On Monday afternoon (Aug. 30), Jim Spady of Dick’s Drive-In announced that they’ll be expanding their line of fast food restaurants by one, with the final location to be determined by votes from the public on the restaurant’s website.

There are three areas under consideration:

1. South End, which includes SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Burien, South Seattle and West Seattle.
2. North includes Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Edmonds and South Everett.
3. East includes Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Mercer Island, Issaquah and Sammamish.

As of 11pm Monday night, the vote tallies are showing us South Enders trailing in third place, with just 29% (1,748 votes) – could this be a sign that we already have a sufficient supply of red meat and tater-based food product?

Leading the pack is the obviously burger-starved East Side, at 37% (2,260 votes).

Second place goes to the North End with 33% (1,982 votes).

So Burien – do YOU want a Dick’s Drive-In ’round these parts? Or are you already happy with your local joints?

Click here to vote, but be very patient – last time we checked, their website was moving about as fast as Heinz ketchup on a cool crisp rainy late-summer day.

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Prior to the grand opening of the new Burien location at 626 SW 152nd Street, Grand Central Bakery pledged to contribute a portion of the opening day sales to two local organizations. Today they followed through by handing over checks for 100% of their first day sales.

The two groups receiving checks this morning (Aug 27) were the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence and the Highline Area Food Bank. Thanks to sales that set a opening day record for Grand Central, each organization received a check for $2,350.

Mike Werle, Executive Director of the Highline Area Food Bank, acknowledged the donation saying, “We’re very fortunate to have a business come into our community and latch on to organizations like ours.”

Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, President of the Highline Schools Foundation Board of Trustees, agreed and welcomed Grand Central to the neighborhood saying, “While we appreciate all of our community support, for a new business to step up like this is unprecedented.”

Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence (L to R) - David Paice, Mike Bischoff, Maya Mendoza-Extrom, Kent Horton, Summer Hepburn (Grand Central Cafe Manager), Patti Gifford, Holly Moore

Highline Area Food Bank (L to R) - Mike Werle, Executive Director and Summer Hepburn, Grand Central Cafe Manager

Photos by Michael Brunk. Click to view larger versions.

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Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Saturday – Saturday Morning Jazz Set at Dubsea Coffee
• Saturday – Fantastic Fruits & Vegetables At This Week’s Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market!
• Sunday – Mark Your Calendar For This Sunday’s B-Patch Garden Day!
• Sunday – Advertiser E.B. Foote Winery Hosting Jazz Night On Sunday, August 29
• Sunday – El Tianguis Latino Market at Burien Town Square
• Sunday – Free Music at Marvista Park Featuring Blue Ringer

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

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This week, our decision to “take the pledge” to the TAO of Journalism came to fruition, and we’d like our Readers to know about it.

The “TAO of Journalism” is, quite simply, a “promise to your audience that you will be Transparent about who you are, Accountable for your mistakes, and Open to other points of view.”

Here’s how this concept originated:

At a Journalism That Matters conference in Washington, D.C., in 2008, John Hamer of the Washington News Council was thinking about how journalists demand that everyone they cover be transparent, accountable and open — but what about journalists themselves? Isn’t it a two-way street? He realized those three words spelled “TAO” and proposed a breakout session on the “TAO of Journalism.” About two dozen conference attendees showed up to discuss the idea and help refine it.

In 2009, at another Journalism That Matters gathering at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, Hamer floated the idea again and convened another breakout session. Several attendees came and talked it over — including Tom Stites of The Banyan Project, who encouraged Hamer to pursue it.

At a third Journalism That Matters event at the University of Washington in Seattle in January 2010 (Editor’s Note: this is where we first met John and learned of this concept), the “TAO of Journalism” was informally launched. Several attendees took the “TAO pledge” and/or bought T-shirts displaying a TAO logo. Others signed up at a Society of Professional Journalists convention in Seattle in April 2010.

We now proudly publish the pledge we took for not only The SeaTac Blog, but for our five sister sites as well:

Transparent
We will fully disclose who we are, our journalistic mission and our guiding principles. We will post information on our background and expertise, including education and experience. We will list advertisers, donors, grants, and any other payments that support our work. If affiliated with a political party or special-interest group, we will disclose that. If lobbying for any particular legislation or regulation, we will disclose that. If we are being paid to promote a product or cause, we will disclose that. If other factors could be seen as potential conflicts of interest, we will disclose them. (NOTE: The principle of transparency does not apply to confidential sources, who may still be protected.)

Accountable
If we get any facts wrong, we will admit that promptly and publicly. We will post/publish/print/podcast/broadcast a correction or at least a clarification. We will fully explain what happened to cause the error or mistake. We will do a follow-up story if that is appropriate, putting the original material in better context. We will apologize and promise to be more careful next time. We will show a little humility.

Open
If there are credible challenges to our point of view or simply differences of opinion, we will be open to contrary positions. We will give the other side(s) opportunity and space to express their views and engage in open public dialogue through comments or other means. If we are primarily engaged in opinion and commentary, rather than news reporting, we will make that clear – while inviting others to express their opinions through comment and feedback means.

We do not necessarily agree to abide by any particular code of journalism ethics or professional standards, although we may choose to do so. If we do, we will declare that publicly. If we don’t, we will declare that as well. We understand that this will not be enforced by any outside organized group. It will be overseen by everyone on the Internet who wants to see high standards of transparency, accountability and openness in journalism – through whatever media platform.

We understand that if someone using the “TAO Seal” starts violating its basic principles, they will be admonished, criticized, reprimanded and embarrassed in public through the awesome power of the Internet. Call it “crowdsourcing” ethics and accuracy. In summary, we believe that Transparency, Accountability and Openness are keys to our personal credibility and public trust.

So…what the heck does this mean to our Readers?

• It means that you can rest assured that if we have a bias or agenda, we’ll do our best to openly disclose it.
• If we make a mistake, we’ll do our best to correct it.
• And, as we’ve showed in the past by allowing anonymous Comments and Forum Postings, we’ll continue to allow contrary points of view, as long as they’re not libelous, or contain naughty words.

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The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence is hosting their annual Oktoberfest Dinner, Dance and Auction on October 2nd. Here are all the details:

Join the fun on Saturday October 2 from 6:00 to 11:00 PM, at the Normandy Park Cove, for an authentic Bavarian festival. The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence (HSFFE) is once again hosting an Oktoberfest Dinner, Dance and Auction to raise funds for the Arts and Middle & High School Athletics. HSFFE is partnering with the community to support the Brat Trot a family fun run and other fall celebrations around the Highline communities.

Traditionally, Oktoberfest marks the end of the harvest and is the preparation for winter. It was believed that a festival at this time would provide an ideal “relief valve.” The Foundation’s event is designed to be this “relief valve” and to build awareness about the work of the organization.

This year the Oktoberfest chairs are Chuck and Lisa Tuman and they have planned a wild event! Elliott Bay Brewery will again supply the beer, Dan “the Sausage man” House (Tin Room) the brats and Fernwood at the Park the ever popular hot potato salad (among other goodies). They are also bringing back Foremost DJ to rock the night away with tunes from every era, including the Chicken Dance! HSFFE is excited to have Mike Bishoff (Brat Trot and Cove-2-Clover race director) as our Emcee and Chuck Tuman as the Auctioneer for the 2010 Oktoberfest. They hope to fill the Cove with 300 community members and educators – so sign up early. One more note. . . Chuck and Lisa are working hard to bring back that 6’3” Austrian Yodeler with the initials MH!

This event is sure to be a festive and fun evening designed to bring community members together in support of our schools. HSFFE believes that strong schools build strong communities and a robust economy. The tickets for this over 21 event are $40 in advance or $45 at the door. You can purchase tickets at the Foundation website www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org or by calling 206.248.5196. Come early for happy hour from 6:00 to 7:00 they have discounts on beer and wine!

HSFFE was founded in 2001 with a mission of “providing Community Resources to help the Highline Public School Succeed.” HSFFE is the only 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting all 17,400 students in all 35 of the Highline Public Schools. The Foundation serves as a single point of contact for members of the community, local and national business, service organizations and other foundations to connect their philanthropic efforts with a single school or the entire district.

Highline Public School District is one of the most diverse in the state of Washington with over 60% of the students on the free or reduced lunch program and over 65% students of color. HSFFE works to foster an environment that helps all students reach their highest potential. The HSFFE Board President, Maya Mendoza-Exstrom stated, “We want all students have opportunities participate in activities and to have an enriched classroom experience.” To this end, HSFFE raises funds to support: classroom grants that enhance the educational experience; provide scholarships to needy students for summer arts academies and summer science camps; support middle and high school sports activities; a discretionary fund for homeless students (to keep them in school); an annual prom dress give away for approximately 100 economically disadvantaged high school students; and scholarships to graduating seniors going to universities, community and technical schools.

For more information about the Highline Schools Foundation or to volunteer contact Holly Moore at 206.248.5196 or holly@highlineschoolsfoundation.org

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Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training begins Sept. 16th and continues every Thursday evening from 6pm – 9pm at SeaTac City Hall, which is located at 4800 South 188th Street.

CERT was created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1994. The goal is for emergency personnel to train neighborhood residents, community organization members and employees in basic emergency response skills. CERT members are then integrated into emergency response efforts for their area. Some sessions require physical participation while others are primarily lectures. Instructors emphasize that participants must be physically fit enough to engage in strenuous activities, such as lifting and carrying.

There is a $35 fee for the course and select supplies, and a thorough background check is conducted on applicants.

Various session highlights include:

• Sept. 16: Disaster Preparedness, with Instructor Mike Marrs, Chief of the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Dept.
• Oct. 7: Disaster Psychology & ICS, taught be Sgt. Henry McLauchlan of Burien Police, and Kathleen Gleaves of the Port of Seattle.
• Oct. 28: Terrorism & Review with Doug Reynolds of SeaTac Police.
• Oct. 30: Final Mass Casualty Exercise, which is the big finale with fake “victims” being treated in a mock disaster. Cool.

For more information, contact Community Service Officer Mechee Burnett at (206) 973-4917 or mechee.burnett@kingcounty.gov.

Here’s the full class lineup:

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Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Saturday/Sunday – City of Tukwila Community Garage Sale is Aug 14-15
• Saturday – 5th Annual Trash To Treasure Parking Lot Sale Is Saturday, Aug. 14th
• Saturday – Health & Fitness Day at Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market
• Saturday – Brent Rice Memorial Swim Is Aug. 14th; Here’s How You Can Join In/Help
• Sunday – FREE Ice Cream With Ciscoe Morris At Highline/SeaTac Gardens Aug. 15th
• Sunday – Experience Live Mexican Dance At El Tianguis Latino Market
• Sunday – Free Music at Marvista Park Featuring The Starlings

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

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Here’s this week’s round-up of FREE concerts being offered in the surrounding area. This is the final week for concerts in Burien and Des Moines, so enjoy the music before it’s too late!

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The Port of Seattle announced Monday (Aug. 9) that South 160th St., between Air Cargo Rd. and International Blvd. (SR-99), will be closed to eastbound traffic during working hours (7am – 4pm) now through mid-September.

All eastbound traffic will be detoured to S 170th St. During non-working hours one lane in each direction will be open to traffic.

Exit from Airport Garage Rerouted; New Route Gives Drivers Access to the Exit to S. 170th Street

Drivers leaving the garage make an immediate right to enter the northbound Airport Expressway. This route gives drivers access to the exit to South 170th Street, which connects to both Air Cargo Road and International Boulevard (SR 99).

Drivers should use extra caution exiting the toll plaza, drive slowly and pay close attention to signage on the new route.

The exit ramp to Air Cargo Road on the southbound approach to the Airport terminal has closed. A new exit ramp is open on the opposite side (on the left) of the expressway, giving travelers access to the Cell Phone Waiting Lot, Overheight Parking, South 170th Street and Air Cargo Road . Drivers should pay particular attention to signage directing them to the new exit only lane on the left.

South 160th St., between Air Cargo Rd. and International Blvd. (SR-99), will be closed to eastbound traffic during working hours (7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) now through mid-September. All eastbound traffic will be detoured to S 170th St. During non-working hours one lane in each direction will be open to traffic.

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The Port of Seattle has signed a new contract with Yellow Cab company after the Washington Supreme Court rejected an appeal on an earlier ruling by the State Appeals Court.

The new contract will not take effect until at least October 31, as the Port has extended the current agreement with the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxicab Association (STITA) two months because of the pending legal cases.

People needing to hire a cab from the airport until Nov. 1 will still use the familiar STITA cabs, STITA officials said, until the new Yellow Cab contract takes affect.

However, STITA says it has other matters to take before courts that it hopes will prevent Yellow from taking over the cab service at the airport.

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