January 2013

Press release:

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission has approved a grant for SeaTac elementary schools to receive funding of up to $2,000 for its existing school zone safety programs.

The grant, applied for by the SeaTac Police Department, will give Bow Lake, Hilltop, Madrona and McMicken Heights Elementary schools upwards of $500 towards new safety equipment for their safety programs.

Equipment will include items such as flashing arm lights, raincoats, crossing guard hats, gloves, windbreakers, crossing guard paddles and illuminated vests.

Madrona Elementary School was the first to receive their new equipment on Jan. 25. Bow Lake, Hilltop and McMicken Heights will be receiving theirs within the coming weeks.

Press release:

The Des Moines Legacy Foundation is pleased to announce the receipt of a generous $7,000 grant from the Puget Sound Energy Foundation.

The funds provide the seed money to help pay for a Civic Readerboard to be installed at the Des Moines Senior Activity Center located at 2045 S. 216th St.
The Puget Sound Energy Foundation is a nonprofit entity operating independently of Puget Energy and PSE. None of the foundation’s funds come from PSE’s utility customers.
The Puget Sound Energy Foundation began accepting grant requests in early 2007 and in its first year of operations focused on the Human Services, Education and Environmental sectors. Currently, the Puget Sound Energy Foundation's primary focus of support is Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

The intended use of the energy efficient LED Readerboard is to reach people of all incomes and abilities with civic messages to inform Des Moines citizens and visitors on important community events, services and meetings, emergency management and preparedness and safety topics.

Press release:

A record total of passengers spent a record amount of money eating and shopping last year at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.



More than 33.2 million passengers passed through Sea-Tac in 2012, the second straight year the airport surpassed its all-time record.

International passenger traffic increased 8.8 percent while overall traffic went up 1.2 percent. 

Airport concessions business benefitted with a record $180 million in sales, including a record $14 million in duty-free sales.

Sales per boarded passenger rose to $10.91, a six percent increase from 2011. The Port of Seattle collected $25 million in revenues which go directly back to airport improvements.



“Sea-Tac Airport continues to advance as a leading tourism and business gateway for our entire region,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. “These numbers point out the tremendous value of the airport as an economic engine to bring jobs and continued growth in business and tourism.”



Press release:

Global Connections High School Wind and Jazz Ensembles received the highest possible rating, Superior with Distinction, for their performances at the Presidential Inauguration Music Festival.

During their trip, January 18 – 21, the students also witnessed the Oath of Office and the Presidential Address, toured famous monuments, visited Smithsonian museums, and had the chance to interact with music groups from across the country. A special highlight was the tour of the U.S. capitol, arranged by US Congressman Adam Smith.

“The trip to Washington, D.C., was an amazing and inspirational experience for our students,” said Rick Harwood, Principal, Global Connections High School. “Our students were fully engaged in every aspect of the trip, as they experienced one exciting event after another.

“The chance to be part of one of the most important events in the world made a lasting impression on our students and expanded the possibilities they see for themselves as contributing members of their communities, local and global.”

Press release:

The 8th Annual Burien Empty Bowls was a great success! A huge thank you to the Burien community for joining us for a meal and helping raise $16,762 for the Highline and White Center Food Banks! Over 930 people came to the event on Friday, Jan 25th.

This annual fundraiser, always on the last Friday in January, is a great opportunity to support the food banks and have a meal with your neighbors! All the food is donated by local businesses, and all the bowls are made and donated by potters at the Moshier Community Art Center…and even past potters from as far away as Chicago! The event is hosted by Burien Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and Discover Burien.

We would like to thank our wonderful donors:

The South King County Fire Investigation Task Force is asking for the public’s help following a January 29th two alarm apartment fire in the 3000 block of S. 154 Street.

The fire was determined to have been intentionally set and could have ended much more tragically than it did. Fortunately, there were only three minor injuries and no deaths.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the Arson Tip Line at
253-856-4460 and leave a message. All information is confidential and callers may be eligible for a reward if the information provided leads to an arrest and prosecution.

If someone needs to speak with an on-call investigator, they can call 9-1-1.

Here is our previous coverage:

Press release:

SeaTac Fire Investigators have released some additional information on an early morning apartment fire Tuesday in the 3000 block of S. 154 Street.

According to investigators, the second floor fire was intentionally set in multiple locations of the affected unit.

Westside Baby, the non-profit out of White Center specializing in bringing essential items to children in need, has a recap on their work in 2012 and notice on the Westside Baby 12th Annual Benefit Tea coming up on Feb. 10.

Here are the details from Nancy Woodward, executive director:

WestSide Baby has record impact serving 22,000 local children in 2012!
Opportunity to support more children in 2013!

What: WestSide Baby 12th Annual Benefit Tea
When: Sunday February 10, 2012 2-4:30pm
Where: Hilton Seattle Conference Center (near the airport)
17620 International Blvd Seattle WA, 98188

By Rachael Levine
SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLINE TIMES/WHITE CENTER NEWS

(Editor’s Note: Rachael Levine is the former president of the White Center Library Guild. She led the fight against closure of the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries. King County Library System staffers have indicated the White Center Library, currently a block within Burien’s city limits, will be rebuilt at its current site or at anther location, possibly within the unincorporated area. Levine favors keeping the library in Burien. She provides a timeline below on the controversy.)

The White Center Library was started by members of the Mountain View School P.T.A. in 1943. It began with a collection of donated books, which Nel Freeze loaned from her nearby home.

The White Center Library Guild started at the same time and their first activity was to lobby for a community library. Their efforts were rewarded in 1946 when the White Center Library of the King County Library System (KCLS) opened in a space under the field house steps.

What a whirlwind of a weekend--and then some--for the Global Connections High School wind ensemble and jazz ensemble from the Tyee campus in SeaTac.

They witnessed the swearing-in of President Barack Obama at the inauguration. Music director Lyn Nelthropp took her group across the country (over 2,700 miles) for a five-day trip to see what Washington, D.C. has to offer and it did not disappoint.

Besides the inauguration our tour included a trip to Arlington Cemetery, the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, capital tour, the National Air and Space Museum, and Kennedy Center to hear the National Symphony Orchestra, featuring pianist Tzimon Barto.

I was fortunate enough to be a chaperone/photographer with the group.

Jackie Beal, a senior at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, created “Teach2Swim” for her Senior Culminating Project. Jackie’s goal was to teach swimming to teens in underserved communities so they in turn could teach others to swim.

During the summer of 2012, Jackie worked with five teenagers from the New Futures program at the Woodridge Apartments in Burien. She then supervised the teens as they each taught basic strokes and water safety to two other children.

“It was fun for me to be able to pass on some of the skills I’ve learned, but teaching a few kids to swim isn’t enough,” said Jackie. “There are 1,200 club swimmers in Puget Sound between the ages of 15 to 17. I hope to challenge these youth to consider a culminating project focused on teaching others to swim.

“I would like to support other teens to develop a Teach2Swim program in their community,” said Jackie. “I hope that others will share their knowledge and abilities with kids who are not able to take formal lessons due to financial or cultural reasons.