White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Next week – on Tuesday, October 30th – Seattle City Light invites you to a meeting about a big project set to start along Ambaum. Here’s the info:

Seattle City Light will be upgrading the underground electrical system along Ambaum Boulevard SW starting in early November. As underground cables age, their protective insulation deteriorates. When a crack forms, and water or dirt reach the wires, it can lead to an unplanned power outage. Seattle City Light is working with a company called Novinium to help avoid such outages by using a silicone injection process to upgrade the cables. The silicone fills the cracks and extends the life of the cable and improves reliability for your electrical service.

Crews will be entering electrical vaults in the neighborhood and testing the cable to determine if the injection process can work. If the cable condition is satisfactory, crews will inject the silicone into the lines. If cables can’t be injected, they will be replaced at a later time.

Residents can expect:

-Planned power outages so crews can work safely
-Up to (but no more than) six planned outages and NOT on consecutive days
-Notification by door hanger the Thursday of the week before the outage
-Outages lasting about eight hours

Work will begin in early November and last approximately 27 weeks. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday. There will be no work on Thanksgiving Day, the week of the Christmas holiday, or New Year’s Day.

There will be some traffic and parking disruptions in the immediate work area, but it will be carefully signed. Work is done at a vault and trucks move on after about an hour. Flaggers will be used where needed on residential streets. Crews will be careful to try to maintain access to driveways.

A community meeting is planned for Tuesday, October 30 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Mount View Elementary School, 10811 12th Avenue SW. Residents are encouraged to attend and ask any questions they may have.

We don’t have a full venue list but we have, for starters, this announcement from Center Studio via Facebook:

Sarah Barrick be holding a donation-based bake sale this evening at Center Studio during White Center’s Art Walk from 6-9 pm that will benefit Feed Washington! Stop by to enjoy a sweet treat, some fresh new art and to browse a brand new batch of my sacred mandala pendants. Any purchase you make, brownies, art or jewelry will all help to feed hungry children in Washington state!

Wander the rest of the WC business district tonight and see what else you find – 6 to 9 pm.

ADDED 1:16 PM: Rock during the Art Walk, tonight at Zippy’s Giant Burgers:

That’s our video of tonight’s 1-hour, 11-minute Burien-presented Q/A session on annexation, held this time at Cascade Middle School next to White Center’s Lakewood Park. Text toplines to come – but the video just finished uploading, so we wanted to bring that to anyone who didn’t make it to the meeting, attended by an estimated 30 people on a rainy night (with the Seahawks-49ers game as competition, too). Though November 6th is the official election day, the voting has begun, as ballots arrived in the mail today. More to come!

Just a few weeks after West Seattle Thriftway became the first supermarket in the area to carry pints of White Center-headquartered Full Tilt Ice Cream, proprietor Justin Cline was at the store this afternoon to scoop it up for shoppers.

(Photos by Patrick Sand for White Center Now and West Seattle Blog)
10:57 AM: There’s a report of a man hit by a bus at 16th and Roxbury, and police/fire crews are rushing that way. Updates shortly.

11:04 AM: Though this was originally dispatched for Seattle crews, it’s on the county side, so King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are handling, per scanner traffic.

11:19 AM: Southbound on 16th and eastbound on Roxbury are blocked. Our crew at the scene says the bus (a Route 128) was still stopped at the scene as of a few minutes ago. The man who was hit, meantime, apparently came into contact with the bus rack. His injuries are not described as major but he is being taken to a hospital to be checked out.

11:46 AM: Metro has sent an alert saying the 120 is rerouted off eastbound Roxbury because of this.

1:24 PM UPDATE: As of about 1:15, investigators still had eastbound Roxbury blocked off from 15th to 17th. Westbound is open and 16th is fully open. The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating; spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West says the bus was southbound on Delridge turning left to go eastbound on Roxbury; the man who was hit, in his early 30s, was crossing Roxbury northbound southbound* in the crosswalk when the bus hit him.

*New information Wednesday from KCSO.

Crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog– a bulletin tonight from King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cindi West:

30 Year old Emanuel Kozma was arrested tonight around 6:30PM in the Denny’s parking lot at S170sth and Pacific Hwy in SeaTac. He was the subject that King County Sheriff detectives chased on the 10th in the White Center area.

Detectives said he will be booked for investigation of Eluding, Assault 1, and Unlawful Possession of Firearm. The case will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for review. He was caught due to persistent work from detectives!

In the same block (11th/Roxbury) as the story we reported earlier today – though we do not know whether it’s related – there was a huge King County Sheriff’s Office response this afternoon. Thanks to everyone who texted, Facebooked, e-mailed to let us know about it. It didn’t last long – the last units were leaving just as our crew arrived. We checked with KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West who says someone called for help and the call sounded as if there might have been a gun or even gunfire involved, and that’s why there was a big response – but they determined that no gun or gunfire was involved after all. There was an arrest because something was apparently stolen from the person who called for help, by the person they called about – but investigators are still sorting out the circumstances.

A shooting incident in White Center last week has come to light via charges filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – first reported this morning by seattlepi.com, and now we have the online court documents. They say that it happened around 1:15 am on Sunday, October 7th, in the 9600 block of 11th SW. The victim and her 9-month-old baby were asleep when bullets shattered the bedroom window – 7 of them, it was later learned, all lodging or falling within a foot of where she and her baby slept. The victim grabbed her baby and ran out of the room to call 911; relatives were asleep elsewhere in the house. No one was hit.

A King County Sheriff’s Deputy heard the gunfire from four blocks away, the court documents say, and as he drove in the direction from which he had heard it, he stopped a man and a woman, both on foot. The radio traffic at the time mentioned a getaway vehicle, so after some discussion, the two were not detained, but later information – plus the work of investigators including a K-9 team – led investigators to relocate and arrest both suspects. The court documents say the victim knew both of them and that the female suspect, 27-year-old Ebonee M. Heller, had been in a dispute with her over allegations that a friend of Heller’s had sexually assaulted a relative of the victim. The charging document say the male suspect, 28-year-old Tony D. Avery, fired the gun under orders by Heller, who he claims was going to pay him to “hurt that bitch.” Deputies found not only a 9-mm handgun but also used surgical gloves, inside out, still sweaty.

Both Avery and Heller are charged with assault, and remain in jail; his bail is set at $1 million, hers at $200,000.

King County says ballots go in the mail this Wednesday – which means voting will begin on North Highline annexation as well as many other issues and races. The final City of Burien-presented annexation-information forum is in White Center this Thursday (6 pm October 18th at Cascade Middle School). Annexation opponents, meantime, have taken their campaign to YouTube. A series of videos has turned up, including clips promoted by commenters including the URLs in comments on the WCN report about the October 4th North Highline Unincorporated Area Council forum.

Cross-referencing back to YT, the channel where these were posted (partial screengrab above) features 14 anti-annexation videos as of this writing, 10 featuring White Center resident Pat LeMoine, four featuring White Center resident Mark Ufkes, who in two of them holds a sign reading BURIEN IS GOING BROKE. In one of LeMoine’s videos, he calls Burien “unpatriotic” with a “commie, fascist, pinko attitude” for having a fireworks ban (as do 60 other cities around the state, including two of Burien’s neighbors, Seattle and Tukwila); he also takes on taxes, police, and fire services, as well as saying he’s concerned that Burien is not prepared to handle White Center’s ethnic diversity.

P.S. The King County Voters’ Guide page for the North Highline annexation measure, with pro/con statements and rebuttals as well as a link to the full text of the resolution sending annexation to the ballot, is here.

The King County Sheriff’s Office (which provided the photo, via Twitter) sends word that they expect to hire 14 deputies in the months ahead, “using current resources from (the) existing budget,” according to a news release. King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmembers Joe McDermott and Kathy Lambert joined Sheriff Steve Strachan for the announcement downtown. The money is coming “from current vacancies,” KCSO says, with 4 hires planned before the end of this month, 5 next month, and 5 in January.

(Emanuel Kozma, suspect being sought after King County Sheriff’s Office pursuit ended in West Seattle)
Be on the lookout for Emanuel Kozma – King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are still looking for him, hours after they tried to pull him over in White Center, and he instead led them on a chase into West Seattle. It ended shortly before the car he was driving turned on its side in a West Seattle yard:

Here’s how KCSO Sgt. Cindi West explained what was going on:

Around 7:30 tonight our gang detectives attempted to stop a vehicle driven by a known convicted felon who they believe was armed with a firearm. When the detectives attempted to stop the vehicle near SW 108th / 15th SW the vehicle fled north toward Seattle. As detectives chased the vehicle the occupants threw a handgun out the window of the car. (that weapon has been recovered)

In the area of 17th and Henderson detectives lost the car. They learned from SPD that there was a rollover accident at 17th and Trenton. Detectives went to that location and saw that it was the vehicle they had been trying to stop. A 22-year-old female was in the car and taken to Highline Hospital with minor injuries. The male,, Emanuel Kozma, fled on foot in the area. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt with cutoff sleeves and dark pants.

The photo of him is very recent and he still has the goatee. He is said to be about 24 years old and about 5’7”. He may still be armed so residents should call 911 if they see him.

We looked up Kozma’s record and found out he had just spent 22 hours in jail, getting out at 4:30 pm today. He was in for a drug-related case.

“Burien or not Burien?” is not the only annexation decision that’s pending involving part of North Highline. The City of Seattle and the South Park Neighborhood Association are both on record opposing Tukwila’s proposed annexation of the “Duwamish Triangle” area. The Boundary Review Board plans a public hearing on October 22nd. We’ve got the new developments on partner site The South Park News.

Reminder just sent by White Center Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes:

The White Center Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly Chamber luncheon meeting tomorrow (always the second Tuesday of the month except in December), Tuesday, October 9, 2012, from 12-1:15 at Chemo’s Fine Mexican Restaurant, located at 10230 16th Ave. SW.

If you are living with – or helping someone living with – Parkinson’s Disease, a local group is reaching out to you, and inviting you to its next meeting, which is convenient to the White Center area. From Dagmar Cronn:

The South Park Parkinson’s Disease Support Group meets the third Thursdays of each month at 10:00 am. We meet at Arrowhead Gardens, 9220 2nd Ave SW. Our participants are both those with Parkinson’s Disease as well as caregivers and care partners. The programming provides information specific to the disease, which manifests in different symptoms in different patients. The meetings also give the families a chance to talk about the challenges and successes in living with Parkinson’s.

We have a special program on Thursday, October 18. Dr. Susie Ro, a Movement Specialist at Swedish, will be our guest speaker. She will talk about the expansive list of medical support specialists that she and other Neurologists refer Parkinson’s Disease patients to for additional help in controlling and accommadating to symptoms. She will also talk about the differences in care she provides to Parkinson’s patients based on each patient’s personal disease symptoms and progression of the disease.

4:52 PM: Seattle crews are handling it right now, but this is likely to affect traffic to/from White Center for a while – a crash at 8th and Roxbury. 8th is reported closed north of Roxbury; we’re waiting for our crew to report in with word on whether all of Roxbury is affected, or just the westbound side. Two vehicles and a motorcycle are reported to be involved in the crash.

5 PM UPDATE: The crash is on the Seattle side of Roxbury; both directions of traffic on Roxbury are getting through. No one involved was hurt badly enough to have to go to the hospital. The two vehicles are both pickups, including the one in our top photo.

(About two-thirds of the crowd)
By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

With just a month till the election, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s annexation forum brought a standing-room-only crowd to the NH Fire District’s headquarters tonight, for two hours of statements, questions, answers, and only a bit of the acerbic sparring that has on occasion marked discussion of the annexation issue.

We have all but the last 10 minutes of the forum on video, and will upload that once we’re back at headquarters. (Added – here it is:)

We will also add some links to the story, and a letter from King County Executive Dow Constantine, read aloud during the forum, urging residents to approve annexation. But for those who couldn’t be there – here are the highlights of the forum moderated by NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin, with a panel of six at the head of the room:

Karen Freeman from the King County Executive’s Office began with “how did we get here?” background. “We ended up with a Swiss-cheese map of some unincorporated areas like North Highline.” She explained, “The county has been really struggling to serve you – this patchwork of communities,” referring to the remaining unincorporated communities. “When you become a dense urban neighborhood, you need more services than (a rural neighborhood.” The county, bottom line, just isn’t set up to serve those “dense urban (areas)” including North Highline. The county started aggressively going out in 2004 and talking to areas about “where do you want to go?” Six annexations down – six to go, she said. She described the south North Highline annexation as “having gone really well.” She also mentioned the county’s low level of road service, blamed on budget cuts, and cuts in park funding. Cities provide such services really well, Freeman said, but the county does not. “Our focus is on providing … we run the regional jail, the public-health system, the court system … all these examples of regional services that we were designed to provide and that we are trying to fund …”

State Senator Sharon Nelson mentioned she had worked on annexation while on County Executive Constantine’s staff, and is continuing in the Legislature. The state Growth Management Act makes it imperative that these “urban growth areas” must be “transitioned… into cities where there is a better level of service and more appropriate local-government component.” She mentioned the annexation sales-tax credit having been designed so that cities could take on communities – increased because of the North Highline area and its “needs.” She called the sales-tax credit the state’s “carrot” to encourage annexation. She urged those concerned/interested to talk to those in the previously annexed “Area X” – and said she hasn’t taken sides in this.

Next, Burien City Manager Mike Martin, who said “Our best strategy is to answer questions,” and then said “Here are things we know to be true, despite what we have heard in other venues.” He noted that about two-thirds of the crowd were what he calls “annexation veterans.” He said Burien would become a city of about 65,000 if annexation is approved and outlined some other basic facts – annexation is voted on only in the area that would be annexed if passed. A common question, he said, is “Who provides the services?” subsequently describing Burien as “a contract city” – with five or six “junior taxing districts that provide everything from water to sewer to fire to library to school … none of those would change in annexation.” Then he went over the postal-address question, saying only the zip code matters.

According to Martin, annexation is “revenue-neutral” – has no cost to the city of Burien. “The fact of the matter is that we have more than ample resources to do this.” He said this annexation brings in 10 times the sales-tax credit of the last one, “radically different from any other annexation in the county,” because this area has more needs than other areas and “really needs to belong” to a city. He stressed, “There is no equivocation over whether we can financially do this as a city. We absolutely can, period, game over.” As for reconciling the way the area runs now with the way Burien runs now – he said they basically won’t do anything for about a year and won’t do anything “without consulting the community.” Then: “When it’s all said and done, the taxes and fees combined for the average house in the area will increase by about $140 a year.” Burien is doing a lot more of its own road work, he added, and has various efficiencies. As for the public parks – they will negotiate with the county, although he notes that Steve Cox is a regional facility. The previous annexation involved taking over half a dozen parks, he said, and Burien still does not have enough parks, he said, so parks are high priority.

So what DOES change – why do this? he said. His answer was the same as a previous forum – protection (though he didn’t use that word) from situations like the Puget Sound Park “debacle.” He said Burien deploys “aggressive intervention” when necessary, and “we punch above our weight.” He said people in the unincorporated area may not realize what it’s like to envision something and have it become reality. “When 18,000 people join a city of 45,000, you have a voice.”

Burien is also a fairly young city – and will celebrated its 20th anniversary next year, Martin noted. “That’s 20 concerted years of pursuing a vision. … We’re accessible, we’re committed to listening to people … and I’d say that’s our best pitch.” He also noted the city’s mayor, deputy mayor, and a councilmember were in the audience.

Fire Chief Mike Marrs followed Martin. “Since November of (last) year,” he said, he has been chief of the North Highline Fire District as well as District 2. He explained the department’s operations, including running 4 stations.

Sheriff Steve Strachan, on the sidelines (as were several other officials who participated, besides the six panelists), addressed the question “what would happen if annexation does NOT occur?” Burien, he reiterated, is the contract partner of the King County Sheriff’s Office. “If the decision is made to annex, your police department becomes the Burien Police Department” and they change uniforms, but little else. He said staffing won’t go down if annexation is rejected, but – it wouldn’t likely go up, either. The White Center storefront deputy would stay, he said.

Capt. Carl Cole, who is the assistant chief of Burien Police, then talked about operations. “Right now the way we staff White Center, we actually have an unincorporated pool of deputies responsible for Vashon, White Center, Skyway.” He said that means a 4-car minimum between White Center and Skyway. “The problem we have right now, we don’t have enough people to meet (that minimum) so we end up doing a lot of that staffing on overtime.” WC has Storefront Deputy BJ Myers and about a third of the Boulevard Park storefront deputy. Property crime investigation falls to two detectives who handle White Center, Vashon, Skyway, and an unincorporated area near Federal Way. There used to be 4 handling Skyway and WC alone.

He detailed other staffing, including the fact that “non-in-progress calls” in the middle of the night do not get responded to. He says they’ve figured out how the police department would work if the annexation goes through – an additional 12 patrol officers, but actual patrol numbers will likely stay the same. Property crime investigation might go up, though, as street-crime investigation likely would. Other areas would likely go up a bit in terms of policing power. Patroling strength would stay close to what it is now – but they always try to keep numbers up in the cities, he said, so “the availability of service will go up slightly – but the real difference is in investigations and followups.”

County Councilmember Joe McDermott started out by reading a letter that he said County Executive Constantine has sent to residents in the potential annexation area, urging them to vote in favor of it, and explaining why – as Constantine staffer Freeman had said earlier – governance would work better under a city than with the county.

See the entire letter (PDF) here.

Constantine’s letter said his support for the area being annexed had been consistent for years, and stressed that “King County can no longer afford to provide the level of urban services that residents … have come to expect.” The letter also mentioned Burien “actively and sincerely” reaching out to residents, and that it already shares a common school district and common police provider. After reading the letter – whose text we’ll add to this story later, when it’s e-mailed to us – McDermott said that some who had spoken before him had “stolen his thunder” but that he had worked on the sales-tax-credit issue when he was in the Legislature. Then he underscored some of the service deficiencies the county faces, particularly the “tiered” road-maintenance plan: “The brutal reality is that we don’t have enough money to maintain roads …” 36 miles of county roads, he said, are in Tier 5, and will eventually go to gravel.

He also talked about the Club Evo situation and how difficult it was to get that through the County Council – since the other 8 councilmembers do not represent this area – addressing it as a moratorium on certain types of clubs. Under Burien leadership, he said, there will be seven councilmembers solely focused on city needs. Under the county, budget pressures mean “we will not be able to sustain the amount of service you deserve.”

After about an hour, the forum switched to Q&A. The first question, was seeking a clarification of how the annexation sales-tax-credit works; Sen. Nelson handled it, saying that .8 percent of the tax that would usually go to the state would go to the city instead. Martin then said he is certain that the expected $5 million WILL be received by Burien. “We get the money. … We’ve been over this a zillion times.” Many have asked about the accuracy of that number and Martin says it’s been checked and rechecked. Burien Councilmember Jerry Robison added from the sidelines that he had the actual numbers – though not on his person at the moment. “Why in the world would we overestimate revenues?” Martin asked, after Sen. Nelson went through some of the Olympia logistics. He suggested those who questioned it were “conspiracy theorists.”

In response to another question, Sen. Nelson noted that the sales-tax credit offer did have an end date – January 1, 2015 – if no annexation happened. But if and when it does, it lasts for 10 years.

Would the libraries in the annexation area become Burien areas? was the next question. No, they would remain King County libraries, Martin said, while pointing out that the question of the current WC and Boulevard Park libraries’ fate remains unsettled – until after the annexation issue is settled, yes or no.

That led to a followup question about the concerns that the King County library system has expressed – whether the 116th/Ambaum library might draw too many non-taxpaying Seattleites, since it’s so close to another city. Martin says the council’s been arguing that the Boulevard Park library needs to be renovated and the White Center library needs to be rebuilt where it is or nearby.

Stephen Lamphear then pointed out from the sidelines that county reps who were on the panel do not represent the library system, since it has its own governance.

Freeman and McDermott both said they had been strongly lobbying the library system regarding the two libraries’ fate.

Someone then read from a flyer attributed to “Independent White Center,” wondering if its contention that home values would drop were true. The King County Assessor’s Office is accountable for dictating values, it was pointed out. Robison, noting he’s been in the real estate business for decades, stated flat out that “changing from White Center to Burien would not have any effect on property values.” Some services – such as roads – might have a minor effect, but otherwise, he said, “In real estate, it’s all location, and unless you pick up and move the house, it’s not going to have any effect.”

What about the concentration of low-income housing in the White Center area? “Consolidating it in one part of the county is a very bad idea for many reasons,” replied Martin.

Robison took on the specific topic of Section 8 subsidized housing and its effect on the tax base. “Even with the disproportionate level of public housing and subsidized housing in White Center (and environs), it still accounts for a very small percentage of the total housing stock,” he said. “My best estimate is that about 10 percent of the housing stock falls in that subsidized range and about 3 percent is public or subsidized housing that does not pay property taxes. … It’s not a crippling thing.”

The questioner then said that the presence of subsidized-housing tenants was affecting property values in his neighborhood. He and Robison had a back-and-forth about it, before Martin jumped in and said there’s certainly “a willingness to address the issue” that Burien “could bring to the table.”

Chestine Edgar then stood to express skepticism about “promises by politicians … that everything was going to turn out all right.” She said that property values in some areas had dropped – and annexation supporters tried to refute it. “If this does not work out, what is the safety net for (the area) after the sales tax credits work out – we would be in a deficit level,” she contended. “What is the state’s plan for bailing areas like this out?”

Sen. Nelson rose and acknowledged that a consultant’s report would show the city with a deficit at that point. But she said it was a “conservative approach” outlined during the recession. And then she said, “When you take a look at this annexation, keep in mind (what the county has said about being unable to afford services).” She said she has a daughter in Burien and sees a well-kept area. When she goes through Delridge in West Seattle, she said, “I see a slightly different picture.” Plus: Right now, the 18,000 people in the annexation area are among 1.8 million county cities – but in the city of Burien, they would be a substantial share, and would have those aforementioned seven councilmembers as representation.

Freeman then added, that the conversation about annexation has continued in this vein – “showing their work” for many years.

Next, Elizabeth Gordon of Uncle Mike’s Superlicious Barbecue in White Center asked how annexation would change things for business owners. “One of the things that has been missing, in my opinion, is a cohesive vision for that area because all of us are working day and night running our businesses,” she explained, making it difficult to “bring positive attention to the area.”

Martin replied, noting that Burien does have a business tax. As for “code enforcement,” he said Burien goes with what the community tolerates – but that does not include for example “public drunkenness.” He said “You can expect to see that gone,” adding, “We’re very aggressive about graffiti removal.” He envisions likely adding a full-time employee “to be present up here, for things that need taking care of.” Added Martin, “We’ve had a great deal of discussion about what it would mean to have two business districts … we would expect the same level of decorum in both.”

Then Martin pointed out, “The department that handles permits [DDES] in the county is moving to Snoqualmie next month. So if you want a permit, you have to go out to Snoqualmie … If you come to Burien, we’re going to take care of you the best way we can.” Streets like 152nd in Burien, he said, are most valuable as “a sense of place.” He said he believes Burien can help White Center and Top Hat with that. Capt. Cole added, “Cities are so much more nimble than the county in dealing with problems … Coming into the city you’ll get a much-better, faster response on these things.”

Martin then warned that the day after the election – if annexation is chosen – problems won’t be solved overnight. “It’s a war of inches.”

Robison added that Burien would require business licenses – which the county cannot do – and compared the cost of its B&O tax to Seattle (favorably). He contended that Burien has become “a friendlier place for businesses … you’re less likely to find someone at the counter telling you no.”

The county would continue to provide public-health services for restaurants, McDermott added.

What if annexation fails – can the area be forced to join one of the cities? it was asked.

Freeman replied that there are a lot of different ways to annex but the county has not talked about using any forcible means of annexation. “If folks decide not to annex to Burien, we’ll get together as a community and decide what to do next.”

(Editor’s note – Our video will run through that point; our camera stopped running there, for reasons unknown – might just be time for a new video camera.)

Robison elaborated on an annexation method that could be carried out without a vote of the people. “You’re one percent of the county.”

“Can’t we get annexed by Medina or Bellevue?” someone asked, drawing laughter.

Another question went back to the topic of property values and the County Assessor’s recent declaration that values might seem lower in this area because people were waiting to see what might happen with annexation.

The next question dealt with card rooms and where they existed and where they did not. “Casinos are allowed in the city of Burien, and we have one,” replied Martin, who added that they keep “very close tabs” on them with the police. “They’ve been a good neighbor, we haven’t had any problems. I’m concerned with them having problems but … they are a significant contributor to our revenue stream.” But there is not a functioning casino in the area east of 99.

Marcia Wollam from Friends of Hicklin Lake then asked about their advocacy for floating lakes and the county Parks Department planning to put one or two into its budget for next year. How would that align with possible annexation, and could the city of Burien stipulate that the funding would proceed, as one of the prerequisites for annexation? Yes, we could, said Martin, though he said they hadn’t decided yet. “I think there’s another problem with Hicklin Lake which has to do with the way drainage occurs,” he said. “We would definitely be talking to the county …”

At that point – 8:53 pm – Sen. Nelson had to leave to catch her ferry. And a notable group of audience members left; it was clear the forum was starting to wind down (and NHUAC president Dobkin acknowledged that).

One person said she wasn’t sure whether she was in the annexation area or not – Martin pointed out there’s an online tool that will tell you.

“Simple question for Joe – and complaint,” began the next questioner. “My absentee ballot for the primary election arrived three days before a voter’s pamphlet – is the county putting one out, and will it arrive before the ballot?”

McDermott said he’d check but he believes the state is putting out the general-election pamphlet.

Next: What about assuming the debt for the North Highline Fire District and pension funding? Chief Mike Marrs said the latter would become Fire District 2’s liability, if Burien annexes.

Dobkin concluded by saying – make your decision based on facts, and offered those who had participated – among others – as resources for facts. “The important thing is to be a knowledgeable voter, know what you are voting on, and vote.”

This forum replaced the regular monthly NHUAC meeting, which is on the first Thursday; next month, they will be back to their regular meeting time, 7 pm on November 1st. And if you still have annexation questions – the City of Burien has one more informational session scheduled before the election, two weeks from tonight, 6 pm October 18th, at Cascade Middle School – just a few blocks east of where tonight’s forum was held.

10:30 AM: Just happened onto this while driving through White Center – big fire response, and smoke, in an office building at 10038 16th SW.

10:54 AM UPDATE: According to North Highline firefighters at the scene, someone was up doing work on the roof, saw smoke, went downstairs and called 911. Two offices were evacuated; turns out the fire was in insulation – firefighters did some ventilation, cutting into the walls, to check how far it had extended. Firefighters did get the office equipment and records out so the staffing firm is OK with that, we’re told. No injuries reported.

Their names are forever part of the art – the young Evergreen Campus artists who created the mural that’s now complete on the north wall of the Super Saver Foods store on 16th in White Center. They were there, with their teacher, as it was dedicated Tuesday afternoon:

Those on hand got to hear stories of how it was created – 200 hours of volunteer time, as the White Center Chamber of Commerce noted in a preview announcement – and see the mockups:

Their teacher explained the mural is a truly collaborative work:

It spans so much space, you have to go see it in person to really appreciate it! Super Saver Foods is the former Albertsons store (sold and converted last March) at 16th/107th.

We’ve told you before about this Thursday night’s forum on annexation, presented by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, but tonight we have new details – the guests who’ll be speaking:

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council would like to remind you about the Annexation Information Forum, this Thursday, Oct 4, at 7 pm at the North Highline Fire Station (1243 112th Street SW).

We are pleased to be hosting Karen Freeman (Policy Advisor, King County Executive’s Office), State Senator Sharon Nelson, Chief Mike Mars (Burien/Normandy Park Fire Chief and acting Fire Chief of North Highline Fire Dept), Captain Carl Cole (Burien Police Dept), Mike Martin (Burien City Manager), Joe McDermott (King County Council), and some other special guests. All are welcome.

This afternoon, a dedication celebration will mark the completion of that mural on the north wall of Super Saver Foods in White Center. WC Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes sent a news release to formally announce it:

Last May, students from White Center’s Evergreen campus, comprising three local high schools, began painting a giant mural on the north wall of the new Super Saver Foods market (formerly the Albertson’s store, located on 16th Ave. SW and SW 106th Ave in White Center). This mural, designed by Evergreen Art Club students, and funded by the White Center Chamber of Commerce, was approved by Greg Saar, new White Center business owner who had just opened the market here. Half of the mural was completed at the end of the school year in mid-June. When Evergreen students returned to school this past September, work began again. This Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 3 pm, the students and the Chamber will host a celebration of the completion of the almost-100-foot-long mural.

It is estimated that over 200 hours of high school student volunteer time was spent designing and painting the mural. The mural emphasizes the cultural diversity of White Center, and the diversity of our Evergreen campus and promotes the ethnic foods that have made White Center famous. It is the largest, all-volunteer mural painted in White Center and covers a long wall that historically is tagged multiple times each year. This is the 17th White Center mural in the past year, sponsored by the White Center Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the White Center Community Development Association (CDA). Most murals are located in graffiti-prone locations. Our goal is to have 25 White Center murals completed by 2013, as part of our walking tour of White Center (see VisitWhiteCenter.com)

The White Center Chamber of Commerce and our White Center CDA want to thank Evergreen Art teacher and club adviser Amanda Schmidt and Evergreen student adviser Ray Zombro for their commitment to this huge project, and acknowledge the willing support from Greg Saar and his new Super Saver Foods market in White Center. This project is a creation of a group of highly talented Evergreen art students as a way to celebrate the rich diversity that has made White Center a wonderful place to live.