by Nikki Barron
Skyway Park is back!
After months of renovation, Skyway Park is now open to the public after a major capital project that added a new playground, installed a new mini-turf soccer field, refurbished the softball field, and upgraded the basketball court. King County Parks also installed a new pathway with security lighting and improved ADA accessibility.
Continue reading PHOTO ESSAY | Revitalized Skyway Park Reopens!by Cynthia A. Green
Sept. 6 commemorates Cynthia A. Green Day in South King County’s Skyway community. For nearly two decades, Cynthia Green served as the operations manager for the then West Hill Family Center. However, she meant monumentally more to the community than that title suggests. Transcending her position, Cynthia functioned as the last line of defense for community members facing eviction and utility shutoffs, provided counsel to domestic violence survivors, helped former gang members transition to better lives, and served as a trusted sounding board to countless community members who sought out her guidance.
In 2014 the West Hill Family Center was renamed the Cynthia A. Green Center in her honor.
—introduction by Marcus Harrison Green
Continue reading OPINION | From Cynthia A. Green: Thank You to My Communityby Alex Garland
Miles Stanberry grew up in the Genesee neighborhood of South Seattle, and it’s where he launched his first business, Clockwork Counter — a café and venue space that also sold baked goods to private clients — in 2016. Four years later, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the loss of all but one wholesale client, Cafe Red, and even they had to shut down for a while. With business hitting a rough patch, a landlord who wouldn’t make necessary repairs, and calls about “clock repair” or “countertop installation,” Stanberry knew he had to make a change. In late May of 2021, he and his partner, Naomi Zandt, rebranded as Moon Village Bakery, an artisan bakery in Skyway.
Continue reading Skyway’s Moon Village Bakery Offers Fresh Artisan Bread Delivery to King Countyby Ronnie Estoque
Salima Specialties brings the flavors of India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand to its new Skyway location. Serving an impressive halal menu of Southeast Asian cuisine — including satay chicken skewers, banh mi, samosas, soups, and curries — Salima Specialties is one of the few Cham restaurants in the area. Cham people are an ethnic group in Cambodia and Vietnam, tracing their ancestry back to the historic Kingdom of Champa. Fleeing Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge and the Vietnam War, Muslim Cham refugees began to arrive in Seattle in 1978 and have developed a tight-knit community in South Seattle.
Continue reading Salima Specialties Reopens in Skywayby Elizabeth Turnbull
Women United ensures that “kinship caregivers” — grandparents who are raising their grandchildren — are taken care of and celebrated all year round, including Christmas.
This Saturday, Dec. 18, the nonprofit is hosting a Winter Wonderland event at Renton’s Angel of Hope Engagement Center from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. There, under the glow of Christmas lights and immersed in Christmas music, caregivers and children are invited to celebrate the holiday with chili, cornbread, Christmas cookies, hot chocolate with marshmallows, and spiced apple cider. Gifts will be provided for those in attendance.
Continue reading Winter Wonderland Event Celebrates Grandmothers Raising Grandchildrenby Amanda Ong
For Cherryl Jackson-Williams, becoming involved in community advocacy was second nature. “We call my mother and father the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King combo,” Cherryl said in an interview with the South Seattle Emerald. “My mother is very flower-child … my dad, is like ‘Burn it down if we can’t make it work.’”
So it could not be more fitting that this year on Nov. 2, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay awarded Cherryl the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service.
Continue reading Skyway Community Leader Awarded MLK Jr. Medal for Serviceby Elizabeth Turnbull
Community members are encouraged to join and provide input at “Local Foods, Local Places Virtual Workshop” sessions which will be held Monday through Thursday of next week. Organized by the Urban Food Systems Pact – Skyway (UFSPS), the events will help develop a community action plan to grow the local food economy and to improve access to healthy foods.
The sessions will explore possible food-related projects such as developing an affordable neighborhood farmer’s market, a food hub with a commercial kitchen for entrepreneurs, or a gardening program led by BIPOC elders.
The purpose of the workshop is to form a short-term action plan for improving access to local foods to be implemented through the next two to five years.
Continue reading Skyway Community Members Offered Stipend to Participate in Building Local Food Economyby Elizabeth Turnbull
A new HUD EnVision Center is set to open in the old U.S. Bank building in Skyway in 2023 — providing connections to economic, health, and other resources — after U.S. Bank donated the land and the building to the King County Housing Authority (KCHA).
The space, which will be known as the Skyway Resource Center and is located at 12610 76th Ave. S., will replace and expand on the existing mobile resource center the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP) launched roughly a year ago to provide resources during the pandemic.
“For too long, Skyway has not received sufficient public and private investment, and that has slowed the development of economic opportunities and the provision of needed community services,” Stephen Norman, KCHA’s executive director, wrote in a statement released by U.S. Bank. “We are excited to work with the Skyway community and King County to reverse this trend and assist in the development of a new community asset that will provide additional tools and resources to help residents to move ahead.”
Continue reading Old U.S. Bank Building in Skyway Set to Become HUD EnVision Centerby M. Anthony Davis
Cynthia A. Green has been a pillar in the Skyway community for decades. Her work and dedication to serving her community while working at the Renton Area Youth Services family center led to the center being renamed the Cynthia A. Green Family Center in her honor in 2014. In that same year, King County Councilmember Larry Gossett proclaimed Sept. 6 to be Cynthia A. Green Day across the county.
This year, in celebration of Cynthia A. Green Day, the Skyway Coalition created a series of social media posters with tributes from community leaders, colleagues, and friends of Green.
“We are very conscious of our history,” Rebecca Berry, manager of the Skyway Coalition says. “We’ve gone through decades of advocacy and work to try to get the support and resources that our community needs.”
Continue reading Skyway Coalition Celebrates Cynthia A. Green Dayby Alexa Peters
For decades, the close-knit and diverse community in Skyway has been striving to flourish on their own terms.
As an unincorporated part of King County, Skyway does not have a local government entity, like a city council or mayor, working on behalf of the majority BIPOC community, making it harder for residents to preserve the parts of Skyway they love and execute much-needed additions, like a long-awaited community center. At the same time, residents like Jeannie Williams, who’s lived in Skyway for 36 years, say incorporation wouldn’t be worth the cost to the heart and soul of the neighborhood.
“Skyway has its own quirky personality all its own. It’s kind of like being out in the country but in the middle of the city. There’s cool little family-owned restaurants and it’s a good place to raise your kids. It’s very diverse,” said Williams. “All of those things make Skyway its own community.”
Continue reading Skyway Nonprofit Forms CDA to Revitalize Community
