June 2007

The first thing you notice when you step inside the Sport Clips store at the new Crossings retail center just off 348th St. is the absence of soft. Nothing remotely close to soft. The waiting area is a set of bleacher seats. There is a big screen television above your head. The Mariners are on and they are leading!

All you need is a hot dog and beer. Naw, that's taking it to extremes.

Through the gate, the playing field is a series of barber chairs.The theme is black and white with lots of colorful sports banners hanging from the 15-foot ceiling.

Reaping the benefits of a season of hard work and focus, the Soundview Huskies firmly finished off the Fife-Milton Edgewood Blue Ice 6-0 on Monday, June 11, in the title game of the 2007 District 10 Little League Softball Tournament of Champions.

As tears of joy crept out of the corners of her eyes, Sammy Townsend described her feelings.

"I'm totally amazed," she joyfully intoned. "I'm stunned and shocked that we've really won it after all we've been through. We were confident that we could win.

June 12-A fire of undetermined origin at a home in the 900 block of Southwest 132nd Street sent flames shooting into the sky just after midnight.

Burien/Normandy Park firefighters took a defensive approach because of concerns the roof could give way.

A man living in the house made it out safely.

Firefighters said a neighbor who called 9-1-1 also helped to get another neighbor out safely.

There was no immediate damage estimate, although the loss was described as "substantial."

SeaTac

I'd like to tell you about my new hero, Morrie Skaret, but he's 94 years old, and there's no way I can tell his story in one week.

Not even Morrie could do that, and Morrie is a heckuva storyteller.

He reminds me of the man who murdered both his parents, and then when sentence was about to be pronounced pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.

Abraham Lincoln

A troubling-but not surprising-aspect of the trumped up rhetoric to save the Lora Lake Apartments is the unmitigated hypocrisy of two of King County's most powerful political leaders.

Executive Ron Sims recently stated his intent to withhold funds for construction of transit-oriented development in Burien if the city proceeds with long-agreed-on plans to demolish the affordable housing

I am greatly disappointed to discover that the annual Burien Strawberry Festival, the SeaTac International Festival, and the cancer fundraiser Relay for Life of Highline are all on the same weekend.

Although there are enough people living in this area to support these events as "attendees," it is a very difficult choice for the vendors and volunteers who might like to participate in all these events.

Years ago, the Burien Arts Association members, who originated the Strawberry Festival, made an agreement with the managers of the International Festival not to choose the sa

The June 6, 2007, Seattle P-I had an article entitled, "Arts an Economic Engine." The article explained that arts organizations in the Seattle area generate $330 million annually. The arts were found to be "a cornerstone of Seattle tourism," with "37 percent of audiences" from outside King County."

At Burien Little Theatre, we know from talking to our patrons and local businesses that the arts, and in particular Burien Little Theatre, generate money for the City of Burien. A large number of our patrons eat or shop in the Burien area before or after our performances.

No one at your paper has mentioned the take-over by the homosexuals and their followers in our state Legislature. All our Highline-area legislators voted to create a type of homosexual marriage in Washington state and Gov. Gregoire signed it into law.

It is called domestic partnership and gives same-sex couples the advantage of marriage without the negative income tax consequences. All they have to do is register with the Secretary of State.

It's time for summer celebrations in Highline communities.

On this first weekend of summer, the annual International Festival will liven up Angle Lake Park in SeaTac.

And in Burien, the Strawberry & Arts Festival will return to Dottie Harper Park and the Community Center grounds.

International Days runs June 22-24. Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

An always-popular highlight of International Days-the grand parade-begins at 10:30 a.m.

SeaTac lawmakers on June 12 put off for two weeks formally asking the city of Tukwila to jointly fund a consultant's study on consolidating fire services.

Council members, however, unanimously decided not to proceed with the study on their own.

SeaTac City Manager Craig Ward told the council he has been meeting with Tukwila officials on the fire consolidation and talking to a consultant.

Mayor Gene Fisher declared, "I know for a fact that Tukwila wants to look at it."

SeaTac council members have been struggling with where to site fire stations and wh