January 2017

On January 9, the Burien City Council voted to pass Ordinance 651 which prevents police officers and city officials or staff from asking a person their immigration status.

Councilmembers Nancy Tosta, Lauren Berkowitz, Steve Armstrong and Austin Bell supported the measure. Mayor Lucy Krakowiak, Deputy Mayor Bob Edgar and Councilmember Debi Wagner were opposed.

The discussion and vote took place after a previous meeting on December 19th when the measure was passed by a 3-2 vote. However, it was determined a few days later that this vote was illegitimate because it did not have a four-vote majority of the City Council in support of the measure, due to Krakowiak and Edgar leaving the meeting early before the vote at 10:30 p.m.

The sanctuary city status has become a hot topic after the U.S. presidential election, especially in cities like Burien. According to information on the City of Burien website, about forty percent of the Burien population is non-white, and some residents are worried about President-elect Donald Trump’s policies effecting their residency in the United States.

On January 9, the Burien City Council voted to pass Ordinance 651 which prevents police officers and city officials or staff from asking a person their immigration status.

Councilmembers Nancy Tosta, Lauren Berkowitz, Steve Armstrong and Austin Bell supported the measure. Mayor Lucy Krakowiak, Deputy Mayor Bob Edgar and Councilmember Debi Wagner were opposed.

The discussion and vote took place after a previous meeting on December 19th when the measure was passed by a 3-2 vote. However, it was determined a few days later that this vote was illegitimate because it did not have a four-vote majority of the City Council in support of the measure, due to Krakowiak and Edgar leaving the meeting early before the vote at 10:30 p.m.

The sanctuary city status has become a hot topic after the U.S. presidential election, especially in cities like Burien. According to information on the City of Burien website, about forty percent of the Burien population is non-white, and some residents are worried about President-elect Donald Trump’s policies effecting their residency in the United States.

He still cannot believe it was not a best seller.
Years ago, A longtime friend of mine had written and published a book---along with his wife---offering parenting tips intended to enlighten readers about how to do it right. The implication was, “Take advantage of our experience---and raise your kids like this.” The fact that he was the parent of his very first child---three months old---made his parenting book premature, if not outright ridiculous. (Although the chapter on colic was riveting.)
Wisdom is borne of experience, time---and reflection. But that did not stop Paris Hilton from writing a memoir at age 23; Britney Spears at 18; and Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber at age 16. If I had written a memoir at age 16 it would have about the length of a Taco Bell menu---with more cheese.
But now perhaps I have traveled far enough along in life to offer---authoritatively--- a few musings. Is it wisdom? That’s not for me to decide. But will it fill up space here? Yep.

By Amanda Knox
 
On Tuesday evening, as I watched Obama make the final rounds with Michelle and Malia, waving at the crowd, I was flooded with dread. I was reminded of those rare occasions when I was very young, when Mom dropped Deanna and I off at a family member’s house so she could run a quick personal errand, and we cried and cried, pleading, “Please don’t goooooooo!” For the past eight years, I’ve found comfort in Obama’s patience, confidence, and compassion, in the fact that he, of all people, proved again and again to be honest, intelligent, steady, forceful, and kind in the face of both tragedy and achievement. I dreaded the void Obama was leaving behind, and how it shortly was going to be filled with someone already proven to be base, short-sighted, vindictive, and vain.
 
Indeed, when I reread the transcript of Obama’s speech the following morning, I realized how cautionary his message was. He enumerated a number of specific threats to our democracy that we need to confront with urgency and sincerity, lest we severely weaken ourselves from within. He spoke about the threat of partisanship:

The legal wrangling between the City of SeaTac and K & S Development continued on Jan. 16 as the City filed its’ appellate brief in the K&S Developments, LLC v. City of SeaTac matter at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One.

The case pertains to the SeaTac Center which is located at South 154th Street and International Boulevard in the City’s South 154th Street Station Area. As the Highline Times reported in January of 2016 and last July the case involves alleged deception by the City over land at the SeaTac Center owned by Gerry and Kathryn Kingen who also own Salty’s Seafood Grills in Seattle, Redondo and Portland. The issues began in 2004 when they proposed to build a parking garage on land near 154th Street South in SeaTac.

If you would like to obtain some well considered financial advice, contact Sarah Cecil 206-938-6017.

Brought to you by Sarah Cecil Financial Advisor with Edwards Jones Investments.

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According to statistics, 80% of all caregiving for adults is done by unpaid family and friends!   Informal caregivers, estimated in 2015 at 66 million and growing, have long been the foundation of long term care in the U.S.  Supporting these unsung heroes is a mission of Lutheran Community Services Northwest, in conjunction with Alki United Church of Christ in West Seattle. 

Support U: Fostering Caregiver Wellness is a series of 3 classes developed by a geriatric social worker and author and delivered by trained volunteers in local congregations.  By providing information and emphasizing self-care, the curriculum prepares people for the role of caregiver along with raising community awareness and helping to prevent caregiver ‘burnout” and isolation.

by Peggy Sturdivant

Madison Thomas thought she wanted to go into medicine. Then she got a taste of government as a page for then-State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and realized, instead of one patient at a time, she could help masses through legislation. Now she’s in truly in charge of organizing the masses, as college engagement coordinator for the January 21, 2017 Women’s March on Washington.

Thomas considers herself a citizen of two cities; her hometown of Seattle (Ballard), and her Georgetown University college town of Washington, D.C. Like many she watched the presidential election returns in shock, but unlike most she was shortly fielding thousands of phone calls as an intern in Senator Patty Murray’s D.C. office. “Citizens were worried about the future of the United States. ‘What do I do?’ they kept asking?’ I didn’t have an answer.”