Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

REPUBLISHED: New Parks position is approved - Non union city salaries posted

Redmond Bike Park
UPDATED OPINION7-9-12  As you know, Redmond has many parks and more are in the making.  In the formative stages are the expensive Downtown Park, the controversial Redmond Bike Park and the creative-art focused *Linear Connector Park following the Burlington Northern corridor and the "String of Pearls Parks" of rural SE Redmond.  Any others you can think of?

City Council voted silently tonight (4/17/12) to create a new Parks position titled "Parks Planning and Cultural Arts Program Manager" to help carry the load.  The Administration is reclassifying a  non union Senior Parks Planner to the new position.  It will pay $108,972 at the top tier. HR Director Kerry Seivers wrote: "The duties of the Senior Parks Planner position will be absorbed by the new manager position as well as other Parks positions.  There will not be any additional positions created."   

Last time I checked, Carolyn Hope (Linked-In) was a Senior Parks Planner managing these massive parks projects. She works very hard and is very bright.   Ms. Hope is worth every penny we pay her and perhaps she will be promoted to this new position. 

Council is also glancing at the non union city employees salaries already approved.  Twenty-five positions and salaries are listed below.  Non union city workers are awarded performance incentives and their benefits package average about 30% of their salary.  I'm quoting top tier since the total increment is only $1-3K and doesn't count incentives.  

City Clerk:  $105,024
Administrative Assist:  $53,616
Communications and Marketing Administrator:  $104,364  Read More >>

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Redmond stats show fewer: burglaries, car prowls in 2011

Redmond Police Chief Ron Gibson
Redmond stats show fewer property crimes in 2011

It goes without saying "crime sells" in the media business.  We see it almost every day in the local news-casts and almost everyday on the smart-phone news aggregators, like MY Northwest.com/Redmond.  Based on crime news frequency alone, you might think Redmond's safety budget was stretched thin to keep up with demand for safety support services.  Not necessarily so.  Case in point ...

Police Chief Ron Gibson's Department announced  some great news on June 8, that "The Redmond Police Department's 2011 statistics reflect similarity to what law enforcement agencies are seeing nationwide - crime is down."   Isn't that great news!   Here's a quick run-down of a few of the most reported crimes:

Police spokesperson Jim Bove writes Redmond's highest incident property crime - Vehicle prowls - is down once again from 684 in 2010 to 554 in 2011.  Burglaries declined from 198 in 2010 to 157 in 2012.  That's a 20% and 11% drop retrospectively year over year.   According to Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC) 2011 data, Identity Theft (including Credit/ATM fraud) is down 41% in 2011 from 202 incidences in 2010 to 120 incidences this year.  Whew!  Even with our growing mobility apparatus, Motor Vehicle Thefts are down 17% from 2010.  Read what crimes are going up >>

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sammamish River Trail ranks #1 in Sunset's best bike paths in the West


 20 best bike paths in the West "Sunset," June 2012
"Get to know these Western routes the way the locals do ― on two wheels"

The Sammamish River Trail, 9- miles north of Redmond in Bothell
 [A double-bonus:  Sammamish River Trail runs north towards Sunset's 19th ranked Burke-Gilman Trail  which continues northwest around Lake Washington from Kenmore and south to Seattle's Gas Works Park  where you can take a refreshing dip before your return to Redmond.  49 mi rt BY.] 

1)  SAMMAMISH RIVER TRAIL, REDMOND, WA (11 miles)

The Sammamish connects to the northeastern terminus of Seatttle's popular Burke-Gilman trail (make a left at the fork after crossing 96th NE). The scenic 11-mile Sammamish, continues past the wineries in Woodinville to Redmond and the popular Redhook Brewery. Info: www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/trails/regionaltrailssystem/sammamishriver.aspx
Read More >>

2)  SPRINGWATER CORRIDOR, PORTLAND TO BORING, OR (40 miles)

Portland is synonymous with biking thanks to trails like this one, which runs through the city along the Willamette River and over the famous, double-lift Steel Bridge (a boat, train, cars, runners and cyclists can simultaneously cross above or under it) to the town of Boring. This loop, which may eventually link to the Pacific Crest Trail, ends in Boring, however, it's anything but. Info: www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=679&action=ViewPark  Read more >>

Thanks to reader John Reinke for alerting Redmond Blog (RNB) to this article. 
Internet photo

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Theno's Dairy Owner says goodbye in Letter to Woodinville Weekly


Theno's Dairy and Ice-creamery after 2010 modernization
 A short history of the Woodinville Weekly as found in their online edition's "About Us."

LETTER TO WOODINVILLE WEEKLY EDITOR, By Doug Bloor, Theno's Dairy and Ice creamery owner, 5-28-2012
"A goodbye and thank you from Theno’s Dairy and the people who have been part of it for decades.
Thank you to all of our customers for your patronage, love and support.Having the chance to serve you what we felt was the best ice cream around for all these years has been a privilege and also a lot of fun.
I have over 20 years of my adult life wrapped up in Theno’s, over 33 years including my childhood, and it is with tremendous sorrow and regret that I must say we are closing for good.  Read More >>

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

UPDATED: Jeri Rowe-Curtis to fill new City of Redmond "Communications and Marketing" position

City Selects New Communications and Marketing Administrator

Jeri Rowe-Curtis
UPDATED:  Redmond, WA – The City of Redmond has announced the selection of Ms. Jeri Rowe-Curtis to fill the new position of Communications and Marketing Administrator effective June 1st.

Rowe-Curtis comes to the City with a wealth of communications and marketing expertise working with federal, state, regional and local governments, with news and media outlets and with public-private and philanthropic partners to achieve change. She brings a response driven track record of collaboration to affect change. She joins the City of Redmond after a 14-year career with the federal government as the *Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  "Puget Sound Health Care System" where she managed high profile news, web, social media and crisis communications programs, shaped internal, external and congressional affairs, and strategic partnership development.

Prior to joining the federal government, Rowe-Curtis managed external affairs programs for the University Of Washington School Of Medicine, for the Sisters of Providence Health Care Corporation, and served as a legislative staff member for the King County Executive, for the Assistant Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate and for the Seattle City Council.

Rowe-Curtis, a 22-year former Redmond resident, has received numerous professional awards
Read More >>

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Redmond Chamber's City Candidate Forum is on TV and on video 24/7.

Ballot Drop-Box at City Hall
Seven candidates for City Council and the Mayor's seat participated in a Candidate Forum on September 21st.  It was sponsored by the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce.  Topics included strategies on increasing activity in downtown, positions related to various transportation issues and candidates’ priorities.

The contested races are: Incumbent David Carson (Pos. 7) vs. Challenger Sue Stewart (Pos. 7); Tom Flynn (Pos. 5) vs. Joel Wright (Pos. 5).   Mayor Marchione and Councilmembers Hank Myers and Hank Margeson are running unopposed.    To see how the council candidates are rated visit this "Municipal League of King County" Redmond candidate site.

The City of Redmond taped the Forum for Redmond City Television Channels 21 (Comcast) and 34 (Frontier FIOS).  TV replays will begin at 9pm, Monday, October 3 and run through the election on Tuesday, November 8th.

The program is also available on demand 24/7 at the City’s website here.

The Redmond Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event as part of their monthly membership luncheon series.  Chamber Chair Tim Martin, an Evergreen Hospital executive, moderated the candidate panel.  The Forum was held at Matt's Rotisserie Bar and Grill in Redmond Town Center.

City of Redmond's Patrick Hirsch filmed the Forum.  Questions?  425-556-2439

Photo By Bob Yoder

Sunday, June 5, 2011

LWSD Board approves meeting notification policy for online media

ATTN: Online media serving the Lake Washington School District and district residents,

LWSD is notifying newspapers of meeting agendas and meeting scheduling changes. The Board approved policy in May, 2011 to include online media in the notification process upon request  to Diane Jenkins, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent".  This is a new Governance Process policy voted by consent agenda in May, 2011 and implemented by the District.

Kathryn Reith, Communications Director of LWSD emailed Redmond Neighborhood Blog on June 1:
"On meeting notification, Diane Jenkins is in charge of the [meeting] notification list while I’m in charge of the general media list, which you are on.  I have checked with Diane Jenkins: she faxes agendas and any information on meeting date or time changes [eg. Hearings, 1st Reading of the Budget, Regular Board meetings, and possibly Linkage, and Community meetings] to the Seattle Times, Kirkland Reporter, Redmond Reporter and Sammamish Review [newspapers]. Would you like to be added to the fax list?"
Yes!  The following online media servicing LWSD should contact Ms. Jenkins to be added to the  notification list: Kirkland Views, Kirkland Weblog, KOMO.com, Patch.com, American Towns.com, Seattle PI, TOPIX.com,  My/Northwest.com and others.  Ms. Jenkins' email is:  djenkins@lwsd.org

Reported By Bob Yoder
6/5/11

Saturday, April 9, 2011

A Day in the Life of a Washington State Senator - Redmond, WA

"Required reading for any student in a school government or civic class!"  Bob Yoder, 4/9

Guest Opinion: A Day in the Life of a Washington State Senator - Redmond, WA Patch:

Hill confers with Spokane Sen. Jeff Baxter on the Senate floor.  Courtesy Sen.Andy Hill
" A Day in the Life of a Washington State Senator"  By Senator Andy Hill
First-term Senator Andy Hill, who represents parts of Redmond in the 45th Legislative District, writes about a typical day in Olympia.  By Senator Any Hill
 "I am often asked what it’s really like to be a state senator. So here’s the true scoop about an average day while the Legislature is in session.
I wake up in my Olympia apartment at 6 or 7 a.m. – and immediately miss my wife and three kids back in Redmond.  Next, it’s grabbing instant coffee and driving to work for my first appointment, between 7 and 8 a.m. The first eight weeks of session was non-stop “listen and learn.” I was so busy taking in reams of information, I hardly had time to process it. Now I’m starting to put the pieces together, figuring out the complexities of each issue and determining what policies make sense."   Read more >>

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Redmond Police Issue More Than 1,500 Citations In First Two Weeks of Camera Enforcement Period - Redmond, WA Patch

Redmond Police Issue More Than 1,500 Citations In First Two Weeks of Camera Enforcement Period - Redmond, WA Patch:  by Caitlin Moran, "RedmondPatch"

Officials stressed that officer discretion is always used when deciding whether or not to issue a ticket.
Richard Cole, Hank Margeson and John Stilin observe a video demonstration of the city's red light cameras at a meeting on Tuesday. Photo Credit Caitlin Moran
"The number of camera-enforced citations issued so far this month is on pace to exceed the 1,900 warnings that were issued during a one-month warning period earlier this year, Redmond Police Chief Ron Gibson told the City Council's public safety committee at a meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The Redmond Police Department issued a combined 1,586 citations between March 3 and 16 at the three intersections with red light cameras and one school zone with a speed camera.

Gibson said he believes the number of violations confirms earlier traffic studies that identified the intersections as problem areas.

'I think that bears out the fact that the studies show there's a high number of violations at these intersections,' he said."   Read More...

By Caitlin Moran, Editor of RedmondPatch
About Caitlin
RedmondPatch, 3/23

#####
Comment from the RNB Editor:   As of 3/19 a  petition is circulating to ban the Redmond red light pilot program.   http://bancams.com/petition/redmond/

Monday, December 6, 2010

ALERT UPDATE: The New City Website Will Launch On December 8 With Some Twists

Attention Users of City of Redmond Website    After emailing Ms. Gronlund, City Communications Manager last night, I learned the city will launch their new site this Wednesday morning, 12/8.  Be advised, old redmond.gov Bookmarks will be lost .   Though Marta addressed Redmond Neighborhood Blog specifically, it appears Media will lose links to the new city website.  No city press release on the launch date was issued.
From: Marta Gronlund mgronlund@redmond.gov
Date: Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 10:59 PM
Subject: RE: Focus website index page feedback
Bob:
Yes the (Winter Lights)  festival was wonderful.
Yes, the new site, while still redmond.gov to the outside world is completely different on the back end (database driven). So all links will be different - no old bookmarks will work and content is now organized functionally rather than by department. So for those who use it frequently, it will be a little frustrating for awhile.
If you have links to content on your blog now, please send them to me and I will get you the new links to the same content as soon as I have them. We launch the new site Wed. AM. (12/8)
Thanks, Marta Gronlund
City Communications Program Manager
Sent from my Windows Mobile phone   
When, and if, I receive the new website links from City Communications, I'll update RNB links. 
It's my understanding the new city website link is redmond.gov.

Redmond Neighborhood Blog (RNB) reports on Open Government and links extensively to the city website to provide proof sources for my research; and important city information RNB provides could be compromised. 

RNB is the oldest, ongoing hyper-local media site in Redmond.  A plethora of city website links going back over four years are momentarily disabled.  However, the majority of RNB readers rarely click on  links, so little will be truly lost to your reading enjoyment!  And, Redmond's repairing their end. 

OPINION and Report By Bob Yoder.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Q&A: Why Microsoft surrendered 7 million blogs to WordPress.com

Q&A: Why Microsoft surrendered 7 million blogs to WordPress.com:

"Microsoft surprised many people in the tech community today when it announced plans to end work on its 6-year-old Windows Live Spaces blogging platform, helping its users migrate to the rival WordPress.com.

More surprising: The arrangement comes with no financial compensation, no marketing agreements, and no commitments that WordPress.com use Windows Live ID or Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud-computing platform.

So why do it?" Read More >>

By Todd Bishop
TechFlash

Monday, September 20, 2010

A Rabble Rouser in Redmond?

Outside.in monitors all the news, blogs, and discussions on the web and dynamically maps them to more than 57,000 neighborhoods in the US. You can find "What's Happening Where You Are Right Now." on the Outside.in search engine . 

I was invited by Esther Brown of "Outside.in" to an interview for her feature, "Bloggers We Love".  The interview is titled "A Rabble Rouser in Redmond?" Yup, that's me! Check it out!  Comments, please!

Outside.in is supported by leading investors including Union Square Ventures, CNN, Village Ventures, Betaworks, the New York City Investment Fund, and Milestone Venture Partners.

The interview:  "A Rabble Rouser in Redmond?"
Photo By Pam Yoder

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Why Every City Needs A Beat Reporter

This article starts out with an extreme example of  prolonged public apathy....

They are worth more than you think.  Just ask the residents of Bell, CA.

There’s a municipality in Southern California called Bell. Thirty-eight thousand people live there. It’s largely inhabited by Latino immigrants, and the per capita income is just $25,000 per year. It may be hard to believe, but had its residents banded together five years ago to hire a top-notch beat reporter, even paying him the handsome salary of $200,000 per year, the return on their value would’ve been immense. 
Read More.

By Conor Friedersdorf, 07/29
Forbes.com

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Swedish/Redmond ER is on schedule for December Opening.

Swedish/Redmond ER Facility (on left) is scheduled for completion in December.  It is located on Union Hill Road just west of Millenium Park and across the street from UPS.  Free surface parking for patients and Families will be ample.  Evergreen Medical Plaza (on right) in Bella Botegga is expected to be completed "in about a year" or less.  36 free "underground parking" spaces are reserved for Evergreen's patients.  (Both photos were taken on the same day last weekend.)   

Swedish/Redmond ER.  Construction crews hoisted 130,000-pound concrete wall panels into place at Swedish Medical Center’s new Redmond site at 18100 Union Hill Road.  Designed to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the 86,000-square-foot, three-story building will feature a freestanding emergency department with 18 exam rooms, an advanced diagnostic imaging center (including X-ray, mammography, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI) and on-site laboratory services.  From  90 to 100 full time ER staff will work at the facility once it's fully operational.  The emergency department and ambulatory care center is scheduled to be completed December, 2010.  Total cost of the long-term lease with Hames Company is $23,000,000.

Three Swedish Primary Care physicians and staff are moving from their office in Redmond (15670 Redmond Way) into the Swedish/Redmond ER center.  Specialty physicians will be in the turn-key suites.  Swedish is currently evaluating  the mix of specialty physicians.  They expect to have medical oncology and potentially some cancer-based surgical providers available.  They are also evaluating the addition of infusion services for early summer 201l.  13,000 - 15,000 patient visits are expected by 2011.  1300/ of these patients may need transportation to the hospital.   (A 172-bed Swedish Hospital is under construction in the Issaquah Highlands, visit: http://www.swedishissaquah.org/)

For more information on Swedish/Redmond ER, visit http://www.swedish.org/ or email:  Ed.Boyle@swedish.org  

Monday, June 21, 2010

Kirkland and Sammamish are lukewarm to a community aquatic center

Prior to the closing of  Hartman Pool on June 18, Redmond City council had been actively seeking a city partner for funding a community aquatic center.  

During joint meetings with Kirkland council on May 28 and Sammamish council on June 8, Redmond floated the idea of creating a new taxing district to fund a community aquatic center.  Kirkland staff estimated a new aquatics facility would cost between $42-46.5 million.

According to the Kirkland Reporter:   Councilmember Allen said the Redmond pool was "on life support" and that recommended economies of scale between Kirkland and Redmond could pencil out.   Redmond City Councilmember Pat Vache' felt that, "Trying to combine parks departments would create all sorts of complications that we are not even thinking about," saying "Cities have different philosophies on how to run their parks."  Another issue of combining the city's Parks departments would be existing funding.  Mayor Marchione wasn't present at the Kirkland meeting. 

According to the Sammamish Review:  Council members in Sammamish grappled over the question of why citizens would want to tax themselves for a new facility when they could wait for a neighboring city to build one and go use it.  While the Sammamish council said they’d keep the idea in mind as discussions continue, their response was lukewarm.   "Read More" for my comments:

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

OPINION: A truthful perspective of Mayor Marchione's "Budget By Priorities" process

When I read the following "Redmond Reporter" headlines on May 2, I never laughed so hard! 


"City asks citizens to help prioritize next budget" 

"Public input will help drive city spending for 2011-12." 

Why is this so funny?  

Only two public budget meetings were conducted by the John Marchione Administration and only 18 total citizens showed up!   Six attended the March 1 meeting and twelve attended the May 3 meeting -- both held on a Monday close to the dinner hour.   Could you pick a worse day?

Redmond has a night-time, resident population of  ~50,000 citizens and only 18 residents turned up?   This year's  "Budget By Priority" process is more than a belly laugh, it's much worse.   Six of the 18 residents were lobbying a special interest.  Businesses were invited but none registered.  Six citizens were hand selected by the Mayor to participate in the process with staff,  but never engaged with the Public.   

John Marchione's "Budgeting for Priorities" process asks four basic questions"

1. What priorities matter most to our citizens?
2. How much revenue will we have and what price of government will we charge our citizens?
3. How much should we spend to achieve each priority?
4. How can we best deliver each priority to achieve the results the citizens expect?

What citizens?   (Read more).  
  
When you compare the 0.0004% citizen turnout to the Reporter's headlines, it's apparent citizens weren't empowered by the "Budget By Priorities" process.   The program didn't have legs -- certainly, not enough legs "to help drive city spending and prioritize the next budget".  

This is just one example of why I write this blog....to disclose a truthful perspective and cut the P.R.

OPINION By Bob Yoder

Friday, May 28, 2010

"Drugstore Cowboy", James Fogle, arrested in Redmond, WA pharmacy.


Movie Trailer "Drug Store Cowboy", with Matt Dillon
James Fogle — whose life of crime and addiction became the basis for an acclaimed film, "Drugstore Cowboy" — is back in jail again.

By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter
James Fogle — who immortalized his life of crime and addiction in a book that became the basis for an acclaimed film, "Drugstore Cowboy" — is back in jail again.
Fogle and another man, 45-year-old Shannon Benn, were arrested on Tuesday while attempting to rob a Redmond pharmacy, according to police
He's 73 years old and this is probably the only thing he knows," said Jim Bove, a spokesman for the Redmond Police Department.
Read More

Do you know what Redmond pharmacy Fogle allegedly tried to rob? 

Posted by Bob Yoder
Seattle Times News Partner 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Local News | Seattle Times announces more local news partners

Local News Seattle Times announces more local news partners Seattle Times Newspaper:

Seattle Times announces more local news partners

The Seattle Times is expanding its partnerships with local news Web sites with the addition of four more sites today. That brings the total number of partner Web sites to 26. (See the complete list, along with their latest headlines.)"

Posted by Bob Yoder
Redmond Neighborhood Blog
Seattle Times News Partner

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Graffiti art in "Edge Skate Park"





A few slides show a chipped "Free Wall" with about an inch of graffiti paint!  The wall has been painted over so many times that you can find layers of paint dating back 15 years.  The walls you see have been painted more than once in the last month.  

Graffiti art has been painted on the “Free Walls” of Redmond’s downtown Edge Skate Park from the day it was dedicated, over 15 years ago.  Anyone is free to paint graffiti on the walls.  These walls are special not only for their art, but for mitigating unwanted graffiti tags from migrating into the skate arena itself.

The skate board and BMX community and neighborhoods have great pride in Edge Park. Skaters say the creative graffiti art usually lasts on the Free Walls for 2-4 weeks before it has to be painted over again.  An unidentified community of passionate graffiti artists re-paint the walls.  According to Ken Wong of the Teen Center, the graffiti artists aren't managed by the City.

Redmond's one-of-a kind Edge Skate Park is located a stone's throw from the downtown Fire station and Metro Bus Park & Ride on 8420 161st Ave. NE.  The Free Walls facing the Park & Ride usually have the best graffiti art. Their tags are probably painted over more often owing to their visibility to commuters.  The paint thickness shows it.

Redmond Parks Operations Manager, Dave Tuchek, says the Park was conceptualized in the mid-1995's by Nick Lovell of the Redmond Police Department.  It was built during the Rosemarie Ives Administration. Dave says, periodically - less than 5-6 times/year - obscenities or graffiti are tagged in the concrete skating arena by outsiders.   Dave says, if the tags aren't removed within about 24 hours it gets worse and spreads.  He takes pictures of the tags for the police report.  Police and Fire have presence too; their refueling station is next door.  

By Bob Yoder
Seattle Times Communities Partner
Photos by Yoder (35 photos)

The Seattle Times graffiti story (4/26) is here