Renton Community Update

News from former Councilmember Randy Corman, your Renton City Hall insider. (All views expressed in journal entries are Randy Corman's personal views, and not the official position of the City of Renton or other city employees. Views expressed in reader comments are those of the commenter)

Daily archives for November 11th, 2007

Elizabeth Roger’s guest column in the Seattle Times; Renton losing livibility

Nov11
2007

Written by Randy Corman

Renton resident Elizabeth Rogers wrote a guest opinion for the Seattle Times. While I don’t necessarily agree with everyone of her points, I think her theme of concern that Renton and the Northwest are losing their livibility has some merit. Like her, I saw this same trend in California, where I was born.

I think we do have to be selective in the development we encourage, and seek to redevelop aging parts of town ahead of sprawling into natural areas whenever possible.

Here is her guest column.

I’m interested in your thoughts on this topic. Please leave your comments below.

Posted in Uncategorized

Good discussion of reuse of Boeing property in Tacoma News Tribune

Nov11
2007

Written by Randy Corman

I think the Tacoma News Tribune, of all the region’s papers, seems to have the most detailed understanding of local cities’ relationships with Boeing. (Maybe the Everett Herald is equivalent)

This is an insightful article about how Auburn, Renton, and Kent have all found new prosperity in land that Boeing no longer needs. Click here to read it Boeing has previously shared that this land is available because of just-in-time inventory systems, production streamlining (a moving final-assembly line), and other changes.

What I like about this story is that it recognizes that Boeing is also going strong, and this is not “daylight in Boeing’s Shadow” as the Chicago Tribune characterized it.

Boeing stock is hitting record highs, and the 737 order backlog is bigger than its ever been…with seven to ten years of production ahead just filling the orders that have already been placed.

For cities like Renton, the freed-up acreage has been a huge shot-in-the-arm for business prosperity, and we owe some gratitude to Boeing, our largest employer, for making much of this possible.

Posted in Uncategorized

Hi, I’m Randy Corman. Welcome to my blog! I served on Renton City Council for 28 years, 1994-2021, with six years as Renton Council President. I’m also a mechanical engineer and manager, and worked for the Boeing Company for 33 years, from 1984- 2017. My wife and I have five kids and five grandkids, and we all live in Renton. I’ve kept this blog for 17 years, and get thousands of readers each month. Please share your feedback, ideas, and opinions in the comments.

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