by Brenda Anders

Salon Michelle on Marine View Drive was hit overnight by a crowbar-wielding thug who broke both the large plate glass window and glass doors.

Both were struck several times with a crowbar, leaving them shattered and riddled with holes. The vandal also moved the businesses’ freestanding sign in front of the door but did not damage it.

“The glass was everywhere,” stated Michelle Fawcett, salon owner. “We have spent hours cleaning up glass that was all over our waiting area.”

It appears the thugs were unable to gain entry to the salon and that no other businesses in the building were hit.

“The special film on the glass is probably what prevented entry into the building,” commented Sgt. Bob Collins of the Des Moines Police Department.

Michelle estimates there is several thousand dollars worth of damage.

“At least I was able to rearrange my schedule so I have not lost any business, although I will be staying late tonight to get everyone in.”  She went on to say, “I don’t do anything to anyone. I volunteer my time to help make this community a better place. Why would someone do this?”

Michelle has been a hairdresser here in Des Moines for over 20 years, opening her own shop 6-½ years ago. She is a board member of the Des Moines Legacy Foundation and volunteers every year for the annual Bayside Brunch, which benefits Des Moines Area seniors.

If you have any information regarding the vandalism to Salon Michelle or any other business in Des Moines, please call the Des Moines Police Department immediately at (206) 878-3301.

New Waterland Blog Advertiser GGC Embroidery–Grams Gift Closet–is on a mission; that is “to provide small businesses in the area the opportunity to brand and logo in the same manner as a mid to large size businesses at a lower cost,” so says owner/operator Jeananne Tescar-Burcham.

With this mission in mind, Jeananne created her small business from what was once a hobby. She specializes in personalized-custom embroidery and logo items for local sports teams, companies, families and individuals. Her closet of logo-wear includes sweatshirts, polar fleece, polos and hats.

When it came time to order some new shirts for The Waterland Blog staff to wear at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival, we asked our good friend Wayne Corey of the Des Moines Farmers Market “who does your branded clothing?” He strongly recommended GGC Embroidery for their service, quick turnaround and embroidery work..

Are we another satisfied customer of GGC? You betcha! Would we recommend their services for your small business? We sure would.

You can contact Jeananne at 206-931-1548 or click here for the website.

by Ralph Nichols

Sixty-four hundred miles – the distance from Sea-Tac International Airport to Santiago, Chile – is a long way. It’s a lot farther still if you’re here and have immediate family members in earthquake-ravaged Chile.

Patricio Mendoza, the owner of EC Computers in downtown Des Moines, knows this all too well.

For almost 48 hours after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Chile on Feb. 27, Mendoza could only wonder how his son Victor, his father Humbetor, his sister Cecilia, and his niece Erika Cecilia (who lives in the Seattle area, and whose initials give the computer shop its name) had survived.

Communications with the outside world are difficult with widespread power outages and many of the country’s cell phone towers knocked down. Mendoza has since been told the tremor “was so big,” and “lasted so long and was so strong.”

Despite his anxiety, he hoped and prayed for the best – and waited for their calls.

Then late Sunday and again on Monday he finally heard from his niece and his sister. Both were well – and they had word that Victor, who lives near Viña del Mar, a seaside community of almost 300,000 where Mendoza is from, was OK too.

But there was nothing like hearing his son confirm this himself when, at last, Victor called him Tuesday evening.

These reports brought welcome news because “at first I thought the worst,” Mendoza said. “This was one of the biggest earthquakes we have ever had. The destruction is total. It’s all around.”

Mendoza is still waiting for word about his 80-year-old father Humbetor, who he assumes is OK but who lives where power remains out.

In an irony of timing, Mendoza returned only a month ago from a six-week trip to his home town, which is not far from Santiago, the nation’s capital, and an extended visit with his relatives who live in that region.

He also accompanied his niece there. Cecilia, 19, had “worked for the last year to pay for her dream trip to Chile,” he told the Waterland Blog this week.

“She was supposed to get back to the states on March 1. Her flight was scheduled for Feb. 28.” But with canceled flights and possible damage to airport runways, “she’s still stuck down there.” If everything goes all right, he said, she now should return on March 9.

Cecilia sounded much calmer than she did in her first call just a couple of days after the quake, which continues to be followed by strong aftershocks, he added.

Mendoza’s first reaction after hearing about the earthquake was, “I want to get a ticket and go there. The first thing I wanted to do is help my family. But the airlines have raised the ticket price four times or more for this tragedy.

“I still plan to go when the price goes back down. I can’t afford it now. I want to see how my father is doing and how my son is doing. I want to see my father personally because he’s 80 years old and alone. I know he will say he’s OK, but I still want to know.

“It’s pretty bad to be this far away and not be able to go down and help,” he said.

And after helping his family, Mendoza also wants to do what he can – including taking clothing and other necessities – to help others there who are trying to rebuild their lives and property.

“People are hungry, people are upset. I’ve been in strong earthquakes where aftershocks continue for days. You feel so little after that. You cannot sleep in the day. You cannot sleep at night. You have no peace. It takes weeks to recover.”

Mendoza said that although he’s not there now, “at least I can bring some of the resources they need to them” if he can find a way to get there.

“A lot of people from Des Moines have called or stopped by the shop, concerned about my niece and my family,” he continued. “I thank all of you for your moral support. It has really helped.”

BTB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is an “extremely clean 3 bedroom, 2 full (all new) bath rambler” located near the beach in Hurstwood and priced at $376,950.

This home features newly-refinished hardwoods, new tile in the kitchen and family room, new interior paint, and a 2-car garage with huge attic storage.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, March 7th, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 13843 17th Ave SW • Burien 98166

INFO:

• List Price: $376,950
• Listing#: 32089
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 2
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1966
• 2 Garage-Attached
• Approximate House SqFt: 1,420
• Lot Square Footage: 16,000

Interior Features:

• Bath Off Master
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Fenced-Partially
• Patio

Marketing Remarks:

Extremely clean 3 bdrm, 2 full (all new) bath rambler.

Newly refinished hardwoods and new tile in kitchen and family rm.

New interior paint. 2 car gar. w/huge attic storage.

Sought after Hurstwood-near the beach.

Get in this one! Furniture negotiable if interested..

Directions:

• Ambaum Blvd. to SW 144th St.
• West to 13th SW.
• Right to stop sign.
• Turn Right then immediate left to 13843 17th SW.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

On Thursday (Mar. 4), Highline Community College’s Center of Excellence for International Trade, Transportation and Logistics (ITTL) announced that it had received $250,000 to provide additional job training opportunities for positions in the international trade sector.

“As our economy continues to change and adjust so too must our workforce,” said U.S. Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA). “This funding will help do just that by training Washington state workers for a career in a growing sector of our local economy – international trade.”

The project — part of the final version of the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Obama on Dec. 16, 2009 — will lead to a 20 percent increase in the number of trained ITTL workers in Washington state.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Smith secured funding for the project that will also improve the image of international trade throughout Washington state and create awareness of career and training opportunities that lead to family wage jobs.

“In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to ensure that our workers have the skills they need to compete in the 21st century economy,” Murray said.

Positions in the ITTL sector include managers, logisticians, cargo and freight agents, shipping and receiving clerks, locomotive engineers, drivers and warehouse workers. Washington state will need nearly 77,000 new employees in ITTL by 2018, according to estimates based on data from the state’s Employment Security Department.

For more information about the Center of Excellence for International Trade, Transportation and Logistics, visit www.ittlwa.com.

Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 18,300 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening and weekend classes. Alumni include:

• Former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice
• Entrepreneur Junki Yoshida
• Washington state poet laureate Sam Green
• And yes, even WLB Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer

We just got off the phone with All-Star Sports Bar Operations Manager Joe Potts, who announced that they held a “soft opening” on Wednesday night (Mar. 3), and are now officially “open for business.”

How does one successfully launch a “soft opening” you ask? Simple – turn on the “Open” sign. Maybe call or text some friends. And wait. Joe reports that they had a steady stream of 20-30 customers all day, topping out around 80 before they ran out of “training liquor.”

And all that was without any real publicity. A good sign for a new business in our opinion. And seeing how this is the second new restaurant to open in Des Moines, we say things are definitely starting to look up around here.

All-Star’s hours are 11am – 2am seven days a week, and despite not yet having a full menu, they’ll be serving pizzas this weekend.

The “soft opening” continues today, and the bar is definitely open, so this might be a good time to help “train” their staff by dropping in, bellying up and ordering something; just don’t forget to tip your local server.

Expect a big “grand opening” on Thursday, March 18th, when ESPN Radio announcers Brock and Salk will make an appearance for a March Madness basketball promotion. Be sure to check The Waterland Blog often, as we’ll be posting more news as we receive it.

Joe says they’ll start serving their full menu sometime towards the middle of next week – but here’s an exclusive sneak peek at it so you can start planning your order:

To download a PDF of All-Star’s menu, click here.

From our sister site The B-Town Blog comes this update on the upcoming “Cove to Clover” Pub Crawl, which will benefit the Highline Area Food Bank:

What better way to prepare for the March 14th “Cove to Clover” 5k fundraiser run than by crawling in the fundraiser Pub Crawl in Burien on Friday, March 12th, where participants can feel good about going from pub to pub to help benefit the Highline Area Food Bank?

That’s right – there just isn’t a better way, so be sure to mark your calendars for 6pm+ Friday March 12th for what is sure to make a “great excuse for your poor upcoming performance on Snake Hill, with only one day to recover.”

For a $10 donation, you’ll get a commemorative keepsake bib qualifying you for “crawl” specials (our fave is the $1 bag of chips at the Hobnobber!), along with a passport and a map. Your goal will be to collect visitation stamps on your passport from at least five of the 13 official crawl stops (see the list below, which includes specials at each). Your stamped passport will serve as your entry to the door prize drawing @ 11 pm at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub.

And if this Pub Crawl is anything like the now-legendary Brat Trot one from last October, be prepared for one of the best nights in Burien you’ve ever had; just be sure to have a designated driver or a safe way to get home if you plan to imbibe.

Keep in mind also that you need not drink alcohol at every pub – you can just ask to get your passport stamped!

Here are the details:

WHAT: The 2010 Cove to Clover Pub Crawl fundraiser benefiting the Highline Area Food Bank.

WHEN: Friday, March 12th beginning at 6pm.

WHERE: Starts at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub (located at 435 SW 152nd Street in Burien) at 6pm, with an 11pm return time for prize drawings.

COST: $10 donation gets you a commemorative, keepsake bib, which you’ll wear proudly as you “crawl” from pub to pub.

INFO: From the C2C website:

PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!! PRE-PLAN YOUR RIDE HOME OR HAVE A DESIGNATED DRIVER

Enjoy “crawl specials” offered at each official stop.

You can also expect special entertainment on the route.

Collect at least 5 official crawl stamps and you’ll qualify for the door prize drawing at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub @ 11pm. (must be present to win).

All proceeds will benefit the Highline Area Food Bank.

Best Leprechaun Contest: Gift certificates to Mick Kelly’s for 1st ($100), 2nd ($75) and 3rd ($50).

For you Normandy Parkers: Consider riding the free shuttle from Normandy Park’s Archery Bistro. Check in with them (website here) for the schedule and shuttle stops. While they are not an official crawl stop, we understand they will be offering a specials during and prior to the first run into Burien. You can park you car there and let them do the driving. You’ll also be able to purchase an official crawl number at Archery Bistro, in case you decide to make this your launching point.

Here are the 13 designated pub crawl stops in Burien – remember, you only have to get stamped at five of ‘em:

Specials:

• $3 Draft beer
• $4.50 House Wine
• Food Special

Specials:

• $2 PBR Tall Boys $2 Bacardi Silver Bottles
• $3 Giant Pizza by the Slice

Entertainment:

• Three Tree Point Blues Band 9P

Specials:

• Free Espresso Shot

Specials:

• Free Wine Taste
• Free Menu Taste

Specials:

• $3 House Beer
• $3 Apps off Happy Hour Menu

FILIBERTO’S

Specials:

• $2 Draft Beer
• 1/2 price Calamari and pizza

Entertainment:

• RLS Band

Specials:

• $2 Budweiser
• $1 Bag of Chips!

Specials:

• $5 House Margarita
• $5 Tacos (3 Beef or Chicken Tacos)

Entertainment:

• Live Mariachi Band at 6:30

Specials:

• $2 beer
• $4 sangiovese
• $1 Pizza slices

Specials:

• Sour Apple Jello Shots $2
• Irish Potato and Banger Stew $3

Entertainment:

• Cornerstone

Specials:

• $3 Alaskan Amber Pints

Specials:

• $2 Irish Nut Brown Ales
• Corned beef sliders

Specials:

• $6 Wine by the Glass

More info available at the Cove Clover Pub Crawl website.

And if you haven’t yet registered for the 5k run, click here.

Story and Photos by Michael Brunk

As of Monday, March 1st, hungry folks in the city of Des Moines now have a new option to satisfy their culinary cravings. Barnacles Restaurant & Bar – located in the old Boston Pizza location at 22636 Marine View Drive South – is now officially open for business. I stopped by during the dinner rush on Monday to see for myself what this new business had to offer.

As you pull into the parking lot, it’s hard to miss the rather dramatic changes that have been made to the old building. The first thing that catches your eye is the new, covered, outdoor seating area. Still a little cold to be enjoyed just yet but bound to be a favorite spot as the weather warms up.

Stepping inside reveals the restaurant proper, completely remodeled from floor to ceiling. The interior is smaller than I expected. The Butlers have made good use of the space however, and very little is wasted. To your left as you enter is the bar with seating and to the right is the open dining room. For the evening crowd the lighting was subdued and intimate. I sat in the bar but I found the music just a bit on the loud side for my taste.

Almost immediately I bumped into Mayor Bob Sheckler and Carmen Scott and Dave Kaplan from the City Council. Nice to see local officials out supporting a new business. Dave raved about the fish and chips so I ordered a batch to try them for myself.

Given the fairly large opening night crowd, I imagined I’d be waiting a while before my dinner arrived but I was pleasantly surprised at the quick service. A very good sign! I’m no food reviewer but I’ve eaten fish and chips at restaurants from coast to coast. While I wouldn’t rate these as the best I’ve had it was certainly tasty and a great value at $10.

The fish and chips are just one item on the streamlined menu that Barnacles refers to as “American comfort food.” Some patrons might chafe at the lack of options but frankly, I think it’s a smart move for a new restaurant to focus on doing a few things really well. I’m definitely going to have to return sometime soon and give their cheeseburger a try.

Overall, a very positive first impression. Good food at a decent price, served fast and with a smile. It could prove to be a winning combination for this new Des Moines business.

Here are some photos from my evening at Barnacles:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

On Monday (March 1st) we received an email from Janel Stoneback, announcing that her Emerald City Smoothie store located at the Normandy Park Towne Center had shut its doors.

This store, located at 19803 First Ave South, may have been affected by a number of elements, including recent ongoing construction on First Ave South, the economic recession, as well as a relatively troubled location where other businesses have also faltered.

According to the Normandy Park city newsletter, this ECS location opened in August of 2008.

Far as we know, Janel’s other ECS location near the Burien Safeway, is still open and in business.

While we don’t have the exact details yet (we’re hoping to get more info from Janel soon, which we’ll publish as soon as we receive it), according to Janel’s Facebook Page:

To all my Excellent very supportive customers, friends and business associates, it is with great disappointment we have had to make a decision to close Normandy Park Emerald City Smoothie.

A very unique 9-liter bottle of Five Star Cellars 2006 Cabernet Savignon will be raffled off at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival next weekend (Saturday, March 6th & Sunday, March 7th) at the historic Landmark Event Center right here in Des Moines.

Nine liters of wine is equal to a full case of wine in one big beautiful bottle, and this special one is engraved with the Poverty Bay Wine Festival emblem on one side, and the Five Star label on the other.

This 2006 Cab was rated 91 points by Wine Spectator and 94 points by the Beverage Tasting Institute – that means it’s an excellent case of wine in one big bottle!

No purchase is necessary– this is a drawing for anyone who wants to enter – but you will have to show up at the festival, which is just $20 per person; for that amount, you’ll also receive a souvenir wine glass and 10 tokens, a sampling of delicious foods, and live music both days.

Also, for all you non-wine drinkers out there, Pike’s Brewing will also have a booth.

The value of the wine plus the engraving is $1,000!

The opening night Gala will be this Friday, March 5th at 7:30pm at the Landmark Event Center. The theme is A Night in the Vineyard. A lavish buffet will be provided by Anthony’s HomePort. Tickets for the gala are $75 in advance, $85 at the door. The ticket price includes food, entertainment, and wine.

Wine Fesival tickets are priced at $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets for the Wine Festival and Gala are available at Corky Cellars, located at 22511 Marine View Drive in Des Moines (206-824-9462); or online at www.dmrotary.org.

Poverty Bay Wine Festival is the major annual fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Des Moines.

For full details on the festival, check out our previous coverage here.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'd like to officially introduce a new regular column, "Feel Good Friday," written by Des Moines resident Dave Markwell, who extols to all neighbors: "Enjoy where we live. Put your feet on the pavement and truly feel how great it is to live here!"]

by Dave Markwell

The other night my six year-old daughter and I attended a concert at Highline Community College. My ten year-old son was performing with the Parkside Elementary orchestra as they opened for a Des Moines Arts Commission Music Series show. He plays viola.

I have come to understand that the learning curve for instrument mastery is decidedly not steep. The slight twitch my dog, Diego, is now afflicted with, no doubt the result of the unnatural sounds piercing my son’s bedroom door, will testify to this. While the process is slow and sometimes painful, there is progress and as the group came together and played their pieces, it was actual music and it was great. Their focused and serious faces read their music as they played powerful works. Occasionally, a shrill missed note would find its way to my spinal cord, followed by an eye-raising wince from the assailant, but overall they sounded pretty good and I was proud.

As proud as I was of my son, my daughter, on the other hand, on several occasions, narrowly avoided a very public strangulation.

“Just sit still, PLEASE!” I loud-whispered and repeated as a mantra throughout the concert.

Now, I had no allusions that bringing a six year-old to a classical music show would be entirely trouble-free, but as the bouncing, talking, swinging, fiddling, fidgeting and kicking ramped up, I was considering very bad things.

Fortunately, as it sometimes will, fate intervened.

As my son’s performance wrapped up, the headline group, The Sirens, came out and began to play. They are a trio who play piano, flute and oboe. I don’t ever recall hearing an oboe before, certainly not like this. This woman played notes that I did not know existed. They touched me and gratefully must have touched my daughter as well. For three wonderful minutes, she sat on my lap and we listened to a song that we could feel. There is an emotion in the oboe that surprised me. The music swept over us and it was beautiful. I looked around the room and saw my son sitting next to his buddy several rows away from us, because if there is anything uncooler for a fifth-grader than a classical music concert, it is sitting with your dad and little sister at a classical music concert. I understood and was not hurt, too much. I enjoyed the true magic of the moment and was genuinely moved.

This was until my daughter woke up with a simultaneous flailing back head-butt to my face and swinging heel crotch-kick. The wonderful moment was over in an instant. It was just too good to last. As a stifled a yelp, I collected our things and knew it was time to go.

“Go get your brother.” I said as I made my way to the door and stepped out into the cool Des Moines rain.

I tipped my head to the sky and smiled and knew that the brief, pure moment was worth all of the hassle, struggle and even the crotch kick. The beauty of a single moment is worth all of it, every time.

The brand spankin’ new restaurant Barnacles At Des Moines will be holding its grand opening on Monday, March 1st, from 4pm – Midnight.

As we reported back in October, Barnacles is located in the building formerly occupied by Boston Pizza, at 22636 Marine View Dr. South.

Owner Steve Butler told The Waterland Blog that they’ve gotten the ‘green light from the city of Des Moines’ and they are set to open at 4PM on Monday March 1.

Owner/Operation Manager Sandy Butler calls the menu “American comfort food.”  Here’s the menu that was finalized just this week:

(ALL PASTA AND SANDWICH ENTREES COME WITH SOUP, SALAD, OR FRIES)

PASTA ENTREE…9.95 SANDWICH ENTREE..9.95
Smoked Salmon Fettuccine… Reuben..Patty Melt
Chicken Linguine.. French Dip..Monte Crisco Cristo
Mushroom Beef Rosoto… Burger… Grilled Cheese
Calamari & Noodles… Cheese Burger.. Garden Burger
Spinach Mushroom Fettuccine

FISH AND CHIPS AND SALAD…9.95
COB SALAD AND SOUP…9.95

(All Specials Of the day come with Soup, Salad, or Fries )

SPECIALS OF THE DAY…14.99
Scallops, Potato and Veggie…Flank Steak, Potato and Veggie…
Salmon, Potato and Veggie

SIDES…4.95 DRINKS…1.95
Fries..Cheese Nachos..Lg Salad… Coke.. Sprite..Root Beer
Insalata Caprese..Lg Soup… Diet Coke…Hot Tea
Shrimp Cocktail… Sweet Tea…Milk…Coffee

DESSERTS…4.95
Hot Fudge Sundae
Carrot Cake
Cheese Cake W/Cherries

Sandy and Steve’s kids, Austin, Jake and Fawn have a lifelong love of the restaurant business. The boys started in the business at 16, and now are turning what they’ve learned into a family business.

“They’ve bussed, dishwasher, waited, bartended…. just everything in the business to get where they are now,” said Sandy.

Austin’s even gone to culinary school to hone his skills, along with mom Sandy. Both graduated from South Seattle’s Culinary School. Daughter Fawn is just finishing Culinary school at Puget Sound Skills Center.

Steve was the contractor on the job who totally gutted the former Boston Pizza, and replaced the tired exterior with updated, modern kitchen, tile floors, dark wood, and a beautiful hand hewn bar made from a tree. It even has the some knots in it.

Steve and Sandy also decided that Barnacles Restaurant and Bar needed some outdoor dining, so they built a very nice covered patio –complete with outdoor heaters. They plan on serving food and drinks there on Monday.

Barnacles will be open from 4-midnight 7 days a week. Kids are welcome until 9 pm and then they’ll have some fun for those over 21:

• Open Mic Mondays (not the first Monday)
• Trivia Tuesday
• Western Wednesday
• Ladies Night Thursday (with ½ price drinks for the ladies)
• Live Music Fridays
• DJ’s Saturdays

Next Friday’s (Mar. 5th) live music is Rock ‘n Roll by Ricardo Valenzuela (who returns Friday, Mar. 19th) and the following Friday (Mar. 12th) customers can enjoy keyboardist/singer Cameron Rafati.

“We’re thrilled that this up and comer is coming to our little restaurant,” Sandy told WLB.

Barnacles’ mission is, in part, “to provide each customer with the finest service, food and drink experience.”

They are located at 22636 Marine View Drive South.

No reservations are required, but just in case, the phone number is 206-878-5000, and here’s a link to their Facebook page:

We hope to be conducting a full review of Barnacles at Des Moines, so stay tuned.

BTB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a “beautifully restored 1.5 story home, with 3-bedrooms and 1.5-bath home right in the heart of Burien” priced at an affordable $269,999.

This home features an Island kitchen with newer appliances, laminate wood flooring and lots of cupboard space.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Feb. 28th, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 119 SW 130th Street • Burien 98146

INFO:

• List Price: $269,999
• Listing#: 27215
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 1.5
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1961
• 1 Garage-Attached
• Approximate House SqFt: 2,060
• Lot Square Footage: 7,478

Interior Features:

• Dining Room
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw
• High Tech Cabling,
• Skylights

Site Features:

• Fenced-Fully
• Nat. Gas Available
• RV Parking

Marketing Remarks:

Beautifully restored 1.5 story home, in the heart of Burien. This home features an Island kitchen with newer appliances, laminate wood flooring and lots of cupboard space. The living room has large picture windows, wall to wall carpeting and a fireplace. Newly painted exterior, the roof is only about 5 years old and newer vinyl windows and water heater. Do not miss out on this turnkey home.

Directions:

• From 1st Avenue South turn West onto 130th
• Home is on the left.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing. Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

In the continuing saga of STITA vs the Port of Seattle, on Monday (Feb. 22nd), the Washington state Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the cab company by granting a temporary injunction against the Port of Seattle’s planned contract with Yellow Cab/Puget Sound Dispatch.

This means the Port cannot sign the planned contract “until further order of the Court” (click here to download/read the order as a PDF file), which could happen in April.

STITA’s request to expedite the appeal was granted by Commissioner Mary Neel. The Commissioner’s order states that this case will be heard by a three-judge panel “toward the end of the April 2010 term,” meaning that this ongoing SeaTac soap opera is far from over.

Members of STITA, who filed the original lawsuit against the Port of Seattle on Jan. 29, were obviously pleased with the decision.

“We are thrilled that the court stopped the Port from proceeding with an illegal contract,” said Jesse Buttar, a STITA member and spokesperson. “We’ve only ever asked for a fair process and a legal contract and now we hope the Port has finally listened and will re-do its flawed bidding process.”

Here’s more info from STITA’s press release, issued late Monday afternoon:

STITA, a non-profit co-op with one of the greenest cab fleet in the country, was created in 1989 by the Port of Seattle to exclusively serve the airport and provide reliable service to airport users. Now, after an unfair proposal process, STITA and its approximately 450 members and drivers will essentially be put out of business. They have the airport contract through August 2010.

STITA’s lawsuit claims that the Port’s bidding process violated state law by requiring bidders to commit to pay an unfair concession fee of at least 10 percent of their airport-based revenues to the Port. This revenue system violates the Airports Act, which says airport concession fees must be based upon the actual cost of operations and be reasonable and uniform. Previously, the Port had charged a per-trip fee to taxis based on the airport’s actual cost of services provided to the cabbies.

Additionally, the lawsuit contends that the Port’s new concession fees violate the King County Code and takes away from the King County Council’s authority to set “just and reasonable” taxi meter rates.

Despite protests from STITA to the Port about these glaring problems with the process and the proposed contract, the Port has so far declined to re-do its flawed contract bid.

A second lawsuit against the Port and Yellow Cab by Farwest Taxi was filed on Feb. 12.

Read our previous coverage of this ongoing legal battle here.

The Des Moines Yacht Club will be holding its Marine Swap Meet on Saturday, March 27th from 9am to 3pm, and there are still openings for folks who want to sell boating accessories.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines Yacht Club Marine Swap Meet

WHEN: Saturday, March 27th from 9am to 3pm

WHERE: Des Moines Yacht Club, located at 22737 Marine View Drive South • Des Moines, WA 98198 • (206) 878-7220

INFO: From a flier:

“Rent Indoor or Outdoor Space and offer your spare parts and boating accessories for sale. Have fun turning your useful but no longer needed boating stuff into cash.

Indoor space availability is limited – reserve your space early!

$35.00 for an indoor space and $15 for an outdoor spot.

Registration Deadline is Saturday, March 20, 2010. No refunds after March 20.

For more information on how to register, click here.

We will need lots of help from members. Please volunteer to help us!”

If you read The Waterland Blog regularly, you’re probably aware that, aside from providing a much-needed and timely service to the Des Moines 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, our websites’ content speaks for itself, and we’re finding that selling Ads is easy – we just need more feet on the ground!

Here’s some more info:

• We prefer to find local folks who live in the general 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 Waterland Blog, but our five other area sister sites as well, including:
  • The B-Town (Burien) Blog
  • The White Center Blog
  • The Normandy Park Blog
  • The Tukwila Blog
  • The SeaTac Blog

Requirements:

• Please have a computer and internet access (we’ll set you up with an email account).
• Please have a reliable car & valid driver’s license.
• For Sales Reps – 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!

As the owner of Shuttle Express, a provider of passenger service at Sea-Tac International Airport, I have been following the Port of Seattle’s recent decision to replace STITA (Sea-Tac International Taxi Association) with Yellow Cab. How could the Port make such a poor decision and why? Even though I compete with the taxis, I feel the need to speak up. When there is such an injustice to the traveling public, questions need to be asked.

Working at Sea-Tac for 35 years, I have firsthand knowledge of airport operations and STITA Taxi. Knowing STITA’s reputation, I thought they would surely be chosen for the new contract for the taxi concession. I was astonished to hear the Port’s decision. The structure of the RFP caused a bidding war, and the Port plans to award the contract to the highest bidder, Yellow Cab. How could they base their decision purely on money and not reputation and quality of service?

Shuttle Express and STITA operate within a few feet of each other so I know their operations and service level. STITA taxi owners maintain their vehicles and have invested in a green fleet, all while making a living wage. And, STITA provides good service, much better than any other taxi service in Seattle.

As a competitor, it would be to my advantage to say nothing and compete against a lesser provider. But I can’t watch this play out without saying something about the Port’s injustice to STITA, and more importantly to you, the traveling public. I have no issue with the Port opening the concession to competitive bid, but its selection based on who will pay the most money rather than service and safety is wrong.

Jim Sherrell is the Owner of Shuttle Express.

More money for the Port may sound good, but in reality the over-inflated fees that Yellow agreed to pay the Port are way off base. There is no way Yellow can use the minuscule taxi fees to fund reservations, dispatch, accounting, marketing, safe vehicles, insurance, advertising AND also pay the Port an exorbitant fee to use the taxi curb. What expenses will the Yellow taxi drivers have to cut to still be able to put bread on the table? Will you feel safe when you climb into that taxi knowing they cannot meet their financial obligations and still make a living?

So why would the Port prioritize getting more money above safety, service and other important factors? What seems obvious is the Port wants more money. Who is eventually going to pay the Port more money? Sure, first it will be the poor taxi drivers. Next, the taxi drivers will ask regulators to allow increased fees. In the end, YOU, the traveling public will be paying the difference with higher taxi fares.

Now ask yourself, is the Port operating in the interest of the traveling public, or is it merely trying to squeeze more money from taxi drivers and you, the passengers?

Will the publicly elected Port of Seattle Commissioners recognize this flawed RFP bid for what it is and correct this radical mistake? My experience during the last thirty-plus years tells me that when the Port Commissioners know the facts and hear from their voters, they will make the correct decision to award the RFP fairly, based on service and safety for the traveling public rather than strictly money from fees.

It’s up to you, the traveling public, to let the Commissioners know your feelings on the issue to have it corrected: www.portseattle.org.

- Jim Sherrell
Owner, Shuttle Express

(Jim Sherrell is the owner of Shuttle Express, serving the Seattle region since 1979)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Have something you'd like to say? Then email us your "Letter to the Editor" by clicking here. Be sure to include your real name and a way to contact you, and, pending our review, we'll most likely post it. Otherwise, feel free to leave a Comment below...]

BTB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a “Wonderful Rambler looking for new owners” priced at an affordable $274,950.

This is a 3-bedroom, 1-bath home built in 1954 with some recent renovations. It is located in the Gregory Heights neighborhood of Burien.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Feb. 22nd, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 16012 10th Ave SW • Burien • 98166

INFO:

• List Price: $274,950
• Listing#: 23869
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 1
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1954
• 1 Garage-Attached
• Approximate House SqFt: 1,080
• Lot Square Footage: 7,620

Interior Features:

• Ceiling Fan(s)

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Fenced-Partially
• Nat. Gas Available
• Outbuildings

Marketing Remarks:

Wonderful rambler looking for new owners.

Kitchen features custom cabinets, new granite countertops & deep stainless sink.

Remodeled ceramic bath, wood burning fireplace, hardwood floors & wood wrapped windows.

1-car garage with tons of extra storage, private yard & Cascade Mtn view.

One Year Home Warranty.

You won’t be disappointed, call me or your Realtor before it’s gone.

Directions:

• From First Ave South, go west on SW 160th, then South on 10th Ave SW.
• Home is on the left(east) side of street.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

The Des Moines Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the man who was photographed by security cameras (see pics below) during a local bank robbery on Saturday, Feb. 13th.

The bank robbery took place around 4pm last Saturday at the Wells Fargo Bank inside the Safeway store at the Redondo Square shopping complex, located at South 272nd and Pacific Highway South.

According to police, the suspect told the bank teller he had a gun and demanded money.

No weapon was seen and no one was injured during the robbery.

The suspect was last seen leaving the area on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect is described as:

• Black male with a very light skin complexion
• About 6′2″ tall
• Thin build
• In his 20s
• Dark colored “beanie hat”
• Dark (or black) hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants
• Silver-rimmed sunglasses

Here are two security cam pics – recognize this guy? Anyone with information about this case should call the Des Moines Police immediately at 206-878-3301 or dial 911:

On Wednesday (Feb. 27th), STITA and Farwest taxi companies sent letters to Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag and Attorney General Rob McKenna, urging an investigation into the Port of Seattle.

This follows a recent, fast-paced rash of two lawsuits filed against the Port for its alleged mishandling of switching cab vendors over from STITA to Yellow Cab (read our previous coverage here).

The letter to the State Auditor asks him to investigate the Port’s handing of the entire on-demand taxicab RFP (Request For Proposal) process, which resulted in the two recent lawsuits.

The letter to Attorney General McKenna requests not only for an investigation of the Port, but also of lobbyist Chris Van Dyk, who is accused of collusion in the RFP process.

“It’s time for the auditor and the attorney general to step in,” said STITA spokesperson Jesse Buttar in a statement. “We hope they will take a careful look at the allegations against the Port.”

We got in touch with Perry Cooper, Media Officer for the Port, who said:

“Understand we have just received this and will review our records again…but we are still emphasizing that we are confident the RFP and bidding process was fair, open and transparent.

We have reviewed our approach continually throughout a thoughtful and thorough RFP and bidding process.

We are aware of no facts that would support allegations of collusion.

At no time during the process did anyone file an official complaint.

We were not aware of these allegations until the suit was filed.”

Both letters are enclosed below, and are available also for download here (both as PDF files):

• Letter to State Auditor Sonntag (PDF File)
• Letter to Attorney General McKenna (PDF File)

by Ralph Nichols

Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler recently presented to the City Council gifts that were given him during a trip to China late last fall.

But the mayor brought home a lot more than just gifts and a slide show of his travels in this ancient, now-booming country.

A multimillion-dollar development along Pacific Highway South backed by Chinese investors – agreed to during Sheckler’s highly productive trip – is now in the planning and permitting stage.

Ground breaking and the start of construction are expected to take place this summer if preliminary activity continues at its current pace.

The development, which will feature a hotel and restaurant and possibly retail space, will be located at the old state vehicle emissions testing site on the east side of Pac Highway not far north of Kent-Des Moines Road.

While in China, Sheckler also laid the foundation for an exchange program between Chinese community college students and students at Highline Community College.

And now there is the promise of even more. He reported at the Feb. 11 City Council meeting that representatives of business investors in China and Russia, with billions of dollars to invest, “are very interested in Des Moines.”

“The word’s out” about Des Moines – and the marina. “The word’s definitely out there,” Sheckler said. “They’re saying, ‘Where have you been?’ People are discovering that this (waterfront city) is a jewel. It’s very exciting.”

Sheckler began planning his China trip (Nov. 13-22) two years ago, not long after the prospect of developing a sister-city relationship with Changle, a coastal city in the Suzhou province of South China, was first discussed.

After corresponding with Changle Mayor Lin Wengang, Lin invited Sheckler to meet with him there. Sheckler was accompanied by Des Moines investor Matt Chan, who plans to build the Watercrossing development on the southeast side of the Pac Highway-South 216th St. intersection.

“I was there to visit him” and discuss a sister-city relationship, Sheckler noted. But he also went to China with plans to pursue an exchange-student arrangement and “to develop interest in investment in Des Moines.”

Even before he was “warmly received” by Lin and Deputy Mayor Lin Jian Xiu – to whom he presented gifts paid for by himself, as well as accepted their gifts – Sheckler had met with Zedong Ye, a property developer, and Mr. Zhang, an industrialist. Both had visited Des Moines and Tacoma last summer and liked the Waterland city.

Ye and Zhang had been told in advance that Sheckler and the Des Moines City Council are “very progressive in economic development” and wanted to meet with him.

In their culture, the initial meeting often determines whether a deal will be agreed to, and their cordial relationship at this dinner resulted in a green light for the Des Moines project. An advance team already in Des Moines was told to begin the pre-application process with the city, and the hotel project has been moving forward since then.

“I went over there to meet the mayor of Changle and to meet with others to get development going.” Mission accomplished.

Establishing a sister city relationship, according to custom, will take time, but the process has now begun. Discussions are in progress for an exchange student program in Des Moines. And ground breaking for the hotel is just a few months away.

That’s a pretty big long-term payoff for the city – which paid none of Sheckler’s expenses. He covered his round trip to Beijing and his hosts covered some of his expenses in China.

“But the key thing is the city didn’t have to pay for it. What I did on my own time and my own dime is my own business,” Shecker said, recalling that “certain naysayers” in the community criticized the cash-strapped city during the budget-setting process last fall for allegedly paying for his China trip.

He added, “The fact is, the city is the beneficiary, but the trip didn’t cost them a penny.”

The Port of Seattle is apparently being sued by a second taxi company – this time by Rainier Dispatch (aka Farwest Taxi) for ignoring collusion.

This is the latest twist in an ongoing legal war against the embattled Port of Seattle, and Rainier/Farwest is now the second taxi company to claim the Port’s process for selecting a new on-demand airport taxi contract is illegal (as we’ve covered previously, the first was STITA).

According to a press release we received Tuesday, Feb. 16th:

Farwest Taxi filed a lawsuit last Friday (Feb. 12th) in King County Superior Court against the Port of Seattle and Yellow Cab, its former partner in a joint bid for the airport contract. The lawsuit claims the Port’s proposal process was illegal. The lawsuit says lobbyist Chris Van Dyk drafted the bid for Yellow Cab, the winning bidder for the on-demand airport contract. Then he turned around and used that insider information to draft a less competitive proposal by the No. 2 bidder, a joint venture between Yellow, Farwest and Orange Cab.

“The Port of Seattle and Yellow Cab should be ashamed of this whole process,” said Gurcharan Dhaliwal, president of Rainier Dispatch. “Yellow Cab and Chris Van Dyk took our bid information and used it to make sure they came out on top, and the Port looked the other way.”

According to the lawsuit, Van Dyk knew trade secrets of the two other bidders in the joint venture, and used that proprietary intellectual property to ensure Yellow Cab submitted the top bid. In addition, in its legal filing, Farwest says it explicitly told Yellow representatives that it did not want anyone who drafted the joint venture proposal to also draft a proposal for any of the three individual members. They said they were assured that would be the case.

The Port’s own RFP states: “One or all responses will be rejected if there is reason for believing that collusion exists among Proposers, and no participant in such collusion will be considered in future proposals for concessions at the Airport.” [RFP, 13.4.1, p. 6]

This latest lawsuit follows on the heels of a well-publicized lawsuit filed by the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA) on Jan. 29. STITA, which has the exclusive taxicab contract at Sea-Tac Airport through August 2010.

Like STITA’s lawsuit, Farwest Taxi’s lawsuit requests a court order barring the Port of Seattle from officially signing a contract with Yellow Cab. It also seeks an order disqualifying Yellow Cab from future re-bids of the airport contract.

STITA members were encouraged that another taxi company – even one of their competitors – saw the same foul play and are now suing the Port and Yellow Cab.

“Here is yet another reason for the Port to hold off on signing the illegal contract with Yellow Cab,” said Jesse Buttar, a spokesperson for STITA. “We hope the Port takes the opportunity to go back and review this whole process. This illegal process directly affects the 450 families who make up STITA. We just want a fair shot at the airport contract.”

A copy of this lawsuit can be downloaded here (as a PDF file).

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article was written by Des Moines resident Dave Markwell, who says "Days like this exist everyday in our great little Waterland town. Enjoy where we live. Put your feet on the pavement and truly feel how great it is to live here!"]

Story by Dave Markwell
Photos by Michael Brunk

The day belongs to the dogs. They claimed it early and aren’t letting go. The tic-tac reveille call of toenails on hardwood signal that their day has begun and kills any hope I have of finding my way back into that great dream I was having.

I get up.

This morning I succumb to my better nature and let the dogs out. Some mornings I don’t. I can fake sleep with the best of them and when the dogs come calling I have achieved some truly masterful performances. The problem I have in my house is that my wife is an equally accomplished sleep-feigner. This morning she breathes deeply and slowly and moves her eyeballs slightly inside their lids as if in R.E.M. I am unconvinced, but get up anyway. As I glance back at her from the door, I catch the bare hint of a smile and know I have been duped.

She wins this battle.

In the kitchen, I stand in my underwear and put coffee in the machine as Diego, our lab/dachshund mix dances around gleeful in his success at my awakening. He knows he’s going for a walk. The lab/dachshund mix is something I have considered and have no good answers to except that some serious motivation or lack thereof must have been present for such an act to occur. I walk back into the bedroom to get dressed and make a little too much noise opening drawers, ensuring that my wife is definitely not asleep.

I saddle up Diego with his leash and try to control his enthusiasm as he jumps and bucks and twirls like a bronc in his enthusiasm. We head out the door. My town is asleep. Marine View Drive is empty and shops are closed. One restaurant is open, Jacks. Every town has its Jacks. It is where the old-timers gather to discuss important things, like fishing and more fishing. As Diego and I walk by, one smell hits me hard, bacon. Bacon is one item that can inspire me to dance like Diego getting ready for his walk. This morning the sweet, smoky goodness drifts in the air like God’s own aftershave. “I WILL be having bacon today.” I think to myself and repeat as a mantra for several blocks.

As I stroll through the marina, I greet my buddy Jimmy, a Marina worker, as he begins his workday. I look at the boats and fantasize about warm summer days sitting in guest moorage drinking a beer after cleaning my imaginary twenty-five pounder. This fantasy carries me around Anthony’s and by South Marina Park, where I begin a new daydream. This dark, chilly winter morning, I desperately long for a quiet summer Saturday morning browsing through the Farmer’s Market with my family before getting some morning ice cream at Auntie Irene’s.

As reality sets back in, I see a light on. It is coming from my local attorney friend, Brian’s, office. It appears that he has either been disrupted this morning as well or is behind on some work, or possibly getting ahead on some work, a foreign concept to me. I wave to him, but get no response. He looks pretty intense and engaged in his project. Sensing an opportunity, I walk through the planter bed and bang on his window. I have never actually witnessed an electrocution. But Brian’s reaction is what I imagine one looks like. His head jerks up, eyes wide, his hands instinctively grip the arms of his chair and he shakes violently for a couple of the longest and best seconds of my year. I wave, as does Brian, him only using one finger. Diego and I carry on, the day having improved dramatically.

A couple of blocks from home, square in the center of town, right in front of the barbershop, Diego’s back starts to arch and I get nervous as I know what’s coming. I look desperately around for a patch of grass for him to make his deposit. Seeing none, I just let him go. Sometimes I can drag him to a better spot than the middle of the sidewalk, but this morning we are in no man’s land. He hunkers down and lays a prodigious trophy. I say trophy because if it were a fish it would be hanging on the wall in the den of some great man’s home. Diego is not a small dog, but this seems a bit out of proportion to me. Sometimes I hate my dog.

My own enjoyment of the morning after the Brian episode somewhat diminished after Diego’s episode, I make a beeline for home. As I walk up the driveway, I sense that perhaps karma has smiled on me. Nearing the front door, I try to control my excitement so as to not be disappointed. Alas, as I enter my home, my dream has come true and as I walk to the kitchen my wife stands at the stove cooking bacon. I feel blessed and have forgiven any previous resentment and look forward again to the remarkable potential of the day.

[Do you have an opinion about life in Des Moines? Would you mind sharing it with our nearly 7,000 per month Unique Readers? You can either send it as a Letter to the Editor or a Guest Column – email us here, and thanks for Reading!]

WLB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a one-of-a-kind, classic and chic Seahurst sound view home priced at $449,000.

Here are the details

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Feb. 14th, from 1pm to 4pm

WHERE: 15434 22nd Ave SW • Burien • 98166

INFO:

• List Price: $449,000
• Listing#: 10823
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 1.50
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1926
• Approximate House SqFt: 1,720
• Lot Square Footage: 7,847

Interior Features:

• Bath Off Master
• Dining Room
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw
• French Doors
• Skylights
• Vaulted Ceilings

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Deck
• Fenced-Partially
• Outbuildings
• Sprinkler Syste

Marketing Remarks:

Classy, Chic & Charming, this one-of-a-kind sound view home is located on a quiet street in the desirable Seahurst neighborhood.

This home features an absolutely stunning remodeled master bedroom/bath suite that looks out on an exquisite sound and mountain view from its huge sunfilled windows.

The newly remodeled entertainment deck is fabulous for those sunny day barbecues or relaxing with your morning coffee.

This home has amazing street appeal.

Directions: From 1st Avenue South, head West on SW 152nd, then South on 22nd Ave. SW. Home is on the left.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses