**Writing as a LIVE review**…read more What's the point of scheduling an appointment @ 9:30am and STILL not being seen and it's an 1 HOUR later. Terrible terrible place of business.

The place is small. The parking space is plenty around in the proximity. And with or without the…read moreappointment. I got the help that I need, friendly staff plus a security officer is there to assist.

There is no more walk in or appoints in the office now. All telephone appointments. Took a month in…read morethe waitlist, then another month for the appointment. Then they didn't call. Lied in a note that they called three times, but there is no record on my phone. And I have to call the national line to get a referral to the local office that failed to call. Took another hour on the phone. Looping phone trees for you to guess the magic words to get to an agent. And the agent you get is an asshole. Extremely rude and unhelpful. Talks down on people. Department of Government Efficiency my ***. The government has never run more inefficiently

I received a phone call from SS who said they could not approve starting my SS payments because my…read moreState of birth did not match my approved Medicare information. I was instructed to go downtown with my original birth certificate and drivers license. When I got there, the security guard informed me that Seattle started a call-in requirement for appointments this week and gave ne a phone number to call and a QR code for their web site. There is no way to request an appointment on their web site. After a long phone tree, the robot said the on-hold wait time was "over 120 minutes." That could mean "not today." I will try again at 8:00 AM and see if "over 120 minutes" means over 8 hours. I have spent over 2 hours today to get this far.

The wait was unbelievably long, and after wasting most of my day there, I still didn't receive any…read morehelp. The process is slow, disorganized, and incredibly frustrating. They kept calling numbers that is not in the lobby for screening which makes no sense they just waste time for no reason and after I spent hours there they called my number and give me a piece of paper to schedule an appointment unbelievable.

I spent 18 minutes on hold so I could make an appointment, then finally the phone rang. No one…read morepicked up, and a recording told me to call back later and hung up.

Note: This post is specifically regarding US passport renewals. I am not covering other local…read moregovernment services provided by the City of Lake Forest Park. I learned a pro tip from another Yelper/IGer (thanks a billion, Carol!) regarding US passport renewals, to go to the Lake Forest Park City Hall website and make an appointment to get this done. She had successfully completed this process for a family member. Way back when, I recalled there were passport renewal days at local post offices, county courthouse sites or just head to the Federal Building in downtown Seattle. This isn't the case anymore. Lake Forest Park City Hall is located at Ballinger Way and Hwy 522 (17425 Ballinger Way NE, 206-957-2834), same vicinity as Third Place Books and other retail sites at the Lake Forest Town Center. Follow the signage once arriving at the main entrance and waiting area for passport services. Appointments are available a month to two months in advance, no unscheduled walk-ins. I just happen to be online and snagged a slot which must of been a cancellation. The specific instructions for required documents, photos, identification, and fees are provided on the LFP City Hall government site, as well as, via the US Department of State site. However, make sure you are visiting an actual US city/county/state/government site while online! This timely appointment was for a family member who had an expired US passport. Once I had secured the appointed date/time and location, the days leading up to that date involved getting required documents together, photocopies made, getting passport photos taken, having both check (for the US Department of State) and cash available (for the LFP City Hall processing fee) for payments. The renewal process onsite was straightforward, thorough, and convenient. Estimated processing time takes 10-13 weeks, expedited takes 7-9 weeks - so plan ahead accordingly.

I just got off the phone appointment with Miss Martinez and just wanted to say what a wonderful job…read moreshe did! She made the whole process seem so easy and smooth! Thank you again Miss Martinez you are doing great and I appreciate you and your help! The world needs more people like you! Kathy R

The worst service ever. I have been waiting in the lobby for over four hours to get my turn to get…read morethe name on my social security card. I could not get it done on the phone or online. Scheduling an appointment will take around 60 days to have one. The place is so full of people. Many are so sick. It's is the perfect place to get diseases. The disgusting Oder is another story . I feel bad for the security lady being here all day and maintaining her good attitude. I will give this place minus 1000 if I could. Most service windows are closed too. The worst ever.

I had an interview yesterday at the Capitol Hill CSO for food stamps. One, the ambiance sucked. I…read morewasn't vibing with it, anyway. The waiting room's smelly and shabby with no signage. Initially, I had no idea how to check in. This is terra incognita for me, and I imagine for others, so they really need clear signage to direct ppl. Two, Fox News blared from a smallish TV. Why choose a right-wing network? It confounded me. Even MSNBC or CNN would be preferable. It seemed grossly insensitive to their demographic/clients, most of whom are more than likely Democrats and migrants. C'mon. Fox doesn't advocate for THAT demographic, i.e., folks like me on general assistance. Unless they're masochists, I can't imagine CSO clients related to the famously imbalanced and uneven Fox content or their immigrant/minority bashing tone. Additionally, while I received a food stamp debit card, when I tried to use it at my local corner store, the system declined it. (I had been smoothly assured yesterday that it would work today, October 1st.) I went home, immediately and called Capitol Hill CSO. I was put on hold for 5 minutes only to find out that the civil servant that helped me had failed to finalize my card. Apparently, he forgot to initialize it or something, an important last step that actually activates the card. Is it THAT difficult to process an application for food stamps? The records are digitized, so all he had to do was punch in my social security number. It's all automated, so what's the big deal? It's a pretty straightforward process with clear protocols, I imagine. How could he mess it up? I hope he's simply inept. I can live with that. Frankly, I don't expect Michelin rated service at DSHS, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he was on a power trip. I experienced a similar problem with DSHS when I applied for and received assistance two years ago. I had to return to the CSO twice to get my card activated, so this clearly wasn't an isolated incident. How sad. Yet another petty bureaucrat, little better than his clients, kicking the proverbial dog. How cliché and lame! As well, at the downtown CSO, I noticed how the workers preen and act self-important. You get the picture. They have the keys to the kingdom when in reality they're a civil servant providing, you guessed it, a service. Why can't they just do their job with minimum fuss and not afflict clients with Fox News? You'd think they worked for UPS or FedEx, the top of the dung heap. I'll try my card, again tonight. Hopefully, it'll work, or I won't eat unlike the bureaucrat that "helped" me.

This has to be by far, my favorite charity on this arm of the galaxy. Thats right, the whole…read morefreakin arm of the galaxy stands in charity awe of this one. I mean, common... gamers, giving games... to kids... in hospitals. Take THAT Alpha Centurions for Hunger!

Love this charity. Thanks for giving children in hospitals video games to play. Thanks to all the…read morevideo game companies and Penny Arcade Expo supporting this charity.