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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015
Ranniger won’t run for fourth term BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Deborah Ranniger won’t be running this year for a fourth term on the Kent City Council because of time commitments to a new job she took last year. “This is my 12th year on the city council and I feel I’ve had an outstanding run, but it’s time for me to call 12 good and I will not be run-
ning for City Council,” Ranniger said at Tuesday night’s council meeting. Four other council members - Dana Ralph, Bill Boyce, Les Thomas and Brenda Fincher - are Ranniger running to keep their seats beyond this year on the seven-member board. The four-year
terms of Dennis Higgins and Jim Berrios expire in 2017. Bailey Stober, who lost in council races against Ken Sharp in 2013 and against Ranniger in 2011, said this week he plans to run for Ranniger’s position. Candidates must file by mid-May with King County Elections if they plan to run for office. Ranniger is the executive director [ more RANNIGER page 3 ]
Border business: David Ahl, left, and Seth Simpson, co-owners of Greenside Recreational, are trying to find their niche at a shop that sits in Des Moines and next to Kent. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter
Recreational pot shop flourishes next door to Kent BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Show of heart Sierra Kirk of the Kentridge High School Sparkles Cheerleaders performs during the fourth annual Dance for Heart show at the Kentridge High School Performing Arts Center last Friday. The show, Thunderstruck!, raised more than $3,500 for the American Heart Association. Story, more photos, page 2. MARK KLAAS, Kent Reporter
A thriving recreational marijuana store sits along Pacific Highway South as close as possible to the city of Kent, where such businesses are banned. In fact, when the owners of Greenside Recreational in Des Moines step out their door, they look across the street to Kent, up the street to Kent and down the street to Kent. “This whole area is a cookie-cutter,” said Seth Simpson, co-owner of Greenside, 23407 Pacific Highway S., that opened in October. “Goodwill is in half of Kent and half of Des Moines. Our build-
ing is in Des Moines. The property next door in Kent, the property on the other side in Des Moines. It’s a very strange way to do the city.” Simpson, of Seattle, already owned the property and building that houses Greenside when he applied to the state Liquor Control Board for a retail license and to the city of Des Moines for a permit and license since the city allows marijuana businesses. “The boundary between Kent and Des Moines in the area of (Greenside) is irregular,” said Fred Satterstrom, city of Kent planning director. [ more SHOP page 4 ]
Delivering the story, from print to film BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
Kevin Pang admits he never saw it coming. What began as a feature story has turned into something greater for the award-winning food reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Pang chronicled the hardship-
to-happy life of a super chef, an 8,000-word profile that was originally intended for print and a short video on the newspaper’s website. But as the story widened in scope – replete with many twists and turns – it ultimately wound up being the subject of an engaging, feature-length documentary. The polished reporter became an
accidental filmmaker. “It’s been pretty overwhelming,” said Pang, a 1999 Kent-Meridian High School and University of Southern California graduate who interned at the former South County Journal newspaper in Kent before embarking on a well-traveled career [ more PANG page 3 ]
Kevin Pang, a Chicago Tribune reporter who grew up in Kent, has expanded his talents into filmmaking. COURTESY PHOTO