Disqus - Latest Comments for Blue_Genie

Re: Fairwood rejecting annexation to Renton in initial count - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:22:55 -0000

Haha, like I've said, keep drinking your kool-aid, as long as you enjoy it. :) In some industries, we call this "eating your own dog food". Enjoy!

Re: Fairwood rejecting annexation to Renton in initial count - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:22:00 -0000

Spin baby, spin. Read the expertly-created incorporation studies (at least 3 independent studies which all reached the same conclusion): Fairwood has a tax *surplus* that currently is exported to other parts of King County. You fail to realize that a city doesn't have to be based on retail alone, in fact heavily retail-dependent cities like Renton are more subject to economic fluctuations - as we've seen in the last couple of years. Residential communities like Newcastle, Sammamish, etc. can survive just fine on a chiefly residential tax base.

Renton used to be a nice area too...back when it was only trees and an alluvial plain. Oh yeah, and a Boeing plant. As for voter apathy, welcome to the 21st Century...

Re: Fairwood rejecting annexation to Renton in initial count - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:54:01 -0000

Well of course you're pro-Renton if you're downtown, you sort of have no choice. :) As for failing, I'll refer to my kool-aid comment and wish you the best of luck. As for your comment about "didn't want incorporation", did you mean "annexation"?

Re: Fairwood rejecting annexation to Renton in initial count - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:01:38 -0000

Keep drinking your kool-aid. :) You'll need it to endure Renton...best wishes to you.

Re: Fairwood rejecting annexation to Renton in initial count - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:38:36 -0000

This is a resounding, blatant rejection of the ill-managed City of Renton, and an in-your-face slap to the onslaught of fees and reduced services Fairwood would experience as part of Renton. No question that remaining in King County is also a challenge, but nothing compared to Renton, where the city will salivate over the tax revenues from Fairwood and use the money in their failed downtown core and to address their growing debts. Annexation is Fairwood's path to becoming another forgotten outlying piece of Renton's "empire".

Fairwood's only viable long-term option is incorporation - an idea twice rejected because voters don't quite understand the benefits and the timing just wasn't right. FYI, many city incorporations in King County and WA state have required multiple votes until approved.The usual small core group of pro-Renton people are the same people who continue to fight incorporation and somehow thought the rejection of incorporation was an instant mandate for annexation. Haha - WRONG! Even their unethical use of Renton firefighters and labor unions for campaigning utterly failed - I'm laughing.

I applaud you Fairwood for being smart voters and rejecting annexation. You did the right thing...now look to your future and do it again by becoming your own city and finally staving off Renton's greedy claws; you deserve better than Renton.

Re: Renton library to KCLS; now what's next? - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:48:14 -0000

I can't wait to see the "Renton-themed" library card! The "traditions and culture of Renton"?? Really, those things exist in Renton? Let me think...hmm, how about a woman's tight Hooters t-shirt? Or a picture of a dirty street pothole that hasn't been fixed for years? Maybe a bullet hole with a picture of the downtown transit center in the background? How about an outdoor pool that's closed most of the year? Or perhaps a "Going out of Business" sign that we see on so many downtown businesses these days? All of these sound like viable options to me...

All cynicism aside, it's about time Renton joined KCLS...bravo for voters (barely) approving the measure.

Re: Two areas balk at annexing to Renton - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:41:50 -0000

I sincerely hope that the City of Renton gets the message loud and clear: we in the outlying areas DO NOT, repeat DO NOT want to be part of Renton! Why? For all the obvious reasons, starting with a massively indebted city budget run by entrenched cronies who are desperate to use annexation as a means to cover their own management mistakes. And you expect outlying areas to joyfully skip into the future with you? Get real Renton. The idea of the City of Renton providing "factual information" is an oxymoron, at best. How about get your house in order Renton and then maybe in a few years consider talking to these potential annexation areas. How about prove to us that you know how to effectively manage a city before you use interlocal agreements to force us into your messed up city.

Re: Renton City Council may act on Fairwood annexation by year's end - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:56:38 -0000

Great! Let's all get annexed into Renton and watch the ship sink even faster. Mayor Law and his cohorts are, frankly, a bit insane if they think that Renton will be able to support Fairwood's needs and services. Unless the city has discover some unknown oil field or has secured some major municipal tenant (like Microsoft, which it hasn't), things will continue to decline. I for one am looking forward to attending every city council meeting and raising holy hell about the city's lack of services and support for outlying areas. Get ready folks, the end is nigh.

Re: EDITOR'S COLUMN: Fairwood residents face tough decision on incorporation - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:46:20 -0000

Dean, you've ALWAYS been negative about the incorporation of Fairwood, and frankly, I find anything you write to be obviously biased, leading me (and many others I'll add) to conclude that you're simply a tool; a mouthpiece for the City of Renton and annexation proponents. In this opinion piece above, you've most clearly aligned yourself with the convoluted and confused thinking of the opponents to incorporation, even going so far as to suggest that there's a form of elitism at work by not welcoming low-income families into Fairwood. My response to that is simple: Poppycock!

What you and many opponents to incorporation utterly fail to understand is that the issue is NOT about turning away low-income families. Everyone knows that a City of Fairwood would have to account for low-income housing - just as Renton does. The point is that we don't want low-income housing implemented the way Renton does it! The City of Renton has proven time and again that the outlying areas of its city are suitable for an overly large amount of Section 8 housing and then the city forgets about it. The Renton Highlands continues to be a classic example, and frankly, being one who is in that area and knows many people there, the city is NOT addressing the concerns very well or very quickly (they're too busy trying to find tenants for The Landing).

So as a resident of Fairwood and as a now clear supporter of incorporation, I take great offense at your suggestion that I am being elitist and exclusionary. Frankly, that's BS (pardon my French)! Stick to the FACTS Dean, and leave opinions to your readers. I think you're treading on very thin ethical ice here by abusing your power of the press.

Re: The Hooters of Renton even has a bowling alley, the first one - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:33:27 -0000

Oh swell, just great. Welcome to Renton - now let's put a Hooters right in the middle of a residential area, and right next to a heavily-used Little League field. This is what Benson Hill's voters get as a prize for voting to annex to Renton - a Hooters right in their backyard.

And they have the audacity to call it a "family-friendly destination"? You have GOT to be kidding! This is the LAST thing this neighborhood needed, an area rising in crime and already forsaken by the Renton City Council who's content to watch it go the way of the Renton Highlands. Hey Fairwood, if you don't vote for incorporation, this is what lies ahead for you!

Welcome to Renton *jiggle* *jiggle*

Re: Fairwood study offers no conclusion - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:18:07 -0000

I always love it when I see a letter from J. Paul Blake, it makes me laugh! As a long-time observer of the whole incorporation vs. annexation debate, I know that Blake has been one of those more vocal people and very pro-Renton. Among all the questions he asks in his letter above, I'd add a couple more:

Why is Blake so interested in the Fairwood issue when he's not a resident of either Renton or Fairwood? Hmm.

Why is Blake unable to comprehend what my own 15 year old son could conclude from reading the Fairwood Feasibility Study as an extra credit project for one of his classes? The study makes a point of not stating a conclusion, only because the BRB purposefully intended it to be left to the reader to discern. I recall that specifically being stated at one of the public hearings. If Blake would read more carefully, the study says: "In general, if revenue exceed costs, incorporation is financially feasible, and there may be opportunities for increased services and/or decreased taxes." My 15 year old easily understood this, and there are plenty of exhibits and detailed information to back it up (like try Exhibit 27's chart...how plain does this have to be?).

So for whatever reason, Blake and the "Go Vote No" groupies seem to have concluded that if the study doesn't spell it out for them in a "conclusion" statement, then they'll manufacture their own numbers and create their own negative conclusions. Now you know why I'm laughing. I attended at least one public hearing and I listened intently to the municipal finance experts. As someone with an accounting background, I can't argue with them - their reasoning is totally sound, to the point that the Boundary Review Board strongly agreed.

Nothing Blake and the No groupies say will sway my opinion at this point. I'll stick with the experts and the facts and ignore the negative rhetoric, and vote in favor of a City of Fairwood. I simply don't trust the intentions of those people who are so fervently against incorporation.

Re: Consultants release revised Fairwood Incorporation Study; meeting March 19 - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:42:55 -0000

Well despite the complaints and outcries of the annexation supporters that the preliminary draft of the Feasbility Study was "serious flawed" and even "biased", and despite their hoped-for "gotcha" about the downward adjustment of the REET tax, and despite Mayor Law's letter to the BRB which effectively violates the city's responsibility to remain neutral on the issue of annexation/incorporation - this newly revised study shows (once again) that a City of Fairwood would be absolutely feasible.

I applaud the consultants for their thorough and objective analysis of the financials, as well as responding comprehensively to the many questions of Fairwood's citizens (including many questions that I myself had wondered about). If anything, the study shows what a positive tax revenue generator Fairwood would be for the City of Renton, so it's no surprise to me that Renton and its supporters will stop at nothing to annex this area - including intervention, misinformation, fear mongering, etc.

As a Fairwood resident, the choice couldn't be clearer to me. Whatever the annexation people claim about Renton providing "more for less", I just don't see it happening given Renton's track record. This study shows what I for one have long suspected, that Fairwood will be in a much better position on its own, and with better services in the long-term.

Re: City of Fairwood feasibilty study biased - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:46:37 -0000

It stands to wonder why Mr. Blake, when presented with an objective study by well-qualified consultants selected by the Boundary Review Board, sees fit to cry foul and claim some kind of conspiracy theory as to why the study actually shows a City of Fairwood as feasible. Well gee, Mr. Blake, perhaps the study shows that Fairwood is feasible - even in the worst economic scenario - because it actually IS feasible!

Everyone is having the opportunity to "fine tune" the report, that was the whole point of the consultant meeting on Feb. 9 - to invite public input from all sides to further refine the study. From what I've heard Mr. Blake, you boisterously provided your input along with many other people. Just because you have long doubted Fairwood's feasibility on a subjective basis and simply don't agree with the study doesn't mean it's not true.

The study is credible and unbiased - if you have any problems with it, you should be taking your complaints to the Boundary Review Board as well as Henderson & Young - not whining about it to the public. I for one welcome the BRB's commitment to an objective and transparent process and I'm willing to keep an open mind about the incorporation option.

Re: Consultants release Fairwood feasibility study: Revenues exceed expenditures - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:05:16 -0000

First, to address Bryce's burning issue about my identity, I choose to remain anonymous since the "Choose Renton"/Red Mill supporters seem to have initiated a campaign of personal attacks and smears (e.g., a mysterious doorstep letter here in Fairwood Greens - you know the one I mean). The last thing I or my family needs is to be targeted and mischaracterized.

Second, your gender bias (e.g., "whoever he is") is sad. ;)

Third, the facts of the study clearly demonstrate that a City of Fairwood is feasible - even with current tax revenues. A city is not sustained on home sales and resales alone - your pursuit of this one small aspect of overall feasibility is misleading at best. Fairwood's financial state is still sustainable regardless of your alarmist corrections. Fortunately, the study is completely realistic in its estimates and projections, one just needs to have an open mind to see it.

What's completely unrealistic is expecting Renton to provide adequate and equal (or even better!) services in Fairwood, when they can't even support the newly annexed area of Benson Hill (where complaints are steadily growing). Renton's budget is already stretched wafer thin and imagining that Fairwood's tax revenue will somehow embolden Renton to better manage the city finances - especially for an outlying area like Fairwood - is truly a fantasy.

Re: Consultants release Fairwood feasibility study: Revenues exceed expenditures - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:02:42 -0000

And on it goes...the continued insistence that "Renton could given Fairwood more with less is because it happens to be true." It makes for a fine sound bite, but the proof is in the pudding as they say, or in this case, in the numbers.

Bryce and the annexation proponents continue to use scare tactics, such as putting up the golf course for sale (which by the way, it is private property and would not be subject to some insidious plot to turn it into new housing developments). Under Renton's control, that is no doubt a possibility, but it remains a private property and would only be so redeveloped if the owners chose that option. Fairwood does not need an imagined redevelopment of the golf course to survive. As BOTH the earlier Berk study and now the Henderson & Young studies clearly demonstrate (to the open mind), a City of Fairwood is entirely feasible - right now and even under the most pessimistic growth viewpoint. So that's clearly off the table as an "alarmist" factoid.

Don't forget another large area open for development is the Renton Housing Authority's piece of land which is scheduled for "Section 8" housing, which essentially equates to low income, high density. Is this what we want to see happen to the Fairwood community?

As for parks, the reason Fairwood wouldn't require a parks budget is because - as the new study clearly says, all the parks within the Fairwood incorporation area (with the exception of the HOA parks already maintained) would be covered by King County. With the additional revenue Fairwood would have, because our tax money wouldn't be raped and spent elsehwere in Renton, we can opt to eventually provide other facilities and services - if the citizens of Fairwood so choose. Again, a non-starter argument.

People, I encourage you to read the new study with an open mind and see that the facts are crystal clear about the City of Fairwood's feasibility. It really comes down to maintaining a pessimistic or optimistic outlook, and I for one (and joined by many Fairwood citizens) choose optimism and reality. A City of Fairwood is entirely possible and completely viable - it's simply up to you.

Re: Consultants release Fairwood feasibility study: Revenues exceed expenditures - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:30:12 -0000

Wingnut's (aka B.N's) comments are misguided at best and delusion at worst. This constant theme of "get more for less" with Renton and this statement: "I think a better plan is to have Renton tax money spent in Fairwood", are signs of a viewpoint that is so out of touch with the fiscal reality of Renton and how it uses its tax revenues. If anyone truly believes that Renton will use ALL of Fairwood's tax revenue ONLY within Fairwood, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd love to sell you. Come on people, wake up to the reality - Renton can no better manage your tax revenues than King County. The only viable and long-term solution for Fairwood is to incorporate. No, it won't always be easy and no, it certainly won't be the poorest city in the state or King County, but we will have the most important thing that a community could possess: self-determination and local control.

Re: Consultants release Fairwood feasibility study: Revenues exceed expenditures - Renton Reporter

Blue_Genie — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:29:06 -0000

I'm curious if there's an explanation as to why the Renton Reporter went with a different headline for this online version, compared to the print version: "Fairwood Study Shows Promising Numbers". What's wrong, Dean? Does that sound too positive for you? Well of course...your bias against Fairwood incorporation has shone through all throughout your reporting. And yes, as a Fairwood resident I'm one of those who'd glad serve on the city council.