Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says he is deploying more crews to fix the city's ever-deepening pothole problem.

Last week’s winter storm left some streets looking like a minefield of craters. But the mayor is promising to get the city’s roads back in shape as fast as possible.

"We're just starting, so the public should call them in when they see them," said McGinn. And the cities says it will respond.

“We are going to increase our forces from our standard three crews to four crews in the north end of the city, (and) two in the south end,” said Seattle Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Pratt.

The mayor added Mother Nature alone isn’t to blame for the wrecked roads.

“The number of potholes we're seeing and the condition of our streets is a reflection of the fact that declining revenues and statewide initiatives that have taken away funding sources for us. (It) means we don't have the resources we need to do the job," he said.

McGinn wants the state to help fill the revenue gap to help cities repave damaged streets.

If you’re under water in your mortgage and thinking about selling your home for a loss, a new bill from 46th District Sen. David Frockt aims to give you some extra protection.

The bill would require banks to choose between two options, either selling off the debt they didn’t recover from the home sale or taking it as a tax write-off, rather than the common practice of doing both.

“What we do in this bill is essentially provide the same type of protection to homeowners who are not yet in foreclosure but are at risk for foreclosure,” Frockt said. “I think in doing so, what we’re going to do is clear out and make some of these sales go quicker, and that’s better for the overall health of the real-estate market.”

Some may say the bill is essentially forcing banks and lenders to take a loss, but Frockt disagrees.

“If a homeowner in distress is in a short-sell situation anyway, the  bank is taking a loss anyway because realistically they are not going to collect the full amount of the debt,” he said.

Last week’s snow storm was challenging for drives, homeowners, parents and everyone else trying to manage day-to-day activities, but the challenges can be even more difficult for people with disabilities.

The city wants to know how people with disabilities coped during the storm, says the Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, which has a group working on the City’s emergency planning and disaster management and response.

The commission is looking for recent weather-related experiences from people with disabilities, on topics including:

What happened to you during our recent week of snow and ice, as you tried to deal with the weather and all its challenges?

Did you use City information resources?  Were they helpful?

Is there anything the City could have done better?

What went well, what needs improvement? 

Were you – and your neighborhood - prepared?

The commission says it will work with city staff on the issues and feedback, to help improve the way the city assists the community.