Redmond's Downtown Central Park is Approved, Opening New Possibilities

The new Downtown Central Park site is behind & just east (left) of the Redmond Shopping Square.  This old mall will be leveled, 161st Street extended and converted to a promenade connecting Redmond Way to Cleveland St.

Redmond's Downtown Central Park is Approved

http://redmond.gov/aboutredmond/pressreleases/pr09149.asp

After Council approved the downtown park last week, retiring six-term Councilmember Nancy McCormick handed Mayor Marchione a donation check for the new Downtown Park Foundation.  (About a year ago, Ms. McCormick donated $30,000 to Hope-link).
 
The approved site is located between Cleveland Street and Redmond Way and bounded to the west by the proposed 161st Street extension and to the east by the historic Stone House property. (I've heard that a "linear park" along the BNSF rail spur connecting to the Downtown Park is on the drawing boards). 

The Park is close to transit service and has many opportunities for pedestrian access. It is a short walk to Redmond Town Center, Slough Park and the Sammamish River Trail.  Additional parking will be provided along Redmond Way and Cleveland Street after they are both returned to two-way streets.  (In about six months).
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Human error cited for flooding on SR 520, adjacent Bear Creek.

REDMOND, Wash. - State Transportation officials got an early morning call today that can strike fear into the heart of any highway project manager; water on the roadway. It's especially worrisome when it's on a major route like SR 520 through Redmond...more

by GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News
Posted on December 21, 2009 at 5:25 PM

Rare, 1964 photos of flooding along what is now Bear Creek Shopping Center.

"I was at the King County archives last March looking for photos of the Cadman Gravel pit and found these photos of flooding along Bear Creek dated January 2, 1964. For reference, Redmond Way and the railroad tracks run parallel through the photos and cross Bear Creek just south of what is now the Bear Creek Shopping Center. The original photos were sharper -- I'm not a very good photographer so these are slightly out of focus. Let me know if these photos arrive.

--Susan Wilkins, geologist
Education Hill - PTSA volunteer
Redmond, WA.

by Susan Wilkins

* With Ms. Wilkins permission, these photos were shared with the Redmond Historical Society and Steve Hitch, C.O.R. Stormwater Engineer.

Week in Windows: Fewer support calls, more tools for online help

Week in Windows: Fewer support calls, more tools for online help

...The Redmond company has also launched a new site to help lead people through the process of installing, uninstalling and/or upgrading Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.   Net blogger Mary Jo Foley notes that the site could be particularly helpful and timely for people who get Windows 7 or a new PC -- or both -- as a holiday gift  more...

Camwest's "Perrigo Heights" landscaping incomplete. (Part One)

UPDATED:  This photo shows a gaping hole in the greenbelt behind Camwest's 2-year old, 24 home "Perrigo Heights" development.  The damage occurred when Camwest felled a Landmark Maple into the   understory. According to a city planner, the greenbelt is supposed to be repaired with three evergreen trees.   As of June, 2012 the hole is filled and understory looks complete. 

The City paid Camwest over $300,000 for the greenbelt to buffer Ashford Trail and Hartman Wetlands from the housing project.  The greenbelt extends to the stone wall and a large concrete vault; all of
the significant trees here were removed.  According to Steve Fischer, Principal Planner, the City Permit Center is withholding all three landscape performance bonds.   The project is now fully developed and sold out
. 

For a brief narrative of the homes and greenbelt visit my video clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukfLNA1nvKI&feature=player_embedded
(corrections:  slip landslide (not avalanche); about 8 homes built -see CW website)  

Camwest's Perrigo Heights website is here. 

photo and story by Bob Yoder

PTSA donations to LWSD schools for November

November Donations...and a little bit more!

$8050 from Inglewood JH TSA to Inglewood JH  for drug awareness and Think Tank programs.

$4100 from Kirkland JH PTSA to Kirkland JH for stipends for Homework Lunch and Power Hour.

$13,350 from Laura Ingalls Wilder PTSA to Wilder Elementary for teacher stipends, curriculum materials, sound system and instruments to support arts, phys. ed. equipment, field trip support.

$11,071.50 from Lakeview Elementary PTSA to Lakeview Elementary to provide teacher stipends.

$2288 from Albert Einstein PTSA to Einstein Elementary for new directories and a choir stipend.  

$5000 from Heller Keller PTSA to Keller Elementary for special ed. materials, music, phys. ed., counseling, reading specialist and three homework club stipends.

$18,1777 from Emily Dickinson PTSA to Dickinson Elementary to provide teacher stipends for choir, school, technology, Technology club, Explorations in Math club, Outdoor Ed, and ASB.

$5000 from Community School Parent fund to Community School to support outdoor education.

$6322 from Norman Rockwell PTSA to Rockwell Elementary.

TOTAL NOVEMBER DONATIONS ACCEPTED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD IS $73,358.90

"A little bit more"

To read the complete report go to this link and click on the "Packet".  All the School Board handouts used at Regular Meetings are here, too!!

Hot off the press! Toys 4 Tots!

Hot off the press!

Any child that receives any kind of benefits from DSHS (Food Assistance, Medical Assistance, Cash Grant, Child Care) can receive a toy from the Toys 4 Tots Program.

Families can go to a DSHS office between 9:00am and 4:00pm on the date listed below to receive a toy.

Monday December 21, 2009

King North CSO: 907 NW Ballard Way Seattle, WA

Auburn CSO: 810 28th NE Auburn, WA

White Center CSO: 9650 15th Ave SW Seattle, WA
 
by Beth Angelo
Chairperson for the LWSD PTSA Special Needs Group

Redmond Police arrest suspect linked to 29 burglaries

12/18/09  Redmond Police arrest suspect linked to 29 burglaries

Redmond Police arrested a 24-year-old Bellevue man thought to be responsible for at least 29 burglaries in the Redmond area alone. Property stolen includes laptop computers, televisions, and smaller electronic items totaling an estimated $60,000...more

press release posted on City of Redmond Facebook Fan  http://bit.ly/77UP3C

Evergreen Hospital CEO Steve Brown to step down in February

Steve Brown's Ribbon cutting ceremony:  clip of  "Santa and his elves" playing with their new $1,750,000 da Vinci robot.

According to the 12/17 online edition of the Kirkland and  Redmond Reporters:

"Steve Brown, chief executive officer at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center since 2002, has announced his resignation to become the President/CEO of the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania.

Brown announced his departure to the Evergreen staff via a personal e-mail. The move, Brown explained, will allow him and his wife to move closer to their families and their grandchildren while giving him a new career challenge.

In Brown’s eight years as Evergreen’s CEO, he has overseen vast expansion of both facilities and services. Evergreen Hospital added a new Emergency Department, an eight-story patient facility and the five-story DeYoung Pavilion along with the development of the Evergreen Neuroscience Institute...."

A press release of Brown's resignation wasn't found on Evergreen's web site, as of 12/17.

CEO Brown's total compensation in 2008 was:  $819,728.01.   Base:  $558,578.40  and  Incentive Bonus:  $261,149.61 (Paid in 2009), as reported by Laurene Burton,  Evergreen's Public Disclosure Act Officer, upon my request.  Retirement and benefits are not included in the total.

Why would anyone want to step down from that salary?  According to the Redmond Reporter, Brown explained he will have a new career challenge and be closer to his grandchildren.

Under the Freedom of Information Act I'm requesting additional information.  Do you think Mr. Brown's salary is appropriate for his position?   Evergreen is a Public Hospital, supported in part by a property tax levy.
by Bob Yoder
(read comments below)

A new coaching era begins for Redmond Basketball

A new coaching era begins for Redmond Basketball

Coach Coldie is seen talking to her team during a time-out at Wednesday's game vs. Inglemoor.  Coach Sara Goldie is entering her 9th year of coaching high school girls' basketball. Coach Goldie grew up in the Redmond area and is a graduate of Eastlake High School  more...

Photo by Bob Yoder

Take the New Year's Day "Polar Plunge" for the Special Olympics!

 New Year's Day event at Idylwood Park to benefit the Special Olympics!

PLAN TO TAKE THE POLAR PLUNGE! The 2010 Polar Plunge, sponsored by the Redmond Police Department and benefiting Special Olympics, will be held at *10 a.m. of January 1, 2010 at Idylwood Park. Mark your calendars and plan to attend,.or even better, join us in taking a dip into the warm water of Lake Sammamish. They're calling for warm, sunny temperatures that day, not necessarily here in Redmond, but somewhere. Bring in the New Year with Redmond Police Department and Special Olympics!

*The pre-plunge festivities kick off at 10 a.m. with the actual plunge taking place at noon.

Email Jim Bove (Redmond Safety Facilitator) jbove@redmond.gov with any questions you may have.

How do I take the Plunge?   Right Here!

Compliments of the Mustang News.

Windows 7 leaving Redmond's help desk less busy

Windows 7 leaving Redmond's help desk less busy

There are many ways to measure how Windows 7 is doing. There are reports on new PC sales, tallies of boxed copy sales, and surveys of planned enterprise adoption, to name a few.

But one of the most encouraging signs for Microsoft is the lack of phone calls it is getting from people with problems. Overall, Microsoft said the volume of calls to its support lines is half of what it expected.
(Credit: Microsoft) "Overall we are finding our call center volume is down significantly more than we expected," said Barbara Gordon, vice president of customer support for Microsoft.

The drop in calls isn't just due to the fact that Windows 7 appears less problem-plagued than its predecessor, though. In the weeks leading up to and following the operating system's release, Microsoft also added two new ways to get help--through an online forum called Microsoft Answers and via the Microsoft Helps feed on Twitter.

"What we have found is we are seeing far more take-up of self-service...forums and Twitter to get responses," Gordon said in an interview this week.

With the Microsoft Answers forums, which launched late last year, users submit questions and experienced community members offer answers that Microsoft workers later validate to make sure they are correct.

by Ina Fried, CNET
December 17, 2009
abbreviated