December 2011

By Joey Martinez
(Editor’s Note: Joey Martinez is a former Burien City Council candidate.)

The simple answer is Yes and No. It really depends on the context of how you ask the question.

There is certainly a perception of "East" versus "West" of Ambaum Boulevard in Burien, but I won't be looking at that directly.

I wanted to look at this question in regards to the most recent election (Nov. 8.)

First, some asterisks of note. I didn't split the 34th legislative precincts between east and west of Ambaum. So, in relation to east versus west in the 34th pre-annexation scenario, that hasn't been analyzed. I also did not include any under-votes (blank), over-votes, or write-in candidates. The vote count per race was not uniform so I totaled the three races and averaged out the vote count.

In the following scenarios, there were no changes in who won the overall election. In this regard, there is only one Burien.

press release:
The Board of Directors of the White Center Community Development Association (CDA) today announced that the CDA Executive Director, Aileen Balahadia, plans to leave her position next spring. Ms. Balahadia has served as the organization’s Executive Director since January 2004.

“Under Aileen’s leadership the White Center CDA embraced a completely new model of comprehensive community development. Over the last eight years, she helped to grow the CDA from 1.5 FTE to a professional staff of 11.5 FTE and a $ 1.5m annual budget,” said Heather Downey, Board President and Burien resident. “White Center is a stronger, healthier community because of Aileen’s leadership.”

Accomplishments under Balahadia’s tenure include the successful management of a multi-million dollar Making Connections comprehensive community change initiative of the Annie E Casey Foundation, the launch of an emerging White Center Promise neighborhoods campaign, the opening of the 30-unit Unity Village affordable housing project, and the stewardship of core CDA programs like Family Connections and neighborhood business district revitalization.

The core of White Center’s business district along 16th Ave S.W. has a unique upgrade popping up along the sidewalks: handcrafted bike racks built by a local blacksmith with a passion for promoting self-propelled transportation and community pride.

Take a walk along 16th and you’ll find newly installed bike racks in front of Full Tilt Ice Cream, Proletariat Pizza, Café Delia (sharing the space with Proletariat) and the King County Sheriff’s deputy storefront. More are planned with Company Bar and Big Al Brewing signing up for the upgrade.

PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR PHOTOS OF THE BIKE RACKS

While utilitarian in function, these are not you’re everyday county-issued bike racks (those already on 16th are mostly bent and loose from repeated car taps). They blur the lines between function and art with sunray-like extensions projecting from logos atop each rack.

Seattle firefighters were called to the 8600 block of Fauntleroy Ave S.W. around 8 a.m. on Dec. 15 to battle a raging shed fire.

According to Seattle Fire, "quick actions stopped a quickly growing shed fire from spreading to neighboring homes in West Seattle." Once firefighters arrived, they were able to control the fire within six minutes.

The renter of the property was not home when the shed caught fire and investigators said several extension cords running from the house to the shed in order to power a portable heater were to blame. One of the links in the extension train caught fire.

Damages were estimated at $17,000 and SFD shared this cautionary note:

Seattle Fire Department’s Public Education Unit advises residents to use as few extension cords and plug adapters as possible. Make sure extension cords are not tacked to walls, run under rugs, or through doorways. Also, unplug small appliances such as toasters and heaters when not in use.

VAIN, a salon that has locations downtown and in Ballard is opening a West Seattle location in preview/soft open mode on Dec. 17 at 4513 California Ave s.w. in half of the space formerly occupied by the junction liquor store and West Seattle Train shop. The other half will be occupied by The Beer Junction.

Manager Rebecca Pellman shared this news:

"The boutique portion of VAIN West Seattle will be pre-opening for the holidays starting this Saturday and Sunday from 12-8pm! We'll have accessories, jewelry and gift items in stock, and VAIN staff onhand to answer questions about VAIN's hair services.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

The salon portion of VAIN West Seattle will open early 2012. This is just a holiday preview soft opening, with limited hours through Christmas.

We are so excited that we'll be able to open our doors and meet our West Seattle neighbors in time for the holidays. The space is looking incredible and we can't wait for people to see it." The business will open completely "sometime in January."

The Ballard girls basketball team travelled to kenmore last night for a conference game against Inglemoor.

The Lady Vikings earned a five point lead in the first quarter but the Beavers fought hard to take back the lead resulting in a halftime score of 32 for the Beavers and 30 for Inglemoor.

The third quarter was equally close in score with Ballard scoring 18 and Inglemoor gaining on the Beavers' lead with 19.

Going into the fourth quarter with a one-point lead, it was crucial for the Beavers to step up the defense while continuing to build on their lead. The Vikings however made a strong comeback both offensively and defensively allowing the Beaver to score only four points while scoring 24 points themselves for a final score of 54 to 73 for the Inglemoor Vikings.

Leading the Beavers in scoring was Cailey Beckett with 14 points, followed by Keina Ishiyama with 13. Imani Bender had eight rebounds and one assist; Samantha Hall had six rebounds and one assist.

A satirical web TV series called The Collectibles currently in production launches early next year. West Seattle's Todd Downing is co-writer/co-director/producer and Lisa Skvarla, who co-owns Lee's Martial Arts Academy with her husband on California Ave. SW, is associate producer and cast member.

The premise, an angst-ridden ensemble of superheroes called the "Power Posse" converge in a typical American drab office following a hard day of crime-fighting and are treated like mere mortals by their boss. He considers them "intellectual property" and expects them to file paperwork and answer phone calls. Back-stabbing and rivalries unfold among the posse.

Unlike Superman's Clark Kent, and Batman's Bruce Wayne, these crime-fighters remain superheroes 24/7 and don their apparel, including neon pajamas, gold stars, push-up bras and other-worldly, metallic accessories in the office environment.

A rough cut of the first of 10 episodes, each to run 10 minutes, can be seen on YouTube clip above.

Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher left the SeaTac City Council Dec. 13 after serving 12 years.
He didn’t go quietly.
Fisher was defeated in the November general election by former councilman Barry Ladenburg.
A reported $159,000—more than seven times any previous SeaTac election—was spent against Fisher and two other candidates who favored an elected mayor proposition that was also on the ballot. Much of the money was spent by UNITE HERE Local 8, which represents approximately 1,500 hotel hospitality workers in SeaTac.
Among Fisher’s targets in his comments were King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, a Democrat, and state Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is running for governor as a Republican. Patterson’s seat on the county council is nonpartisan but she was first elected as a Democrat.
Fisher charged that McKenna, as attorney general, has refused to prosecute those who campaigned against him.
He said state law prohibits sponsoring election materials that, with malice, make false and malicious statements about a candidate.
He said those opposing him also verbally defamed him by saying he stole money from the city.
“They broke the law,” Fisher declared.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, has introduced legislation requiring higher education employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect in Washington state.

“After hearing of the recent Penn State University abuse scandal and researching Washington’s laws, I discovered higher education employees aren’t required to report child abuse or neglect,” said Kohl-Welles in a press release. “It is imperative we tighten our laws to detect and protect children on higher education campuses. This bill does just that.”

Under current law, the general rule is that professionals who are likely to encounter children and believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect must report the incident to either law enforcement or child protective services (referred to as "mandatory reporters").

Daily there are many children on college campuses whether for child care, or educational programs.

Kohl-Welles introduced Senate Bill 5991, with Democratic and Republican support, which adds certain employees of public and private higher education institutions to the list of mandatory reporters. The bill is similar to current law in Kindergarten through Grade 12 school districts.

Motorcycle/car collision investigation

On December 12th, at approximately 2:05 p.m., a Kawasaki motorcycle was travelling northbound on 6th Avenue N.W. approaching N.W. 88th Street. A Honda CRV was travelling westbound on N.W. 88th Street when the two vehicles collided in the intersection.

The 21 year old male motorcyclist was treated at the scene by Seattle Fire Medics and transported to Harborview Medical Center. The 69 year driver of the Honda was evaluated at the scene and it was determined that neither alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in this collision.

Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded to the scene and began their investigation. This reamains an active and ongoing investigation.

Parking Enforcement Officer assists in locating missing woman