December 2011

Press release:

The U.S Department of Transportation has awarded $10 million in TIGER funding to Sound Transit in support of constructing an extension of Link light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to South 200th Street.

The 1.6-mile project, which includes an elevated guideway, station, and parking facilities, is planned to open in September, 2016—four years earlier than envisioned in the voter-approved Sound Transit 2 plan, and at the same time light rail service to the University of Washington will begin.

“This is great news for local commuters, communities, and the economy throughout Seattle,” said Sen. Patty Murray. “I was proud to create the TIGER program to fund investments like this one for Sound Transit that put people to work, boost the local economy, and lay down a strong foundation for long-term economic growth.”

Press release:

The Road Map Project released its Baseline Report Wednesday, Dec. 14 showing the troubling state of education in South King County and South Seattle.

The Road Map Region includes the Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, South Seattle and Tukwila school districts

The report urges action from all sectors of the community to achieve dramatic improvements in education. The report cites numerous examples of great work, but the overall results are poor–especially for children of color.

Too few young children are receiving quality early learning and 34 percent of our students are not reading well by third grade. Only 24 percent of the region’s high school graduates are getting a college degree or career credential–this despite the fact that by 2018, according to a study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, 67 percent of the jobs will require it.

Seattle Police Department press release:

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) has partnered up with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to create a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Squad (CVES). The CVES mission is to improve public safety within the Seattle region by reducing the number of unsafe commercial motor vehicles operating on our roadways through a process of education and enforcement.

The SPD squad is made up of four officers from the Traffic Section who completed a three week long commercial vehicle enforcement training course at the WSP Academy. The four CVES officers will devote their time to enforcing commercial vehicle safety regulations and will also be part of a multi-agency commercial vehicle enforcement task force.

This project was completed in partnership with SDOT and the WSP who provided laptops, weight scales, a CVES enforcement vehicle as well as individual tools and equipment for the officers.

Press release:

Holiday travelers can expect everything from jugglers and a one-man band, to prize winning opportunities and parking discounts at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this season. Please find below some links to key information and reference material about the airport.

Holiday Traffic Numbers
Is this the busiest time of the year for Sea-Tac Airport? Sorry to say, no. It may be for some airports around the country, but for Sea-Tac, this is not the busiest time of the year. We do expect many travelers, some who may only travel during the holidays, but even the busiest day this season does not equal an average summer day of passenger traffic at Sea-Tac.
Which days are expected to be the busiest at Sea-Tac Airport during this holiday season?
Dec. 22 - 96,000 (projected passengers coming in and out of the airport)
Dec. 23 - 94,000
Dec. 21 - 93,000

Additional Sea-Tac Airport Traffic Notes:
An average summer day (June-August) will see about 100,000 passengers (inbound and outbound) through the airport and is the peak air travel time for Sea-Tac.

Press release:

Since 2008, volunteers in Walker Preserve have removed large amounts of invasive plants and planted many native trees and shrubs. Walker Preserve is in the City of Normandy Park, along Walker Creek, which currently has spawning coho and chum salmon.

Please join us this Saturday, Dec. 17, to continue this work! We also have several monthly community weeding projects scheduled through the winter to remove ivy and other invasive weeds, and plant native trees and shrubs along the trail and stream in Walker Preserve and other areas in the basin.

This stewardship project is a joint effort of the City of Normandy Park, and the Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship program.
Address: SW. 168th St. and 2nd Ave. SW. in Normandy Park, up the road from Normandy Park City Hall.

If driving, your parking options include:
Three spaces in the small lot at SW 171st St. and Second Ave. S.W.
On the street along SW. 168th St.

Date/Time: Saturday, December 17, 2011, 9:30 a.m. – noon

IMPORTANT NOTE: This park does not have a restroom.

Stewardship Purpose: Improve habitat along the stream by removing non-native, invasive plants

Activities:

Update for Dec. 20
One arrest has been made in the Dec. 14 Des Moines shooting that sent three people to the hospital after an attempted medical marijuana robbery, according to Sgt. Bob Bohl with the Des Moines Police Department.

The shooting occurred on Dec. 14 at the Silverwood Park Apartments.

Bohl said the arrested suspect was not injured in the shooting.

The 52-year-old male (who was shot in the head) had made arrangements to sell what he claimed was medical marijuana and the transaction turned into an attempted robbery, Bohl said.

Two of the robbery suspects were shot, although police did not say whether they were shot by the 52-year-old.

Arrests are pending against additional suspects and this story will be updated when more information comes in.

Update for Dec. 15
An altercation between two separate parties led to three serious gunshot wounds in Des Moines on Wednesday, according to Des Moines Police.

The shooting occurred at the Silverwood Park Apartments on the 23000 block of 30th Ave S. around 11:45 a.m.

press release:
KPLU’s long-time signal to West Seattle at 88.1 FM may encounter interference due to a new radio station broadcasting on that same frequency.

KLOP-FM, a Christian Contemporary station licensed to Ocean Park, Washington, will sign on at 88.1 FM Monday, December 19. Because of terrain and distance, it’s possible that some KPLU listeners in West Seattle will still be able to hear the station, but others may experience some signal disruption.

At the present time, KPLU is unable to do anything about the interference. However, the station has a license application in to the FCC to move its West Seattle signal to a new frequency. In the meantime, if West Seattle listeners do encounter interference, KPLU advises them to try listening at 88.5 FM or online at www.kplu.org.

Those affected by a signal disruption are also encouraged to notify KPLU Listener Services at 800-677-5758 or e-mail the station at info@kplu.org.

The Beaver Gymnastics team hosted Bothell, Skyline and Bellingham last night for a home meet. The young Ballard team placed second and coach Stephanie Gundel said the team did well.

"Overall, last night went well. One of our top girls had a sore ankle and only did bars so our score was a little lower than it has been, but we did show improvement in some areas," she said.

The team this year is young with 10 freshmen and only 6 returning gymnasts after losing some valuable Seniors last year.

Bothell led the scores at the meet on Tuesday. The evening's results were:

1. Bothell 163.85
2. Ballard 149.1
3. Skyline 121.85
4. Bellingham School District (non-conference) 116.1

Vault
1. Raynie Hultgren (Bothell) 9.55
2. Maria Volk (Ballard) 8.7
3T. Kelsey Meyer (Bothell) and Kahokuloa Kauhi (Sehome) 8.35

Bars
1. Raynie Hultgren (Bothell) 9.3
2. Lauren Lee (Ballard) 7.3
3. Maureen Sturgeon (Ballard) 7.2

Beam
1. Raynie Hultgren (Bothell) 8.9
2. Marquesa Dixon (Bothell) 8.4
3. Maureen Sturgeon (Ballard) 8.35

Floor
1. Raynie Hultgren (Bothell) 9.55
2T. Marquesa Dixon (Bothell) 9.15 and Kelsey Meyer (Bothell) 9.15

All Around

The Ballard boys basketball team's away game against Inglemoor last night resulted in another win. The team is starting off their 2011-2012 season with a winning streak and a KingCo record of 3-0.

The Beavers started the Tuesday game strong, earning a 15 to 6 lead over Inglemoor. Inglemoor made a comeback in the second quarter scoring 19 points. The Beavers meanwhile scored another 16 points for a halftime score of 31 to 25 for the Beavers.

The Beavers continued to show their strength in the third quarter, scoring 15 points while allowing Inglemoor to score only 7. Inglemoor tried to make a comeback in the final quarter but couldn't catch up.

The final score was 56 for Ballards, 45 for Inglemoor.

Johnny Verduin and Seth Berger led the team in scoring with 13 points each.
Berger also had five consecutive double doubles, helping his team with 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, and one steal.

Seattle Times' Athlete of the Week Stu MacGeorge contributed another 9 points

The Seattle Department of Transportation is seeking community feedback regarding protecting and preserving street trees.

A street tree is defined as any tree growing in a city right-of-way, whether it is improved or unimproved. In 2007 SDOT, together with nine other city departments, contributed to the development of Seattle’s first strategic plan for managing the urban forest.

The Urban Forest Management Plan sets forth the goal of achieving 30 percent tree canopy cover by 2037 to increase the environmental, social, and economic benefits that trees bring to Seattle residents. The Street Tree Ordinance is one of the tools that can help the city ensure that this goal is achieved.

The proposed ordinance will address tree protection and preservation; restrictions on tree removal; requirements for replacements; new requirements for private tree companies; and will strengthen penalties for violations.

The proposed draft ordinance and the Street Tree Manual can be viewed on the Urban Forestry website: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/treeordinance.htm