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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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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Hi there loyal SeaTac-ites (that can’t be right, can it?)…Leonard the goldfish here, with INCREDIBLE BREAKING NEWS!

I’m not usually one to type shout, but seriously, this is B-I-G big. After three long years of bugging the heck out of the Seattle Aquarium, they’re finally giving me a chance to get my own exhibit. I just have to prove that people (i.e. you) actually want me there. So I need to get 30,000 votes and I’m in. You can vote and find out more about my plight at VoteLeonardIn.com. Or follow me on my Facebook page.

Hopefully someday soon you’ll be able to follow me at the actual Seattle Aquarium, along with the otters, wolf eels, and moon jellies.

So please, SeaTacians (ok, that sounds better), help me prove to the Aquarium folks I’m not too common to get my own exhibit.

Remember, a vote for me is a vote for goldfish everywhere.

[Would you like to have a Blogvertorial story, Ad and/or Event Listing like this on a popular, fast-growing website seen by thousands of interested Local Readers every month? Email usfor details!]

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Seattle Southside Visitor Services Program Director Katherine Kertzman cuts the ribbon, as Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler and Tukwila City Councilmember Joan Hernandez look on.

The Seattle Southside Visitor’s Center held its Grand Opening last Thursday, May 13th, at its new digs in SeaTac, and on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony were dignitaries from SeaTac, Des Moines, Tukwila and Kent.

The event included a ribbon cutting by Program Director of Seattle Southside Visitor Services Katherine Kertzman as well as speeches by other local public officials.

According to their website, the Seattle Southside Visitor’s Center:

We are the leading tourism and marketing organization in South King County. Seattle Southside Visitor Services (SSVS) –a program offered jointly by the Cities of Des Moines, Tukwila, SeaTac and Kent – is responsible for competitively marketing the area as an ideal travel destination for tourists who wish to explore Western Washington.

Scott Schaefer was also on hand, mostly to nosh on the free food and enter raffles (he didn’t win anything though…), as well as take the following photos:

SSVC Program Director Katherine Kertzman, left, and Business Relations Coordinator Meilee Anderson watch the festivities.

The sparkling new facility is located at 3100 S. 176th Street in SeaTac.

SSVC Staff were all smiles as the big day went off without a hitch.

Dozens of local businesspeople, residents and dignitaries showed up to support the new center.

Bowls of colored chocolate candy brightened up tables full of "Tourism Matters" buttons.

The Ink Stop's Barbara Panush, left, and Tamara Mackey of Heartland Payment Systems.

For more information on the Seattle Southside Visitor’s center, click here.

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Seattle Southside Visitor Services, the official tourism department for the cities of SeaTac, Tukwila, Kent and Des Moines, will be holding its Grand Opening event for a new visitor center in SeaTac on Thursday, May 13th from 4pm – 8pm.

This event will feature ribbon cutting and welcome speeches by Mayor Jim Haggerton of Tukwila, Program Director of Seattle Southside Katherine Kertzman and other local public officials.

If you wish to attend, you are encouraged to RSVP by Monday, May 10 by calling 206.575.2489.

Seattle Southside’s New Visitor Center is located at 3100 South 176th Street in SeaTac.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Grand Opening Event for Seattle Southside Visitor Services’ new Visitor Center. Event to feature ribbon cutting and welcome speeches by Mayor Jim Haggerton of Tukwila, Program Director of Seattle Southside Katherine Kertzman and other local public officials.

WHEN: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 4-8 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle Southside’s New Visitor Center, located at 3100 South 176th Street, SeaTac, WA 98188

INFO:  On Thursday, May 13, Seattle Southside Visitor Services will host a Grand Opening Event for the new Visitor Center located in the City of SeaTac. The Grand Opening Event will coincide with National Tourism Week and will feature a ribbon cutting and welcome speeches by Mayor Jim Haggerton, Program Director of Seattle Southside Katherine Kertzman and local public officials. Guests will enjoy wine tasting, appetizers, music performances and prize giveaways that include an Apple iPad.

In March 2010, Seattle Southside relocated the Visitor Center to its new location in the City of SeaTac. At this location, the Visitor Center will have greater visibility and access to airport travelers and hotel guests visiting the region.  It also offers flexibility for future growth and better transportation access for volunteers and interns from Highline Community College and South Seattle Community College, both of which have hospitality management and tourism programs.

Seattle Southside’s Grand Opening Event will take place from 4-8 p.m. RSVP by Monday, May 10 by calling 206.575.2489.

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On Monday (April 12) the Better Business Bureau announced that it had discovered that counterfeit BBB complaint notices are being sent out to businesses across the country from the email address “seatac@bbb.org.”

According to the BBB, several businesses across the U.S. (including law firms, advertising agencies and architecture firms) have reported receiving a suspicious e-mail from this fake email address. The subject line says “BBB Complaint Case #… (Ref #…).” Each one comes with a nine-digit case number and a 21-digit reference number.

The body of the e-mail claims that the company did not respond to a complaint filed by a consumer named Jason Harlow. E-mails contain a link that says “please click here to access the complaint.” Those who hover over the link will find that it goes to ca-bbb.org, a fake BBB Web site page that has been suspended and is currently unavailable.

Here’s a screenshot of the actual e-mail:

Click image to see large version.

Here’s more info from the BBB on this incident:

Both BBB Accredited and non-Accredited businesses have been targeted.

“Part of BBB’s role in the marketplace is to be a trusted third-party, which involves sending correspondence and informing businesses of complaints and compliments from consumers. It’s really unnerving that someone is trying to defraud our system,” said Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. “We want business owners to feel like they can trust all communications coming from our organization, which is why we are taking steps to stop unauthorized imitators.”

BBB Of Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington does not:

• Refer to itself as “Seatac BBB.”
• Send complaints to businesses outside of its service area. Based on where they are located, businesses can expect to hear from their local BBB only. For example, your BBB would not send a complaint notice to a company located in any state other than Alaska, Oregon, or Western Washington.
• Send e-mails requesting private information. Do not provide personal details or payment information via unsolicited e-mail.

Businesses that receive suspicious e-mails claiming to be from BBB should take the following steps:

• Do not click on any links or reply to the message.
• Forward it to phishing@council.bbb.org and delete it from your inbox.
• Run a virus scan on your computer.

Businesses are encouraged to verify the legitimacy of BBB e-mails: If you receive an e-mail from Better Business Bureau about a complaint and need assistance in determining if it is legitimate, contact your BBB directly at 206-431-2222 or e-mail info@thebbb.org.

For more advice on how to protect your business from malicious online attacks and data breaches, visit www.bbb.org/data-security.

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The Port of Seattle announced this week that it will be offering a 50% parking discount for Mariners fans who want to park and take Link Light Rail to Safeco Field during the team’s initial homestand, which begins Monday, April 12.

Fans can park on the fourth floor of the airport garage for a discounted $2 per hour, then walk to the rail stop, beginning as early as Monday’s (April 12) home opener. The bargain rate begins two hours before game time, and lasts up to eight hours.

The cost for round trip fare from the SeaTac/Airport station on Link Light Rail to the Stadium station is $5.

The Port says that fans “will automatically be credited at the special rate when you exit the airport parking garage,” but we’re not sure how that works.

The special parking rate is valid for the Mariner’s first homestand, which runs from Monday April 12 to Wednesday, April 21:

• April 12 3:40 p.m.
• April 13 7:10 p.m.
• April 14 7:10 p.m.
• April 16 7:10 p.m.
• April 17 6:10 p.m.
• April 18 1:10 p.m.
• April 19 7:10 p.m.
• April 20 7:10 p.m.
• April 21 7:10 p.m.

For more information, visit the Port’s website here.

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What does this mean for us? Hopefully, more exposure for our stories (as well as for Southwest King County area news), as The Times will now be posting and linking to content originally created by us. Also, we will now be “official” partners with them, which means we’ll be posting more relevant stories from their outstanding staff, including such luminaries as Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter Susan Kelleher, who just happens to be the sister of one of our best friends (screenwriter Tim Kelleher).

We see it as a definite win-win for both parties, as well as for our Readers.

On a personal note, just seeing the iconic, classic old-school Seattle Times logo on this site gives me goosebumps. When I was a kid in sixth grade, I “published” my first “newspaper” called The Seattle Star (yes, I stole the name from a defunct old Seattle paper), and I remember spending hours hand-drawing its logo to look just like the font used by The Times. I think the logo was the best part of that publication, which consisted mostly of jokes stolen from Mad Magazine, and for which I charged 25-cents to any sucker family member who’d take pity on me.

Amazing how life comes back at you with surprises isn’t it?

Here’s what The Seattle Times has to say about our partnership (here’s a link to their announcement):

The Seattle Times is expanding its partnerships with local news Web sites with the addition of eight more sites today. That brings the total number of partner Web sites to 27. (See the complete list, along with their latest headlines.)

Partnering with The Times today are:

• Shoreline Area News and editor Diane Hettrick.
• My Edmonds News and editor Teresa Wippel.
• The B-Town Blog (Burien), as well as four other sites operated by Scott Schaefer: The Waterland Blog (Des Moines), Normandy Park Blog, Tukwila Blog and SeaTac Blog.
• Surrounded By Water (Mercer Island) and editor Ellie.
  

The Times’ effort to build community-news relationships began last August with the launch of the Networked Journalism project. Read about that project here.

The other partner sites are:

• Capitol Hill Seattle Blog
• Central District News
• Fremont Universe
• Magnolia Voice
• My Ballard
• PhinneyWood.com
• Queen Anne View
• Rainier Valley Post
• Seattle Local Health Guide
• West Seattle Blog
• White Center Now
• Aurora | Seattle
• Beacon Hill Blog
• Eastlake Ave. Blog
• Kirkland Views
• MLTnews.com
• Redmond Neighborhood Blog
• Seattle Beer News
• Three Sheets Northwest

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In the continuing saga of STITA vs the Port of Seattle, on Monday (Feb. 22nd), the Washington state Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the cab company by granting a temporary injunction against the Port of Seattle’s planned contract with Yellow Cab/Puget Sound Dispatch.

This means the Port cannot sign the planned contract “until further order of the Court” (click here to download/read the order as a PDF file), which could happen in April.

STITA’s request to expedite the appeal was granted by Commissioner Mary Neel. The Commissioner’s order states that this case will be heard by a three-judge panel “toward the end of the April 2010 term,” meaning that this ongoing SeaTac soap opera is far from over.

Members of STITA, who filed the original lawsuit against the Port of Seattle on Jan. 29, were obviously pleased with the decision.

“We are thrilled that the court stopped the Port from proceeding with an illegal contract,” said Jesse Buttar, a STITA member and spokesperson. “We’ve only ever asked for a fair process and a legal contract and now we hope the Port has finally listened and will re-do its flawed bidding process.”

Here’s more info from STITA’s press release, issued late Monday afternoon:

STITA, a non-profit co-op with one of the greenest cab fleet in the country, was created in 1989 by the Port of Seattle to exclusively serve the airport and provide reliable service to airport users. Now, after an unfair proposal process, STITA and its approximately 450 members and drivers will essentially be put out of business. They have the airport contract through August 2010.

STITA’s lawsuit claims that the Port’s bidding process violated state law by requiring bidders to commit to pay an unfair concession fee of at least 10 percent of their airport-based revenues to the Port. This revenue system violates the Airports Act, which says airport concession fees must be based upon the actual cost of operations and be reasonable and uniform. Previously, the Port had charged a per-trip fee to taxis based on the airport’s actual cost of services provided to the cabbies.

Additionally, the lawsuit contends that the Port’s new concession fees violate the King County Code and takes away from the King County Council’s authority to set “just and reasonable” taxi meter rates.

Despite protests from STITA to the Port about these glaring problems with the process and the proposed contract, the Port has so far declined to re-do its flawed contract bid.

A second lawsuit against the Port and Yellow Cab by Farwest Taxi was filed on Feb. 12.

Read our sister site The B-Town Blog’s previous coverage of this ongoing legal battle here.

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As the owner of Shuttle Express, a provider of passenger service at Sea-Tac International Airport, I have been following the Port of Seattle’s recent decision to replace STITA (Sea-Tac International Taxi Association) with Yellow Cab. How could the Port make such a poor decision and why? Even though I compete with the taxis, I feel the need to speak up. When there is such an injustice to the traveling public, questions need to be asked.

Working at Sea-Tac for 35 years, I have firsthand knowledge of airport operations and STITA Taxi. Knowing STITA’s reputation, I thought they would surely be chosen for the new contract for the taxi concession. I was astonished to hear the Port’s decision. The structure of the RFP caused a bidding war, and the Port plans to award the contract to the highest bidder, Yellow Cab. How could they base their decision purely on money and not reputation and quality of service?

Shuttle Express and STITA operate within a few feet of each other so I know their operations and service level. STITA taxi owners maintain their vehicles and have invested in a green fleet, all while making a living wage. And, STITA provides good service, much better than any other taxi service in Seattle.

As a competitor, it would be to my advantage to say nothing and compete against a lesser provider. But I can’t watch this play out without saying something about the Port’s injustice to STITA, and more importantly to you, the traveling public. I have no issue with the Port opening the concession to competitive bid, but its selection based on who will pay the most money rather than service and safety is wrong.

Jim Sherrell is the Owner of Shuttle Express.

More money for the Port may sound good, but in reality the over-inflated fees that Yellow agreed to pay the Port are way off base. There is no way Yellow can use the minuscule taxi fees to fund reservations, dispatch, accounting, marketing, safe vehicles, insurance, advertising AND also pay the Port an exorbitant fee to use the taxi curb. What expenses will the Yellow taxi drivers have to cut to still be able to put bread on the table? Will you feel safe when you climb into that taxi knowing they cannot meet their financial obligations and still make a living?

So why would the Port prioritize getting more money above safety, service and other important factors? What seems obvious is the Port wants more money. Who is eventually going to pay the Port more money? Sure, first it will be the poor taxi drivers. Next, the taxi drivers will ask regulators to allow increased fees. In the end, YOU, the traveling public will be paying the difference with higher taxi fares.

Now ask yourself, is the Port operating in the interest of the traveling public, or is it merely trying to squeeze more money from taxi drivers and you, the passengers?

Will the publicly elected Port of Seattle Commissioners recognize this flawed RFP bid for what it is and correct this radical mistake? My experience during the last thirty-plus years tells me that when the Port Commissioners know the facts and hear from their voters, they will make the correct decision to award the RFP fairly, based on service and safety for the traveling public rather than strictly money from fees.

It’s up to you, the traveling public, to let the Commissioners know your feelings on the issue to have it corrected: www.portseattle.org.

- Jim Sherrell
Owner, Shuttle Express

(Jim Sherrell is the owner of Shuttle Express, serving the Seattle region since 1979)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Have something you'd like to say? Then email us your "Letter to the Editor" by clicking here. Be sure to include your real name and a way to contact you, and, pending our review, we'll most likely post it. Otherwise, feel free to leave a Comment below...]

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