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CRIME BLOTTER | Man attempts to kick Federal Way police officer [2]
VOL. 14, NO. 11
Mirror
F E D E R A L WAY
division of Sound Publishing
OPINION | Editorial: Vote yes on fire levy [4] Roegner: McKenna leads governor race [4] Johnson: War on birth control [5] IN OTHER NEWS | Car crashes into dentist office; snow temporarily coats the city [3] REAL ESTATE | Architect seeks investors for local cottage housing community [6]
SPORTS | 2012 All-City Basketball Teams. COMMUNITY CALENDAR | Check out FRIDAY, March 16, 2012 Plus: Beamer coach Sugg not rehired [9] upcoming events, entertainment [13]
School district will pitch levy one more time
Northwest’s biggest battery in Federal Way? By ANDY HOBBS editor@fedwaymirror.com
Here’s a bit of business buzz: An energy storage company has proposed building one of the world’s largest batteries in King County. If the project gets the green light, it may be built in Federal Way. Every two years, Puget Sound Energy performs an exhaustive analysis of its customers’ demand for power. Included in that analysis is a request for proposals. Virginiabased AES Energy Storage is among companies to submit a project this year. AES proposes building a 200-megawatt “battery” grid designed to supplement Puget Sound Energy during peak power demand. Similar facilities resemble a lot full of white rectangular trailers. AES is looking at four possible locations, including a 2-acre site located south of Seattle, according to Praveen Kathpal, a vice president with AES. In a January visit to the region to seek support for the AES project, Kathpal would not reveal the proposed location when meeting with this newspaper. [ more BATTERY, page 8 ] Delivery change: Your Mirror will arrive between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Fridays. If you do not have your paper by 6 p.m., contact (253) 872-6610 or circulation@ federalwaymirror.com.
More public communication promised for proposal to rebuild Federal Way High School growth and cost estimates in the next few months. Capacity and growth is a The capital levy to discussion that will center rebuild Federal Way High on the needed sizes of classSchool will be on the ballot rooms going forward with again in November. 21st century education, This time around, Federal Leland said. Way Public Schools will A ballot resolution will hold numerous forums and need to be acted on by the conversations with various board by Aug. 7. sectors of the commuThis month, FWPS nity — something staff will look at the that an opposition NEWS February election group claimed results and try to didn’t happen eardistill that informalier this year. tion and figure out In the Feb. 14 special what it means for the election, the levy failed with district going forward. about 47.5 percent of voters In April, the district will saying yes. The district has put out some feelers on one more opportunity to attracting an architect and present the levy to voters project manager for the in 2012. renovation of Federal Way Rod Leland, facility High School. services director for Federal The district’s veteran Way schools, shared the capital project manager timeline for public meetnoted that any agreement ings and conversations with an architect would be during the school board’s non-binding and only for March 13 meeting. An arthis first phase. ray of issues will be touched On the community enon by the board in the com- gagement front, there will ing months. be a number of chances for Along with incorporating both the Federal Way High the history of the decadesSchool community to have old building, there are their voices heard, and the plans for discussions about [ more SCHOOLS, page 8 ] design, concept, capacity, By Greg Allmain
gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
UPDATE
Best of Federal Way 2012: Special section inside The Mirror announced its annual Best of Federal Way awards March 14 at the community center. From best restaurants and shopping to best city leaders, winners were chosen by Mirror readers. See the list and more photos in a special section inside today’s paper. Pictured: Poverty Bay Coffee owner Alice Olmstead accepted a first-place award for Best Coffee/Latte. ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror
Tide detergent: Hottest item on black market By ANDY HOBBS editor@federalwaymirror.com
A slew of recent media reports suggest that Tide laundry detergent is the hottest commodity in the nation’s black market. The name-brand detergent is commonly stolen by organized
retail theft rings. These operations, known as “fences,” pay pennies on the dollar for stolen goods, then resell them at a profit. Thieves target consumable items like detergent, diapers, baby formula, razors, batteries, beauty products and meat because of their consistent demand. Organized retail theft results
in multimillion-dollar losses for businesses, with the cost ultimately passed on to consumers. The National Retail Federation estimates that annual losses from organized retail crime are as high as $30 billion. More than 95 percent of retailers are victims. One explanation for Tide’s popu-
larity among thieves is that they prefer to steal name-brand stuff. Thieves, also known as boosters, usually work from shopping lists provided by the fence operations. “Tide has been on the top of wish lists for boosters for some time,” said Tacoma police officer Scott [ more TIDE, page 8 ]