Seattle-Tacoma Airport will be offering special parking rates for regular season Seattle Seahawks home games (at Qwest Field) – a 50% parking discount at the Terminal Direct level of the airport parking garage.

The promotion, called “Score a Touchdown With Terminal Direct,” costs $2 per hour, and encourages fans to park at the airport, then take the Link Light Rail downtown.

According to airport folks, Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac offers the “most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail. You’ll park on the 4th floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport station.”

Here’s more from a press release:

During the 2010-2011 Seahawks regular season home games, customers parking in Terminal Direct will enjoy a $2 per hour rate, 50% off the regular rate. The discount period begins two and a half hours before game time and you get the chance to see the Seahawks without the hassle of downtown parking.  Discounted parking is available for up to eight hours and will automatically be credited at the special rate when you exit the airport parking garage. A minimum stay of 3 hours is required and you must park in Terminal Direct.

Catch Link Light Rail on the Terminal Direct parking level and travel to the Stadium or International District Stations, where you’re an easy walk to Qwest Field.  The airport’s Terminal Direct parking is a perfect way to make the connection to Link Light Rail and stay out of the traffic hassles on game days.

The special parking rate is valid for all Seahawks regular season games. Again, the discount will apply if you arrive to park at Terminal Direct within two and a half hours before game time and stay a minimum of 3 hours.

Date            Game Time                        Date                  Game Time
Sept. 12: 1:15pm v. San Francisco  Sept. 26: 1:15pm v. San Diego
Oct. 24: 1:05pm v. Arizona              Nov. 7: 1:05pm v. NY Giants
Nov. 28: 1:05pm v. Kansas City      Dec. 5: 1:15pm v. Carolina
Dec. 19: 1:05pm v. Atlanta               Jan. 2, 2011: 1:15pm v. St. Louis

Fans riding Link to the game can skip any post-game ticket lines by purchasing a round trip ticket ahead of time or by using an ORCA card from any ticket vending machine before boarding. The round trip fare from SeaTac/Airport station on Link Light Rail to the Stadium station is $5.

He’s probably the most famous hijacker there ever was, and he did his deed practically over our heads on Nov. 24, 1971 – we’re speaking of course about Dan “D.B.” Cooper, who hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 just prior to landing at Sea-Tac Airport, got his ransom of $200,000 cash, then parachuted out the back of the 727 during the flight, never to be seen again.

Cooper’s skyjacking remains the only unsolved one in the history of the U.S.

And now, nearly 39 years later, his caper is the basis for a Highline Historical Society exhibit at SeaTac City Hall (located at 4800 South 188th Street), where you can “re-discover the particulars of D.B. Cooper’s clever airborne crime and daredevil getaway (which) have been pondered, picked over and recapitulated for decades now.”

According to the FBI:

On November 24, 1971, an unknown subject, also known as Dan Cooper, purchased a one-way ticket on Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305. The flight was carrying 36 passengers and crew. The flight originated in Portland, Oregon with the final destination of Seattle, Washington.

The plane was hijacked just prior to its arrival in Seattle. In Seattle, the hijacker allowed the passengers and two stewardesses to depart the plane. Northwest Orient Airlines paid the hijacker $200,000.

The plane departed Seattle for Reno, Nevada. It is believed the hijacker parachuted from the plane during this flight. Authorities and personnel from Fort Lewis, Washington searched for Mr. Cooper but he was never found.

This animation shows how "D.B. Cooper" parachuted out the 727.

In 1980, an 8-year-old boy found $5,800 on the bank of the Columbia River. This is the only money ever recovered from the ransom.

Some more info:

• Cooper dove into a freezing rainstorm at an altitude around 10,000 feet, wearing only his business suit and loafers.
• The temperature was apparently -7 below zero, not counting a windchill factor estimated at minus 70 because of the plane’s speed of 200 mph.
• He parachuted into dense forest at night, at the onset of winter, with no food or survival gear.

Oh, and next time you’re upset at having to go through security at the airport? Blame Cooper, as passenger screening didn’t start until after his stunt.

You can view the exhibit during regular business hours (9am – 5pm) at SeaTac City Hall through the end of November.

And who knows? Maybe the real D.B. will check it out?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) seeks public comment on the City of SeaTac’s recently updated Shoreline Master Program, a landmark effort that will significantly increase protection and restoration of Angle Lake.

Ecology will accept public comment on SeaTac’s shoreline program from July 28 through Aug. 27, 2010. Comments and questions should be
addressed to:

David Pater
Department of Ecology
3190 160th Ave. SE
Bellevue, WA 98008

Or via email: David.Pater@ecy.wa.gov.

The updated master program guides construction and development in the City of SeaTac’s 2.17 miles of lake shoreline. It combines local plans for future development and preservation with new development ordinances and related permitting requirements.

Under Washington’s voter-approved Shoreline Management Act, Ecology must review and approve SeaTac’s shoreline program before it takes effect.

SeaTac’s proposed program and related documents are available for review at:

City of SeaTac Planning & Community Dept.
4800 South 188th Street
SeaTac WA

Or online here.

Ecology may approve the shoreline program as written, reject it or direct SeaTac to modify specific parts. Once approved by Ecology, SeaTac’s shoreline program will become part of the overall state shoreline master program. Ecology will help each local jurisdiction legally defend its shoreline program if necessary.

The SeaTac city council adopted the updated shoreline program after an extensive local process. The update began with a thorough inventory of existing land-use patterns and environmental conditions to preserve existing shoreline areas while protecting future economic development. SeaTac collaborated over two-and-a-half years with waterfront property owners, commercial property owners, real estate agents, environmental interests, and state agencies.

Shoreline master programs are the cornerstone of the state Shoreline Management Act passed by voters in 1972. The programs help minimize environmental damage to shoreline areas, reserve appropriate areas for water-oriented uses and reduce interference with the public’s access to public waters and shorelines.

The law requires cities and counties with marine shorelines, lakes 20 acres in size or larger, and streams and rivers flowing at 20 cubic feet per second or greater) to develop and periodically update their locally-tailored shoreline programs.

Key features of SeaTac’s updated program include:

• Improves protection of habitat and water quality through regulations that apply to all Angle Lake waterfront property owners.
• Requires structures to be set back 65 feet from the lakeshore.
• Promotes incentives for reestablishment of vegetation buffers.
• Reduces ecological impacts of new and replacement recreational piers.
• Limits construction of new shoreline armoring and encourages the use of soft-bank erosion control methods.
• Includes a restoration plan showing where and how voluntary improvements in water and upland areas can enhance the local shoreline environment.
• Helps support the broader Puget Sound initiative to protect and restore the Sound.

Ecology adopted new guidelines in 2003 that establish the basic requirements for updating local shoreline master programs. The guidelines resulted from a negotiated settlement between business interests, ports, environmental groups, shoreline user groups, cities and counties, Ecology, and the courts.

SeaTac joins a growing number of cities, towns and counties that have updated their shoreline programs using the 2003 guidelines. The state guidelines allow each town, city and county flexibility to customize their programs to fit its local land-use circumstances and vision of local waterfront development.

More than 30 cities and counties have already updated their shoreline programs, with 70 updates currently under way. Most haven’t done so comprehensively in almost 40 years. From 1978 through 2008, the state population grew from about 3.8 million to an estimated 6.6 million people.

Starting July 1, 2009, Ecology provided $7.5 million in state grants to an additional 77 cities and counties to help them begin updating their shoreline policies and regulations – including $3 million earmarked by the 2009 Legislature specifically to help municipalities throughout the Puget Sound region.

Washington has 266 cities and counties with shorelines that qualify for grant funding and must update their shoreline programs by December 2014.

by Jack Mayne

A cab driver for the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA), Jaskaran Singh, is credited with finding and returning an envelope of cash to a family that flew into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and took a cab to a downtown hotel. The name of the family is not being used to protect their privacy.

“We arrived very late at night after a long flight from New York,” the traveler wrote to the city taxi authority and to the cab company. “Exhausted from our travels we took a STITA taxi driven by Mr. Jaskaran Singh from the Seattle airport to our hotel.

“My wife was holding a very large amount of cash in an envelope,” the traveler wrote. “This represented all the cash we had in our possession. In the hustle of getting out of the taxi with two small children and handling six pieces of luggage my wife unknowingly lost the envelope containing all our money.

“Upon arriving at our hotel room we soon discovered all our money was missing. We frantically searched the hotel lobby and outside street with no luck. My wife was crying hysterically and our trip was ruined. The children asked how we would survive with no money.

“One of my children thought he remembered the cab number but we were unsure of the taxi company name. From our hotel manager we obtained a phone number for STITA taxi company and called the dispatcher on the unlikely chance he could track down our driver. At this point we were unsure where we lost our money.”

The New Yorker said he told the dispatcher “our sad story and he instantly responded to the gravity of our situation.”

“Despite the large number of taxis at the Seattle airport that evening the dispatcher called me right back to say he was somehow able to locate our particular taxi.

“Moments later I received another call from my driver, Mr. Jaskaran Singh. The first words out of his mouth were ‘there’s a lot of money here.’ Mr. Singh appeared soon afterward and dropped off all our lost money.

“We will always remember Mr. Singh’s honesty and integrity,” the traveler said. “I share this experience in recognition of Mr. Jaskaran Singh efforts and the fine folks who work at the STITA taxi company who responded to our crisis. Mr. Singh’s actions were truly commendable and turned our worst nightmare into an example of humanity at its finest.”

If you have a story to tell about your time spent at the airport, or if you have personal mementos such as photos, uniforms, ephemera (contracts, tickets, advertisements, schedules, etc.), or even home movies taken at the airport, the Historical Society would like to hear from you.

The Society can make careful copies of photos and documents and return the originals to the owner in pristine, museum-quality conditions.

This is a unique opportunity to be part of preserving the history of Sea-Tac Airport, and of documenting its impact on the communities of Highline. Donors of memories and memorabilia will be entered in a drawing to win a dinner for two at Mick Kelley’s Irish Pub in Burien.

If you can help out, please contact the Society today by calling 206-246-6354, or by e-mailing editor@highlinehistory.org.

Here’s a great photo courtesy the historical society, of Opening Day of Sea-Tac International Airport, taken in July, 1949 (more great photos here):