A “work party” is scheduled for this Saturday, March 13th at the Salmon Creek Ravine in Burien beginning at 10am.

The goal of this two-hour “party” is to save this park from invasive plants like English Holly, English Ivy, English Laurel and Himalayan Blackberry (EDITOR’S NOTE: Looks like we’re going to have to defeat the English again…).

These events are always a satisfying form of both exercise and social interaction, but we recommend that you RSVP early to the organizers.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Invasive plant work party at Salmon Creek Ravine

WHEN: Saturday, March 13th beginning at 10am

WHERE: Meet at the intersection of Shorewood Drive and SW 130th – the top of Goat Hill near the Shorewood on the Sound sign.

INFO: From the Shorewood on the Sound blog:

Help to protect our local forests by coming to a work party at the Salmon Creek Ravine on March 13th at 10:00.

We’ll provide tools and gloves and a specific project to work on for 2 hours.

Meet at the intersection of Shorewood Drive and SW 130th – the top of Goat Hill near the Shorewood on the Sound sign.

This is your opportunity to participate in a group effort to save this beautiful forested park from invasive plants like English Holly, English Ivy, English Laurel and Himalayan Blackberry.

RSVP/CONTACT: RSVP to Jean Spohn at jeanspohn@comcast.net, or if you have any questions.

Looks like a consultant to the City of Burien has some temporary job openings for “door-to-door census taking” in March. According to a Craigslist Ad, this is NOT a federal census job – tt is an annexation census job for the City of Burien.

The pay is said to be $12 per hour, with flexible hours and a 3-5 week contract.

Interviews will be held on Friday, March 5th from 10:30am until 2pm.

From what we can tell, the job is actually for a consulting firm called Calm River, which says on its website:

Calm River Demographics focuses on providing comprehensive census, demographic and mapping solutions for cities, counties, non-profits, universities, libraries, healthcare and human service organizations.

Here’s the exact listing from the Craigslist Ad:

Temporary Job Openings in Burien, WA – $12 per Hour

The City of Burien is conducting a door-to-door census in March, 2010. Work hours are flexible and include evenings and weekends. Work will begin on March 11 and continue for 3-5 weeks.

Applicants must be willing to go door-to-door collecting basic census information and have their own transportation.

Applicants must be able to read a basic street map, have neat handwriting, be willing to pass a drug test and show proof of car insurance. All materials and supplies will be provided.

If you are interested please e-mail your resume to Richard Miller: Rick@CalmRiver.com

Interviews will be held on Friday, March 5th from 10:30 am until 2:00 pm. No telephone calls please.

Frequently asked questions:

How much do I get paid?
$12 an hour plus mileage (pays for your gas) and all the snacks you can eat. We also give you a vest, badge, pencils, and everything you need to work for free…

Can I work only the hours I want?
Yes – you can work only the days you want

How many hours a week can I work?
Up to 40!

What hours do we work?

• Weekdays – we start at 3:00 in the afternoon and work until about 7:30 or 8:00 pm
• Saturdays – we start at 10:30 in the morning and work until about 5:30 or 6:00 pm

Is this a Federal (United States) Census Job?
This is NOT a federal census job. It is an annexation census job for the City of Burien.

How do I apply?
Just e-mail Rick@CalmRiver.com with your contact information and a resume.

Location: Burien, WA

Compensation: $12 per Hour

This is a part-time job.

Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.

Please, no phone calls about this job!

Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Email: Rick@CalmRiver.com

For more area Job listings, check out our Jobs Page, which is continually updated with local employment listings.

Nearly 100 people showed up at Kent City Hall last Saturday (Feb. 20th) to attend a Community Jobs Forum sponsored by state legislators from the 33rd district.

The informational event was meant to highlight government resources that are available to job seekers and those needing job-related training.

Participating agencies included:

• WorkSource
• Port Jobs
• Veterans Conservation Corps
• Several south King County-area community and technical colleges
• U.S. Census Bureau

Senator Karen Keiser (D – Kent ) and Rep. Tina Orwall (D – Des Moines) each gave welcoming remarks that touched on some of the job creation efforts currently under consideration in the Legislature.

“Right now, the average unemployed worker has been jobless for at least seven months,” Keiser said. “That’s an eternity when you can’t pay the mortgage or utilities and benefits are close to running out. This jobs fair was a simple, yet effective way to help people in our district establish connections and crucial job leads. There should be more. The Legislature is looking at short- and long-term approaches to get people back to work, including maintaining our commitment to job retraining programs and helping businesses stay afloat with businesses assistance programs.”

Representatives from each of the agencies in attendance also gave brief presentations about the various resources they offer, most of which is free for job seekers. As budget cuts loom within state government, many of the presenters stressed that federal dollars for worker retraining are still available, and local community colleges are eager to help dislocated workers and those needing to update their skill sets.

“Our jobs forum was not only about linking people to programs and services, but also about helping them navigate these services,” Orwall said.  “This was a way to expand resources around some of the training programs to help people get back to work; overall I think this was a very big success.”

Also present at the forum were representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau, which is in the process of hiring thousands of workers for temporary positions in Washington state to help households accurately fill out their census forms.  These jobs are extremely important because the United States constitution requires a complete population tally every 10 years, and the results determine everything from congressional representation to the amount of federal dollars allocated for things like education and transportation.

Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D – Des Moines), who originally came up with the idea for the Jobs Forum, was unable to attend Saturday due to illness.

“The overriding theme in the Legislature this year is jobs, but I wanted it to be more than just a buzzword,” Upthegrove said.  “I wanted to connect people with the resources that already exist here in the community.”

The 33rd Legislative District includes SeaTac, Des Moines, the west part of Kent, and parts of Burien and Normandy Park.

If you’re looking for work in the general Burien/Highline area, check out our Jobs Page, which is continually updated with job listings 24/7.

(Photos courtesy the Washington State House Democratic Caucus).

If you’re looking for a job and you’ll be in/around Tukwila this Thursday (Feb. 25th), you should clean yourself up, polish up your resume and drop by the Best Western Rivers Edge from 1pm to 5pm for a Job Fair.

Sponsored by Nationwide Job Fairs, this event will feature companies with job openings in the fields of energy, technology, education, government, health care, entertainment, services, retail, nonprofit, manufacturing and others.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Job Fair in Tukwila

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 25th from 1pm to 5pm

WHERE: Best Western Rivers Edge, located at 15901 W. Valley Hwy in Tukwila.

COST: It’s FREE!

Pre-register online here to forward your resume to all participating companies and schedule interviews in advance.

If you read The B-Town Blog regularly, you’re probably aware that, aside from providing a much-needed and timely service to the Burien area, we’re growing very quickly in both traffic, content and Advertisers (more info on us here).

And growth can be good, except of course when it starts to overwhelm a very small staff.

Hence, this posting – we’re looking for at least two capable folks to come join our Burien-based team:

1. JOURNALIST/EDITOR with Wordpress knowledge (or you’re at least not afraid to learn it). Yes, we need another Editor to collect content, format it, copy edit, add graphics (and do appropriate FTPing if necessary), then push the “Publish” button to update some of our up-and-coming blogs (we currently have 6 total, with more coming soon…).
2. SALES REP who can call on local businesses to let them know about us. We have nice Rate Cards, excellent traffic (40-50k Uniques per month on BTB alone), the websites speak for themselves, and we’re finding that Ads on here are an easy sell. We just need more feet on the ground!

Here’s some more info:

• We prefer to find local folks who live in the area.
• We like people who are involved in their communities (we’re active in ours).
• We like to find people who either read the blog already, or know of us.
• You can work part or full-time (some folks working here now have other gigs).
• You can set your own hours.
• This is a “ground-floor opportunity” and you will be part of a small, growing team.
• These are Contractor (1099) positions, meaning that you’ll be paid on an either per-job/hourly basis or pure Commission. And believe it or not, we also accept Volunteers! There are no benefits other than working with a fun, local, talented team who like to make a difference in their community.
• Your work will be seen on not just here on The B-Town Blog, but our five other area sister sites as well, including:
  • The White Center Blog
  • The Waterland Blog (for Des Moines)
  • The Normandy Park Blog
  • The Tukwila Blog
  • The SeaTac Blog

Requirements:

• Please have a computer and internet access (we’ll give you an email account).
• Please have a reliable car & valid driver’s license.
• Please have the ability to manage your clients throughout their entire Ad run on the sites (this includes staying in contact with them, renewing them when their contracts expire, etc.).
• You will work as an Independent Contractor, meaning you’ll be responsible for your own taxes, insurance, etc. and there are no additional benefits).
• You dig the internet and are excited about its future possibilities, including new technologies like the upcoming iPad.
• You like Local News, Events, Arts, Entertainment and more, as well as helping out your community(we hold our own Fundraiser Blog Parties about once per quarter, and over our 2+ year lifespan have raised over $13,000 for local charities).

To apply for one of these positions, please email us your resume, links to your online stuff (ie: Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.), and your interests and availability!

State Representatives Dave Upthegrove and Tina Orwall, both Democrats from Des Moines, along with Senator Karen Keiser (D-Kent), will host a Community Jobs Forum on Saturday, Feb. 20th from 10am to Noon at the Kent City Hall.

Stepping out of the traditional “town hall” format, the three lawmakers put together a Community Jobs Forum to give constituents an opportunity to connect with state and nonprofit agencies that do job placement, training, counseling, and similar services.

Legislators will speak briefly about state efforts to spur job creation and get the economy back on track. The rest of the event will be free time for attendees to visit tables from the participating agencies and speak one-on-one with the legislators.

Here are the details:

WHAT: 33rd District Community Jobs Forum

WHEN: Saturday, February 20, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to Noon.

WHERE: Kent City Hall – Council Chambers, located at 220 Fourth Avenue South, Kent

WHO: 33rd District legislators: Rep. Dave Upthegrove, Rep. Tina Orwall and Sen. Karen Keiser.

Confirmed participating agencies include:

• WorkSource
• Port Jobs
  
• Highline CC
  
• Green River CC
  
• Renton Technical College
  
• The Veterans Conservation Corps
  
• US Census Bureau

This Community Jobs Forum is a free event, and all South King County job seekers are encouraged to attend.

The 33rd Legislative District includes SeaTac, Des Moines, Normandy Park, and parts of Kent and Tukwila.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Waldref at (360) 786-7201 or Waldref.Jennifer@leg.wa.gov.

The cityfolk tell us that construction on the westbound lanes of SW 148th Street between 1st Ave South and 2nd Ave SW will begin Monday, Nov. 30th, and will require three days of “dry weather” to complete.

Work is scheduled to take place between the hours of 8am and 5pm, so you might want to consider taking alternate routes.

According to a news release:

The City will be grinding and paving westbound lanes of SW 148th Street from 1st Avenue South to 2nd Ave Southwest beginning the week of Nov. 30.

This work should take three days of dry weather and it will affect several travel lanes.

Work will take place 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Motorists are advised to take different routes during construction time to avoid delays.

For information on this project, please contact Sam Basmeh at 206-439-3163.

[Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teo/ / CC BY-SA 2.0]

$536,000 in Federal Stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) are funding new construction on 4th Avenue SW between SW 156th and 153rd Streets in Burien, and should be completed by mid-December, according to Project Manager Brian Victor.

The construction is rebuilding the northbound lane of 4th Ave SW between SW 156th and 153rd Streets, adding new curbs, gutters, sidewalks, bike lanes and even street lights similar to the ones in Town Square.

There will be local access for area businesses and residences, but motorists are advised to avoid the construction area if possible.

Here’s the latest update on construction:

Construction is requiring intermittent closure of 4th Ave SW at various times of the day for heavy equipment.

Access to 4th Ave SW between said intersections will be limited to one lane during business hours; limited 2-way access will be provided after 5pm.

At SW 155th Street and 4th Ave SW, access will be restricted for eastbound and westbound; there will be NO WESTBOUND access from SW 155th Street to 4th Avenue SW for the next three to four weeks.

At SW 154th Street and 4th Avenue SW, access will be limited for eastbound and westbound traffic. Westbound access at this intersection will be closed intermittently during the day; limited access will be available in the evenings.

This phase of the project will continue for the next three to four weeks, with a projected completion time of mid-December.

Here at The B-Town Blog, our mission is not only to serve our community with the most up-to-date, relevant local news, events and more – it’s also to serve our Readers with resources that they might find useful.

To wit: today (Tuesday, Oct. 13th) we launched our new Jobs Page, where you’ll find continually-updated listings of the latest Burien-area jobs, as well as relevant stories, resources and more items as we find them.

As of launch, we have 14 different job “feeds” from various sources like Craigslist, Monster, HotJobs and other “big ones” as well as some more obscure ones like DevBistro.com and JuJu.com. Our goal is to list as many local/area job listings as possible, so if you know of one that we’re missing, please email us (just keep in mind that it must have an RSS/XML feed for us to use it).

To access this new feature, either click on “Jobs” in the top menu, or click here!

Thanks, and good luck in your search!

On Tuesday, Aug. 18th, the Port of Seattle hosted members of the press at a tour of the reconstruction project that is in the final stages of completion on the first (as well as oldest and longest) runway, also known as “16L/34R.”

Approximately 80% of the concrete has already been poured for the new runway, and finishing touches will be completed over the next month. The original concrete runway, built in 1944, is being crushed and recycled as the gravel sub-base for the new runway. This sub base is 12 inches, topped by a 4-inch asphalt layer and then the 20-inch concrete runway.

In comparison, Sea-Tac’s third runway is only 17-inches thick.

This re-construction is the main reason why the airport’s third runway has been in use so much recently.

Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture these photos:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

The City of Burien, along with Discover Burien, is seeking an Event Manager (PDF available here), and have submitted this Request For Proposal (RFP) outlining their needs – could this be your next great gig?:

Position Description & RFP: Event Manager
The mission of Discover Burien is to create and sustain a vibrant business community through promotions and education. Discover Burien is an economic development organization focused on business recruitment & retention, education, promotion and marketing of the Burien community. We are a member-based organization serving the entire community. We work closely with the City of Burien to serve as a liaison between the business community and City Hall.

The Event Manager position is a contracted position reporting to the Executive Director of Discover Burien.

The Event Manager has responsibilities for the overall planning, execution and evaluation of Board-approved community events sponsored by Discover Burien.

Primary responsibilities:

• Annually prepare a complete description of each event, including the measures by which each will be evaluated.
• Annually prepare a full budget for all event revenues and expenditures.
• Provide on-site management of and volunteer supervision for all events.
• Regularly submit written financial and results reports to the board after each event.
• Work under the direction of the DB Executive Director.
• Abide by board-approved policies including ethics and conflict of interest.
• Manage additional board-approved events (for an additional, negotiated fee).

Proposal Instructions:
To be considered as the contractor for Discover Burien’s Event Management, please submit a written proposal which addresses the following:

• Your demonstrated ability to plan and manage the type of community events presented by Discover Burien.
• The process you will use for preparing event budgets and evaluating events.
• Your strategies for volunteer management (volunteer recruitment is the responsibility of the DB Executive Director).
• How you would generate sponsorship for events and what benefits you would propose for various levels of sponsorship. How would you work with the Sponsorship Committee of the Board?
• The promotional strategies you would use for each event
• How you would structure the working relationship with the DB Executive Director, especially in the areas of volunteer recruitment and sponsorships.
• How you would structure your reports to the Board of Directors, especially with regard to evaluation and financial matters.

The Event Manager selected will be expected to provide evidence of professional liability insurance naming Discover Burien as an additional insured.

All proposals are to be submitted by email or in writing to: liz@npcenter.org or to:

The Nonprofit Center
1501 Pacific Avenue, Suite 320
Tacoma, WA 98402

Questions may be directed to Ms. Heath at 253-272-5844.

The deadline for receipt of proposals is 5 p.m. on Monday, December 1st, 2008.

In today’s economy, the unemployed can’t just sit around waiting for a recruiter to come a-knockin’ – no, to make it these days you’ve got to actually get out and network.

That’s why you should consider going to a Job and Resource Fair at Sea-Tac Airport this Thursday, Oct. 16th, to learn about opportunities for full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs with airport employers and get assistance with finding housing, health care, child care, educational programs, transportation and more.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 16, 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

WHERE: Sea-Tac Airport, Main Terminal at the south end of the Baggage Claim Level in the Gina Marie Lindsey International Arrivals Hall. Park in the Airport Garage, but be sure to bring your parking ticket with you to the Job and Resource Fair and it will be validated

MORE INFO: Call the Job Fair Hotline at (206) 835-7504.

Learn more about Airport Jobs at www.airportjobs.org

According to the Port of Seattle website, a road construction project, needed to bring Link light rail to Sea-Tac Airport in 2009, will cause significant detours and closures beginning Wed. morning, Sept. 24th and continuing through 7am Thurs. Sept. 25.

So…if you’re planning on going to SeaTac Airport between then, expect traffic delays, detours, lots of signs and of course, potential road rage.

All of the following will be affected:

• Lower Airport Drive (Baggage Claim/Arrivals level). Access to the Lower Drive will be reduced to one rerouted lane. The detour route will be clearly marked.
• North Entrance to the Airport Parking Garage. The north entrance to the garage will be closed and parkers rerouted to the south garage entrance. Drivers coming to Sea-Tac from the north will be detoured from SR 518 to south I-99 and the south garage entrance. Traffic leaving the garage will not be affected and will exit to the north as always at S. 182 Street.
• Cell Phone Lot. Traffic heading from the Cell Phone Waiting Lot to the terminal will follow a detour route at S. 182 Street.
• Public Transportation. All public transportation buses (Metro Transit, Sound Transit, Pierce Transit) will both pick up and drop off passengers on I- 99. Public transit buses will not have access to the Lower Drive during this period.

The exit and entrance to the Rental Car area will not be affected by these changes. It is expected that all traffic at the Airport, even on unchanged routes, will be slowed by these detours and closures. Please allow extra time, drive slowly and cautiously, and pay close attention to highway message signage.

As it is with most construction projects, weather may play a factor, so if it rains, there’s a chance the work will be delayed.

After a three-day “rain delay,” the City of Burien has announced that the major re-paving of First Avenue South will begin tonight starting at 7pm.

The construction apparently will start at 148th SW and will move southward on First Ave South towards 160th; however, there are conflicting notes (read release below) that it will start at the south end, so we recommend just avoiding the entire area at all costs.

Here’s the release from the city:

The final paving phase has begun, starting with a pre-level of the roadway at the north end of the project.

There are areas where manhole and vault covers are above grade due to preparation for the final overlay – please use extreme caution and drive slowly.

Final paving will occur over the next two to three weeks, weather dependent, and will be done in segments and will occur at night between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Expect rolling closures of 1st Avenue South starting at the SOUTH end of the project moving north.

Paving will start on the east side of the roadway and move to the west side.

Use extreme caution as lane markings will follow after the pavement.

Please pay close attention to signage and detour directions during this time period.

If you have further questions, please contact Bruce McPherson, Resident Engineer, at 425/531‑0728 during business hours. 

Again, drive slowly and carefully during this phase of the project for your safety and that of the workers. Thank you.

Map of the mess (click on the placeholder icons for more info):

View Larger Map

The City of Burien announced today that the previously-scheduled paving work that was to begin this morning at First Ave South and SW 160th has been postponed.

We’re not 100% certain, but our best guess is that it’s a weather-related decision (paving + rain = bad mix?).

Here’s their language:

The overlay on First Ave. has been cancelled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.

On Wednesday day, the determination will be made as to, GO or NO GO for the Thursday night paving. 

The determination on Friday night paving, may or may not be made at this time depending on the weather outlook for Friday.

Doncha just love politicspeak?

“May or may not be made at this time…”!

So…ignore our previous post with subsequent dire warning interactive map, and drive all you want south on First Ave between 148th and 160th.

Personally, we’re going to go do a reckless circular pattern around that area, so look for the speeding green Mini Cooper with the BTB stickers on the doors!

On Monday (Aug. 18th) final paving is scheduled to begin on First Ave South, starting at SW 148th and moving southward, so be prepared for LOTS of construction work, delays and frustrated driving for up to four weeks depending on the weather.

Once paving begins, expect “significant impact on traffic patterns” from 7pm-7am because portions of First Ave South will be completely closed as the contractors move North to South.

Complete closures of First Ave South are being considered in order to expedite this phase of construction.

Trans-Tech work installing traffic signals and loops has taken longer than originally expected due to unforeseen repairs to existing loops for traffic signaling, however, this work is expected to be complete in the next 2-3 weeks.

Concrete work to install curbs, gutters and sidewalks to SW 146th is 95% complete. The remainder of the concrete will be completed after the overhead lines & poles are removed.  Pedestrians should use extreme caution in this work area.

Seattle City Light will be on site in the coming weeks to pull wire & install equipment in the vaults between SW 160th & 154th.

Qwest will be onsite pulling & splicing wires, and their activity will continue for the next several months as well.

Theft of materials and illegal dumping in construction holding areas has been reported. These types of crimes only hinder the progress of this project. If you see any suspicious activity, please call 911.

It is important to remember that the contractor is required to maintain access to all businesses and inform businesses when their driveway will be closed or impacted by construction. If your driveway is blocked during business hours, please contact Discover Burien or Bruce McPherson at 206.439.2330 and we will contact the contractor.

If you sustain damage from rocks or material from trucks traveling on SR509, SR518 or roads other than 1st Avenue, please note the date, time, and license # of the truck and contact the trucking company. All liability rests on the trucking companies responsible for damage.

Questions? Please call Discover Burien: 206.433.2882

Map of the mess (click on the placeholder icons for more info):

View Larger Map

Local volunteers assisted Eagle Scout Michael Wines on July 26th with his project, which involved installing a park bench and landscaping at Lake Burien School Memorial Park.

Here’s a slideshow courtesy Burien Parks:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

This Thursday, April 24th is national “Take Your Child to Work Day” and we encourage everyone to bring their child to work so us grownups can finally take some time off!

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If your workplace participates in this annual event, may we suggest that you make it even more interesting by showing your kid(s) some of the other aspects of life in Burien, such as:

• 4/23 UPDATE: Moshier Art Center event is fully booked! 10am: at Moshier Art Center (430 South 156th Street), Gina Kallman will be on hand to provide a tour. You’ll also have a chance to make some quick and easy “Clay Fish.” Please let her know you’re coming at ginak@burienwa.gov.
• Noon: A brief tour of Eagle Landing Park with volunteer naturalist and park steward, Jim Branson.
• 2pm: a low tide at Seahurst Park is a perfect opportunity to discover Burien’s 178-acre asset. Stop by and check out the low tide at the beach and the park’s great views of the Olympic Mountains.
• 2pm – 3:30pm: While at Seahurst, stop in at the Marine Technology Lab at the north end of the park and have a look at the salmon hatchery operation there. Teacher Joe Weiss will be on hand to answer your questions.

More information about national “Take your Child to Work Day” is at www.daughtersandsonstowork.org