INSIDE | Volunteer task force on finances takes shape [3]
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KENT
Sports | Persistence, patience pay off on tennis court for Kentridge’s Lam [12]
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015
Kent fails in bid to land FAA offices Des Moines to house regional facility
BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
It turned out to be a bad news day on Wednesday for the city of Kent when Des Moines received the lease to land the new Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Northwest Mountain Region offices.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke said in a prepared statement. “The opportunity to bring such a high-caliber, stable employer to our city would have been a game changer for our local economy.” The U.S. General Services Administration [ more FAA page 4 ]
Sports | Conks hire football coach [12]
College proposes program cuts BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
Facing at least a $1.8 million budget deficit next year, the Green River College Board of Trustees may eliminate four programs to save money. College officials cited low enrollment in the auto body technology and geographic information systems programs and the cost of running the parent-child education and carpentry programs as reasons for the potential cuts.
But members of the college’s faculty union, United Faculty, said they think the college is unfairly targeting the programs. Eight employees, including full-time and adjunct faculty, could lose their positions if the programs are cut, said Marshall Sampson, vice president of Human Resources and Legal Affairs for the college. Key figures in the faculty union head up three of the endangered programs. [ more COLLEGE page 13 ]
City takes in $1 million from school traffic cams in one year BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
more photos online…
Boys of spring
kentreporter.com
The Bulls’ Peter Dionne-Yahr unleashes a pitch against the Warriors in a Kent Little League Majors Division game at Ryan Brunner
Baseball Fields last Saturday. The games was part of opening-day festivities at the park. MARK KLAAS, Kent Reporter
City parks facilities slowly falling apart Only so much money to go around to make repairs
BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Numerous amenities at Kent city parks are slowly but surely starting to fall apart. Without enough money in the Parks Department to make
all of the repairs, city staff compiled a list of potential facilities that could be closed this year. The city closed the boardwalk at Lake Fenwick Park in January after shutting down a small fishing dock at the park
last year. More closures are soon to come, from the Earthworks Park amphitheater to three tennis courts at Garrison Creek Park. [ more PARKS page 4 ]
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The staggering numbers are in for the first year of Kent’s traffic camera program to catch speeders in school zones. Kent Police issued 8,417 citations worth fines of $1.47 million in 2014 from cameras at Sunrise and Neely-O’Brien elementary schools, according to city reports. The city collected $927,543 in revenue last year from those fines.
INSIDE: School board OKs new superintendent’s contract, page 5
Tickets cost $124 for drivers 1 to 9 mph over the 20 mph limit and $248 for drivers 9 mph or more over. The cameras operate for 30 minutes in the morning before school and 30 minutes in the afternoon after school. [ more CAMERAS page 5 ]
Lake Fenwick Park is one of several Kent parks showing its age and in need of repairs. STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter
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