News

Fire destroyed two storage sheds at about 5:49 a.m. Oct. 15 next to a home in the 700 block of Second Avenue North.

Blaze destroys two sheds in downtown Kent

A fire destroyed two storage sheds next to a home Wednesday morning in the 700 block of Second Avenue North in downtown Kent. There were no injuries. Firefighters from the Kent Fire Department and Auburn’s Valley Regional Fire Authority responded at 5:49 a.m. Oct. 15 to the report of a house fire and found two large storage sheds fully involved with fire behind the home.

  • Oct 21, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Fire destroyed two storage sheds at about 5:49 a.m. Oct. 15 next to a home in the 700 block of Second Avenue North.

Newspaper company, including Kent Reporter, takes home awards

Sound Publishing newspapers, of which the Kent Reporter is a part, garnered 184 awards at the annual Better Newspapers Competition held in conjunction with the Washington Newspaper Publishers conference in Yakima October 1-4.

  • Oct 21, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Kent-Meridian High School students in the Police Science class include: back row

High-school class gains new view of police work

With plans to become a defense attorney, Keyera Gainer was quick to sign up for the new Police Science class taught this year by Kent Police officers at Kent-Meridian High School.

Kent-Meridian High School students in the Police Science class include: back row

Boeing, union plan return to bargaining table this week

The Boeing Co. and the union representing its roughly 27,000 Machinists will return to the bargaining table this Thursday in Washington, D.C., at the request of a federal mediator.

  • Oct 21, 2008
  • BY Wire Service

Police Blotter: Kent man arrested after wife’s face is bitten

A husband became upset with his wife’s lunch plans and reportedly grabbed her and bit her face during an incident at 9:33 p.m. Oct. 10 at an apartment in the 25600 block of 98th Avenue South.

Mark Hillman; a King County Superior Court family law commissioner; advocates for Family Court Services at a public hearing held Thursday at the Regional Justice Center. Family Court Services is one of the social services facing cuts under King County Executive Ron Sims' proposed budget.

Proposed budget cuts bring crowd to Kent

More than 80 people packed a courtroom Thursday night at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent to protest the 2009 budget cuts King County Executive Ron Sims is proposing for the county's human-services, public-health and the criminal-justice departments.

Mark Hillman; a King County Superior Court family law commissioner; advocates for Family Court Services at a public hearing held Thursday at the Regional Justice Center. Family Court Services is one of the social services facing cuts under King County Executive Ron Sims' proposed budget.

Champions of the Dance to strut stuff Tuesday

Professional dancers from ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," and BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing," will be among the performers at the Champions of the Dance show at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kentwood High Performing Arts Center, 25800 164th Ave. S.E., in Covington.

  • Oct 19, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Jill O’Toole

Cancer survivors show life is beautiful – on the runway or off

Kent residents passing by the Downtown Seattle Macy’s this month might see a couple of familiar faces in the store windows. Jill O’Toole and Anne Hirner, both of Kent, are among the 16 breast cancer survivors Macy’s picked as models for its 12th annual Breast Cancer Survivor Fashion Show. Life-sized photos of the women – attired in Macy’s couture with all the trimmings – are in the store’s window display at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Stewart Street.

  • Oct 18, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Jill O’Toole
Members of the Kent City Council listen as West Hill resident Reynold Eicke asks a question Tuesday in a town hall meeting held at Kent Fire Station No. 75. About 20 citizens attended. Council members

Town Hall: Kent Council gets earful from residents

The idea for the city to install cameras to catch drivers who run red lights turned into a hot topic Tuesday night at a Kent City Council Town Hall meeting.

Members of the Kent City Council listen as West Hill resident Reynold Eicke asks a question Tuesday in a town hall meeting held at Kent Fire Station No. 75. About 20 citizens attended. Council members

Blotter: Woman claiming to be God arrested at Kent mall

A 42-year-old woman claiming to be God reportedly kicked another woman and left a trail of broken bowls and overturned tables and chairs during an incident at about 1:45 p.m. Oct. 2 at a shopping mall in the 18200 block of East Valley Highway.

Tough financial times may delay school bond sales

The worries on Wall Street and "significant problems" in the municipal bond market may force the Kent School District to postpone a sale of $25 million in school bonds, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 22.

County budget hearing Thursday in Kent

With what is now projected to be a $90 million shortfall in the County general fund for 2009, the Metropolitan King County Council has declared public safety, health and quality of life as its first priorities for funding in the county budget.

  • Oct 15, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
City of Kent maintenance worker Janet Henderson keeps Kent blooming. She shown Sept. 19 sitting near some of the city's downtown landscaping.

For this Kent worker, it’s all about the blooms

No matter the season, the work never stops for the flower lady of Kent. Janet Henderson, a city of Kent parks nursery and maintenance worker, orders plants in the fall and starts growing them in the winter. That preparation leads to more than 200 hanging baskets of flowers in full bloom to decorate downtown streets and several city parks from May through September.

City of Kent maintenance worker Janet Henderson keeps Kent blooming. She shown Sept. 19 sitting near some of the city's downtown landscaping.

Community briefly for week of Oct. 15

A listing of community activities in the Kent area

  • Oct 15, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Mike Webby

‘Here’s looking at you, shed’ – humble hut takes Kent man to Italy

Not everyone can say they drink their wine with movie stars. But Kent resident Mike Webby does, every time he visits his backyard, where painted caricatures of film legends Humphrey Bogart and Jack Nicholson sit together in what looks like the courtyard of a little Italian café.

  • Oct 14, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Mike Webby

Earthquake rumbles Tuesday near Kent

An earthquake measuring 2.0 on the Richter scale rumbled near Kent Tuesday afternoon, but there wasn't any immediate damage to report. In fact, local officials weren't aware there had even been a tremor.

Kent superintendent search: Board lists top qualities

The Kent School District Board of Directors is looking for a superintendent who first and foremost has the leadership skills for the challenges of an ethnically and culturally diverse community. That was the outcome of a meeting this past week to finalize the list of 10 characteristics that will be used to search for a replacement to Superintendent Barbara Grohe, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

Bedroom Fire at the Hidden Ridge Apartments in Kent

At 9 a.m. Friday, Kent Fire Department emergency units responded to a report of an apartment fire at the Hidden Ridge Apartments on Kent’s East Hill. The caller told dispatchers there was smoke coming from a bedroom window on the first floor of the two-story building and that there was no answer when neighbors knocked at the front door.

  • Oct 10, 2008
  • BY Wire Service
Sixth graders Fernando Quevedo

Their first paid gig: Kent kids teaming up with Darren Motamedy

Ty Leeper and Fernando Quevedo have only been playing their instruments for two years (Leeper even less as he switched to sax from clarinet), but the pair are ready to make their professional debut Saturday at Kona Kai Koffee Company in downtown Kent.

Sixth graders Fernando Quevedo

Kent: 2009 proposed budget reflects lean financial times

Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke proposed a “hold-the-line” 2009 budget Tuesday to the City Council in an effort to keep the city away from job or service cuts during a struggling economy.