The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where?    North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When?     Thursday, May 5, 2022, at 7 pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86184303928?pwd=VFNRSEtQVHhNMTVzTUZiWXFtYWo5QT09

            Meeting ID      861 8430 3928                        Passcode:   NHUAC2022 (Case Sensitive)

Unable to join via Zoom?  Please call:    253-215-8782 

            Meeting ID:     861 8430 3928                        Passcode:   538997120            

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White Center has a colorful history. “During the Prohibition years (1916-1933), the trade was bootleg liquor.  Some members of local law enforcement were in on the smuggling.’  After Prohibition ended in 1933, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol became a significant part of White Center’s legal business community.   White Center — Thumbnail History – HistoryLink.org  

The legalization of alcohol put the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics at risk.  It needed something to prohibit. Cannabis was chosen for a  number of reasons, including money. Companies such as DuPont and Ford feared competition from products that might be produced from hemp. Racism was another motivator. The ”name…’marihuana” painted cannabis as foreign and dangerously exotic, making it seem as though the criminalization of marijuana was necessary to keep the country safe.”  The History of U.S. Marijuana Prohibition – CNBS

In 2012, Washington voters legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana.  Since legalization, cannabis shops have become a substantial part of the community.  With them came tax dollars and concerns ranging from the effect of such an abundance of these businesses on our young people to the recent rise in robberies of cannabis shops.

In 2015, the Liquor Control Board became the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB).  So, what is the state of the liquor and cannabis businesses in our community and state?  NHUAC will be joined LCB’s Lieutenant E.P. Hackenberg and Officer Erick Thomas at our May 5th meeting.  You may know Officer Thomas.  His territory includes North Highline, and he participates in NHUAC and Coalition for Drug Free Youth meetings.  We’ve asked Lieutenant Hackenberg to talk about maintaining safety in cannabis stores and other industry wide issues. We welcome them both and, of course, Deputy Bill Kennamer!

                                                           Knowledge is power.

Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.

May 5, 2022 at 7 pm – Invite Your Neighbors!

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council’s April meeting spotlights the Subarea Plan

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where?    North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When?     Thursday, April 7, 2022, at 7 pm

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85898466765?pwd=ays3cm4xQ2xJYTdZa0JjNEdJNUVGZz09

            Meeting ID:   858 9846 6765                          

            Passcode:   NHUAC2022 (Case Sensitive)

Unable to join via Zoom?  Please call:    253-215-8782 

            Meeting ID:   858 9846 6765                         

            Passcode:   887033793            

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“Neighbor is not a geographic term.  It is a moral concept.”  – Rabbi Joachim Prinz

“Poverty is not an accident.  Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human-beings.”  -Nelson Mandela

Have you any idea how many kids it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, “What light?” and two more to say, “I didn’t turn it on.”  – Erma Bombeck

Some thoughts to ponder before NHUAC’s April 7^th meeting where we’ll learn more about the county’s vision for our community, a/ka the North Highline Subarea Plan. We’ll be joined once again by Jacqueline Reid, of King County’s Department of Local Services (DLS).  She will share the recommendations of Executive Dow Constantine. His proposal went to  the King County Council last week for discussion. deliberation, finalization, and ultimately a vote.  Councilman Joe McDermott, Fire Chief Mike Marrs and Deputy Bill Kennamer will also join the discussion.

According to a 2011 Opportunity Mapping Analysis, White Center is a “low opportunity neighborhood” with “some of the worst health outcomes in King County… ranking number one for diabetes-related deaths, infant mortality, and heart disease….”  The report also cites “academic achievement and poverty challenges.”  “School poverty has serious implications not just for students, but for districts, communities and the region.”

How will the Subarea Plan improve life in our neighborhood? In November of 2020, NHUAC was joined by David Goodman who shared some data the county had compiled from and about our community.  David is gone, but his presentation is worth reviewing.  http://whitecenternow.com/2020/11/10/newest-plan-for-subarea-plan-north-highline-unincorporated-area-councils-novem

                                Knowledge is power.

Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.

April 7, 2022 at 7 pm – Invite Your Neighbors!— 

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where?    North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When?     Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 7 pm

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4554402206?pwd=VTBjU2huaXZ0YkNSMmQ3V1BMckFCUT09

            Meeting ID:    455 440 2206                          Passcode (case sensitive):      NHUAC2022

Unable to join via Zoom?       Please Call:      1-253-215-8782

            Meeting ID:    455 440 2206                          Passcode:        590112761

Thanks to all who participated in NHUAC’s February meeting!  The discussion about the Subarea Plan for North Highline was an intense and  important one and it is not over.  Jacqueline Reid, of King County’s Department of Local Services (DLS), will join us again in April to discuss the recommendations Executive Dow Constantine makes to the Subarea Plan.  His proposal is expected to go to  the King County Council by March 31^st for deliberation.  We are hoping Councilman Joe McDermott will also be able to join us.  Mark your calendar for April 7th!  

The Subarea Plan is not the only tool DLS is working on to enable increased density in North Highline/White Center.  Jesse Reynolds will be joining NHUAC this coming Thursday (March 3^rd) to discuss the North Highline Urban Design Standards project.  Jesse is manager of the project, which is charged with creating an urban design framework for new commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use developments.  The proposed standards include formalized public input in the development review process.  Thursday’s meeting will give you an opportunity to weigh in on what is being proposed for that process as well as the county’s ideas for designing a safe and welcoming neighborhood with a distinctive identity. Please join us to learn about the proposed design standards, share your opinions, and welcome Jesse who recently moved to Arbor Heights.

Another big change we heard just a little about at the February meeting was King County’s 16th Ave SW Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Calming Project in White Center, which aims to add safer street crossings at all intersections, streamline travel lanes, increase on-street parking, and possibly add bike lanes. Broch Bender, Road Services’ communications manager, will join us for a more in-depth presentation and to listen to ideas and comments from community members.

Last, but certainly not least, come learn what has been happening in our community our from Community Deputy Bill Kennamer!

                                 Knowledge is power.

Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.

March 3, 2022 at 7 pm – Invite Your Neighbors!— 

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where?    North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting

When?     Thursday, February 3, 2022 at 7 pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89442816603?pwd=Rzc5NjdhUmhjNDNpSnY0REVSWlBWZz09

Meeting ID: 894 4281 6603
Passcode: NHUAC2022 (case sensitive)

Or join by phone:
        1 253 215 8782 
        
Meeting ID: 894 4281 6603
Passcode: 97346055

You are invited to NHUAC’s first meeting of 2022 on Thursday, January 3rd at 7 pm. The new year offers new opportunities to establish an equitable, healthy North Highline. King County has been busy.  What we do today will determine North Highline’s health far into the future.  

For instance, we impact our physical environment in many ways such as pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation.  Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, and poor air quality.  As a planner with King County’s Green Building Department, Nicole Sanders has worked on the county’s energy codes and has news to share about electric vehicle parking and research on greenhouse gases and fossil fuel facilities.   

Unfortunately, the maps of zoning amendments in the county’s proposed Subarea Plan did not identify most streets.   Jacqueline Reid of King County Permitting will be back to help us understand what the plan means.  Understanding what the county is planning for us is essential.  King County’s Subarea Plan will be a road map to life in North Highline from public health to economic and ethnic justice to segregation and discrimination to displacement, fair housing and opportunity to schools, parks and open spaces to density and permitting to roads and infrastructure, police, and public safety to fireworks and cannabis shops. 

Speaking of fireworks, it’s been a long time coming but fireworks are now illegal in North Highline and the rest of unincorporated King County.  We will be updated on that and other issues by John Taylor, Director of the Department of Local Services, Fire Chief Mike Marrs, and, of course, our Community Deputy Bill Kennamer.

Knowledge is power.

 Learn, share, and help make North Highline a healthier community.February 3, 2022 at 7 pm – Invite a Neighbor!— 

                                                                                         .  

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard! Where? North Highline Unincorporated Area Council Meeting
When? Thursday, December 2, 2021 at 7 pm
Join Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86882502547?pwd=T1oya2VTVUFsV2FHY0VFWlB0OFcxZz09
Meeting ID: 868 8250 2547

Passcode: NHUAC2021 (case sensitive)

Or Call: 1-253-215-8782

Meeting ID: 868 8250 2547
Passcode: 361212590

Please join NHUAC’s last meeting of 2021 on Thursday, December 2nd at 7 pm. 2020 has been a tough year for the North Highline / White Center community. As painful as it has been, trauma is not new to our community. This meeting marks 15 years since Deputy Steve Cox was killed in the line of duty. The next day, the Seattle Times headline read:
Slain deputy had become White Center’s “Superman”

It was not an exaggeration. Deputy Cox grew up playing ball in the park which now bears his name and a memorial in his honor. He learned that knowledge and education are power, so he got a good education, became an attorney, and worked as a prosecutor in Eastern Washington. That didn’t last too long.

Deputy Cox came back to White Center because he wanted to make it a better place for everyone. He joined the Sheriff’s Office and became White Center’s Store Front Deputy. Steve cared about our White Center community and believed in all of us. “Don’t Quit” was his favorite poem. It sums up the way Deputy Cox lived his life and is his lasting message to all of us.
Although Steve was a family man with a new baby, he volunteered to help whenever he could. Steve was NHUAC’s president when he died. Those of us who knew him could not help but learn from him. He still leads the way in NHUAC’s efforts to support a heathy community of opportunity that does not back away from its struggles.

With that goal in mind, the focus of this meeting will be: Our Community: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Please join the conversations with State Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, Marta Olson of King County’s Department of Natural Resources & Parks, and, of course, our Community Deputy Bill Kennamer.
Knowledge is power.
Learn, share, and help make North Highline a better place.

The Opportunity to Be Informed, Be Involved and Be Heard!

Where?    North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (NHUAC) 
When?     Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 7 pm

Join Via Zoom:             

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85207092084?pwd=QW5tRFArUjhkcEhwTXRaOWh0Q1NoQT09

                   Meeting ID:         852 0709 2084             
                    Passcode:            010580

Or By Phone: 1-253-215-8782                         

                    Meeting ID:         852 0709 2084
                   Passcode:            010580

________________________________________________________________________

                                                           AGENDA  

                                                 November 4, 2021

7:00 pm        Safety:  Hazards, Precautions and Prevention in White Center’s Business District         

                                    Jim Chan – Divisional Director

                                    Permitting Division — King County Department of Local Services 

                                   Mike Marrs – Fire Chief

                                    North Highline Fire District

                                    Chris Ricketts — Fire Marshal

                                    Permitting Division — King County Department of Local Services 

8:10 pm        Planning Our Future:  King County’s Proposed Subarea Plan for North Highline

                                    Jacqueline Reid — Project/Program Manager

                                    Permitting Division — King County Department of Local Services

8:40 pm        Community Updates and Crime Statistics from Our Community Deputy

                                    Bill Kennamer – Deputy – King County Sheriff’s Office

________________________________________________________________________

                                                Be Informed, Be Involved, Be Heard!

TOWN HALL
The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
 Invites You to Meet

Dow Constantine & Joe Nguyen

Candidates for King County Executive

Thursday October 7, 2021 @ 7:00 PM

On ZOOM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81026514238?pwd=QVp2NURRcGJCMlYxRE5JUUFyNzBqQT09

Meeting ID: 810 2651 4238
Passcode: 980226

Join by Phone:
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 810 2651 4238
Passcode: 980226

All Are Welcome – Bring Your Questions – Get the Facts

Be Informed Be Involved Be Counted
 VOTE!
 

Please plan on joining us for our next scheduled meeting October 7 @7pm –

Check back for details –