December 2010

SeaTac lawmakers are expected to approve Tuesday, Dec. 14 a contract to receive fire administration and other fire services from Kent.

SeaTac has formed an exploratory committee to study merging with the Kent Regional Fire Authority.
In the interim, the proposed interlocal agreement would bring efficiencies and improvements to SeaTac fire services, according to city officials.

SeaTac would contract with Kent for administration including a fire chief, emergency management, fire prevention, public education, fire investigations and firefighter training.

If approved, the agreement would begin Jan. 1 and is estimated to save SeaTac $113,000 a year.
Bob Meyer retired as SeaTac's fire chief and Brian Wiwel has been serving as acting chief and the city's emergency manager.

The city has an unfilled fire inspector position and no fire marshal. SeaTac currently contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for fire investigations.

The proposed agreement appeared headed for approval at the Nov. 29 council meeting. However, Councilman Rick Forschler requested action be delayed until the Dec. 14 meeting.

Citizens spoke out against Des Moines' preference to contract with a non-local towing company instead of Des Moines based Pete's Towing at a Dec. 2 council meeting.

However, Des Moines Police Commander Kevin Tucker said the choice is only about giving people the best and most affordable alternative.

The Des Moines City Council voted on Dec. 2 to contract again with Dick's Highline Towing. Dick's Highline Towing had the lowest bid out of the other four companies who bid; Pete's Towing had the highest.

Pete's Towing gave the city the highest bid, at $160 a class A tow, the most common kind of tow required.

Dick's Highline Towing's price was $76.

Commander Tucker said the city averages 400 class A tows a year.

Des Moines has had a contract with Dick's since the end of 2003. The contract was for five years, and was set to continue unless either party requested a rebid.

Dick's new bid is lower than the contract they had before with the city, which was $84 a class A tow.

The city was required to rebid the towing contract as part of a settlement with Gary Peterson, owner of Pete's Towing and a former councilmember.

I am writing this letter with a very gentle Newfoundland lying next to me. I have been thinking about Rosie the Newfoundland who was killed by your police officers in November.

After reading all the stories about what happened I can not believe that these officers went into a secured backyard to gun down this dog who was scared and just trying to get away from the hurt she had felt.

Yes, I ask why did you not call animal control? Did you try to find the owner? I live in Michigan and I can tell you that this story has gone worldwide.

I only hope Rosie's death doesn't go unanswered. I hope those police officers are held accountable for their actions. I know this will not bring Rosie back but it may bring some peace to this poor family.

Char Nash & Lily
Grand Haven, MI

The new Sylvester Road Bridge is an example of poor engineering in regards to pedestrian safety and use considerations.

The new bridge design has the bridge sidewalk on the west side instead of the current east side or downstream side of the bridge.

It would be safer and ascetically pleasing to place the bridge sidewalk on the east side for the new bridge as it is on the old bridge.

The safety facts: The prominent north / south pedestrian routes to the current bridge are on the east side of Sylvester Road, The road shoulder is much wider on the east side from SW 160 to Three Tree Point. The shoulder on the west side of Sylvester can't be more than 12 inches in areas and brush come close to the fog line in places.

This will cause the majority of pedestrians to cross Sylvester at least twice to properly cross the bridge. Placement of the bridge sidewalk on the bridge's west side will increase the risk of pedestrian/automobile collisions at the approaches to the bridge.

An alien comes to Earth and comes across a salary list for sports figures. He scratches his head and wonders how much the really important people on Earth make.

Then he comes across the newspaper headlines about Rosie. He probably figures that dogs are in charge on Earth. Or are highly revered. Fortunately, other newspapers are highlighting the Lakewood shooting victims and how they are being honored.

Pets have their place but it seems that citizens get more upset about loss of pets than loss of human. Maybe it is because it is closer to home.

We seem to have turned control of human events over to big government. Permanent warfare. Murderers on death row for years and years while the attorneys file appeal after appeal. Airport screening of children. And on and on.

James Sharkey
Burien

(Editor's Note: Jerry Robinson's column this week continues with the diaries of 100-year-old Gertrude Finney, former White Center librarian and community leader.)

Diary 5

Highline High School opened in 1924 with 5 grades--4 high school and the 8th grade.

Some from White Center had attended West Seattle previously. The first graduating class numbered 12; the first full 4-year class, 36.

During school term we rode the streetcar to Burien then walked 7/8 of a mile down a narrow dirt road to school, then back in the afternoon.

School buses were provided in '26 and '27 but if one turned out for athletics (all after school activities) we walked home. There were many of us from White Center area so we usually walked along what is now 1st avenue. It was woodsy and sparsely developed then. But as most of the students lived on the east side of 16th it was closer.

Some of us who liked to dance somehow convinced the owners of the Burien Theater to let us use it for dancing. The seats in clusters were moveable so we'd shove them to the sides, wax the floor (with what I don't remember except it was a powder.)

Burien City Council members passed a budget of $40.2 million for the next two years at their council meeting on Nov. 29.

The budget was passed 6-1 with Councilman Jack Block Jr. voting against it. There was no discussion at the meeting before the council took their vote.

The city is expecting to bring in $41 million in revenues against $40 million in expenditures. The majority of revenues come from property and sales tax within the city,

Burien is expected to see a $1.5 million increase in property tax-from $4.3 million in 2010 to $5.8 million in 2011, due to the North Highline annexation. The majority of the property annexed is residential.

Sales tax revenues in Burien are expected to dip slightly next year, from $5.1 million in 2010 to $4.9 million in 2011.

Sales and property tax together make up nearly 60 percent of revenues for the general fund.

The ending fund balance in 2011 is anticipated to be $3 million, $500,000 more than this year's ending fund balance.

What part of the pitch was most appealing? Probably the catch phrase, Do you have a stash of like new items, possibly gifts you've received in the past, but you can't figure out what to do with them? Bring them to the barter fair!

The occasion was Sustainable Ballard’s annual holiday potluck and barter fair, which encourages members and new attendees to bring homemade goods or offer services, in addition to trading unwanted items. It was easy to spot the regular 4th Monday of the month attendees versus those of us who stood on the outskirts clutching items that we hoped to offload.

As members trickled in with food to share and boxes of stuff the tables became laden. One end of a table was jewelry, hand-crafted over the last decade. A member of the Northeast group brought in a box of VHS tapes: Star Trek Next Generation. He had 27 episodes spanning four seasons. That box was joined on a table by two paper bags of wire hangers, a Shop-Vac, an old (but working) microwave, carved animals from Oaxaca, a plant mister and many handbooks on how to reduce one’s carbon footprint. After all this is Sustainable Ballard, their stated mission.

In the last ten months, 3,011 cars have been stolen in the City of Seattle. That is an average of almost ten cars per day.

In the last week at least three vehicles were stolen in Ballard alone. These occurred on 900 block of N.W. 52nd St, 6100 block of 14th Avenue N.W., and 5200 block of Ballard Avenue N.W.

Vehicle theft has increased 17 percent since last year, said Sergeant Sean Whitcomb from the Seattle Police Media Response Unit.

“That’s a big number that we’re hoping to reduce,” Whitcomb said.

Last Wednesday, the Seattle Police Department implement a new social media strategy to combat auto theft.

The SPD is now tweeting stolen car information in the hopes that that victims of auto theft will be able to get their cars back sooner and to let thieves know that their stolen rides will get more noticeable. 

“One, we want to get people aware about theft. Two, reduce the likelihood that a car gets stolen. And three, we want thieves to get the message that the fact a car was stolen isn’t just law enforcement knowledge anymore. Everyone in the community will know and driving around in a stolen car will get noticed,” said Whitcomb.

On Sunday at approximately 1:00 a.m., witnesses reported that a victim was trying to get into a yellow cab that was already occupied (possibly by the victim’s acquaintances) at NW Market and Ballard Ave NW. As the cab was pulling away from the curb after picking these people up, the passengers closed the cab’s door on the victim.

The victim then jumped on the trunk of the cab and was carried on the trunk for a short distance. The victim then slid off and began running next to the cab. According to witnesses, it was unclear if the victim was being dragged intentionally or merely got hung up on the cab and was being carried along.

After running a short distance, the victim fell from the cab and landed on his head in the street. The cab then drove away from the scene, failing to stop or slow for the victim.

The victim sustained serious injuries and major head trauma.

On Monday evening, the Seattle Police Department reported that the victim’s condition has stabilized at Harborview Medical Center and his injuries, while serious, are no longer considered life threatening.