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Feb
4
Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and seven other members of Washington’s congressional delegation are asking the Corps of Engineers to keep working at full speed on a permanent fix for the Howard Hanson Dam.
In a letter Thursday they asked the Corps to complete a study by June so the project can be considered for construction funding in 2012.
Read the rest of the story over at MyNorthwest.com.
Jan
16
Over the past week we’ve recevied e-mails from a majority of citizens that oppose annexing the Renton Public Library into King County.
We believe you can come to your own conclusions, but please examine both sides. Please take a look at the endorsements on both sites. Do you notice anything?
Those againist the annexation can visit a blog at www.votenotilyouknow.wordpress.com. They have also setup a web site at www.saverentonlibrary.org.
Those for the annexation can visit a blog at www.rentonforkclsnow.org.
With the recent debacle of the Green River and the Howard Hanson Dam, do we really want to hand over a City of Renton asset to King County? Fortunately it will be up to the voters to decide. Maybe we can move the library over to the former King County Elections Headquarters on Grady? We hear the building is vacant.
If you would like to view the video from the Renton City Council Meeting on January 11, 2010 where the Library was discussed, it is available here: renton.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=404. If you want to jump directly to the library presentations, select “Public Meeting” on the dropdown list directly below the video.
Dec
29
The rows of giant sandbags now lining the Green River may calm residents who feared water could swamp its banks.But the new barrier only masks risks still hidden below.
Beneath the stacks of plastic designed to prevent flooding from a damaged dam rest aging levees in serious decay. The right mix of storms could wipe them out and flood the valley before the river even hits its crest.
Story continues at SeattleTimes.com.
Nov
5
By GEORGE TIBBITS, Associated Press Writer
AUBURN, Wash. (AP) - Hurried repairs this summer at the Howard Hanson Dam have lessened the chances the Green River will flood this winter, the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday.
Corps spokeswoman Patricia Graesser in Seattle would not say by how much the odds were improved, saying details would come at a midday news conference.
AP story continues at KOMONews.com.
Oct
30
By LARRY LANGE
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COMAs many as 300,000 people might have to be evacuated if a major flood occurs in the Green River Valley this winter, officials said Thursday.
One of the biggest challenges could be evacuating people around Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, where more than 150,000 vehicles can be parked at the shopping center and other businesses during holidays.
Story continues at the SeattlePI.com.
Oct
29
By GEORGE TIBBITS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
RENTON, Wash. — King County has spent about $200,000 on what are essentially gigantic water balloons.
But if the huge rubber and fabric barriers work as advertised and keep flood water out of the county’s South Treatment Plant this winter, it’s money well spent, said Don Wickens, assistant manager of the wastewater treatment facility.
Story continues at the Seattle PI.
Oct
19
Pretty amazing process Boeing is going through.
Make you wonder if it would have been cheaper to simply do the same thing around the King County Elections building on Grady. If Boeing believes they can get people in and out, why can’t King County.
More on the berms at KOMONews.com.
Oct
12
Up to 5,000 people may need to be housed in shelters if severe flooding strikes the Green River Valley this fall because a nearby dam can’t hold as much stormwater as it used to, King County Council members were told Monday.
Heather Kelly, of the county’s Office of Emergency Management,said planners are assuming about 10 percent of the up to 30,000 people who could be displaced by floods would need to live in shelters for a time. However the individual cities in the flood plain - Kent, Auburn, Renton and Tukwila - can only handle about 100 people per night, Kelly said. So the county is working with the Red Cross to set up two large shelters and five smaller facilities to house people.
Story continues at the Seattle PI.
Oct
12
SEATTLE - We’ve seen the super-sized sandbags, each one weighing more than 1,000 pound, that are being used to line miles of levees.
By now, most people are aware of the danger posed by a weakened Howard Hanson Dam. Parts of the cities of Kent, Renton, Auburn and Tukwila are at significant risk of being flooded this fall.
Story continues at KING5.com with video.
Oct
11
KENT, Wash. — Boeing is putting up massive new flood walls to protect its facilities of potential Green River flooding in the Renton and Kent areas.Boeing spokesperson Bill Cogswell said when the company learned the Army Corps of Engineers may have to dump more water in the Green River this winter due to the compromised Howard Hansen Dam — the company started working up a plan.
Story continues at kirotv.com.
