July 2008

In the book of Exodus, when God sent bread from heaven to feed the Israelites, it was a sweet bread they called "manna."

Manna was described as being "like the coriander seed" and tasted like wafers made with honey.

Well, God may not be raining heavenly wafers down on the Burienites, but the gods (spelled with a lower case "g") are definitely showering us with our semi-annual dose of theatrical comedy, wine, hors d'oeuvres, coriander and...chicken.

Chicken? Is the Breeders Theater now in the poultry business? Not exactly.

In a four-hour marathon meeting on July 8, SeaTac lawmakers wrestled with the details of implementing their vision for multi-family housing and increased retail in areas surrounding two light-rail stations.

The stations set to open next year are at South 154th Street and Tukwila International Boulevard and South 176th Street and International Boulevard.

The thorny issues included tax exemptions, parking bonus incentives, design standards and rezoning.

Council members approved by a 4-2 vote property tax exemptions for new multifamily housing in the two station a

In the aftermath of the fatal Burien fire that struck the Tara and Jenny Marie apartments, stories of shadowy figures, harrowing escapes and compassionate helpers surfaced.

Days after a fence was erected an unusual figure lurked on the fringes.

"I would never do anything like this," the man said.

Identified by some residents as a person making threats outside the apartments just days before the arson fire, the man claims to have done nothing more than cashed his check and bought some alcohol the night of the fire.

He appeared tormented and mournful a

City of Burien officials are looking forward to developing the "most pad-ready spot" in the Northeast Burien Redevelopment Planning Area after a deal between the Port of Seattle and the King County Housing Authority (KCHA) for affordable housing at the Lora Lake Apartments fell apart last week.

The Port and the housing authority mutually agreed to rescind their agreement for the sale of the apartments to the KCHA following the completion of environmental testing that revealed significant soil contamination at the Burien property.

The estimated cost to remove and dispose o

The ban on fireworks in Burien has been in place for a number of years, but it is time for the Burien City Council to review this law.

Right now in Burien it is LEGAL to possess fireworks, but it is a CRIMINAL offense to use them.

Laws need to reflect the will of the voters or it is unenforceable.

Laws also need to be enforced uniformly regardless of economic status of the offender.

Have you ever heard the adage of three times I did good, I heard nothing; one time I did bad...well you can finish the rest.

The last two letters I wrote came with a negative chip on my shoulder. I received a positive response about not wanting the traffic control lights, which are nothing more than easy cash to spend for the city.

I would assume the extra revenue would be spent as easily as an undisciplined child with a $200 extra cash he did not earn.

Excuse my attitude but I am using current spending habits of all government groups as a reference.

This evening as I was trying to make my way from bank to post office to home, I began to wonder if there was any street in Burien without an orange cone or barrel.

I'm sure this is good news to the cone manufacturer, but what does it do to the city's sense of community?

I live between two construction sites, one of them with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

I sat in the last SeaTac City Council meeting and watched in disbelief as Mayor Ralph Shape told Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher that city advisory committees, including the state mandated planning commission get to speak only during the Public Comment period at the beginning of the council meeting and that this has worked well in the past.

Deputy Mayor Fisher put forth an agenda bill that the planning commission be given equal time to present their views at the council meetings as the city staff on an issue where the two differ in their recommendations to the council.

Rather th

How does trucking this wonderful product (Southwest Suburban Sewer District compost) that has so many benefits east of the mountains make one iota of sense?

That's rather like insisting on buying organic instead of local and not considering the carbon footprint left by shipping in certified organic produce from Florida.

It makes as much sense as putting fluoride (which is derived from rat poison) in our drinking water when the cause of tooth decay is eating highly processed foods and sugar.

If the sewer district manager enlisted the local media to conduct an aw

Well, I guess you know local residents and city officials could just bust a button or two with pride when Des Moines was compared to neighboring cities in a July 8th front-page story in The Seattle Times.

My favorite quote from reporter Cara Solomon was, "Who else has a marina sitting pretty on Puget Sound?"

We're famous!

However, remember that along with "Fame" come consequences, some just dandy and some unsavory.

As word gets around people may flock to this small city, and that's well and good so long as they respect and appreciate this unique comm