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SUMMER MEALS | School district’s FRED program feeds record number of kids [2]
VOL. 15, NO. 37
Mirror
F E D E R A L WAY
division of Sound Publishing
OPINION | Roegner: What are the priorities of your school district? [4] Letters: Czar’s flawed approach to surveys [4] CRIME BLOTTER | Police arrest dog owner for animal cruelty [3] CALENDAR | Don’t miss farmers market’s annual charity chili cook-off [6-7]
SPORTS | Updates on prep football, plus KINDERGARTEN | All-day kindergarten FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 | 75¢ tennis and golf season previews [10-15] will be offered in all elementary schools [8]
PACC update: ‘Patron room’ will raise cost
Driver charged in death of bicyclist By ANDY HOBBS editor@federalwaymirror.com
Vehicular homicide charges were filed against a driver who struck and killed a bicyclist last month in Federal Way. SeaTac resident Dara Keo, 30, was arraigned Sept. 12 at the Cronister Regional Justice Center in Kent. Keo pleaded not guilty. He is being held on $250,000 bail. The fatal collision occurred just before 11 a.m. Aug. 30 in the 28600 block of Military Road South. Keo was driving on the shoulder of the road when he slammed into a bicyclist, according to police documents. The impact knocked the victim off his bike and into the middle of the center two-way turn lane. Kent resident Craig B. Cronister, 44, suffered severe injuries to his head, neck and body. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center and died at 1:03 a.m. Aug. 31. A memorial service was [ more BICYCLIST, page 16 ]
By GREG ALLMAIN gallmain@fedwaymirror.com
9/11 memorial set for 2014 dedication in FW
South King Fire and Rescue’s Lt. Chris Burdyshaw holds a rock that Lt. Scott Mahlen (right) brought back from the crash site in Shanksville, Pa. The cracks on the rock resulted from the impact of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a field on Sept. 11, 2001. The rock, along with a steel beam from the World Trade Center, will be part of a 9/11 memorial at South King Fire’s Station 64 in Federal Way. Read more about the project on page 18 in today’s Mirror. ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror
The most expensive project in city history, if it’s built, could add about $500,000 to the price tag. The Federal Way City Council held a special meeting on Sept. 5 to discuss the proposed Performing Arts and Conference Center (PACC) envisioned for the city center. Lead member of Lorax Partners on the project, P.J. Santos, was on hand to give an update to the council. Santos shared an interesting addition to the PACC: a “patron room” that he had hinted at in a presentation to the council in February. As envisioned now, the patron room would be situated on the upper floor of the PACC, and would be like a “members only” room, where those wishing to go inside would pay a small fee, likely through donations. “That patron room cost…was $500,000 for our project,” he said. “This was not in our original program. A key piece here is about the operations of the future facility. It’s not just affording (the construction)
ONLINE POLL In a poll on The Mirror’s website, we asked readers: “If a vote were held today, would you support construction of a Performing Arts and Conference Center (PACC) in Federal Way’s city center?” Participants answered yes or no to the question and were allowed one vote each. Results: • Yes: 32.7 percent (18 votes) • No: 67.3 percent (37 votes) of the building and then letting it go, it’s having (the PACC) be built and become its own self-performing piece so it can handle all its costs and revenues itself.” Santos had some eightyear averages for the potential benefits of the patron room. His projections showed that it could generate $18,000 a year in average patron rental, and that its estimated average patron donor revenue would be approximately $46,000. This would, under his projections, work out to an average return on investment of 12.5 percent per year, and the room itself could pay itself off within [ more PACC, page 27 ]
State allows 3 marijuana stores, but city says no By ANDY HOBBS editor@federalwaymirror.com
NEWSPAPER RACKS: To see a list of rack locations for the print edition of The Mirror, visit federalwaymirror.com/about_us.
Up to three recreational marijuana retail stores will be allowed in Federal Way, according to rules announced last week by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. However, marijuana stores are still banned in Federal Way. “We are in the process of review-
ing the Liquor Control Board’s proposed rules. However, the city’s position on business licensing remains the same,” city spokesman Chris Carrel told The Mirror in an email. “The city code prevents the city from issuing business licenses for activities that are illegal under local, state or federal law. Since marijuana sales remain illegal under federal law, should the city
receive an application for a business license for a marijuana store, the city would not issue a business license.” In 2011, Federal Way issued moratoriums on three medical marijuana dispensaries that opened in city limits. Despite the passage of Initiative 502, which legalized marijuana in Washington after a [ more MARIJUANA, page 16 ]
A single bud of high-grade marijuana. COURTESY PHOTO