January 2012

As the City of Seattle continues its winter storm response and prepares for forecasted significant accumulations of snow Wednesday. Forecasters now say that Seattle will get only a small amount today but are predicting an amount in excess of 6 to 11 inches tomorrow morning.

Mayor Mike McGinn activated the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 7 a.m. today. The EOC’s Joint Information Center activated at 5:30 a.m. this morning.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has trucks out to keep major arterial streets clear with priority given to routes for emergency vehicles, to hospitals. Crews are mostly using granular salt and have been throughout the preparation process. Though major arterial streets are bare and wet, the City continues to urge that road users use caution during their commute. SDOT crews will continue to monitor street conditions and trouble spots throughout the day in anticipation of the coming winter storm. Salt and salt-brine were applied overnight in many areas as a preventative measure in anticipation of forecasted freezing temperatures.

Ray’s Boathouse announced that Iron Chef competitor, Chef Wayne A. Johnson has been selected as their next Executive Chef.

"Chef Wayne’s passion for beautiful food and extraordinary flavors, love of mentoring, and dedication to giving back, are the perfect match for Ray’s distinctive cuisine, trademark hospitality and commitment to community," says Ray's PR staff.

Johnson comes to Ray’s from the elegant Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle where he served as Executive Chef of the award-winning Andaluca Restaurant and Oliver’s Lounge since 1999. Previously, he served as Executive Chef for the prestigious Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel in San Francisco, and the Marriott Hotels and Resorts in California and Colorado.

All Seattle Public Schools will open two hours late on Tuesday, Jan. 17 because of a winter weather advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). All pre-school activities, including preschool and Head Start are cancelled.

Buses will be operating on snow routes tomorrow, which means that yellow buses only run on roads maintained by the City that receive snow removal. Students who ride buses received notice of snow routes in the mail during the week of Nov. 21. For more information on transportation, visit www.seattleschools.org/transportation

"During winter weather conditions, safety is our top priority," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. "We want to make sure all of our students are safe, and that means delaying the start of school on Tuesday."

Families are being notified by an automated call tonight. Families are also advised to continue monitoring weather tomorrow morning and this week, as winter weather conditions may cause changes to school schedules.

Metro:

Like dozens of other schools around the Puget Sound area Seattle Public Schools will open two hours late on Tuesday, Jan. 17 due to the impending snow storm. Highline Public Schools finally announced that they too are two hours late. 2 Hours Late. No A.M. Kindergarten. No A.M. ECEAP. No A.M. Preschool Programs.

A winter weather advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called for heavy snowfall requiring buses to chain up. All pre-school activities, including preschool and Head Start are cancelled.

Buses will be operating on snow routes tomorrow just as Metro buses will be until further notice, which means that yellow buses only run on roads maintained by the City that receive snow removal. Students who ride buses received notice of snow routes in the mail during the week of Nov. 21. For more information on transportation, visit www.seattleschools.org/transportation

"During winter weather conditions, safety is our top priority," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. "We want to make sure all of our students are safe, and that means delaying the start of school on Tuesday."

Shoplifting leads to police chase
Five people attempted to shoplift at a SeaTac liquor store on Jan. 13. The five fled out the store and were involved in a police chase. Four were caught quickly while the other one held police at bay in his mobile home for awhile.. A King County deputy was severely bitten on the leg by a police dog from another agency.

Transient harassing customers
Police were called to a fast food restaurant in the 1000 block of S.W. 114th St. The manager called to report a bothersome transient. The man was going around the parking lot, pounding on customers’ car windows, asking for money. Multiple customers complained to the manager of the restaurant. The transient was trespassed from the business.

Threats with a knife
A man entered a fast food restaurant at the 14800 block of 4th Ave. S.W. asking for some condiments. The clerk told him no. That angered him so he pulled out a knife and demanded they hand over some sweet and sour sauce. There were no reported injuries and it was unclear if they had the suspect in custody.

“I just want to say thank you to every one in my community that helped my children get gifts for Christmas. There was no way for me to get my kids gifts this year. You have no idea how happy they are going to be. Every one helping out had large smiles and sweet words to say. You don’t find that too often when you’re getting help, but I feel great about what all you have done for my family this year.”

The above grateful comment was written by a Holiday of Hope shopper who took a moment to stop by the crowded Thank You Card Bar where recipients packed in shoulder-to-shoulder and struggled with language and spelling to find the right words to express their delight and gratitude.

For the third year running, Angle Lake Family Resource Center collaborated with the community to host the Holiday of Hope toy shop in December. This year the event was held at the Angle Lake Family Resource Center (ALFRC).

(Ed. note: the first letter was published on Jan. 16, after the Boundary Review Board meetings on Burien's proposed annexation of unincorporated North Highline.
A rebuttal to this letter from Mike McCumber, written by William Forest, was posted on Jan. 23 and can be found below.)

On Jan. 9th I attended a Boundary Review Board meeting at Cascade Middle School to listen to people make their cases either for or against a Burien annexation of what is known as “Unincorporated King County Area Y.”

Only one thing was really clear when I left this meeting: I am really concerned about how this annexation is being approached.

To be clear right off the bat, I have not decided if I am for or against annexation of North Highline yet and I had hoped that these meetings would help me decide. What I experienced at this meeting was a lot of noise and what I am starting to believe is willful ignorance towards the facts.

Person after person got up at the meeting and talked about how the city of Burien was trying to pull a fast one on everyone or how the BERK report was a scam or incomplete or how we don’t want “those people” or “all that crime” in Burien.

There are a group of citizens in the North Highline, White Center and Burien areas that are nothing but a bunch of whiners. They seem to be encouraged on by their city officials who also write complaining letters.

Many of these complainers pay less in taxes to the King County Library System but feel that they deserve more in services than the rest of us.

They work the system by being the loud, squeaky wheels gathering signatures on their ironing boards to whine about how they are being cheated.

The Burien/North Highline area has one library per 16,000 residents. The rest of us in the county get one library per 70,000 residents.

Burien seems to feel that they should get these extra services because they have fewer cars than the rest of us in the county.

Well, that is not so. According to the most recent 2011 survey of King County, the percentage of residents of Burien, White Center and Boulevard Park who do not have a car is 8.3 while the percentage for the rest of King County is 8.06. So cars are not the issue here.

Fred Novota is so right on with his economic comments that he should be eligible to take Paul Krugman's (New York Times columnist) Nobel economics prize.

Fred's facts are straight and it is a shame that proper Economics is not required for a college degree. Far too many people believe that the government can provide an economic benefit with its employees.

I am sure that everyone realizes that legitimate government employees like police are required necessity even though they are not an economic plus.

Larry Hughes
SeaTac

Our family home in the heart of Seattle was fine and dandy decades ago with plenty of room for five kids, as well as visiting friends and neighbors. It was near Denny Way and walking distance to Pike Place Market.

Describing that same property as it is today would likely bring a response of, “Cool, Very Cool.” To our family it was just home. Much later it became a significant place and few, if any, know this personal history -– until now.

Our house sure wasn’t fancy, although it was very friendly. We five kids had fun and school friends who regularly stopped at our house on the way home from school. Mom wasn’t much for baking cookies, yet a pot of good old baked beans and biscuits were usually in sight for hungry kids. The butter was in a cooler icebox built into a kitchen window.

Mom was a lady born before her time and was often found fixing the engine of her car or doing a good deed for someone, frequently for people we hardly knew. I think most folks from that time period gave from their heart to help others in need and without thought of recompense.