February 2014

By Matt Wendland

Each year for the last nine years, the City of Burien and Discover Burien have hosted Empty Bowls. The event raises funds for both the Highline Area Food Bank and the White Center Food Bank which are both located at opposite ends of the Burien city limits.

Attendees of the event have the opportunity to support the food banks by purchasing hand forged bowls donated by the potters at Moshier Community Art Center. After selecting their wares, lunch or dinner in the form of food donated by a number of local businesses, is provided.

This year the event was held on January 31 at the Burien Community Center. 1,185 people attended the event and donated a total of $16,820.

23 soups were donated by local businesses in 2014 and this year the judges awarded Elliott Bay Brewery top honors for their corn chowder. Maven Mercantile took second place with their coconut yellow curry soup with roasted sweet potatoes and Emerald Cove Catering took third place with their Clam Chowder.

To the editor:

King County's proposed $60 car tab fee will affect lower income car owners FAR more than high income/high value car owners. Regressive, flat rate fees ALWAYS fall heaviest on the poor. And for additional injury, vehicle "fees" are not deductible on federal tax returns. Only the RTA excise tax is currently deductible.

The imposition of taxes/fees to support community infrastructure and services should be levied in a manner where those most able to pay pay the most. Right now, the poorest King County residents pay a disproportionate amount of the cost.

This is hypocritical in a community that claims to care about reducing poverty and ending homelessness.

And many of us are already paying additional car tab fees to our local jurisdictions that were imposed WITHOUT a vote. In Burien, the fee was rejected by voters -- then the city council (in the deceptive guise of a 'transportation district') arrogantly adopted it in the face of a 75% NO vote.

There was a time we had a war on poverty rather than a war on the poor.

Stephen Lamphear
Burien

By Eric Mathison

With the Great Recession hopefully in the rear view mirror, city lawmakers are again discussing the idea of a new Burien community and recreation center. It has been talked about since 2000.

In a presentation Feb. 24 to council members, Parks director Michael Lafreniere dusted off plans from 2008 for a 66,000-square-foot recreation center costing $35-$44 million.

Mayor Lucy Krakowiak is the only lawmaker still on the council from 2008 when a task force recommended the city put on hold the plan to ask voters to approve a property tax to build the new center. The poor economy was cited as the reason.

The 2008 master plan called for a recreation center that is “financially feasible, affordable and sustainable.”

After a lengthy discussion, council members decided to seek lawmakers and residents to volunteer for an ad hoc committee to further study the issue.

Council members said they wanted representatives of lawmakers, youth, arts groups, seniors and others to serve on the committee.

BY Gerardo Bolong

PARKLAND- The number three loomed significantly for the Mount Rainier Rams on Sat., Feb. 22, on the Names Family Court inside Memorial Gym on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University.

Fine tuning the offense while also extending a many tentacled defense, Mount Rainier of Des Moines took command early to win round three of this season's battles against Todd Beamer High School of Federal Way, in a demonstrative 61-41 Class 4A West Central III/Southwest Bi-District girls basketball championship encounter. After losing the first game against the Titans, the Rams have won the last two, each in more convincing fashion.

This was the third consecutive Bi-District for the Des Moines group in its fourth consecutive appearance. No. 1 seeded Mount Rainier (22-3) moved into a loser-out, winner-to-state regional test against fifth-seeded Edmonds-Woodway at 6 p.m. on the campus of Kent-Meridian High School. Beamer faces a tough battle against No. 2 Northwest seed Arlington on Saturday at 2 p.m on the Puyallup High School campus. It was Arlington that eliminated Beamer's chance for Tacoma Dome action last season, 52-40, in the same Puyallup gym.

By Gerardo Bolong

PUYALLUP - Six-foot junior Emily Fiso found her southpaw outside shooting quite beneficial in relieving some of the inside pressure defense of third-ranked Skyview of Vancouver by scoring her game total of 19 points in the first three quarters which secured openings for the often doubled and tripled teamed Stanford-bound Brittany McPhee as the the fifth-ranked Mount Rainier Rams of Des Moines (21-3) cleared the Storm for a 65-61 semifinal game of the West Central III/Southwest IV Bi-District girls basketball tournament held at Puyallup High School on Thurs., Feb. 21.

Besides qualifying for a fourth consecutive regional berth, the running Rams also set themselves up for a third consecutive Bi-District title and a third match up this season against No. 6 Todd Beamer, a 60-53 overtime winner against Bellarmine Prep, at noon on Sat., Feb. 22, on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University.

Despite drawing her second foul late in the first quarter, Fiso had her good shooting touch.

By Gerardo Bolong

LAKEWOOD - Woodrow Wilson campaigned successfully to out distance John F. Kennedy, 66-44, in a semi-final round game of the Class 3A West Central District III/Southwest Washington IV Bi-District girls basketball tournament at Clover Park High School on Friday, Feb. 21.

"We generally played good basketball," said Lancer head coach Greg Caldwell. "The girls got out rebounded, which was a little bit due to size, and a little because we needed to hustle more. Our missed shots and their put backs were demoralizing. A few unwise choices also came in as we started getting tired."

Seamount League champion Kennedy Catholic overcame a 5-0 first quarter deficit lead at 10-9 and 11-10 before trailing 14-11 after one quarter.
Behind the shooting of Kiara Knox and Josie Matz, the Narrow League Rams kicked away to a 35-21 halftime control. The Lancers used scoring shots by Myah Williams to close within 24-20 with 3:04 left until halftime, but Wilson then drew away to an insurmountable lead.

The West Seattle High School Sophomore class is hosting a 3 x 3 Basketball Tournament “206 BANG OUT” on Saturday, March 15th which will benefit Treehouse and help improve lives of foster kids in our community.

This event is for players 6th – 12th grade with divisions for all skill levels.

It will take place on Saturday, March 15th from 9-3pm in the WSHS Gym and will cost $20 dollars per team.

For information or to sign up please contact: 206bangoutrsvp@gmail.com

The entry deadline is March 7th.

The organizers are also looking for experienced people who would like to help with refereeing at this event.

Spectator entrance fee is a donation to Treehouse of new or like new items of clothing, shoes or supplies for kids ages 0-18.

Bring your friends, bring your family and take it to the hoops for Treehouse!

To learn more about what Treehouse does for foster kids visit their site http://www.treehouseforkids.org

People in Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy have been curious about the appearance of white paint marks on the street that began appearing recently.

SDOT said they've been getting questions about it and said, "chances are you’re looking at a spot where SDOT will make minor repairs such as filling potholes, cracks and depressions this winter.

(Paint is also used to mark the location of underground utilities, alert the public about an uplifted sidewalk, etc., but that’s for another blog post…)

These minor fixes are an important step to prepare selected streets in Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy to receive a microsurfacing sealcoat this summer.

Microsurfacing is cost-effective way to extend the life of streets which are in servicable condition. These minor repairs ensure that all the streets in the project are in good condition so this preventive maintenance sealcoat will be effective.

It’s like painting a house. The sealcoat is like the paint, which protects the siding from the weather. And every good painter does prep work such as filling gaps and holes before they start painting.

The Westwood/Roxhill/Arbor Heights Community Council has been in the forefront of pressing for improvements around Roxhill Park and the Westwood transit hub on Barton Street. In a letter sent to Mayor Ed Murray, the Westwood/Roxhill/Arbor Heights Community Council (WRAHCC) expressed concerns about crime in the area, transit issues and offered suggestions for how they might be addressed. That led to a walk through of the area on Dec. 30. Now Metro's Service Planner Doug Johnson has responded, noting shifts to routes planned and other changes.

Johnson wrote:

What if disabilities weren't something limiting but instead gave people super abilities? That's the premise behind an internet based show called Ghost Sniffers which is about to go into its second season of thirty-minute episodes. Calling it a “television show on the web” the producers are holding an open casting call for new young heroes at 1:30pm at the High Point Branch of the Seattle Public Library at 3411 S.W. Raymond Street on Sunday, March 23, 2014.

Begun in 2012, the show is run by a Washington State registered charity and nonprofit company staffed entirely by volunteers. On the show, Washington State kids with real-life disabilities or medical conditions — like Autism, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Down Syndrome, and Type 1 Diabetes — discover they have super abilities as a trade off. Together, they face wacky and witty creatures and try to prove whether reports of paranormal activity are real or ridiculous.