The City of Des Moines Transportation Department wants our Readers to be aware that there will be a traffic disruption on Tuesday (July 13) at Kent/Des Moines Road and 24th/25th South.

A traffic signal controller and cabinet will be replaced, beginning at 9am, and it’s projected that it will take several hours to complete the work.

Here’s the official verbiage from the cityfolk:

Traffic Disruption 7/13 KDMR @ 24/25th I/S
Des Moines Transportation Department
Release Date and Time: 07-12-2010 07:16:00 PM

The traffic signal controller and cabinet are being replaced tomorrow Tuesday July 13th at the intersection of Kent Des Moines Road and 24th/25th Ave S. The existing signal cabinet and controller equipment is over 25 years old and in need of replacement.

The change out process will begin at 9:00 AM, and will take several hours to complete. During some of this time the intersection will be dark, with no traffic signal indications, and traffic will be controlled through the intersection with flaggers and at times a police officer. Motorist’s should expect significant delays and alternate routes are recommended.

Once the new controller and cabinet have been reinstalled, signal maintenance crews will be spending time fine tuning the intersection control equipment. Our hope is to have the change-out completed before the afternoon commute.

R. Brandon Carver, P.E., P.T.O.E.
Associate Transportation Engineer
City of Des Moines
(206)870-6543

The mailman delivered our latest gizmo gadget (a state of the art Ultra Flip HD Camera) a few weeks back and we thought “what the flip should we do with this ding-dang newfangled thingamabob?”

Out of the red, white and blue, it occurred to us that our third President, one Thomas Jefferson, who loved new gadgets and devices and inventions and discoveries, would have gotten a kick out of this powerful little digital camera, the size of a deck of cards, not much smaller than a hand-held booklet-sized copy of what is known as the Declaration of Independence.

It was 234 years ago right now, that our Founders were “cutting and pasting” their final draft of what became known as that treasured and precious document, the Declaration of Independence, whose primary author was the then 33 year-old future President Jefferson.

So someone said:

“Let’s take our camera around Des Moines and Burien (and Normandy Park and White Center) and ask our fellow neighbors and friends and passersby to read aloud the Declaration into our new little camera, piece the quotes together into one colorful video, and release it to the nation and world on our various neighborhood news blogs.”

And so we did – well actually Mark Neuman did, then Scott Schaefer edited it – see if you can find yourself, or a friend or two:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grzhgTJx_7g[/youtube]

(…at the end of the video, look for some amusing outtakes as well as terrific “Happy Birthday USA!” salutations)

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FROM THE WATERLAND BLOG!

This weekend, local amateur radio operators (“hams”) from the Highline (Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Tukwila, as well as the North Highline unincorporated area) Amateur Radio Club will be participating in ham radio’s annual national emergency exercise called Field Day, to simulate a disaster, and especially the loss of normal communications in a disaster.

Members of the Highline Amateur Radio Club will be setting up a radio communications center at Marvista Park (located at SW 200th and 4th Ave. SW in Normandy Park) to communicate with other hams participating from around the world. Antennas will be set up starting Friday and the exercise begins at 11 a. m. Saturday, June 26, and lasts 24 hours until 11 a. m. Sunday. Club members will be making contacts with the other hams utilizing both voice and Morse Code.

Hams have a long history of providing back-up communications for local governments as well as other non-governmental agencies needing communications in a disaster. Hams provide these services, volunteering their time and, often, using their own personal equipment. As more and more professional emergency management personnel (fire fighters, police, EMTs, emergency managers, etc.) are getting Amateur Radio licenses to be able to use this valuable radio resource, the FCC is contemplating changes to the rules to allow these professionals to work with the volunteers (since, normally, hams are not permitted to have any pecuniary interest in the communications that they make (e. g. wages.).

The Highline Amateur Radio Club extends an invitation to anyone interested in observing the exercise to visit Marvista Park on Saturday afternoon, evening or Sunday morning.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The silly "Ham Radio" graphic is our creation, and does not reflect the mindset of these radio operators, who probably wouldn't stoop to such a ridiculous logo like that...]

An electronics recycling event for area residents will be held the weekend of June 18-20th at the South Center South industrial park off West Valley Hwy at 18435 Olympic Ave South in Tukwila.

Like last year, the event allows residences the opportunity to recycle the following:

• All TVs
• PCs
• Monitors
• Laptops

For FREE.

For more information, visit the website at www.ecycleevents.com or call 1-888-880-1254

Here are the details:

WHAT: Electronics Recycling Event for area residents.

WHEN: Friday June 18 through Sunday June 20th:

• Friday the 18th: 9 am – 3 pm
• Saturday the 19th: 9 am – 4 pm
• Sunday the 20th: 9 am – 3 pm

WHERE: American Electronics Recycling Corp, located at 18435 Olympic Ave South Ste B-100 in Tukwila.

INFO: From their website:

American Electronics Recycling will be holding an electronics recycling event for King and Pierce county residences.

This event will be held in the South Center South Industrial park off West Valley Hwy in Tukwila.

Residents are welcome to recycle all TVs, PCs, Laptops, and Monitors for free. A variety of other electronic items will be accepted, but a small disposal fee may be charged.

A full list of the items can be viewed on our website: www.ecycleevents.com

All of our recycling efforts meet the Washington State Department of Ecology standards.

We want to thank our local communities in advance for helping to keep Washington green.

WHY WE RECYCLE:
Every year more than 50 monitors and pcs are estimated to be discarded. A typical CRT can contain 3 lbs of lead. PCs and Macs can contain environmental toxins as well. Many laptops have a small fluorescent lamp in the screen that contains mercury, a toxic material when inhaled or digested.

*computers leaving your home or business may still contain personal, sensitive information. American Electronics Recycling will ensure that your hard drive is handled and destroyed properly

South King Fire & Rescue alerts us to the fact that a smoke alarm may have saved a Federal Way resident from a fire that broke out around 4am Saturday (May 29) at 32344 10th Ave South.

According to an email:

Smoke is often times more deadly than fire itself. This would have been the case in an early morning fire in Federal Way had it not of been for working smoke alarms. Just before 4:00 am (Sat. May 29), firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm at 32344 10th Ave South.

Earlier in the evening, the occupant put some food on the stove and then went to bed. The food caught fire and burned down to ashes inside the pan. The smoke filled the house and set off the smoke alarms. This awakened the occupant who removed the pan and met firefighters as they arrived on scene. Firefighters placed fans inside the house to remove the smoke and then tested the air quality to make sure it was safe for the occupant to stay at his house.

Cooking fires are the number one cause of fires in not just Federal Way, but across the country. South King Fire & Rescue wants to remind people of two things this holiday weekend – please don’t leave food cooking on the stove unattended and also please make sure your smoke alarms are working by testing them and keeping batteries inside them – they can’t do their job without them!

On Monday (May 24), the King County Council unanimously adopted fall transit service upgrades, including “Rapid Ride,” a new bus rapid transit service in an area from Tukwila to Federal Way, including Des Moines.

The implementation of “Rapid Ride” is one of the 2010-2011 service improvements approved by the Council.

“Establishing the first Rapid Ride line from SeaTac to Des Moines and Federal Way will give South King County riders quick, frequent, all-day bus service connecting with light rail at the airport,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Enhanced transit service helps to take cars off the road and lets people get where they need to go quickly and reliably.”

Rapid Ride is part of the “Transit Now” initiative adopted by voters in 2006. The “A Line” is the first of six Rapid Ride routes to be launched over the next three years. Arriving every 10 minutes during the busiest morning and evening travel hours, the specially-designed buses will have low floors and three doors, so people can get on and off quickly. A new fare payment system will allow riders with passes to pay as they enter any door.

The new route will replace Metro’s Route 174 operating along Pacific Highway S/International Boulevard between the Federal Way Transit Center and Sound Transit’s light rail station in Tukwila.

Starting Oct. 2, A Line buses will run every 10 to 15 minutes most of the day and their three-door design will allow riders to get on and off more quickly.  The new buses will be easy to recognize because of their red and yellow color scheme and sleek European design.  The new articulated coaches will also be low-emission hybrid-powered, similar to the many other environmentally-friendly buses in Metro’s fleet.

The new Rapid Ride A Line is a more frequent, streamlined bus service along Pacific Highway South connecting Federal Way, Des Moines, Kent, SeaTac, and Tukwila.

Come October, customers will discover there’s more to RapidRide than coach design and frequent service. New stations and shelters will reflect the new RapidRide brand and some stations will have ORCA fare card readers to speed boarding. Stations will also have electronic signs displaying the actual number of minutes before the next bus will arrive.

“Rapid Ride will allow riders to throw away their bus schedules for fast, frequent service on key corridors, and increased bus service on SR 520 will offer commuters alternatives to congestion and tolls,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee. “Bus riders will see these improvements to their service in the coming months thanks to voters’ approval of Transit Now and partnerships with the federal government and local communities. However, Metro’s budget shortfall continues to threaten the viability of our transit system, so we must remain focused on finding a long term solution.”

“These are exciting improvements,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “Today’s legislation provides significant increases in bus service to the eastside suburbs.  Bellevue and Kirkland commuters will now have more opportunities to avoid the 520 gridlock.”

“Rapid Ride is a solid transit investment that will serve some of the most densely populated, high ridership areas in our county, like the 15 mile stretch of roadway between Tukwila and Federal Way that will be connected by Line A this fall,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, whose Council District includes part of the Rapid Ride corridor. “With Rapid Ride coming soon, we mark a time when we’ll be able to move more people more quickly than ever before, all while getting them out of their cars.”

Additionally, the adopted legislation implements a federal Urban Partnership Agreement on SR 520, making the region eligible for more than $100 million of grant funds to address congestion in the SR 520 corridor. As part of the partnership agreement, King County will add 28,000 hours of bus service to existing routes 255, 265, 271, and 311. The transit service improvements will add 38 peak period transit trips to help reduce congestion and improve mobility along this important corridor. Sound Transit will increase regional express bus service on SR 520.

Under the Urban Partnership Agreement-related service, in October 2010 and February 2011, there will be increased service between downtown Seattle and Kirkland’s Totem Lake Transit Center (Route 255), the Houghton Park and Ride (Route 265), and Woodinville (Route 311). There will also be more service from Eastgate and downtown Bellevue to the University District on the Route 271.

This legislation also initiates a number of bus service improvements jointly funded by King County and the cities of Kent and Auburn as well as an expansion of service in Issaquah where the county is partnering with the city, the Port Blakely Communities, Timber Ridge at Talus and the Talus Residential Association. Through Transit Now service partnerships King County has been able to leverage its investments with contributions from other public or private entities to continue expansion of the Metro system even with the current budget constraints.

Cleanup from last week’s diesel fuel spill at Dash Point State Park wrapped up Friday, and the day-use area – closed since April 30 – will re-open on Saturday, May 8th.

Fuel spilled in the early evening of April 29 from a 300-gallon tank owned by a contractor performing work for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) on a the F.B. Hoit Bridge along State Route 509 through the park.

Crews removed 250 tons of potentially impacted soil, asphalt, curbs and rip rap, and replaced them with clean materials.  To access contaminated areas, a cleanup contractor cut through and repaired small areas of a parking lot and road.

The cleanup also involved the removal of trees and other vegetation along Thames Creek, which flows through the park. New native plants will be planted along the restored stream bank next week. Erosion-control mats and fences remain in place in the meantime.

Dash Point State Park is a day-use and camping park on Puget Sound. The day-use portion of the park was closed to the public during the cleanup.  Regular park hours – 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. – will resume tomorrow, May 8.

The Washington Department of Ecology supervised the cleanup.  The WSDOT contractor hired an environmental cleanup firm.  WSDOT provided additional technical support for the cleanup.

“Everyone involved cooperated in full, and we achieved a successful and prompt cleanup,” said Shannon Dickson of Ecology’s spills program, who oversaw the response effort.

Most of the spilled diesel fuel soaked into the soil, but some entered the creek and flowed into Puget Sound, creating sheen – a thin coat of fuel floating on the water – that at one point covered a half-mile by half-mile area offshore.  That sheen dissipated by late morning on April 30.

Crews placed diesel-absorbent materials along the creek and adjacent beaches and tidal areas and removed leaves, twigs and other natural debris contaminated by the fuel.  By mid-week the creek and beaches showed no remaining signs of the spill.  There were no reports of harm to fish or wildlife.

Ecology has launched an investigation to determine what caused the incident and how to better prevent similar spills in the future.

Prevention, preparedness and response to fuel and other oil spills are parts of Ecology’s commitment to protect against toxic threats to people and the environment and to meet the state’s goal of protecting and restoring Puget Sound by 2020.

by Ralph Nichols

While a cargo container ship steams south from Seattle to Valpariso, Chile – carrying donated winter clothing for victims of February’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake – Patricio Mendoza is organizing one more fundraiser to benefit them.

Dance for Chile (Ven a Bailar por Chile) will be held this Thursday, April 22, at the Havana Sodo Salsa Club, 2942 1st Ave., Seattle, from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. There will be a $10 cover charge, with all money from the cover going to Chile relief.

Then Mendoza, the owner of EC Computer, located at 22311 Marine View Dr. in Des Moines, will fly to Chile on April 29 – his airfare donated by Public Access Channel 77 – to meet the shipment when it arrives at Valpariso.

Once there, he will buy kerosene heaters and deliver them along with the clothing, packed in 150 large boxes, to Talcahuano, a port city farther south in the “Zero Zone” where the greatest earthquake damage was done.

The container and its shipping cost were donated by Seattle-based Westward Seafoods.

Mendoza hopes local fundraising efforts – including Thursday’s dance – will bring in enough to pay for a total of 100 heaters, which cost $92 each plus tax. The dual-purpose heaters can also be used for cooking.

With monetary donations already received, he has bought 45 heaters – and paid for another 15 himself. Mendoza said he believes his personal contribution is “giving back to God.”

The heaters, which “will help them through the winter so it will not be so bad,” are being purchased in Chile to eliminate shipping costs. “We do need more financial help,” he added. “Everything, even five dollars or ten dollars, helps.”

Mendoza expressed his thanks “so much for the support this town has given to Chile. We know it’s not enough. There is so much to do. But it’s something that will make a difference.”

Except for the Waterland and B-Town Blogs, his fundraising efforts have been promoted largely word-of-mouth, with support from Latino radio stations AM 1540 and AM 1210.

After he arrives in Chile, Mendoza will get to talk with his father Humbetor for the first time since the earthquake.

Mendoza is the only individual or organization in this area to have permission from the Chilean consulate in San Francisco to ask for money and donations for earthquake relief.

by Ralph Nichols

Will a major upgrade of the water delivery system in downtown Des Moines attract new commercial development there?

“We do know if we don’t build it, they will not come,” Mayor Bob Sheckler opined during a joint meeting of the city council and Water District 54 commissioners on April 14. And “once it occurs, development can contribute to the cost” of the project.

Yet, said Mayor Pro Tem Dave Kaplan, even if no new commercial development did come about, “this [is] an investment in our city … the same as paving streets or fixing the auditorium. It’s an obligation … I think it has to be built.”

The potential impact on development was one of three key questions raised about a proposed project to make long-needed improvements in water capacity downtown – especially for fire suppression.

“Even if it would not bring another business to town, in terms of water flow and fire protection it is needed,” Kaplan said on that point. “And I do think it will bring in new business.”

"It’s an obligation…I think it has to be built." - Councilmember Dave Kaplan.

The other two questions were how to pay for it, and whether the work along Marine View Drive should be done over one construction season or two. Funding for the estimated $1.8 million project would come from $486,000 in federal earmark funds, water district capital funds, and financing through the city.

At the end of the meeting, city and water district staff were asked to start drafting an interlocal agreement for the downtown water service project, which would be managed jointly by both jurisdictions.

“If we want to do all of it at once, that would mean borrowing would be involved,” observed Councilman Scott Thomassen. “If we were bold enough to borrow,” he asked, then how much money would be borrowed and where would it come from?

Thomassen suggested borrowing just enough to fund about half of the project this year, then borrowing the rest to complete the work later on, so the city could avoid putting its bare-bones budget at risk if anticipated revenue isn’t adequate to cover the annual debt service.

Adequate funding is already available to fund installation of a new 12-inch water main along Marine View Dr. from S. 219th St. to S. 223rd St., or from S. 223rd St. to S. 227th St., but not for the full eight-block stretch this year, Loren Reinhold with the city’s Planning, Building and Public Works Department told council members and the commissioners.

When fully constructed, the proposed water system would provide a north-south link to both feeder mains on Marine View Drive, and would include new 12-inch side street main segments at S. 220th, S. 222nd, S. 225th and S. 227th.

It would support the required 3,500 gallons per minute for three hours to the entire downtown area for fire suppression.

Sheckler disagreed with the idea of doing only part of the work this year. “We need to do this project one time and one time only, and not incrementally over a number of years,” he suggested.

“I kind of like getting in and doing it all at one time..." - Councilmember Melissa Musser.

Councilwoman Melissa Musser concurred. “I kind of like getting in and doing it all at one time and not disrupting downtown businesses anymore,” she said.

Water District 54 Commissioner John Rayback indicated that if money has to be borrowed, the city will have to do it. “We’re reluctant to go into debt and look to our customers to bail us out,” he said, noting the small district already is repaying four loans for capital projects.

That leaves borrowing about $750,000 in additional funds up to the city if the project is to be completed in one construction season and, noted City Manager Tony Piasecki, “finding the revenue to pay for debt service will be challenging.”

However, Piasecki offered several revenue options, including a capital service charge for new hookups, latecomer fees for developers and landowners not already in place, and one-time sales, business and real estate excise taxes associated with new construction.

Kaplan cautioned against committing one-time revenues to ongoing expenses.

The possibility was also raised of a downtown Utility Local Improvement District to help finance the project, which would be done through the water district.

While there isn’t enough time to get a ULID approved and in place to finance the water system upgrades this year, Thomassen said he can’t imagine the project beginning before 2011. There isn’t time to plan and design it, get bids, and then obtain funding in time to start work yet this construction season, he predicted.

Des Moines’ Aviation High School’s Skunkworks 1983 Robotics Team won the Chairman’s Award Saturday (March 27) at the 2010 Microsoft Seattle Regional competition held as part of the FIRST competition at Seattle’s Key Arena.

FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” and is an organization that was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989. Its purpose is to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields. The organization is the foundation for the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST LEGO League, and FIRST Tech Challenge competition.

Here’s the announcement from the group’s website:

FIRST Team 1983 – AHS Skunkworks Robotics received the Chairman’s Award at the 2010 Microsoft Seattle Regional. This is the highest award presented at a regional. The Skunks thank the many people who believed in us and helped make this and all we do happen.

Our robot, Pelè Le Pew, performed well. Team 3049, Team Knights, chose teams 1983 and 2660 to be part of their championship alliance. After four matches, our alliance was eliminated in the quarter finals.

The Microsoft Seattle Regional was held March 25 through March 27, 2010 at the Key Arena in Seattle. Sixty-four teams from three countries competed.

Here’s info on the Skunkworks 1983 program from the school’s website:

The Aviation High School robotics team is registered as Team 1983 Skunkworks with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). To learn more about our team’s connection with FIRST and the impact it has on the team and its members, go to our About FIRST page. Team 1983 is affiliated with Aviation High School (AHS). AHS provides the facilities, coach and some of the mentors. The PTSA at AHS has been an avid sponsor of our robotics team. To learn more about Aviation High School and AHS PTSA, how they support robotics and what we do for them, go to our Aviation High page. While robotics is our theme and passion, Team 1983 recognizes that FIRST calls upon them to do more than just build robots. Skunkworks can and should have an impact on students, school, the surrounding community and even other FIRST teams.

Here’s a video on the competition from KOMO-TV:

Also, our news partners at The Seattle Times have a story on it as well – click here to read it.