White Center Now: The blog about White Center

7 pm at the North Highline Fire District HQ (map) as usual, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets, and you’re invited. Items on the agenda (see it here) include elections and annexation.

Reminder that United Way is offering two locations to get tax help, free, if you meet income and other criteria – read all about it here – then note these two locations:

White Center:
Salvation Army Community Center
9050 16th Ave SW
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 5 PM – 9 PM
Saturdays: 9 AM – 1 PM
This site has Spanish translators

White Center Assembly
10237 16th Ave SW
Thursdays: 5 PM – 9 PM
Saturdays: 11 AM – 3 PM
This site has Samoan translators

Since this was an all-mail election, the votes won’t all be counted for days – some just got mailed today/tonight. But the “final election night count” is in, for the King County Elections Director race, and so far Sherril Huff, who holds the job now, is way out in front: Huff has 44% of the vote, to 19% for David Irons, and 17% for Pam Roach. See the full results here; another vote count will be announced tomorrow.

Part of the North Highline annexation process just moved forward with votes during tonight’s Burien City Council meeting: Burien councilmembers first authorized the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Seattle and other parties, by a 4-1 vote tonight (the “no” vote was from Councilmember Lucy Krakowiak, who says she thinks the annexation area, with 14,000 people, is too big, and she would rather start with 10,000). Second, they approved a resolution that will send the proposed Burien annexation to residents for them to approve or reject in an upcoming election, by the same vote. Next steps, according to city manager Mike Martin, would be to take the issue, with the proposed boundaries to which the parties agreed, to the county/state-run Boundary Review Board. And Seattle city leaders have to decide their next steps — whether they will pursue annexing the rest of the North Highline area (the Memorandum of Understanding with Burien and the other parties does not require them to). Then, there’s the initiative that former Burien councilmember Stephen Lamphear is pursuing, seeking to cancel the deal between Burien and Seattle – he thinks the North Highline area should be annexed intact, and should be annexed by Burien; initiative petitions will be circulated. Also, as councilmembers were reminded tonight, an annexation open house is planned for February 12th in Boulevard Park.

Just announced this morning, King County Executive Ron Sims has been nominated to become a deputy secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Detailed coverage, including comments from White Center’s King County Councilmember (and council chair) Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, on our partner site West Seattle Blog.

From White Center Now‘s own Justin Cline @ Full Tilt Ice Cream – this news release announcing an event coming up March 1st:

One scoop or two? How about a brew?

Full Tilt Ice Cream, one of South Seattle’s most interesting new small businesses, is joining forces with another local innovator, Laughing Buddha Brewery, to give Seattle palates an evening of exotic bliss. On March 1st, Laughing Buddha brewmeisters Joe Valvo and Chris Castillo will be on hand at Full Tilt to showcase selections from their new line of Asian-style beers, including brews with names like Purple Yam Porter, Mango Weizen and Pandan Brown Ale. While there, Joe and Chris will also be answering questions about craft brewing and discussing their quest to bring the flavors of Asia to the Seattle beer scene.

After quaffing samples of beer, visitors can try some of Full Tilt’s similarly unique and inspired ice cream and sorbet flavors, including: pandan (a Southeast Asian leaf with a nut-like aroma), ube (also known as Filipino purple yam or Okinawan sweet potato), ginger, and lychee.

In keeping with the “meet the producer” theme of this event, Full Tilt owner Justin Cline will be talking about the art of making craft ice cream while he’s scooping you out a dish or coneful. If the ice cream and beer flavors aren’t stimulating enough, you can even try a game of pinball at one of Full Tilt’s 16 vintage pinball machines, or check out one of the local small-circulation “zines” on the reading shelf.

Full Tilt is to ice cream what Laughing Buddha Brewery is to beer: both are craft establishments that use exotic ingredients rarely found in Western-style cuisine. These two local businesses are expanding the world of flavor in ways that no one else is doing, so don’t miss the chance to experience both of them in a single visit.

This happens at 3 pm March 1 at Full Tilt in downtown White Center.

Annexation’s likely to be a hot topic at both of these meetings: It’s definitely on the agenda (which you can see online) for the Burien City Council, 7 pm tomorrow; North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets this week too (7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ but the agenda’s not online yet as of this writing Sunday night).

From Lisa Kauffman – word of an event that’s just over the line from White Center:

Come to a Dance in West Seattle!
Sunday, February 8th

A warm, welcoming event cooperatively offered by the Highland Park Improvement Club and Dance for Joy!

At 1116 SW Holden (Seattle, 98106). You can park in the lot next to the building.

Lesson in Beginning Waltz from 7:15 to 8:00 PM
Dance from 8:00 to 10:00 PM, to Swing, Waltz, Foxtrot, and some romantic one-steps.
The DJ is the instructor, Lilli Ann Carey. We’ll have a mixer early in the evening, so you can meet new faces.

Lesson and dance $12. Dance only $8.
No experience or partner required for the Lesson or the Dance.

Finger foods and snacks to share are always welcome!

For more information about the dance, go to www.danceforjoy.biz, or call 206-264-5646.
For more information about the Highland Park Improvement Club, go to www.hpic1919.org

(Google Street View added Saturday evening – their photo’s from some months back, though)
Ok, so I said it was going to be a Thursday thing. I lied. My camera isn’t working for some reason, and life just got in the way. I did find something new and yummy in White Center though. Queen’s Deli. It is in the space that was taken by Caleza Express, a Filipino lunch counter. Their sign says “Authentic Khmer food desserts appetizers”. I have to be honest, even though Seattle boasts a lot of different asian foods, this is the first that I have come across advertised as Khmer, and I spent the entire lunch with the Dead Kennedys song ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ stuck in my head. This worked well with the TV showing Cambodian pop videos. One featured a cover of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, all in Cambodian.

Now, I know the first thing about eating at a different ethnic restaurant is going to be crossing that language barrier. The menu is a bit confusing here, but the women running the counter speak perfect English, and are very patient when helping you with your order. They told me they have been open about a month, and seem to get a brisk lunch trade. I actually skipped the menu and orderd of the steam table, which is set up cafeteria style.

Knowing jack about Khmer food, I am going to say this is very similar to Thai and Vietnameses. I went with the beef Satay and beef stew with bread. The satay was marinated and rubbed in lemon grass, tamarind, and other spices that my western tongue was not identifing. I asked what it was, and the woman told me that it was Lemon grass, and stuff. Like I could even reproduce this on my own even if I had been given the recipe. I would like to. I could of eaten poiunds of it, and making it myself would probably save me from having to leave home ever again. Lean beef with just the perfect amount of spice to highlite the meat, and not over power it. There was just enough char on the meat to caramelize all the taste and really make it pop.

The stew is where it is at though. Just like your mom used to make but completely different. Huge chunks of beef, carrots and onions. Once again lemon grass is a major component here along with chili and plum sauce. When I say chili, I mean flavor and not heat. This is not fire food. No burn, just flavor. It is served with a toasted baguette, so you can soak up all the juices. Unlike the satay skewers, this is not lean cuts of beef. These are fatty, tough chunks of meat that have been braised so long they fall apart in your mouth. Sure beef fat is not something you want to eat at every meal, but in this case it makes everything more tender and flavorful. Even so, this soup does not end up greasy, but maintains its heartiness.

Owning a dessert place myself, this is a little hard to say, but try their desserts. Deep fried little pockets stuffed with coconut and bean paste, and then coated in a fine sugar glaze. Cambodian donuts. I could make myself sick on these things. Before I got them, I watched the cook make them fresh and pour them out onto the steam table. I had two different kinds, and wished I had gotten more.

Once again, like a lot of joints in the area, this place is cheap. I got Beef satay, fried rice, beef soup, a baguette, a cup of jasmine tea, and dessert for $7. I would get in there before they figure out what they got and start raising prices. Even at twice the price I would have left feeling I got a great deal.

Queen’s Deli

9808 14th Ave SW

Seattle, Wa 98106

206-767-8363

CASH ONLY

(just north of Big Al’s)

From the Highline Public Schools eHighlights: If you’re a parent or teacher in the district, you’ll be asked within the next few weeks to answer a survey about whether you’d prefer late starts or early departures for those days of the year when teachers have extra training or review time.

Here’s the spreadsheet from the King County Coalition on Homelessness – the overnight check found 39 people in White Center – 29 of them sleeping in cars or trucks. Overall, in the comparable “selected” areas of King County they canvassed, the volunteers found 2 percent more people than last year – 2,684, up from 2,631 – but the total number they found was 2,826.

Today’s the day for a big fundraiser for White Center’s New Start High School. As Paul Fischburg put it in a letter we published in its entirety earlier this month:

On Thursday 1/29, all day, when you buy anything at the Barnes and Noble at Westwood Village shopping center and show them the attached flyer, a portion of the sales will be donated to New Start for the library. Better yet, books on New Start’s wishlist will be on display and you can buy one directly for the library. Even better still, come on down between 6:30 and 8:00 pm, and view student art work, hear readings of student writings and enter a drawing to win an ice cream party at White Center’s own Full Tilt Ice Cream!

You can download and print the flyer, which has the voucher number, here.

HCLT offers a unique way to get help buying a home; read about it here. At 6 pm tonight, there’s an orientation at the Greenbridge Library. But you can’t just show up – RSVP is required – 206-323-1227 or info@homesteadclt.org.

(WCN photo of Hicks Lake, 1/7/09)
From Dick Thurnau at Friends of Hicks Lake:

King County has allotted $25,000 in the budget for Lakewood Park / Hicks Lake improvements and has asked Friends Of Hicks Lake for suggestions. We have many; however, we wish to gather input from the community to provide the best and wisest recommendations.

Suggestions (including, so far):

*Water fountain with an aeration system to help cleanse the lake water and display a beautiful attraction. (will need volunteers)

*Walking path around Hicks Lake might require use of a small section of school property (safety reasons)

*Volleyball, basketball court in half of the tennis court, horseshoes

*Full-time caretaker for the park house to control graffiti, litter, illegal alcohol usage, and vandalism

We welcome the community’s input.

You can reach Dick by e-mail at hdthurnau@juno.com or by phone at 206-244-4558.

It’s almost as good as peering into a crystal ball – the White Center Early Learning Initiative‘s February/March newsletter is online now – catch up with the latest happenings in this closely watched, White Center-based program.

The roads are still OK but everything else has a coating of white. Forecasters continue to promise that this will only last a few hours, and then it’ll get rained away.

Thanks to JB for sharing these photos of the Tet celebration at White Center’s Cafe Tam Thanh. We welcome your photos any time – whitecenternow@gmail.com – thank you!

We’ve received a copy of an initiative that former Burien City Council member Stephen Lamphear plans to pursue to prevent North Highline from being broken up by two separate annexations, as is the current path Burien and Seattle appear to be pursuing. See it here. More to come. ADDED 9:45 PM: Via e-mail, we asked Lamphear what happens next. He explains, “After getting together with the city attorney to agree on official ballot language, we have 120 days to gather signatures from Burien voters.” Why pursue the initiative? we asked. “I’m doing this because the MOU slicing and dicing North Highline is not in Burien’s best interest, gives away the tax paying business areas of NH, and is not the preference of most NH residents. The MOU was negotiated in secret and did not include the most affected — those in NH.” He wants to see Burien annex the entire area, explaining: “Before Burien incorporated in 1993, the entire area was Highline — one community. I live 4 blocks from NH and these are my neighbors. For Seattle, NH is a land grab; to Burien these are our neighbors.”

ORIGINAL 7:07 PM REPORT: Annexation matters were scheduled to be on the agenda tonight but it sounds like they may not be able to follow the original plan, as deputy mayor Rose Clark opened the “work session” by announcing two councilmembers are absent because of a “medical emergency” — in all, only three are present (Gordon Shaw and Sally Nelson, along with Clark) so they don’t have quorum. The live stream is up nonetheless; you can watch it here. 7:33 PM UPDATE: Brief discussion of the annexation issue in a review of accomplishments: Burien city manager Mike Martin says he’s focusing on an August election, in hopes the annexation “transition” could be made in March/April of 2010. 7:44 PM UPDATE: They’ve concluded no additional members are showing up, so the agenda – including annexation – is now pushed back till next Monday.

No shortage of ice this morning – and tomorrow, the forecast says again today, might start with snow.