The Vice-Presidential candidates had their much anticipated debate tonight. What did you all think?
This is way too sad…. New York police officer kills himself in grief over taser incident
Oct02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
News sources today reported on a very sad, and very unnecessary, post-script to a story I commented on in my journal entry Don’t tase me bro! Tasers make news, but (thankfully) not in Renton . Today, it was reported that the officer killed himself in his grief over his decision to use a taser on a mentally ill man who then fell from a ledge.
While the officer made an error in common sense, and the department’s new added training is a good idea, there was no reason in the world for the distraught officer to take his own life. This illustrates how conscientious New York’s officers are. But it’s terribly, terribly sad, and I wish the New York officer had received more post-incident counseling.
Citizens push to encourage Trader Joes to locate at the Landing
Oct02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Renton citizens are doing their part to try to persuade Trader Joes to open at the Landing. Here is an email chain I received from a friend, which includes a link to a Traders Joes request page (sponsored by Trader Joes Company).
If you want a Treader Joes at the Landing, you may want to go to this page and register your support.
Thanks,
Randy
More signs of the financial crisis hitting us close to home…
Oct01
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Southwwest Airlines is reducing it’s 2009 aircraft orders.
It’s corn maze and pumpkin patch time of year
Oct01
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
If you have not gotten lost in a corn maze yet, be sure to try it this year.
It can be pretty disorienting! Here are some shots of my family this past weekend (down in Kent/Auburn, off of 277th exit).
Hazen High School Colors on new water reservoir? Neat idea, but money would be needed FAST!
Oct01
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
I was advised via email today that some Hazen High boosters have requested that our new Hazen Water Reservoir be painted in Hazen’s colors. We assume from the request that this might include the desire for Hazen’s name as well.
While Council has not formally heard this item ( or discussed it) it seems like a neat idea to me.
However, we have only budgeted and scheduled a standard paint job, and city taxpayer funds would not be justified for a special paint job. So we would really need someone with private funding to step forward to make up the difference in cost.
And at this point, I don’t think we know what the cost is.
Anyone interested in this proposal should launch an immediate pledge drive, to see how much money can reasonably be raised… and try and provide this information to us by our Monday Council Meeting. There probably are Hazen Alumni in our community that would help with this, but they would need to be contacted fast, as the standard painting will happen soon.
I would be happy to post contact information for anyone running such a drive, if you would like to comment below.
As the mayor says in his email below, it is not clear whether the timing can work out on this. So please do not assume we can make this work. But at least some of us, and maybe all, are willing to discuss it.
Here is the email I recieved today on this topic.
READ MORE »
Don’t tase me bro! Tasers make news, but (thankfully) not in Renton
Sep30
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
The Federal Way Mirror recently wrote an article on tasers which you can see here
Police tasers simply can not seem to stay of the news. Perhaps this is because they are the tool of choice in police cases where emotions, drugs, or violent mental illness have gotten the better of a suspect, and these cases are incendiary and confusing by their nature.
Today the New York Police Department took responsibility for using a taser incorrectly on a mentally ill man who was standing on a ledge, causing the man to fall to his death when he lost control of his muscles. (This appears to be an isolated case of an officer failing to use common sense, since New York Police handled 82,000 similar cases last year with no notable reports.)
Closer to home, the Tukwila Police Department has been answering public concerns about their use of tasers in a case which has made it into the federal court system.
I remember when we introduced tasers in Renton a dozen years ago. Council watched as an officer was shot by the taser in the council chambers, and the tough cop crumpled and fell onto a mattress that was positioned to break his fall. At that time, Then chief Al Wallis made a promise that if we agreed to fund the tasers for all our officers, he promised to make sure they were all properly trained on when and where to use them…and each officer that carried a taser would agree to be tased first, to see how it felt.
Our accredited police department made good on their training promise, and I can’t remember a single incident that has come to councils attention alleging an improper use of a taser in all these years. A few years ago one of our sergeant explained to me that we treat the taser as a higher level of force than some departments do, which may explain why there are fewer uses of them, and fewer complaints.
With several fresh taser cases in mind, I phoned our own Chief Kevin Milosovich for a refresher on our taser policy.
The chief explained to me that when we introduced tasers, we recognized three levels of force in our department.
Level 1, the lowest, was the use of officers presence, voice commands, or light guiding touch.
Level 2, Arm holds, wrestling down to ground, hitting, tasers
level 3, Lethal force, firearms
In this system, Renton police treated tasers as a Level 2 device. But many other departments considered tasers a Level 1 device. Hence, our officers used them less than many other departments.
Our police have since moved from a system of distinct force levels to a continuum scale which responds to suspects behavior with appropriate response. But the taser is still toward the middle of this continuum… it is not the tactic of choice when just voice commands, reason, negotiation, or guiding will work safely.
In a severe conflict, tasers have many advantages for the police, and they are better for violent suspects than most of the alternatives. The taser can be fired from a 30 foot distance, which means the police can take down a suspect without putting themselves in harms way. This obviously benefits the police, but it is also an advantage to an out-of-control suspect; if they can be prevented from harming an officer they can be spared extra years in a criminal sentence.
Tasers are also better than nightsticks for avoiding long-term injury. Almost always, a suspect will recover from a taser on their own in minutes, where a hit from a nightstick can require medical attention and leaves scars or bruises. And of course tasers are obviously better than a gun when lethal force can be avoided; no police officer ever wants to shoot a gun if they can avoid it.
Incidentally, the title for this blog, “Don’t tase me Bro” (which came from an incident a year ago during a John Kerry Speech)was determined to be the most memorable quote of 2007 according to the “Yale Book of Quotations”
Video of the incident became a viral video on youtube, and inspired several songs and amateur video remixes (like the one below).
City dedicates new “Fire Engine 12” at Station 12, in honor of the Seahawks
Sep29
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
The Seahawks have retired Jersey Number 12 in honor of their fans, known collectively as “the 12th man” of the Seahawks team. So, it’s a neat twist of fate that the Seahawks training center is served by Renton’s Fire Station 12. And it was natural that we number the station’s newest engine “Fire Engine 12.” The new engine has been decorated with a Seahawks 12th man flag, and some other team emblems, which should give it appropriate decoration when it is needed as standby at large public events.
The Seahawks Mascot, their drum corp, and some of their Sea Gals were on hand on Saturday to help us with the dedication. Here is a picture from the event.
Main Street turns on Wall Street; Fortune Magazine shows that middle-class calls for more regulation
Sep28
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Fortune Magazine points out we will be see lots of renewed debate about regulation in the coming years as a result of this latest bailout. The challenge may be to keep the pendulum from swinging too far the OTHER way now, as people begin pushing to regulate everything.
Here is a quote from the story:
Union leaders like the AFL-CIO’s John Sweeney suddenly sound as if they’re in the mainstream of public opinion with statements like this: “One thing is certain. No one – no politician, no investment banker, no television commentator, no economist – should be able to say again with a straight face that here in the United States we just let markets do whatever markets do and everything works out for the best.”
Here is the article.
Hey! Our blog was mentioned in Seattle’s “the Stranger” today
Sep25
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Here is the link. Thanks to all of you readers, tipsters, and commenters, who keep this interesting and relevant.
Get ready for another crazy Market day: Dodd says White House meeting was a disaster
Sep25
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Apparantly, the White House “bailout” meeting did not go quite as well as first reported today.
Click here for the Market Watch story.
Tomorrow will be another wild day on Wall Street. I’m hopeful that I will still be able to retire by age 75, but we’ll see after the market opens.
Fairwood residents are reminded about websites with alternative ideas for your future…
Sep25
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
A reminder to Fairwood residents that there are competing Fairwood Incorporation and Fairwood Annexation drives going on right now.
Renton City council held a review of city-wide annexation policy last month, and there were no big changes or surprises. However, it did come to light that the only way the City of Renton could afford the Fairwood Annexation without reducing services elsewhere in Renton is if we annexed while state and county financial assistance are available. Hence, such an annexation has to happen in 2009, or not at all, unless the state produces a new annexation funding package for 2010 and beyond. This seems increasingly unlikely given the deficit in the budget right now.
Here are the competing sites that give Fairwood residents more information. (Fairwood residents should be gratful to both of these organizing team, for the volunteer work they are putting into developing options for you)
The City is working on a new garbage program; our 7-year-old solid waste contract is expiring
Sep22
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
For seven blissful years we’ve enjoyed having steady garbage pick-up rates, and one of the lowest rates in the Seattle area. (See the rate chart below)
Unfortunately, our nice deal with Waste Management is expiring, and garbage haulers are pushing on us hard to get the rates back up to market levels.
Renton has responded by looking at ways we might mitigate the rate increases through increased recycling efforts, and less frequent pick-up service of some waste streams. All of us on council are concerned about rates; but we have had a variety of different thoughts about how to deal with them.There are many facets to the debate (rates, frequency, fairness, safety, health issues, environmental issues), and many of us on council have revealed a fair amount of passion on the issue at one time or another.
After much debate, brainstorming, and gnashing of teeth, we are very close to reaching a decision point.
The Renton Reporter ran a story on the topic in the last edition. Click here for the article.
As the story explains, “The new rates will vary among residences. But for the largest single residential category – known as one-can service – the monthly rate will go from $13.44 a month to $18.41 a month.”
It’s important to understand that along with this 5 dollar rate increase, your single-can service is only going to get picked up once every two weeks. To avoid a home trash crisis (and be a good steward), you will need to put all of your organic trash into the “expanded yard waste” toter that will be supplied to you. I call it expanded, because it will now be the correct place to put food scraps, and cardboard and paper that is tainted by food. So your spoiled food, paper plates, cheesy pizza boxes, your Chinese food boxes, and your paper meat packaging would go in this toter (along with your yard clippings, old flowers, and other greenery).
A third toter will be supplied for collecting all the remainder of your recycling (clean paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, plastics), and in a simplification, none of this will have to be sorted any more.
All of this recycling will not leave too much stuff that will have to go into the traditional garbage stream. Hence, city experts believe this should make it possible for most single can homes to move to the 35 gallon toter that is picked up every two weeks.
The five dollar increase will be noticeable however, and there appears to be nothing we can do about it. If you look at the chart below, you can see this still keeps us much cheaper than many other jurisdictions.
Unfortunately, the rates are also going up for two-can users, commercial users, and min-can users. Citizens who are mini-can users will see a large percentage increase in their bill under the contract, as the cost for their service is just not much different than the cost of the next-size-up toter. We could think about subsidizing this further, but then it shifts costs upward on the other users who are already feeling a pinch.
Lastly, we had to decide between a seven year fixed-rate contract at an even higher rate, or to agree to a formula for rate increases over the life of the contract. (We had this choice seven years ago, and chose the seven-year fixed-rate.)
This time, the fixed rate is much too high, because it is so speculative given inflation and oil-price worries. The garbage haulers want a lot of money up front if they are going to take all the risk in future years, given the state of the economy.
City staff have tried to mitigate future rate increases, by creating some ways we can keep the rates down. One way we can do this is by diverting our waste streams into recycling. The new contract, the hauler wil actually set our rates by the actual tonnage transported to the transfer station. If this tonnage is reduced, our year-over-year rates will be credited by this savings. The numbers get complicated, but the bottom line is that if you put one hundred pounds of rubbish into recycling instead of the trash, that 100 pounds of rubbish will save Renton rate-payers about (100 pounds) X 75 (dollars/ton) /(2000 pounds/ton) = $3.75. This $3.75, along with the savings from all the other households, could be significant in helping off-set inflationary costs of fuel and labor in our contract…and will help us minimize future-year rate increases.
There are no perfect answers, and I’m sorry we have to see a rate increase, but there are a few pieces of good news. Everyone will get wheeled toters form Waste Management, with attached lids, which will make your cans and neighborhood more orderly. And the extra recycling, which is included in the cost of the program, is the environmentally sound thing to do.
As always, please feel free to leave your comments.
Click here for Seattle Times story about local garbage rates
Click here to see how some local families reduced their garbage and increased their recycling.
Click here to see the final report from the garbage pilot program conducted last spring.
Seattle Times: Kennydale–a place on the lake to put down roots
Sep21
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
The Seattle Times ran a nice story about Renton’s Kennydale neighborhood today. Click here to read the story.
Intersting story; Airports may use “anxiety” scanners to seek terrorists
Sep21
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
As someone who has traveled with many “anxious” fliers, I hope the government does not waste too much money with this latest idea for screening for terrorists. The federal government is proposing to develop a machine that screens travelers for anxiety, using a remote camera system. I expect that even if this works to detect anxiety, screeners will find about one million people anxious because their flight is delayed, or they can’t stand airports, or they are terrified to fly, or they are about to spend Christmas with their crazy uncle, or they feel their taxes are too high, or they don’t like being scanned for anxiety– for every one person that is anxious because he/she harbors ill intent. And even if someone is anxious because they have ill intent, we will still need to find a weapon on them, or documents out of order, to make an arrest…both things that we are already checking for. The human beings already checking documents and looking for weapons are also very good at detecting anxiety; perhaps they need more training to know what questions to ask when someone looks nervous, and how to discern common travel stress from terrorist behavior. That way, maybe we can avoid queuing up at the anxiety detector–we don’t need one more line to stand in at the airport.
That’s my initial reaction.
What do you all think? Am I wrong? Can a machine like this make us safer for a fair price?
Here is the story:
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