LIVING GIFT | For a present that keeps on giving, give a holiday plan. [9]
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CURVE STRAIGHTENING | State transportation department to host open house on I-405/SR 167 interchange project [15]
FRIDAY, DEC. 4, 2015
Renton police get K-9 grant from Pittsburgh quarterback BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Small prop planes, like the one seen landing here, have long been the bread-and-butter of the Renton Municipal Airport, but an increase in the number of corporate jets landing here could lead to a major expansion of a required safety zone. BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter
Designation change could mean major expansion of airport in next decade BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
A change in the type of planes landing at the Renton Municipal Airport over the past 20 years might see them having to extend a safety area across Airport Way, through South Tobin Street and into the Renton High School baseball fields. The possible expansion is due to more commuter jets landing at the airport in recent years and the need for larger safety areas to account for them. “We’re seeing more activity from aircraft that have higher performance standards,” airport Manager Jonathan Wilson said, adding that Clayton Scott Field is now the fourthbusiest airport in the state, behind Sea-Tac, Boeing Field and Paine Field in Everett. The city is currently working on a required Master Plan
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update for the airport and, according to Wilson, the larger planes coming into the airport these days might trigger Federal Aviation Administration rules requiring a huge new runway protection zone that must be kept empty for safety purposes. Currently, the Master Plan is configured for the primary aircraft served in Renton to be a small turbo-prop plane that seats up to 12 passengers. It is what’s known as the airport’s “design aircraft” for planning purposes. But since the last update, a new class of planes is on the upswing: small corporate jets. “Really what we’re seeing is a lot more of the business-jet style using the airport,” Wilson said. “The numbers of corporate aircraft are up. And they’re way up.” And with a larger “design aircraft” comes a larger protection zone than the airport currently has space for. “Based on data we’ve seen, what we’re looking at now is that runway design code changing, possibly,” The runway safety area is a space that surrounds the paved [ more AIRPORT page 8 ]
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Light up the holidays!
Welcome, Santa, is the greeting of Renton’s weekend as Santa arrives at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Piazza. Tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. the lights go on for the annual Ivar’s Clam Lights. BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter file
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Larger planes might force extension of safety area to Renton High School
The Renton Police Department will soon be getting a new K-9 officer, thanks to a somewhat unexpected source. Renton was one of two local police organizations that received K-9 grants from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation’s Giving Back Fund, started by the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback of the same name. During the 2015-16 NFL season, the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers, who played Sunday in Seattle. This marks the ninth season that the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. The Bellevue Police Department also received a grant for a K-9 ballistic vest. The Renton Police Department is planning to use the grant to add a narcotics trained K-9 to its existing team of three tracking dogs with their Patrol Division.