May 2013

Press release:

Friday, May 17th is “National Bike to Work Day”, but WABI has declared it “Burien Bike Day”. We want to encourage local folks to choose pedal-power not just for their commuting when possible, but also for fun and exercise.

In support of the Bike To Work Day event that will be held throughout the Puget Sound region, a Bike Commuter Support Station will be located at Burien Town Square.
Whether commuting by bike or just toodling around town, the Commuter Support Station will offer Burien cyclists coffee and snacks, cool giveaways, and a gathering place for cyclists from Burien neighborhoods.

The Station will also have the mechanical pros from Bicycles West, and experienced bike commuters on hand to discuss routes and safety, and to answer your cycling questions.
Bike Commuter Support Station
Friday, May 17th, 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Burien Town Square
Many thanks to the sponsors including the City of Burien, and Bicycles West.

Grand Central Bakery, located just a couple blocks up the street, will also be giving away free baguettes to every cyclist that walks into their shop wearing a cycling helmet.

The Highline Branch of the American Association of University Women held its annual Young Scholars reception at the Highline District Offices on May 7 to honor local eleventh grade girls who have excelled in science, math, and technology.

The students were nominated by their teachers and counselors from Highline, Evergreen, Tyee, Aviation, Mount Rainier, Kennedy, and Seattle Christian High Schools

The keynote speaker, Dr. Erika Wagner, Business Development Manager of Blue Origin, talked about the thousands of job opportunities that will be available in the private sector of space exploration.

Her advice of “proceeding step by step ferociously” provided inspiration to the young honorees and was especially timely as these girls face one more year of high school and make decisions about their future.

This is the twelfth year the Highline Branch AAUW has been sponsoring and encouraging young women to pursue excellence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers.

Burien Mayor Brian Bennett has announced he will not run for re-election.

He has endorsed Burien Planning Commissioner Joey Martinez to replace him.
Bennett told our news partner, the Burien Daily, “Joey is a strong candidate and I believe he will make a great city council member for the residents of Burien.”

Bennett told the Highline Times he has “too much going on” with his family and work.

Although he says he has been approached about running for the state Legislature or county council, he has no plans at this time to seek another public office.

He said he doesn’t want to sacrifice the time away from his three and five-year old children. Although he says he will still be involved with the community, he noted he is not much of a meeting person.

“I need a break,” Bennett said. “I want to concentrate on kids, soccer practice and my day job.”

Bennett’s day job is as a business and technology attorney for F5Networks, a Seattle-based global technology company.

A Lake Burien resident, Bennett comes from a family that has lived in the Burien area for four generations.

According to Westwood Village Post Office officials a truck driven by an adult male, jumped the curb, and crashed into the window and brick wall just south of the main entrance of the building about 1:45pm on Thursday, May 9.

The Post Office official said the driver had apparently mistaken the brake for the gas. One woman was knocked down inside the post office and was shaken up but suffered only a minor cut from the flying glass. The driver was not injured.

The suspected driver at the scene, had crutches, and may be disabled. It's not known if his disability played a part in the accident.

The woman inside, Lidiya Vanvalkenberg said she was filling out a form when the truck burst through the window and moved a shelf " A whole bunch of glass fell on me and something pushed me and I fell on the ground. I got up and saw that nobody was hurt. I was happy about that. I'm still shaking. I can't believe I'm not dead. It was only this far from me and if it hit me I was going to be dead."

Here's the Seattle Fire Department recap.

UPDATE July 9
The complete schedule for the Arts in Nature Festival has been released. The event which takes place in West Seattle's Camp Long Aug. 10-11 is a unique blend of music, dance, performance art, and interactive exhibits. It's completely family friendly with activities for children like printmaking, hula hooping, a Species Parade, a juggling workshop, and youth art. The Museum of Sound will feature installations by local musicians (including Chris Ballew and wife Kate Endle) in the camps rustic cabins.

Original post May 9
After taking a year off due to financial issues, the Nature Consortium's Arts in Nature Festival is set to return to Camp Long on Aug. 10-11.

Cloud Cult will headline the weekend.

Billy Beach -- the man behind the super popular Japonessa, Umi Sake House, Wasabi Bistro and I Love Sushi -- has come to Ballard to serve up sushi in his namesake, Billy Beach Sushi and Bar (5463 Leary Ave NW).

The restaurant takes a step away from Beach's regular fare -- a Japanese-Latin fusion style -- and gets back to Beach's roots as someone of Japanese descent, seeking a more traditional style.

For now, as they have their soft opening, the restaurant is only offering an introductory menu. You'll still be able to find all the wonderful food you could possibly want, including the popular spicy calamari (flash fried squid with garlic togarashi, $5), chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken, $5), a locally themed "Ballard crunch roll" (sockeye salmon, cream cheese, avocado, soy glaze, $6) and yes, even your basic California roll ($5). Bartenders -- who General Manager Kei Sugimoto says are really great, precise and have a huge following -- can make drinks on request.

By Matt Wendland

Burien City Council Candidate Marlene Allbright is being investigated by Washington State’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) after allegedly violating Washington State law by failing to file a financial statement and a declaration of candidacy.

According to State law RCW 42.17A, each candidate is required to register with the PDC within two weeks of a public announcement of candidacy.

For the full story, go to:
http://buriendaily.com/pdc-burien-city-council-candidate-marlene-allbri…

An application with Seattle's Department of Planning and Development has been made to build an 8000 square foot plus home at 6001 Beach Drive SW. The existing 3910 sq ft, five bedroom home on the site would be torn down. The lot size is 20,103 sq ft.

The application shows the planner as Benjamin Perkowski and the contact as Tom Brown. The application states, "Land Use Application to allow a 8,071 sq. ft. single family dwelling unit in an environmentally critical area. Review includes grading of 2,300 cu. yds. of material (1,150 cu.yds cut; 1,150 cu. yds. fill). Two garages and parking for four vehicles will be provided on the site. Existing structures to be demolished."

Zillow.com shows the home last sold in May of 2008 for $2,500,000.

Comments on the application, accepted until May 22, can be made here.

The next edition of the Free Taco Time tacos for the homeless will happen again Friday, May 10 in White Center.

The program has been staged twice so far, serving more than 40 people each time. The first time was March 8, and the second was on April 12.

Alex Campbell (Evergreen H.S. senior) and other community volunteers will be there serving Steve Cox Park at noon.

Mark Ufkes said, "We can always use more volunteers. They should arrive around 11:45 at Steve Cox Park near the White Center Chamber of Commerce office."

That office is at Steve Cox Park at 1321 102nd Street SW.

At the May 8 Ballard District Council, residents got together to talk about the gnitty gritty details of projects that could have a big effect on the Ballard area. Those projects include the Interbay (and soon Ballard) land use study, the Ballard Greenways and a list of road improvement projects that the Seattle Department of Transportation will be working on.

Envisioning Interbay

Though not in Ballard, the Interbay land use study is significant for a couple of reasons: 1) The 15th Ave corridor is used by trucks from Ballard industrial companies, and 2) A similar land use study, which will look at zoning in Ballard's light industrial area, will be coming in the fall, likely starting in November.

At an open house meeting, the Department of Planning and Development discovered that Interbay residents and stakeholders had concerns over traffic, living wage jobs from the industrial sector and having nearby retail, which there is little of at the moment.