Major Crimes In Burien Down By 12%, Lesser Crimes Up

by Jack Mayne

Major crimes in Burien are way down, but lesser crimes are way up, according to Burien Chief of Police Scott Kimerer’s report to the City Council on Monday night (May 11th).

Crime in general is going down in the metropolitan area and in Burien, Kimerer said. In the year 2000, he said the crime rate in Burien was 92 per one thousand residents, “a high rate.” In 2008, it was 53 crimes per one thousand Burien residents, nearly half the rate of eight years ago.

Calls to City Manager Mike Martin and Mayor Joan McGilton for comment were not returned.

“It has been a gradual decrease over the past six years,” Kimerer said. “We had one year where it was flat, (not an increase or decrease).”

“The rate for this year (2008) was down 12 percent,” he said. “That is fairly sizeable…”

Hi-Liners Auditioning For “Thoroughly Modern Millie” 6/5-7

Burien’s Hi-Liners will be holding auditions for their musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” on June 5th, 6th and 7th, and they’re looking for talent.

Here are the details…

Normandy Park Cove Rummage Sale Is Sunday, May 17th

There will be a Rummage Sale this Sunday, May 17th at the Normandy Park Cove Community Center, located at 1500 SW Shorebrook Drive in Normandy Park (map below), from 10am to 3pm, and here are the details…

OPINION: What Mike Martin Should Have Said About His DUI

An Editorial by Jim Branson

Imagine how quickly and simply this fiasco might have been solved if Mike Martin had said the following…

Burien’s Strawberry Festival Is Coming June 20th and 21st!

Burien’s Annual Strawberry Festival is coming Saturday, June 20th and Sunday June 21st to the Community Center and Dottie Harper Park area at SW 146th and 4th Ave SW, and here are the details…

Next Annexation Open House Is Tuesday, May 19th

On May 11th, the King County Council confirmed Burien’s annexation proposal for the August 18th primary ballot. Residents of unincorporated King County who live in the southern portion of the North Highline community will have a chance to decide if they want to join the city of Burien.

City of Burien staff will present information and answer questions at two upcoming informational open houses, the next one scheduled for Tuesday, May 19th.

Here are the details..

Yann Novak & Timea Tihanyi Coming To Burien Art Gallery

Burien Arts will be welcoming artists Yann Novak (pictured, left) and Timea Tihanyi to the Burien Art Gallery in June and July of 2009.

Yann Novak will present his solo exhibition “Stage” in the north gallery and Timea Tihanyi will show new works in the south gallery. In addition, three Artists United painters exhibit new works in the upstairs galleries and Highline High School students display projects created under the direction of Lisa Bade in the Education Annex.

The opening reception is scheduled for Friday, June 5th, from 7-9 pm…

City Keeps Mike Martin On, Requires Amended Contract

by Ralph Nichols

The Burien City Council imposed on Monday (May 11th) strict “alcohol-related conditions” with which City Manager Mike Martin must “comply fully” if he is to retain that position. Martin is scheduled to be arraigned in King County District Court Friday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The conditions are included in an amendment to Martin’s contract (download and view PDF here), which was approved without discussion with a 6-1 vote by city lawmakers. Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who publicly called for Martin’s ouster following his arrest for allegedly driving under the influence, cast the dissenting vote. She also cast the lone vote against Martin when the council hired him as city manager in January 2007.

Here’s a portion of the amended contract…

Notes From Monday Night’s City Council Meeting

by Gina Bourdage

Here are notes from Monday night’s (May 11th) Burien City Council meeting (PDF agenda here, streaming video link here)…

BREAKING NEWS: Burien Nissan Is Now Officially Closed

Story by Janet Grella
Photos by Michael Brunk

UPDATE 8pm 5/12/09: According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, a company called MD Johnson is advising Burien Nissan’s owner, Rainier Automotive, on the sale of this as well as the Auburn Nissan dealership.

PREVIOUSLY: It’s official – Burien Nissan is now closed.

When we attempted to reach John Antonelli, Sales Manager, he actually hung up on us!

That’s right – rather than talk with us about what’s going on, he hung up the phone. The last time we spoke with Mr. Antonelli (March 30th), he claimed “It’s still business as usual. Should have some good news on financing in a few weeks…”

We then called the dealership’s number and received the following recorded message – listen closely as the woman’s voice cracks on the last sentence (“…and wish you all well.”):

[display_podcast]

“Thank you for calling Burien Nissan. At this time our dealership is closed. We have enjoyed being a part of your lives and a part of the Burien community. We appreciate your business over the years and wish you all well.”

According to manta.com, Burien Nissan employed 40 people and had estimated sales of $14.3 million in 2008.

Burien Nissan was part of the Rainier Automotive Group that included Auburn Nissan, along with Eastide Subaru and Eastside Hyandai, both in Kirkland.

At Auburn Nissan the phone rang so long it went to busy (they are closed for business also). At Eastside Subaru we were told that “parts and service are still open and we’re going through a change of ownership and should be open for sales in the next couple of weeks.”

At Eastside Hyandai we got only a voicemail box.

Here’s a photo slideshow of what Burien Nissan looks like now, shot Tuesday afternoon by Photographer Michael Brunk, who says that while he was there, a locksmith was changing the locks on the doors:

Click to View Slideshow

All the associated websites are still functioning, with no mention of any closings, as if it’s “business as usual,” when in reality, it’s not.

Previously, we broke the news that Burien Nissan lost its entire inventory when their “flooring” fell through and the financing company basically repossessed their entire car lot over a 24-hour period around March 13th.

No word yet on what will become of this business, nor of the large lot it sits on.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Burien Nissan Expecting New Financing In “A Few Weeks”
• UPDATE: More Information On Burien Nissan’s Inventory
• Burien Nissan Loses Entire Stock, Now An Empty Lot

Shameless Self-Plug: April Was Our Best Month Ever!

Despite starting off with a somewhat-controversial April Fool’s issue where every story was fake (re-live the silliness here), April 2009 was by far the best month ever for The B-Town Blog, and for that we’d like to say:

THANK YOU READERS!

As you can see in the statistics chart below, our April traffic continued to grow to record numbers, at a steady clip of +24% for Unique Visitors (19,108) and +18% for Pageviews (over 33,000!):

Since January of this year, the number of Unique Visitors for The B-Town Blog is up by nearly +49% and +55% for Pageviews.

And since launching, our daily traffic growth has been an almost-unfathomable +7,249%!

Did we mention how thankful we are?

We credit our recent traffic surge to a few things:

• Our ridiculous Aprils Fool’s issue became a viral hit, tripling our traffic over two full days.
• After doing an online survey, we decided to re-focus on frequently-updated Local News and Event Listings, something we strongly believe our local media competition isn’t doing well.
• Our continued, focused online paid Advertising efforts using Google AdWords.
• Our ongoing focus on being involved in the community, from being an active member of Discover Burien and the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce to holding various fundraisers.
• Viral marketing efforts using Facebook and Twitter (we have some secrets too that we’re now offering on a Social Media Consultation Service, where we’ll help your business utilize these amazing tools).
• Our recent :30-second TV spot that aired locally on CNN via Comcast Spotlight.
• Sponsorship of the Highline Vintage Jazz Festival, which gave us eight radio mentions on KPLU.
• The hiring of freelance journalists who bring more unique, credible coverage exclusive to The B-Town Blog (you can help us continue this cause by donating to our “Freelance Fund” which goes directly to them).

Like last year, we have a booth at the Burien Farmer’s Market, where we will serve as the one and only “official blog.” Come on by every Thursday between 11am and 3pm – we’ll be on 10th Ave SW between SW 151st and SW 152nd (and at the new location when it moves to Burien Town Square), so come over and say hi!

We’d also like to extend a special shout-out to all our Advertisers, as they are the ones who have taken a chance on our product, and hopefully are seeing rewards.

If you’re a business considering Advertising, email us for our brand new Media Kit, which includes some amazing testimonials from happy Advertisers like the Highline Athletic Club and others.

Again, thanks for being a Reader of The B-Town Blog – keep in mind we’re still in our infancy and there are a lot of great new elements coming soon!

It’s Official: Annexation Vote Will Be Tuesday, August 18th

On April 21st we first reported that the city of Burien was proposing August 18th as the day for the vote on its annexation of the North Highline area, and Monday (May 11th) it was made official by a King County Council confirmation vote.

Burien’s annexation attempts have been going on for several years, and this will give residents of the proposed “Area X” (seen in the map above in yellow) a chance to decide whether they want to officially become Burienites or not…

New City Hall To Officially Open On Tuesday, May 19th

The city of Burien will be making the big move to its new digs this coming weekend, with plans to open its new city hall on Tuesday, May 19th.

This will be the first phase opening of the Burien Town Square project.

City Hall will be closed Monday, May 18th and will then reopen on Tuesday, May 19th.

The new Urban Partners condominium and retail building will welcome its first occupants in late spring. The King County Regional Library and Town Square Park also will be opening around the same time.

The Burien Town Square Grand Opening celebration will be held on Saturday, June 13. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 10 a.m. followed by tours of the City Hall, library and City park. Urban Partners also will be conducting tours of the condominiums. The festivities will include live entertainment and refreshments.

Fox Creek Litter Removal & Ivy Control Is Sat. May 16th

Last fall, a hardy band of volunteers ventured down into the ravine beneath the Sylvester Road bridge in Normandy Park, where they worked to clear hundreds of pounds of garbage around Fox Creek, a tributary stream to Miller Creek. While these folks removed most of the trash, some remains, and more hardy souls are requested to help haul the rest of this garbage out this Saturday, May 16th between 9am and 11am.

There is also an abundance of invasive English ivy that has grown up many of the trees. If left unchecked, this invasive weed will kill the trees and deprive the stream of the benefits they provide. Volunteers will girdle the ivy at the base of the trees, greatly extending their lives.

So, once again the call goes out to watershed citizens who will brave the steep slopes of Fox Creek ravine to care for this ecological resource and improve water quality downstream…

PHOTOS: Burien’s Spring Art Stroll & Plant Sale

The annual Spring Art Stroll and Plant Sale was this past weekend, and Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture these photos:

Click to View Slideshow

Mother’s Day Success: Lost Bernese Mountain Dog Found!

We love to share positive news about our community, and what better day to share a success story of a found pet than on Mother’s Day?

On Friday, May 8th, we posted a “Lost” notice from Marsha Hargrave for “Scarlett,” her missing Bernese Mountain Dog that was last seen in Boulevard Park.

And on Mother’s Day (Sun. May 10th), we post this update about how, with the help of Burien’s finest, the once-missing Scarlett was found and safely reunited with its owner; here’s an email from Marsha:

Thank you so much for posting this.

We have found Scarlett today 5/10 in Burien with the help of your fabulous police officers. They spotted her this morning and called me. They kept her in sight and headed her off out of the traffic.

I hope you can post a HUGE thank you to Officer Garske who was able to finally chase her down and tackle her. She was so scared after all these days out that she kept running.

And a special commendation also to Officer Weekley who kept in touch with me via cell phone so we could coordinate the rescue.

These officers helped save her life and give me the best Mother’s Day present ever!

An Eyewitness Account Of A Friday Afternoon Cop Chase

by Maggie Larrick

When I witnessed a sudden convergence of several cop cars, lights whirling and sirens blaring, on The Heights at Burien on Friday, May 8th, I immediately thought, “This is serious. Must be drugs, guns and gangs.”

Turns out I was spot-on about one and probably two out of my three guesses…

Free Pansies For First 100 Moms At Ace Hardware Sat./Sun.

This Saturday and Sunday the first 100 mothers (each day) will receive a pansie with purchase.

Check out their new garden center while you’re there – all moms love flowers and Ace is the Place that’s got them!

Ace Hardware is located at 14903 4th Ave SW in Burien, and is open Sat. 8am-8pm and Sunday from 9am-6pm, plus weekdays 8am-8pm.