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Click here to see the video!

Barack Obama had his first official executive flight, as president elect, on a beautiful Renton-built C-32A… the Air Force nomenclature for a specially designed 757. This aircraft has been part of the official presidential air lift capability for about ten years, but was just recently videotaped by National Geographic for a new special.

The 757s remain popular, reliable and efficient airliners, even though Boeing took them out of production about five years ago.

The multitudes of us who work at Boeing are very proud of the role our airplanes play in official public business and national defense.

(The full National Geographic documentary, Onboard Air Force One, will air Jan. 25 on the National Geographic Channel.)

No, it’s not this…

and it’s not this…

But THIS creature which is putting some residents a little on edge just outside of Renton.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife file photo

Here is an email I recently received…
____________________________________________

This cougar was less than 100 yards from my house….

Cougar Alert

January 16th, 2009

We’ve had sightings of coyotes and bobcats in recent days, but here’s a warning everyone should take very seriously. Amy just emailed me to say a cougar was in her flower bed around 8 this morning. She lives at the end of 135th Place SE where it backs into the woods in the View Pointe/Olympic Ridge/Rainier Crest/China Falls area. The cougar took off as soon as it spotted Amy. She has already called Fish and Wildlife, but wanted to get the word out to neighbors as well. Cougars are a much greater threat to humans than bobcats, so please keep an eye out.

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I know, perhaps we should expect this right at the base of Cougar Mountain (although I don’t know what that means for residents of Tiger Mountain…yikes!)

In any case, with the big lions making their way so close to our homes, now is a good time to remind people how dangerous these secretive predators can be.

Here is a great Washington State site for more information and tips.

It sounds like one trick for keeping the lions out is to try to keep the deer out. If you have deer regularly tromping through your yard, the cats may be following. Keep an eye on your little children in the late afternoon and evening hours if you think you have Cougars in the area.

My wife and I have been pretty sure we’ve been near one or more cougars on the Honey Creek/May Creek trail, in the NE part of Renton. From time to time on evening horse rides, our horse (who was caught in the wild) starts to get real nervous, twitchy, and starts suggesting –with his body language– different directions he thinks we should flee. But to date we have never actually seen a cougar down in these natural areas.

Dear Council Members,

Police responded to a shooting yesterday at the mobile taco stand located next to the service station at Rainier Ave. and Airport Way. There was apparently an argument between two men and one of the guys spit on the other man’s taco. The argument escalated to a point where one man retrieved a gun from his car and shot the other guy in the leg. The suspect left in a car towards West Hill driven by a woman.

I understand there was another shooting over the weekend in Fairwood. Our fire fighters responded but this was not in our city limits and was handled by the King County sheriff. The guy was shot in an apartment complex near Fire Station 17. That’s all I know and I did not hear the victim’s condition. This is the third serious case in recent months in Fairwood. The other two included a homicide and a drive-by shooting at 140th and Petrovitsky Road. Seems like serious criminal activity in on the rise in Fairwood, primarily in the area where the county allowed large apartment complexes to be built. And I assume you heard that the Sheriff’s Dept. handled another shooting in Skyway last week where three people were shot during a confrontation at a tavern on Renton Ave. S. This was in the same area where four people were shot on Nov. 22nd, leaving one dead and three injured.

Renton has been fortunate compared to other jurisdictions this passed year. Tukwila ended the year with seven homicides and Federal Way had nine. Renton had three homicides, with one that was related to domestic violence.

Denis Law

Mayor of Renton

1055 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057

425 430-6500

dlaw@rentonwa.gov

Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” Speech was playing on the big screen in the Boeing cafeteria where I eat lunch today. Like my colleagues watching and dining, I was very, very touched while listening to the words and thinking about how far we have come as a nation in the 45 + years since King eloquently spoke these words at the Lincoln Memorial.

This evening I found the video of Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen leading hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday in a rousing refrain of “This Land is your Land”.

On the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama, on King’s 80th birthday, I feel like Martin Luther King could wake-up from a heavenly nap, look down upon us, and be confident it was more than just a dream.

Watching the two videos below, one after the other, makes me very very proud to be an American …and more than a little sentimental.

__________________________________

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”2

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day…

…And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
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The song “This Land is Your Land” was written by American folk legend Woody Guthrie, who sang it with Pete Seeger countless times before he died in 1967 from Huntington’s disease. Woody Guthrie once said “I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.”

While most of the friends of Renton WA Myspace are sporting Myspace headlines like “Totally had fun on Saturday”, or “Feeling like it’s time to take the Christmas lights down” there is one that is a bit different.

Kim Blake’s headline reads “Gave someone CPR today…. And shocked their heart.”

Kim Blake did indeed have the judgment and training to administer CPR and apply a new defibrillator to a heart attack victim at the McLendon’s Hardware Store, and she saved the victim’s life. Yep. McLendon’s employees will now be known for giving you great advice AND saving your life when necessary.

Council gets to thank Kim in person at our next council meeting (January 26th) because the Renton Fire Department has talked her into coming for a visit.

Renton Reporter’s Emily Garland provides further details about Kim’s quick thinking and fast action HERE , along with the important actions of others (like fellow-employee Sharina Brock) in this story with such a happy ending. The greatest act a person can perform is to save another’s life.

Kenny and Anastasia show their technique on the new community center dance floor

We recently installed a new wood floor in a recreation room at the Community Center, to make it into a first class dance studio for Renton citizens. It is available for classes, and for individual rental at the very reasonable price of 20 dollars per hour (for city residents).

My son Kenny and his wife Anastasia have been renting it weekly, just to work on their own dance techniques. Cathy and I have joined them some weeks, and we are trying to get better at Tango.

One of this blog’s frequent commenters, Renton-raised Crystal Ainardi, is attending Barack Obama’s inauguration. She will be contributing her observations to the Seattle Times, and hopefully to me as well …Crystal…hint hint 🙂

Here is the Story about Crystal and her fellow Seattle Times contributors in today’s Seattle Times.

For those of you directly impacted by issues related to garbage service, here is even more information from our city’s top administrator and our top engineer: Continue reading →

This email from Mayor Denis Law acknowledges the on-going difficulties we are having rolling out the new garbage service in some parts of the city. In hindsight, while it seemed sensible on paper to start the new service at the beginning of a calendar year, it was a bad time of year to switch service. Our Public Works Department has been coping with other crises like snowstorms and floods, and Waste Management was having troubles just getting to basic trash pickup on the icy and windy streets, even without delivering new containers to 80,000 people.

When we discussed this new program in various city council meetings last summer, we raised and addressed many different concerns. But none of us raised the risk that the weather would compound our transition problems.

I apologize to all of you residents inconvenienced by this. I assure you that all of it at city hall take it seriously, and we are working to get things going smoothly as soon as possible.

Mayor Law gives more details below.

___________________________________________________

From: Denis Law
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:51 AM
To: Don Persson; Greg Taylor; Julia Medzegian; King Parker; Marcie Palmer; Randy Corman; Rich Zwicker; Terri Briere
Cc: Jay B Covington
Subject: Garbage Collection

Dear Council,

I apologize that some of you are receiving complaints from citizens regarding confusion and service problems related to garbage collection. As you know, we experienced the “perfect storm” with the implementation of a new, complicated service, coupled with several weeks of historically bad weather. We also failed to plan on how best to deal with the inevitable questions from the public. Here is what we’re doing to deal with the issue:

Public Works has three dedicated employees working with Linda Knight to handle incoming calls and emails. The problem of finding Linda’s voicemail full should now be eliminated. In addition to the normal call receivers that Waste Management has on duty, they have added six call receivers to strictly handle incoming Renton calls. If you receive any questions or complaints, please direct the callers to 1-800-592-9995.

We have also arranged for Waste Management to pickup any garbage that was missed, regardless of type (garbage, recycle, yard waste), within 48 hours of receiving any customer call. There will be no additional charges to the customer.

And finally, we will have an article in Friday’s Renton Reporter that answers questions and concerns raised by our citizens this past week. We are also enhancing our information on our website, and Waste Management will be doing a complete mailing next week that will also answer customer questions, including the day of the week they should anticipate collection. Public Works anticipates that all phone calls and emails received to date will be answered by this afternoon.

As you might guess, there have been hundreds of calls from confused customers. We added to their frustrations by not having this plan in place earlier, but I believe we might have this under control within the next day or so.

I’ll keep you informed as we work through this process.

Thanks.

Denis Law
Mayor of Renton
1055 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057
425 430-6500

dlaw@rentonwa.gov

For over a decade the State Department of Fisheries, the Army Core of Engineers, and other jurisdictions have been placing man-made log-jams in local rivers and creeks to improve fish spawning habitat. While the goal is worthwhile, the practice has remained controversial, as swimmers and boaters have had many close calls with these obstacles on our waterways.

While I have always wanted our rivers to remain more natural, I have only reluctantly accepted the man-made log-jams; my nephew nearly drowned from the first one of these we encountered while floating on the Cedar River back in 1994.

Now, a question has been raised about whether the practice made the latest flood more dangerous. It will be interesting to see whether the man-made log-jams stayed in place during the flood, or broke away creating hazards to bridges.

I’ll be interested to learn more as the flood waters recede.

Example of a man-made log-jam on the Green River.

Here is the website for WRIA 9, which oversees Salmon Restoration efforts in our area (and I have served as a member)

and, Here is a website where boaters have documented their concerns about the man-made log-jams.

Council,

I have some updated news regarding leasing at The Landing. As you know, the state of the economy makes the status of these leases fairly fluid, but at least this shows a positive sign regarding some of the tenants we expected to open last month.

Daphne’s Greek Restaurant is scheduled to open this month, as well as the UPS store. Starbucks now has a tentative date of opening next month, along with Izakaya Sushi and Vino’s at The Landing. And in March, a yogust store, AT&T and a Thai restaurant are planning to open. Other stores still scheduled to open by April and May include The Rock Pizza & Spirits, a dentist, tanning salon, BECU, and a national burger chain. Gene Sens will be opening an Asian restaurant (Papaya) soon, and Key Bank and Valley Medical Center are still planning to locate at The Landing, but opening dates are uncertain. Negotiations continue with a number of other exciting tenants. I’ll keep you informed as we receive updated reports.

Denis

Denis Law

Mayor of Renton

1055 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057

425 430-6500

dlaw@rentonwa.gov

From:		“Robinson, Susan” <srobinson@wm.com>  [ Save Address ]
To:		“mpalmer@rentonwa.gov” <‘mpalmer@rentonwa.gov’>
Cc:		Randy Corman <Rcorman@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject:		Plastic Recycling
Date:		Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:53:43 -0800

 

Councilmember Palmer,

It was very nice to talk with you on yesterday.   

As promised, I am forwarding some information about plastics recycling in the City’s new program.  Renton customers are now able to recycle a variety of plastics; however, there are still many types of plastics that are not recyclable because there are not markets for them.  Specifically, you asked about the rigid clear plastics packaging that many electronics and other items come in.  These are not recyclable.  Waste Management encourages consumers to support efforts to encourage manufacturers to use less of this type of packaging.  While this type of packaging does provide protection for certain materials, it is overused in most cases.   

Recyclable plastics in the City’s program include all plastic bottles, jars, jugs and tubs.
Examples of plastics that are recyclable: water and soda bottles, peanut butter jars, milk jugs, and cottage cheese and yogurt tubs. 

 

I am sending you a link to Waste Management’s website that has a great section on plastic recycling (click on the underlined “Plastic Recycling” where is says No Plastics Bags in Recycling).

http://www.wmnorthwest.com/renton/recycling.html.,  This also links to a video on plastics recycling, and other information articles.

 

Also, King County’s solid waste division web site has a nice reference tool called:  What do I do with?  Here is a link to the site.  Just enter the item and follow the instructions and you can learn about the materials and where to recycle those items that are recyclable – but not in the City’s program.  http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/index.asp

 

Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions.  I can be reached on my cell at (206) 915-9183.

I am copying Councilmember Corman in case he would like to add this information to his Blog. 

Best wishes to you this week with your mother.

Susan

Susan Robinson
Waste Management, PNW
801 Second Ave., Seattle, WA  98104
o.  206-264-3073
c.  206-915-9183

 

You can see the trascript here. I don’t know if the video is posted anywhere. The video segment ran in the afternoon on Wednesday, and a brief version ran that evening.

From: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok <kbalcombBartok@Rentonwa.gov> [ Save Address ]
To: Randy Corman
Subject: Williams Avenue Bridge CLOSED
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 17:13:50 -0800

Due to a large amount of debris collecting under the Williams Avenue Bridge, the City of Renton has decided to close the bridge for the night (January 8, 2009), and re-open the bridge in the morning after the debris is safely removed.

For current information check our Critical Emergency Information page at:

http://www.rentonwa.gov/emergencies/default.aspx?id=13028