Boeing 737 Airplanes line Renton’s Clayton Scott Field as they are readied for final test flights and delivery to customers all over the world

Renton City Hall was abuzz tonight as Renton City Council put it’s formal approval on a new airport lease agreement with the Boeing Company.

The agreement covers a new 20 year lease term, followed by two ten-year options. The agreement comes after Boeing and Renton real-estate experts have been finalizing details for many months. Per the agreement, The Boeing Company will pay a market-based lease-rate plus a through-the-fence airport access fee for Boeing-owned property. The lease payments will increase through the term of the lease following the consumer price index, adjusted with market appraisals every 6 years.

The more complex lease terms revolved around the buildings that Boeing currently owns on the property. The buildings will convert to Renton City Ownership, per a turnback agreement in the old lease, similar to buildings owned by other leaseholders at the Renton airport. The maintenance and future upgrades of these buildings is the subject of additional lease language.

Like all lease money collected at the airport, all the funds will be used by Renton to operate and improve the airport.

Residents of Renton and our region should celebrate this commitment by the Boeing Company to the Renton facility. The company annually delivers many billions of dollars of airplanes out of it’s factory here in Renton. Our community gets thousands of high-value jobs from Boeing’s presence, along with tax revenues and generous contributions to local charities. The 737 is astoundingly popular– we’ve recently been told that the 737 airplanes on order today would stretch about 47 miles if they were parked nose-to-tail.

General aviation users have an additional reason to celebrate. Boeing’s presence at the airport ensures the airport’s long-term viability, and gives the FAA plenty of reason to keep investing in it.

This is on top of today’s national news that Boeing is increasing it’s 737 production rate in Renton starting in 2012. Today’s picture looks bright for Renton’s aerospace sector.

This agreement helps assure general aviation users that Renton’s airport is viable long-term

Boeing has several buildings on Renton airport property, including a state-of-the-art aircraft paint hanger. The new lease ensures these building will continue to function to their highest and best use.

I’ve always loved this little number from Guys and Dolls.

I’m in the midst of posting several new articles. I got delayed by some fun birthday activities and a few other obligations. Here is one birthday photo that is a little scary.

There are not even 48 candles, and it still looks like it could burn the house down

As a reminder, I am exactly the same age as the Space Needle. Here is the cover of LIFE Magazine from two days before my May 6, 1962 birth:

I’m enjoying my birthday today, and I think all of you that have sent me birthday greetings.

I have to admit, I was a little worried today when the stock market almost seemed to turn my birthday into an infamous day on Wall Street. As it turned out, the unprecedented sharp drop followed by an equally unprecedented sharp rise only succeeded in letting a little helium out (and left investors a little dizzy), but May 6 has come out okay.

I’m staying in the stock market, but I’m not sure if TD Ameritrade pitchman Sam Waterston is making me feel any more confident with his new banner:

Is it just me?…

Anyway, I have plenty of great birthday plans left. I’m soon headed down to emcee a talent show, and then drinks with friends. I’ve got more city stuff to write about, and I’ll try to get some stories posted this weekend.

Arlo Guthrie’s concert in Kent last night was an inspiring celebration of family just as much as a wonderful celebration of folk music. Here he performs with his children, their spouses, and his grandkids.

Arlo Guthrie sings with his three daughters, all accomplished musicians carrying the flame from their legendary grandfather Woody Guthrie.

Forty-one years after Arlo Guthrie’s performance at Woodstock, the American folk-singer is as vital and relevant as ever. Last night Arlo, his children, and his grandchildren put on a beautiful sing-along performance at Kent’s Showare Center.

Arlo Guthrie’s son Abe covered the Keyboard through the show, and his three daughters played major performance roles on guitar, ukulele and auto-harp. His grandchildren, ranging from adult to as young as two, played many other instruments from bass to tambourine. In-laws rounded out the band and added additional music styles. And of course, everybody sang.

Arlo explained that this Kent performance was their third-to-last stop on a special family tour that begun last October. The family was looking forward to being home, but was also going to miss the time they have spent together as an extended family on the road. It was obvious that they are a big, loving family, and it was simply heart-warming and uplifting to see the three generations perform together. There were times in the show when it seemed like Arlo was entertaining his kids and grandkids just as much as he was entertaining the audience. Arlo Guthrie still tells funny, funny stories, recites poems, and makes up crazy song verses like his famous father Woody Guthrie did. Arlo’s story-telling is arguably what propelled him to fame with Alice’s Restaurant.

After their next two stops, Arlo Gurthrie will be returning to his home in rural Massachusetts, where he performs and socializes regularly at the church where Alice once lived during the Alice’s Restaurant days. His children are all accomplished musicians in their own right, and they have been producing albums on their own. His youngest daughter Sarah and her family just released Go Waggaloo, an album of kids music, and Cathy and I picked up a copy after they performed some of their tracks from it.

The family ended the show on a very high note with the family singing Woody Guthrie’s best known song ever “This Land is Your Land, ” Arlo stopped the song mid-way to explain that his mother once heard this song performed in China, by children, back in the 70s. The family has since heard it sung all over the world, with some countries, like Canada, changing the words to reflect their own geography “from the Arctic, to the great lakes”. When Arlo hears another nation sing it without changing the words, he figures they are referring to the LONG way around the world when they sing:

“From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me”

After a standing ovation, the family offered an encore with “My Peace”, another beautiful and spiritual song that uses lyrics written by his father Woody, put to music by Arlo.

They will be performing in Bellingham tonight, and then hopefully Arlo will be back this way on tour again in a couple more years.

I last saw Arlo Guthrie perform a year ago in Wichita Kansas, when I was on a business trip and his band stayed in the same hotel. Here is a link to my journal entry about that.

For those who want to see more photos, click below.

Click here to see more photos

Another freshly-minted 737 leaves Renton for Boeing Field

How cool is this!? MSNBC has chosen Boeing, our city’s largest employer, and our own Renton factory as a shining example of American business staying on top. We are extremely fortunate to have Boeing in our region and our city. I’m lucky to work there.

Here is the MSNBC story . Be sure to watch the video– there is some great footage of the inside of the factory.

In this journal entry I roughly estimated that from a value standpoint, typical Renton airplane production compares to making about 2,500 new cars per day. And the existing 737 backlog, not counting future orders, extends for about 7 years. This highly successful factory, squeezed between the Landing, Lake Washington and the Renton Airport, pumps billions of dollars into our local economy.

Great new from the Teamsters and Waste Management tonight. A contract agreement has been reached, so there is no more risk of disruption to our garbage service. Here is the email we received this evening from Waste Management;
_______________________________

From: Robinson, Susan [srobinson@wm.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 8:58 PM
To: Don Persson; Greg Taylor; King Parker; Marcie Palmer; Denis Law; Randy Corman; Rich Zwicker; Terri Briere
Cc: Jay B Covington; Gregg A. Zimmerman; Lys L. Hornsby; Linda R. Knight; Preeti Shridhar; Kathleen Johnston
Subject: WM & Teamsters Reach Agreement!

Dear Mayor Law and Renton City Councilmembers,

I am pleased to announce that Waste Management and the Teamsters reached agreement tonight on a new five-year Union contract. The Union leadership will fully recommend that their members approve the new contract at a ratification vote scheduled for this Sunday.

The contract offers a solid compensation package to our hardworking and professional drivers, and recognizes the valuable service that our drivers provide in our local communities.

I want to thank you all for your support during the past month. We are glad to put this behind us and to focus on our daily operations.

Collection service will be on schedule the rest of the week!

Regards,

Susan Robinson
Waste Management, PNW and British Columbia
Phone: (206) 264-3073
Cell: (206) 915-9183