July 2013

The protests that arose around efforts to build three houses in the "Benchview" neighborhood in the Admiral area, at the corner of 55th S.W. and S.W. Manning Streets, led to a lawsuit filed by neighbors attempting to stop the project, or at least modify it. A hearing on the matter will happen this Friday in King County Superior Court. The Benchview Neighborhood Association (BNA) state in their opening brief that they don't oppose redevelopment of the property, they just want to "ensure that the development is consistent with the existing pattern."

The lawsuit followed the City of Seattle's decision to allow the Lot Boundary Adjustment that the developers sought.

Divorce and a “stolen” TV
A woman living on Delridge Way S.W. called police on June 17 to report her 32-inch flatscreen TV had been stolen while she was at work. The victim told police she believed her soon-to-be ex-husband was to blame, based on the fact that he moved out several months ago and the two had been fighting back and forth over who gets the television, which they bought together. The responding officer told the victim Washington is a “community property state,” so although he would file the report as a burglary, it may not be charged as such if it is found the estranged husband was in possession. In community property states, most property acquired during marriage is automatically considered jointly owned under the law. The ex-couple was not yet legally divorced.

Melee on the bus

By Katie Nelson
HIGHLINE TIMES

After two days of testimony from both sides of a hearing over whether a new apartment complex should be built on the border of Seahurst Park, the apartment building company’s last witness pulled a rare move-- putting a new deal on the table that would remove two apartment buildings from the original plan.

The decision to build the Emerald Pointe apartments has been controversial from the start. Neighbors of Seahurst Park, a group comprised of community members, filed an administrative appeal against Westmark, the building company. The appeal was on the grounds that a wetland was partially on the proposed building site and that the construction could lead to slope instability and increased storm water runoff, according to Burien city attorney Craig Knutson.

“The city’s role was defending the adequacy of the environmental impact statement for the project, which the city commissioned, and also defending the clearing permit that the city issued for the project,” he said.

By Katie Nelson
Highline Times

It is only Normandy Park city manager Glenn Akramoff’s few weeks on the job, but already he has big plans for the tiny community nestled beside Burien.

Akramoff has worked in cities like Sammamish and Covington since his arrival in Washington in 1989. However, he began his ascent of the municipal ladder early on, despite his lack of a college education.

“I started at my hometown in New York as a temporary maintenance worker, and I’ve worked my way up through the years,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time doing self-education. I’ve got a certification as a performance coach, as a facilitator, and pretty much every municipal thing you can think of. I’ve been able to work my way through job after job.”

Akramoff was hired for his current position in Normandy Park after both his wife and the Covington city manager encouraged him to apply. He said he feels that his strong suits are put to good use in a small town in need of encouragement.

By Shakira Ericksen
SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLINE TIMES

It will be a long process to restore the Des Moines Marina back to normal.

The explosion that started the fire on June 23, caused up to $1.5 million in damage to the J Dock where the boat was moored.

The fire was caused by an accidental explosion aboard a 28’Bayliner power boat in slip J13. Two people were injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center for burn treatment.

Although only one boat sank, seven others were severely damaged. The boat the explosion occurred on sank but was quickly recovered. All other boats in danger of sinking were removed from the dock.

Because all the boats were removed quickly there were no oil spills or environmental damage. The seven boats declared a total loss were estimated at a value of $150,000 - $200,000.

The covered J Dock has structural damage and 32 slips underwent heavy smoke damage. Areas that the fire did not reach were still affected by heat and smoke damage.

The electrical system from J1-J31 was destroyed, seven finger floats were damaged, three beyond repair.

The King County Sheriff’s Office arrested alleged con artist Oanh Nguyen of Burien, 39, in June for investigation of fraud, ID theft, forgery and unlawful issuance of bank checks. Police said she targeted the Vietnamese population of King County for her cons (Nguyen is Vietnamese herself, having moved to the U.S. in 1993), and went about her business largely unchecked for at least three years.

Investigators are trying to find more victims by releasing Nguyen’s photo and descriptions of her crimes in both English and Vietnamese. As a result, the victim calls are now pouring in, and KCSO Community Service Officer Peter Truong, originally from Vietnam, has devoted his recent life to working with those victims alongside KCSO Detective Laura Alspach to build a case that will result in a conviction and, in the words of Truong, “stop this lady.”

In the Friday, July 12 Highline Times letters section, Potential paper-eater? attempts to make the case that Jesus Christ tacitly approved of homosexuality because the New Testament doesn’t contain a quote where Jesus specifically condemns homosexuality.

Such a quotation does not exist because it was not an issue in Israel during the time that Christ was on earth. There was unanimity of strong homosexual opposition in the Jewish community – including the political and religious leadership, and throughout the population. One need not make proclamations when universal consensus exists.

In contrast, when the Apostle Paul preached in Greece where homosexuality was openly practiced, Paul proclaimed homosexuality to be “wicked” and placed it in the same category as adultery and male prostitution (I Corinthians 6:9).

Potential states that: “I simply try to maintain an open mind, being tolerant, compassionate and loving to people of all walks of life--just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”

Press release:

On June 24, 2013, the Burien City Council agreed to a proposal by the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (PaRCS) Department that will provide two new after-school programs in partnership with Highline Public Schools beginning this fall. The new programs will include two primary components: academic support and recreational enrichment.

Hazel Valley Elementary School and Highline High School have been chosen as program sites. Highline Public Schools staff will administer the academic support portion which will be scheduled directly after the school day ends. The City’s recreation program will follow, and include physical recreation along with other enrichment activities in the arts, nutrition education, and life skills development.

As part of this year’s Council-adopted Work Plan, the PaRCS Department was asked to identify opportunities for program enhancements in partnership with Highline Public Schools, focusing on programs that would benefit Burien youth. Through discussions with principals and staff at Hazel Valley and Highline High and other program partners, PaRCS staff developed two program proposals to present to the Council.

Press release:

Ballots and voters’ pamphlets for the Aug. 6 primary election will arrive in mailboxes throughout King County this week.

King County Elections will mail nearly 1.2 million ballots on July 17. Voters’ pamphlets are mailed separately by bulk mail and may arrive on a different day than ballots.

“Voters should watch for their ballot in the mail and contact us if they haven’t received it by Wednesday, July 24,” said Sherril Huff, Elections Director.

The county already sent more than 17,400 ballots to voters living overseas and those serving in the military to allow extra time for delivery.

“Ballot drop locations have been expanded to provide more options for voters to return their ballots,” Huff said. “Voters can return ballots to any of 25 locations, including our three Accessible Voting Centers.”

There is a ballot drop box in Burien on Southwest 152nd St. in front of City Hall/Library, 400 S.W. 152nd St.

The expanded locations now include 12 scheduled drop vans for the primary and general elections (up from three last year) to provide better service for voters.

The local rock band Van Eps, that we covered in February, has completed another music video set to debut on Friday. Produced by Jamie Chamberlin and Black Dahlia Films the video is for the song "Nineteen" and employs a wide variety of techniques to capture the emotional content of the song.

Chamberlin, whose work includes videos and films for ZZ Top and Duff McKagan said, "We shot it in Discovery Park and it's unlike other work I've done."

The production utilized a quadcopter to get fly over shots of the band. Chamberlin also captured slow motion shots, integrated still photographs, used muted color, compositing, and other tricks that make the video different.

You can see the teaser for the video above.