Burien, WA

Some of you may know about MyZip.net, a Marchex project. Their goal was to get "people to think of their ZIP Code + .net as the default Web destinations for information and commentary about their neighborhoods or towns." I've mentioned it before in previous blog posts, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the neighborhood blogger for 98146.net.

The MyZip.net project was to be on a trial basis of undetermined length of time. I am sad to report that on April 30th the trial period ended. When I first signed up for this project I was under the assumption that once the trial period was over we would still be able to keep our blogs, and that the trial ending meant simply that we wouldn't be paid our $50 stipend anymore.

However, upon receiving the final e-mail from MyZip, we were all informed that effective immediately we no longer had access to our dashboard, and that the project was completely over.

What a bummer. I was just getting into it. When I initially blogged about this on Active Rain, I do remember being warned about this. The good thing that came out of it was that I got into the habit of posting something about my area 3 times a week.

Thank goodness I still have Localism!!

I will be working in the Prudential booth every week throughout the season. It sure beats sitting in the office, and it's great fun to meet people, hand out treats to kids and snack on farm fresh produce.

Every year the location changes due to construction of Burien Town Square. This year, the Farmer's Market will be located at SW 152nd St and 10th Ave SW, adjacent to Olde Burien shopping district and next to the Masonic Temple. It's a sweet location compared to last year. In addition to the Farmer's Market, there are all kinds of great busineses in Olde Burien, old and new, so as you're strolling the Market don't forget to check out all of the other interesting places in Olde Burien, and why not grab a bite to eat as well?

Hope to see y'all there!

It's incredible to me how fast this project is progressing. The new Shorewood Elementary, located on the corner of SW 116th St and 28th Ave SW, has a completion date of September 2008.

I took a couple of photos of the construction, and there are more photos posted on the Highline School District site.

The students are currently attending an interim school located at 11427 3rd Ave South, which is the old White Center Heights Elementary.

As part of Burien's 15th birthday festivities, a big bash was held at the Highline High School cafeteria on Saturday the 29th of March. I took my 6 year-old son there because I knew he would have a good time.

The party started at noon, and I wanted to get there right on time since I had an appointment to go to at 2:30, and because they were giving free T-shirts to the 1st 100 kids!

Living only 5 minutes away, I felt that I had plenty of time to get there, until I made a left turn on 4th SW and SW 152nd St. Only after I made the turn did I realize that I was about 5 cars behind a giant, slow-moving pink birthday bus loaded with city officials on the top.

We continued to move at a snail's pace until we got to the high school 6 blocks and 10 minutes later. I guess I have the same view of time as my 6 year-old!

Inside the cafeteria there were various vendor/service provider booths, including my company,Prudential. Stu and Marco were there answering questions and posing for my pictures. After chatting with them I took Felix inside; there were several games for the kids, some jumping toys(which I LOVE because it tires my son out and he really enjoys them) and some fun crafts including crazy hat making and tissue paper rose making. The lady working that booth let me make a flower too. :)

Over in one corner of the cafeteria the Burien Teen Council was selling granola bars, water, pop and cool "I Heart Burien" T-shirts. Ivar's was there giving away free clam chowder, which was nice on such a weird-weather day. The friendly ladies from Round Table were also there selling pizza by the slice. I was bummed that I had already eaten lunch.

But I waiting for the cake. There were three cakes donated for the event, two from Albertsons and one from Safeway.

We sat and watched as a group performed "El Baile de los Viejitos"("The Dance of the Old People" in Spanish) There was also a breakdancing performance and a performance by a youth choir.

After the performances members of the Burien City Council including the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor(dressed as a clown) got up on stage and led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday".

Then it was off to get in line for a piece of cake! Burien sure knows how to throw a fun party. I'm looking forward to #20!

For those who are interested in the subject of potential annexation of North Highline to Burien, there will be a Special Meeting on Monday, March 31st at 7:00 p.m. at the Educational Resource & Administrative Center(ERAC) board room. Address is 15675 Ambaum Blvd S.W., next to Hi-Line Bowl.

For more info, please contact the City Clerk's office at (206) 248-5517.

Also:

The next meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council will be on April 3, 2008 at the North Highline Fire Station, 1243 SW 112th St beginning at 7:00 PM.