December 2012

Dear SeaTac City Council,

It was brought up in council comments at the end of the meeting on 12/11/12 that Councilmember Gregerson and Mayor Anderson support efforts/position of the AWC (Association of Washington Cities) to reduce, limit, or otherwise curtail the public record requests that are harassing or otherwise costly to taxpayers by changing the statute.

The increase in public records requests are a reflection of the trust (or lack thereof) and the not so transparent actions of elected and other government officials. In other words you have brought this on yourselves.

Case in point:

The city manager stated in his final comments in above noted meeting that the $17,000 salary to a single individual was legal and transparent. Legal? Yes (the SeaTac City Council changed the law in 2009 to allow such increases with NO caps). I was there and warned against it.

As a nation, we were dealt a withering emotional blow with the deaths of many school children in Connecticut Dec. 15. In the days since, as the reality of this loss to the greater community has washed over us, we have been tentatively trying to make sense of it, to gain perspective that would help us understand the why of it. But nothing comes that salves the deep grief, that lets the lump in the throat dissolve.

Four years ago, this time of year, a friend of mine killed himself with a rifle shot to the head. He was living alone in self-exile, following a divorce. He made his home in a mountain valley where he was surrounded by all of his 'stuff', the things he had collected over years and which, in part, led to his divorce because his wife found his pack-rat tendencies objectionable. On top of that, he was a vagabond and his wanderlust did not square with being a family man. Still, I loved him.

By Randall Felts DVM
Marine View Veterinary Hospital
SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLINE TIMES

Is your dog or cat overweight? It is estimated that up to 75 percent of all pets in the United States have been swept up in what is an epidemic of obesity.

A recent study involving 26 different breeds of dog suggested that patients who were kept at their ideal weight lived, on average, 2 years longer than littermates who were allowed to self regulate their food intake without any intervention from their owners.

And from a feline perspective, the traditional image of the content, fat cat is being challenged by what is witnessed in veterinary clinics across the country, as these obese patients present for treatment of potentially preventable diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease or constipation.

Wii gaming consoles stolen
The King County Sheriff’s office announced that over 7,000 Nintendo Wii gaming consoles were stolen from a SeaTac distribution warehouse.
Sgt. Cindi West says the thieves are believed to have driven two tractor cabs to the warehouse. They used forklifts to load two 53-foot-long trailers and a box van with at least 64 pallets of the consoles, then drove off with the stolen merchandise. The value is estimated at more than $2 million, including the stolen vehicles.
The white trailers have California license plates and the name “McKinney” on the side. West says the box van has Seattle Air Cargo written on the doors and bears a Washington license plate. The thieves pulled into Seattle-Tacoma Airport's Air Cargo warehouse and loaded the shrink-wrapped pallets of consoles into semi-trucks brought for the purpose. If you have information, please contact the King County Sheriff's office at 206-296-3311.

SeaTac police close in on suspect

Wednesday, Dec. 19
Girls basketball
Highline 40, Evergreen 29
Highline hammered Evergreen in a meeting of nearby neighbors Wednesday.
Darshell Walker paced the Pirates with 18 points and Marleisha Cox hit nine to lead the Wolverines.

Thursday, Dec. 20
Girls basketball
Shorewood 65, Highline 30
The Pirates journeyed north to Shorewood Thursday and took a 65-30 loss. Zole Beyene scored eight and Marisa Munoz seven to lead Highline.
Mark Morris 65, Evergreen 56
Evergreen dropped a close, high-scoring non-league game to Mark Morris this past Thursday.
Boys basketball
Auburn 65, Mt. Rainier 61
The Trojans edged the Rams in a South Puget Sound League North Division game on Thursday, despite a 26-point outing by Caden Rowland and an 18-point effort from Jamil Wilson-Jones.
Boys swimming
Tyee-Evergreen-Highline
Tyee, Evergreen and Highline journey as a combined team in the Seamount League, but the scores are kept separate.
All three lost to the Renton Indians this past Thursday. Renton slipped past Highline, 65-56, in a close matchup, but the Indians defeated Evergreen, 80-18, and topped Tyee, 82-16.
Wrestling

The West Seattle Cheerleaders will be holding a Mini Cheer Camp Saturday, January 5th in the West Seattle Gym from 10:00am to 1:00pm.  

K-5th grade kids will have a great time learning fun cheers and making crafts with the Westside cheerleaders.  Campers will receive a tee shirt, pom poms, official team hairbow, picture of themselves with the cheerleader of their choice AND perform as an honorary West Seattle Cheerleader at an upcoming home basketball game!

The cost of this camp is $40.  More information about the cheer camp and a printable registration form attached.

Space is limited so register early to ensure your spot.

Parents can email cheer advisor Beverly Corey with their childs name, age, tee shirt size, parent name and contact number by Wednesday January 2 to be added to the registration list and then mail the completed registration form and payment this week to Corey at 5615 47th Ave SW, Seattle, 98136. Or they can drop the completed info in the milk box at her front door.

Contact Bev Corey at 206-423-5450 or coreym_b@comcast.net or Christina Ruzzine at caruzzine@seattleschools.org if you have any questions.

By Dusty Henry

Guitar feedback whirs from the stage as David Bazan stands with his back to the audience, looking at drummer Alex Westcoat and bassist Andy Fitts. After a couple beats, Bazan starts to play the plunking guitar melody of “Options,” the first song off of Pedro the Lion’s album Control.

“I’m not much for nostalgia, as you can probably tell,” Bazan said near the end of the set.

Though playing the album Control in its entirety 10 years after its release might make the tour look like a nostalgia cash cow, in this case it was anything but. If anything, the album has become far more relevant, both musically and lyrically.

Certainly, Bazan is a different man than when he first played the songs on Control. He's changed a lot in the last 10 years: He’s renounced his Christian faith, fathered two children, and has shed the Pedro The Lion moniker once and for all.

That isn't to say he’s lost his edge and focused angst, though. For everyone at The Neptune on Saturday, that’s a good thing.

By Jerry Gay

Now, we all see our need to take more precautions in the things we do. This will help save lives while giving support to others.

Being the best we can be brings our hope to 2013. Our passion and prayers create a divine reality for our heartfelt aspirations.

Jerry Gay is a contributing photojournalist for Robinson Newspapers.

Congregating at the Salvadorean Bakery on Dec. 18, White Center business owners took an evening to reflect on their collective accomplishments in 2012 and ponder strategies to bring more business to the economic core in 2013.

The event, a monthly business mixer put on by Mikel Davila with the White Center Community Development Association, was the last of the year.

2012 Accomplishments
Davila listed among the accomplishments in 2012 the September launch of www.visitwhitecenter.com, a collaborative effort between the CDA and White Center Chamber of Commerce to highlight businesses in the area and encourage outsiders to come in and spend money.

As a way of making the business environment more inviting, Davila gave a nod to the 13 new murals put on otherwise unsightly walls by area artists and installation of a new wayfinding sign on 16th Ave S.W. by local metalsmith Matt Tilton.

Cassandra Baker

5:05 a.m., December 16. 95th block of Greenwood Ave N

Police responded to reports that a burglar alarm had been tripped at the Salvation Army near Greenwood Ave early on the morning of December 16. They arrived at the scene to find fresh pry marks on an alley door and a window open wide enough to allow someone to enter the building. While waiting for backup, officers saw a man exit through the door with pry marks and flee down an alley. They ordered him to stop and lay down, and he complied without incident. Officers handcuffed the suspect, who claimed that he had never entered the building but rather had been sleeping under a bush. However, based on the location the suspect described, officers would have seen him while inspecting the area.

The suspect was arrested and searched, at which point officers found several screwdrivers in his possession, as well as a bag of Salvation Army pins. Further searching of the area outside the building revealed a trumpet case with a trumpet inside and a box containing plastic action figures and trumpet parts.