.com
YOU’LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR
| 50¢
SHINING STUDENT | Beamer senior earns honor from Federal Way Rotary [2]
VOL. 13, NO. 398
MIRROR
F E D E R A L WAY
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | Roegner: City council faces post-election power shift [4] Firearms Lawyer: Help students see Washington, D.C. [4] CRIME BLOTTER | Victim pursues suspect; woman reports rape by a woman [3] BUSINESS BUZZ | Veteran tattoo masters hope to enrich Federal Way’s art scene [9]
SPORTS | Beamer and Jefferson WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011 gymnastics teams are loaded [12-13]
CALENDAR | Upcoming events include holiday concerts by FW Symphony [8]
Revealing stats on Federal Way
Holiday tree lighting event returns
How will grant money serve residents? than King County’s average t .FEJBO GBNJMZ JODPNF is $67,120, which is 22 The city is establishing percent lower than the King goals and priorities for County average grant money that helps t QFSDFOU PG IPVTF support low- to moderateholds in Federal Way had income households as well incomes less than $35,000 as economic revitalization. annually The Federal Way t QFSDFOU PG City Council recently Federal Way workers approved the 2012commute out of the NEWS 16 Consolidated city for their job Plan for use of t DMJFOUT XFSF federal Community served by CDBG Development Block public services in 2011 Grant (CDBG) funding. t QFSDFOU PG IPVTF The consolidated plan holds moved into their is a document of roughly housing unit in 2005 or 90 pages. It contains an later extensive amount of data t QFSDFOU PG 'FEFSBM regarding the city, most col- Way’s population age five lected from the 2010 census and older spoke a language and other studies. other than English in the Among the revealing home statistics from the plan: t QFSDFOU PG 'FEFSBM t "MNPTU UXP UIJSET PG Way households are “famhouseholds in Federal Way ily� households, compared moved into their house in UP QFSDFOU JO ,JOH the past 10 years County t QFSDFOU PG 'FEFSBM t QFSDFOU PG IPVTF Way’s population is Hisholds were husband-wife panic or a non-white race, households, while 37 percompared to 35 percent in cent percent were singleKing County and 27 perparent households cent in Washington state t QFSDFOU PG 'FEFSBM t .FEJBO IPVTFIPME Way residents age 25 or income in Federal Way is QFSDFOU MPXFS [ more NEEDS, page 11 ] BY GREG ALLMAIN
gallmain@federalwaymirror.com
The city hosted a holiday tree lighting event Friday, Nov. 25, at The Commons Mall near the northwest entrance by FedEx/ Kinko’s store. The event featured holiday music from Jet Cities Chorus and was sponsored by the City of Federal Way, The Commons and South King Fire and Rescue. The Federal Way Arts Commission played a key role in making the event possible. There has been an interest in the community for a number of years to have a treelighting event for the holidays. Merchants at Dash Point Village have held a similar event in the past. Holiday street lights will also light up the downtown through New Year’s Eve.
UPDATE
ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror
Universities approve of school district’s new and controversial grading system Board meeting Nov. 22, assistant superintendent of teaching for learning Dr. Josh Garcia shared the three Seattle University, Washuniversities’ thoughts on SBE ington State University and and how it affects Federal EDUCATION — Gonzaga University have Way students’ chances of begiven Federal Way Public ing admitted to those schools. Schools a thumbs up in the The new system was impledistrict’s shift to the oft-dismented by Federal Way Public cussed Standards Based Education Schools this year. SBE is aimed at (SBE) system. creating standardization for teachers During the Federal Way School and students regarding grading, class BY GREG ALLMAIN
gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
NEWS
content and other important areas. Numerous concerns have been expressed by parents and teachers alike regarding if SBE is an effective system for getting students into college. Garcia said he and his staff had reached out to seven in-state universities regarding SBE and its effect on students’ chances of moving on in higher education. The three aforementioned schools were the [ more SCHOOLS, page 10 ]
Check out The Mirror’s online poll ć F .JSSPS CFHBO QPTU ing a weekly online poll. The most recent question: Will you get up early to shop on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving)? Of those who participated, 95 percent said no. The latest poll question: Gov. Chris Gregoire called for a 30-day special legislative session, which began Monday, to address a $1.4 billion deficit. Would you support a temporary halfcent increase in state sales tax to avoid cuts to certain
state services? To answer the question, visit federalwaymirror.com.