive choices.

Washington, a state that once earned kudos as a leader in gender equality, has fortunately avoided some of the worst of the march to the 19^th Century. But we have to recognize that even this region is falling short when it comes to women representing women across the broader spectrum.

It’s true that we have had two women governors in this state. And, yes, we’re represented by two powerful women senators and three (out of 10) members of Congress. But those are the exception. We have to recognize that we haven’t had a woman mayor in progressive Seattle since the 1920s. And we have had precious few women supervising our iconic corporations. Nor are there many women beyond the token one or two on corporate boards.

Writing about conditions recently prompted Seattle Times editorialist Sharon Pian Chan to conclude that “businesses are only as successful as they are diverse.” She quoted Seattle-based political consultant Cathy Allen as saying that the gender gap is a self-confidence issue. She said that women need to be asked seven times before saying “yes” to a run for political office, whereas men only need to be asked once.

I would agree that it does take more resolve for women to make political decisions. There’s nothing that goes more against the gender grain than the need to stand up in a roomful of people and tell them why you’re the best of those running for office.

But that isn’t the only challenge for women in representative positions. I’d trace some of the differential, believe it or not, to shoes. Just think about women’s shoes versus men’s shoes.

The cover of the latest New Yorker (picture above) depicts the ultimate caricature in women’s footgear, a gladiator sandal with heels designed to lift the wearer into the stratosphere. Just looking at the high-rise clog makes you wonder if it’s a fashion statement or a Geneva Convention sanctioned instrument of torture.

Men’s shoes, on the other hand, are mainly designed for comfort. Most men have no problem standing and schmoozing at a political reception for hours. But for women, teetering on high heels or forced into pumps that push the wearer’s weight onto a cramped instep, an hour can seem an eternity.

There’s no question that women’s shoes can be and often are punishing. How can one be at one’s best when in acute agony? And how can one’s self confidence triumph when the fashion victim is suffering through the anguish of self-inflicted pain?

Extreme high heels are nothing less than a form of bondage and something of an anachronism in today’s world. I believe it was Gloria Steinem who once said, “Women won’t be truly equal until they can wear comfortable shoes.”

Which gets back to the question: What’s holding women back? If you believe Sheryl Sandberg, it is because women don’t put themselves forward and  “lean in.” If you believe Steinem, it’s because they lack self confidence and have been tricked into wearing uncomfortable shoes and risk becoming nothing but a footnote.

Thousands of Seattle families had their water shut off last year. A city council member is introducing a measure to help one group of them — households with young children.

Social service providers told a city council committee what it’s like for parents to lose their water: unable to clean up after changing a diaper, forced to send kids to school unwashed and to borrow buckets to flush the toilet.

One provide, Bill Talbot of the Salvation Army Seattle White Center, was not speaking secondhand. Years ago he himself suffered an accident that cost him his income.

“Our water was shut off, then the meter was pulled. When you get to that point, you’re living in a house that’s no longer habitable. It is going to be condemned. Your children, they’re ashamed when they go to school.  As a parent, it’s devastating,” Talbot said.

Talbot says having running water should be considered a right, not a service that comes and goes.

Council member Jean Godden is proposing a measure to keep needy families with kids from having their water cut off by allowing low-income customers, already eligible for an annual subsidy, to access that help twice a year instead of once. Godden and Seattle Public Utilities say because of the lag in the billing cycle and delinquency notices, that’s all it would take to forestall a shut-off in most cases. The estimated $22,000 to pay for it would come from other ratepayers.

The measure only addresses the 3,000 or so families in the low-income discount program, 68 of whom lost their water last year. At least 4,000 other households had their water shut off, and it’s not clear how many of those included children.

When I took over as chair of the LUC (Libraries, Utilities and Center) Committee last year, I began hearing troubling stories about children living in homes without access to clean water.

And today we heard detailed accounts of what it is like. At this morning’s committee meeting, human service providers (pictured above) told me of families using buckets filled with water from neighbors’ homes to flush toilets.  They told me how parents cannot properly wash their hands after changing diapers, can’t provide drinking water, and can’t bathe their children. They told me about students showing up at school unwashed and unclean – the result of their families water being disconnected.

What became clear is that, despite Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) offering low-income rates and lenient repayment policies, there are families in this city that lack access to potable water and sanitation due to water shutoff policies.

After discussing the problem and possible solutions with SPU representatives, I came to understand that water shutoffs are the only real hammer the city has to get people to pay. The harsh fact is that those who are economically strapped may not always consider utility bills their first or highest priority.

Although adults responsible for paying bills might rightfully expect shutoff notices, it seems unconscionable that children, who have no option over bill payments, would be deprived of such a basic necessity.

Last June, my office began working with SPU to try to find a way to ensure that no child in Seattle lacks access to clean water. Working together, we came up with a proposal that is the result of nine months of collaboration between my office, nonprofit organizations, SPU and the Human Services Department.

Under current law, a household in the low-income utility discount program (UDP) that has received notice of shutoff is eligible for an emergency assistance credit up to $340. That credit can only be accessed once per year.

That is a generous subsidy, one that reflects Seattle’s commitment to protecting and enhancing health and safety. But last year, it wasn’t enough for some. As we heard in today’s LUC committee meeting,138 low-income UDP households had their water shutoff in 2012. And about 50 percent of these – an estimated 68 homes in total – were families with minor children.

In mulling over the problem, we heard a number of suggestions, including the idea that SPU might ask regular customers to contribute to a fund to keep water service available to families who otherwise might be shut off. This idea, however, was discarded after learning of City Light’s experience with such a program, found to be more costly to operate than the alternative of simply supplying a modest subsidy.

The most workable solution is legislation that would modify the Seattle Municipal Code to make qualifying households eligible for a second emergency credit if they can demonstrate that a child—a minor under the age of 18 – is in the home. Given Seattle Public Utilities’ bi-monthly billing cycle and time frame for issuing bill delinquency and shut-off notices, this change would, in practice, allow low-income households with minor children to avoid water shutoffs.

Rationale is based on a simple concept: No child should lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation. And this would not be a large financial departure from our present system. Using 2012 as an example, a second chance for the 68 households with children, would amount to an estimated $20,000. This is a small subsidy in the context of SPU’s almost billion dollar annual budget.

I will introduce this legislation this week and anticipate voting it out of the LUC committee on April 2^nd.

This is the humane solution. As Tara Luckie, Director of West Seattle Helpline –  a nonprofit social service agency – explained, “Our clients are the working poor, those individuals struggling to make ends meet while working hard and raising families. Often they seek our help due to a hardship created by an emergency situation beyond their control, such as an unexpected layoff, a medical condition or a death in the family. “

It is to those working poor, people who have sought help from agencies like Helpline, that we believe we can offer a helping hand and make it possible to say that, in Seattle, there should be No Child Without Water.

Since setting a goal of “Zero Waste,” the city has dramatically reduced the tonnage hauled to landfills. It is now estimated that residents recycle more than 55 percent of its waste. But that’s not the ultimate goal. The city can do better and, in fact, the latest goal is to get to 70 percent.

How do we do it? That was the topic of discussion at the table. We talked about the big problems: construction waste and commercial buildings. And then we went around the table, asking each participant to identity their biggest waste problem.

The gentleman to my right said that, while he was successful with his compost bin, he had troubles dealing with packaging. Too many of the things he buys come with excessive packaging and it’s sometimes a challenge to fit cartons and wrappings into his trash receptacle.

The young woman seated next to him said her problem was spoiling vegetables, perhaps forgotten in the back of the fridge that had to be thrown out. She said with regret, “I really hate to waste food.”

I confessed that I have the same problem. Sometimes I stock up too heavily on vegetables – call it the Costco syndrome. In a small household and with an erratic schedule, it would be easy to allow food to go to waste.

However, as the child of Depression-era parents, I long ago learned that the solution, for me at least, is simple: Soup.

About once a week – usually Saturday mornings – I check out the refrigerator and make peasant soup. If you’ve never had peasant soup, it’s as easy as, well, soup. Scoop up your tired vegetables and leftovers and throw them in a soup pot and let them simmer. Because I’m often in and out on weekends, I use a slow cooker.

Later on, after a good simmer, I add a good hot bread or a simple salad. Soup is an easy lunch or supper and it lasts for four or five days.

Flavors vary, depending on the combination of leftovers. The only caution: be a little sparing with vegetables like broccoli that have a strong flavor and try for variety.

The last soup I made started with a cup and a half of leftover stew, augmented with half a can of diced tomatoes (left over from some other project), some limp celery and carrots and a tired bunch of scallions. At the last minute, I threw in a handful of pearl barley and a few lentils, along with salt, pepper and oregano to taste.

The aroma was out of this world. So good I couldn’t resist snapping a pic with my iPhone and sharing it with you.

The first Best Damn Happy Hour featured deals on specialty cocktails, inexpensive ($2.50) wine and beer and delicious food from the new Armory eateries. Think giant Jenga towers, room-sized Scrabble, mini-golf, Trivia contests, DJ Alex from KEXP and raffle prizes like tickets to concerts and shows.

To all that fun add hundreds of beautiful people, drawn by the chance to see and be seen and to engage in fun meet-ups. They tried specialty cocktails, among them: Black Cherry Chill, Illy Issimo, Cocoa Martini, Prosecco Punch and a “Mock-arita” spritzer. They loved the discount parking prices at the 5^th Avenue Garage ($1 parking when more than $10 is spent at the armory).

To tell the truth, I wasn’t expecting such a merry turnout for the Center’s first official happy hour. And, in fact, neither were Center staffers who admitted they weren’t sure they could attract such a lively crowd, especially for a debut.

But attract they did and the fun never stopped. Even though there were lines for beverages and food, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. And next time there definitely will be more of everything, according to the Center staff.

The highlight for me was kibbitzing at the jumbo sized Scrabble Court where players lounged in bean-bag chairs while playing their dinner-plate-sized tiles and agonizing over whether words were legal or not. Would you accept “Nu” and, if so, what does it mean?

Clearly, Seattle Center’s Best Damn Happy Hour  is what this city has been waiting for. In case you hadn’t guessed, Seattle has always been a Thursday Night kind of town. And now it’s even more so.