A FAN FOR THE AGES | A 95-year-old Renton Seahawks fan gets a surprise trip to the 50-yard line. [3]
.com
Reporter
NEWSLINE: 425.255.3484
renton
She’s tough | Renton’s world champion in judo has her eyes set on the Olympics [3]
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Loss of funding means changes to bus service By Brian Beckley bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Above: Nelsen Middle School students debone turkeys to give to homeless in Seattle and Renton. Below: Nelsen Middle School Assistant Principal Elaine Love gives a demonstration on how to properly debone a turkey to students volunteering to help her get turkeys ready. sarah kehoe, Kent Reporter
New Latina group preps turkeys for needy By Sarah Kehoe skehoe@rentonreporter.com
N
elsen Middle School Assistant Principal Elaine Love remembers having to miss school frequently when she was younger. At age 10, she rode the subway in New York to take her grandma to appointments and to food banks. Love had to translate for her Puerto Rican grandma who couldn’t speak English. “I had so many responsibilities at home that really weighed on me,” Love said. “And I was missing so many classes, but was too embarrassed to tell my teacher why.” It was a mentor coming into her life that inspired Love to keep pushing forward and make goals for her future. “I started working to be a successful person and trying to help other people in need,” Love said. Love looked around Nelsen and realized there were many students experiencing the same things. “There are students here that are burdened with having huge responsibilities at home, but they don’t share with each other because it’s a family issue and we are taught to care for our families,” Love said. “It’s too bad we don’t share because then everyone feels like they are all alone; they are the only one going through this.” Love started the Latina Girls Group at Nelsen and now has 20 girls [ more Turkeys page 9 ]
Facing a budget shortfall next year, King County Metro is making plans to reduce its service, including bus routes throughout Renton. According to a press release, Metro is presently facing a gap of $75 million and while there is hope that the state legislature may step in to fill some of the hole, without new funding, Metro says it will have no choice but to cut service. To close the gap, they will have to cut 600,000 service hours, about 17 percent of the system. That means 74 of Metro’s 214 routes could be deleted and 107 routes would be reduced or revised while only 33 routes would remain unchanged, though increases in crowding would be expected. The cuts would come between June and September of next year, with more to follow in 2015. The county this week did announce some positive news with a new agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 that if ratified, could save some money and some service reductions. An analysis of the possible cuts by the City of Renton, however, shows that our city would not be hit as hard as others. Six routes would be deleted, 10 routes revised and six would remain unchanged. It is an overall loss of 4 percent to the Renton area, compared with some areas of the county facing a reduction of 69 percent. Most of the high ridership routes would be un[ more bus cuts page 16 ]
Beginning to look like...
The Landing tree-lighting Nov. 23 opened the holiday season in Renton. See page 15 for more photos and a list of some of the upcoming fun. Brian Beckley, Renton Reporter
Happy Thanksgiving