According to The Seattle Times, Mueller was killed Monday night around 7pm when his car, a Toyota Prius, hit a guardrail on Highway 509 near South 160th Street and left the road.

Here’s an update from Allied Waste/Republic Services:

Allied Waste/Republic Services Emergency Service Alternative for Normandy Park

In recognition that the extended inclement weather has created storage issues for garbage and recycle commodities, the Bellevue Division is offering a temporary solution:

Today Normandy Park has agreed to provide access to two community sites where residents who wish to utilize this opportunity to dispose of their recyclables and garbage may do so. These sites are cleared of snow and will allow Allied Waste /Republic Services to spot attended vehicles so residents can dispose of household recyclables and garbage.

• This service will be available from 9 AM till 3:30 PM, Tuesday Wed., December 24, 2008
• One vehicle will collect garbage only and another will collect recycle only
• Waste Service employees will monitor for contamination and customer compliance

Site 1 is the loop drive and parking lot area in front of City Hall, just off of SW 174th where we placed the container after the windstorm two years ago.

Site 2 is the parking lot at Marvista Park next to the Public Works shop at 19900 4th Avenue SW.

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Winter Storm Watch…which is in effect from late Tuesday night through late Wednesday night.

Heavy snow is likely over western Washington on Wednesday. Three to six inches are possible in certain areas… including the east Puget Sound lowlands… the northwest and southwest interiors… and the Strait of Juan de Fuca area. Snow in these areas will begin in the north late Tuesday night and spread south Wednesday morning.

By Wednesday night three to six inches of new snow are possible.

Other areas… including the Seattle metropolitan area and the Kitsap peninsula… could get less snow. Here models show one or two inches are possible. On the coast it is possible that conditions will be warm enough for rain part of the time… or mixed rain and snow. However it is not certain that sub-warning amounts will fall in these areas and the Winter Storm Watch extends to them as well.

The Cascades and Olympics will also receive heavy snow… with one or two feet of new snow likely.

Snow levels will be at sea level through much of the event so virtually all of the precipitation will be in the form of snow.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

Monitor weather forecasts. If you have to travel…Tuesday is likely to be a much better day than Wednesday.

The event goes from 10am to 3pm at the Normandy Park Towne Center, located at First Ave South and SW 199th (map below).

View Larger Map

The opening of Sea-Tac’s third runway has inspired a lot of discussion, both good and bad, and our sister site The B-Town Blog is commemorating something that happened on the original runway 61 years ago today (Nov. 30, 1947) – a tragic airplane crash that killed nine and injured 17.

Read the full story here.

“These upgrades reflect our continued review of issuers for whom the significance of their small size and more-remote location has lessened in our analysis,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Lisa Schroeer.

“We believe that these entities reflect traits of a higher credit quality than previously assigned because of their good financial performance record,” said Ms. Schroeer in the report, “Criteria Revision Bumps Up Several Pacific Northwest Ratings,” published on RatingsDirect.

“Many of these municipalities have seen strong growth in revenues over the past several years and this has led to healthy financial positions that we believe will provide some cushion to weather the current economic downturn,” she said.

The upgraded municipalities include:

Oregon:

• North Bend
• Dalles

Washington:

• Woodinville
• Edgewood
• Washougal
• Normandy Park
• Kittitas County
• Jefferson County
• Ocean Shores
• Mason County
• Lynden
• Fife
• Moses Lake
• Centralia

According to The Seattle Times, a federal jury awarded $60,000 to a 53-year-old accountant who got tasered by our own Normandy Park police after he tried to talk to the police chief about being treated “rudely.”

The victim, an accountant named Kevin Bonner, was tasered by Normandy Park Detective John Lievero, who, according to the decision, used “excessive force” as well as conduct considered “malicious, oppressive, or in reckless disregard” of his civil rights at the Normandy Park police station in April 2005.

This begs the question, and we don’t mean to make fun of this situation as we know how dangerous tasers are (feel free to respond in Comments below or email us):

Would you willingly be tasered if the reward was $60K?

The full story is here.

Here’s their press release:

Normandy Park Towne Center is proud to announce the Grand Opening of their new building, built by local developer McKittrick Real Estate Group. Housing tenants such as nutritious (& yet still tasty) vendor Emerald City Smoothie, old favorite hamburger-maker Herfy’s, and Café Mia, a lovely Italian themed restaurant with its own pizza oven, bakery, wine & coffee bar; this addition to the Normandy Park neighborhood promises to be well received. In addition, NPTC houses the offices of McKittrick Real Estate Group, as well as the local non-profit, the Hear See Hope Foundation.

To introduce the new tenants to the community, Normandy Park Towne Center is hosting a community-wide Winterfest on December 13th & 14th from 10am to 3pm. Be sure to mark your calendars as you will not want to miss out on this festive holiday event that includes a little something for everyone:

• Baked goods offered by Café Mia
• Specially priced Smoothies from Emerald City Smoothie
• Local entertainment from The Hi-Liners, Momentum Music & Dance Academy, TeenSounds, YouthSounds, & KidSounds Northwest Choirs
• Special visits from Rudolf, Frosty and their friends
• Story time and sing-a-long with Mrs. Claus
• Professional holiday photos taken with our Special Guest, Santa Claus!

Yes, Santa Claus truly is coming to “Towne” to partner with the Hear See Hope Foundation to raise awareness about Usher syndrome. Created in 2004 to as a response to the diagnosis of their eldest son Conner, Todd & Lane McKittrick created Hear See Hope as a means to raise funds to support research looking to find a cure. Four years later, their fourth son, Dalton, was born with Usher as well. Usher syndrome is the leading cause of deaf-blindness in the world. Those with Usher syndrome are born profoundly deaf, and lose their vision by their teenage years. To date, Hear See Hope has raised approximately $850,000, and will not stop until a cure is found.

NPTC is continuing to look for local entertainment that would make the event even better. If you have an idea, let us know by emailing us at info@mckittrickre.com. We will contact you once your information is received. No matter what, plan on joining in on the fun at Normandy Park Towne Center!

Located in-between the City of Des Moines and the City of Burien, Normandy Park Towne Center can be found at 19803 1st Ave South in Normandy Park.

Directions and more information on the development can be found at www.normandyparktc.com.

See you “around Towne”!

Here’s an informational video about the Hear See Hope Foundation:

They are located at 803 SW 154th Street, just west of Ambaum and a little south of Olde Burien.

Vision Collision is quite a family-based business, from longtime area stock, on land that goes way, way back in the area of auto body repair.

Husband and wife team Michael and Amy Driscoll, recently purchased the former BBC Dodge Body Shop. There has been an auto body repair shop on that space going back many decades.

Robert scrubs yet another Vision Collision dent-free gem.

Doug McLester, who for thirty years served as BBC Dodge Body Shop Manager before retiring this past summer, recently said:

“Amy entered into the auto body industry right after high school and is thrilled to be working in her hometown doing what she loves! Michael has always had a passion for cars and has been restoring them since the age of fourteen. I have complete confidence that Amy and Michael will provide the quality service you have come to expect over the years.”

“From door dings to collisions, we fix it all,” Michael and Amy point out. “We help reduce stress by assisting with insurance claims, too.”

“And we offer detailing,” Amy adds.

Amy and Michael were born and raised in the area, and both attended Highline High School.

“My mom, Cathy Low, and her whole family grew up in Seahurst,” Amy informs us. Cathy helps out now and again at Vision Collision’s office when Amy needs to run the occasional errand.

“And my uncle is none other than Jim Hughes of Sal’s Deli, just off 152nd. I worked there for years,” Amy said.

Lucy is Vision Collision's official mascot.

Amy and Michael’s Border Collie, Lucy, can often be seen running around the office.

“Lucy loves to come to work.”

Lucy isn’t the only pet in Amy and Michael’s household. On their land southeast of Burien “we also have two horses, three goats, and a cat.”

So anyway, we at the Blog think you’ll enjoy yourself so much at Vision Collision that, even if your vehicle is already ding-free, you should just take a hammer to your hood and bang it up a bit so you’ll have an excuse to stop by (uh…just kidding on that part, but stop by anyway!).

But seriously, click on Vision Collision’s Ad in the right sidebar, check out their stuff, call or drop by and see what they can do to fix your dinged and dented vehicle up.

Vision Collision Auto Body Repair
“See? You’re dent free!”

Service shop:

803 SW 154th St
Burien, WA 98166
Phone: (206) 244-2758
www.visioncollision.net
Email: info@visioncollision.net

Mail:

Vision Collision
PO Box 66110
Burien, WA 98166

You kind of have to look to find Wag the Dog – they’re next to Supercuts on Ambaum in Burien, just south of Martini Cleaners. There’s plenty of parking.

“Wag the Dog is committed to providing socialized fun-filled days,” owner Terri Benish says. “Our day care is filled with lots of toys for the dogs’ enjoyment, and beds for when they want to relax. We are ready and willing to cater to your pet’s needs at any time.”

At Wag the Dog, your pet will have access to an outside fenced-in play yard which allows him or her to remain on their normal potty routine.

Another unique feature are Wag the Dog’s four “Dog Cams” (check them out here) which enable you to check in on your pooch anytime of the day.

Terri offers additional features including grooming, nail trimming and teeth brushing.

“It’s been my dream all my life to work with animals,” says Terri, who for fifteen years worked as a real estate appraiser. “I love what I’m doing now. It is truly rewarding and fulfilling to work with my clients’ dogs every day.”

Terri opened her shop in March, after looking at locations all around the south Puget Sound area.

“I was delighted to find that Burien has very reasonable zoning regulations,” Terri said. “This city is quite business friendly.”

Well, as they say at Wag the Dog: “Wag On!”

Wag the Dog info:

Monday through Friday
7:00 am to 7:00 pm
15227 Ambaum Blvd. SW, Burien 98166

Phone 206-453-DOGS (3647)

info@wagthedogdaycare.net
www.wagthedogdaycare.net