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THE CREATIVE SIDE | Columnist Jaris English pulls back the curtain at Renton Civic Theatre. [4]
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014
Best in Town | The Renton High School stayed undefeated on the year with a win at the All-City Track Meet May 9. [Sports 12]
City launches new property tracking program Cloud-based database of serial numbers could help police return lost goods BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
The new caterpillar at the Meadow Crest Playground is waiting for the grand opening and dedication this Saturday. The inclusive playground is a public-private partnership that sits on land owned by both the city and the Renton School District. TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter
A playground for everyone to enjoy The Renton School District and the city will officially open Renton’s first inclusive playground this weekend. A special ceremony to open the Meadow Crest Playground in the Highlands starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and will feature such dignitaries as Mayor Denis Law, Superintendent Merri Rieger, Terri Higashiyama, community services administrator, and former superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel. Here, inclusive means the playground has been designed with children of all ability levels in mind. It is the brainchild of Higashiyama from when she was president of Renton Rotary, according to Todd Black, Renton’s capital project coordinator. Higashiyama wanted to have Renton service organizations all pitch in to create
the city’s first inclusive playground. According to project developers, one of the many firsts for the project is that it’s an interlocal agreement between the school district and the city, where no property has been exchanged, but the project sits on land owned by both entities. The project cost about $2 million with design and permits. “The idea is that we have a lot of students in this school with disabilities,” said Janice Kelly, Meadow Crest principal. “And so, the equipment is accessible to them.” The colorful park has a tree and meadow motif outlined in the playground’s synthetic surfaces and in the critters that make up some of the play toys and equipment. Barriers have been removed from the design like sawdust, sand and railroad tie curbs around equipment to make it
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Top-ranked pot retailer not located in proper zone BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
easier for wheelchair and walker bound children to access the park. There’s a giant tandem swing, with a ramp to accommodate those with wheelchairs and other aides. Noise makers, chimes, drums and a xylophone, specifically designed to be outdoors by profes[ more PLAYGROUND page 19 ]
The top finisher in the city’s marijuana retail store lottery is not currently located in one of the zones in which the city allows the businesses, but the owner says he is looking elsewhere and hopes to get the license anyway. The City of Renton earlier this year passed an ordinance limiting marijuana retailers to zones in the city that allow taverns. General retail sales are allowed in 13 of the city’s zones, while taverns (and [ more ZONING page 7 ]
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BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
In February of 2013, Renton police officer Shawn Tierney took a burglary call at the home of a retired couple who was moving to Arizona. Burglars had stolen a mower and then returned a few hours later to take more than $50,000 in machinery and tools from a workshop. The homeowners had video surveillance and officers felt they had a good chance at getting the merchandise back for the couple. When Tierney asked about serial num[ more PROPERTY page 9 ]