Around Town

Published 6:53 am Monday, March 3, 2008

Excuse our dust

By mid-November, the construction dust should have settled in the Edmonds City Hall lobby and a new reception area unveiled.

The work is being done in-house by the city’s facilities maintenance crews.

Making the receptionist the first point of contact and getting a better grasp on who’s in the building are reasons for the improvements, according to Debi Humann, human resources manager. Eventually visitors will be asked to don badges; City employees will have ID badges, too.

The heightened security resulted from recommendations of a workforce safety committee, Humann said. Another recently implemented suggestion by the committee was a security officer in Municipal Court.

What the buzz is all about

Here’s good news for parents of mini-Einsteins whose curiosity of all things scientific no longer is slaked by how-things-work books.

Edmonds Parks and Recreation Department is hosting Family Science Night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 in the Plaza Room above the Edmonds Library, 650 Main St. It’s designed for those ages 6 and above. The cost is $5 per child; parents are free.

There, experts will help the curious unravel mysteries of comets, skyscrapers, electromagnetism, CSI fingerprint identification, fisheries biology and more. Children can dig into simple hands-on science experiments or ask real-life scientists about their careers.

Call the parks department at 425-771-0230 to register or for more information.

Fond farewell

Snohomish County Council Chairman Gary Nelson and a virtual school of local fishermen were among those gathered at Anthony’s Restaurant last Monday at a memorial for James B. Haines, who died Oct. 11 at age 85.

An Edmonds native and lifelong area resident, James Haines, along with his father, Capt. H.F. Haines, and brother, Herb Haines, ran the sport-fishing enterprise, Haines Fishing Wharf, in the Meadowdale area. He served on the Edmonds Planning Commission, Edmonds City Council, Snohomish County Commission, was a founding member of Stevens Hospital and spent some years working as Snohomish County Assessor.

Nelson, a Republican, remembers James Haines as a “Democrat … but you’d never know it. He put aside party labels … to get the work done.”

In this together

Representatives of South Snohomish County cities will meet Wed., Nov. 16 to review what issues affecting all their jurisdictions are most likely to benefit from their collective muscle.

The public meeting is set for 7 p.m. on the third floor of Edmonds City Hall, 121 Fifth Ave. N.

Formed this past summer, the as-yet unnamed group is composed of elected representatives from Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Mill Creek, Brier and Woodway. The Port of Edmonds also has been involved. They meet monthly to discuss issues of common concern.

So far, the alliance has hosted speakers Mike Doubleday, state lobbyist for Edmonds, and state Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo.