September 2012

By Kyra-lin Hom

I was supposed to share this particular story of mine weeks ago, but new things kept coming up that I just had to talk about 'right now.' So to my mother who instigated this whole event that I will be telling you about shortly, I apologize for taking so long. Here it is Mom, finally, my column on our evening with Operation Nightwatch.

See, as part of a school project of hers, she began researching homelessness in King County. Of course no real research is complete without getting your hands dirty so she began volunteering with local homeless aid groups and visiting the many kinds of homeless shelters and dwellings our county has to offer. Her experiences and research really did move her, and the rest of us family were swept along for the ride.

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Most women don’t realize the power plays that go on in the political arena. Women have always been at the bottom of the economic ladder and the bottom in attaining leadership positions. But a few women are learning what it takes to enter the fray. It was almost time to consider electing the first woman president when Hillary Clinton stepped up to be counted as a bona-fide candidate. But once more a man rose to the top and used the evolving media to reach out to many voters who had given up on politics and were looking for a renewed message of hope. We elected this candidate who believed in hope but the forces beyond any president’s control are always acting no matter how much we want to believe that a president can effect great changes all on his or her own. We have learned that we can’t leave it up to the president and turn our backs.

A man was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Knights Inn, 14110 Tukwila Intl. Blvd., Saturday night. Tukwila police are investigating. The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m.

Officers found the man lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses saw two people running from the parking lot after the shooting, said Mike Murphy, spokesman for Tukwila police. The victim’s identity has not been released.

We will update.

Former Interim Police Chief of Normandy Park Chris Gaddis announced on the Normandy Park Police Chief Facebook page that he is now officially the Chief:

"As of today (Sept. 1) I have officially taken over as the Chief of Police for the City of Normandy Park. I would like to thank the City Manager and the City Council for this appointment. I must also thank my officers and civilian staff for the support they have shown during this process. Most of all I need to thank my family who have stood by my side and have understood the trying times Normandy Park is going through. Without strong support from family, friends and community this would be an impossible undertaking.

"I look forward to a long career with Normandy Park and together we can continue to have one of the safest cities and the best police department."

Chris Gaddis #108
Chief of Police

According to a press release from the City of Seattle the electrical system upgrades for the City data center that meant a partial shutdown of the data center were completed early.

The City’s website and online applications are up and running.

"I want to thank the City staff who worked hard on this maintenance project, especially the employees of our Department of Finance and Administrative Services and the Department of Information Technology," said Mayor Mike McGinn.

McGinn also announced that the 2013-2014 Proposed Budget includes $3 million in funding to plan for the next generation Data Center. This funding will allow the City to begin planning and designing alternatives for a new Data Center that will provide more capacity, redundancy and resiliency.

A white SUV driven by a man, according to witnesses at scene, drove through a red light at the intersection of 26th s.w. and s.w. Roxbury streets about 10:45 am Sept. 2 a collided with a white late model mini-van with three people inside causing the SUV to rollover. The mini-van driven by a young woman was not as badly damaged.

While there were no serious injuries, everyone got out on their own, the man was briefly treated at the scene by paramedics.

Traffic in both directions was diverted around the accident scene.

The young woman's father said, "We were just at Safeway, cashing a check and the next thing you know we get a call saying we have to come to 26th and Roxbury. I'm just glad everyone is ok."

The young woman had two other female passengers and they were shaken up but not injured.

press release:
The leaders of seven King County school districts announced today that they are joining forces to compete for up to $40 million in federal Race to the Top grant money.

The superintendents of Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle and Tukwila have committed to working together and with their communities to complete the grant application, which is due Oct. 30. This is the first time the federal Race to the Top competition has been open to districts; previously, the grants had only been offered to states. Awardees will be announced in December.

The seven districts actively work together as part of the Road Map Project, a region-wide effort to achieve dramatic improvement in student education from cradle to college. The project’s goal is to double the number of students in South Seattle and South King County who are on track to graduate from college or earn a career credential by 2020 and to close achievement gaps for low-income students and children of color.

White Center Promise, a long-term initiative "aimed at eradicating poverty in White Center through a continuum of educational results that bring about social change," held it's annual summer celebration on Aug. 31 with the theme, The Road to Successful Action. Hundreds of people attended the event aimed at thanking everyone and helping to inform them about what the "promise" means for them.