Letters to the Editor

Local response to possible Hanson Dam flooding.

Latest estimates of potential evacuees are in the 30,000-plus range, for three weeks or more.

  • Oct 27, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

He’ll take Kent over county

After living in unincorporated King County in the Panther Lake Annexation Area for almost 17 years, I would prefer to be governed by the City of Kent rather than King County.

  • Oct 27, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Reasons not to annex Panther Lake into the City of Kent

I am a retired cost analyst living on the north end of what is called Kent East Hill. I am deeply concerned about Kent’s innovative process to annex my community into the city of Kent.

  • Oct 21, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

City needs new leadership, new mayor

The City of Kent needs new leadership and here are seven reasons why.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

What should the voters believe?

It looks like the other shoe is finally dropping in Kent. After months of assuring us that the budget was fine and sales tax revenues would be adequate to fill the budget shortages in the city, the administration is now about to lay off dozens of employees.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Voter Misinformation? Reader wants to know

In reading the recent Voter's Pamphlet that came to my home, I was surprised to read that Councilmember Elizabeth Albertson has listed her occupation as executive director of Communities in Schools of Kent.This simply is not true! She was relieved of her position on June 25, 2009.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent Councilmember: Tim Clark did not speak for City Council

I continue to be very disturbed by the tone and the accusations displayed by Tim Clark at the Oct. 6 Kent City Council meeting and I would like to make the record clear.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Kent City Councilor: Berrios budget remarks unwarranted

I recognize that as campaign season approaches all candidates are doing their best to gain attention and eventually win their respective race.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Seattle Humane Society has proven record of success

Seattle Humane has a long-standing record of proper medical, behavior assessment and facility protocols for handling large numbers of animals. I believe they recently won an award. They have proper sanitation and isolation protocols in place to prevent the spread of infectious diseases among the animal population in their care.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Transparency an issue for Berrios

It seems disconcerting to me that the man who is one of the people responsible for hiring Dr. Vargas and paying him more than any other state superintendent of public schools is accusing the person he is running against in the mayor’s race of “fiscal mismanagement”. I guess it is true that we see in others the traits that we possess and do not want to see in ourselves.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Vote for Ralph for City Council

Dana Ralph is the clear choice for Kent City Council Position No. 4. I have know Dana for many years and know she is committed to the City of Kent. She has volunteered at the city level for over six years. Dana chairs both the Land Use and Planning Board and the Kent Arts Commission. She also has served on a variety of other committees and volunteers at her sons’ schools.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Column: Leon Thompson takes a walk down memory lane

When I arrived in Seattle, Wash., in 1956, I had left the U.S. Geodetic Ship as a Hydrography recorder and landed a position as a Fire Insurance Surveyor for an insurance firm in California. My job was to bring insurance maps up-to-date, so I walked Seattle, Wash., alley to alley and block to block, covering the entire city information.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

ShoWare staff part of Kent school’s win

I was pleasantly surprised to see your article on Aug. 29 about Martin Sortun Elementary’s participation in the My Coke Rewards for Schools program. As the passive fundraising chairperson for the Martin Sortun PTA, I knew that we had done well, but had no idea that we were in the Top 10 Schools nationwide for redeeming My Coke Rewards points.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Dennis Higgins gets this reader’s vote

I am writing to urge Kent citizens to vote for Dennis Higgins for Kent City Council Position 4. Dennis has experience and knowledge on a wide range of issues faced by our city.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Budget numbers don’t add up

At Tuesday night’s (0ct. 6) Kent City Council meeting, Operations Committee chair Tim Clark delivered a clear message from the City Council to the mayor – it’s time to acknowledge the growing gap between the mayor’s budget and reality.

  • Oct 13, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Berrios an ardent Kent schools supporter

I am a teacher at Kent-Meridian High School, where I moved from Kent Junior High when we moved our ninth graders up to the high school. I have known Jim Berrios and the Berrios family ever since his son was in my eighth-grade Spanish class more than 10 years ago.

  • Sep 30, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Thank you, Mary Ellen Stone, for your leadership

This past week the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center celebrated the 30th anniversary of the leadership of Mary Ellen Stone as executive director. At a reception held in her honor we acknowledged the active role Ms. Stone has played in changing the nature of sexual-assault prevention, education and victim response in Washington state.

  • Sep 30, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Cuts in city jobs could have been prevented

As we move toward this year's mayoral election, all citizens should review the financial policies of the current administration. Shortly after the election in 2005, our mayor terminated the four-year budget project process. As a result, a totally unrealistic outlook has dominated the budget process for the city of Kent.

  • Sep 28, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

State budget cuts spawned Kent strike

My two daughters attended Crestwood Elementary, Mattson Junior High, Kentwood High School, and graduated from Western Washington University and the University of Washington. Our older daughter teaches math at Auburn High School and my wife, Sandy, has both taught and subbed at Auburn. I also taught math for three years at the Air Force Academy Prep School, before I came to Boeing, where I am a 747 and 777 instructor pilot.

  • Sep 25, 2009
  • BY Wire Service

Howard Hanson Dam woes could be finest hour for Army Corps of Engineers

One of my favorite movie scenes is near the end of “Apollo 13.” An official grumbles that this could be the worst disaster in NASA… Continue reading

  • Sep 22, 2009
  • BY Wire Service