by Ralph Nichols

Burien’s proposal to annex the remaining North Highline Unincorporated Area took a major body blow Thursday (Oct. 27).

Only time – and anticipated negotiations between city council members and state legislators and King County officials – will tell if this hit proves fatal.

That blow is included in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed Budget Reduction Alternatives to offset another $2 billion shortfall in anticipated revenues for the current fiscal biennium.

Gregoire’s budget-cutting plan was submitted to legislators this morning. A special session of the Legislature to deal with the state’s latest budget crisis will be held in late November.

Under “Local Government Revenue Sharing,” the governor proposes elimination of the state annexation sales tax credit, which her budget office projects would save $17.8 million, effective Feb. 1.

This would terminate “a tax credit that benefits seven cities in King, Pierce or Snohomish counties,” Gregoire reminded the Legislature.

“Under the credit, cities that annexed an area with a population of at least 10,000 are allowed to retain 0.2 percent of the state’s sales tax generated in the city to fund the cost of extending city services to the annexed area.”

For Burien, the sales tax credit, if it remains on the books, would bring the city an additional $5 million a year for 10 years to offset the costs of annexing North Highline.

Without a guaranteed sales tax credit for the full 10 years, even some ardent supporters of annexation on the city council have questioned whether it would pencil out.

In her message to legislators, Gregoire said, “These budget alternatives will impact real people. They’re all around us. They’re in our neighborhoods, on our streets, in our schools – and they have needs the state will no longer be able to meet….

“This is a beginning,” she continued. “I expect additional feedback from communities and various stakeholder groups that I will certainly consider before I present a more complete budget next month. This list will likely hange before then. But not much – our options are limited.

“We’ve already cut $10 billion from state government over the last three years, which leaves very few options moving forward. I said the work of slashing our budget by another $2 billion would be dreadful, and that’s what it is. Washingtonians are going to get a lot less of what they need.”

More details will be posted on The B-Town Blog later.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee talks with Burien Mayor Joan McGilton Tuesday before his walking tour through B-Town Tuesday, Sept. 27th.

Story, Photos & Audio by Scott Schaefer

Even though the Washington State gubernatorial election is more than a year away, Democratic candidate Jay Inslee dropped in to Burien on Tuesday (Sept. 27), and somehow his handlers decided to invite me to participate in a ‘walk and talk’ around town with him and several others.

If you saw a group of nine people walking along SW 152nd Street, starting at City Hall then moving west, all gathered around a tall man who looked like a candidate, that was us – this Reporter, Mayor Joan McGilton, Deputy Mayor Brian Bennett, Mauricio Ayon from Para Los Niños, Gina Bourdage of Discover Burien (who put the entire tour together), two of Jay’s handlers and another reporter.

Inslee, who grew up nearby on 116th SW in what used to be White Center but is now part of Burien’s most-recently annexed area, is a fifth-generation native Washingtonian. He even painted houses in the Burien area with his Father, Frank Inslee, a teacher and coach at Seattle’s Franklin High School. Jay raised his family in Yakima, and currently lives on Bainbridge Island.

He is currently a congressman for the 1st District (which does not include the Burien area, currently in the 7th District), and is running for Washington State Governor in 2012.

I recorded audio of our walk & talk, and have broken it down into several edited segments below.

Questions asked include:

• As we passed a mostly-empty Burien Town Square development, I asked Jay “How can we bring back the housing market?”
• At the new Electric Train Shop, Jay talked to owner Scott Law. He also bought a train toy for a grandson, as well as a Union Pacific logo hat. He asked Scott what he could do as governor to help small businesses.
• At Carniceria Zacatecas, Jay spoke with Owner Maria Vidrio.
• 909 Coffee and Wine was our final stop, where we all sat down and had some great coffee and pastries. Jay spoke with Owner Kelly Ricci about “how to bring more private enterprise efficiency to government.”
• And finally, I asked Jay who his role models were…

[display_podcast]

And finally, as we sat at 909, Mayor McGilton spontaneously offered her endorsement of Inslee.

Here are photos of the campaign stop as shot by Scott Schaefer:

Inlsee was all smiles once he entered new B-Town biz Electric Train Shop.

Electric Train Shop owner Scott Law talks trains, both models and 'big ones' with Inslee.

Mauricio Ayon, left, walks and talks with Inslee in downtown Burien Tuesday.

Maria Vidrio, owner of Carniceria Zacetecas, talks with Inslee about the economy.

909 employees Emily and Stephanie talk with Inslee.

Washington Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee will lead a stroll through Burien with local politicians and business leaders this coming Tuesday, Sept. 27th.

The walk will start at Burien City Hall at 11:30 a.m., then for the next hour Jay, along with Mayor Joan McGilton, Deputy Mayor Brian Bennett, Mauricio Ayon of Para Los Niños, and yes, even B-Town Blog Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer, will walk and talk about issues important to Burien and its future, challenges the community has overcome, and ones still ahead.

The walk will proceed west on SW 152nd Street, and will end at 909 Coffee & Wine in Olde Burien at about 12:30 p.m.

The goal of the visit is “to listen and share ideas from hearing what is the most important issues from the community as a whole,” according to a press release.

Inslee will face State Attorney General Rob Mckenna, a Republican, for the Washington Governor’s race, to be decided on Nov. 6, 2012.

• Haven’t yet voted
• Forgot where the heck you’re supposed to vote
• Just woke up from a Rip Van Winkle-esque long sleep and realized that tomorrow is Election Day
• Are recovering from a soap opera-like amnesia and forgot all about this whole “democracy” thing

Here is a link to a list of polling places for the general Burien area.

Here’s a link to a PDF copy of King County polling places.

If you’ve filled out your ballot but would rather drop it off, you can do so at the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center, which is located 5405 Delridge Way SW in White Center.

Link to King County Elections information website.

We spotted this disconcerting yard in Burien this morning, with two different gubernatorial candidate signs. We can only assume that:

The couple that lives there has two different, conflicting opinions

Someone just can’t make up their mind so they’re hedging their bets

A psychotic prankster is sitting at his/her computer laughing maniacally right now

If you’re wondering where to cast your vote, you can refer to this King County Elections page.

If you haven’t already sent your mail-in ballot in, you can also drop it off at the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center, located at 5405 Delridge Way SW, or in Renton at the King County Elections Office at 919 SW Grady Way.

She did, and we managed to be at the right place at the right time to grab a quick, exclusive soundbite video from her about Burien just after she bought some cookies for herself and her posse at the Danish Bakery, and just minutes before she “kicked off” the Dog Parade.

Ever wonder what your governor thinks of Burien?

Watch this and see for yourself:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A certain local state Governor who’s running for re-election may be presiding over the Costumed Dog Parade at Saturday’s “Boo In Burien” starting at 3pm!

I guess the only way to find out is to actually show up for said Costumed Dog Parade, which begins at 3pm at 9th Ave SW on SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien.