Written by I received a comment from Charlie Conner, who owns the helicopter that was the subject of discussion in earlier blogs. He offers his phone number, and wants to address any questions or concerns you may have.
See his comment by clicking Here
Tawny Davis, owner of the Weitzel house, thanks you all for your support
Many of you expressed appreciation and admiration for Tawny Davis and Ian Wilson, the couple who own the century-old house that was just moved though four cities, and across Renton’s airport, to get to it’s new site.
Tawny wrote in today, on behalf of her and her husband Ian, expressing gratitude for your support.
See her comment by clicking HERE!
And Tawny and Ian, thank YOU for your amazing accomplishment in saving this piece of local history. I can’t wait to watch the special on the Discovery Channel.
Guest contributer Rose McMayhem; “Take an active part in the perpetual betterment of your community”
I made this friends-only for a while, because Rose is getting picked on by the annonymouse Renton masses. (I think they might be taking it all too seriously.)
What do you livejournal friends think I should do?
Here is her article:
I’m not one for resolutions, but invariably at this time of year my thoughts turn to how things could be improved. Not just in my personal life, but on a grander scale: how can we work together to make our living situation better? Here are a few subjects of personal ire that will never be resolved lest we all contribute:
(1) The left lane is for passing. The left lane is for passing. The left lane is for passing. If you’re still not getting it: KEEP RIGHT UNLESS YOU ARE PASSING. Traffic flows much more smoothly when drivers make proper use of the road- and keep in mind that you’re there to get from point A to point B, not to teach others a lesson. You know those times when someone creeps up on you from behind, highbeams a-blazin’, and you mutter: “I’m already doing 60. They don’t need to get past?” Just let them pass anyway. Let them do 70 if they want, and maybe you’ll get the giddy justification of seeing them pulled over further down the freeway. If not, no skin off your nose, right?
(2) While we’re on the subject of not teaching lessons on the roadway, don’t do that thing where you see someone trying to merge coming up from behind you, and you see they’re going to pass you, so you move over to block them- especially not if the actual merge point is 200 yards ahead. If they have enough lane left to get past you, let them get past. You’re just making the backup worse by stopping them before it’s necessary.
(3) As my dad has pointed out many a time, you ever notice that people walk like they drive? Rule number one above applies to walking as well, and this is a critical one in malls. Further, do not stop in the middle of the aisle when you are shopping. This transgression was one I saw countless times over the holidays. I will run into you, if only to prove a point. I know I said no teaching lessons, but it’s less dangerous on foot than by vehicle. If you stop short of me in the middle of Southcenter, expect that I’ll keep going and demonstrate exactly how I’ve been inconvenienced, because it’s infinitely more fulfilling to prove a point about common sense than it is to swerve around you and let you think it’s an acceptable practice.
(4) I’m not sure how this one is fixable, really, but have you ever been in a checkout line for more time than when you shop at Fred Meyer? I could be buying a single box of cereal and going through the U-Scan checkout, and STILL it takes ten minutes, whether I’m on Benson, downtown, or in Crossroads. I guess there’s not a workable solution here; I just needed to get that out there.
(5) Get your coffee anywhere but Starbucks. I know, it’s hard- I have trouble keeping myself away from their ubiquitous stores as well; I can hardly call myself a Starbucks teetotaler. Sometimes it’s just too convenient. And I do recognize that they came from the area so technically buying there is supporting local business, but COME ON. It’s completely, utterly soulless, and there’s better coffee to be had elsewhere. My favorite is Sips on Sunset Blvd, which not only has excellent white chocolate mochas, but also hot baristas. We are the coffee-buying market here, people- the rest of the world doesn’t have a Starbucks on every corner like we do here. Clearly we consume a helluva lot of caffeine, and if that caffeine (and those Joni Mitchell CD’s!) was bought elsewhere, we could take a substantial bite out of the market. Next time you’re complaining about the calories in your Frappucino or burnt taste of your Christmas blend, consider the other local coffee shops and stands that make the area in part what it is, and how their razor-thin profit margin could really use your help.
(6) I guess what I’m getting at here, what the overarching theme is, is: have a little courtesy, huh? You can live a full and fast-paced life without being a total schmuck about it. Pay attention to the people around you. If you accidentally back into them with your pool cue, apologize. If you pull halfway out onto Grady from 167 right in front of someone, wave a sorry and back the hell up. And also, look out for your neighbors. One of the greatest things about my house is the older couple who live across the street and keep an eye on things, while one of the worst things about my boyfriend’s place is that it was broken into twice with no leads. This place is what it is because of the people who are here- take care of each other or I’ll hurt you.
Happy New Year, and may you take an active part in the perpetual betterment of your community.
Rose McMayhem
Kari Kopnick; “Minnesota is full of people who are a lot like Washingtonians”
So I just spent a few days back in the cold tundra that I used to call home. Before I made my home on Benson Hill here in Renton, I lived in Minnesota.
Minnesota is full of people who are a lot like Washingtonians. There are more Scandinavians back in the Midwest; less density of people in neighborhoods and less traffic and it’s really, really cold in the winter, but in both states the folks are nice.
I grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota in the shadow of the Mall of America. Well, where the MOA is now—back then it was an old baseball and football stadium—an outdoor one if you can imagine that. But now it’s a place where tourists flock to shop. And I really do think you can buy anything that you could possibly need there and a whole lot of things you would never, ever need.
This trip back I noticed that Bloomington is actually a lot like Renton. It’s an inner ring suburb, meaning it was one of the first places people fled the cost and crowding of the city for their own little home. It’s big, covering a huge amount of area. And Bloomington has a real industrial base just like Renton.
In both towns you go from the neighborhood that has new condos and quad homes to the old “war boxes” in a block or two. You have a nice downtown, although ours here in Renton is better, and we are getting some really decent shopping with the Landing—not a mall with an amusement park in the middle, but it has what we need.
When I was growing up a thousand years ago, Bloomington was the third largest city in Minnesota. As of January 1st Rochester, MN is the third largest.
Rochester feels like a smallish city. My family and I spent New Years Eve visiting old friends in Rochester.
Well, we weren’t really visiting friends. We were visiting our Cheezeball family, they may not be related officially, but we bonded early on trying to catch those little crunchy “food product snacks” after a friend threw them for us. That was 20 years ago. We’ve been there for each other ever since, so it’s better than family. A whole passel of us made the trek to Rochester to celebrate the New Year and all our new beginnings.
The folks we know in Rochester moved to Southeast Minnesota for a job at the Mayo Clinic and are still there 10 years later.
Getting to Rochester from Bloomington is like driving to Olympia for us, except instead of driving thru what feels like one continuing city; you pass a million farmsteads, some of them still clearly producing crops during the 5 month growing season. And the terrain is flat like the ocean. Flat, flat, flat.
On New Year’s Eve, the Rochester town paper had a feature about how the City of Rochester was annexing some neighborhoods so they could provide services for the people there. Sound familiar?
The Rochester City Council has been talking about annexation since the 90s. And it was all voluntary. Not everyone is happy about it of course. That’s how things go. Some folks think things were just fine as is. But like here in Renton, the services were really needed. People needed one place to call to get their city related issues handled.
And like it will be here in Renton, things are changing.
Like building the Mall of America right where Minnesota Twins Star Harmon Killebrew hit homeruns.
click on images to enlarge
And like the super fancy boutique stores going in where there used to be five and dimes.
And even like having a Starbucks just about everywhere you can want one in my hometown now; including Target. I’m not complaining. I’m just noticing
The times, they are a changin’.
Now I have to go listen to some Bob Dylan.
Happy New Year!
Kari Kopnick
We make some really cool trucks in Renton! How many of you have seen the inside of a new Kenworth?
We make some of the greatest products in the world right here in Renton. We are Jet City USA after all, with Boeing’s commercial headquarters, which reports a record order backlog of the best selling airliner of all time, Renton’s 737.
But we also build the finest trucks in the world right here in our city. Kenworth has long been the truck of choice for commercial freight haulers, and they continue to be industry leaders in innovation. Lately, Kenworth has been patenting systems for allowing their sleeper cabs to remain powered, conditioned, and extremely comfortable, even with the truck’s engine off (a variation on hybrid technology). This reduces truck idling, saves fuel, and reduces greenhouse emissions.
And their sleeper interiors have never been more beautiful or comfortable. Take a look!
A complete brochure of a truck cab/sleeper interior can be found here:
Click here for complete brochure!
And for even more information, go to www.kenworth.com by simply clicking here!
Renton Man feared drowned in Lake Washington; last seen headed to Barbie Mill on his boat
Man feared drowned in Lake Washington
By BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER
A 40-year-old Renton man is believed to have drowned in Lake Washington. His sailboat was discovered Friday morning on the eastern side of Mercer Island without him, police reported.
Emergency officials found his 25-foot sailboat around 9:30 a.m. in the 4100 block of East Mercer Way, Mercer Island Police Cmdr. Leslie Burns said.
“The fact that the boat was washed ashore leads us to believe that something happened to him that was unintentional,” she said.
The man, whose name has not been released, told his roommate Thursday that he was going to take his dog sailing and spend the night on the boat.
He was last seen in his boat leaving a private Seattle marina around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Officials believe he was heading to the Barbee Mill area, on Lake Washington’s western side in Renton.
A Mercer Island resident called police Friday morning to report that a boat had washed ashore.
Mercer Island’s marine patrol arrived and officers found personal items and a flashlight on the boat.
The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter to search for the man and marine units from the Seattle police and King County Sheriff’s Office also were dispatched.
Emergency teams searched for four hours but were unable to find the man or his dog.
“Unless we get additional information, we probably won’t do any additional searches,” Burns said.
Investigators do not suspect foul play. Burns was uncertain whether the man had a lifejacket on the boat.
Officials were are trying to inform the man’s mother, who lives outside the Seattle area.
The Wietzel house begins its journey promptly at 12:00 Midnight
I was with a small group of friends and family as the Wietzel house left Tukwila, for its trip to Renton and ultimately Seward Park (see blog below).
Historic House moves through Renton TONIGHT!
The Wietzel House has been a familiar landmark on 180th in Tukwila.
It is headed to a new home at Seward Park.
The house movers will be taking advantage of the fact that we have the railroad trestle removed from Rainier Avenue, as it would not have been able to clear otherwise.
At the most exciting part of the journey, the house will be moved down the taxiway at Renton Airport, until it reaches the lake. At that point it will be transferred to a barge, which will transport it the final mile or so to its new home in the Seward Park neighborhood. The trip through Renton airport will be from 5:30 to 7:30 tomorrow morning, and will shutdown the airport for this two hours.
The Home’s journey is being documented for a network television special by National Geographic. Their crew will track it with photo and video cameras all night long.
All the details, complete with a map and schedule, can be found on this website Click Here!
Only a twelve-foot wall around San Francisco tiger exhibit?! yikes!
Okay, I normally don’t comment much on national news, since so many other bloggers take care of that. But the San Francisco tiger attack happened in the zoo I frequented in my youth so I could not help take special interest.
The San Francisco zoo’s new tiger enclosure was not there the last time I visited, but today I read the news that they built only a 12 foot wall to keep the tiger in! 12 feet? Anyone who has ever owned a cat could tell you this is not enough. That sounds like the equivalent of trying to contain my housecat with a 18″ high wall. And he does not eat people! (I think my cat can jump four or five feet with a running start).
Here is the story Click Here.
Perhaps the zoo designers should have a look at this youtube video:
My wife and daughter pose in front of the tiger at Point Defiance a few weeks ago…I don’t know how tall their containment wall is, but I hope it’s more than 12 feet!
Merry Christmas!
It doesn’t get much better than this 🙂
Best Wishes for a great holiday,
Randy
Seattle Times covers Dan Clawson’s resignation
Clawson’s resignation surprises Renton council
By Karen Johnson
Times Southeast Bureau
Dan Clawson served for nearly 12 years.
In the midst of a high-profile lawsuit, Renton City Councilman Dan Clawson has resigned halfway through his third elected term in office.
He says he wants to focus more on his family and legal practice.
“It just got to be too much to keep up with things,” Clawson said.
The Renton lawyer broke the unexpected news at a Dec. 10 City Council meeting.
“It was a total surprise,” Councilman Don Persson said.
Clawson has spent nearly 12 years serving the city.
The Texas native was elected to office in 1995, but lost a 1999 re-election race to Persson. In 2000, he returned as an appointed member when Bob Edwards left to become a Port of Seattle commissioner. Clawson was re-elected in 2001 and 2005.
Although he is known for his avid support of affordable housing, downtown development and levee-improvement projects, much of his legacy will be marked by a lawsuit he filed in September against Denis Law, Persson, Randy Corman and Marcie Palmer.
Clawson accused his colleagues of violating the Open Public Meetings Act. Clawson said that the four council members communicated outside of council chambers before voting on an ordinance that would require builders to meet certain design standards on single-family homes, among other allegations. The four council members denied the charges.
Clawson says his resignation had nothing to do with the lawsuit, but it did create tension on the council.
“I’m kind of soured on the whole thing,” Clawson said. “The political climate in Renton has turned so negative that it’s almost a toxic environment.”
Fellow council members said it was difficult to work on a team whose members were bickering.
“There’s no question that Dan suing four members of the council doesn’t work toward building positive relationships,” Law said.
Clawson made no mention of the lawsuit during his resignation.
Dec. 10 was also the final meeting of outgoing councilwoman Toni Nelson and Mayor Kathy Keolker who lost her re-election bid last month to Law.
Clawson is one of three council members who endorsed Keolker.
He leaves his position Jan. 1 along with Keolker and Nelson. The City Council will appoint a replacement to fill his seat next year.
Clawson hopes his departure will help improve the atmosphere on the council. “If resigning will help them conduct more business, this will be a positive thing,” he said.
Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com.
Kari Kopnick; My search for an auxiliary church where I can just “attend”once in a while
So, it’s almost Christmas now. I’m done shopping and wrapping and done with most of the baking. And I’m thinking I’d like to go to church.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I go to church every Sunday. And I go to church every Wednesday. I even go to church every Friday, but I don’t really go to church. I work for a church. My kids hate it, but every week I tell the congregation that it’s an honor to serve them. Guess my kids just really want me to serve them! But I get to serve a whole congregation of kids and families as their Director of Religious Education.
So, I’m the one ironing the angel costumes and printing a zillion copies of the script for the holiday pageant, because they always get lost in kids’ rooms. I’m the one recruiting people to staff the nursery, and bring in birthday cakes for the un-birthday party. I’m the one who sits down and has a lap full of three and four-year-olds. I love my job.
But, I don’t really get to GO to church. Sometimes I sneak in on a Sunday and catch some of the sermon. Sometimes the music director asks me to be in the guitar band and I stay for some of the service, but usually I’m covering a busy Sunday School class here, or playing the tough guy there or chatting with a reluctant 6-year-old over some hot chocolate.
This Christmas season I decided I want to go to church and just sit down, not get there early or stay late, and I certainly don’t want to be the one vacuuming up the fake snow. So I went looking in my community, near Benson Hill for a church that’s at least kind of a match to my personal theology.
The first thing I did was to google Renton churches. I can’t believe how many churches there are in Renton! A quick count brought me to about ninety. Ninety! Well, now I’m beyond thinking about sitting and singing hymns and hearing a great message of hope and renewal. Now I’m on to thinking “ninety churches”! How many people does that represent? I know it’s a huge number of people who probably attend church on a somewhat regular basis.
And that doesn’t even count the people who attend another house of worship; folks who are Muslim, or Buddhist, or Jewish, or Sikh or who follow the Baha’i faith, or any of the other people who follow their own brand of living a good life.
It makes me think what if we all, all of us from all of those churches and all of those houses of worship and all of us who don’t get to GO to church but live lives committed to love and compassion, if all of us took the spirit of Christmas to heart. We could change our city, and our whole world to be a place of care, and compassion where no one ever went hungry and no one was ever old and alone.
I suppose it’s that gingerbread rush; that feeling of hope and joy and peace and potential. It’s OK, you know. I’m not complaining. I like a little gingerbread high.
I did find a service to go to—not easy when I work the regular Sunday morning and Christmas Eve at my home church. It’s a family service with kids and music and a pageant. Guess I just can’t get away from that! It’s OK. Really, It’ll help me hang on to the hope and love and the dream of neighbors caring for neighbors at least until New Year’s Eve.
Kari Kopnick
A cozy, wintery Saturday
My wife found a cozy place to spend part of the shortest day of the year, on a blustery Saturday. Our Newfoundland Dolly keeps her extra warm.
Recent Comments