Covington/Maple Valley Reporter, July 20, 2012

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REPORTER

COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND

NEWSLINE 425-432-1209

RECESSION PROOF BUSINESSES | First part of series looks at how businesses survived [page 3]

HARD HITS | Kentwood High graduate Lauren Campbell juggles volleyball and FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 engineering aspirations [10]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

Budget bolstered by permits for homes

WEBSITE | Check the website for breaking news, sports and weather stories. maplevalleyreporter.com or covingtonreporter.com

Copper wire thieves go on a spree in the city

BY TJ MARTINELL

BY TJ MARTINELL

tmartinell@maplevalleyreporter.com

tmartinell@covingtonreporter.com

For years the city of Maple Valley has relied on single family residential permits as a significant revenue stream. Although it continues to run strong, city officials say it is within a few years of drying up. During a presentation to MAPLE the City Council VALLEY May 14, Finance Director Tony McCarthy stated the city has seen revenue estimations well above what was budgeted for the year. This includes single family permits (SFP). City staff projected they would receive 70 SFPs this year. According to McCarthy, however, the city has issued 112 permits as of July and that number could possibly rise to 162 by the

Copper thieves have been on the prowl since May in Covington in parking lots for churches, schools and businesses, according to the Covington Police Department. Covington Police Chief Kevin KlaCOVINGTON son stated in a telephone interview that the thefts are a part of a statewide trend where thieves steal copper wiring from light poles and then sell them at scrap metal yards in order to pocket the cash, which typically is then used to buy drugs. “These dopers seem to have their own network,” Klason said. “Once one tries it and has some success for a while. Where it

[ more BUDGET page 2 ]

High Strung

Titus, violinist for The Side Project, plays July 12 in the first Music in the Park summer concert series at Lake Wilderness Park. The Side Project played for two hours. The next concert is July 26 featuring the band Shaggy Sweet. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter To view a slide show of the concert go to www. maplevalleyreporter.com.

Rae Solomon kicks off new summer concert series with country flavor BY KRIS HILL khill@covingtonreporter.com

Singer-songwriter Rae Solomon, who lives in Covington, will soon play a show right in her backyard. Solomon will kick off the inaugural Covington Summer Concert Series July 27 at Kentwood High. A former rodeo queen turned country singer originally from Enumclaw, Solomon has been touring extensively in the past

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year, including opening up again for Blake Shelton as well as filling in for Tanya Tucker as Crystal Gale’s opening act. “We’ve been playing a ton,” Solomon said. “Right now I’m just putting the finishing touches on our EP. We’re having our CD release party the day after we play the Covington show.” Karla Slate, community relations manager for Covington, said the city is offering the concert series in response to feedback

provided during the development of the Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan in 2009. “For the past couple years, they’ve been fine tuning the programming they already have (for recreation), and now they’ve been able to add a couple more programs,” Slate said. “From a city perspective we’re trying to create more of a sense of a community on all levels, not just by providing events, and we want to provide things for people here in the city of Covington so they don’t have to go elsewhere.” The concerts will run three Fridays in a row with SWAY fol-

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR GARDENS

[ more CONCERT page 2 ]

[ more COPPER page 2 ]

Rae Solomon, a rising country star, sings with Blake Shelton. Solomon will open up the inaugural Covington Summer Concert Series July 27 at Kentwood. Courtesy photo

$PWJOHUPO 8BZ 4& $PWJOHUPO t 253-630-0527


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