October 2016

To the editor:

I don't think it's any mystery at all concerning the chaos at Burien City Hall; people get elected to some position or other and immediately they are now "Important People". Mayor? Council-Persons? City Engineer etc.? They're in power and control. It just goes to their head. And don't forget, they ALWAYS know what's best and you don't. But really, my question is what's going on with the small "burgs", Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila, Federal Way...have I left any offending city out that scandal has hit? White Center (not a city) may have its' problems but you don't hear about things that are going on in Burien or SeaTac or Tukwila happening there. Maybe White Center could send someone down to Burien City Hall and give some seminars about doing "Good Government".

Richard B. Ellenberger
Normandy Park

SEATTLE – The Port of Seattle is holding a Community Meeting and Open House on the Flight Corridor Safety Program developed to remove over-height and replant lower-height trees at and around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on November 1, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. at Bow Lake Elementary in SeaTac. Removal and replanting of the trees will ensure Sea-Tac complies with all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations protecting approach and departure surfaces into and out of the airport. 
 
The Community Meeting and Open House will provide airport communities with additional details about the program, including information stations with subject matter experts and an opportunity to offer questions and comments to Port of Seattle Commissioners.
 
More than 4,000 native, low-height trees will be planted by the Port in the first phase of the three year program to replace approximately 1,200 trees on Port property. The Flight Corridor Safety Program is divided into phases for trees on Port properties, publicly owned and commercial properties, and residential properties.
 

By Lindsay Peyton

Highline Public Schools is asking developers to help cover some of the costs they create when they pave the way for new families to move into the district.

Duggan Harman, chief of staff and finance, explained that the district has proposed asking the City of Burien to collect “impact fees” from new developments.

“Voters don’t want Highline Schools to go to them first for funding,” he said. “They want to make sure we have exhausted all of our resources and that developers are paying for the impact of their developments.”

The proposed fee for a single-family residence would be $7,528 and $6,691 for a multi-family dwelling.

Harman explained that a number of other cities already have impact fees in place.

“We have an obligation to serve all students, no matter if they move into existing houses or new construction,” Harman said. “More development means more students. The developers should have to pay for some amount of the impact they are bringing in.”

Harman said that the fees would be used toward capital expenses, specifically for construction of new schools and repairs and additions to existing campuses.

By Lindsay Peyton

Highline Public Schools is asking developers to help cover some of the costs they create when they pave the way for new families to move into the district.

Duggan Harman, chief of staff and finance, explained that the district has proposed asking the City of Burien to collect “impact fees” from new developments.

“Voters don’t want Highline Schools to go to them first for funding,” he said. “They want to make sure we have exhausted all of our resources and that developers are paying for the impact of their developments.”

The proposed fee for a single-family residence would be $7,528 and $6,691 for a multi-family dwelling.

Harman explained that a number of other cities already have impact fees in place.

“We have an obligation to serve all students, no matter if they move into existing houses or new construction,” Harman said. “More development means more students. The developers should have to pay for some amount of the impact they are bringing in.”

Harman said that the fees would be used toward capital expenses, specifically for construction of new schools and repairs and additions to existing campuses.

By Amanda Knox

The first Photo Sphere I ever saw transported me to the Valle de Cocora. I was standing in the middle of rolling hills so green they looked radioactive. I turned around myself, slack-jawed and gazing up at impossibly tall palm trees with bright white trunks and pom-pom heads. The sky was a happy Pantone 292, stretching out forever, pierced only by a burst of white gold that was the sun. It was a scene straight out of The Lorax, but all green and white and real.

I didn’t even know there was a place in the world that looked like the Valle de Cocora. I had never seen anything even close, and I’ve traveled to Germany, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Japan… And this wasn’t like looking it up on Google and looking through the postcard perfect images. This Photo Sphere felt like stepping into the paradise frozen in time. And it was. This was from Chris’s trip to Colombia—a moment he documented in every direction.

By Amanda Knox
 
The first Photo Sphere I ever saw transported me to the Valle de Cocora. I was standing in the middle of rolling hills so green they looked radioactive. I turned around myself, slack-jawed and gazing up at impossibly tall palm trees with bright white trunks and pom-pom heads. The sky was a happy Pantone 292, stretching out forever, pierced only by a burst of white gold that was the sun. It was a scene straight out of The Lorax, but all green and white and real.
 
I didn’t even know there was a place in the world that looked like the Valle de Cocora. I had never seen anything even close, and I’ve traveled to Germany, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Japan… And this wasn’t like looking it up on Google and looking through the postcard perfect images. This Photo Sphere felt like stepping into the paradise frozen in time. And it was. This was from Chris’s trip to Colombia—a moment he documented in every direction.
 

There was a movie on TV the other night. Lots of them, actually. But the one I watched had various sub-plots, none of them compelling.

But what makes the film notable is that it all centered on people eating a huge, fabulous meal. It all looked so tasty that by the time the film was over, I was hungrier than the Kardashians are for attention.

The Food Network has the same attraction---just watching people prepare yummy dishes brings out the Pavlovian dog in many of us. I now keep a drool cup right next to the TV remote.

Not all TV offerings have the same effect. When the History Channel comes on, I don’t run out to buy a helmet and machine gun.

I don’t have a hankering to wrestle a python just because I see a guy doing it on Animal Planet.

I do not grab my Visa card to buy a 14 karat Muzo Colombian emerald ring just because the Home Shopping Network says so. I do it because my wife says so.

Yet, every time I find myself sitting in front of the TV watching the Food Network, I cannot turn away. There is a gluttonous allure to it. It helps if you are already shallow.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, Oct. 15
Football
Tacoma Baptist 78, Seattle Lutheran 20
Saturday's showdown for the SeaTac B League title went the wrong way as far as Seattle Lutheran High School of West Seattle is concerned. Now the Saints play Quilcene for second place at 1 p.m. this coming Saturday at West Seattle Stadium.

Friday, Oct. 14
Football
Kennedy 50, Tahoma 19
The Lancers improved to 5-2 with Friday's decisive victory at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley.
Steilacoom 47, Highline 0
Steilacoom shut out the Pirates in Friday's game played at Steilacoom.
Franklin Pierce 49, Foster 24
Franklin Pierce scored a victory over the Bulldogs on their home field Friday.
Fife 55, Evergreen 0
Evergreen was felled by Fife on Friday.

Thursday, Oct. 13
Football
Mt. Rainier 55, Kentridge 12
The Rams rebounded from the previous week's loss to Kentwood to decisively win Thursday's game against Kentridge and improve to 6-1 on the year.

Girls soccer
West Seattle 3, Chief Sealth 0

Today at 1:55 PM, a stolen commercial box van was sighted in Kent by an employee of the company that owned it. She called police and followed it as it was driven to the Bow Lake Transfer station. Tukwila Police officers found the van at the transfer station and detained the driver. When officers opened the back, they saw several drums in the back. The officers weren’t sure what was in the drums but were concerned they could contain something hazardous. The Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team responded and checked the drums. Nothing immediately hazardous was found and officers are still investigating. We do not know when the transfer station will reopen.

Sgt. Mike Murphy
Tukwila Police Department
Professional Standards Unit