Burien’s Shorewood Elementary will be hosting a Family Night & BBQ fundraiser to help their FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30.

FIRST, which stands for For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded in 1992 by Dean Kamen with the vision to “Transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated.” The FIRST mission is to “engage and excite students about engineering, science, and technology as well as inspire them to pursue careers in these fields.”

The event will be held at Shorewood Elementary School, located at 2725 SW 116th Street.

“Chef Paolo of Salty’s will prepare BBQ pulled pork & chicken, a variety of sides and vegetarian options,” reads an announcement. “Science & Technology themed activities to include robot and Lego displays & demos, a chance to build & take home your own ‘Brush Bot’ ($5 for supplies), decorate & parade in your robot mask & a contest for most aerodynamic paper airplane.”

Advance Tickets are $10 (4 or more $8 ea.), and can be purchased through participating students, or online here. Checks payable to “HHS PTSA‐Robotics” or email request to info@first3574.org. Limited tickets at the door will be priced at $15 each (no discount at door).

Here are the details:

WHAT: Shorewood Family Night & BBQ Fundraiser for FIRST

WHEN: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 5.30‐8pm

WHERE: Shorewood Elementary School 2725 SW 116th Street, Burien, WA 98146

INFO: Here’s more info:

This program allows kids to take real life concepts, with an emphasis on core values, such as cooperation and problem solving, to research, build, problem solve, work together, and come up with solutions which they present.  This includes computer programming, creative thinking, presentation, and scientific skills that will help our kids become the leaders of tomorrow. Fundraising is needed to support the three elementary Lego teams as well as the High School High Tekerz FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team #3574 (who went to the World Championship last year in St Louis).  The high school mentors have led the coaching efforts at Shorewood Elementary.

We, the Highline High Tekerz Robotics Team (FIRST #3574), strives to create a strong team environment that values cooperation, team spirit, sportsmanship, and gracious professionalism. While our team is student-led, respect between students and mentors is of the utmost importance, and we endeavor to foster harmonious working relationships between all team participants. We trust that all decisions by each individual are made in good faith, with the best interests of the team and its members at heart.

Purpose:
A joint effort to raise funds for the Shorewood Elementary FIRST Lego League Teams and the High School FRC Team #3574 which supports students from 5 high schools, private schools, home school, and running start within Highline School District.

This is an open and free meeting, and the public is invited.

“On the agenda is a group discussion on ways we can refine the Highline Forum to increase its relevance and effectiveness and a briefing on Sea-Tac Airport’s noise abatement procedures,” reads an announcement.

The public is invited to make comments at the start of the meeting.

The Highline Forum includes the southwest King County communities of Des Moines, Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Tukwila and Federal Way and the Highline School District and Port of Seattle.

The City of Burien posted on its website Wednesday morning (May 16) information about the proposed annexation of North Highline for residents of the unincorporated area, who will vote in November on whether to become part of the city.

This information includes a link to a list of Frequently Asked Questions as well as links to a map of the potential annexation area and the 2011 Berk Financial Analysis Final Report on annexation.

City Manager Mike Martin said city staff will begin in June holding a series of public open houses to provide North Highline residents with information about annexation and to answer their questions.

No date has yet been set for the first meeting, he added. The open houses will continue monthly through October.

The city’s website is www.burienwa.gov.

Here’s what the city posted:

Annexation of North Highline
The Burien City Council on April 2 adopted a resolution that requests King County to place on the Nov. 6, 2012, General Election ballot a proposition concerning annexation of the North Highline Area “Y” annexation area. Residents of the proposed annexation area would vote on whether to become part of the City of Burien. The proposed annexation area includes the unincorporated remainder of North Highline, which takes in White Center, Top Hat, Beverly Park, Glendale, and portions of Boulevard Park, Riverton Heights and Shorewood. Burien annexed the southern section of North Highline in 2010.

At its Oct. 3 meeting, the Council approved an “intent to annex” resolution that set in motion the formal annexation process. The annexation proposal went before Washington State Boundary Review Board for King County, which conducted a public hearing Jan. 9 and 10 before voting to accept the proposal on Feb. 16. If approved by voters, the annexation could take effect in spring 2013.

Do you live in annexation area?  See Map of potential annexation area >>

What Financial Impact Would the Annexation Have on the City of Burien? See 2011 Berk Financial Analysis Final Report

More information about annexation: see Frequently Asked Questions

Burien held its first Outreach Meeting on Annexation at Glen Acres on Monday, May 14, 2012. Strangely, it was not open to the public to attend. City Council members were encouraged not to attend this event by Mr. Martin at the Council meeting of May 7th so it was peculiar to see Jerry Robison as one of the main speakers at the event. As Burien citizens have experienced for the last five years, the City Staff, City Manager and one Council person gave elusive answers to questions-answers that made no sense, were not based on factual data and didn’t financially add up.

At one point, Mr. Martin said something to the effect that he couldn’t even begin to tell them all the benefits of annexation such as having a solid and progressive city willing to work on Glen Acres and council who will listen to their concerns compared to King County. However, Mr. Marin was unable to correctly or consistently answer questions on these issues that the Glen Acres audience raised:

1. Noise insulation from the airport noise generated by the Port – Mr. Martin said it was too late to help Glen Acres. Burien could have helped push for a noise wall, more buy outs of residents on 12th or nighttime curfews but neglected to do so during the last FAR 150 process recently completed. Mike did suggest talking to Rose Clark who he said has been doing a good job making sure the Port stick to their designated corridors which incidentally cross over Glen Acres.
2. Animal control – Currently Area Y has King County Animal Control which is far superior to CARES-Burien’s animal control. However, Mr. Martin and Mr. Robison went on to claim that Burien’s model is the best. As usual, no comparative statistics, financial reports, spay/neuter programs or education programs could be shown for the Burien Mystery Animal Care Model known as CARES.
3. A business model for Area Y – specifically the Top Hat Area. Once again Mr. Martin side-stepped the question and went on to talk about how great NERA was going to be when the car dealerships moved there. Burien does not have a business plan for Area Y, Area X or even the core City of Burien. The Berk Draft Report was never and still is not a business plan. The money Burien has received from the State for NERA are for a storm-water system management and not to move the auto dealerships. The Annexation of Area Y without a business plan for the area puts the City of Burien in violation of its own Comprehensive Plan.
4. Infrastructure repairs – specifically the roads in Area Y-Mr. Martin went on to say the timing for annexation was now because of how bad the condition of the roads were in Area Y. However at the earlier Burien City Council meetings on annexation, Mr. Martin, Mr. Robison and Ms. Clark stated that the situation was not as bad up in Area Y as people were exaggerating it to be. According to the Berk Draft Report, Burien could inherit a $91+ million dollars debt from the infrastructure problems in Area Y with no way to pay for the repair of these problems. The Sales Tax Credits cannot be used to fund these repairs. So who is going to pay for these and where will the monies come from?
5. Police Services – supposedly Area X got 12 new police officers. However, the budget displays the City of Burien showed at the last budget presentation on the costs of annexing Area X do not match the cost of the 12 new police officers. Someone’s math is definitely incorrect. And the cost of these police models does not add up for Area Y either. If it did, Burien would not have to be asking for an increase in utility taxes to add more new police. Mr. Martin managed to forget to include this tax increase number into his display when he talked about the new taxes that the residents of Area Y would be required to pay.

The fact that there is still no agreement between the Fire Stations to handle the mismanaged debt incurred by the North Highline Fire Station and the need for additional 911 services to service Area Y was not even mentioned by Mr.Martin or Mr. Robison. Someone will need to pay for these with increased taxes.

Burien is legally not supposed to be out promoting annexation to you at these outreach meetings. The City is supposed to only be providing you with the real facts. I strongly encourage the citizens of Area Y to ask for real facts, figures and answers to questions. Don’t accept wishy–washy off topic answers from Burien and its city officials. You could end up with something much worse and much more costly than King County. In fact, the handout at the meeting did admit the average homeowner will pay at least $180.00 more per year to be in Burien and the Berk Draft Report admitted that at the end of 11 years, Burien would be in serious financial problems if it annexed Area Y. That can only mean more taxes and/or less services for all of the area including Glen Acres.

- Debi Wagner

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Photo of Seahurst Math Competition courtesy Stacia Jenkins.

On Friday, May 11th, Seahurst Elementary School’s Math Club hosted 170 of Highline’s top 4th-6th grade Mathematicians for their 2012 Elementary Math Bonanza.

This was their third year running the event, which they intend to continue indefinitely.

“We love seeing so many students excited about extracurricular mathematics!” said Tom Clymer, the Seahurst Math Club’s advisor, “Hopefully they’ll take that excitement back to their school and will be able to experience it year-round in a Math Club of their own.”

After some opening instructions, students took both an Individual Written Test and an Individual Mental Math Test. The difference between these formats is significant: in the former, students may perform scratch work while arriving at their answer, but in the latter, the ONLY thing a student may write is their final answer to each problem; all work towards this end must be done mentally.

Following these two events, the students reorganized themselves into teams of four for two team tests: the first focused on the topics of Algebra and Probability, while the second focused on Geometry and “Potpourri”. Seahurst volunteers and attending coaches and parents proctored the tests, and as each test was completed these adults also worked to quickly and accurately score the answer sheets to enable awards to be determined in a timely manner.

Those results are:

The High-Scoring Individuals on each team of four were:

The Top Ten Individuals in the 4th-Grade were:

The Top Twenty Individuals in the 5th-Grade were:

The Top Ten Individuals in the 6th-Grade were:

The Top Five Teams in the 4th-Grade were:

The Top Eight Teams in the 5th-Grade were:

The Top Five Teams in the 6th-Grade were:

All of the tests for the 2012 Middlementary Math Bonanza were provided by National Assessment & Testing (http://www.natassessment.com), which in addition to this local competition administers five national contests by mail each year in different formats.

Wine Tastings are a regular feature at The Tin Theater, and are held the third Thursday of every month.

The Tin Room Deck is now open and available for dining ‘al fresco’ style.

“Our heat lamps will warm you as the sun goes down!” said Dan House, Owner.

Dan also wants to remind our Readers about next Thursday’s ‘Comedy & Hijinx’ show.

“These shows usually quickly sell out, so get your tickets now,” House added.

Tickets are available at the Tin Room Bar or Tin Theater, located at 923 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien.

“Burien Parks & Recreation is hosting a Veteran Workshop to offer information, resources and networks to make your lives easier,” reads an announcement. “Attend this FREE event and help yourselves and your family members.”

The event is also open to retired seniors, prior military or anyone seeking more information on topics of interest.

This workshop will have information available on VA, State and county benefits for veterans, spouses and widows.

Other topics may also include information on social security benefits, healthcare, housing and services specific to seniors or anyone taking care of a senior.

For more information, visit the Burien Parks website here.

New King County Sheriff Steve Strachan will officially be sworn in Wednesday, May 16, in a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle.

The ceremony will be held in Room E-942 at the King County Court House, which is located at 516 3rd Ave in downtown Seattle. Presiding over the swearing-in will be King County Superior Court Presiding Judge McDermott.

As we’re previously reported, on April 2, the King County Council appointed Strachan as the new Sheriff, succeeding Sue Rahr, who left to become director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission in Burien (read our interview with Rahr here).

Strachan, 47, became Chief Deputy of the Sheriff’s Office in January 2011, after serving nearly five years as the Kent Police Chief. He previously was Chief of Police in Lakeville, Minnesota.

Strachan will serve until an election this November determines who will be sheriff when Rahr’s term expires at the end of 2013.

Strachan plans to run for the position as does John Urquhart, former King County Sheriff’s Office media spokesman (read about him here).

We’d like to welcome our latest Advertiser to The B-Town Blog – Burien Town Square – now under excellent new management with ST Residential’s John Tippins.

We’ve had the pleasure of meeting John and his team, and we can safely say that they are proactively moving this property in the right direction, offering to work more closely with the community through outreach and offers, making great deals on gorgeous units, offering great tax incentives and much more.

“We will soon welcome our first retail tenant, Subway,” John said. “And with a score of 94 (‘Walker’s Paradise’) on Walkscore.com, Burien Town Square puts homeowners in the heart of Downtown Burien’s shopping and restaurants. And it’s just a block from the new transit center for an easy car-free commute.”

John can occasionally be found at the Burien Farmers Market on Thursdays, so try to come down and say hi to him, or his co-workers Tracey O’Brien and Stacy Phipps. They’ll tell you all about the property, and will even give you a tour!

As we do with all our Advertisers, we’re allowing the good folks at Town Square a forum to share their message with our Readers:

An open letter to the Burien community,

Hello. My name is John Tippins and I recently took over the oversight of this fantastic property of Burien Town Square for ST Residential. I am delighted to be involved as the steward of this beautiful place.

I have a long history and track record of success in residential real estate and have been working with ST Residential since its inception. I look forward to meeting the members of this great community in the weeks and months ahead.

As I have been becoming more and more familiar with this great property, two things have really stuck out:

• This really is a great property and community;
• There has been a lot of misinformation about the property.

I wanted to make sure our owners and community partners are aware of all the great things that are happening here.

Burien Town Square has been and will continue to be sold as condos. We haven’t and will not be renting the residential units.

As with all ST properties, we have made many enhancements and upgrades to the property and more are coming. We will soon be launching a bike program where residents can check out or “borrow” bikes on the property.

We are at the Farmers Market with a booth every Thursday with information available on what life is like at Burien Town Square. In addition, we have launched a rewards program for our residents in other parts of the country which promotes and drives traffic to local businesses. We will be rolling out a similar program to Burien shortly.

We will soon welcome our first retail tenant, Subway, and interest is up in leasing the other spaces, although it’s too early to announce anything else definitively. With a score of 94 (“Walker’s Paradise”) on Walkscore.com, Burien Town Square puts homeowners in the heart of Downtown Burien’s shopping and restaurants. And it’s just a block from the new transit center for an easy car-free commute.

We are currently offering Five Featured Homes – five homes with special pricing and benefits: free HOA dues for one year (estimated HOA savings of $2,070 to $4,300); no building tax until 2020 (estimated tax savings of $1,500 to $4,500/yr); and only $1,000 earnest money deposit required.

The featured homes are:

• Alcove #312: 527 sq.ft., $132,950
• 1br/1ba #520 : 671 sq.ft., $200,950
• 1br+den #330: 831 sq.ft., $220,950
• 1br+den #624: 850 sq.ft., $255,950
• 2br/2ba #413: 1095 sq.ft., $278,950

Finally, we have financing available; ensuring that interested buyers can close on their purchases so we can welcome them as residents. Traffic has steadily increased as we get further in to Spring and we anticipate that will continue.

So, tell your friends the great things happening at Burien Town Square and stay tuned for more announcements in the future. This is a wonderful property. We look forward to filling it with condo owners who will add to our sense of community and take advantage of all we have to offer.

Our sales center is located onsite and open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 15100 6th Ave SW in home #228 on the north side of the building. Tracey O’Brien and Stacy Phipps are available to show you the furnished model homes and building amenities. If you have questions you can reach them at 206.901.0000 or visit the website:

www.BurienTownSquare.com.

If you have any comments, or questions, feel free to shoot me an email at: jtippins@stresidential.com.

I check that inbox regularly and will be happy to answer your questions. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you in person soon on my many future visits to Burien Town Square.

Thank you,
John Tippins
SVP-ST Residential

Burien Bites, the new food-centric fundraiser set for Sunday, May 27, is now selling ‘early bird’ tickets, with the added incentive of getting a FREE t-shirt for ordering for two or more people.

This new benefit will raise money for local charities by providing a ’round-robin’ day of visiting different local restaurants, sampling food, the voting on the best “bites” of Burien.

To order, click here: http://www.burienbites.com/preregister.asp.

The cost is $10 per ticket (Kids are free), and all proceeds will benefit local charities.

Participants will be allowed to check in at 3 p.m. at HomeTask on Sunday, May 27th – 611 SW 152nd Street – then proceed to various local restaurants to sample food.

Here are some of the preliminary details:

• Check-in will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 at the HomeTask office at 611 SW 152nd Street in downtown Burien.
• Once guests are checked in, they can get photos taken in the Burien Bites Social Photo Booth.
• Then, draw for your first restaurant stop.
• While at your first stop, enjoy choosing from a special selection of $5 or $10 bites before tromping over to your 2nd, 3rd, 4th…. well, you get the idea.
• Keep an eye out for the special flashing punch stations on your way!
• And don’t forget to rate the purveyors online at each stop!
• Return to Burien Bite central (HomeTask office) to watch the results tally live a big screen and enjoy a glass of wine with friends.
• A big Burien Bites trophy will be presented to the Winner who gets to proudly display it at their premises until the next event!

For more information, visit www.burienbites.com or email support@hometask.com.