August 2009

When Highline public schools begin the new year on Wednesday, Sept. 9 classes will be dismissed 90 minutes early on most Fridays.
The early Friday dismissals will replace the half-day Wednesday schedule and most of the non-student “waiver” days Highline has had in past years. Overall, the amount of time students will spend out of the classroom is comparable to past years.
After students are dismissed on Fridays, teachers will use the time for training, professional development, and collaboration. The 90-minute sessions, called Professional Collaboration Time (PCT), will include activities such as learning new and better ways to deliver instruction, analyzing student work together, and sharing ideas and plans that will improve student performance, according to district staffers.
While parents might not expect that giving time off from school could lead to increased student learning, research shows that time invested in teacher training and improvement of instruction does result in improved student achievement, district administrators said.

Burien residents will choose at the Nov. 3 election whether to pay additional fees to fund two pedestrian/bicycle path projects following City Council action Aug. 3, placing the measure on the ballot.
Residents are being asked if they favor paying a $25 annual vehicle license fee that would be in effect for two years to fund the projects. The measure requires a simple majority for passage.
A new state law allows cities to designate a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) to fund transportation improvements within a city. A TBD would authorize an independent citywide taxing area in Burien to pay for certain sidewalk and road improvements.
The City Council at its July 20 meeting established a TBD to fund two high-priority projects from the Burien Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan. The two projects were chosen because they serve areas of the city that have not benefited from recent improvement projects.
One project is a minimum 8-foot wide pedestrian/cycling path on one side of 8th Avenue South from South 128th Street to South 136th Street.

On Saturday, Sept. 12th, Burien Town Square and the Burien Interim Art Space will become magical, lantern-lit spaces for all ages to enjoy.
Stroll the new Town Square Park and Burien's unique temporary sculpture park, B/ IAS, and discover musicians, jugglers, stilt walkers and artist created lantern installations. Get your face painted, make a lantern, and then join the lantern procession at dusk.
This year's Arts-A-Glow festival will feature seven local and regional lantern artists who are creating temporary, site-specific installations for Burien's third annual celebration of light.
All of the artists have designed around the theme of Gathering, which celebrates the beauty and magic of coming together. The installations will range from shadow dancers, seahorses, and totems to a piece that will have scent as well as light.
The musicians and performers may also be wearing illuminated lanterns. The Yellow Hat Band and Boys of Greenwood Glen are just a few of the performers.

During the Aug. 17 Burien City Council meeting, council members debated whether to spend $1.5 million on a temporary senior center.
If approved, the city would use the money to update the heat, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) at the old Burien library, which would house the center.
However, moving forward with the proposal will require shuffling $425,000 from the city's general fund and Parks & Recreation budget, as well as $75,000 from the Capital Projects Reserve Fund -- money which was originally intended for the design and build of a new senior center facility.
Adding to the weight of the discussion was Burien's shrinking sales tax revenue and whether it's wise to spend money on a temporary facility that won't provide any space for additional programs.
Among the most vocal opponents to the measure was Councilman Gordon Shaw, who called such a use of this money "foolish" given that the library is only intended to house the senior center for three to five years.
"Rather than spending the money today, we should put it in the bank so one day we can afford the community center that we all hope to build," said Shaw.

Local lawmakers' community meeting regarding airplane noise Aug. 19 attracted more than four times the anticipated turnout, forcing them to turn away nearly 100 people with the promise of a second meeting to accommodate everyone.
The Des Moines City Council Chambers was filled beyond capacity as Highline residents struggled to find space: some sitting on the ground and even more crowding the room's doorway.
"We apologize," said Des Moines City Councilwoman Susan White, addressing the crowded room. "We had no idea there would be this attendance."
Sen. Karen Keiser, Rep. Dave Upthegrove, Rep. Tina Orwall, Sea-Tac Airport's Noise Programs Manager Stan Shepherd and the Federal Aviation Administration's Deputy Regional Administrator David Suomi joined White.
In his 20-minute presentation, Shepherd explained that airplane noise mitigation programs are made conducted by the FAA based on data collected by Sea-Tac Airport and reported to the federal administration in a Part 150 study. The study typically takes three to five years to complete and is required by the FAA before any federal funding may be allotted.

The Burien Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) was turned into a city block of sound on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Eight speakers and 3,000 feet of speaker wire were utilized to create a truly unique musical experience.
Speakers were set all around the B/ IAS space, allowing people to walk through the music. Music played from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday night, from 6:30 to 11 p.m., musicians performed live music.
B/ IAS co-founder Kathy Justin said over 200 people attended the live performance. They had a smaller but steady flow of people coming through during the day to take in the musical experience.
Jim Bartz was the first to go on stage, playing his 40-stringed instrument, called a stringathon.
Dane Johnson, co-founder of B/ IAS and the creator of Pieces of 8 said this was an idea he had for a while.
"This was like, either it's going to work, or it's not going to work, either artists are going to get the concept and be excited about it or it is going to be a fight from the beginning to the end and I think we answered that, they do get it they do want to be involved," Johnson said. "It was successful."

The federal government's "Cash for Clunkers" program has gotten potential customers "coming across the sidewalk" and into car dealerships along Burien's Auto Row.
"It's helped out a lot and that's always good," Bobby Lynn, Burien Chevrolet general manager, said. "We're thankful and excited that the community is out and about buying cars."
However, some dealers grumble about the delay in receiving payments from the government and wonder if it is worth it.
It's no secret that the economy has been struggling recently and one of the hardest hit by the crisis has been the automotive industry. It's also no secret that old vehicles that don't get good gas mileage are harmful to the environment.
The federal government came up with a program that they believe can address both issues.
The Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS is designed to get old "gas guzzlers" off the roads and also to stimulate the automotive industry.
The program gives qualifying car owners either a $3,500 or a $4,500 government rebate towards a new vehicle that gets better gas mileage than the car they own.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin noted, "it feels like we are welcoming back part of the neighborhood" after voters in the southern portion of North Highline voted Aug. 18 to annex to the city.
Martin had cited Burien's historic ties with the unincorporated area in explaining why Burien wanted to add the area.
As of Thursday, Aug. 20, King County Elections reported that 1166 people (56.77 percent) voted for annexation while 888 (43.23 percent) voted against.
Burien is not planning to officially take over the area until March.
Burien Mayor Joan McGilton said she is "very excited" that North Highline voters decided the area should join Burien.
"It is up to city staff to put a plan in place to welcome the new residents," McGilton said.
A special Burien City Council meeting was held on Aug. 24 to discuss the next steps.
McGilton said she expected the annexation measure to pass. It took three election tries before Burien voters decide to form the city in 1993.
"The staff and council did a very good job to put the case (for incorporation)" forward," McGilton added.

Seattle Department of Transportation concrete paving crews plan to continue working through Friday evening, Aug. 28, to repair concrete and asphalt pavement in the intersection of North 85th Street and Greenwood Avenue North, following a water main break.

A portion of the sidewalk must also be repaired. Crews may need to return on Monday to complete work, according to the transportation department.

Unexpected voiding under the street and sidewalk (where soil washed away, undercutting support beneath the pavement) resulted in additional work. Also, work on the street drainage system and a utility line added to the scope of the effort.

Currently, one lane is open on North 85th Street for eastbound traffic, and westbound traffic is detoured. The crews plan to open one lane to westbound traffic by 7 p.m. on Friday, leaving one lane open for each direction through the weekend.

Currently, westbound traffic on North 85th Street is detoured as follows: turn left onto Greenwood, turn right on 80th Street, turn right on 3rd Avenue Northwest, and return back to 85th.  

Well, we don't have to vote at local precincts anymore -- we don't attend city council meetings much, Sunday family dinners are sorta out of style, and we're way too busy to read a newspaper or visit neighbors.
Aha --but computers by the hours - you betcha!
Still, with hi-tech communication resources primary for people contact, do we pay a price for not having face-to-face healthy discussions regularly - -especially at election times?
As for computers -- we love em! Inspiring us are grandchildren. If we don't get the hang of this computer age, we don't speak the same language.
Phooey, I'd like to say. Give me local neighborhood gathering places for "cussin and discussin" politics, such as the fondly remembered popular Block House Restaurant.
Instead of lively discussions today we read candidate generated Web sites and fliers. Does that tell us if they're best qualified to make informed decisions for our community?
Some Web sites/fliers cause one to wonder how someone so flawless exists.