January 2014

By Matt Wendland

Newly elected Council Member, Nancy Tosta, was only sworn in to her position on the Burien City Council at their meeting on January 6th but she has already announced a change to traditional Council Member/constituent practice: Council Member Tosta announced Monday that she will began hosting monthly coffee meetings around Burien where citizens will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns and ask questions.

Tosta, who made improved communication with constituents a key tenant of her campaign, will be hosting the first of her coffee meetings around Burien at Burien Press, a local and independent coffee shop located just across the street from Burien City Hall and Burien Town Square Park at 423 SW 152nd Street.

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced today that King County would proceed with a ballot measure proposed for next April that would seek funding to cover both the previously announced cuts to Metro bus service and address the backlog of road maintenance in the county. No statewide action has yet been taken to address the transportation issues which caused the Executive, who was joined by four King County Councilmembers at King Street Center, to take this action.

The proposal also calls for adoption of a scheduled fare increase of 25 cents for 2015 and the first-ever reduced fare for riders of limited means.

In a press release the plan was outlined:

King County Transportation District

Under existing state law, the Metropolitan King County Council can consider an ordinance creating a transportation benefit district, funded by a potential annual vehicle fee of up to $100 and a temporary sales tax of up to two-tenths of cent.

The ordinance proposed today calls for creation of a King County Transportation District that would ask voters to approve amounts less than the full funding authority:

The non-profit Evergreen Pool, which serves the greater Highline area, which had been threatened with closure, will remain open thanks to a combination of community and government support.

During December the volunteer community group that manages the pool successfully raised over $15,000 from the public, obtained a grant for reducing energy costs from King County Parks, and entered into a contract with the City of Burien to provide services to low-income residents there.

“We are so grateful to the community and our leaders who recognize the need for an aquatic facility in White Center and for coming together to help us continue our mission of teaching swimming and promoting fitness in the Highline area,” said Evergreen Community Aquatics Center Board President, Bryan Hastings.

“In particular we would like to thank King County Executive Dow Constantine and Burien’s newly elected Mayor Lucy Krakowiak for sharing our vision,” said Hastings. In addition there were many private donors, mostly giving less than $100, who helped reach the fundraising goal.

High schools
Boys basketball
West Seattle faces a tough game Tuesday as it will host highly-ranked Rainier Beach in a 7:30 p.m. game. Chief Sealth will be at home against O'Dea at the same time.
Evergreen entertains Hazen for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday.
Friday Chief Sealth goes on the road to Blanchet for 8 p.m. action and West Seattle goes to O'Dea at the same time.

Evergreen is at Foster for a 6:15 p.m. game.

Saturday's schedule has West Seattle going to Bainbridge at 8 p.m.

Girls basketball
The Chief Sealth girls will host Holy Names for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday as West Seattle entertains Rainier Beach.

Evergreen will be at Hazen for 7 p.m. action before visiting Foster at 7:45 p.m. Friday.

Friday's schedule includes road games for Chief Sealth and West Seattle at 6:15 p.m., with the Seahawks going to Blanchet and the Wildcats to Holy Names. West Seattle visits Bainbridge at the same time Saturday.

Wrestling
West Seattle travels to Lakeside for a 6:30 p.m. match Tuesday before going to Franklin with Rainier Beach at 7 p.m. Thursday. Evergreen and Tyee travel to Foster at the same starting time.

Friday, Jan. 10
Boys basketball
K-M 56, Mt. Rainier 54
The Rams of Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines were edged by the Royals, 56-54, Friday despite a 21-point outing by Andrew Lenneberg.
Evergreen 54, Tyee 30
Anthony Berry-You buried 14 points to pace the Wolverines in Friday's win over the Totems.
Foster 67, Highline 36
Ben Mitchell led the Bulldogs with 12 points in their victory over Highline this past Friday.
Hazen 84, Kennedy 52
AJ McGrew scored 24 for the Lancers in their loss to Hazen last Friday.
SCS 43, Charles Wright 39
Cody Miller knocked in 19 points as Seattle Christian prevailed against Charles Wright on Friday.
Girls basketball
Mt. Rainier 73, K-M 31
Brittany McPhee erupted for 34 points Friday as Mount Rainier posted another lopsided victory. Sister Jordan McPhee was next with 17.
Foster 50, Highline 25
Makayla Coin scored 14 points Friday, helping Foster double the points total of Highline.
Kennedy 60, Hazen 22
Kennedy hammered Hazen in a Seamount League game this past Friday.
Charles Wright 38, SCS 36
Madelyn Weber hit 24 points for the Warriors as they came up short against Charles Wright on Friday.

Saturday, Jan. 11

A fire call at 3421 S.W. Roxbury closed traffic on 35th S.W. for a time on Monday afternoon around ten minutes after 2 p.m. as SFD had to use the ladder truck to get up on the roof and deal with a chimney fire. There were no evacuations and no one was hurt.

The apartment building is at the corner of 35th and Roxbury Streets S.W.

An early design review meeting is set for a proposed 50 unit 7 story mixed use apartment building to be constructed at 4505 42nd Ave. S.W. on Oregon Street. The meeting is at the West Seattle Senior Center, Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m.

The Senior Center is located at 4217 S.W. Oregon Street, which happens to be just adjacent to the proposed building site.

The site is owned by West Seattle's Leon Capelouto, owner/developer of Capco Plaza on Alaska Street. NK Architects are the designers. The proposal includes two floors with 10,000 sq, ft. of retail/office space and one level of underground parking for 16 vehicles. The site is just north of the West Seattle Junction Association‘s free-parking lot.

The Director of the Department of Planning and Development will accept written comments to assist in the preparation of the early design guidance through January 23, 2014. You are invited to offer comments regarding important site planning and design issues, which you believe, should be addressed in the design for this project.

Comments and requests to be made party of record should be submitted to PRC@seattle.gov or

If you're not happy with the kinds of the tall, dense developments that have been popping up in some mostly single-family-home areas of Ballard, now is the time to speak up.

Unbeknownst to most residents and homeowners in the city, the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) made some significant changes to its lowrise zoning rules in 2010. For some parts of Ballard, this now means that four townhouse structures can be built on a single, 5,000-square-foot lot in locations where this type of development was not previously allowed.

City Council President Sally Clark is now calling on the DPD to review and "clean up" its zoning-code changes to make sure new buildings fit into neighborhoods.

Two Accidental Handgun Shootings in Burien
According to the Burien Police, the first day of the year included two accidental shootings in Burien that included drinking. The first incident took place between 1 am and 2 am on January 1st. Police report that a number of underage residents were drinking at a party near the intersection of South 128th Street and 12th Avenue South when a handgun carried by one youth walking in the home’s driveway, accidentally went off, leaving a wound in the foot of another underage drinker. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released information about the legality of the weapon or the identity of the underage drinkers. The second incident took place on January 2nd at Elmer’s Bar and Grill on Ambaum Boulevard in Burien. Just after 1 am, a man with a legal 38. pistol was leaving the bar and accidentally fired his weapon into his leg. Police do not report charging the man for the accidental discharge and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Nearly $13,000 in property stolen from Burien home on New Year’s Day

Deadline for receiving items for Community Calendar is 5 p.m. Wednesday for the following week’s Times/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email submissions to: calendar@robinsonnews.com
Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Dona Ozier at 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our “Out & About” advertising section.
Recovery Night
Burien Library
400 S.W. 152nd St.
Sun., Jan. 19, 6-8 p.m. Ages 13-25. Music, games, movies and prizes at Recovering Youth in Motion. Information: 206-251-9171 or www.facebook.com/B.towns.ryim

SW King School Retirees Association Meeting
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
19030 8th Ave. S.
Mon., Jan. 27, 11:30 a.m. Donation: $6. A lunch will be served. Noon program will feature Highline School District Superintendent, Susan Enfield, Ed.D., presenting the progress of the new strategic plan for our community schools, and bold goals for our students. Donations for local food banks will be accepted, including diapers, and eye glasses. A book exchange is also still going on. Bring another retiree with you. Questions, call Eileen 206-878-3294.

Empty Bowls 2014 Benefit