My daughter Katie on the observation deck of Tokyo Tower
Two of my sons and I are in Japan visiting my daughter Katie and her husband Brandon. Katie and Brandon have been Japan for seven months teaching English. They have had a wonderful time. Their contract is complete, so now Andy and Danny and I are going to help them move back to Renton. But first, we’re goofing off in Tokyo and Koga for a while.
The Renton Reporter has just posted this story about Renton’s ongoing city efforts to become a pilot city for Google’s ultra-high speed internet.
Here is a quote from the story:
“Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Lisa Garvich, two communication specialists in the city’s Communication Division, teamed up to produce the minute-long video now showing on YouTube.”
Kelly and Lisa and everyone who helped out (including the many citizens filmed) did an awesome job!
Here is the video:
Jimi Hendrix has moved back into the Top 5 of music’s Billboard 200 again with his posthumous album “Valleys Of Neptune,” 40 years after the rock legend was laid to rest in Renton’s Greenwood Cemetary. No other rock star’s music has ever been so popular so many years after the artist’s passing. This distinction was previously held by Elvis Presley, who made it back into the Top 5 after 28 years.
Here are the details on Yahoo’s music blog.
Jimi Hendrix grave site, Greenwood Cemetery, Renton
I don’t have a problem with women dancing and taking their clothes off. But I am concerned that Sin Rock, the adult club going into Renton, is going to have troubles accomplishing the owner’s earning objectives while complying with city ordinances. I would be surprised if the venue, with it’s 30 or so parking spots, is really going to be successful with just a stage show and sales of food and soda pop.
I’m also concerned about the potential drain on our police resources, as last night’s assault/gun incident in Seattle’s Deja Vu illustrates. Click here for the story
And there are an increasing number of parties with a stake in this club. The club has been hiring dancers and other support staff for a while now. Here is their Craigslist advertisement:
_____________________________________________
UPSCALE CABARET IS NOW HIRING FOR ALL POSITIONS (Renton/Tukwila area)
Date: 2010-03-08, 1:22PM PST
Reply to: job-qhu7f-1634701586@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Seattle’s Hottest New Upscale Gentleman’s Club is now hiring for Waitress, Doorman, DJ’s and Entertainers. Please call 425-255-XXXX or come in to fill out an application. 208 SW 16th St. Renton 98055
* Location: Renton/Tukwila area
* Compensation: within industry standards $$$$
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
* Phone calls about this job are ok.
______________________________________________
I’ve never met the owners of the club, and I have no basis for not trusting their honesty or integrity with this venture. As far as I can tell, they have obtained all the proper permits, and performed due diligence in their siting and zoning of the club.
Instead, I’m simply concerned that the club-onwers may not understand the limitations that Renton’s four-foot rule will place on their dancers. (For my previous blogs giving background on this four-foot rule, click here )
Renton’s rules in the valley industrial area would clearly permit adult cabarets with nude dancers to provide stage shows. The Sin Rock Club owner was recently quoted in the Renton Reporter as saying Sin Rock would have a Vegas Style atmosphere, which for some Rentonites could bring a stereotypical image to mind which looks something like this (but with fewer clothes):
However, the owner goes on to mention his club in Anchorage Alaska, which includes an intimate room with looks like this:
Photo from www.clubsinrock.com
I have not seen the detail plan for the Renton club, so I’m not sure what the layout and decor will look like. But if it looks at all like the Anchorage location, I would not be surprised to hear of violations of Renton’s ordinance very early on. If entertainers in anything less than full dress mixed with customers in the room above, they would very likely be violating Renton’s ordinance. The complete text of Renton’s ordinance can be found here .
I know from previous comments on my blog and on the Renton Reporter web site that this rule seems puritanical to some readers. To some it may seem the best course to simply “chill out”, and let the customers have their intimate dances. I personally would feel this way if not for a couple of issues; (1) the state law on prostitution is really difficult, expensive, and simply awkward to enforce without the four foot rule; (2) clubs without the four-foot rule tend to require a great deal of police and prosecutorial work to handle the ancillary secondary impacts, as demonstrated in last night’s sexual assault and gunplay at Deja Vu.
The first issue is confusing, as many people think that dancers would have to run off to a private room with a patron in order to violate the state’s prostitution law. In fact, Washington’s prostitution law is pretty strict, and can easily be violated by a dancer sitting on a patron’s lap. Here is how the law reads:
RCW 9A.88.030
Prostitution.
(1) A person is guilty of prostitution if such person engages or agrees or offers to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee.
(2) For purposes of this section, “sexual conduct” means “sexual intercourse” or “sexual contact,” both as defined in chapter 9A.44 RCW.
from 9A.44
“Sexual contact” means any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person done for the purpose of gratifying sexual desire of either party or a third party.
( Click here and here to see the law on the Washington website.)
This is a tough standard. Particularly since touching even “other (non-sexual) intimate parts” is illegal for money if it is to gratify sexual desire. What is an “intimate part”…the neck?…the thighs?…
Adding to the confusion, many adults don’t agree on what sex is, as described in this article in health news two weeks ago. And of course, there are many who think that prostitution should not be illegal.
Still, the state law tells us prostitution is illegal, and the law defines (perhaps somewhat vaguely) what it is. Since it can include many types of touching, the four-foot rule prevents Renton from having to make the difficult interpretations. This is something some commenters may not have understood. Some have asked, are we going to have police standing around with yard-sticks measuring the distances and then making an arrest? But the point is, you can tell from across the room if the four foot rule has been violated when two people are in the same chair. On the other hand, without the four-foot rule, the police would have to stand around with a feeler gauge looking for any contact.
Seattle, which does not have a four-foot rule, has tried (very expensively and controversially) to enforce the prostitution law using undercover operatives actually receiving lap dances– since there is no other easy way in a dark room to tell if the lap dancer is making contact with patrons. Renton does not want to pay for this. Furthermore, we do not want to get a reputation for not enforcing the state prostitution law.
So, the question is, can the new Club Sin Rock pay its Waitresses, Doormen, DJ’s and Entertainers with just its stage show and sales of food and soft drinks? Do the dancers understand that lap dances and couch dances will not be allowed? If so, then maybe I’m being a pessimist, and this conflict will simply go away. This is one time when I would be happy to be wrong.
Without the four-foot rule, one might need a feeler gauge to know if the law is violated
The flood risk for this season is mostly behind us, and the Army Corps may even have a shot at greatly reducing next season’s flood risk. Renton’s Mayor Law is back in Washington DC trying to help the repairs get funding. Here is the story.
At a recent council meeting we approved a new ordinance which allows the Parks Department to expel individuals who break rules from all of our city parks up to one year.
We didn’t take this action lightly. Council had been given a presentation about our then-current legal situation, which only allowed fines and in some case criminal penalties, but did not allow Parks department officials to simply ban repeat trouble-makers from our parks.
The new law allows parks officials to issue an expulsion from 7 days up to one year to those individuals who violate rules. After council discussion on the topic, council agreed with city staff and the city attorney’s office that an expulsion from the parks was often the quickest and most direct way to achieve the desired results– a park free from nuisances, damage, and other broken rules.
Under the new rule, flagrant violators can be banned from all the city parks at one time. This prevents someone who is being a nuisance to visitors in one of our parks from simply moving to another of our 31 parks and causing a similar disturbance. The expulsion will be comparable to a restraining order, making the expelled individual subject to arrest if they violate the expulsion.
Anyone who receives an expulsion notice has the right to appeal it to our hearing examiner; the details are given in our ordinance below.
All park users are encouraged to become familiar with the rules of our parks, and to combine this with common sense about not harassing or otherwise bothering other park users. The parks are a great tax-payer funded amenity for all of us, and we’re hoping that we don’t have to expel very many users in order to maintain the harmony we are looking for. For those who wish to learn more, I have included the complete text of the ordinance below.
Two weeks ago at a Renton City Council Meeting some citizens addressed the Council about the Renton Shoreline Master Plan. The Shoreline Master Plan has been under review by the Renton Planning Commission, which is an appointed body of citizens who make land use recommendations. This work has been under the oversight of the Planning and Development Committee of the Renton City Council. The Planning Commission has been holding public meetings on this topic, allowing public testimony at some of their meetings.
At this point there are proposed revisions to the Shoreline Master Plan that are in draft form. The Renton City Council has taken no formal action on these revisions, and the Planning and Development Committee has not yet reviewed them to the point of making a recommendation to the city council.
However, I’ve been told there has been a lot of deliberation and public comment taken by the Planning Commission, and the process has been advancing for some time, so if the public has final concerns about these procedures they should bring their concerns to the Planning Commission as soon as possible.
Those of you with property on the lake, river or on a stream, and those of you with intense interest in the environmental implications of these policies, are encouraged to take a look at the work so far. I’m hoping that the Planning Commission can work out most of the details and resolve most citizens concerns before this reaches the Planning and Development Committee. Ideally, the Planning and Development Committee can then resolve any final issues before a final recommendation is made to Renton City Council. So, those of you with an interest in this topic, please review the documents below, and voice any final concerns to Renton Planning Commission. And if you have concerns for the council, you can formally address them to Planning and Development Committee Chair Terri Briere and/or Council President Don Persson. Other Council Members (including me) would like to know about your concerns, but Ms. Briere and Mr. Persson are the council members who will take the lead in managing this project for the council. Of course, you can also share any positive comments or concerns about the new Shoreline Master Plan in my comment section below, but please don’t treat comments on this blog as a substitute for the formal communication channels. I am not on Planning and Development Committee, and I am avoiding speaking privately to committee members about this issue (to avoid a quorum), so please be sure the Planning Commission and Planning and Development Committee get your input formally. You can find their contact info on Rentonwa.gov.
Click Here to see the Renton Shoreline Master Plan document.
For those of us in the Northwest who worked with former Boeing Commercial Chief Alan Mulally, it comes as no surprise that he is turning Ford Motor Company around. Mulally had his office in Renton before he moved to Ford in September 2006.
Here is a comment I made on this topic last June after watching some of my Ford shares triple, and Ford is up another 225% since then. Mr. Mulally (an engineer himself) had a reputation among engineers for emphasis on excellent engineering, fuel economy, innovation, quality, reliability, and solid business planning. He has taken all of these skills to Ford, and turned the company around. While his move to Ford was a loss to Boeing, it has been a win for American industry– our all-important auto industry has benefited mightily from his ideas. Alan Mulally is fast becoming for Ford what Steve Jobs is for Apple Computer.
In addition to good design, Mulally’s also made some downright prescient business decisions– like establishing a huge line of credit before the credit melt-down. And Ford has benefited from the Cash for Clunkers program, as have it’s competitors.
Ford Motor Company Share Price Feb 2009 to Feb 2010
While the rest of the world has been mired in recession, it’s impressive that Ford shares have gone from $2 to over $13.5 in the past year. Ford sold more cars than GM last month for the first time in many years. For those of us in the Northwest who had worked with Mulally, we could practically see Ford’s good times ahead.
While no one wanted to see Toyota’s recent round of difficulties, there is little question that the media-emphasis on Toyota’s stuck-accelerator/braking problems (which are statistically small but devastating for those drivers affected) will further shift the market towards Ford. This potential was parodied on Saturday Night Live last night with this FAKE advertisement.
Click Here if the embedded video won’t play
The Seattle Times provided a nice review of IzaKaya at the Landing.
Here is a link to the story.
And here is a quote:
“Speaking of Renton, I’ve got to tell you I was surprised and impressed with izaKaya — the kaiten restaurant and bar at The Landing. This newish shopping mall reminds me of Redmond Town Center and, like Thornton Place, has a Regal Cinemas right across from the kaiten outlet.”
Photos from the Seattle Times
After a week of “soft openings”, Caffe Felice held its Grand Opening celebration at the Landing last night. Even if you weren’t there, you may have seen the search lights in the sky.
This is a big week for Renton’s independent coffee scene. The Liberty Cafe on Third Street is celebrating it’s first anniversary, the Common Ground on the same block is celebrating it’s third anniversary, and now Caffe Felice will share the same birthday.
My family dropped by for the party at Caffe Felice and met up with many friends at the new coffee house. Ron, one of the co-owners, entertained on his guitar, while co-owner Kelly (Ron’s wife) raced around visiting and making sure everyone was getting great service.
It was a terrific party and a perfect birth for Renton’s newest independent coffee house!
Here are a few more photos:
