Author: Randy Corman

Hi, I'm Randy Corman, Renton City Councilmember. I am the most senior member of the council, currently in my 25th year (I have been elected seven times). I pay for this website with my own funds. Please recognize that all views expressed in my journal entries are my own, and not the official position of Renton City Council, other councilmembers, nor the city of Renton. Thanks for reading.

64 days until Renton becomes one of the few legal places to use fentanyl; gangs are ready to deliver

Written by Randy Corman 22 Comments
Renton police photo: Drugs, weapons, and cash from 2021 drug bust

 

Renton City Council has just 64 days until possession of all drugs is completely legal in our city– fentanyl, heroin, meth, other people’s stolen prescriptions…. everything, thanks to our state legislature.   And our seven council members appear split on what to do.  It takes four votes to pass an ordinance, and five votes to pass an emergency ordinance (which can move faster).  I’m confident Council Members James Alberson, Ruth Perez, and Valerie O’Halloran will vote to make these hard drugs illegal.  Conversely, Council Members Carmen Rivera, Ed Prince, and Ryan McIrvin all signed a letter six months ago indicating they favored decriminalizing “low-level non-violent” offences, and the letter implied drug offenses.  And in today’s Renton Reporter, Council Member Kim-Khanh Van was quoted using the phrases “over-policing” and “fear of law enforcement” just three days after she punted the topic of legislating drug policy out of her Public Safety Committee.  So, it’s not clear Renton has the votes to pass drug legislation.  But what does this mean to our city?  Some have compared it to marijuana legalization, but it’s night and day different.

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Renton Airport Advisory Committee is back at the controls after one and a half years without a meeting

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments
New Renton Airport Director Steve Gleason (standing), supported by some of his staff and Renton’s Public Works Director, presents to the Renton Airport Advisory Committee for the first time since his appointment in 2022.

 

I was delighted to attend an informative and productive meeting of the Renton Airport Advisory Committee yesterday, after I had expressed concerns in this blog entry two months ago about their long break without a meeting.  I covered the vital importance of this committee to Renton, including its important 18-year history in keeping our airport thriving with as few negative impacts to neighborhoods as possible.

Yesterday’s meeting was the first in a year and a half. Members were clearly ready to get back to work.  In addition to enough attendance to form a quorum, many non-voting members were present, including a representative of FAA who participated via Zoom.  New Airport Director Steve Gleason and his staff were well prepared with important information and a list of decisions he was seeking preliminary committee direction on.  Renton Hill resident and RAAC Chair Melody Kroeger did an admirable job keeping conversation moving and tracking to the busy agenda.

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Renton Council refers “Blake Decision” drug law response to Council’s Committee of the Whole

Written by Randy Corman 21 Comments
Councilmember Kim-Khanh Van (second from left) makes a motion to put subject of Renton’s Blake Decision response into committee, at tonight’s council meeting.

 

Renton Chamber of Commerce CEO Diane Dobson spoke to council at tonight’s Renton City Council Meeting regarding her 4/23 letter, which I posted in my previous blog post.  On behalf of herself and the Chamber, she asked council to urgently refer to committee the topic of the lack of legislative response to Blake Decision, and the need for a Renton solution.  (Please see my previous posts here and here for more background on this request.)

Councilmember Kim-Khanh Van, Chair of Council’s Public Safety Committee, responded affirmatively to Ms. Dobson’s request during the agenda’s new business section a few minutes later.  Councilmember Van moved to put the requested topic into a Council Committee, with the only difference from Ms. Dobson’s request being that she moved to send it to Committee of the Whole instead of Public Safety.  She explained that she knew the topic needed a timely response, and she knew the whole council would want to weigh in, so she recommended going straight to Committee of the Whole.  (Note that Committee of the Whole is attended by all seven councilmembers, and Public Safety Committee is only attended by three councilmembers.) The Council had a five minute discussion about the merits of referring to Committee of the Whole vs. Public Safety Committee, with several reasonable points brought forward in favor of each choice, and ultimately decided to send it to Committee of the Whole.  During the discussion multiple councilmembers referred to receiving significant urgent input on this topic.

What is expected to happen next is the Mayor’s administrative staff will prepare a recommendation for Council action, and work with Council President Valerie O’Halloran to schedule a meeting on the topic. Hopefully a meeting will occur within a couple weeks or so (any Renton legislation that is implemented will typically have public notice and public hearing steps,  and the state drug law sunsets on July 1).  There will be no public comment allowed at Committee of the Whole meeting, but emails are accepted at any time, and public comment on this topic will be allowed at regularly scheduled weekly Council Meetings.  Anyone wishing to email the Council on this topic can send their email to council@rentonwa.gov.

Renton Chamber of Commerce asks Council for immediate action, today, to enact drug laws

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments
Renton Police photo of confiscated fentanyl 

 

Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes succinctly summarized Seattle’s drug situation at his recent State of Downtown address as follows:   “We can have a revitalized, thriving downtown with retail and restaurants and arts and culture… or we can have a fentanyl market. We can’t have both,”

Last night our State Legislature set in motion the unconditional decriminalization of possession of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs throughout our state, with no meaningful plan for helping those suffering from addiction to get clean.

As a result, Renton Chamber of Commerce CEO Diane Dobson is urgently echoing a similar message to Seattle’s Jon Scholes to preserve Renton’s business vibrancy. She’s calling on Renton’s Public Safety Chair Kim-Khanh Van to refer the topic into her committee at the Renton City Council meeting tonight.

This is happening all over Washington State today, as cities and counties reel from the news that the State Legislature is taking no action.  Even with Governor Inslee now apparently calling for a special session of the legislature, cities and counties have no confidence the state can agree on anything prior to the July 1st deadline.  Since so many Counties and cities are passing their own laws, any city without drug laws by July 1st will become a preferred location for drug dealers and users to set up shop.  North of us, a Snohomish County Council Member has already indicated sponsorship of a Snohomish County wide drug law, but we are unlikely to see such a law pass in King County.

This issue will almost certainly be brought up at city council tonight, and I encourage those readers with a strong interest in the topic to either attend the council meeting and sign up for audience comment, or email your opinions to council@rentonwa.gov.

Here is Renton Chamber CEO Diane Dobson’s email:

From: Diane Dobson
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 1:03 PM
To: Kim-Khanh Van <KVan@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: Blake Decision – Immediate Action Requested

Greetings Councilmember Van

Public Safety is a huge priority for the Renton Business Community. Our stakeholders and community businesses met multiple times with our State Legislators to discuss the impacts the Blake Decision has seemingly had upon their business and operations and begged our representatives to hear their voices and vote and advocate accordingly.

The Washington Legislators failure to come to an agreement or compromise for the betterment of our community has disappointed us greatly.

In light of the House deciding NOT to pass a negotiated Senate Bill on drug possession in Washington State, the Renton Chamber of Commerce hereby requests the City of Renton to undertake their own conversation and jurisdictional laws to the same.

We respectfully request that you, as the Public Safety Chair, refer this to committee tonight to bring immediate discussions for the same. While Governor Inslee suggests there will be a special session to try again to pass a Blake fix, our Renton community cannot sit idly by and let legislation happen to them. We need to start now.

I thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter that is of utmost importance to our community and our businesses.

Thank you for your continued awareness and importance you place on the safety and security of our Renton community. You are appreciated.

Diane Dobson
CEO​
Renton Chamber of Commerce
625 S. 4th St.
Renton, WA 98057

 

Washington legislators decide to go with drug law they know is unconstitutional and unenforceable; issue goes to Renton Council

Written by Randy Corman 5 Comments

Late last night the Washington State House effectively decided that as of July 1st, we will have no drug possession laws in our state. Because the legislature couldn’t agree on a new law, they are letting the law revert to the old law, which is not enforceable.

The majority of Washingtonians favor interventions and rehab over harsh criminal penalties to save those struggling with addiction to dangerous opioids like fentanyl.  Very few people want these drugs to be continued to be sold and used in public areas, around children, and those recovering from substance abuse.  Almost everyone wants more rehab centers, and many people favor court ordered rehab for those that have lost their judgement on this issue.  The legislature went into this session charged with the responsibility to work through these issues, and find the best solution for our state. They tried, and the politics got hard for them.  So instead of completing their work, they punted to an unconstitutional law.  The expiring version of the drug possession law and the previous unconstitutional version that will again take effect (unconstitutionally) July 1 can be found here.  The key phrase missing from the unconstitutional law is “knowing possession”– the Blake decision determined the old law was unconstitutional because it violated due process by prosecuting unknown and unintentional drug possession.)

The failure of the legislature to act will leave a need for Renton City Council and other local legislative bodies  to debate the issue in the next nine weeks, and hopefully agree on local restrictions to try to reverse staggering overdose death rates and avoid public areas becoming/remaining open air fentanyl markets.  Renton Council will have to debate this during an election cycle when three Council Members and the Mayor are running for office. I’ll discuss this further in a later blog entry, but for today I want to express my displeasure at the State legislature choosing to go with an unconstitutional option as their best choice.

Our state legislators as a group have struggled with dysfunction all session, and last night they hit rock bottom.  Over two years after the State Supreme Court ruled our old drug law unconstitutional,  the State Legislature effectively selected that same rejected unconstitutional (and unenforceable) choice as the right one for our state.  They specifically decided to let an interim, constitutional drug law expire in 9 weeks without replacing it, so that our state will revert to the unconstitutional law that was thrown out.   Since the unconstitutional law is unenforceable, this could be seen as a clever political move by those who want complete decriminalization of all drugs, except for the fact that it looks and smells a lot like like a violation of their oaths of office to purposefully select an unconstitutional law.

Every elected official in the state swears the following upon taking office (emphasis added):

I, ______________________________, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office as prescribed by law and to the best of my ability, and that I will support and maintain the Constitution of the State of Washington and of the United States of America.

Sure, it’s hard.  They might have even needed to stay on the job in Olympia a few more days to work this out.  Too bad.  It seems like too many people in office don’t want to put in the effort anymore.

In keeping with the legislative session they’ve had this year, perhaps they need to add the following to their oaths:

It will not be considered a violation of this oath to knowingly revert to laws that violate the constitution when legislators decide that legislating is so hard that they don’t feel like doing it, and that making the effort to pass constitutional laws would require actual working together to find common ground when their political parties are polarized.

The University where I earned my engineering degree, UC Davis, posted a thorough law article on the topic of legislative oaths here.  From the article “State legislators are typically required to swear an oath of office as articulated in their respective state constitution. Generally, state oaths of office are akin to the federal congressional oath, pledging to uphold the U.S. Constitution as well as the state constitution. To the extent that the federal oath of office prevents federal congresspersons from knowingly passing an unconstitutional law, the same analysis applies to all state lawmakers whose oath of office incorporates a similar duty. “

For further background on the Blake Decision and polling regarding drugs see this blog here.

Kickin Kajun, a delicious Hawaiian take on Louisiana Cuisine, opens at the Landing

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

Last night several members of my household enjoyed fresh seafood at one of the Landing’s newest restaurants, Kickin Kajun.  My wife Cathy, our son Danny, his fiancee Julie,  and I went for a late dinner around 8:00 PM.  We  gave ourselves just enough time to finish our fun, interactive dining experience right before their 9:00 closing.  Bibs and gloves were provided to us before our food arrived.  Cathy, Danny, and I shared a crawfish boil that included crawfish, mussels, clams, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob in our choice of sauce.  We enjoyed their signature sauce which has some Korean spices in it, and next time for variety we’ll try their L0uisiana Style which is closer to what we would find in the South. Julie (who’s not as much of a fan of shellfish) enjoyed breaded fried catfish and chips, and she was served a large enough portion that she could share.  We had plenty of delicious food for the four of us, and the price was very affordable for seafood.  Their complete menu can be found here.

Kickin Kajun is a Hawaiian chain established in 2012, and this is their first restaurant in Washington.  We were warmly greeted by Ava, one of the four business partners who owns the Renton restaurant. At our prompting, she filled us in on the chain’s successful history and we talked about their popular Hawaiian locations on Oahu.  She and the rest of the staff were attentive and made the experience top notch.  Kickin Kajun is a great new Renton option for those of us that enjoy seafood, and in particular Seafood boils which are not available everywhere.

Their restaurant can be found at the Landing, 800 N 10th St, at the suite formerly occupied by the Balanced Athlete. I’m grateful to Ava and her partners for choosing Renton for their restaurant!

 

My son Danny, his fiancee Julie, me, and my wife Cathy enjoying a crawfish boil and fried catfish at Kickin Kajun.  The restaurant has been open for about three weeks.

 

Cathy and Danny digging into the crawfish boil

 

My wife and me with Ava, one of the four partners who opened Kickin Kajun at the Landing.
Cathy in front of Kickin Kajun, between the traffic circle and the parking garage at the Landing. (The location was formerly occupied by the Balanced Athlete.)

Mayor Pavone joins Mayors of Kent, Auburn and 25 other cities in asking for stronger drug law

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments
Fentanyl pills found in Renton. (DEA Photo)

 

A few weeks ago the State Senate passed a bill that city officials and law enforcement officers hoped would give them a little more authority in getting people struggling with substance abuse into treatment programs.  Now, the State House is watering down the bill, and threatening to undo the gains from this session.  I gave background on the “Blake” decision that precipitated this legislation in a previous blog entry here.

Mayors of 28 cities have just signed a joint letter on the topic, and the mayors of Renton, Kent and Auburn have signed on.  I suspect many other mayors would have signed if the timing had allowed for it.  The debate is wrapping up now so the letter’s release was highly time sensitive.

Five and a half months ago three of Renton’s councilmembers signaled they are not in step with Renton’s Mayor Pavone on this topic.  Renton Councilmembers Ed Prince, Ryan McIrvin and Carmen Rivera signed a letter with ten other neighboring local officials pushing in a different direction.  Mayor Pavone supports legislation making the use of fentanyl and other potentially deadly opioids a gross misdemeanor, with an opportunity to avoid criminal charges if a user attends rehab; the three council members have apparently called for complete decriminalization.  The Council Members’  letter said in part “Criminalizing low level, non-violent offenses steals our opportunity to divert youth and guide them toward a better track. ”  I don’t want to accidentally misrepresent their opinions, so I’ll let readers interpret for themselves.  The Council Members’ full letter from November 2022 can be found here.  (I also added the full letter to the comments for convenience)

Here is today’s letter from the 28 Mayors:

 

Reckless drivers still get too much of a pass; those who “endanger the safety of the community” won’t be pursued

Written by Randy Corman 6 Comments
Crash scene on I-405 in Renton near NE 44th Street exit yesterday afternoon. A stolen car with no plates, NOT being pursued by police, lost control on the freeway. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt in what could easily have been a deadly accident. The driver had been ordered to pull over by Bellevue officers shortly before this accident, but the officers did not pursue because the car was driven recklessly. The crash caused a five-mile long backup in the afternoon commute. (WSP Photo)

 

The legislature has slightly improved their poorly-conceived 2021 police vehicle pursuit law with passage of Senate Bill 5352.  I’m grateful to the state senators and representatives that pushed for these improvements, and have made it a little better.  Many of these legislators tried to do more, but this was the best they could get, and I thank them.  The improvements make it easier to catch dangerous suspects that have committed violent crimes and are seen fleeing in vehicles.

But the 2023 improvement do not reverse the deadly consequences of letting reckless and drunken drivers overrun our highways with impunity.  The 2021 law made it illegal for police to pursue drivers who exhibit dangerous driving behavior, and the 2023 revisions did nothing to fix that.   The data suggests that Washington highway death tolls will continue to march upward at 10-15% per year as a result, making a continued mockery of the state’s “Target Zero” driver safety program.

Target Zero was supposed to get us to zero deaths by 2030. Instead, deaths are rapidly increasing since the police pursuit law went into effect

 

Reckless drivers get too much of a pass. In fact, unless a driver is known to be a suspect in a serious violent crime, the law explicitly tells the officer NOT to pursue if ” the operator of the  moving vehicle appears to be willfully resisting or ignoring the  officer’s attempt to stop the vehicle by increasing vehicle speed,  making evasive maneuvers, or operating the vehicle in a reckless  manner that endangers the safety of the community or the officer.”

In other words, if you drive recklessly enough, you can’t be forced to pull over.  And if you’re in a stolen car and you hide your face, your risk of ever getting caught is near zero…at least unless your reckless driving leads to a crash.

Despite what some legislators may tell you, DUI’s are also unenforceable against the most rebellious drivers even with the updates to the law.  Unless a driver willingly pulls over for an infraction, the police can’t typically establish reasonable suspicion for a DUI— it takes a driver interview.

And under the bill, in order for police to pull over someone who is “a serious risk of harm,”  they must also be wanted for one of the crimes listed in the bill– it’s not enough that their driving itself is a serious risk of harm.  The legislature shows little concern for the rapidly increasing number of devastating car crashes that take hundreds of lives per year in our state, the biggest cause of death for children and young adults.

The legislature has effectively created a new class of drivers, exempt from all the rules. Most of us toil to earn money for a car, and pay for expensive licensing, insurance, tolls, and maintenance in order to drive. But for those that don’t mind breaking laws and driving dangerously, the legislature has created an alluring and widely-known loophole that allows drivers to avoid these costs and still not get pursued by police.  If one steals a car, removes the license plate, and commits to always driving recklessly and endangering the public when they’re on the road, they are essentially exempted from being pursued by police.  It has become so tempting, even local high-school students on TikTok are doing it, sometimes several cars in one night.  This increasingly popular Washington State loophole comes with the added benefit to criminals of being able to commit property crimes and drive away with impunity. Most of us have seen these drivers on the roads and highways, often passing us or running stops signs, and typically bearing no license plates.  I’ve personally had near-misses with at least two of them.

Even the perpetrators are hurt by this. One of the worst consequences of the police pursuit law is that by enabling/incentivising car theft and reckless driving, it entices more young people who love cars into a life of crime and perpetual danger.  I went to high school with some car enthusiasts who loved to modify and occasionally race their vehicles.  Fortunately, they knew they would be pursued by police if they raced on streets, so they found off-road, out-of-the-way locations to race, and kept their in-town driving legal.  They also didn’t steal cars, as no one wanted to be busted for that.  These classmates have enjoyed fulfilling lives pursuing their car hobbies–  thanks in part to the sensible lawmakers back then that did not carelessly incentivise deadly and illegal activities.

The irreversible environmental cost of lawlessness

Written by Randy Corman 6 Comments
The ribbons in the before and after photos are in the same place. For background on these photos see my previous blog entry here.

 

Like many in our state, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile policies I’ve always supported regarding environmental stewardship and clean air and water, with the new trend of enabling offenders of environmental and other crimes.  Our most sensitive wetlands and ecosystems are increasingly polluted and ruined without consequences.  With King County Transfer Stations now charging $181 per ton to dump garbage with a $30 minimum just to empty a waste basket, and seemingly no consequence for littering any more, it’s not just the struggling unhoused putting garbage and pollutants in our environment.

One can not advocate for anarchy and still claim to be protecting the environment.  All the laws protecting air, water, soil, plants and wildlife are meaningless without adequate police staffing and tools to enforce them and meaningful accountability for violators.

And it’s incongruent for anyone to claim to be a “climate activist” while enabling home break-ins, car thefts, and vandalism.  All of these crimes have enormous environmental consequences, adding significantly to carbon in the atmosphere, as essential property is replaced and new protective measures are taken by property owners.

In 2022 my catalytic converter was stolen off my van in my driveway, along with thousands of other catalytic converters stolen from Washington automobiles that year.  State legislators had crafted a law, still in place, that ensures anyone stealing catalytic converters won’t be pursued by police if they drive away.  Our state is now the worst for thefts of catalytic converters, leading to tons of extra mining of rare earth minerals and an unknown number of vehicles driving around without the proper pollution control equipment.  We’re all breathing more unburned hydrocarbon, nitrous oxide, and carbon monoxide because of this legislation.

In 2021 the city of Seattle considered implementing a crime-of-need defense, that would have made it okay for people to steal from a neighbor if they needed money for rent, perhaps taking a contractor’s tools and pawning them for cash.  Fortunately this law did not pass, but the flawed reasoning that brought it to the table is still held by many local lawmakers including some in Olympia.  The obvious way for a compassionate society to help someone trying to cover their rent when they can’t afford it is to extend assistance in the form of a voucher.  If someone can’t afford food, we should give them access to a food bank. Enabling them to steal from a neighbor diminishes their self-esteem, gets them about three cents on the dollar for everything stolen, and puts the theft victim also at risk of needing rental assistance. Furthermore on a large scale it is environmentally disastrous, as the replacement of essential tools and repair of property has enormous costs.

Washington has by far the highest rate of stolen cars in the US, with an overall number of thefts that only trails California and Texas because those states are many times our size.  Renton is seeing up to five auto thefts per day.  The theft of a single car puts 4.2 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, so Renton car thefts are currently contributing 21 METRIC TONS per day of carbon to the climate change balance sheet.   Anyone who is okay with this, who enables this by promoting lax law enforcement, is NOT an environmental activist.

The average home break-in dumps about the same amount of carbon into the atmosphere as driving a car 3000 miles after you figure in the replacement of property, the repair work, and criminal justice implications.   A European study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology estimates the carbon footprint of this and other crimes in one of the few studies on this topic.  While some of the carbon footprint is produced by the criminal justice system itself, most of the criminal justice carbon footprint impacts come from cases of homicide, assault, sex offenses, and robbery; these crimes must be punished meaningfully to prevent vigilante justice (more crimes) and mayhem in society.

Figure from “Addressing the Carbon-Crime Blind Spot: A Carbon Footprint Approach” by Helen Skudder et al

 

In summary, if one cares about the protecting the environment and preventing climate change, they should care about law enforcement– because you can’t accomplish one without the other.

 

Springbrook Creek protected natural area either accidentally or intentionally set on fire

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
The environmentally sensitive Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank has been set on fire, either intentionally or accidentally. The boardwalk that was installed to keep visitors from stepping on delicate habitat is now in ruins in the fire scene.

 

Cathy and me on a walk in 2019, and the boardwalk and vegetation as it looked before it burned.

There was a fire a few days ago that burned a sensitive environmental area in the valley in Renton.  The fire appears to be human caused.  Thankfully our outstanding Renton Fire Authority limited the damage, or it could have been much worse.

Nearby water quality is spoiled by fire debris from Trex decking and other materials. The Trex was chosen for the boardwalk to avoid the risk of the toxins in pressure-treated lumber leaching into this sensitive area. Trex is hard to light on fire, but unfortunately hard to extinguish once it catches.

 

The red tape of the fire line can be seen behind this sign indicating the sensitivity of the area

 

These signs surround the site, and people are supposed to only walk on the now-burned boardwalk. The red tape in the background is the fire line.

 

From 2003 to 2009 the Renton City Council and Mayor’s office worked closely with the State Department of Ecology, WSDOT,  and other agencies to create a natural wetland habitat to help protect displaced and threatened migratory birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals in the Renton/Kent Valley.  As an engineer and environmentalist, I took great interest in this project, and I participated in many of the meetings prior to construction. The area was to be terraformed and landscaped with only native plants, and complex irrigation systems were installed throughout the planting area to ensure they became well established.  Washington Department of Ecology features the successful project on their website here.

To help the public learn about the delicate ecosystem, a boardwalk was constructed of Trex material that bisected the project, and pedestrians could walk across the native habitat as long as they stayed on the walkway so they would not harm the sensitive nature below.

We dedicated the Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank as a new park in May 2009, after millions of dollars were invested and countless hours of paid and volunteer labor were completed.  The new park was called a “Mitigation Bank” because the 129 acres of land  and the improvements were funded by builders and developers who wanted to fill in smaller sections of wetland in the valley.  They could do so if they contributed an equivalent amount of land into the “wetland bank,” replacing their wetland with the new protected, cultivated, larger one on Springbrook Creek.  The State Department of Transportation became a major contributor and partner as they needed to fill wetlands when they were widening I-167.

 

Renton children helped complete the planting.  These pictures are from WSDOT and can be found along with many more here.

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Hundreds run past Erasmus the rooftop dragon to celebrate his fourth birthday

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
Erasmus the dragon appears to be watching runners queue at the starting line for a fun run that commemorates his fourth birthday

 

Erasmus the rooftop dragon was unveiled four years ago on April 13, and Renton celebrated his fourth birthday yesterday morning with a Dragon Dash fun run and party.  City of Renton Recreation Division and volunteers did a wonderful job organizing the festive event.

If you haven’t heard the story of Erasmus’s creation, it’s covered well in this article.

There were both 5K and 10K runners in yesterday’s birthday run, and the whole event was great fun.  The cool morning weather was perfect for the almost 300 runners and walkers that had signed up.  Dragon theming was abundant, and the organizers kept the event running smoothly.  Participants were given Dragon Dash shirts and snacks at the end of the race, along with a chance to try to pull a sword from a stone and be photographed with dragons, while the children hunted for dragon eggs.

My wife Cathy and I had a delightful time participating.  With wonderful people, lovely nature on the Cedar River trail, exercise, and dragon theming all right here in our own downtown…who could ask for more?

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Renton Fire Authority helps socialize puppies-in-training for Guide Dogs for the Blind

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
Renton Firefighter Ryan Northrup gets some puppy kisses in payment for teaching Guide Dog puppies not to be afraid of bunker gear.

 

The Firefighters at Fire Station 12 in Renton Highlands helped socialize puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind this afternoon.

Puppies that are in training to be guide dogs need exposure to many different situations to prepare for being guides.  There’s no telling what circumstances they may find themselves in during their career.  As puppies they’ll often visit airports, theaters, busses, museums, restaurants, shops and other facilities that they may travel to with their partner after they finished training and get assigned.

Renton Fire Authority welcomed them into Fire Station 12 on Saturday, and helped condition them to the sights and sounds that they may see in an emergency.  They climbed aboard an aid car, watched a fire truck drive past them, saw flashing lights, and met a firefighter in full bunker gear including breathing apparatus.

The training was outstanding for the puppies and fun for all participants.  Thanks to Renton Fire Authority for opening the station to the valuable training, and for the warm welcome and assistance they gave to the puppy raisers.

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Renton auto theft rate leaps 70 % from March ’22 to March ’23. Five cars stolen each day.

Written by Randy Corman 6 Comments
A scene playing out many times per day: a stolen Hyundai is recovered in Renton Highlands with body damage, wrecked ignition, broken glass and crime-related tools and debris inside.

 

Renton Police have released their March crime report, and auto thefts have jumped to a staggering new high.  147 cars were stolen in March in Renton, about five per day.  Each one is another sad story that brings misery and often financial hardship to it’s heartbroken owner.  People are having a hard time getting wrecked cars repaired with auto shops all working at max capacity and parts on backorder. Motorists are even having difficulties getting rental cars right now, and  the extra demand from car theft victims is a factor.

Renton Police and most Renton elected officials have been asking the state to restore some authority for pursuing car thieves.  The state legislature appears to be moving forward with a small improvement to the police pursuit law, but the revisions will still not allow police to pursue stolen vehicles unless the police have evidence of certain violent crimes related to the car’s occupants.  Stolen vehicles continue to be a primary tool for conducting property crime since they can’t be chased, making them just the ticket for any thief to make a clean getaway.

The report shows other types of theft dropping, but unfortunately much of this is likely a result of people giving up on reporting.  For instance, the vast majority of shoplifting cases are now going unreported.  Shoplifting used to account for a large percentage of theft cases.  Car thefts reports are among the most reliable. When a car gets stolen, the owner needs a police report to collect insurance and clear themselves of liability, so car thefts get reported.  But when a lawnmower, power saw, or kids bicycle gets stolen, and they cost less than the deductible on an insurance policy, many increasingly-disheartened residents think reporting the loss is no longer worth their time.

A police forensic specialist dusts for prints and gathers other evidence from a stolen car, but the odds are low that the thief will be found after the car has been abandoned.