On Monday afternoon (Aug. 30), Jim Spady of Dick’s Drive-In announced that they’ll be expanding their line of fast food restaurants by one, with the final location to be determined by votes from the public on the restaurant’s website.

There are three areas under consideration:

1. South End, which includes Burien, South Seattle, Renton, Tukwila, SeaTac and West Seattle.
2. North includes Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Edmonds and South Everett.
3. East includes Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Mercer Island, Issaquah and Sammamish.

Click image to go to the slow-loading Dick's website to vote.

As of 11pm Monday night, the vote tallies are showing us South Enders trailing in third place, with just 29% (1,748 votes) – could this be a sign that we already have a sufficient supply of red meat and tater-based food product?

Leading the pack is the obviously burger-starved East Side, at 37% (2,260 votes).

Second place goes to the North End with 33% (1,982 votes).

So Burien – do YOU want a Dick’s Drive-In ’round these parts? Or are you already happy with B-Town Burgers and other local joints?

Click here to vote, but be very patient – on Monday night, their website was moving about as fast as Heinz ketchup on a cool crisp late-summer rainy day.

The City of Burien announced this week that the location of its Planning Commission Meetings is moving from the 3rd floor lobby to the 1st floor Meeting Room/Council Chambers at the Library/City Hall beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23rd.

It’s possible that this decision was made because of the recent turnout for the controversial Shoreline Master Program update meetings (some say 300 around 100 residents showed up).

The first Planning Commission meeting in the new location will be Tuesday, Feb. 23rd at 7pm.

According to the cityfolk:

Regular Planning Commission meetings are held at 7:00 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month.

This switch from the 3rd floor lobby will enable more people to comfortably attend the meetings.

The meetings will also be televised live on TBC 21 (The Burien Channel), live streamed and available via archived video at http://www.burienmedia.org.

Audio recordings of the January 12 and January 26 Planning Commission meetings are also available on our website at http://www.burienwa.gov/PlanningCommission under “Shoreline Master Program Update.”

The February 9th audio will be uploaded soon.

Previously we broke news about a local filmmaker shooting a movie at Highline High School, and now we’ve just learned of another area auteur – a local Director/Producer named Frank Oliver who is seeking donations and locations from area residents and businesses for his upcoming film production “The War of the Grandmas.”

The film’s plot:

“War of the Grandmas” is a family-fun-packed, independent comedy – half live action and half cartoon animation.

This is a screwball comedy in the vein of “Grumpy Old Men,” but with women.

PATTY, a sixty-something frugal tomboy, reigns as queen of her cul-de-sac until an arch enemy from her past – flirty, glamorous ROSE, also in her sixties – invades Patty’s territory and the queen declares war. The grannies fight the only way they know how – over a man. But when the old gals try to bring their twenty-something granddaughters into the fray, the young gals decide it’s time to teach the old gals a lesson: A woman does not need a man to make her happy! (Or does she?)

Oliver, 33, of Boulevard Park, is seeking local sponsors, including residents and businesses, to help defray some of the film’s $15,000 budget. His intent is to film and edit a six-minute scene, then promote that at film markets in the next year or so in hopes of turning it into a full-length feature film.

“I’m trying to get the community involved, as this is a great opportunity for locals to help create a fun and entertaining project,” Oliver said as he took a break from his regular day job as a Construction Inspector. “I’ve received a grant from the Northwest Film Forum, but we’re still in need of funds to pay actors and crew.”

We spoke with Oliver on the phone recently, and found him to be a very passionate and ambitious man. We know personally that making a feature-length movie is a huge undertaking, and we admire his goals and passion.

From Texas originally, Oliver has been in the Northwest for six years.

“I moved up here for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I was inspired by the WTO riots,” he said. “I love activism, and am also a huge fan of the artistic and independent spirit of the region, which I love.”

Oliver is currently seeking:

• Access to locations in exchange for product placement in the film; specifically three houses situated next to each other, perhaps in a cul-de-sac, to serve as the movie’s major location
• Donate money (any amount, even minor)
• Visit the website, download the flyers, and post at their workplace/social activities
• Everyone is welcomed to audition for the cast or participate as crew

Here’s his self bio:

Frank is creative, resourceful, and entrepreneurial. He helped manage the family business while still attending high school and learned about taking calculated risks and surrounding himself with talented people to help achieve a goal. He founded a non-profit dance organization in Texas and taught swing and lindy hop to inner city youth. Frank is socially conscientious and passionate about social and economic justice. When he relocated to WA, he joined the union construction trades and actively helped organize and educate others about the struggles and gains of the labor movement. Frank enjoys cinema and aspires to be much like Ken Loach, the filmmaker, and serve the people through his art. Frank hopes to achieve credibility as a director by successfully completing the “The War of the Grandmas” production and attracting well-versed writers to collaborate with him on docudramas and films of social commentary.

We encourage all our BTB Readers, and anyone who enjoys supporting the arts, to visit the “War of the Grandmas” website, and consider volunteering their location(s) and/or time, as well as making a donation to the film.

Rest assured, the B-Town Blog will keep you posted on the progress of this creative endeavor as things develop.

The performance, called Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas will include opera singers and percussionists performing original work by Seattle Composer Byron Au Yong at Seahurst Park, Eagle Landing Park, Des Moines Marina, Des Moines Beach Park, and Salmon Creek Ravine.

Performers will be David Stutz and Stuart McLeod, and it’s basically an on-location opera performed at/near the water.

UPDATE: We now have a schedule, thanks to Mike Min:

• 10:30am: Salmon Creek Ravine
• 11:30am: Seahurst Park
• 12:30pm: Eagle Landing Park
• 1:30pm: Des Moines Marina (Farmer’s Market)
• 2:30pm: Marine View Park
• 3:30pm: Des Moines Beach Park

From their press release:

By taking opera out of the opera house, the Bottled Operas connect the power and beauty of traditional operatic voices with a musical experience intimately connected to nature. The site-specific performances allow Au Yong to take his music directly to places where people interact with many forms of water, creating opportunities for audience members from all walks of life to experience heightened awareness, understanding, and awe of the powerful forces of nature and humanity in a natural environment.

Percussionists play the water found at these locations with instruments that include wood, stone, bamboo, bone, rope, hide, plants, and metal. Libretti are written by eight writers from diverse cultural and artistic traditions not often represented in opera; the 64 Bottled Operas will be anything but a traditional operatic experience.

Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas will be performed by opera singer/water percussionist duos in rivers, lakes, fountains, ravines, and other waterways as part of 4Culture’s Site-Specific Performance Network on August 4, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 26, and 28.

4Culture Site-Specific Performances are FREE to the public.

Byron Au Yong creates ceremonial musical events for voices with Asian, European and hand-made instruments. His works have been performed in Canada, China, England, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Local projects include Piao Zhu: Flying Bamboo created for the Seattle Asian Art Museum and YIJU: Songs of Dislocation presented at the Jack Straw New Media Gallery. Au Yong was the only American selected for the Jerwood Opera Writing Programme where his mini-opera The River Museum was performed at Aldeburgh Music.

Performance Schedule available online at hearbyron.com and sitespecificarts.org.

NOTE: If you miss this on-location local performance, you can still see Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas at Bumbershoot in two weeks (full details here).

Here’s a musical taste of some of Au Yong’s work:

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