KENT .com
REPORTER
NEWSLINE 253-872-6600
INSIDE | Seahawk spreads the gospel at local church [14]
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014
Sports | Dominguez shows the way for Kentridge [15]
City land use board to look at marijuana zoning laws BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
The city of Kent’s Land Use and Planning Board wants to take its time to figure out how to zone recreational marijuana businesses or whether to allow them at all. “This is all new ground,” said Jack
Ottini, board chairman, at a Monday workshop as he scanned a long list of counties and cities that ban the businesses. “I don’t like to be the guy that’s leading the pack through the wall. I kind of want to sit back and go as slow as we can. “I’m not going to say I’m against it but I want to go slow. If
someone tells me we’ve got to get it done now, I’m going to say no, I don’t think we have to. There’s too many questions that haven’t been answered.” Kent has a six-month ban against marijuana businesses that expires Nov. 27. City officials are studying whether to zone the
producers, processors and sellers of the drug. The state Liquor Control Board plans to issue licenses for the first retail stores to open in July. Up to three retail stores would be allowed in Kent under state rules, but the city’s ban would keep the stores away. The state hasn’t
set any limit on the number of processors or producers. David Galazin, assistant city attorney, told the board the moratorium gives it a chance to study the issue without making any rash decisions. He said the board [ more ZONING page 4 ]
Longtime Kent resident, attorney killed by train BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
SPRING SPLENDOR A man relaxes and reads by the stormwater pond filled with cottonwood pollen at Mill Creek Earthworks Park on Monday evening. Allergies beware, as
the trees are in full bloom and cottonwood pollen has scattered everywhere. ROSS COYLE, Kent Reporter
Forgotten First Avenue seeks identity BY ROSS COYLE rcoyle@kentreporter.com
and local and state taxes do little to help struggling store owners keep their doors open. The litany of taxes includes those for Medicaid and insurance. A liquor license alone costs $2,500 each year. It’s compounded with business and other permits and property taxes. Everything from Bishart’s fixtures to his seating is taxed. “I have to pay a tax each year on every chair in the bar,” Bishart said. High overhead costs, due in no small part to tax rates and liquor costs, diminish Bishart’s liquor selection. The bar originally sported a threepage menu of custom cocktails, which Bishart claims aren’t available anywhere
It’s 6 in the evening on a Thursday, and Kent’s First Avenue is almost deserted. Occasional visitors stop at the Shindig Martini Bar or Spiro’s Greek Island, but by and large the businesses are empty. “It’s a ghost town by 8 o’clock,” said Dave Bishart, owner of the Shindig Martini Bar, as the 6:30 p.m. Sounder line rumbles by. The train’s horn blares into First Avenue is quiet on a sunny spring morning. Since Kent the bar through an open back door. Station moved in to downtown, First Avenue has struggled to Bishart’s bar, painted a sleek and subtle find a customer base and identity. ROSS COYLE, Kent Reporter black with a two floors, carries an aesthetic of a 1940s lounge. that could serve delicious custom martinis Six years ago when Shindig opened, available nowhere else in the area. [ more AVENUE page 5 ] But business has soured on First Avenue, Bishart envisioned an after-hours hangout
As Pete Curran mentored many young lawyers over the years in Kent he always made sure to emphasize a certain point. “The message he would instill in us as the most important INSIDE: was giving back Community to your comcelebrates munity,” said the life Mark Davis, an of Mark Proattorney with thero, page 2 Kent’s Curran Law Firm who first met Curran in 1979. Curran, 81, died after being struck by an Amtrak train as he bypassed the lowering traffic gates as he walked east on East Titus Street at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death as an accident. [ more CURRAN page 5 ]
Homeless shelter debate heats up again BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
The debate about where to put a 24-hour homeless shelter in Kent heated up again with yet another proposed site splitting opinions between business leaders and shelter proponents. [ more SHELTER page 4 ]