renton .com
Reporter
Friday march 23/12
Library initiative | City attorney questions legality of initiative to keep library over Cedar [5]
Rainier improvements | The final phase of improvements to major corridor will begin in Reporter Newsline 425.255.3484 April [3]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Making a stand in north renton
Neighbors pitch in to clean up City of Renton gets ready to take worst offenders to court By TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
The North Renton neighborhood, like many communities, has its own set of challenges. In previous articles, this series examined development concerns, government planning and a local bar’s run-in with the state liquor control board. But, what are residents and the City of Renton doing to remedy the community’s “trouble spots,” as resident Kizzie Funkhouser puts it?
By DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com
next
The Renton Reporter today continues its special report on efforts by the City of Renton and the residents themselves to improve the quality of life in this venerable neighborhood between downtown and Kennydale. Today, we look at what the city and neighborhood are doing to clean up some of the neighborhood’s unkempt properties .
Mayor touts job growth but raises tax possibility
Volunteers who pitched in to help a neighbor in North Renton as part of the Clean Community Initiative are, from left to right, Steven Ehrlich, Kizzie Funkhouser, George and Sally Daniels, Rich Zwicker, John Thompson, Mike Eastberg, Peggie Howard, John Hisey. Submitted She’s lived in North Renton The city recently implemented properties. City funds are eligible for for four years and recently a citywide program that allows properties deemed a nuisance helped organize a neighborhood funds to be used to assist clean clean up project. up efforts of public and private [ more north Renton page 19 ]
Compass vet takes a big step into home By TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
Almost seven months after explaining her story to the Renton Reporter, Sally de Leon and her family finally have a place to call home. De Leon shared her experiences as a veteran for a series of articles on the countywide Veterans and Human Services Levy that passed in August 2011. At the time de Leon and her daughter Bernadette Sheran and son Mark Sheran had
recently found housing at the Compass Veterans Center in downtown Renton. De Leon had suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, went through a divorce, lost her home and had a mental breakdown before she got enrolled in the supportive housing program through the Compass
Veterans Center. Now she and her family have “graduated” from the Compass Center to a rental house in Bellevue. “It feels good, I like it,” said Bernadette, 13. “It’s more space.” She still misses their apartment at the Compass Center, but likes her nice room, which she calls “pretty big.” Sally de Leon got the call in November that she qualified for the Housing and Urban [ more veteran page 24 ]
The word “jobs” sums up the positive tone of Mayor Denis Law’s State of the City address on Wednesday. “While the last four years have been difficult, the city has weathered them well,” Law said. “We’ve had challenges, but despite those challenges, our community continues to grow and thrive.” A packed crowd at the Holiday Inn listened to Law’s annual speech, presented by the Renton Chamber of Commerce. He cautioned, however, that the effects of the recession will continue for at least the next two or three years, especially affecting the city’s ability to Mayor Denis Law provide services and maintain its infrastructure. To meet those demands, he said, “will require additional resources. “We will need to explore some taxing options with our citizens, as most other cities and counties have had to do,” he said. The city has begun developing its two-year budget for 2013 and 2014. As it has done in the past, the city will ask citizens and business leaders to help with the process, he said. As it typically is, Boeing has been the catalyst for some of that job optimism. In looking back over the past year, Law pointed to what he described as the “landmark decision” to build [ more mayor page 18 ]
206.949.1696 info@marciemaxwell.com “Your Residential Specialists”
597059
North Renton
Track previews | Can Renton’s track teams improve on a standout 2011 season? [22]