March 2011

Household hazardous waste collection comes to Des Moines, March 25-27 in the form of King County's Wastemobile.

The popular program is in its 22nd year of service. Year-round service is available in Auburn.

All King County and city residents can safely dispose of old car batteries, oil, paint thinner and many other household hazardous items at no cost when the Wastemobile makes a stop in Des Moines, March 25-27.

The Wastemobile will be in the parking lot of the Des Moines Marina, 22307 Dock St. in Des Moines, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day

Residents can drop off household hazardous waste items including pesticides, oil-based paints, automotive products (oil, antifreeze, auto batteries, etc.), fluorescent bulbs/tubes and other items free of charge.

"This service is a safe, easy and convenient way for all residents across King County to dispose of their household hazardous waste," said Jay Watson, program administrator. "There is no charge to drop off these unwanted products, because residents already pay for this service through their garbage and sewer utility bills."

The devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami in Japan has affected hundreds of thousands people both in the Pacific and in the United States.
In the aftermath of this disaster, the American Red Cross encourages Western Washington residents to evaluate their own personal earthquake plan and take steps to be better prepared for a disaster

"Our hearts go out to the people of Japan, many of whom have lost loved ones, and homes," said Randy Hutson, CEO for the American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties. "The earthquake in Japan is an important reminder that people need to look at their own personal preparedness and take steps to make sure they know what to do if an earthquake or other disaster occurs in this area."
In the days ahead, the Red Cross will continue to work with state and federal response partners to further refine and assess our response plans for future disasters.

Earthquake Preparedness Tips:
Become aware of fire evacuation and earthquake plans for all of the buildings you occupy regularly.

Burien residents are being asked to help create a common, unifying vision to shape the city's long-term future. The public can participate by filling out a community survey and by attending one of the upcoming visioning forums.

These free events will feature interactive visioning exhibits, facilitated community discussions, and individual scoring of priorities. Light refreshments will be available, as well as play activities for kids (unsupervised.)
The forums are scheduled for:
Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m., Seahurst Elementary
Tuesday, April 26, 5:30 p.m., Hazel Valley Elementary
Saturday, May 7, 5:30 p.m., at Southern Heights Elementary

For more information on the community forums, or to fill out the visioning survey, go to www.burienwa.gov/vision4burien.

The King County Sheriff's Office has launched on-line reporting for a variety of crimes, suspicious circumstances, and traffic complaints for Burien, SeaTac and North Highline residents.

The service is available to citizens living in unincorporated King County, as well as the 12 communities that contract for police services from the Sheriff's Office. Burien and SeaTac are among the contracted cities. That's over 500,000 people.

However, citizens who still want "human contact" can do so by telephoning the Sheriff's Office Communications Center at 206-296-3311. A deputy will come to the door if preferred.

* All emergencies must still be reported to 9-1-1!

"This new reporting system was developed for the convenience of folks who may not want to call in or wait for a deputy", said Sheriff Sue Rahr. "It just gives citizens another option", she added. Due to budget cutbacks, wait times for deputies in unincorporated King County have increased for incidents that are not emergencies, Rahr said.

In addition, the new program allows crime victims to print a copy of their report, which can be sent to their insurance company, if needed.

Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess attended the Ballard Rotary Club's monthly lunch in Ballard yesterday to share a few thoughts on the city and answer questions.

Burgess had toured Ballard High School in the morning together with Mayor Mike McGinn to look at the in-house health center.

"I like being out in the neighborhoods because it lets me hear how you want the city to better serve you," Burgess said.

Burgess thanked the city's public in making Seattle a "wonderful city to live in" and called for support of the three most vulnerable and critical groups in the city - teenage prostitutes, children falling behind in school, and entrepreneurs.

"The greatest asset of a city is its people," Burgess said. "And we as a city know how to take care of those amongst us that are most vulnerable."

Burgess recalled his first summer as a councilmember and reading Dr. Debra Boyer's report on the teenage sex-trafficking in Seattle.

"Kids, as young as 12 years old, are exploited by predators for street and internet prostitution," he said. "It made me angry and I realized we had to do something."

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is now accepting applications for six open positions. Elections will be held on Thursday, May 19 at the North Highline Fire Station, 112 Street, White Center, 98146.

Residents of the North Highline Unincorporated Area who are interested in serving the community through the council must submit a completed application postmarked by April 12. Applications can be downloaded from www.northhighlineuac.org. Please mail applications to:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
ATTN: Barbara Dobkin
PO Box 66900
Burien, WA 98166.

There are a total of four districts positions:
Dist 1
Dist 2
Dist 3
Dist 4

To run for a district position you must reside within the district you are running in (See District Areas below).

There are two open At Large Positions.

The At-Large positions are available to any resident of North Highline, a business owner or an employee of a non-profit organization within the boundaries of North Highline.

Each position is a two year term with requirements to attend one meeting per month.

The Sheriff's Office has launched an online reporting service for a variety of crimes, suspicious circumstances, and traffic complaints.

The service is available to over 500,000 citizens living in unincorporated King County, as well as the 12 communities that contract for police services from the Sheriff's Office.

Citizens who still want “human contact” can do so by calling the Sheriff's Office Communications Center at (206) 296-3311. A deputy will come to the door if preferred.

All emergencies must still be reported to 911.

“This new reporting system was developed for the convenience of folks who may not want to call in or wait for a deputy”, said Sheriff Sue Rahr. “It just gives citizens another option."

Due to budget cutbacks, wait times for deputies in unincorporated King County have increased for incidents that are not emergent, Rahr said.

In addition, the new program allows crime victims to print a copy of their report which can be sent to their insurance company, if needed.

Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis covered the continuing drop in West Seattle crime and an upcoming campaign to educate citizens on car theft prevention while Pete Rogerson explained the role of the Seattle Police Domestic Violence Victim Support Team at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting at the Southwest Precinct on March 15.

“For the month we’ve had a significant drop in the type of activities I just spoke about … we at pretty much an eight month to a year low since this time last year and significant reductions in a lot of those crimes, especially our burglaries, we’ve made some significant arrests there,” Lt. Davis said.

He went on to say the prosecutor’s office has done a good job of handing out extended sentences for serial offenders arrested in West Seattle.

“They’re going bye-bye for a long time, which we enjoy seeing,” he said.

Lt. Davis also commended the vocal community of West Seattle for the high volume of tips the precinct receives and asked that the trend continue.

“If you see something out there let us know,” he said. “Keep spilling the beans, we like catching the bad guys.”

Press Release:

The Sheriff's Office has launched on-line reporting for a variety of crimes, suspicious circumstances, and traffic complaints.

The service is available to citizens living in unincorporated King County, as well as the 12 communities that contract for police services from the Sheriff's Office. That's over 500,000 people.

However, citizens who still want “human contact” can do so by telephoning the Sheriff's Office Communications Center at (206) 296-3311. A deputy will come to the door if preferred.

All emergencies must still be reported to 9-1-1!

“This new reporting system was developed for the convenience of folks who may not want to call in or wait for a deputy”, said Sheriff Sue Rahr. “It just gives citizens another option”, she added. Due to budget cutbacks, wait times for deputies in unincorporated King County have increased for incidents that are not emergent, Rahr said.

In addition, the new program allows crime victims to print a copy of their report which can be sent to their insurance company, if needed.

My friend Susan Schneider is an artist who teaches at eight different locations but Ballard’s NW Senior Center is more than a teaching venue for her. It is her cause. Otherwise why would she spend almost all her non-teaching hours approaching business after business in downtown Ballard to ask for donations to the senior center’s most important annual fundraiser: the $pring for $eniors Auction on Sunday March 27th?

Susan walks everywhere these days, for exercise and to get acquainted with Ballard after recent years abroad. As one who teaches at the senior center and enjoys their programs, Susan volunteered to combine her walks with soliciting auction donations. “Nobody asked me to do this,” Susan said. “Ballard Senior Center is just such a good organization but funds to operate are tougher and tougher to get. If the center was ever lost there would be 100’s and 100’s of people without any place to go during the day. Senior centers are endangered.”