Kurt Triplett Appointed As King County Executive

The King County Council Monday announced that they’ve unanimously appointed Kurt Triplett as King County Executive, with members citing “his professionalism and knowledge of the issues.”

Triplett was unanimously approved by the council to serve in the role which he took on in early May in an interim capacity after Executive Ron Sims stepped down to join the Obama administration.

Triplett will serve until the results of the November general election for County Executive are certified…

Port Of Seattle Hearing On 509 Extension Is June 2nd

On Monday (May 18th) the Port of Seattle announced that it will be holding a public meeting to consider a proposed land exchange with the Washington State Department of Transportation during the regular meeting of the Port of Seattle Commission on Tuesday, June 2nd to discuss the possibility of extending SR-509 to connect with I-5.

The meeting will take place at 1pm in the Port Commission Chambers, located on the waterfront at 2711 Alaskan Way in downtown Seattle…

PHOTOS: Scenes From Saturday’s Fox Creek Clean Up

On Saturday (May 16th), a dozen volunteers from Burien and Normandy Park descended into the sun-dappled depths of the Fox Creek ravine on the Burien/Normandy Park city boundary on a mission that didn’t... [Read more]

FREEBIE ALERT: Burien Press Offering Free Lattes

Fresh espresso is “espressed” Monday at Burien Press’s new spot,
and through Tuesday (May 19th) they’re offering free lattes and goodies!

Our friends Erin and Mark at Burien Press (located at 423 SW 152nd Street, across from the new Town Square/City Hal) are having a “soft opening” Monday and Tuesday of this week, where they’re offering FREE lattes and samples of goodies from 8am to 6pm both days.

Here’s their announcement…

Welcome Our Latest Advertiser: Reiki By Anita!

The B-Town Blog is proud welcome our newest Advertiser: Reiki By Anita! She’s located right here in Burien.

“It is my community and I want to practice in my community. Reiki is my calling and my passion, and has been for 22 years,” owner Anita Graham explained to us last week.

Anita started her study and practice of Reiki in 1987 and became a Reiki Master in 2006. She learned in the tradition of the Usui System of Reiki Healing (called Usui Shiki Ryoho in Japanese).

Now she can not only work on her partner, Monty, her cat, her friends, her family, her clients, but also lead Reiki classes for those looking for a way to offer hands on healing for family, friends, pets and themselves. She is pleased to announce her summer classes:

• FIRST DEGREE REIKI CLASSES:
  • June 13 & June 14, 2009
  • July 18 & July 19, 2009
  • August 22 & August 23,2009

All classes will be held Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 5pm both days.

The class is an accessible way for massage therapists, body workers, nurses and other health care professionals to enhance their practice with this gentle, non-invasive modality, as well. For more information and to register contact Anita at (206) 242-2052 or click here. The classes are held in Burien, and space is limited so you’d better act now.

Anita Graham is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education (approved Provider Number 450604-08).

Anita started her journey towards Reiki while working in the health and human services world. She’s been a social worker, therapist, college counselor and her favorite– working with seniors in the field of Geriatric mental health. She still works with elders in her job and volunteer work in and around the south sound.

MultiCare-Good Samaratin Hospital in Pierce Co. and our own Highline Medical Center employ Anita in their Home Health and Hospice “Comfort Therapies Program.” As an adjunct position to the staff Anita visits hospice patients in their home where she uses Reiki to help them relax, reduce anxiety and relieve pain.

She also volunteers at Highline Medical Center where she works with surgery patients in post-op. Reiki helps ease anxiety, stress and pain with post-op patients. A major report about Reiki treatments for surgery patients at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth New Hampshire indicated that they often leave the hospital earlier, in less pain and with less pain medication (see Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self-Healing Newsletter, April, 2006).

“I feel that I’m one of the luckiest people in the world. I am so fortunate that I can give comfort to people. Reiki has given me a way to be of service in the world, said Anita.

I felt like one of the luckiest people in the world last week when Anita suggested a complimentary 30-minute Reiki session in her home Reiki Studio*. Talk about your soft touch. I wanted to totally relax and float away, but I was on the job—interviewing and talking.

*Reiki By Anita offers a series of four treatment sessions of 1-1/2 hours EACH at $70 each. She recommends that all four treatments take place in seven-10 days when starting a treatment for chronic conditions, such as fibromyalgia. The National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is funding a study on Reiki’s ability to reduce fibromyalgia symptoms, such as fatigue.

Anita believes the best way to learn what Reiki is about is to experience it. And the best way to experience it in Burien and surrounding area is with Anita, at Reiki By Anita.

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story like this for your Business, along with an Ad on every page seen by over 15,000 interested Local Readers per month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

PHOTOS: Burien’s City Hall Makes The Big Move

The City of Burien made its big move to the new city hall building over the weekend, and Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture these photos:

Click to View Slideshow

The city’s shiny new digs will be open for regular business on Tuesday, May 19th at 4th Ave SW and SW 152nd Street.

Burien’s King County library branch also packed their stacks and started their move this weekend, and is slated to open their new space on June 13th, the day of the big grand opening celebration for Burien Town Square.

A Journalism Teacher Reflects On The Seattle P-I

[EDITOR'S NOTE: On March 17, 2009, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published its final print edition, completing a more than 145-year run. Its online presence continues. We at The B-Town Blog, while excited about the future of neighborhood blogs such as ours, lament the folding of great US newspapers, particularly those with such rich histories and stellar legacies as the P-I.

Scott Schaefer and Mark Neuman, of the B-Town Blog, worked together on their high school newspaper, The West Seattle High Chinook, a few decades back. They were fortunate enough to have as their advisor and journalism teacher a lady who truly is one of the very best in the state of Washington, Miss Dorothea Mootafes, known a little better as Dorothy, and affectionately as Miss Moo. Miss Moo has been retired from the Seattle School District for over twenty-five years, lives in the Roosevelt area of Seattle and is quite active in her church and various teacher organizations.

We recently asked her to reflect on the passing of the P-I, and let us in on her P-I memories. And so today we begin a four-part Sunday series by Miss Moo.]

by Dorothea Mootafes

When Mark Neuman asked me to recall what I remembered about The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he mentioned the visit of West Seattle High School journalism students to the P-I building on Sixth and Wall Street in the mid 1970s. In the lobby were the words of Thomas Jefferson which continue to imply what the role of the newspaper should be in a free society:

“If it were left to me to decide whether to have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Jefferson’s words are also on one of the four panels in the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D. C. The P-I always could be counted upon to investigate excesses in government when they occurred and to keep demagogues in line when the occasion arose; but in my more than a half a century of reading The P-I, it has been more than a watchdog of my rights. It has been a source of information, a means of entertainment, and, at times, a needle instantly raising my blood pressure.

No part of any Seattle-area person’s existence was untouched by The P-I. The news pages, women’s pages, sports pages, opinion pages, special features, and even the comics have affected us all. Through the years, the women’s pages were transformed from strictly society news—weddings, engagements, club news—time, date place events; who, what, where, when—into a department exploring significant and controversial issues, adding the why and how to coverage.

Nancy Hevly, a women’s page staff member, recalls it was Susan Paynter who wrote the first stories of the new type. Among the first articles were those on a woman’s right to choose and on a lesbian couple.

Sally Raleigh was editor of the traditional society page and also guided it through its changes. “Lifestyle” was one of the subsequent titles which mirrored the change in content. Sally’s staff included Laura Emory Gilmore, Jean Lunzer and Nancy Hevly herself. Edna Daw edited the club news. If there was a PTA meeting, sorority gathering, etc., members would find the time, date and place in the club column. Groups chose publicity chairmen whose job it was to send notices on their meeting, guests, speakers, or special program to the newspaper.

Prudence Penny was the early title of the Home Economics Department. Food editors later began using their own names and their food pages continued to be popular and useful. Nancy Beardsley sometimes covered special community or church events showing an ethnic or historical specialty the public might enjoy.

Gradually women’s news blended into the rest of the newspaper. Articles under Lifestyle, for example, could be on either men or women. Until World War Two, women did not cover hard news. Lucille Cohen and Eleanor Bell were the first to break the sex barrier.

The name Royal Brougham was synonymous with P-I sports. He was not only the sports editor for so many years; he was also the cheerleader and promoter of every Seattle-based team and outstanding athlete. “The Morning After,” his daily sports column, opened with sections on sports personalities or current happenings, and closed with a final “Chitter-Chatter,” sometimes with an other heading, composed of a miscellany of sports news. Everyone learned much about Husky sports and particularly Al Ulbrickson’s crews, hometown baseball hero Fred Hutchinson, and the Seattle Rainiers. Naming the street across from Safeco Field for Royal Brougham was well deserved as the P-I sports editor long touted major league baseball for Seattle. Like the rest of us, he survived the short stay of the Seattle Pilots in 1969. The Mariners began in 1977, a year before Royal Brougham’s death in 1978.

It was Royal Brougham who started the annual Man of the Year Sports Award and Banquet at the beginning of each calendar year. I attended the event in l957 because my St. Louis Cardinal hero, Stan Musial, was the special guest. When golfer JoAnne Gunderson was named “man” of the year that night, she turned to Royal Brougham and said, “Royal are you sure you’ve got the right man?” Pat Lesser, another woman, had won the award two years before. The problem was solved in recent years with the selection of one man and one woman.

Burien Parks + Underdog Kickball = Summer Fun

Burien’s Parks Department has teamed up with Underdog Sports to bring B-Town some fun league sports for summer, including everyone’s childhood favorite, KICKBALL!

BREAKING: Mike Martin Enters “Not Guilty” Plea To DUI

by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Manager Mike Martin entered a plea of “Not Guilty” on Friday (May 15th) to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol stemming from a minor traffic accident on April 19th. Martin appeared before King County District Court Judge Eileen Kato, who scheduled a pretrial hearing for June 23rd.

Martin, 55, refused to perform field sobriety tests or take a Breathalyzer test when he was arrested following the one-car accident in Burien. As a result, his driver’s license was suspended, as required by state law, when formal DUI charges were filed on May 6th.

On Monday (May 11th), the Burien City Council approved an amended contract for Martin on a 5-1 vote, which imposes strict “alcohol-related conditions” with which he must “comply fully” to retain his position as city manager.

In agreeing to the addition of alcohol-related conditions to his contract, Martin denied committing “any wrongful or criminal act,” but acknowledged “that the facts and circumstances of his arrest may constitute ‘cause’ to terminate his employment under the Original Agreement.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• OPINION: What Mike Martin Should Have Said About His DUI
• City Keeps Mike Martin On, Requires Amended Contract
• City Manager Mike Martin Formally Charged With DUI
• OPINION: Mike Martin Must Tell The Truth Or Resign
• Burien City Manager Mike Martin Arrested For DUI

Major Recycling Event Is This Saturday, May 16th

The Normandy Park and Burien Spring Recycling Event and Rain Barrel Sale is scheduled for this Saturday, May 16th from 9am – 3pm at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center, which is located at 19010 First Avenue South.

At this event you can safely dispose of numerous unwanted materials, some for free, others for a small fee.

Here are the details:

Get Free Master Gardening Advice Saturdays 10am-4pm

BTB Advertiser Herr Backyard Garden Center is holding weekly “Master Gardener Clinics” every Saturday from 10am-4pm at their location at 107 SW 160th.

Here are the details…

PHOTOS: Bill & Peggy Hunt’s Playwright’s Festival At BLT

Burien Little Theatre’s Bill & Peggy Hunt’s Playwrights Festival continues this weekend, and here are some photos shot by Adam Sanders:

Click to View Slideshow

This weekend’s performances include “Famous Last Words” a one-act play written by Michael Wallace AND “Man Defeats Nature” a full-length play written by Christopher Bailey:

• Friday, May 15th at 8:00 p.m.
  
• Saturday, May 16th at 8:00 p.m. – Plus free play readings at 2 p.m. – “Freight” and “Days of Future Passed”
• Sunday, May 17th at 2:00 p.m. Matinee

All tickets for BOTH shows are just $10 with half of the ticket price going to Burien’s Hospitality House.

“Hospitality House needs the help, and you need a night out…”

Purchase tickets here.

Jack Block Jr. Announces Campaign To Return To Council

Jack Block, Jr., former Deputy Mayor and Councilmember, on Friday (May 15th) announced his candidacy for Burien City Council, Position 7, currently held by Sally Nelson.

Last we saw Mr. Block was at the April 27th City Council meeting when he voiced his support for City Manager Mike Martin, who was recently charged with a DUI, resulting in Martin’s amended contract.

“I was proud of the investments we made in our community in Burien while I served on the City Council,” said Block in a statement. “But I have unfinished business, and want to ensure that Burien is looking after our working families and their futures…”

Burien Police Officer Seriously Injured In Rollover Crash

A King County Sheriff’s deputy assigned to the city of Burien was seriously injured in a rollover crash early Friday morning as he was speeding along Des Moines Memorial Way near 17th Place South.

According to the report, the officer was racing to a burglary call in White Center around 2:15am when he lost control of the vehicle and rolled down a 20-foot embankment in the 10000 block of Des Moines Memorial Way. When the deputy’s car went off the roadway it took down a part of the cyclone fence along the edge of the sidewalk. One of the fence rails went through the vehicle windshield and impaled the shoulder harness the deputy was wearing. The harness ended up around the deputy’s neck and he was unconscious when found…

Mulch To Your Heart’s Content At Shorewood Park Saturday

Burien Parks wants everyone to know that this Saturday (May 16th), from 10am-Noon there’s a group mulching party at Shorewood Park, which is located at 28th Ave SW and SW 118th Street.

Just remember – bring a bucket!

Here are the details…

Normandy Park Garden Tour Is Saturday From 10am-3pm

The Normandy Park Garden Tour happens tomorrow (Saturday, May 16th), from 10am to 3pm, and here are the details:

WHAT: Normandy Park Garden Tour; There will be 5 beautiful gardens on display in Normandy Park, including one waterfront garden where refreshments and a rest room will be available.

WHEN: Saturday, May 16th from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

INFO: Sponsored by the ILA CLARK Arboretum Unit 7; All proceeds go to the Washington Park Arboretum Foundation.

RSVP: Tickets are $12 each and are on sale at the Normandy Park City Hall (801 SW 174th St) from 10am to Noon Saturday

Vision Collision Holding Fundraiser Car Wash Sat., May 16th

BTB advertiser Vision Collision is holding a car wash for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life fundraiser this Saturday at their shop, which is located at 803 SW 154th Street in Burien.

Here are the details…

Library Closes May 16th; To Re-Open 6/13 In New Building

The Burien Library will be closed beginning May 16 in preparation for the move to their new building at Burien Town Square.

However, the large meeting room will be open for holds pickup, returns and Choice Reads only through June 9th.

The grand opening of the new Burien Library building will be Saturday, June 13th at 10am. The new branch will be located at 400 SW 152nd Street in the same building as the new city hall in the Burien Town Square complex…