For full coverage of this terrible incident, we recommend reading:

• KOMO News
• Seattle P-I
• KING-TV
• The Seattle Times

As part of an ongoing effort to keep Tukwila clean, the City and Allied Waste are conducting a Fall Recycling and Collection Event on Saturday, Nov. 15th from 9am to 3pm..

This Event will be conducted at the Tukwila Village site, which is located in a lot near 41st Ave South at Tukwila International Blvd.

This Event is open to all Tukwila residents.

More information is available here, and a PDF is available for download here.

WHEN: Nov 2, 2008, 3pm

WHERE: Verizon Wireless Store, located at 17100 Southcenter Parkway in Tukwila (map below); (206) 575-6242

We spoke with a rep at the Verizon store and she said that Cornell and Timbaland will be doing both an in-store meet and greet/autograph session as well as a live performance in the parking lot.

She suggested arriving early (around 2pm), as it’s a first-come/first-served event and they’re expecting a big crowd.

Cornell and Timbaland will be performing later Nov. 2nd at Showbox SODO.

We think this appearance will most likely look and sound something like this:

Or this:

View Larger Map

But there’s one big catch – all open tryouts will be filmed for a reality-TV series which will air on BELO properties, including: KING 5, KONG 6/16 and NWCN in late January, 2009. A minimum of three finalists from each market will take part in a one-hour tryout in Seattle.

“Chivas USA has utilized the open tryout process very effectively,” said Sounders FC majority owner Joe Roth.  “The 2007 winner plays for Chivas USA and the U.S. Under-20 National Team.  We believe similar talent exists in the Northwest. ”

The final tryout will be broadcast “live” on Sunday, February 1, 2009, following the Super Bowl on KING 5.  Viewers will have the opportunity to narrow the finalists to three. A distinguished panel of judges will determine the winner. The winner will be awarded a spot on the 2009 Sounders FC roster.

In addition to the Nov. 15th tryout in Tukwila, other Sounders tryouts will take place at the following locations:

• Sunday, November 9 – Spokane, WA
  Plants Ferry Park
  Check-in: 9am to 10 am
  Tryouts: 12:00 – 2:00 pm
• Saturday, November 22 – Yakima, WA
  Chesterley Park
  Check-in: 9am to 10 am
  Tryouts: 11:00 – 2:00 pm

More info, including how to register, is available at the Seattle Sounders FC website.

Reba Gilman, Principal and CEO of Highline School District’s Aviation High School, will receive the Museum of Flight’s 2008 Pathfinder Award recognizing pioneering achievements in flying, engineering, education, operations, and manufacturing.

The award will be presented at the Museum’s William M. Allen Theater this Saturday, Oct. 25th. The evening’s program will start off with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Great Gallery and a procession of past Pathfinder awardees at 6:15 p.m. followed by dinner and presentation of the 2008 Pathfinder Awards in the Side Gallery. Seating is limited and by reservation only. Individual tickets start at $100 per person, and table reservations start at $1,500 per table of 10. To purchase tickets or request an invitation, please call (206) 764-5709 or email sewing@museumofflight.org.

The Pathfinder Awards honor individuals or teams from the Pacific Northwest for significant contributions to aeronautics and astronautics. Previous recipients include William Boeing, Sr. and former astronaut (and current Museum of Flight CEO and President) Bonnie Dunbar.

Awardees are selected by representatives of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force Association, Civil Air Patrol, Federal Aviation Administration, The Museum of Flight, Ninety-Nines, Navy League, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Experimental Test Engineers, University of Washington, and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Gilman is the founding principal of Aviation High School, a small college-prep high school where teaching and learning is framed in the context of aviation and aerospace. The curriculum emphasizes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and aims to develop the talents of young people to take leadership roles in a technology-based society.

Aviation High was named a Model School this past year by the International Center for Excellence in Education, one of only 23 schools in the U.S. to be chosen. The school is administered by Highline Public Schools but is open to students from across the Puget Sound Region.

The award lauds Gilman as a “quintessential and entrepreneurial education leader” for conceiving the concept for Aviation High School and developing it into a school that is a national model for innovative education.

More info on Aviation High School can be found here; on the Museum of Flight here.

View Larger Map

The man, in his 30s, was found slumped over the wheel in a car near the intersection of International Blvd (aka Highway 99) and State Route 518 just after midnight.

The shooter remains at large.

Apaprently, SR-518 was closed down for a while as police dogs and a helicopter searched the area, causing backups for drivers headed to or from the area.

The name of the man who was killed has not been released.

Video of the story available here.

SOURCES:

• KOMO News
• Seattle P-I
• KIRO-TV
  

View Larger Map

On Wed. Aug. 27th, the City of Burien announced that it is temporarily withdrawing its North Highline Annexation Request, an issue pertinent to the City of SeaTac, since it was once courting the area itself.

Here’s the press release from the City of Burien website:

Burien Withdraws North Highline Annexation Request

The City of Burien has notified the Boundary Review Board of King County that it is withdrawing its current request to annex the southern portion of the North Highline unincorporated area. The City plans to re-file an annexation request later this year after completion of a new round of negotiations with King County and the cities of SeaTac and Seattle regarding the proposed annexation boundary.

The Burien City Council authorized submittal of the “Notice of Intent” to annex part of North Highline in May 2008. The Notice of Intent was filed with the Boundary Review Board in late June after the approval of new countywide planning policies allowing the annexation request to proceed. The timing of Burien’s filing was challenged by the City of Seattle and the North Highline Fire District on legal grounds.

“In the interest of having the community and the Boundary Review Board focus on the merits of annexation rather than upon procedural and legal issues, we believe that it is in the best interest of the parties for the City to withdraw its current Notice of Intent,” said Mike Martin, Burien’s city manager.

The delay in the annexation process allows the cities and County to meet to discuss substantive issues related to annexation, including providing adequate urban services within annexed portions of North Highline and any remaining unincorporated area.

“We’ve tried to get Seattle to the table for almost a year to resolve these issues but they have been unwilling to meet with us,” Martin explained. “For whatever reason, they’ve changed their mind now and appear willing to talk. We wish for the sake of the North Highline residents Seattle would have come to that conclusion sooner, but better late than never.”

Now, for the first time, Burien is able to consider the specific and detailed concerns of the North Highline Fire District that were filed with the Boundary Review Board. While the City of Burien has no authority over the current or future operations of the fire district, “we will encourage the North Highline and Burien/Normandy Park fire districts to resolve their differences in the interest of providing quality services in the areas they serve,” said Martin.

The City has offered to start negotiations immediately, with the goal of reaching a successful resolution of issues by the end of the year. Martin added, “Our City values trust, integrity, communication and collaboration. It is in this spirit that we are ready to take one step back in order to help our neighbors in North Highline move many steps forward.”

Here’s a quote from Jenn Ramirez Robson, Management Analyst at the Burien City Manager’s Office:

“In brief, the City of Burien has withdrawn its current request to annex a portion of North Highline but plans to re-file later this year.

We are still committed to the annexation process and will continue to do educational open houses in the North Highline Area, including the Open House tonight at 6:30 PM at the Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church.”

We spoke with Gordon Shaw, Burien native and City Councilmember, who offered up this exclusive, yet rather fiery quote about the annexation withdrawal political game currently being played out between Burien and Seattle:

“The efforts Burien has made so far have been stymied by Seattle and King County to a certain degree because of preference for Seattle to annex North Highline.

But clearly Seattle is not ready to do it.

To oppose Burien’s annexation efforts on the substance of annexation is one thing, but to oppose it on procedure that we all know is going to change in 30 days is BULLSHIT!”

We also received an exclusive response from Burien Mayor Joan McGilton on this entire annexation withdrawal issue, and here’s the latest:

First, a snippet from Seattle Councilmember Richard Conlin as quoted on another Seattle-based blog:

“…unless Burien is prepared to make significant change in its proposal…”

Mayor Joan’s reaction to Mr. Conlin’s statement:

“Burien has consistently acknowledged the role Seattle has in the proposed annexation of the North Highline Area. Seattle chooses to not negotiate directly with Burien. The City of Seattle’s Position Statement filed with the Washington State Boundary Review Board for King County filed on August 18, 2008 clearly misinterprets Burien actions to move forward with annexation.

In the best interests of all parties, Burien chooses to withdraw its current request so that the Boundary Review Board can focus on the merits of annexation rather than on the procedural and legal issues.

Burien wishes to take the “high road” and have our neighbors to the north ask the probing questions so that when this comes to a vote, they are truly informed of the actions that are in their best interest as a community.”

More details, and most certainly more interesting and fiery quotes, will be forthcoming as this issue plays itself out…so stay tuned…

The traffic webcam view above is of the scene where, around 7:10am this morning, a fatal crash and fire blocked all southbound lanes of I-405 in Tukwila near Southcenter causing a major four-mile traffic jam.

DOT reports that the lanes have been re-opened, but refresh the page to get the latest view.

The slideshow above is just a taste of what you’ll see at the Tukwila Historical Society’s Historic Homes & Buildings Tour from 10am - 4pm this Saturday, August 23rd.

Tickets are still available at the Tukwila Community Center, located at 12424 42nd Ave South in Tukwila.

Participants will have the option of viewing the homes on the tour by taking a self-guided tour in their own vehicle for $5, or by taking an escorted guided tour by shuttle bus for $12. Reduced fares of $10 will be offered for Seniors 65 and over, $7 for children and maximum cost of $25 per family.

Tour participants will be given a brochure with map and brief summary of each historical site.

For additional information, please contact Kathy Hougardy at (206) 244-5023 or Joan Hernandez (206) 248-0260.

Previously, a federal oversight report claimed that the station’s completion “will be delayed until the second quarter of 2010.”

When that report was released, Sound Transit did not have a detailed schedule for completing the station, and there was doubt as to whether communications systems would be ready for the entire 16-mile line that runs from downtown Seattle to the airport.

During the summer of 2009, trains should start traveling to the Tukwila station. Airport travelers will be able to board shuttle buses to the terminal until the main airport station is completed.

SOURCE:

• The Seattle Times