December 2009

Low-income disabled persons and low-income senior citizens can once again seek a rebate on their utility taxes thanks to the City of Federal Way’s Utility Tax Rebate Program.

Low-income seniors have qualified for the program since its inception in 2003 while disabled citizens have been eligible since 2007.

The rebate program, which helped 75 seniors and 20 disabled citizens last year, covers the City utility tax portion (7.75%) on gas, electricity, telephone, cell phones, pagers, garbage/recycling, and cable TV charges.

Past rebates have averaged $133. Actual amounts vary depending on household utility consumption. Taxes on wastewater/water charges are not eligible.

Requirements

Applicants must live within city limits and meet the federal government’s maximum allowable income limits: $29,500 for a one-person household, $33,700 for two, $37,950 for three, and $42,150 for four-person families. Required documents include a tax return or bank statements, and the customer’s utility bills.

Sports Roundup
Boys basketball

Federal Way 97, Auburn 66
Cole Dickerson scored 25 points and hauled down 12 rebounds for the Eagles in their Tuesday, Dec. 15 victory as Robert Christopherson hit 10 points with 10 rebounds.

Beamer 69, Bethel 34
Todd Beamer enjoyed an impressive victory over the Braves in Tuesday, Dec. 15 action.

Curtis 70, Decatur 58
The Curtis Vikings dealt the Gators a 12-point loss this past Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Girls basketball

Federal Way 68, Auburn 50
Federal Way posted a decisive 68-50 win over its rivals from the east on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Bethel 34, Beamer 29
Beamer battled the Braves in a close Tuesday, Dec. 15 game.

Kentwood 78, TJ 51
Thomas Jefferson fell to the Conquerors in 78-51 action Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Curtis 47, Decatur 37
Curtis claimed a 10-point win over the Gators Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Morton 49, Christian Faith 28
Christian Faith of Federal Way defeated Morton this past Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Just before 11 p.m. on Oct. 10, James Imonti, owner of The Matador on Market Street, engaged in a verbal altercation with an individual at the bar and was stabbed in the back.

After the 911 call was placed, it took police 25 minutes to arrive at The Matador, Imonti said.

"I was standing outside thinking, "Where is everybody?" he said.

Imonti is starting to network with other bar and restaurant owners who have noticed an increase in crime in recent months to petition the Seattle Police Department and Seattle City Council for more patrols and better response times in Ballard.

Just in recent weeks, a server was mugged, the Wells Fargo down the street was robbed and a patron was removed from The Matador for using cocaine in the bathroom, Imonti said.

"This is stuff that would be deterred with a little bit of (police) presence in the neighborhood," he said.

Susan Ward is a partner at BalMar, which has been open on Market Street for four years. She said she has noticed more unwanted activities in the neighborhood in the past six months to a year than ever before.

Mike Bressler had a lot to say after watching his Decatur Gators beat city rival and South Puget League Central Division foe Todd Beamer, 37-36, in a draining match of emotion inside the Beamer gym Wednesday.

Bressler talked to his wrestlers afterward, emotionally excited, after 130-pound wrestler Justin Hartinger, sealed the deal.

"I'll tell you what, you guys fought your butts off out there, and, hey, we got the braggin' rights across town," said Bressler, his wrestlers gathered around him after the win listening joyously to every word.

Everyone was giddy and glorious feeling after this big win. Bressler said things that made the sweetness all that more sweeter for the Gators.

"Wa-ha-hoo, wa-ha-hoo..." it sounded like 135-pounder, senior Jerry Doran, a captain, was saying as he ran up the bleacher stairs happily after this big win over the Titans.

Definitely, the ending was something to scream about.

Would you like to see a new park built or an old park improved in your Seattle neighborhood? Or would you like Seattle Parks and Recreation to buy property for a new park or open space?

The first round of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund is open for your nominations of projects. Seattle voters approved the $146 million Parks and Green Spaces Levy in 2008; it included the Opportunity Fund for community-initiated development projects and land acquisition opportunities.

In the first cycle of the Opportunity Fund, $7 million will be awarded through a citywide nomination process for park development and acquisition projects. The Parks and Green Spaces Citizens Oversight Committee, appointed by the Mayor and City Council, developed criteria for evaluating and choosing Opportunity Fund projects.

In its continuing efforts to make the Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF) more accessible and simpler for residents, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has made key improvements to this nationally recognized program. The Neighborhood Matching Fund Program provides cash awards to community organizations for neighborhood-based projects, and these changes not only make the structure and process easier, but reflect the changing economy. The changes take effect now for applications requesting 2010 funds.

Highlights of the changes include new electronic application forms, clearer guidelines, increased award amounts, and technical assistance workshops. The NMF website has also been revamped to make it easier to navigate and apply for the four funding categories: Large Projects Fund, Small and Simple Fund, Small Sparks Fund and Tree Fund.

Here is a more complete overview of the changes:

NMF Guidelines:
· NMF guidelines are now clearer and easier to navigate. In fact, all four funds are covered under the same document.

Today WSDOT identified the design-build teams that are qualified to submit proposals for the SR 99 bored tunnel project. The selected teams are: AWV Joint Venture, Seattle Tunnel Partners, Seattle Tunneling Group, and VTS Joint Venture.

The four teams will receive a request for proposals in the spring. The proposals, to be submitted in fall 2010, will detail the firms’ plans for completing the proposed bored tunnel’s design, constructing a tunnel boring machine and building the tunnel, including the interior roadway, tunnel systems, ventilation buildings and portal connections. The contract is estimated at approximately $1 billion.

“I am pleased this project continues to move forward on time and on budget,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said. “The Alaskan Way Viaduct needs to be replaced to protect our citizens, and our economy. I know that the Department of Transportation has identified highly regarded design teams, and I look forward to reviewing their proposals.”

Within the next few weeks, crews will finish relocating electrical lines from the viaduct to underground locations east of the structure between S. Massachusetts Street and Railroad Way S. This project, which began in September 2008, prepares us for replacing the viaduct south of S. King Street and also helps protect downtown’s power supply in the event of an earthquake.

Crews installed underground duct banks between Railroad Way S. and S. Massachusetts Street to house the new lines and removed almost one mile of old electrical lines that were attached to the viaduct. Photos can be seen on the WSDot Flickr site.

With the lines removed and other utility relocation work underway, construction to replace the viaduct between S. Holgate and S. King streets is just around the corner. In spring 2010 crews will begin to build the south end replacement, which will be a new side-by-side roadway. More information about this project is available on this site

Afternoon service on Vashon Island/Downtown Seattle Water Taxi canceled
Service on the King County Water Taxi Vashon Island/Downtown Seattle route has been cancelled for today, Friday December 18th, due to damage to the vessel sustained during the first sailing of the day.

At about 5:45 a.m. the vessel MELISSA ANN struck a piece of floating debris in the water on its trip from Seattle to Vashon Island. Indications are that the piece of debris made contact with the propeller. The MELISSA ANN returned to the dock at Pier 50 in Seattle without incident.

For this afternoon’s commute, Metro Transit will provide service from Pier 50 to the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle. A special Metro bus will leave Pier 50 at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 pm today. There will be no charge for this special bus service. Staff will be at the dock to inform riders of the cancellation of ferry service and their transit options. Riders can also use Routes 54 or 116 to get to Fauntleroy as usual.

The Ballard High School girls basketball team has started off the season with four consecutive losses, falling to Garfield Dec. 16.

The 54-27 loss to Garfield was the team's worst of the season, though Garfield is ranked 10th in the state.

Senior Alexandria Lawrence led the Beavers with seven points, and junior Elena DeWeese, the team's leading scorer, had six.

Coach C.J. Sealey said she thought her team was competitive with Garfield through much of the game, it just hit a third-quarter slump.

Part of Ballard's problem during the first four games has been cold shooting and a low field goal percentage, Sealey said.

"Things can be tough when you can't score a few easy baskets," she said.

She said the players are keeping optimistic because the aspects of the game they are struggling with are correctible.

The competition doesn't get any easier for Ballard, as the team heads to Woodinville High School at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 to face the sixth-ranked team in the state.