January 2012

Empty Bowls, a combined benefit effort joining area potters and the White Center Food Bank will take place on January 27. The potters are from the Moshier Art Center at the Burien Community Center.

Empty Bowls is a national movement to draw attention to the ongoing issue of hunger in many communities.

Each year the Moshier potters design over 1,000 bowls – during the event attendees choose a custom crafted bowl and savor delicious soups from local restaurants. In 2011 White Center Food Bank received just over $8,000 from the event.

Suggested donations are $15 per adult and $10 for children. Empty Bowls takes place at the Burien Community Center with two sessions: lunch from 11am until 2pm and dinner from 4 until 8pm. The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 Sixth Avenue SW, parking is often limited.

For more information on the event go to:www.burienwa.gov/index.aspx?NID=840
For more information on the Moshier Art Center: www.moshierartcenter.org/
For more information on the White Center Food Bank: www.whitecenterfoodbank.org

Press release:

The Des Moines Public Works Department has been preparing for the winter weather events being forecasted over the next several days.

Our crews, plows, sanders and anti-ice equipment are ready for deployment should such an event occur, please be on the alert for the city’s equipment on the roads.

Drivers are also urged to be prepared for the potential of black ice and use caution on all roadways, especially bridges and raised roads.

In addition, the city will be introducing a new webpage on the city website that will provide residents with current information about the snow and ice operations being performed by the Public Work crews.

The link to this page is http://www.desmoineswa.gov/snow. “

Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer said 2011 crime statistics for Burien and unincorporated North Highline illustrated the first noticeable difference in violent crime rates between the areas since he started studying annexation eight years ago.

North Highline had the higher rate.

Kimerer said the crime rates have been “almost identical” for years, but in 2011 Burien had 54 violent crimes per thousand residents while North Highline had 65 per thousand.

While it is the largest gap Kimerer has seen in eight years (“Something I didn’t expect”), he said it is still “not a huge differential.”

When asked why violent crime was higher in North Highline during 2011, Kimerer said crime is cyclical, North Highline police staffing is low, and the storefront deputy being gone most of the year could have played a role.

Non-violent crimes fell into the historical trend of similarity, with 66 per thousand in Burien and 69 in North Highline, he said.

Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer said 2011 crime statistics for Burien and unincorporated North Highline illustrated the first noticeable difference in violent crime rates between the areas since he started studying annexation eight years ago.

North Highline had the higher rate.

Kimerer said the crime rates have been “almost identical” for years, but in 2011 Burien had 54 violent crimes per thousand residents while North Highline had 65 per thousand.

While it is the largest gap Kimerer has seen in eight years (“Something I didn’t expect”), he said it is still “not a huge differential.”

When asked why violent crime was higher in North Highline during 2011, Kimerer said crime is cyclical, North Highline police staffing is low, and the storefront deputy being gone most of the year could have played a role.

Non-violent crimes fell into the historical trend of similarity, with 66 per thousand in Burien and 69 in North Highline, he said.

More than 60 cats and kittens will be available for adoption this weekend during the 5th Annual Adopt-A-Thon at Kitty Harbor, 3422 Harbor Ave. SW. (206) 935-1919. The facility is just north of the West Seattle Bridge entrance/exit ramps by Avalon. Generally, Delyn Kosbab who operates Kitty Harbor opens from June through Christmas, and then reopens for one additional weekend.

"We're just hoping for a great turnout because these guys are all homeless and have no place to go back to," Kosbab told the West Seattle Herald today, Friday, as some cute critters were coming through her door, delivered by the Kent Animal Shelter, one of the Regional Animal Services of King County (RAS) facilities. King County Executive and West Seattle resident Dow Constantine may appear this weekend to lend the county's support, and encouragement, to adopt the pets.

More kitties were to arrive this afternoon from Pet OverPopulation, or "POP" in the Tri-Cities area.

"Every year we have had a line," she said. "Two years ago 250 people lined up at our door. You never know."

Burien’s City Manager Mike Martin called his city’s proposed annexation of the remainder of unincorporated North Highline “a divisive issue.”

Over six and a half hours of testimony from citizens, both for and against the move, was proof of that division as heard by the Washington State Boundary Review Board over two days on Jan. 9 and 10 in White Center.

The board did not have time to enter deliberations on whether to accept Burien’s application, postponing the discussion until Jan. 23, 7 p.m., back at Cascade Middle School (11212 10th Ave S.W.).

Burien makes their case
Mike Martin summarized the city’s opening remarks by stating annexation of Area Y is “the right thing to do, and the right time to do it,” but reiterated if the $5 million a year sales tax credit is axed by the state legislature, the deal is dead.

When asked by the board why the city did not wait until the sales tax issue is resolved, Martin said they did not want to delay the process any longer than necessary.

Burien’s City Manager Mike Martin called his city’s proposed annexation of the remainder of unincorporated North Highline “a divisive issue.”

Over six and a half hours of testimony from citizens, both for and against the move, was proof of that division as heard by the Washington State Boundary Review Board over two days on Jan. 9 and 10 in White Center.

The board did not have time to enter deliberations on whether to accept Burien’s application, postponing the discussion until Jan. 23, 7 p.m., back at Cascade Middle School (11212 10th Ave S.W.).

Burien makes their case
Mike Martin summarized the city’s opening remarks by stating annexation of Area Y is “the right thing to do, and the right time to do it,” but reiterated if the $5 million a year sales tax credit is axed by the state legislature, the deal is dead.

When asked by the board why the city did not wait until the sales tax issue is resolved, Martin said they did not want to delay the process any longer than necessary.

Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer took the podium as well to say the city intends to increase police staffing in North Highline beyond current levels.

Out of Seattle's 27 food banks, the Ballard Food Bank is one of the biggest. It feeds 1,200 hungry people a week and in the last four years it has doubled in size and continues to grow.

At the helm of the indispensable organization is Nancy McKinney, a basic needs advocate who has spent the majority of her life helping others.

"I have volunteered my whole life and built my career that way," she said. "I worked in the for-profit business but it did not feel right for people to be making lots of money with no other purpose than to make money," McKinney said.

An avid cross-country skier, McKinney started out in the nonprofit sector as a guide for, and later president of Ski for Light, an organization that aims to enhance the quality of life and independence of visually or mobility-impaired adults through cross-country skiing.

McKinney's other local nonprofit experience includes positions at Salmon Bay School, and the Ballard Rotary Club, of which she will become the president in July.

Her passion for the hungry and the homeless is equal to her passion for students and people with disabilities.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will have street maintenance crews on standby for snow response this weekend and early next week due to a forecast of possible snow showers below 500 feet.

Throughout this week Street Maintenance crews have been treating areas prone to roadway frost and ice to improve conditions for drivers, and will continue this operation while nighttime temperatures remain low.

Saturday night there is a potential for black ice, and drivers are urged to use caution, especially on bridges and raised roadways. Drivers should keep an ice scraper in their car and make sure car windows are completely clear of ice and fog before getting on the road. Tires in good condition, suitable for winter weather, are essential for safe driving.

Residents and businesses are reminded to keep the sidewalks in front of their property free of ice and snow for pedestrian safety. For more information about SDOT’s winter storm strategy, to include a map of routes that will be treated during a storm, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/winterweather.htm .

The zoo is inviting people to guess the weight of the graceful 33-year-old Water Lily and 12-year-old Guadalupe to win the opportunity of meeting the hippos up close.

The Woodland Park Zoo carefully monitors the weight of its animals and recently acquired a new scale to weigh its hippos.

Washington state residents are invited to guess the COMBINED WEIGHT of both hippos. The entry forms can be found online at http://www.zoo.org/hippocontest and will be accepted through midnight, January 27, 2012. The winning entry will be the closest to the combined weight.

The prize for the winning entry will be: a meet ‘n’ greet with the zoo’s hippos behind the scenes in the hippo barn, a 4-gallon bucket of Zoo Doo, six single-day passes to the zoo, and a ZooParent hippo adoption with a hippo plush toy.

To be eligible for the prize, entrants must be legal Washington state residents and 18 or older, or have guardian approval. Employees and volunteers of Woodland Park Zoo and members of immediate family are not eligible to participate and win.