January 2009

Sea-Tac International Airport Director Mark Reis says the final EIS stated that the third runway's..."purpose would be to enable two separate arrival streams to Sea-Tac during poor and good weather." Whoa, wait a minute, when did they add the word good?

I sure don't remember seeing this. In the draft, final, and supplemental EIS in big bold letters on the front page where the purpose and need is located, it says they want to relieve bad weather delay.

This lie worked so well here, they used it in Cleveland, Illinois and recently, Philadelphia.

The General Manager and Board of Commissioners of Water District 20 wish to express our gratitude to our customers for their generous donations of over $100 in cash and 500 pounds of food to the White Center Food Bank during the 2008 holiday season.

Due to the overwhelming success of the holiday drive, the District has decided to collect on behalf of the Food Bank throughout the year.

A collection barrel is located in the lobby of our office at 12606 First Ave. S.

So, Burien is attempting to kill the annexation agreement with Seattle and King County, AGAIN.

Last year, all the parties were called to Olympia to work out a compromise that would properly fund both cities to annex part of North Highline.

Everyone showed up; legislative leaders, King County, Seattle, all ready to find common ground. Burien showed up at the meeting without the authority to make decisions.

Hello, ACE Hardware. Glad to see you.

It's so nice not having to run to Southcenter for a handful of screws or a ten-cent washer.

The people of Burien have needed you for a long time.

You'll do good once the people find the store. You're kind of hidden down in that little hole.

The only thing wrong is the store should be two to three times bigger with more room for building materials etc. No other place in town to buy any.

We used to have everything we needed in our town. Oh, I forgot, that was before Burien became a city.

Recently, a group of fellow juniors and I from Kennedy High School met at a local Starbucks for a study session. Our history final was the next day, and we had decided to prepare together.

About an hour into our studying, the woman sitting at the table next to us grabbed her coat and got ready to leave. Thinking nothing of it, we continued right on through the Jacksonian Era of U.S. History.

It was only when she asked us who was in charge that we really noticed her.

Burien held a public gathering Saturday evening to celebrate the temporary installation of five sculptures at Burien Town Square. Some of the sculptures were set ablaze and fire dancers performed.

Cranes installed the five sculptures at the Burien Town Square's temporary art space Thursday and Friday.

At the center of the interim art space, a dramatic 30-foot-high sculpture called "The Passage" was installed.

Burien has its own hardware store again.

Ace Hardware opened its doors on Jan. 2 at 14903 Fourth Ave. S.W.

Customer Gene Herke of Burien commented, "It is so nice not having to run to Southcenter for a handful of screws or a ten-cent washer.

"The only thing wrong is the store should be two to three times bigger with more room for building materials. There is no other place in town to buy any."

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Have recent weather conditions affected your holiday travels and brought stress to your life?

You're probably not alone, but the snow doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Just ask the members of the Burien Backslider Ski Club.

The Backsliders are celebrating their 50th year of existence, as they ride the bus up to Crystal Mountain every Wednesday in January and February for a day of skiing in the snow.

The Backsliders started out very small in 1959.

One upon a time, the family automobile was part of the American Dream.

The prosperity and freedom they represented changed the country and the world.

Perhaps those days are gone.

Earlier this month, one Burien car dealer decided to let his part of that that dream go.

The owners of BBC Auto let go of their dream and auctioned off everything on the 4 square-acres lot.

A new vision for the downtown Des Moines is slowly unfolding amid much policy direction and planning.

Des Moines City Councilwoman Susan White expressed her desire to put the city's plan in motion sooner rather than later.

"I'm tired of all the planning, I'm ready to start doing things," Councilwoman White said. "I'm ready to move along."

White said the council has been planning downtown development for so long, that she'll probably be dead by the time they actually do anything.

"The community gave us direction, let's do it," White declared.