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It’s so new it still has that new ship smell! Okay, not too sure about that but Naval Station Everett is about to welcome a brand new ship and crew this week. Here’s the word from Naval Station Everett.

Ingalls Shipbuilding completed builder’s sea trials for Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). The Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) destroyer spent more than three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other ship systems. photo by Andrew Young/HII

It will be the sixth U.S. Navy destroyer homeported in Everett which includes USS Momsen, USS Shoup, USS Gridley, USS Kidd, and USS Sampson.

Ralph Johnson was commissioned for active service on March 24 in Charleston, South Carolina.

The ship’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Jason Patterson, leads the core crew of 314 officers and enlisted personnel. The sailors and accompanying families have been gradually relocating to the area since last summer.

“The officers and crew of USS Ralph Johnson are thrilled to be joining the Pacific Northwest Navy,” said Patterson. “Our arrival to our homeport of Everett, Washington marks the end of an over two year journey for the crew through the precommissioning process. We look forward to joining our fellow shipmates on the Everett waterfront.”

Ralph Johnson is the 64th Arleigh-Burke class destroyer built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It is the first warship named for Medal of Honor recipient Marine Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson. Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Vietnam War. Johnson used his body to shield two fellow Marines from a grenade, absorbing the blast and dying instantly in March 1968.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers are capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare. As multi-mission platforms, they are capable of sustained combat operations. Their missions support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence.

Additional Ship Statistics:
Displacement – Approximately 9,300 tons
Measurements – Length of 509 feet, beam of 66 feet, and navigational draft of 31 feet
Propulsion – Four GE LM 2500 gas turbine engines drive twin controllable propellers
Speed – Capable of achieving over 30 knots in open seas
Aircraft – Two LAMPS MK III MH-60 B/R helicopters
Armament – The Integrated Air and Missile Defense radar provides increased computing power and improved detection and reaction capabilities, as well as ballistic missile defense. The Aegis Combat System enables the ship to link radars with other ships and aircraft.
Ship motto – “Swift Silent Deadly”

Naval Station Everett’s mission is to provide a secure platform for Navy and Coast Guard forces, important mission capabilities, and quality of life for service members and their families. The base provides assistance to its homeported ships such as transition services, family programs, and community resources to help them get settled in their new home.

-USN-

For Naval Station Everett information and updates visit www.facebook.com/NavalStationEverett.

Editor’s Note: The Navy does not publicly disclose the exact time a ship is expected in Port. The best viewing spots are traditionally the lighthouse at Mukilteo by the ferry terminal or Harborview Park on Mukilteo Blvd.

Driver was northbound when he crossed over the southbound lanes into a parked car.

This crash just north of Palm Street was in the 6600 block of Beverly Boulevard and was non-injury but slowed things down a bit both north and southbound just after 4:30 PM.

This is the general boundary of Metro Everett.

Buildings up to 25 stories tall may be allowed in downtown Everett. Click link in story to see height limits and street uses for a particular address.

Nearly 2,500 property owners will receive notice that the city has drafted new zoning and land use regulations to guide growth and development. The draft Metro Everett Plan and draft development regulations, including city-wide off-street parking regulations, can be found at www.everettwa.gov/metro.

If you want to know what zoning is proposed for property you may own in Metro Everett, click on this link here to get an interactive map. Type in your address and you will find out what the proposed zoning, heights and street type designations are for your property. More questions? Email us at metro@everettwa.gov.

A public open house is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25th at 6:00 p.m. in the Weyerhaeuser Room at Everett Station. This open house will provide an overview of the draft Metro Everett Plan and development regulations. Public hearings before the city’s Planning Commission are tentatively scheduled to begin in June.

More information at www.everettwa.gov/metro

Great news as students attending Washington State University Everett continue to impress. An award of $15,000.00 and top honors went to four students over the weekend. Here’s more from Randy Bolerjack at WSU Everett.

The TEST Robotics team includes Samantha Chapman a senior strategic communication major, Timothy Kaiser, a senior electrical engineering student, Troy Potensky, a senior mechanical engineering student, and Emily Ternes, a junior hospitality business management student.

Samantha Chapman holds a really big check for $15,000.00. The team will decide how to spend the money.

On Friday, WSU’s top student venture teams displayed their innovative products and services at the 16th Annual Business Plan Competition hosted by the Carson College of Business.

TEST Robotics, an interdisciplinary Boeing Scholars team from Washington State University Everett won the grand prize of $15,000.

“When our name was called for the grand prize, it was a complete thrill,” said Samantha Chapman, a senior strategic communication major. “Two of us instantly burst into tears, and it felt like we were floating to the front of the room. We worked tremendously hard on this project, and that moment made it all worth it to us.”

The TEST Robotics team includes Chapman, Timothy Kaiser, a senior electrical engineering student, Troy Potensky, a senior mechanical engineering student, and Emily Ternes, a junior hospitality business management student.

The team’s product is an autonomous robot that helps clean composite tools. Composites are used as a building material, particularly in the aerospace industry. When composite tools are used, they need to be cleaned and coated before they can be used again. The team’s robot deals with the coating of the tools. “Instead of a human doing this process, it allows for the human to set the robot on a tool and spend their time doing something less tedious,” Chapman said.

The team is one of several groups of Boeing Scholars at WSU Everett. Those groups are granted the opportunity to work directly with Boeing mentors who advise students and provide them with hands-on, industry experience. Boeing presented TEST Robotics with the challenge of reducing the time it takes to clean composite tools.

The interdisciplinary nature of the team is a hallmark of the WSU Everett campus, uniting students from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture and the Carson College of Business.

“Our team has learned that it is really helpful to have students from different majors working together,” Chapman said. “Because this competition involved both making a product and then creating a business plan for it, it was perfect to have engineers, a business major and a communications major all working together. We took advantage of each other’s strengths and learned a lot about each other’s fields of study.”

The team was able to travel to Pullman to participate in the competition thanks to a generous grant provided by Union Bank and Robert Williams.

The Business Plan Competition gives students the opportunity build skills in a real-world setting, network with industry professionals and prepare to succeed in a global business arena.