August 2011

Writing as a private citizen may I suggest consideration of a different and possibly better use of funding for the Part 150 Study.

I have been following this study for some time and attended your joint meeting with the City of Federal Way. Your study group was very pessimistic regarding the feasibility, cost and placement of the hush house and aircraft noise fence at Sea-Tac. There was discussion of obtaining additional funding from the Port Commission for continuation of the study. I recall no mention of a supplemental federal grant.

I also attended your last Mayors Roundtable at Sea-Tac Airport without the Commission being present. The same pessimism concerning the feasibility was present however at the tail end of the meeting the suggestion was that an extension of the study was going to be requested from the Commission with a possible follow-up with a federal grant request. No visible noise reduction plans were presented.

The cost of the hush house would be paid for by higher ticket costs and property taxes without creation of any new benefits for the residents of the airport cities.

The news hit the front page of the Seattle Times proclaiming that Google was going to open an office in Bothell. Bothell has a department titled Economic Development. Burien has a department titled Economic Development. For some reason new companies are moving into the areas north and east of Seattle. Are their Economic Development departments doing something that is not being done in Burien? Burien must have some advantage that could be exploited to bring in small companies. Proximity to the airport should mean something.

At one time Burien had the Puget Sound Educational Service District office right in the center of town. It had a staff in excess of 300 administrators, educators, and support personnel. A large number of them worked in Burien and contributed to the financial well being of Burien. The city council "encouraged" the PSESD to relocate elsewhere so the city could build the new library and city hall. Since then there has been no influx of any sort of industry into Burien.

If you think you spend a lot of time on the road, Kurt Coulson will leave you in the dust. A driver for Con-way Freight trucking company, Coulson has traveled nearly 1.7 million miles during his 27-year trucking career - the equivalent of 68 trips around the earth’s equator.

His exemplary dedication and safety record earned him Washington Trucking Associations’ (WTA) 2011 Driver of the Year award.

“The Washington Trucking Associations is very proud of Kurt’s professional history,” says Mike Southards, WTA director of safety. “His personal conduct as a commercial vehicle driver is exemplary.”

WTA drivers are nominated by their employers and factors include years of experience, miles driven, preventable accidents, moving violations and community involvement. Washington State Patrol helps evaluate nominees. Coulson received the award July 23 during a ceremony at Emerald Downs in Auburn.

For Coulson, it is the driving journey and not the destination that makes him happiest.

“I like driving because you have some solitude,” says Coulson. “There is peace of mind being away from the office.”

Press release:
Highline Community College has been awarded nearly $225,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation in support of geoscience education.

Highline has played a role in trying to create and organize a national community of geoscience faculty at community colleges and to increase enrollment of underrepresented students in geoscience programs.

“The grants support building a community of geoscience instructors at two-year colleges so we can share ideas, talk about challenges facing students and faculty and develop solutions to problems we have in common,” said Highline Geology instructor Eric Baer.

A grant for $192,684 will fund a professional development program where two-year college geoscience faculty share successful strategies for teaching students and preparing them for the geoscience workforce.

Highline’s partners include Austin Community College in Texas; University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.; and College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

The second grant for $30,405 will help pay for 25 community college instructors to attend the national meeting of Geologic Society of America in Minneapolis in October 2011.

Seattle Fire Investigators determined spontaneous combustion is to blame for a fire that started inside a Ballard auto detail shop last Monday.

Just a few minutes after 10 p.m, the first 911 caller reported hearing crackling and witnessed black smoke pouring from the one story commercial building located on the 1700 block of Ione Way NW.

Engine 18 was the first to arrive and saw heavy black smoke coming from inside the locked business. Once they were inside, firefighters found 6 foot flames coming from near a workbench at the back of the business. It took less than 10 minutes from the first water hitting the flames until the fire was extinguished. Fire crews used large industrial fans to clear the black smoke from the air inside the building.

A representative of the building’s owner told investigators the auto detail shop was locked up for two hours before the fire was reported. There was no one inside the business when the fire started.

Man exposes himself to barista
A registered sex offender has been accused of exposing himself to a bikini barista at a coffee stand in SeaTac. The man has two similar convictions for indecent exposure in 2007 and 2009. The 25-year-old Seattle man has not yet entered a plea to the latest charge. He is currently under supervision of the state Department of Corrections.

Apartment fire in Tukwila
The Tukwila Fire Department responded to an apartment fire in the 15000 block of Military Road South in the early morning hours of August 17. Crews quickly called for a second alarm when they discovered flames in the attic space. Two second story apartments were damaged by fire, three others on the first floor sustained damage from smoke and/or water. All five units were occupied. Alert citizens assisted in waking up other residents to help evacuate the building. One firefighter was injured while battling the fire when saturated ceiling tiles fell on him. He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. Damages are estimated to be around $175,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Update for Aug. 25
A memorial fund for Gabriel Arthur Pena, the three-month-old infant killed in a car wreck involving an alleged drunk driver on Aug. 21 near Vancouver.

According to the Facebook page detailing the fund, "Donations may be made at any BECU or it's Shared Branches in the name of Gabriel Arthur Pena acct: 3588117470. https://www.becu.org/Default.aspx Go to the page to find locations."

The page continues, "Imagine trying to come to grips with losing your 3 month old baby boy to a Drunk Driver, then being hit with the fact that you can't come up with the money that it takes to bury your baby. I can't imagine what that must feel like, so I am asking all my Friends and Classmates, to find it in your heart to please help us raise enough money to put Gabriel to rest, I'm not asking for a huge donation only whatever you can afford to give, any amount is one step closer....even if it's to pass this on to other friends.... Please help out fellow our fellow Classmate William T. Piña and his daughter Terra."

GRE Ballard, LLC has received conditional approval to move forward with the construction of a four-story building containing three live/work units, 101 residential units, and parking for 95 vehicles on 6559 15th Avenue NW, across from Ballard High School.

The proposed project was unpopular at passed Design Review Meetings as neighbors came out in numbers to speak up against the project.

Calling it a "recipe for disaster" , neighbors worry about pedestrian safety and traffic flow.

Wedged between Ballard High School, two daycares, Salmon Bay Elementary School, and the Ballard Pool, many children travel past the building.

Also, with 101 units, the development will add significant traffic to the surrounding streets.

“Here you have a slew of kids trying to cross, cars in a hurry all trying to use the intersection at the same time,” a community member said at the Second Design Review meeting in January.

Press release from SPD Detective Mark Jamieson:

On August 22nd, at approximately 2:00 am, Southwest Precinct officers responded to 46th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Frontenac Street to investigate a reported assault of a taxi cab driver. Officers contacted the driver who stated that the suspect had jumped into his cab while in the Alaska Junction area and told the driver that he didn’t need to go very far. The suspect directed the driver down several streets. During this time the suspect slid in behind the driver in the left rear seat. The driver was grabbed from behind by the suspect and the suspect pressed a stun gun into the victim’s side approximately 3 to 4 times. The driver lost control of the cab and ran into a parked car in the 4600 Block of SW Frontenac Street. The driver and the suspect wrestled before the suspect ran off. The driver chased him to a yard on the street and stopped when the suspect jumped over a fence.

The Ballard Food Bank is one of the 26 local food assistance agencies to benefit from Grocery Outlet's "Independence from Hunger" campaign that raised $227,500 in cash, gift card and food donations in the month of July.

“We are proud to support local communities with these donations to help people who don't always know where they will find their next meal,” said Eric Lindberg, Co-CEO, Grocery Outlet Inc. in a statement.  “Our team of independent owners/operators are committed to supporting their local communities.”

Throughout July, Grocery Outlet sponsored a company-wide Independence from Hunger campaign to help feed people facing hunger and dealing with food insecurity.

To help drive donations and participation, Grocery Outlet stores hosted an array of events including family-friendly festivals and educational seminars about local, state and federal (USDA-FNS) food assistance agencies.

Grocery Outlet also sponsored the “Feed the Need” Facebook contest to reward five charitable customers with a $100 donation to the non-profit charity of their choice, plus a $100 Grocery Outlet gift card for the customer to use. 

For more information, visit www.groceryoutlet.com.