The Renton Farmers Market will start a new season tomorrow. This popular market will be open every Tuesday from 3:00 to 7:00 in the downtown Piazza park until mid September. Here are more details in the Examiner.
A few photos with an animal theme, from the long weekend
Here a few photos I shot this weekend with an animal theme.
This is our Mustang Zeus, on Cougar Mountain.
Another picture of Zeus on Cougar Mountain, with my wife Cathy riding
.
This is our friend April with our Newfoundland Dolly. April is an amazing artist, and she had just sketched Dolly in pencil. She gave us her sketch, we framed it, and then I shot this picture.
Cedar River Trail safety discussion continuing on earlier blog
May30
2010
Written by Randy Corman
2010
Written by Randy Corman
There is a stimulating discussion continuing in the comment section on my blog about proposed Cedar River Trail safety improvements. Click here to participate!
Yesterday’s Official Press Release following the shooting at the Shell Station on Rainier Ave
I received this press release yesterday. The Renton Reporter posted a story pretty fast which you can find here .
Shooting – Shell Station 300 Rainier Ave S 10-5846
At 2318 hours, we were dispatched to a Shoplift at the above location. The RP advised that the suspect was GOA. Two minutes later the RP called back to advise that the shoplift suspect had returned and that he had been shot in the leg. Officers arrive and find Maurice A. Harris (10/8/62) with a gun shot wound to the knee area. He said that he got into a dispute with 4 black males and 1 black female who were in a silver 4dr. vehicle parked outside the gas station. Harris said he was shot when he turned away from vehicle and he could not identify the shooter or any of the occupants. Harris was transported to HMC with non-life threatening injuries. A single .380 caliber casing was located at the scene.
There is no further suspect information. Surveillance video from the gas station is pending.
Council President Don Persson identifies concerns with Shoreline Master Plan; City Staff respond
I received an interesting email regarding the Shoreline Master Plan yesterday. Council President Don Persson expressed some concerns regarding the Renton’s proposed Shoreline Master Plan. The staff examined Don’s concerns, and provided an initial response back. I’m not sure if this will settle all the issues or not, but the interchange will probably be of interest to many people.
_____________________________
Councilmembers,
In Julia’s absence, I’m forwarding the following response Erika Conkling wrote in response to concerns expressed by Council President Persson as a courtesy to the rest of the Council. Please let Erika, Chip, or I know if you have additional questions or concerns.
Have a great holiday weekend!
________________________________________________
From: Don Persson
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:51 AM
To: Julia Medzegian
Subject: SMP/ Planning and Development Committee
My concerns on the SMP are:
1.) We are not the most restrictive of any city
2.) The non-conforming use issue, do not want people who have built their homes using and following all the legal codes in place, to now all of a sudden become a legal non-conforming use. In the Highlands we were able to work around this problem.
3.) If a house burns down or needs to be replaced it should be able to be rebuilt on the same foot print as it currently has.
4.) Bulkheads should be able to be repaired and replaced
5.) Same with docks
6.) Rewards for taking out bulkheads, if they do not damage adjoining properties
Cooking Oil Spill near Lake Washington in Renton
Hopefully, we won’t need to use “Top Kill” to fix this one: Here is an email I received this morning.
___________________________________________
Councilmembers:
The following press release was issued a short while ago by the Department of Ecology regarding the cooking oil spill in Renton today.
The boat launch at Gene Coulon is expected to have normal operations during this weekend.
In addition to Dept. Of Ecology and Waste Management, I will be available in the event of media calls.
From: Partridge, Dan (ECY)
To: Preeti Shridhar
Sent: Fri May 28 22:22:21 2010
Subject: FW: Dept of Ecology: Cooking oil spill near Lake Washington
Here you go
Washington Department of Ecology
May 28, 2010
Cooking oil spill near Lake Washington
RENTON — The Washington Department of Ecology tonight is overseeing the cleanup of a cooking oil spill that was reported this afternoon near Lake Washington.
Ecology is working with a contractor hired by Waste Management to vacuum up as much of the spill as possible before it flows into storm drains which empty in Johns Creek. The creek flows through Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park into Lake Washington. A crew with the City of Renton public works department was also on the scene tonight.
A Waste Management truck caused the spill when it knocked over a 140-gallon waste oil container about 5:15 a.m. today behind the Panda Express restaurant at 750 Park Ave. N. in Renton. The driver replaced the container and placed absorbent pads around the area, as required by Company policy. Ecology spill responder Brad Martin said the spill wasn’t reported to Ecology until 3 p.m. but Waste Management is cooperating with Ecology in getting the spill cleaned up.
It is unknown how much of the oil made its way into the storm drains before a vacuum truck arrived but some of it may make its way to the creek and into Lake Washington.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep as much of the cooking oil out of the water as possible, “ Martin said. A catchment area will be set up to collect the oil as it flows down the creek overnight and the contractor will return early tomorrow morning to collect the oil with absorbent pads.
Oil not trapped in the catchment area may be visible on Lake Washington over the weekend, Martin said.
Martin said there has been no evidence of adverse impacts on fish or wildlife. Cooking oil is of low toxicity but can stick to fish or birds who come in contact with it.
City of Renton officials said boat launches this weekend from Gene Coulon Park are expected to proceed as usual.
CONTACTS:
Dan Partridge
Department of Ecology
360-480-5722
Katie Salinas
Waste Management
206-962-1673
Proof that a funny name can not keep you from running for public office
This is a cute video. (Thanks to Ryan on Facebook for pointing this one out)
Here’s proof that even if your name is Young Boozer, you still have a chance to win public office. I tried going to this candidate’s website, but I received the message that his bandwidth was exceeded.
A bear visits a friend’s backyard in Newcastle this afternoon
A friend took this photo today as a black bear stopped by her back yard in Newcastle. It seems like bears are getting more common in our area.
Renton City Council gives preliminary approval to proposed safety improvements on Cedar River Trail
Approximately two miles of the Cedar River trail will be getting a center stripe to separate direction-of-travel lanes, new 10 MPH speed limits, and other improvements in an effort to improve safety for all users.
At last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, the Renton Council received a briefing from a cross-divisional “trail safety” team that the Mayor had commissioned here. The team included specialists from recreation, transportation, police, and other departments. The briefing was also attended by many citizens from the community, including relatives of the hiker who was killed by a bicycle on the trail last month, representatives of the Cascade Bicycle Club, the editor of the Renton Reporter, and other interested parties.
The council largely agreed with the recommendation of the Mayor’s trail-safety team, and gave the administration support to move forward.
There are several items proposed for the trail as well as a public awareness campaign. Here are some of the most significant items in the proposal:
The two-mile section of the Cedar River Trail, from the library to the Railroad Trestle Park on Maple Valley Highway, will receive a dashed center-stripe to separate the two directions of travel. Walkers, joggers, skaters, horseback riders, an bike riders will all be asked to walk on the right hand side of the trail except when passing slower travelers; then, they can use the left side as needed to pass, but they must be wary of on-coming traffic. The pavement is 12 feet wide in this section, so it will be divided into two six foot lanes.
That section of the trail mentioned above will be marked for a lower maximum speed. A new maximum speed limit of 10 miles per hour will replace the existing speed limit of 15 miles per hour. (While this may be disappointing to some bicyclists, I calculate that this change only adds a maximum of three minutes of travel over the entire two mile stretch for the fastest riders, and has less impact for everyone else)
Solid center striping will be added to sections where passing is considered dangerous due to visibility obstructions (just as in the case of roads). Solid stripes will also be added to direct trail users away from bollards and other obstructions in the trail.
There will be a dismount zone (where any bikes must be walked) in the lower section of the trail between the Library and the Senior Center. This is a narrower section of trail, with poor visibility at the bridges. It was judged to be too unsafe for continued bike commuting. Bikes have the option to stay on the streets above this stretch.
There will be new trail etiquette signs posted, and brochures made available at the trail, to remind users about safe practices for enjoying the trail. This will include awareness for bicyclists that they must not exceed a safe speed, regardless of the maximum speed posted. Overtaking pedestrians requires care, and groups with children or animals will require special care as they can not always be expected to reliably stay on their side of the trail.
Additional enforcement will be employed to stress the new trail rules and give warnings or citations (as appropriate) to violators. Some of the enforcement will be from volunteers, and some will be from commissioned police officers. In addition, trail users will be reminded to contact 911 if they feel anyone is obviously violating rules or is otherwise a menace on the trail.
Council members had a few suggestions, potentially including extending the lane markings and lower speed limit to the east further and investigating the feasibility of interactive speed signs that would tell riders their speed. These suggestions were taken under review by the team. Since they are additive to the staff suggestions (not in conflict), staff could probably move forward with their plan while further studying the council suggestions. We’ll get another status on this soon.
In closing, I want to emphasize that it is important to our physical and mental well-being that we all get out and move as much as we can. I have great respect for all the trail users–walkers, joggers, skaters, bikers, etc– for making it a priority to exercise. Even with the inherent risks of getting out on a multi-use trail, the collective gains to our health, longevity, and state of mind make it worth it.
The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe wants additional protections in Renton’s Shoreline Master Plan
Coulon Park over-water trail; the Muckleshoot Tribe has sent a letter saying they would like Renton to reduce these
In the audience comment section of tonight’s council meeting we heard from several speakers with property on Lake Washington. The three speakers, and an attorney representing others, all spoke to their concerns that the Shoreline Master Plan is too restrictive. This was similar to inputs we received at earlier council meetings, as I described here.
On the other side of this issue, we heard today from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, which feels our Shoreline Master Plan allows docks which are too large, does not do enough to restore the shoreline and vegetation around the lake, and comes up short in other areas.
You can read their letter by clicking here . This letter is an important one, because old treaties and recent case law give the Muckleshoot Tribe a co-trustee role when managing our fish and waterways.
The controversy is really brewing on this topic. The Muckleshoot Letter arrived the same day that we received a hand-delivered letter from David Halinen Law Offices, who is representing AnMarCo, the owner of the old Stoneway Concrete and Gravel site on Cedar River (Next to the Henry Moses Pool). Mr. Halinen expressed concern that the Shoreline Master Plan could force his client to remove the concrete Cedar River bulkhead on this site, opening the door to river erosion and loss of some –or even most– of the old Stoneway property.
Mr. Halinen also attached a copy of a five-page listing of concerns from a group called the “Renton Shoreline Coalition,” dated May 11. This list captured many of the concerns we had heard in chambers from citizens attending our council meetings.
In many areas of this plan, I feel a little like a referee. The city of Renton is trying to find some common ground between the interests of State Department of Ecology and the Muckleshoots on the one hand, versus Renton property owners on the other. And note that property owners are not all private; property owners include all of us, the Renton public, as we own Coulon Park, Kennydale Beach Park, the Airport, and much property along the Cedar River.
A privately-owned, publicly accessible waterfront trail graces the entire frontage of Southport, from Coulon Park to the Boeing factory. Here, Renton residents are queued for a Waterways Cruise, which departs from Southport’s dock.
While normally we referee, I found myself feeling disagreement with both the Muckleshoot Tribe and the Renton Shoreline Coalition on one point this evening. The Muckleshoot Tribe says in their letter that we need to work to reduce our over-water trails (like we have at Coulon Park). But these trails are used by tens of thousands of residents each year to get their best views and enjoyment of the lake. Trail users include members of the community who often don’t have access to boats or private docks, and yet deserve access to Lake Washington. Some visitors also have mobility issues, making our ADA accessible water walks extremely valuable for ensuring all members of society can enjoy the lake. Meanwhile, the Renton Shoreline Coalition has taken issue with the Shoreline Master Plan giving priority to lakefront development projects which create more public access (like Southport did). In their issue paper they state “the shoreline Guidelines in WAC 173-26-221(4) do not require that new private shoreline development provide physical and/or visual public access for the general public.” So, on this point it feels like both the Muckleshoots and the Renton Shoreline Coalition are unreasonably lowering the importance of public access. And I disagree with both their positions on this. And while they have property rights (in the case of private property owners) and treaties (in the case of the Muckleshoots) dating back to the nineteenth century on their side, we in the general public have something dating back to the Magna Carta on our side– the Public Trust Doctrine.
In short, the Public Trust Doctrine comes from ancient English law, and dictates that certain resources (including waterways) belong to all the people. Every state in our nation recognizes the Public Trust Doctrine, and courts across the county have been increasing public access under it’s provisions. I’ll discuss it in greater detail in another blog. But in the meantime, suffice it to say that I understand the right of the inhabitants of our region to have good access to Lake Washington is of greater importance and is more-strongly rooted in older laws than any private property rights bestowed by our state, or any treaties between the federal government and the Muckleshoot Tribe.
Keep checking back for more blogs about the Shoreline Master Plan.
Beavers help keep Renton crews busy
The Renton Reporter recently ran this interesting story about a beaver knocking out electrical power at the Landing.
I have not seen any photos of the Landing incident, but it reminded me of this previous close call on the east airport access road in 2008. In this earlier case, a power line and a road were both in jeopardy.
Beaver damage to a Cottonwood tree near the Renton Airport in February 2008
Man who murdered Renton Police Specialist and her mother sentenced to life without parole
Last week, the man who murdered our police specialist Bretta Hawkins was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The killer was sentenced to a second life term for killing Ms. Hawkins mother, Barbara Nettlebeck, a King County corrections officer. Both women were loved by their colleagues and their communities.
Bretta and her mother Barbara
An estimated 700 people turned out fourteen months ago to tearfully celebrate the lives of the two women who were taken from us. I described the service here.
Last week, the killer was handed two life sentences by the Pierce County Court. Here is the full story in the Seattle Times.
With the trial over, it’s time to try to forget the killer and focus on remembering the two lovely women who worked so hard for Renton and King County.
Here are some comments I saved from an online guest book a year ago:
Boeing and Renton reach new FORTY YEAR lease agreement! (20-years, plus two ten-year options)
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.
Flowers and sunshine yesterday
Our friends Gina and Jon maintain beautiful gardens at their home in Skyway. Yesterday, the flowers seemed especially pretty when Cathy and I dropped by.
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