CAROLYN OSSORIO | Sibling House helps families care for foster children [14]
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RENTON
King and Bunnys Appliance is putting on a big parking lot sale at its store in the Highlands. For more see pages 10 and 11.
On to London | Renton High graduate Aretha Thurmond FRIDAY, July 13, 2012 qualifies for her fourth Olympic Games [15]
737 sales in billions at show BY DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com
Three days into the 2012 Farnborough Airshow outside London, the Boeing Co. sold billions of dollars worth of Rentonbuilt 737s. And on Tuesday the 737 program general manager announced more progress on the design of the 737 MAX that significantly extends the plane’s range. “We continue to make steady progress toward our development goals,” said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager of the 737 program. “We are able to firm up our maximum takeoff weight projections, which allow us to confirm that the 737 MAX will fly farther and offer more revenue potential than its predeces-
GE Capital Aviation Services, the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, has committed to purchase 100 737s, in a deal worth about $9 billion at list prices. Boeing sor and its future competitor.” The 737 MAX will extend the NextGeneration 737 range advantage. The 737
RENTON’S SAFE, PATRIOTIC JULY 4TH
MAX models will have the capability to fly more than 3,500 nautical miles, an increase of 400 – 540 nautical miles over the NextGeneration 737, according to the company. Gov. Chris Gregoire also was at Farnborough for part of the week, meeting with aerospace companies, including Airbus, about the advantages of doing business in Washington state. “Aerospace continues to be a bright spot in our economic recovery,” Gregoire said in a press release. “And I want to ensure this critical industry succeeds and grows here long after my time in the governor’s office.” She said she was pleased with the discussions she had with more than 50 aerospace
Fireworks lit up the night sky over Lake Washington on the Fourth of July as Renton marked a safe and fun holiday. For more on the Fourth, please see page 9. BRUCE HUDSON, For the
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Renton Reporter
The library’s long road to a vote
FYI
Proposition 1 on Aug. 7 ballot Renton residents will decide on Aug. 7 where to locate the downtown Renton library. The choices are the existing library over the Cedar River or a new one at the Piazza in downtown Renton. The King County Elections Division will mail ballots on Wednesday, July 18. The return envelopes must be postmarked no later than Aug. 7. For election information online, visit kingcounty.gov.
INSIDE
KCLS letter challenged At least three complaints have been filed with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission about a letter the King County Library System has sent to Renton residents explaining the results of a new study that outlines what needs to be done to upgrade the existing library over the Cedar River. Page 3 Letter writers weigh in Opinions are flowing about the better location for a downtown Renton library. Page 6
EDITOR’S NOTE: Today the Renton Reporter begins a series of articles on the Aug. 7 vote to decide the location of a new downtown library. Today’s article is designed to bring everyone up to speed on the issue. There is a timeline on page 7. BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
An issue once thought settled is now before Renton voters again: the location of a downtown library. To say the least, this matter has struck a chord and divided the community. The idea of relocating the downtown library from its scenic perch over the Cedar River is unimaginable to some who’ve voiced their opinions at City Hall or signed their support on an initiative to stop the move to the Piazza. Conversely, it has been touted by some City of Renton officials and business owners as a way to revitalize the business district and
Supporters of keeping the downtown library over the Cedar River made their feelings known about voting on the issue outside City Hall prior to a Renton City Council meeting in April. DEAN A. RADFORD, Renton Reporter heart of the city. Looking at the timeline of events inside today’s Renton Reporter it may appear jarring as to how the city wound up here, with an Aug. 7 election vote to determine the site of the downtown library.
This is after the City Council had already put into motion plans to relocate the downtown library to a site west of the Piazza. After all, in 2008 a Renton Library Master Plan recommended that Renton’s library system stay independent, while still uphold-
ing a borrowing agreement with KCLS. Contrast that to February 2010, when the city held an election for voters to decide whether the city should annex to KCLS and turn over their beloved libraries to the system. What perpetuated the change in direction? The answer, in summary, was that the library issue had reached a crossroad where Renton residents had to decide between annexing to KCLS or passing a levy to upgrade its library services. The city of Renton could no longer afford its libraries. The vote was close – just a 53vote difference – and ultimately Renton annexed into KCLS. That move attracted attention later as critics said it was not clear that KCLS would build new libraries, at Renton’s expense, for the Highlands and downtown branches. As the City Council voted to issue $18 million bonds to pay [ more LIBRARY page 8 ]
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