PROCESSION | The Renton Fire Department will honor Donovan Eckhardt on Friday. [3]
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FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 2015
Council passes law requiring endorsement for medical pot Patients protest ordinance designed to bring city into line with state system BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Machinists and members of SPEEA stage an informational picket outside the Renton Boeing plant Wednesday over the potential loss of jobs when a 737 finishing plant is built in China. DEAN A. RADFORD, Renton Reporter
Unions protest plan to open 737 line in China BY THE EVERETT HERALD STAFF editor@rentonreporter.com
The Boeing Co. and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China will build a new finishing plant for 737s in China for 737s delivered to Chinese airlines. The announcement of the partnership
between Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China was made during the visit Wednesday of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Boeing’s Everett plant. According to Boeing, the joint venture facility will significantly expand Boeing’s collaboration with China’s aviation indus-
try while also enabling future production rate increases at Boeing’s 737 final assembly factory in Renton. This China-based facility will not reduce 737 program employment in Washington state, according to Boeing. Members of the Machinists union and [ more BOEING page 15 ]
Despite objections from a vocal group at a previous council meeting, the City Council this week unanimously approved an ordinance bringing the city’s medical marijuana licensing in line with the law passed earlier this year by the state legislature. Under the new law, medical marijuana dispensaries, which have never been technically legal in the city, have to apply for and receive a medical endorsement from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board or close their doors by next summer. The ordinance comes following the passage of SB5052 in the legislature this year. Renton previously had a moratorium in place on medical marijuana [ more MARIJUANA page 5 ]
Demolition begins at IKEA store BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Demolition of the parking garage at the Renton IKEA store began Thursday morning to make way for a new, larger store. A pair of excavators began tearing down the 365,000-square-foot structure in front of a small crowd that gathered to watch the store’s iconic blue walls fall. The IKEA corporation this past summer filed
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plans to build a two-story store at the site of its current store. Once the garage is gone later this year, construction will begin on a 406,000-square-foot store at that site. When it is completed, the company will tear down the current store. The new store will offer what IKEA calls a “more current layout” and reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. It will feature the same 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings and three model home interiors. It will also continue to have a supervised children’s play area, a larger restaurant for serving Swedish specialities. It will have 1,700 parking spaces. [ more IKEA page 7 ]
A pair of excavators began tearing down the IKEA parking garage on Sept. 17 to make way for a new, two-story store to open in 2017. BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter
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Parking garage being destroyed to make room for new two-story store to open in 2017