Food Drive at Bella Bottega QFC sponsored by the City

Redmond, WA - Members of the Redmond City Council, the Redmond Human Services Commission, and Mayor John Marchione will participate in the Day of Concern for the Hungry by hosting a Food Drive on Saturday, September 19, 2015 and Sunday, September 20, 2015, at the Bella Bottega QFC store located at 8867 161st Avenue NE, Redmond, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. This year, the Mayor, Councilmembers, and Commissioners, will be asking shoppers to donate “Super Foods” including whole grains, nut butters, and dried fruits in addition to the standard canned goods, such as vegetables, soups, and beans. These donations benefit the Hopelink Food Bank. Last year nearly 5,000 pounds of food was donated by Redmond’s generous community members.

Mayor John Marchione encourages all residents to stop by and donate food or consider hosting a food drive during the month of October. “A food drive is a great employer–employee effort, as well as a great school or neighborhood project to show you care.” This Day of Concern Food Drive is part of a month-long community-wide effort, with other participating cities, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Northbend, and Sammamish. 

OPINION: Vision of the next mayor is essential for setting the direction of the city

OPINION:   I disagree with your assessment of the mayor. I do not think he is perfect, but no one is. I like the vision that the current mayor had for the city and I still think that is the right direction, but it's been a long time since he has articulated it and I'm hoping this election season will spur him to refine and reinform us of where he thinks the city should be headed.

Redmond is an integral part of a large urban core, but it is not Seattle, Bellevue, or Sammamish. I have not found statements from Mr. Fields delineating the future he envisions for the city nor the solutions he proposes for how the city should meet growth requirements or other regulations imposed by federal, state, county, or region. That he advocates listening to the residents is all well and good, but populism is not leadership. Whoever is the next mayor will be setting the direction for city development 5-10 years from now, so vision is essential.

Lynda Feng

Facebook Group "Education Hill in Redmond"   

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UPDATED OPINION, 9/28: The culture of Marchione's Administration strangles Council's representation and participation

OPINION:  I have been been at resident of Redmond for over 33 years.  I watch most every city council meeting.  I agree with those rare residents I know who follow city government that something is missing from the council meetings. One of the reasons I'm voting against Marchione is because of his tight grip on the Council on controversial issues.   Only once in a blue moon will a councilmember disagree with the Mayor or his staff and when they do disagree they very rarely speak their mind in a council meeting. I can think of only two instances that a Councilmember publicly disagreed with the Mayor. One was David Carson who said he was against the proposed Redmond Way - Cleveland Street realignment. (He barely got it out but he said it and was ignored by his peers).  The other was when Councilmember Hank Myers and Councilmember Kim Allen spoke out against the many of the medians on 166th Avenue. 

Recently I was at the So Bazzar and ran into Hank Myers. He is a nice man, and a very hard working and capable councilman as are all our councilmembers.  He gave me some insight to his views on Proposition One and Two and the budget.  Was I surprised!  I asked him why he didn't speak up at any council meetings about this.  He promised he would try to be more open about positions in the future -- and this from the most transparent member on Council.   Transparency within Council chambers and Commission meetings is sometimes impeded by the Administration's headlock on Council; transparency builds trust in our government and it is at times lacking by our representatives - no fault of their own.      

John Marchione appears to have an underlying "rule" with Council to keep disagreements and sensitive issues off record so that his meetings run smoothly and scripted to his Administration's plan.  The problem with Marchione's culture is that it strangles council's ability to represent their constituents and speak their minds on sensitive issues. That's a good reason why council meetings are so stale and the everyday resident won't visit City Hall to speak their minds in "Items from the Audience" or watch their meetings.  Having talked with Steve Fields, I know he would allow the Council and Commissioners to be more open when they have personal disagreements or just want to talk and be themselves.

By Bob Yoder 

Private school Brightmont Academy to hold Open Houses

New Brightmont Academy Redmond Campus to Hold Open House Events in October 

Private school specializing in one-to-one instruction for 6^th-12^th grade students is currently accepting new enrollments at its Redmond Town Center location 

SEATTLE, WASH.  September 17, 2015 – Brightmont Academy, a private school specializing in one-to-one instruction, which recently moved to the Redmond Town Center to accommodate additional students, will be holding several open houses throughout October.  The grand opening celebration will take place on Thursday, October 15 from 4pm-7pm. Open houses will be held on Thursday, October 1 from 4-6pm, Saturday, October 10 from 10am-2pm, and Saturday, October 17 from 10am-2pm. The campus is currently accepting enrollments and parents and students are encouraged to attend to learn more about the one-to-one school.

Brightmont Academy specializes in one-to-one instruction where one experienced teacher works with one student throughout every learning session. Beginning its 16th year serving the Seattle metro area, the new Redmond campus includes additional individual learning rooms, a science lab, a new homework studio and a full kitchen.

The new design of the Redmond campus includes 17 individual learning rooms to effectively facilitate one-to-one instruction and a student gathering area with a full kitchen and lunch room that will provide students with a comfortable space and encourage socializing during break times. A science lab will enable students to complete more complex labs with safety in mind, and a new, quiet homework studio provides an area for independent work.  Read More>>

Long Term facility planning in LWSD - take the online survey!

Long-term facility planning in LWSD

Visit the task force page to learn more about its work and sign up for updates. Visit the online open house to view draft recommendations and provide feedback to the committee. Survey is open through October 11.

The Seattle Times recommends Chris Carlson for LWSD school director District 2

The Seattle Times recommends Chris Carlson for LWSD school director District 2

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-times-recommends-chris-carlson-for-lake-washington-school-director-district-2/

LETTER: The Bear Creek restoration project was much more than Marchione's doing

A Redmond resident wrote a  September 11 Letter to the Editor saying that “ John Marchione single handily convinced our state representatives to find money for the recently completed $10 million restoration project on lower Bear Creek.”  This statement is a complete misrepresentation. 

Here’s how it played out:  A citizen sent pictures of flooding on 520 to Finance Chair Representative Ross Hunter.  Councilmembers Kim Allen, Richard Cole, and Nancy McCormick traveled to Olympia to lobby Ross for funding of the lower Bear Creek restoration.  Ross Hunter was impressed by the pictures and the lobbying and called Representative Deb Eddy who contacted the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for funding.  Councilmember Hank Myers also had a long conversation with WSDOT.  John Marchione may have had some input at that point – I don’t know – but the accomplishment involved more than his sole participation.  The citizen’s Letter also erroneously stated the Bear Creek restoration was a $10 million project when in fact it was a $12 million dollar project with the City of Redmond contributing only $2 million.  The citizen slanted his Letter to favor Marchione’s campaign.  We should give our councilmembers and state representatives credit where credit is due. The Bear Creek restoration project was much more than Marchione’s doing. 

Pam and Bob Yoder

Redmond

LETTER: The Mayor faces a Highly Qualified Challenger

I would like to post some Marchione Letters to have a more balanced blog but none have been submitted.

The Mayor faces a Highly-Qualified Challenger

We haven’t had a mayoral race that has been contested for eight years. As a resident of Redmond for over 18 years, I have been intrigued by the growing excitement over Redmond’s mayoral race, our only competitive municipal race this year.

I’ve known Steve Fields personally and professionally for most of those 18 years. I’m glad to see a highly-qualified candidate taking the initiative to run for mayor to change the status quo and move Redmond forward with new leadership. As a voter, it is refreshing to place my confidence in a strong candidate with fresh ideas and vote for change.

As a small business owner I interacted with Steve over the past decade where he worked in the Executive Office at King County and the City of Seattle advising on policy, performance improvement, and budgeting. I found his approach to solving problems to be very creative while keeping budgetary goals in mind.

His everyday responsibilities were to manage government and find innovative ways to make it better for its stakeholders: we the people. He worked across all levels of the organizations improving operations for the Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He has expertise in capital investment and implementing new efficiency methods and systems for all departments.

From my experience, I think Steve is a candidate that took his wealth of private sector experience in finance and contracts working with government agencies and translated those skills to become a successful public servant in local government.

Join me and many of my friends and neighbors in voting for Steve Fields to lead a government that will better serve its citizens.

By Art Olsen

Redmond

OPINION: The City of Redmond needs to form Neighborhood Associations to improve communications and solve problems

I've been watching city council meetings and reading the conversations on "Education Hill of Redmond" Facebook Group and it's obvious that both want better communication of city government with the neighborhoods.  In fact, one of mayoral candidate Steve Fields message is that Redmond's neighborhoods have been left behind while the city concentrates on developing the downtown.  Councilmember Kim Allen recently recommended to the Mayor that council should hold some of their meetings in various neighborhoods so they can explain growth concerns and communicate better with the residents; city hall is too removed from us.

I found a city -- Bend, Oregon -- that is very organized in running neighborhood associations for their residents.  Each association has a website and communication vehicle to reach their city and each other.  The link to Bend's neighborhood associations is found here:  http://www.bend.or.us/index.aspx?page=832.  I recommend you take a look.  It is very impressive.  A few years ago I recommended Bend's neighborhood association model to the city.  They ignored it.

The City of Redmond held "Community Advisory Committees" (CAC) several years ago for a few neighborhoods.  Unfortunately, only select residents were invited to attend and the meetings were not ongoing.  I tried to get on the Education Hill CAC but wasn't invited. Ouch.

The Education Hill Facebook Group lit up with comments about 166th Ave and downtown growth.  It was satisfying to communicate with our Ed Hill neighbors and even Councilmember John Stilin got online.  But Redmond government can do a lot better than informal Facebook Groups organized by citizens.  Redmond government needs to step up with an ongoing and organized forum for our neighborhoods.  Learning about the Bend association model would be a good start.  The time is ripe.  Our neighborhoods are looking for help.

By Bob Yoder

Redmond Bike Park Work Party This Saturday

Redmond Bike Park Work Party  |  This Saturday 9/12  |  9am to 4pm
Trail Builders needed this weekend!  We will be re-working some of the jumps on the Shredmond jump line and fixing some drainage issues on Easy-A.  Our Work Parties are a great time to learn about jump building, get some great experience then ride with people that know how to shred!
Help us get the jumps riding great then…it's Mega-Train time!
https://youtu.be/izrtzNWiShc
Everyone working at the park needs a waiver form signed by an adult.  Forms will be available on site or download it at www.Redmond.gov/BikePark    As always, bring your own water, food, sturdy shoes, sunscreen, etc.  We'll provide training, tools and safety gear.

Contact Dave Shaw with questions
425-556-2387
dashaw@redmond.gov

UPDATED: Council ordered the removal of two medians on 166th Avenue

In their Study Session last night, City Council vetted the value of the medians on 166th Avenue with Staff.  Staff wanted to keep all the medians indicating they provide valuable "traffic calming" to slow down traffic.

For safety reasons Council decided to remove the medians south of 92nd and north of 95th.  All other medians will stay in place.  Mayor Marchione gave no timeline for removal.

Councilman Hank Myers was the only council member who spoke up against all the medians (except those that protect pedestrians) because of loud feedback from the residents.

Reported by Bob Yoder

REI will move out of Redmond in the fall of 2016 -- The Redmond Reporter

REI to relocate Redmond store back to Bellevue in fall 2016

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• Today at 2:21PM  THE REDMOND REPORTER, 9/8/2015

REI will be relocating its Redmond Town Center store back to Bellevue in the fall of 2016, the speciality outdoor retailer announced today on its website.

The Seattle-based company and consumer cooperative is moving its Redmond location "to better inspire, educate and outfit over 126,000 active REI members in the Bellevue area," according to the press release.

REI Bellevue will occupy the second level of the Bellevue Central Shopping Center at the northeast corner of 116th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 4th Street and will feature more than 40,000 square feet of space, including bike and snow shops.

“The new store in Bellevue will be better equipped to serve co-op members and customers for their outdoor adventures,” said Doug Schmidt, REI divisional vice president of retail. “The larger space will allow us to offer a broader selection of products and programs, and the location will provide more convenient access for outdoor lovers on the Eastside to explore the parks and forests throughout the region.”

Founded in Seattle in 1938, REI originally opened a store in Bellevue in 1984 and moved it to Redmond in 1998.

 Opinion:  Oh no.  Another big loss to Redmond.  Hopefully not another long vacancy like RTC is experiencing with Borders when it closed.  What do you think?

LETTER: Steve Fields: a strong experienced leader

Fields: a strong and experienced leader

As someone who has been a close friend of Steve Fields for more than eight years, I want to set the record straight in response to Jeni Craswell’s Aug. 28 characterization of Fields’ experience and passion for the issues concerning Redmond. Moreover, I believe Craswell should have been up front about being the mayor’s former campaign manager and a current activist in his re-election campaign before she discredited Fields’ experience.

Craswell asserted that Fields has “no experience and no indication of a desire to gain that experience.” Her statement ignores Fields’ more than 25 years of experience working with or in government agencies — including his most recent 11 years of service at the City of Seattle and King County reducing costs and improving services.

He is attending many commission meetings, meeting with former and current city commissioners, talking at length with current and former city staff and conferring with professional experts on a range of issues concerning Redmond.

Fields is running for mayor because so many of us have asked him to run. Many of us feel we don’t have a voice. You only have to watch the council meeting the week after the election, where in the last five minutes, the mayor explained that he thinks the two recent levy propositions lost because people are happy with the way things are going. In reality, I think people voted them down because we don’t trust the way our city is being managed.  (You can watch the council meeting here:http://redmond.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=609)

The failed propositions, which the current mayor spent considerable resources campaigning for, indicate that he does not know what the people living in Redmond consider to be important. The mayor spends a lot of his time with regional organizations, and the consequence is evident in the gap between his vision and the priorities of Redmonders at-large. I don’t see how the mayor is going to advocate for Redmond regionally, if he doesn’t even know what we consider to be priorities at home.

Fields is a strong leader. He is restoring people’s confidence by ensuring that we Redmond residents are a central part of the decision-making that affects our future. His campaign is spearheading much-needed, vibrant political discussion about Redmond and the direction we are headed. It’s been a long time since most of us felt our opinions mattered.

If you want a new administration — one with approachable leadership, and experience in getting local government focused on priorities we need now, please join me in voting for Fields.

Tony Martin

Redmond

Opinion: Mayoral Candidate Steve Fields will bring a fresh perspective to Redmond politics as usual

I look at Steve's experience with local government -- OUTSIDE OF REDMOND POLITICS -- as a refreshing change of leadership. 8 years of Marchione is enough for me - though he is a good administrator. The Deputy Mayor (Assistant to the Mayor) Jane Christenson has been around for years and can more than handle the operations of the city. She is a good administrator. We need a new, strong leader. Marchione's commission jobs are all filled by "yes men".  We need a change in local government and Steve's expertise with the City of Seattle and King County government is a solid foundation for his Mayoral role in Redmond. He will bring a fresh perspective!

A local citizen wrote the following in a Facebook forum on how Redmond politics works:  "  I have had enough contact with Redmond over my 25 years here to know how things work at the BorgHive at city hall. First, you can't get in the door for any commision or related function unless you've been vetted as being like minded. Then, they hand pick all council members from their commisions, once they are certain those chosen are going to behave. Then they back you, and that seems to seal the elections. I've seen some very well qualifed people fail to get elected with an outsider reformer mentality. This is going to be a very hard cartel to break up. It will start with the mayor."

Tell your friends and neighbors to vote for Steve Fields.

Bob Yoder

Marchione Calls on County to "Turn Down the Volume"

September 1, 2015

Redmond, WA – Mayor John Marchione has sent a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine and Sheriff John Urquhart saying “Marymoor Park needs to act like a good neighbor and turn down the volume,” after the weekend concerts featuring Sublime with Rome & Rebelution. While Marymoor Park is a King County facility that is outside of the Redmond City limits, Marchione called upon the County to honor Redmond’s noise ordinance immediately.

 “The music’s level was completely unacceptable. Household windows shook during the whole concert,” said Marchione. “The County needs to take responsibility for their events.”

The Mayor was particularly upset that calls to the King County 911 dispatch were met with indifference. Callers were told to contact the Redmond City Council, which has absolutely no jurisdiction over Marymoor Park. 

Redmond and King County have sparred over noise levels since the concert series inception, over a decade ago. Noise levels have varied from year to year, but last weekend’s levels were the highest and most disturbing of this season.

Councilmember John Stillin emailed the Mayor and County elected officials on Saturday night about the noise problem residents were facing.  Thank you John.

Brightmont Academy Relocates to Redmond Town Center to Serve More Students

Private school specializing in one-to-one instruction for 6^th-12^th grade students adds more learning rooms, new campus design to meet student needs

SEATTLE, WASH.  August 19, 2015 – Brightmont Academy, a private school specializing in one-to-one instruction, is moving to a new location that will meet the needs of more students. Beginning its 16th year serving the Seattle metro area, the campus includes additional individual learning rooms, a science lab, a new homework studio and a full kitchen.

Brightmont Academy specializes in one-to-one instruction where one experienced teacher works with one student throughout every learning session.  Read More >>

Ross Hunter is appointed to Department of Early Learning

Statement from House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan on Rep. Ross Hunter’s appointment as director of the Department of Early Learning:

“The House Democratic Caucus has always been a leader in early childhood education, and Ross has been an integral part of our efforts. Anyone who has worked with Ross knows he’s a fierce and capable advocate for what he believes in. We will definitely miss his budget expertise and insight, but this is good news for the young children of Washington and their families, and for the Department of Early Learning.”

Video of Mayoral Candidate Steve Fields Vision for Redmond and Why He's Running for Mayor

Watch Mayoral Candidate Steve Field's short video on why Steve's running for mayor and his vision for Redmond. Click this link for the video:  https://youtu.be/MaQZYLC4J8I

Redmond at the end of the ice age: What the Bear Creek Site tells us

Saturday, September 12th

REDMOND AT THE END OF THE ICE AGE: WHAT THE BEAR CREEK SITE TELLS US

Robert Kopperl, Ph.D.

SWCA Environmental Consultants

Archaeological research near the mouth of Redmond’s Bear Creek has shed new light on early Native American lifeways in the Puget Sound Lowlands at the end of the Ice Age and has led to national attention.  Since 2008, SWCA Environmental Consultants has been conducting investigations for the City of Redmond as part of a salmon habitat restoration project. The stone tools that have been found at the site tell us a great deal about the early inhabitants of the area, what their technology was like, and how they made a living over 10,000 years ago.  Other more subtle clues help paint a picture of the landscape on which these people lived. In the first public presentation of information since the big excavation in 2013, archeologist Dr. Robert Kopperl will share a wealth of new information. He is speaking courtesy of the City of Redmond this coming Saturday morning.

Enjoy a relaxing morning at the Redmond Historical Society Saturday Speaker Series, a monthly program that features eight speakers addressing topics of local, state and Pacific Northwest historical interest. The series is held 10:30am – noon at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th St., Redmond, WA.   Doors open at 10:00 am.  $5 suggested donation for non-members. Speakers subject to change. For details: www.redmondhistoricalsociety.org.

LETTER: Inflection Point of Growth in Redmond? By Bart Phillips, CEO of Redmond One

Inflection Point?

Whether you call it a tipping point or inflection point, it is my belief that when we look back in 15-20 years we will see that we are at one of those moments in time in the transformation of Redmond's two downtowns.  It's being driven by multifamily residential development.

I will admit that as an outsider 18 months ago that I was a little taken back by the sheer number of new multifamily developments in downtown.  The City reports that in the last several years almost 1,000 units have been built in downtown and Overlake.  Another 1,153 units are under construction.  And the reported vacancy rate is in the low single digits despite all of the new product on the market.  What I find even more stunning is that there are another 1,575 units in permitting.  Read More >>

Lake Washington School District aims to reduce and manage concussions among high school athletes

Efforts aimed at reducing, better managing concussions in football and other sports

Redmond, Wash. – This fall, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is implementing a comprehensive program aimed at reducing and managing concussions among high school athletes in the district. This program has several parts: "Heads Up" concussion training for all football coaches; neurocognitive testing that can help determine if a student-athlete is concussed; and replacing all football helmets that have lower protection ratings.

“As doctors and scientists have learned more about the effects of concussions, it has become clear that we need to put more protections in place for students most at risk,” noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. “We want to approach this issue from a prevention standpoint first as well as appropriately managing concussions that do happen.”  Read More >>