November 2011

Burien homeowners should be paying a bit less in property taxes next year, finance director Kim Krause announced at the Nov. 14 City Council meeting.

This is because the preliminary assessed valuation from King County shows that property values in Burien have gone down 9.23 percent, she noted. Due to the reduction, Burien can only collect $1.60 per 1,000 of assessed value thus lowering total 2012 property taxes to about $467,000 less than collected for 2011.

Staff is recommending that the council change allocations of the property tax revenue so that 90 percent goes into general fund and 10 percent into the capitol projects reserve fund. Currently, the split is 80/20.

Adjustments to the biennial budget for 2012 would include using 8 percent of the general fund balance over the two-year period. That would amount to $262,000 or 8 percent over that time period. The ending fund balance would still be in excess of $3 million, City Manger Mike Martin noted.

The City Council will hold another public hearing on the budget on Oct. 28. Following the hearing, the council is expected to set the 2012 property tax levy and approve amendments to the biennial budget.

The GAME Collective medical marijuana group, with two local outlets in White Center and West Seattle, was raided by the DEA on Nov. 15 for a search warrant stating probable cause of unlawful distribution of marijuana outside “the spirit of existing state law.”

Collective owner Brionne Corbray, in an exclusive interview with the West Seattle Herald, expressed his outrage with the sweep, stating his employees and he were mistreated during the West Seattle raid stating emphatically, “We were not doing anything outside of state law. If we had really done something wrong we would be in jail.”

DEA agents raided three GAME (Greenpiece Alternative Medicine and Education) Collective dispensaries, Corbray’s home and several vehicles owned by Corbray and his employees. Marijuana, cash, business receipts and bills, his vehicle and over 2000 patient records were seized, Corbray said.

No arrests were made as the search warrant is generally for collecting evidence, with potential charges to come later.

Mountain to Sound Outfitters at 3602 SW Alaska St is launching the Seattle Ski Shuttle for the 2011-2012 season in coordination with the Crystal Mountain Resort opening Nov. 18.

This marks the third year the company has provided the service and they said that only a few seats remain for the bus.

You can reach Mountain to Sound Outfitters @ 206-935-7669 to learn more, book your space on the ski shuttle, or sign up online @ www.seattleskishuttle.com.

The non-profit National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) launched this month aiming to improve the health, safety and wellness of babies by providing something as small as a diaper.

NDBN's goal is to directly impact the ability of local diaper banks to provide diapers to address the critical issues of children’s health, child abuse prevention and prevention of homelessness and neglect caused by poverty.

Nancy Woodland, Executive Director of WestSide Baby, will serve as a founding NDBN Board Member. “I am honored to serve as an NDBN Board Member, a role in which I will work alongside staff to ensure a bright future for families in need across the country. The need is staggering: 1 in 3 American families do not have enough money to buy diapers. To address this issue, NDBN will raise awareness of diaper need and build capacity of diaper banks by creating a national network of community partners. Our vision is to help America become a place where every family has access to diapers they need for their child.”

UPDATE: Sunday, 5:30 p.m.

SLIDESHOW. Click on photo for more.

Menchie's opens tomorrow. But while owner Leslie Castanha and husband Guy invited the West Seattle Herald in to shoot a few photos and look around the sparkling shop at about 4:00 p.m., a steady flow of hopeful, would-be Menchie's customers, some on their way to and from the Admiral Safeway just feet away, drifted in hoping for a taste of yogurt. Alas, the machines were busy serving a friends and family event for the evening.

Please see our previous story below:

Menchies Frozen Yogurt at 2620 California Ave. s.w. Suite 400 will open Nov. 21 in soft open, at 11 am. The Grand Opening will happen either Dec. 10 or 17.

The West Seattle Herald told you about the new frozen confection outlet in early September.

A franchise of a national company Menchies will offer indoor and outdoor seating and a "mix it up" yourself experience.

Correction: The original title for this post was "KCSO says shooting in White Center possibly connected to juvenile party at pot dispensary, owner disputes claim." King County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Cindi West clarified the department was not inferring a connection between the party and the shooting and the headline has been updated.

The King County Sheriff’s Office released details on a reported shooting around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Nov. 12 that mentions several juveniles attending a party at the GAME Collective medical marijuana lounge.

According to KCSO, deputies patrolling White Center heard two gunshots between the 9600 and 9800 blocks of 16th Ave S.W.

Little over a week after six out of the nine saplings in front of St. Paul's United Church of Christ were destroyed by vandals, students from Ingraham High School's landscaping program planted new trees donated by Seattle Department of Transportation.

Under the instruction of Deborah Brown of SDOT's urban forestry program, Lief Herald and students planted six new saplings on Thursday morning along NW 65th Street.

The students are special-needs students who receive high school credit and vocational training in landscaping. They dedicate every Thursday to landscaping projects at various low-income homes, work with landscaping professionals, and learn real-life skills for future jobs.

"Restoring this beautification project also teaches them compassion and empathy," Herald said.

Herald added that he is very grateful for the trees.

"SDOT gave them to us for free. WIth our economic situation that just doesn't happen," he said.

The trees were brutally torn in half on the night of Friday, Nov 4, killing the saplings that had been donated and planted by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods only a year ago.

It's not the wind that shut off the power along Roxbury street s.w. this evening. It's a 'planned outage' according to the Seattle City Light System Status page.

It states that 24 customers are without power but that it should be restored by 2:00 am.

In today's report from the Aggressive Driving Response Team, the Seattle Police Department notes that drivers continue to violate the "bus only" lane on the West Seattle Bridge.

Posted by Detective Renee Witt from the Seattle Police Blotter

On 11-16-11, the Aggressive Driver Response Team conducted traffic emphasis and issued the following citations today:

West Seattle Bridge – 45 mph zone

1 at 76 mph

1 at 68 mph

1 at 65 mph

8 Bus Lane violations

SW Admiral Way – 30 mph zone

2 at 49 mph

1 at 48 mph

2 at 46 mph

3 at 45 mph

School Zone Speed Enforcement – 20 mph zone

Roxhill Elementary

1 at 37 mph

1 at 33 mph

1 at 32 mph

1 at 30 mph

1 No Proof of Insurance

Holy Family Elementary

2 at 35 mph

1 at 34 mph

1 at 32 mph

1 at 31 mph

1 No Proof of Insurance

Our Lady of Guadalupe Elementary

1 at 34 mph

1 at 29 mph

Nordic Heritage Museum is kicking off the holiday season with the annual Yulefest this weekend.

A holiday tradition, Yulefest offers hundreds of hand-crafted gifts, a jubilee of Scandinavian musical performances, and traditional Nordic cuisine that will inspire holiday cheer. Santa will also make a visit.

“Yulefest is a museum program that has become an important tradition within the Scandinavian community here in the Pacific Northwest,” said the museum's CEO Eric Nelson. “It’s a great way to re-connect to the warmth and spirit of the season.”

Yulefest’s traditional Scandinavian entertainment will feature fiddlers, singers, folk dancers and more.
Shop hand-crafted gifts from the many Nordic-inspired vendors, and enjoy Scandinavian food and drink available at several locations in the Museum.

The Nordic Café features open-faced Scandinavian sandwiches, krumkake, and lefse.

The Kaffestuga offers coffee, cookies, and pastries; and the Bodega, where guests enjoy special Scandinavian beverages such as glögg—hot spiced wine, a traditional beverage of the holiday season—and a selection of Nordic beers.