October 2013

Update: The time has been changed back to 11 a.m.

Congressman McDermott invites you to "Coffee with Your Congressman" Saturday, Oct. 19. Jim will provide a brief update on events in Congress and take questions. The event takes place at Grand Central Bakery, 626 S.W. 152nd Street, Burien, from 11 a.m. to noon.

If you have questions about the visit, you can call of go online:

Office of Jim McDermott, Seattle
Phone: 206-553-7170
Web: McDermott.House.gove
RSVP appreciated

By Shakira Ericksen

After a long period of deliberation, the City of SeaTac bid an emotional farewell to Republic Services and welcomed a new partnership with CleanScapes.

The SeaTac City Council voted unanimously 7-0 to change from Republic to CleanScapes at the Oct. 8, council meeting. 
The entire council agreed that Republic was a great partner and gave excellent service, but now it was time to try something new.

“We’re all struggling over this quite a lot,” said Mayor Tony Anderson. “Basically it comes down to the lower rate.”

The City will be saving $1.4 million over seven years which is $200,000 annually.

“SeaTac is not a wealthy community and $1.4 million is a lot of dollars to people who don’t have a lot of dollars,” said Mayor Anderson. “It comes down to more services at a lower rate and what is the greatest good for the most people and I truly hope that CleanScapes will be as good a partner with the community.”

The Highline School Board will hear public comment on a proposal to close Odyssey High School on Wednesday, October 23, at 5:00 p.m. at the school district central office (ERAC), 15675 Ambaum Blvd SW in Burien.

Speakers will be taken on a first come, first served basis. Testimony is limited to three minutes per person. For disability accommodations to attend the public hearing, participants are asked to contact the school board office at least three working days in advance of the meeting. (206-631-3001)

Last month, Superintendent Susan Enfield recommended closure of Odyssey High School at the end of this school year because of low enrollment. Due to its low staff/student ratio and high overhead, operating costs for Odyssey are more than double that of the average costs at other high schools in Highline.

“I have been impressed with the good work happening at Odyssey. I want to make it clear that this is a financial decision, not one based on performance,” said Superintendent Enfield. “As tough as closing a school is for staff, students, and families, given our limited resources I believe this decision is in the best interests of our students as a whole.”

Another book on marriage might normally be viewed with a yawn. But 2013 has not been a normal year. Marriage Reconsidered comes in the midst of a year that has seen an avalanche of new marriage laws in the United States which have vastly broadened social options for this institution. People are being challenged, especially in the church, to re-examine their Biblical foundations.

The author of this new book is John William Lee, who asserts that evolving marriage definitions undermine basic Bible reading and comprehension. He shows that Scripture frequently compares God’s love for his people to a husband’s love for his wife. When this kind of love is maintained as a foundation for human community, it provides solid ground on which to build. When it is undercut, as Lee suggests current social trends are doing, the floundering will intensify.

To the Editor,

I think back on the months of hard work my fantastic team of volunteers and I devoted to my run for the Burien City Council in this year's primary election and I am proud. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish with our message of common sense and common decency. We certainly didn’t get the results we had hoped for, but we accomplished great things in spurring productive dialogue door to door and within the political forums.

I certainly learned a lot from my political endeavor, but the most powerful lesson of all, was just how great our city and our citizens really are. I knocked on over 1500 doors and the message that rang true over and over again was the passion and commitment we all have to make our city the best it can be; not only for ourselves, but for our friends, neighbors and children.

To the Editor,

I think back on the months of hard work my fantastic team of volunteers and I devoted to my run for the Burien City Council in this year's primary election and I am proud. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish with our message of common sense and common decency. We certainly didn’t get the results we had hoped for, but we accomplished great things in spurring productive dialogue door to door and within the political forums.

I certainly learned a lot from my political endeavor, but the most powerful lesson of all, was just how great our city and our citizens really are. I knocked on over 1500 doors and the message that rang true over and over again was the passion and commitment we all have to make our city the best it can be; not only for ourselves, but for our friends, neighbors and children.

information from Sustainable West Seattle

Join Sustainable West Seattle for an evening exploring A Vision for the Duwamish River – Community, Restoration and Conservation at C & P Coffee on October 21st from 7 to 9 PM.

The Duwamish is Seattle’s only river and the five-mile stretch running through Seattle is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a federal Superfund site. The Duwamish is one of the most contaminated rivers in the country from years of industrial pollution as well as wastewater and storm-water runoff. Efforts are underway by many groups and agencies to clean up the river and restore the river ecosystem.

Speakers from several organizations will discuss the challenges and ongoing actions to clean up the river along with ways to get involved with these efforts.

By Jeff Underwood

According to a recent survey*, more than 60 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have never shopped around to find health or prescription drug coverage that might better suit their needs, despite their annual opportunity to do so during the Open Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 to Dec. 7). That’s unfortunate because Medicare is not a one-size-fits-all program, and a lot can change in a year in terms of people’s health status and budget, as well as the plans that are available.

Perhaps even more concerning is the confusion surrounding the new state health insurance marketplaces (also called “exchanges”). The survey found that more than a third of older adults who are aware of the exchanges incorrectly believe that Medicare beneficiaries can shop for and enroll in Medicare coverage through them. Simply put: People cannot enroll in Medicare plans through the exchanges.

To the editor:
Reading the list of politicians and organizations, from the ‘Yes for SeaTac’ website, who endorse Prop 1 for the City of SeaTac, I notice that most aren’t located in SeaTac.

As one of the Founders of the City of SeaTac, and a lifelong resident in the Highline area, I feel I must speak up. One of the reasons for incorporation was to have some influence on our own destiny in SeaTac.
I personally do not believe that the government should tell businesses how to manage their affairs. Prop1 strips the rights of private enterprise to run their business they way they feel they should. The only involvement the City should have is to see that a business is legal and environmentally sound.

If passed, Prop 1 will damage the City of SeaTac to the point where new business will not locate in SeaTac. Some will leave SeaTac, and current establishments may be forced to cut employees and services, and/or layoff the very people this Proposition claims it will help.

Following are some of the reasons that will likely cause your taxes to go up and the stability of life here will be truly challenged:

I loved being a boy. With a big brother who was my hero, and a mother who put up daily with a drunk husband--staying with him anyway, without a noticeable cry--dedicated to her marriage, her kids, praying. I loved adventuring in the nearby, barely developed wooded land, Sunday school, grade school, high school, climbing our huge Gravenstein apple tree and gorging on the fruit, never much concerned by the worms.

I also loved street games like kick-the-can and run sheep run or performing for my sisters' boyfriends. Tossing milk bottle caps to the base of a concrete wall, throwing my jack-knife, playing real estate, sunning myself against the stucco-high wall at the Peninsula Park pool. I remember delivering the News Telegram and the Oregon Journal, making model airplanes I got from mailing Wheaties box tops, listening to wrestling matches coming all the way from Aberdeen, Washington on mom's crystal set in her attic den.