Written by Here is a cute story from the Seattle PI. Congratulations to Haben Abraham and her family, and to Marcie Palmer who scheduled Haben for her big show!
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Ocean Shores Beach House: Photo Blog
We had a great time in Ocean Shores this weekend.
Cathy and I, and our youngest three kids, joined some friends in a beach house for sand and surf, barbeque’s, kites, shopping, movies, and lots of other seashore fun!
You can see the photos by clicking the link below.
Railroad trestle work will add to our traffic maze this summer, but it will be worth the pain
We ARE trying to fix some of the traffic problems in town, but it will be a little painful this summer :-(.
We are replacing FOUR railroad trestles within a few months, and three of them span roads which will need to be closed temporarily.
This will ultimately allow us to widen Rainier Ave, Hardie Avenue, and Shatuck Ave, which will give us more North-South lane capacity through our city…yay!
This will also allow us to fully update these rail crossings while we still have the East Side Line to carry freight to Renton’s airplane factory, such that the city will have new crossings in place when the rail line through Renton becomes the only rail access to the Renton Boeing plant.
The Shattuck rail underpass (just east of Rainier Ave) will change from a one lane “cow-tunnel” to a two lane road, but it will still only have an 8 foot clearance…if you have not see this tunnel near the downtown Radioshack you may want to see it before it closes down…I understand it was originally designed to let cattle pass under the railroad track, but now it allows one car at a time to go under the track as long as the cars are not taller than about 6 feet….the top timbers of the tunnel are lacerated by cars that were just a little too tall but never-the-less driven into the tunnel!
Here is today’s Seattle Times Story on this forthcoming traffic maze:
Photo tour of the Landing!
The City’s Transportation Committee held a public meeting at “The Landing” construction site, and Gary Palmer captured the event in pictures.
Councilman Randy Corman and his wife Cathy
City officials and citizens standing near the center roundabout in the entertainment area of the Landing.
This Roundabout is between Park and Logan, on a new private entertainment street in the Landing, where it crosses a new 10th street. The center plaza will be planted and signed “The Landing”
It goes very close the the Boeing Final Assembly hangers…drivers and pedestrians will get views of Boeing Planes that they have not ever had in this area before.
This is the area that the Sonics wanted to purchase, north of the Boeing buildings that line 6th street. For those of you who work at Boeing, you will know this as the site of the 10-80 building. The street in the foreground is the new extension of 8th street…an all new segment that used to be inside the Boeing gate. This section of 8th street should be open for Boeing employees to get to work as of Monday (July 2.)
Verizon, Panda Express, and other shops will go in here
This is a new view down Park Avenue, from the intersection with the new 10th street. With all the new streets, traffic is predicted to flow better than many citizens expect. There will also be lots of parking, including a 700 stall parking garage.
Cranes hover over the start of the new apartments, which will be seven stories tall and provide housing for thousands. It’s not too early to look into renting if you are interested.
Another view down the new 10th street, near the roundabout
New view of Boeing Final Assembly hangers
New movie theater will have 16 screens
Another view down 10th
More construction shots
The city and developers are providing nice finishes on all the streets, and sidewalks that are 14 feet wide. All paving is being done in concrete, with different colors and patterns to add character and make it more clear how to get around. This grid pattern marks the edge of the street where parallel parking will be allowed. Major intersections will be done in brown concrete, which looks like larger tiles.
Still more street work! The City expects to have Park Avenue open for traffic in just two more weeks!!! Yay!
Hope you enjoyed this exclusive tour…leave me your commets please!
Thanks, Renton WA
Renton’s most prosperous business…
We are so fortunate to have Boeing 737 production in our city. With the incredible success of the 737 airplane model, and Boeing’s record breaking backlog of this and other aircraft, our local economy will enjoy the glow of this industry for years to come. In spite of the tone of this year’s Chicago Tribune story, the aircraft business is not on its way out or casting any type of “shadow” over Renton’s economy.
Indeed, for those of us analyzing future trends, we see it is not too early for
Renton to be working aggressively to manage and market our city as the right place for Boeing to build the replacement model for the 737 in ten to fifteen years, or whenever the time comes. We need to be sure to reserve the airport space, and necessary infrastructure, to make our city more attractive than other locations. Our Renton Transportation Committee pushed earlier this year to have some train trestles rebuilt, and we are currently working on airport lease policy which keeps some space reserved for Boeing production. However, we could be doing much more to market our city. We will most likely be competing against Paine Field, Long Beach California, and many other locations in the nation.
There is simply no other business in the world that sells products of this value or reputation for quality.
_________________________________________________________________
Here is a story from Today’s Puget Sound Business Journal:
Boeing announces $4.4B in new plane orders
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) – 9:39 AM PDT Monday, June 18, 2007
The Boeing Co. said that Lion Air of Jakarta has ordered 40 more 737-900 extended range planes worth $3 billion at list prices, and GE Commercial Aviation Services has ordered six 777 freighter planes worth $1.42 billion.
The orders were announced Monday at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France.
Lion Air, a low-cost airline in Asia, now has ordered 100 of the extended-range 737-900 airplanes, which are built in Renton.
GE Commercial Aviation Services of Stamford, Conn., has ordered 39 Boeing-built freighter planes, including 14 777s, which are built in Everett. The first Boeing (NYSE: BA) 777 will be delivered in the fourth quarter of next year.
Don Persson does not need my campaign help anymore!
This will be great for Renton. This will also save both Don and I quite a bit of work, and allow us to focus on assisting some other Renton races we care about.
I never object to anyone challenging an incumbent for public office per our democratic process, but I feel strongly that Don clearly had earned re-election. He remains completely in touch with the citizens that have elected him twice before, and he is an all-around great guy.
Congratulations Don Persson!
Traffic Safety Enforcement Cameras to be installed in Renton
The City Council has approved a police department suggestion to install three red-light-running cameras, and three school zone speeding cameras in our city. These are cameras which take a picture of the license plate of a vehicle which is either failing to stop for a red light, or failing to abide by the school speed zone. The owner of the car is then mailed a non-moving infraction with a high fine…sort of like a $124 parking ticket. The camera system can not issue a moving violation in our state, because it is not allowed to take a picture of the driver’s face, and therefore can not be assigned to an individual….only to the owner of the vehicle.
The photos are checked by a representative from law enforcement (either a police employee or a contractor) before violations are mailed out, to verify that there was not a problem with the camera or a legitimate issue that caused the red light violation (such as a motorist getting out of the way of an emergency vehicle, or stuck behind an accident, or something like that)
The school speed zone cameras are tentatively scheduled to be placed in front of McKnight Middle School, Renton High School, and Benson Hill Elementary. They will be active during the hours that children are present in the schools, and there will be signs and flashing lights warning motorists that there is camera speed enforcement. It is expected that they will simply be set a nominal amount above the speed limit (just a few miles over…not a lot above), and that a ticket will be mailed to the owners of any cars that exceed this margin in the camera-enforced area.
The locations for the red light enforcement cameras have not been decided on yet, but they will be placed at the intersections that show the most violations. Maple Valley Highway and Sunset is a finalist for instance, as is Rainier and Grady. These will ticket any vehicle that has not entered the intersection the moment that the light has turned red. Note that while it is best to clear the intersection completely on the yellow light, the camera will ticket only those who enter the intersection on the red light. These violations usually occur when drivers are in a long queue waiting to get through the light, and they don’t stop entering even when the light turns red. The other way these violations happen, which is even more dangerous, is when a driver sees a green or yellow light a distance ahead, and steps on the accelerator to get through the light. Both of these situations will lead to a ticket in the $124 range.
The goal of the Renton Council and the Police is not to earn money, but rather to save lives by reversing increasingly dangerous driving habit; habits that are predictably getting worse as a result of frustration with all the traffic and congestion.
I know there are some members of the public who really favor this, and some who are opposed on orwellian (big brother is watching you) grounds. For me, the issue came down to statistics which say we will save lives. These lives might be yours and mine, or the lives of our dear loved ones. For this reason, I and the entire Renton council voted to take this step.
See the reader comments on Renton WA Myspace on this topic
Here is the link to last week’s council minutes which approved the use of thes cameras
Candidate filings for Renton Offices
Candidate Listing
August 21, 2007 Primary Election
City of Renton
Races listed on this page: 5
Mayor
Denis W. Law
3625 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD N
RENTON WA, 98056
denislaw@comcast.net
(425) 277-3434
Kathy Keolker
532 CEDAR AVE S
RENTON WA, 98057
kathy@mayorkathy.com
(425) 255-0936
Council Position No. 3
Marcie Palmer
PO BOX 1702
RENTON WA, 98057
info@palmer2007.com
www.palmer2007.com
(206) 579-8804
Shirley A. Gaunt-Smith
4102 NE 6TH PL
RENTON WA, 98059
gauntsmith@comcast.net
(425) 228-8763
Council Position No. 4
Greg Taylor
PO BOX 1680
RENTON WA, 98057
info@electgregtaylor.com
www.electgregtaylor.com
(425) 917-8054
Terry Persson
2821 NE 8TH PL
RENTON WA, 98056
tpersson@comcast.net
www.electterry2007.com
(425) 228-5848
Council Position No. 5
King Parker
4601 NE 24TH ST
RENTON WA, 98059
king@kingandbunnys.com
(425) 226-9162
Donovan Boyd
2901 NE 8TH PL
RENTON WA, 98056
donovanboyd@earthlink.net
(425) 226-0152
Cheryl E. Haskins
P.O BOX 3370
RENTON WA, 98056
mrscherryk@comcast.net
(206) 391-3907
Council Position No. 7
Don Persson
538 RENTON AVE S
RENTON WA, 98057
dvPersson@yahoo.com
(425) 271-6935
Mark Martinez
4116 NE 5TH ST
RENTON WA, 98059
mark76w4@comcast.net
(425) 204-9275
Re-elect Don Persson to Renton City Council–Renton is lucky to have him!
Don Persson has been a very positive force on Renton City Council in his two terms of service. He knows the Renton Community better than just about anyone, thanks to his growing up in our community, raising his family in the Renton area, serving three decades in the Renton Police Department (including leadership as Deputy Chief), and eight years service as a Renton Councilman, all accompanied by extraordinary community volunteer work throughout his life.
Don watches the budget extremely carefully, and works hard to make sure Renton residents get good value for every penny spent by the City of Renton. He does not hesitate to ask very detailed questions to ensure that nothing gets past him, a quality which I’m sure also served him well in his police work.
He serves on numerous regional boards and commissions, and works cooperatively with other jurisdictions to build cohesive regional plans. But the other cities’ representatives know that Don is no push-over…he will not agree to any plan that does not give fair value to the citizens of Renton. He won’t compromise our city’s interests for anyone, and he is quick to keep the rest of the council informed about issues that could negatively impact us.
Even though he can be firm when he needs to be, Don conducts all his work with charm and grace. He has a sparkling sense of humor, and warm compassion for people in need. He’s resolved some requests that come to city council by simply reaching into his own wallet and generously supporting the less fortunate.
He is so well loved by this community that he is one of our city’s most sought-after volunteers. I suspect that if he didn’t have his family and city pulling on him, he would be grilling chicken, salmon, hot dogs, and hamburgers for different community groups every day of the year.
I have the honor of serving as Don’s campaign manager, and I enthusiastically ask all my readers to vote for him in November.
Re-elect Marcie Palmer in November–she is an outstanding council member!
I enthusiastically endorse my colleague and friend Marcie Palmer in her bid for re-election to Renton City Council.
Marcie is an extraordinarily diligent and effective council member. She always does her homework, putting in long hours studying the issues and interviewing the community. She gathers input from citizens constantly, maintaining a meticulous understanding of the feelings and concerns of those who elected her.
Marcie is a problem solver. She is known for her ability to gather parties together and work though differences, often finding common ground that no one else believed could be found. As Chair of the City’s Transportation Committee, she is currently working hard on a number of transportation concerns including noise and development issues at the Renton Municipal Airport.
Marcie also represents us in regional transportation planning, to help make sure Renton gets a fair share of State and Federal transportation dollars. She is independent minded, and will not hesitate to vote against the status quo when she knows she is right…a most important quality for your elected officials.
She is a wise steward of tax dollars, and is concerned about those in need in our community. As a result, she works hard on council and in her volunteer projects to make sure everyone is taken care of.
With all this work, she still manages to spend lots of time with her family by including them in so many of her activities. Her talented photographer husband Gary accompanies her to many city functions, and keeps the City of Renton and Chamber of Commerce supplied with high quality photographs for their websites. And Marcie helps in her children’s classes, and brings them to city and volunteer events whenever she can.
I ask all my readers to vote for Marcie in November, and to join me in working hard to support her campaign.
Some photos of Marcie:
Marcie with her family…she worked very hard to try to save the dinner train
Marcie and I helping serve lunch at the Hichlands Community Association Picnic
Marcie tells venerated Boeing Test Pilot Clayton Scott, and hundreds his family and friends gathered for his 100th birthday, that Renton is naming our airport in his honor
Marcie pitching in with Salvation Army
Marcie helping the schools
Consoling a citizen who lost her home in the windstorm
As community leader…speaking at the Piazza
Pirates of the Caribbean movie night!
My three favorite girls dressed as pirates for the New Pirates of the Caribbean movie…
Daughter Susie, wife Cathy, daughter Katie
Let’s let everyone participate in the Highlands revitalization
I agree with my collegue Marcie Palmer, and with Brett Kappenman and Terry Persson that we should open up the new Highlands Revitalization Committee to a larger group of applicants and make a broad effort to reach out for participants. Like Marcie, I want the next phase of Highlands work to be an inclusive effort, and I feel we have kept people on the sidelines who live near the Highlands but have not yet been included in the detail planning (other than speaking at public hearings). To make change in the highlands, we need a full court press, with everyone’s help. This committee is going to provide the ideas and organizing work; their work is as much of a campaign as it is a technical committee. We simply do not want to shut people out who want to help.
Thanks,
Randy
Hello All-
As the 3rd member of the P&D Committee, I wanted to let you know that is was NOT my understanding that notice and applications would be mailed to everyone (property owners & renters?) in the Highlands. This second task force will be looking at issues involving the greater Highlands area, not just the previous Highlands “subarea” we worked on last year. Terri Briere was very clear in who would recieve the info, and if Terry Persson thought it should go to others beyond what she specifically stated, he should have spoken up at the meeting.
Mailing to such a large area would no doubt be expensive; however, I can see the reasoning behind doing so, since there has been such wide-spread interest in the Highlands & redevelopment for years. I also remember people expressing interest on serving on the first task force, and they were told they weren’t eligible for that one because they didn’t live in the “subarea” being addressed at that time, and would be considered for the next task force. I also don’t think saying “people can go to the City website” for info is a good alternative to a mailing, since we know in this area there are many seniors and lower income folks who may not have access to or be comfortable with computers. Maybe an ad in the Renton Reporter would get the info out in a timely manner.
Thank you for letting us know of the situation and your concerns.
Marcie Palmer
It would have been great to bring Paul Allen’s antique airplane collection to Renton’s airport!….
This would have been a great use of our airport space. I’ve seen Paul Allen’s airplane collection (the public can arrange tours by appointment), and he has some one-of-a-kind historic WWI and WWII articles. This would have been a perfect fit in Renton, as it would be closer to Seattle metro area, just a quick boat trip from Allen’s home on Mercer Island, and would not generate take-off and landing noise. The historic aspect of Allen’s flight museum would be a nice compliment to Boeing’s presence at the airport, since Boeing’s B-29 production here helped us win World War II.
I wonder if it is too late to get Paul Allen to reconsider? What do you all think?
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Airplane collection may move to Paine
By Christopher Schwarzen
Times Snohomish County Bureau
Looking to expand its activities for aviation enthusiasts, Snohomish County is offering another historic airplane group hangar space at Paine Field.
Possibly joining Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection would be the Historic Aircraft Foundation, owned by Seattle attorney John Sessions.
Sessions, a past president of the Washington Seaplane Pilots Association, has been offered a lease agreement; approval by the Snohomish County Council is expected today.
The lease is similar to Allen’s, whose agreement with the county was approved last year. Allen plans to move his entire collection of historic warplanes from Arlington to Paine Field.
The agreements call for both to make improvements to current space at the airport. Sessions would be reimbursed for amenities totaling about $1 million that are the responsibility of the county, including the addition of taxiway and road to the hangars.
Under the lease agreement, Sessions and a company called Kilo Six would build three hangars on six acres. Two would be for private jets, but the larger space would house Sessions’ historic aircraft collection, which at one time has included an exotic Alpha Jet bomber trainer, an amphibious Beaver, a Grumman F8F military fighter, and a North American T-6 trainer used during World War II and the Korean conflict to train pilots.
Sessions has indicated to county staff members that he hopes to show the historic planes publicly, but Dave Waggoner, the airport’s director, said nothing has been put together yet in terms of a public program. Sessions declined to comment until the lease is approved.
It’s unclear when hangar construction might begin on the acreage, at the west side of the southern end of the runway, Waggoner said. But rent would be deferred for about seven years, at which point rent and fees would cost about $150,000 annually, according to the pending lease agreement. The lease would be for 40 years, with a 10-year option thereafter.
Regarding his collection, Allen has said that he likes the tie-in with the Future of Flight museum and the Boeing aircraft tour at Paine Field.
With a 10-year lease and options for 20 years, Allen is improving a 51,000-square-foot hangar at Paine Field at a cost of about $5.2 million. The county is reimbursing him about $2.2 million in rent credits. The annual lease is about $371,000.
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Work on the hangar is under way and should be finished by fall, said Michael Nank, a spokesman for the collection.
“We’re looking at opening near the end of the year or the beginning of 2008,” Nank said. “But it will be quite an extensive move, as some of the planes can’t be flown there.”
The Flying Heritage Collection focuses mostly on World War II- and Cold War-era planes from around the world, including England, Japan, China and Russia.
Waggoner said both leases, as well as the other options at Paine Field and nearby, make for a better tourist attraction.
“We feel this is a very positive step to have the additional aviation attraction at the airport,” he said. “[Paine Field] is a tremendous place for aviation enthusiasts.”
Seattle Times business reporter Elizabeth Rhodes contributed to this report.
Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
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