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169 SLIDE AREA | A stretch of State Route 169 just southeast of the Renton Community Center is known for landslides over the years. [3]
FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014
Renton man charged with murder of his girlfriend By DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com
The wooden jet wall, or blast fence, which has protected pedestrians and vehicles on Airport Way from the jet wash of 737s taking off, will be replaced with a new modern structure made of metal that through artistry will evoke the long aerospace history of Renton. Brian beckley, Renton Reporter
Airport to get new blast fence By Brian Beckley bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
It’s the end of the road for the iconic red and white checkered jet wall at the south end of the Renton Municipal Airport, as plans are moving forward to replace the aging structure with a new one. According to Deputy Public Works Director Doug Jacobson, the present wooden structure is beginning to rot and a more modern structure needs to be built. “The existing blast fence is made of wood, it’s in excess of 50 years old and is losing it’s structural integrity,” he said.
Bids go out this month and beginning in mid-May the current wall will come down in favor of a newer metal version, like the one that runs along the southern side of North Sixth Street. The new wall will be longer east-to-west than the current structure, but will be twothirds the height. According to Jacobson, the current wall was built to protect cars from the jet wash of a Boeing 727, which included an engine higher up on the tail. “Now, the 737 engine is slung low below the wings,” he said. The reduced height will also make it easier for smaller planes to land.
But with the new construction will come a new look at the airport and the familiar pattern of red and white squares is on its way out. Instead, the city has commissioned artist Ben Jepson, who designed the statue that sits at the airport’s entrance, to create a new piece for the part of the wall facing Airport Way. “We tried to get some continuity for that,” said Airport Capital Projects Coordinator Ben Dahle. The new wall will feature metal panels [ more blast page 10 ]
A 20-year-old Renton man told detectives his alternate personality, “Frost,” is responsible for the death of his girlfriend Saturday, April 12, according to court documents. Gabriel Galan Navarro of Renton was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder. He’s being held in the King County Jail. His arraignment is 9 a.m. May 1 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office was still trying to confirm the victim’s identification of late Wednesday afternoon. However, on Wednesday the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office identified her as Allison Leedy. The documents, the Renton Police Department’s certification of probable cause, offer details of the homicide at the apartment they shared in the 1300 block of South Eagle Ridge Drive. Prosecutors write that their three[ more murder page 8 ]
Independent review finds library costs ‘reasonable’ An independent review has determined that the costs for the two new libraries in Renton are reasonable. Based on the explanations provided by the architecture and engineering teams and special situations surrounding each library
project, the city feels comfortable that these costs are within reasonable range, said Iwen Wang, city finance and information technology administrator. There are concerns about having enough money in the city’s budget to cover the cost of building the redesigned Highlands Library, but officials say the preliminary
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budget for the downtown Renton library is in “good shape.” The city addressed concerns community members raised last April about the appropriateness of architecture and engineering costs for the library projects. At the time, the citizens requested an independent review of costs and the city selected The
Robinson Co. as the third-party reviewer. Wang explained The Robinson Co.’s findings at Monday night’s Renton City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. The total budget for the downtown library is $10.4 million. Project architect [ more library page 10 ]
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By TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com