October 2010

King County Executive Dow Constantine came to Greenbridge near White Center on Friday, Oct. 29 to take part in the 'Walking School Bus' from Greenbridge at Eastbridge Park to White Center Heights Elementary at 10015 6th Ave s.w.

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Maggie Anderson, site person for the King County Health and Fitness Initiative at the school contacted the Executive's office since he was unable to attend an earlier event, and requested his attendance.

Approximately 75 kids from the school joined Constantine, with their parents, and others to emphasize both fitness and safety.

Constantine said, "Today we're celebrating our effort to make it easier for kids to walk to school by walking to White Center Heights Elementary. It's become harder and harder for kids to walk safely to school because of traffic and the way we've built our communities, so we're going to reverse that. We're going to make sure that we're building communities that make it possible for kids to get more exercise, to be healthier and to walk to school."

Any Ballardites with an interest in trees – how to plant more of them or how to remove the ones they have without being fined – will want to make time for an upcoming neighborhood meeting.

Groundswell NW is inviting residents to an educational meeting about the Seattle Tree Policy at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Sunset Room of the Ballard Community Center, located at 6020 28th Ave. N.W.

The meeting will feature Brennon Staley, the sustainable community planner for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, and Sandra Pinto de Bader, urban forest program manager for the Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Staley works on developing policy and regulations focusing on environmentally critical areas, tree regulations, single family zoning and sustainable communities.

De Bader is responsible for coordinating city-wide implementation of the Urban Forest Management Plan and managing the Seattle ReLeaf campaign.

By Peter House, 36th District Democrats

This year’s election is again “one of the most important in recent memory.”

On the national level, this will be the first referendum on President Obama, his record and his proposals. At the state and local level, we will find out whether we want to help our governments meet their obligations or to bring them to their knees financially and further deepen our current funding crisis.

I would like to first urge everyone to send in their ballots and to tell their friends to vote. Anyone sitting out this election has flair for adventure. The stakes are too high to leave this one to the usual core of perfect voters.

Next, I want you to consider the voting recommendations of your 36th District Democrats. We are thorough and thoughtful in our endorsements. We interview the candidates and both sides of the initiatives and then we take a vote.

If there is a theme to how we make these decisions, it is that we come down on the side of supporting government as the best strategy for providing a strong social safety net.

By Jody Grage, 36th District Green Party

Elections are about choice, and governments are about the common good. There are some clear choices for the common good on this fall's ballot. 

The Green Party doesn’t accept contributions from corporations, and a review of the large contributors to many of the ballot measures shows the wisdom of that policy. It’s easy to see that they support what will increase their profits even as the common good suffers. 

Fortunately, the 36th District is more progressive than many, and that gives us a special responsibility to vote in large numbers!



Initiative 1098 – Establishing a state income tax and reducing other taxes: 

Washington has the most regressive tax system in the United States. The poorest pay 15.7 percent of their wages in sales and property taxes while the richest pay only 4.4 percent. 

This measure would affect only the top 1.2 percent of earners and raise $2 billion to increase support for education and health care for all of us. 

By Glenn Avery, 36th District Republicans

The world in which our politicians operate will be significantly changed on Election Day even if there is no difference in the roster of elected officials representing Ballard and the 36th District. An influx of Republicans will end the Democrats' super-majority in Olympia.

State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles pushed for almost $5 billion in new taxes and fees in the last regular session. She likely will have even less luck lobbying for more spending on public employees this time around.

Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson often speaks of the anguish involved in dealing with the budget during the last session. She could help increase spending by only about $6 million. Now real budget cuts, not just reductions in the rate of spending, are necessary.

More centrist Democrats may reach out to a stronger Republican minority in the state House and Senate to find budget solutions.

Rep. Reuven Carlyle could rise to the top in that effort because he has a better grasp of forming coalitions than most of his caucus’ leadership. He would be critical in salvaging anything for the neighborhoods in such a position.

I've got a nephew down in the high tech Silicon Valley whose wife packs him into the car and drives to the airport for a surprise getaway.

They jet off to Vegas or some fancy wine festival. He grew up in a singe-income family with six kids. I figure he thinks he's died and gone to heaven.

Marge is a nervous flyer so when I told her we were taking a weekend vacation and headed toward Sea-Tac Airport, I reassured her that she wouldn't have to board a plane.

I told her she wouldn't have to wait for the San Juan Islands ferry or ride five hours to the Oregon Coast, either.

Marge became suspicious when less than a mile from the airport I turned into a residential neighborhood. But within a few blocks, we suddenly came upon a quintessential Northwest cedar lodge, nestled on 18 acres of restored wetlands.

Cedarbrook Lodge, off South 188th Street in SeaTac, is a 104-room boutique hotel, gourmet restaurant, conference center, and special events venue.

Washington Mutual built it as a training center. They flew executives from all over the country into the airport, shuttled them over to Cedarbrook and took them back to the airport when the training session was over.

Nickelsville, the pink-tented city that first put down stakes in West Seattle two years ago may end up here again, permanently. Two months ago the City of Seattle appointed a panel of 10 homeless advocates to recommend a permanent plan for the future of Nickelsville and its residents, Nickelodeans. Currently, 100 people reside in Nickelsville at a total cost of $3000 month plus $1200 for bus tickets. The encampment is currently located at University Congregational United Church of Christ on 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45th Street and can remain until mid-November.

The City just released seven possible sites, two in West Seattle. One is on 35th Avenue SW at Edmunds, a few hundred feet south of, and up the hill from, the Rotary Totem Pole and across the street from Providence Mount St. Vincent. The other is at 5601 Southwest 23rd Avenue, called the Delridge Substation and one block east of Delridge Way and Southwest Findley Street.

The annual Pumpkin Palooza held every year at the High Point Community Center at 6920 34th Ave s.w., has in years past been a midday event. And so it was this year too seeing nearly 100 toddlers and parents show up to paint pumpkins, throw rings around pumpkins, jump around on an inflated castle, ride trikes, get their faces painted and in general just take part in the fun of the annual autumn event.

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But this year, Brian Judd, Coordinator and the staff at the center, responding to parent's requests held a second one, later in the day, specifically from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to allow working parents to bring their little ones to the center and have some fun too.

Kids were encourage to come dressed in their best costume for the event. Sure enough there were pirates, ladybugs, a few tiny monsters and an assortment of fantasy characters all dashing around the center gymnasium having fun. While the turnout was not as numerous for the evening phase, it's something the center may repeat.

Each child received a bag of age-appropriate goodies as they left.

West Seattle on Social Media, the brainchild of Nancy McManus, in cooperation with Tracy Dart and Team Tracy held a combo event on Thursday Oct. at Endolyne Joe's mixing a fundraising and awareness event for breast cancer research with a Tweetup for area Twitter users and others interesting in social media.

The breast cancer component was assisted by Endolyne Joe's donating a dollar for every pink cosmopolitan cocktail sold (the promotion was called Drink for Pink) resulting in dozens sold both at the event and in the restaurant cocktail lounge.

The tweetup had some lively conversation about the value of Twitter as a communications tool and how others are using it and other software tools on the desktop and in mobile devices to improve their communication skills.

This event was sponsored by Swedish Hospital, WSSM, QuallyQue, Team Tracy, and Endolyne Joe's.

More than one local restaurant has complained about the limit of 2 hrs of parking along 152nd St. during business hours.

They say sometimes there is a party or group meeting that might run 15 minutes longer than the time allowed on the street ending up in a $50 parking citation from the city. Some have suggested parking meters, some have suggested temporary party permits.

Does the reading public have any input on this concern? Send your comments to editor@robinsonnews.com or write to us at Highline Times 14006 1st S. Ste B Burien, Wa. We will publish your input in our next edition.