by Ralph Nichols Aquàse habla español. Translation: “Spanish spoken here.†And these words could be a message from the City of Burien to the members of its growing Spanish-speaking […]
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Burien City Council Expected To Declare Opposition To I-1033 Tonight
by Ralph Nichols Burien City Council members are expected to declare tonight (Oct. 5) their opposition to Initiative 1033 – Tim Eyman’s latest attempt to reign in government spending revenue. […]
Hundreds Of Angry Residents Confront Port Of Seattle And FAA Officials About Airport Noise At Community Meeting
by Ralph Nichols If it wasn’t already obvious before Tuesday (Sept. 29) night’s community meeting about additional noise generated by commercial jets using Sea-Tac International Airport’s third runway, people living […]
Larry R. Blanchard Is Burien’s New Public Works Director
by Ralph Nichols Burien’s new public works director was introduced to city council members at their meeting on Monday, Sept. 14th, with high praise from City Manager Mike Martin. Larry […]
Remodeling Of Old Library Building Into New Community Center To Begin Soon; Expected To Open In April
by Ralph Nichols Just over six months from now, a new Burien Community Center will open to the public in the old library building at SW 146th Street and 4th […]
City Council Discusses Funding, SW 153rd & Wah Long Crime Reports
by Ralph Nichols Burien City Council members looked ahead to legislative activity in 2010 during their regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 14th, giving review to a preliminary list of funding […]
Burien City Council Holds Special Meeting; Actual Annexation Projected For Spring 2010
by Ralph Nichols Burien Mayor Joan McGilton began a special City Council meeting on annexation Monday night (Aug. 24th) by rolling out the welcome mat for 14,100 North Highline residents […]
King County “Mothballing” 39 Parks, More Than A Third Of Which Are In The Highline Area; What Do YOU Think?
by Ralph Nichols It’s déjàvu all over again. Closed parks and pools, on top of program and job cuts, have been proposed by the King County executive to balance […]
Big Day At City Hall As Burien Celebrates Successful Annexation Vote; Special Council Meeting Is Aug. 24th
by Ralph Nichols With North Highline voters approving annexation to Burien by a comfortable margin, Mayor Joan McGilton declared Wednesday morning (Aug. 19th), “I’m pretty excited about having a whole […]
UPDATE: City Council Discusses Where Burien’s New Fire Station Should Be Built; Take Our Poll…
by Ralph Nichols The location is essential. A delay will cost money. Yet some members of the Burien City Council insisted at their August 17th meeting that selecting a site […]
If Annexation Passes Tuesday, What Happens Next?
by Ralph Nichols If you’ve not yet voted and mailed your ballot, remember, tomorrow – Tuesday, August 18, primary election day – is the deadline to do so. And if […]
Lora Lake Apartments Coming Down; What Will Replace Them? Take Our Poll…
by Ralph Nichols As demolition crews prepared this week to tear down the Lora Lake Apartments – long the center of heated controversy over affordable housing in Burien – near […]
On August 18th, North Highline Residents Will Vote On Annexation; Take Our Poll…
by Ralph Nichols It’s been a long time coming – years of meetings, studies, surveys, and wars of words – but in less than three weeks residents of the southern […]
City Councilmember Sue Blazak Battling Breast Cancer
by Ralph Nichols Many of us enjoy the promotional jingle for Emerald Downs: “Nobody’s gonna slow me down. Oh no, oh no, I gotta keep on moving….†But instead of […]
Federal and State funding critical for continued economic growth, say area mayors
By Ralph Nichols Federal and state funding from earmarks and other targeted appropriations is critical for continued economic growth in Southwest King County, officials from three Highline cities said Friday […]
Seven King County Executive Candidates Offer Differing Ideas At Burien Forum
by Ralph Nichols Photos by Janet Grella Although seven hopefuls for King County Executive agreed Wednesday (July 8th) at a candidate forum in Burien that decisive action is needed to […]
Burien City Manager Mike Martin Granted Deferred Prosecution In DUI Charge
by Ralph Nichols Burien City Manager Mike Martin on Tuesday (June 23rd) was granted a deferred prosecution (download court doc as a PDF here) on a DUI charge (driving under […]
Goat Hill Residents Motivate City Into Action Over Speeding
This map highlights the Goat Hill neighborhood where residents are upset about speeding cars.
Burien city officials recently decided on a combination of solutions designed to alleviate safety concerns of local residents by mitigating speeding through the Goat Hill neighborhood over the ridge west of Ambaum Boulevard at SW 130th Street.
Goat Hill residents have complained for over a year about motorists speeding along the corridor that, heading west, follows SW 130th as it curves into 16th Avenue SW to SW 131st Street, then goes to Shorewood Drive where it continues in a northwesterly direction through the subdivision.
Repeated complaints and requests for action from the neighborhood led to a meeting about the speeding problem…
King County Executive Candidates Speak At Burien Forum
Crime – including a high level of gang activity – is an ongoing concern in the Highline area, along with the rest of King County, especially at a time when multi-million-dollar budget deficits have forced staff reductions in the sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices.
And not surprisingly, all five major candidates for King County executive told the King County Police Chief’s Association on Thursday that public safety is the primary responsibility of county government. They spoke at a forum at the Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien…
BREAKING: Mike Martin Enters “Not Guilty” Plea To DUI
Burien City Manager Mike Martin entered a plea of “Not Guilty” on Friday (May 15th) to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol stemming from a minor traffic accident on April 19th. Martin appeared before King County District Court Judge Eileen Kato, who scheduled a pretrial hearing for June 23rd.
Martin, 55, refused to perform field sobriety tests or take a Breathalyzer test when he was arrested following the one-car accident in Burien. As a result, his driver’s license was suspended, as required by state law, when formal DUI charges were filed on May 6th.
On Monday (May 11th), the Burien City Council approved an amended contract for Martin on a 5-1 vote, which imposes strict “alcohol-related conditions†with which he must “comply fully†to retain his position as city manager.
In agreeing to the addition of alcohol-related conditions to his contract, Martin denied committing “any wrongful or criminal act,†but acknowledged “that the facts and circumstances of his arrest may constitute ‘cause’ to terminate his employment under the Original Agreement.â€Â
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City Keeps Mike Martin On, Requires Amended Contract
The Burien City Council imposed on Monday (May 11th) strict “alcohol-related conditions†with which City Manager Mike Martin must “comply fully†if he is to retain that position. Martin is scheduled to be arraigned in King County District Court Friday on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The conditions are included in an amendment to Martin’s contract (download and view PDF here), which was approved without discussion with a 6-1 vote by city lawmakers. Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who publicly called for Martin’s ouster following his arrest for allegedly driving under the influence, cast the dissenting vote. She also cast the lone vote against Martin when the council hired him as city manager in January 2007.
Here’s a portion of the amended contract…