July 2007

Good, clean, pouring-down rain fun for the swimmers of Twin Lakes and Marine Hills competing against each other in their annual showdown of the Seattle Summer Swim League season, won by host TL's Penguins, 428-286, at the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club pool Thursday.

Twin Lakes Swim Club Penguins' coaches Chris Heydon, John Neal and Kayla Hayes were all thrown in the water or jumped in themselves in the end.

Hayes did not go in at first, but she went in.

AUBURN - Under the bright skies at the South King County Ball Fields, the Federal Way National All-Star team used terrific pitching and solid defense to edge out Kent 2-0 on Friday for the championship of the 2007 Little League 9-10 age District 10 tournament.

This group of players will next play in Vancouver on July 13 in the state championship tournament.

Goose eggs dominated the scoreboard for four innings as National's fireballing right-hander Markus Montolongo emulated a vintage Roger Clemens while opposing pitcher Kade Kryxsko exhibited his best Greg Maddux style of

The phone rang, I picked it up.

"Hello Mr. Anthony, this is Debbie calling from Epiphany Worldwide Rewards Center and I have a no-cost offer for you...we'll be sending a large package out to you soon and I just need to verify the last four digits of your credit card number."

Ding, ding, ding...the alarm bells went off in my head.

The Federal Way Police Department and South King Fire and Rescue are teaming up once again to reduce the danger to public safety and property damage caused by the possession, and use of fireworks in our city.

The ban of fireworks has drastically reduced the amount of fire and injury calls South King Fire and Rescue responds to.

In 2006, officers issued 52 warnings, along with 38 criminal citations.

A joint effort is underway to provide low-income seniors in the Des Moines area with emergency disaster kits.

The project is a joint effort of the Des Moines Senior Services Advisory Committee, the Des Moines Activity Center, the Enhanced Public Safety Committee, and the Des Moines Police Department, with funds provided by the Des Moines Legacy Foundation.

The kits are specifically designed for emergency situations like the extended power outage the area experienced last winter.

Brenda Anders-Larson, senior outreach specialist said, "If you or someone you know

Today is America's 231st birthday, and a lot of celebrating will be going on in South King County communities.

Here's a look at what's happening.

Burien

The Fourth of July Family Days begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 8 p.m.

The downtown celebration along Southwest 152nd Street at Sixth Avenue Southwest, will feature bicycle races, kid's games, entertainment for all ages, arts and crafts booths, and food vendors.

The 84th annual Burien Independence Day Parade will loop around Southwest 152nd and 153rd streets beginning at 3 p.m.

With gang activity increasing in the Pacific Ridge neighborhood of Des Moines and a police force stretched thin by funding cuts, Police Chief Roger Baker realized that he needed help.

This year alone there have been eight gang-related shootings along Pacific Highway South in the area around South 216th Street.

Baker's request for assistance resulted in a six-month investigation by a task force of seven local, state and federal law enforcement agencies into criminal activity in this neighborhood, including 71 officer operations.

Their efforts culminated on June

Redondo Square Shopping Center is home to Des Moines' new south police station, thanks to the combined efforts of city officials, business leaders, community members and the police department.

Police Chief Roger Baker said last week that when prostitution, drugs and violence began to center around Redondo Square in south Des Moines, businesses there turned to the department for help.

At that point, the Joshua Green Corporation, a property management company located in Redondo Square, stepped forward to offer a public/private partnership that city officials couldn't refuse

AUBURN - Confidence converted into the 2007 District 10 Little league Softball 10-11 year-old championship for the Steel Lake All-Stars after a four inning title round 20-3 domination of the single elimination round survivor Bonney Lake-Sumner on Tuesday, June 26, at the South King County Ball Field.

Much like an opening game four inning 32-2 devastation against Fife-Milton Edgewood and an ensuing 12-2 domination of Kent/Auburn/Tahoma in four innings, the girls displayed calm characteristics and powerful preparation in the championship game to finish the tournament unbeaten.