Where The Action Is -- Teens Reveal Top Spots, But Others Complain They Long For Something More

CUTLINE: THE MAIN ENTRANCE AT SEATAC MALL IN FEDERAL WAY IS A MAJOR HANGOUT FOR TEEN-AGERS IN SOUTH KING COUNTY.

Federal Way junior-high classmates Jamie Riley and Keri Waitt have come for the show.

The two girls, 14 and 15, eye the parade of cars and pickup trucks that roll by, windows lowered, stereo volumes raised.

Music that booms their favorite rap beat and cars that ride low win favor with these two.

Perched under the shadow of SeaTac Mall, they're hoping to be noticed, too. They are not alone.

Nightfall has transformed the parking lot and adjacent streets around SeaTac Mall into a giant playground for teens, one of South King County's most popular places to find friends and be seen.

It's not the only place for young people. Throughout South King County, malls, fast-food places and city streets are teeming as young people take advantage of the school-less summer nights. Where are the most popular haunts, and why?

Hoagy's Corner on First Avenue South has become one of the favorite hangouts of Burien teens.

With its glass walls, good-size parking lot and nonstop business hours, Hoagy's is the place to see old friends and meet new ones.

The same rings true of Denny's restaurants in Federal Way, SeaTac and Tukwila, all popular spots for young people who want to grab a bite and socialize into the night.

In Tukwila, teens usually meet at Rainier Court in Southcenter

Mall, before heading off to other places.

Hip dance clubs and cruising strips in Seattle are also favorite destinations, as is the Omni dance club in Kent.

Some teens shun the hot spots altogether, seeking activities they say are more constructive and lead to less trouble. In Normandy Park, one group of teens is directing much of its energies toward civic and environmental causes.

But for most teen-agers, the emphasis remains on going where the crowds are.

Despite a ban on cruising in Federal Way, young people have stubbornly clung to the ``The Loop,'' a circuitous route around the mall, nearby shopping centers, movie theaters and fast-food restaurants.

North Pierce and South King county youths flock to this teen haven, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

``This is a cool place,'' said Ernie Lepore, 15, of Sumner. ``This is where we come.''

On a recent outing with friends celebrating the end of school, he roamed the area's arcades, music stores and fast-food places, all the while keeping an eye out for girls.

``I almost had three Bettys (a term for picking up girls) tonight,'' he bragged to friends.

`` `Tilt' is a major place to meet people,'' gushed Stacie, a 14-year-old from Auburn who did not give her last name, as she stood outside the popular arcade near the corner of South 320th Street and 23rd Avenue South adjacent to SeaTac Mall.

``You drive and be seen,'' said Cassandra Ussery, a 19-year-old resident of Puyallup, gathered in the mall parking lot with friends.

The Fantasy truck club she belongs to met at the Dairy Queen in Auburn before forming a convoy to Federal Way.

SeaTac Mall has become a weekend ritual for many. Rap music and fancy cars are prime entertainment.

Either by car or on foot, teens keep the pace fast, moving, for instance, from the arcade to the mall entrance to fast-food places across the way. Twenty movie screens within walking distance add to the allure.

King County police Officer Steve Borkan has been moonlighting as a security guard at Burger King weekend nights for the past three years.

``All the kids go to the mall and make the loop,'' said Borkan. ``Most of it's just kids wanting to have a good time.''

``It's a good place to waste time,'' conceded Karla Wagner, 21, of Des Moines. It's a place to gossip and check out guys, she added.

``It's better that we're here not drinking than going to a party getting drunk,'' said her pal, Christy McCoy, 18, a recent graduate of Puyallup High School.

Some teens prefer to stay closer to home.

Mark Mullet and his buddy Jay Gibson both wish Tukwila had a local hangout reminiscent of Al's, where Richie and the ever-cool Fonz loafed around in the television series ``Happy Days.'' Without a neighborhood ``hot spot,'' the teens roam to nearby Denny's or more recently, Red Robin, both along Southcenter Parkway, usually just for fries and a cold drink.

The two recent Foster High School graduates, who met playing soccer back in first grade, say they're planning to have a ``cool summer'' before heading off to college.

On a recent night, Mullet and Gibson sat in the Southcenter food court talking about the places they would hit before summer's end. The court is a popular meeting spot because a lot of their friends hold part-time jobs among the mall's 140 shops.

A short distance from the mall, the seven-screen Lewis and Clark theater complex along the Sea-Tac Strip is a popular gathering place, especially on rainy nights. When the weather turns warm, teens flock to Gene Coulon Beach Park on the south shore of Lake Washington in Renton to squeeze in some volleyball.

``We like to go places that are really crowded, that's really cool,'' Mullet said. ``Hey, the more people the better.''

Hanging out where the crowds are - especially girls - is important. ``You go dancing if you want to meet girls,'' said Mullet, 18.

``We don't do that a lot, though. Most of the girls follow us around,'' Gibson added with a grin.

Though Mullet and Gibson have friends who own fake IDs, they often drop by the Oz, a popular dance club near Seattle Center, where being 18 gets you in the door. Otherwise, some in their high-school crowd, older siblings' identification cards in hand, might go and check out the scene at hip dance clubs in Pioneer Square.

``Sometimes we don't feel like going out, so we play poker at a friend's house,'' said Gibson, 18. ``I made $12 just the other night.''

Not everyone is excited about the favorite gathering places of area teens.

Some, such as Becky Richards of Federal Way, complain there are too few places for young people to go ``if you don't want to get in trouble.''

``Yeah, there's the mall, Burger King or something like that,'' said Richards, 17. ``But those aren't the kinds of things I like to do. I'm not interested in the scamming (pickup) scene.''

Richards was part of a teen panel that advised Federal Way officials on activities that might draw teens away from cruising.

Despite the effort, the first dance of the city-sponsored program flopped, attracting only two dozen youths.

Hoagy's, the place for teens in Burien, is not enough, said Mark

Bullard, 18, a recent Highline High School graduate.

Any time a group of teens gets too loud, the management kicks them out, Bullard said. That's understandable if they aren't buying anything and taking up all the room, but sometimes teens are asked to leave unjustly, he said.

A Hoagy's manager responded that as long as teens behave themselves, they are welcome.

During his senior year, Bullard was so frustrated that he tried to garner support to lobby for creating a place just for young adults.

But nothing happened because no one wanted to get involved. ``Adults don't see the market (for a teen club), and kids don't have the means or know-how,'' he said.

Joy Bueling, 15, a sophomore at Mount Rainier High School, has had a little more success.

Bueling, a Normandy Park resident, formed the Teen Committee after attending a city meeting addressing possible uses for a future community activity center.

``They were talking about preschoolers and senior citizens, and I said, `Wait a second.' We should have something there, too,'' Bueling said.

Some local teens either go home to an empty house and play videos or hang out at Denny's on Pacific Highway South, said Becky Brouffey, 15, a Mount Rainier sophomore.

City officials told her to get involved if she wanted to influence how the center would be used.

The Teen Committee, which has about 10 members, isn't just about organizing teen dances, Brouffey said. The group's goals include supporting recycling programs, increasing environmental awareness and building understanding of local government.

Because its mission includes more than holding dances, adults will take the Teen Committee more seriously, she said.

Bueling said she hopes to recruit teens from all the surrounding cities.

The committee's goal is to give teens a stronger voice in their communities, she said.