October 2011

press release:
Community members are invited to a workshop to help shape the design of a new facility being built to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) near Lowman Beach Park in West Seattle.

Saturday, Oct. 29
9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Gatewood Elementary School
4320 S.W. Myrtle St., Seattle

King County’s Murray CSO Control Project entails building a 1-million gallon underground storage tank to prevent stormwater and raw sewage from overflowing into Puget Sound during heavy rains.

The design workshop will give people an opportunity to brainstorm with the project team on ways to make sure the final design of the visible facilities reflects community priorities and values.

Refreshments and light lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by Oct. 27 to Claire Turpel at cturpel@triangleassociates.com or 206-583-0655.

For additional information about the Murray CSO Control Project or to request reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities at the meeting, please contact Doug Marsano at 206-684-1235, 711 TTY or doug.marsano@kingcounty.gov, or visit the project website at:

Press release:

Public transit is the answer during the major congestion expected on Interstate 5 and Seattle streets during the nine-day closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It is the best bet for commuters looking to save their time and sanity.

For some, Link light rail and Sounder commuter rail are the only options for congestion-free commuting. Bus services are expected to experience delays due to increased congestion but offer an opportunity to let someone else do the driving.

“The Seattle area has never before seen a highway closure of this magnitude,” said Sound Transit Deputy CEO Celia Kupersmith. “Every day 110,000 vehicles drive cross the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Nobody knows how bad the traffic will get as those vehicles look for other alternatives. What we do know is that taking transit and other alternatives to driving are the best survival strategy.”

In the final days before the closure, the Washington State Department of Transportation and King County Metro Transit are joining Sound Transit in emphasizing the opportunity to plan ahead for heavy congestion.

Highline Community College will host candidate forums on Oct. 24 and 25 at 10 a.m. in Building 7.

City Council candidates from Des Moines, Federal Way, SeaTac, Kent, Normandy Park and Tukwila have been invited. The forum is free and open to the public, and questions from the audience will be taken.

Highline is located at 2400 S. 240th Street in Des Moines. The Building 7 Lecture Hall is mid-campus and noted as being shaped like a turtle.
T
he forum is being presented by American Government students at the college.

For more information, Email Aaron Snyder at aarsnyder@gmail.com or call 206-601-4113.

Letter to the editor:

A letter that appeared in the Highline Times on October 7 may have caused some confusion about how the annexation of North Highline might impact taxpayers in Highline School District. I would like to offer some clarification.

Annexation to either Burien or Seattle will not affect school district boundaries, school taxes, or school district governance.

Schools are funded primarily by the state, and secondarily by a portion of local property taxes (through voter-approved levies and bonds). It doesn’t matter what city you live in; the schools’ portion of your property tax flows to the school district in which you live.

All Highline residents pay the same school tax rate. Residents of any given area of the district do not “subsidize” schools in another area of the district.

The school district does not anticipate “the need to continually increase taxes” due to the annexation of North Highline to either Burien or Seattle, as suggested in the October 7 letter. In fact, the amount school districts can raise through levies is capped by state law.

By Kimberly Goode

Clint Hewitt, a junior at Chief Sealth High School, recently spoke to an audience of more than 150 Microsoft employees during the 5th Annual Microsoft Charity Scramble at Glendale Country Club.

Clint shared about the power of character education and his experience in becoming a leader and mentor through his involvement in The First Tee of Greater Seattle.

The First Tee is a nonprofit organization that promotes character-development, life-enhancing values, and healthy choices through the game of golf.

As a participant in The First Tee program for the past 5 years, Clint has not only gained a love for the game of golf, but a newfound confidence and appreciation for values like perseverance, integrity, judgment, and responsibility. He has spent the last two summers giving back to the program by mentoring younger kids and serving as an Assistant Coach.

Clint now hopes to take on a career inteaching and coaching so he can teach the same lessons he has learned. “My desire to become an educator has grown through my experiences with The FirstTee. The lessons and tools I have learned are valuable assets to my future.”

press release:
Five public schools from Seattle have been recognized for outstanding academic improvements in math and reading that put them in the top 5 percent of the highest-improving schools in the state. The schools are:

• Alki Elementary School
• Hamilton International Middle School
• Madison Middle School
• Mercer Middle School
• Orca K-8 School

Madison Middle School has received a School of Distinction Award for four straight years, from 2008-2011, while Mercer Middle and Orca K-8 have won the award three years in a row, from 2009-2011. Hamilton International Middle School has won for the past two years, 2010 and 2011.

All five Seattle Public Schools named will receive their awards during a regional ceremony to be announced at a later date.

“We are proud to have five schools recognized with this prestigious award,” said Dr. Susan Enfield, interim superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. “It reflects the academic gains our students are making in math and reading, thanks to strong teaching and instructional leadership.”

A 35-year-old SeaTac man was sent to Harborview hospital with a single gunshot wound to his hip, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

The man is listed in serious condition.

The shooting occurred around 1:20 a.m. at the Puerta Villa Apartments at 3051 S. 188th St.

According to KCSO, the man was throwing a party and had several people over to his apartment throughout the night.

The victim got into a verbal argument with one of his male guests who shot the party host.

KCSO says their are no identified suspects and no arrests have been made at this time.

If anyone has information on this shooting they are asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.

The Eat Local Now! dinner on Monday, Oct. 24 at Herban Feast in SODO features a silent auction with a wide array of wares. From custom tours and tastings to gift baskets and restaurant gift certificates. There are items for the local food aficionado plus classes, books, bike tune-ups and massage therapy.

The theme is “Choose Good Food” at this, the 8th annual dinner. It's a fundraiser for groups working to encourage healthy local food systems: Seattle Good Business Network, CoolMom and Sustainable West Seattle. . Purchase tickets at EatLocalNow.org or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Organizers say that there are still tickets available and urge people to purchase them as soon as possible

The evening includes a fresh salmon or vegan dinner, Canlis chef and author Greg Atkinson as featured speaker, exhibitors, the silent auction and music. Eat Local Now! encourages participation in local food systems, bolstering the local economy and access to healthy local food for everyone.

Dear Kyra-Lin,

Welcome home! I loved your columns before you left and I am so happy to have you back writing them again. Congratulations on your graduation and all your awards. I don’t know you but I am very proud of the young adult you are.

I just want to add that my daughter is a newly divorced mom of the three young adults. One is still in school,(19), and the other two are out of college. One is working, the other not. Since the kids don’t have enough money to yet move out, my daughter has created a roommate atmosphere in their home. They all have to take care of themselves and all personal belongings, share in the housekeeping and cooking and be respectful when entertaining their friends. My daughter is in transition in creating a new single life for herself, so it is important to her to maintain a degree of mothering but also to become her own single adult.

By Kyra-Lin Hom

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…”Hi Mom and Dad, I’m home!”

One of the latest media ‘it’ topics is that of the boomerang generation. In general this refers to the 18-25 years-old range recently designated by demographers as the new tweeners. According to them, we’re not adolescents anymore but we’re not quite adults either. By returning home after college, I have become a 22 year-old walking statistic.

Many of you may (or may not) remember me as the author of the column “In Transition” published in this same paper, which ended about four years ago. When I last left all of you I was graduating from Garfield High School, set to start my freshman year at Loyola Marymount University in California. “In Transition” was an exploration of oncoming maturity and, hopefully, an honest glimpse into the lives and opinions of teenagers at that time. Now, I find myself at yet another crossroad.