10/26 UPDATE: About "Us" - why I write this blog

Bob Yoder, Editor and Scribbler
older photo

As you will find, my blog is a one-man show...so here goes:    

I'm 66 years old, have lived in Redmond 36 years, and started blogging about 11 years ago.  When I moved here from the mid-west, to sell medical supplies, Redmond was a rural one-stoplight town.  We loved visiting the downtown feed store to play with the chicks; golf the downtown course; drive through the horse farms, line up at for ice cream at Thenos and generally just enjoy a peaceful lifestyle away from the big city.  

In the early 2000's, things started to change -- developers moved into our Education Hill neighborhood leveling evergreens. The City of Redmond's, less-then-perfect public notice of an environmentally sensitive project provoked me to start my blog to "get the word out." I've been writing it ever since under the well known premise that governments fostering  "transparency and citizen participation" are good governments.    

Since local print media doesn't cover all our community news and minority opinion, I do a lot of general reporting and story-telling.  I'm especially interested in our local environment, student education, and now mental health advocacy. You'll see more posts on Redmond's natural resources, fine schools and soon advocacy for the mentally ill and disabled.  A life-threatening brain disorder is generational in my family.       

One of my favorite activities is watching the City Council and Mayor on RC-TV.  Yes, I'm a government wonk. However, now that Council holds meetings in our neighborhoods I'm more of a community advocate than activist.  My interest in city government extends into governance reporting of our school district and local public hospital district. 

Investigation, analysis and input on the school district's old organizational chart and their leadership roles furthers accountability and transparency.  And, after a very prolonged, testy investigation involving blog leverage, EvergreenHeath hospital began day-lighting their government and re-focused their attention to customer service, revamping website pages.

So now you know something About "Us."  :) 

Cheers, 

Bob Yoder

Disclaimer:  I'm a Seattle Times news partner, but by far no where close to a citizen-journalist.  Errors. omissions and miss-representations occur on a regular basis; and my posts aren't always sourced. ,

Email:  redmondblog@gmail.com. Twitter: @RedmondNeighbor    Facebook Page:   Subscribe by email  Sign up for membership to Friends Who Like Neighborhood Blog

Privacy Statement:    Facebook and Redmond Neighborhood Blog comments are very rarely posted. If possible, I'll contact the author before posting.  

The downtown salmon are here!

Credit: John Reinke

Have you been out yet to look for the salmon migrating up the river and into Bear Creek?  John Reinke, an Education Hill resident, known for his downtown nature photography, saw salmon jumping under the 80th Street Bridge yesterday. Here's one of his pictures!  

It's funny, I went upstream to the Bear Creek nature park behind Safeway yesterday and couldn't find any.  I saw a lot of people enjoying the park and looking for these amazing, colorful fish.  My guess is they'll make it up here by early October?

I hope you're enjoying these beautiful Autumn days!

--Bob Yoder

UPDATED,9/28 We know who runs the district's facility planning and transportation team, but what's "Support Services?"

OPINION: Yeah!  Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce revamped the school district's organizational chart; more importantly she is now posting the job descriptions of her Leadership team!  This is a significant improvement in governance transparency.

 grabbed from the Internet 

Now we know Forest Miller is responsible for facilities planning and transportation! His title is "Director of Support Services." -- it's kinda confusing. From my limited knowledge, his participation during Bond Task Force meetings was, in part, over-ridden by one of the superintendents and, in my opinion, this led to a lack of confidence within the community.  Do you remember the negative Letters to the Editor?

Last week, my wife and I attended the North Redmond Elementary school meeting at City Hall. Mr. Miller gave a super 30 minute presentation on the proposed school and actively participated in the poster sessions.  He's an approachable professional, kind, and an excellent speaker.  I'm so happy Forest was taken out of his cubical so we could see his true talents and feel more confident about how our new schools are built and district land is acquired.

We also know Janene Fogard is the district's Chief Operating Officer!  Yet, at the North Redmond El presentation she was introduced by her old title, "Deputy Superintendent of Support Services."   Huh? What does that tell us, other than she's important?

As COO she has a huge responsibility -- oversight of district finances and the budget (still not transparent), oversight of the district computers and software, oversight of facilities planning, oversight of transportation....and on. For accountability alone, it's important we know she's the COO, not just someone in charge of Support Services.

Bob Yoder

The City hosts Archaeology Day at Lower Bear Creek

REDMOND, WA - The City hosts 2016 Archaeology Day, part of an annual global exploration of archeology, on Saturday, October 15, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Bear Creek project director Dr. Robert Kopperl will be presenting at the new overlook of the Lower Bear Creek habitat restoration area across form 164th Ave. NE along the Bear Creek recreational trail. Participants will have the opportunity to find out more about the Bear Creek study, new knowledge gleaned from the site, and the broader picture of the past as seen in our archaeological heritage.

The Bear Creek site, located in the heart of the City of Redmond, is the oldest excavated archaeological site with stone tools in Western Washington. It was first identified in 2008 during a routine environmental survey for a City habitat restoration project, and since then it has generated a wealth of information about Native American life from over 10,000 years ago near the outlet of Lake Sammamish.

Dr. Kopperl will be on-hand to informally provide information about the Bear Creek site and to answer questions about the project and Washington state’s shared archaeological heritage.

Learn more about the Bear Creek site here.

Red-breasted Sapsucker behind the Senior Center

Red-breasted Sapsucker
(click to enlarge)

By John Reinke
Education Hill resident

On a recent sunny May afternoon, I decided to sit out on the patio behind the Redmond Senior Center and read my newspaper.  No sooner had I unfolded it, when I noticed a beautiful red-breasted sapsucker hammering the bark of a silver birch growing up against the side of the Center.

I was astonished to see this normally shy bird so close to human habitation, with folks occasionally passing in and out of the door no more than 25 feet away.  Unwilling to let the opportunity escape me, I fished out my pocket camera and snapped off a few quick shots.  Then I remembered that my much better zoom camera was in the trunk of my car.  I scurried away to the parking lot and retrieved it, hopeful that the bird would still be there when I returned.

Indeed it was, and I proceeded to click away.  To my surprise, the sapsucker let me approach quite close to the tree without flying off.  I observed that there were several rows of holes that it had drilled at various levels.  Sap was flowing down the trunk in a frothy stream from a few of the more recent holes.

I gradually moved closer, until ultimately I was no more than about seven feet from the tree.  The sapsucker was clinging to the bark perhaps eight feet up from the ground and seemed quite unperturbed by my approach.  Over the course of the next several days, I returned to take more photos, and frequently found it busily enlarging holes or making new ones.  I also observed butterflies, ants, and a wasp feeding on the bubbly sap.  I even took photos of a land snail high up on the trunk near the holes, but I couldn't tell if it was there because it had been attracted by the sap.  After a few weeks, the sapsucker no longer showed up.

Curiously enough, in mid April, I had photographed a red-breasted sapsucker entering its nest hole very high up in a dying poplar.  The tree was located on the east side of the Sammamish River Trail across from the rusty bridge, about a half mile north of the Senior Center.  I wondered if it could have been the same bird?

Red-breasted sapsuckers are classified as fairly common west of the Cascade Mountains, according to the Seattle Audubon Society.  Males and females look much alike and vary in size from slightly less than 8 inches to slightly less than 9 inches.  They also feed on insects that are attracted to sap. 

Redmond Historical Society Program, Snoqualmie Falls Hydro Plant

Through historic photographs and records from the archives of Puget Sound Energy, Elizabeth Dubreuil, PSE Cultural Resource Scientist, will speak about how one man’s vision for a hydroelectric power system in the Northwest served as a microcosm of the power industry struggles taking place throughout the Nation around the turn of the 20th century.

Saturday, October 8th
The Snoqualmie Falls Hydro Plant: One Man’s Vision
10:30am – noon (Doors open 10:00)
Redmond Historical Society Speaker Series
Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center
16600 NE 80th St., Redmond, WA.
$5 suggested donation for non-members
Speakers subject to change.
For details: www.redmondhistoricalsociety.org.

Your Washington. Your Schools. Your Vote.

Candidate Forum for the 45^th and 48^th Legislative Districts

Wednesday, October 5, 7:00-8:30pm, Redmond High School Performing Arts Center

Washington State Legislature

Combined, Lake Washington School District and Bellevue School District serve over 45,000 students, and that number is growing every year. This November, the State Representatives in the 45^th and 48^th Legislative Districts are up for election. Do you know your candidates? Do you know their goals for education in Washington? Lake Washington PTSA Council and Bellevue PTSA Council are co-sponsoring a candidate forum for our legislative districts so you can get to know our candidates better before the November elections. This is a non-partisan event to which all candidates have been invited.

45^th Legislative District:
Position 1: Rep. Roger Goodman, Ramiro Valderrama
Position 2: Rep. Larry Springer

48^th Legislative District:
Position 1: Rep. Joan McBride
Position 2: Rep. Patty Kuderer, Michelle Darnell

Whether you’re a parent, a business leader, or a community member, the decisions our State Representatives make regarding education funding and education issues in the coming years will have an impact on all of us. You are all invited to come learn where the candidates stand on our most pressing education issues, including:

-          How the districts should face our unprecedented growth;

-          Education funding strategies at the state level;

-          The importance of teacher quality;

-          Access to special needs programs;

-          Strategies for diminishing the opportunity gaps in education;

-          The inclusion and implementation of technology and STEAM (STEM + Art and Design) activities in the classroom.

Don’t miss this important evening.

Your Vote Matters for Washington, for Our Kids, and for Our Communities!
Learn where the candidates stand and how they will advocate for our area’s 45,000 kids.

Any questions? Please contact: Melissa Stone, Director of Advocacy, Peter Kirk Elementary PTSA (legislation@peterkirkptsa.org) or Erika Kapur, VP of Advocacy, LWPTSA Council (advocacy@lwptsa.net)

Join in on a "Neighborhood Conversation" with your Elected

An opportunity to ask Council and the Mayor about growth, school traffic, road construction, tree loss, ST-3, parks, art, cultural events, their vision for our city, or anything else on your mind. October 3rd, Monday evening, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm the Mayor and City Council will host a casual "Neighborhood Conversation" forum at Horace Mann Elementary, located at 17001 NE 104th Street. The forum is not restricted to Education Hill residents and is open to the Public.   “We want to hear what’s on the minds of Education Hill residents, answer your questions and share what’s going on around Redmond,” said Mayor John Marchione.   There will be a reception at 6 pm, and the meeting will begin at 6:15 pm. The forum is “kid-friendly” and light snacks will be provided.  This is the last neighborhood conversation meeting of the year. Please note, in past meetings the Mayor facilitated the conversations. Residents were asked to write their questions on a white board.  If you are uncomfortable with this, write your questions on index cards or paper in advance. Your questions are anonymous unless you choose otherwise. I hope you can make it! Bob Yoder

Thirty-three LWSD students named National Merit Semifinalists

Students now compete for scholarships worth more than $33 million

Redmond, Wash. – Thirty-three Lake Washington School District (LWSD) high school seniors have been named semifinalists in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation made the announcement.  

Sixteen thousand high school seniors nationwide qualified. About 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level. More than half will win a National Merit Scholarship. These students will be able to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $33 million.

Students qualified for these awards by completing the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists include the highest scoring students in each state. The semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Lake Washington School District National Merit Semifinalists*:

Eastlake High School:

·         Melissa Birchfield (Sammamish)
·         Samantha Moynihan (Sammamish)

International Community School:

·         McKenna Conlin (Redmond)
·         Kartik Iyer (Sammamish)
·         Alicia Kacharia (Redmond)
·         Taeheon Kim (Redmond)
·         Irene Thomas (Redmond)  Read More>>

EvergreenHealth Appoints Two New Members to Board of Commissioners

Minerva Butler and Virgil Snyder Join as Board Expands to Seven Members

Kirkland, Wash. – EvergreenHealth’s Board of Commissioners formally voted last night to approve the appointment of two new members. After an extensive search and selection process, the board chose Minerva Butler and Virgil Snyder as its newest members.

Both bring a wealth of professional and community experience to help advance EvergreenHealth’s vision of creating an inclusive community health system that is the most trusted source for health care solutions. The appointment of Butler and Snyder come as the result of voters’ approval in August of the board’s proposition to expand from five to seven members.

Butler and Snyder are currently members of the EvergreenHealth Community Advisors program – serving since 2010 and 1989, respectively.

About Minerva Butler:

Ms. Butler is a retired securities analyst and mutual fund manager. Her career includes positions at US West, Fidelity Management and Wellington Management, as well as adjunct finance faculty at Babson College and Boston College. She holds a Bachelor of Science in accountancy from Northern Arizona University and M.B.A from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and governance certificates and training from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program and the NACD Corporate Directors Institute. She is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and auditor as well as a former Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

In addition to serving as an EvergreenHealth Community Advisor for six years, Ms. Butler has served as board president and trustee of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. She is a resident of Redmond and her community involvement also includes the PTA of Norman Rockwell Elementary and the Northern Arizona University, College of Business Administration Advisory Board.

About Virgil Snyder:

Mr. Snyder is an engineer who has worked for the Boeing Company since 1984 in a wide variety of leadership positions, ranging from airplane programs, to engineering integration and IT and customer support. He is currently an engineering process and tools leader for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, leading the organization in process improvements for airplane programs and engineering. He also oversees a multi-million-dollar engineering computing tool development and implementation portfolio.

Mr. Snyder holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Utah State University, M.B.A. from City University and a certificate from the Institute of Configuration Management and Arizona State University. He is a graduate of the Advance Bellevue community leadership program, now known as Leadership Eastside.

In addition to serving as an EvergreenHealth Community Advisor for 18 years, he has been involved with other community volunteer positions with Boeing’s Community Connections program and as a mentor for Cedar Park Robotics program.  Read More >>

Community meetings are scheduled to review plans for North Redmond Elementary School

Janene Fogard
Chief Operating Officer

Two LWSD Meetings will be held this month to learn about the Elementary School planned for North Redmond.

Thursday, September 22, 6-8 p.m. at Redmond City Hall, Council Chambers.

Tuesday, September 27, 6-8 p.m. at Redmond High School

Though, it's not confirmed the Deputy Superintendent and.Chief Operating Officer Ms. Fogard may attend.  Forest Miller, the Director of Operations may attend, as well. Mr. Miller is responsible for transportation and facilities planning.  

Bob Yoder

"Neighborhood Conversations" with Mayor and Council to be held at Horace Mann

Mayor John Marchione is on the left

Mayor John Marchione and the City Council look forward to hearing from you about neighborhood and City topics that are on your mind. These meetings are a new, casual, and convenient way for residents to interact with their elected officials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Upcoming Third and Final Meeting:

Horace Mann Elementary School Gymnasium
Monday October 3
17001 NE 104th St., Redmond

Family-friendly—kids are welcome

Overview of meeting structure:

6 - 6:15 pm: Reception
• Talk with your neighbors and elected officials
• Learn about City projects
• Jot down your questions and the Council will answer them during the meeting

Light refreshments will be served. Kid-friendly activity available.

6:15 – 7:30 pm: Meeting
• Council will answer your questions
• Discussion on current projects in your neighborhood
• Share your thoughts and ideas

EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners Seeks Candidates for Position #3

EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners Seeks Candidates for Position #3

Kirkland, Wash. – EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners is seeking interested residents for Position #3, representing the Redmond/Sammamish communities. The Board opening is the result of R. August "Auggie" Kempf’s retirement from the Board on September 3, 2016.

Interested residents that want to apply for the position must apply by Friday, October 7, 2016. Applications are available at evergreenhealth.com/board-expansion.  Read More >>

Links volunteer program offers three ways to support students

In less time than it takes to binge watch two episodes of your favorite comedy, you could positively impact the life of a child in your community each week by joining the LINKS Volunteer program. LINKS stands for Looking Into the Needs of Kids and Schools. Funded by the Lake Washington Schools Foundation (LWSF), LINKS is the Lake Washington School District’s (LWSD) community mentoring program. It places adult community members into academic mentor, lunch buddy and tutoring programs throughout LWSD. Become a LINKS volunteer today!

Here’s how you can help:

·         Become an academic mentor: Academic mentors are carefully matched with a student at the middle or high school level. This volunteer opportunity takes place during the school day. The timeframe can vary from 30 minutes to an hour. Core classes (math, reading, science and writing) are often the subjects where students need extra help.

·         Become a Lunch Buddy: Lunch Buddies are matched with an elementary student and they meet one day each week during the student’s lunch hour. Volunteers bring their own lunch and meet the student in a designated area.  Most schools have fun games the volunteer and student can play together. They talk, laugh and have fun. Volunteers often share that it’s the best day of their week.  Read More >>

Kirkland Hosts Authentic German Octoberfest in Marina Park

Annual waterfront festival celebrates beer, oompah pah music, and fun

Kirkland, WA - September 23-25, 2016 – Hang on to your lederhosen, as Downtown Kirkland

will soon transform into an authentic German “biergarten” for the 4th Annual Kirkland

Oktoberfest Friday, September 23rd through Sunday, September 25th in Marina Park on

Kirkland’s picturesque waterfront. This three-day beer festival benefitting local nonprofit

charitable organizations attracts roughly 10,000 enthusiasts each year.  Read More>>

UPDATED, 9/20: The LWSD Organizational Chart: Who's responsible for transportation, facilities planning, and finance?

LWSD Board of Directors

Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce and her staff have worked very hard to prepare a new Organizational Chart that clearly shows the relationships of her Superintendents and Directors. The intent of the new chart is to ensure "an effective program of instruction for pupils" and achieve the Board's educational goals ("End Results") for our students. 

The Chart is under consideration for approval by the Board this Monday evening, 9/19 at 7 PM, District HQ.  Dr. Pierce's proposed Chart is here:   

2016-17 Organizational Chart Recommended by Dr. Pierce and awaiting approval from the Board in this Monday's 7PM Board Meeting 

Notable changes from the 2015-2016 Chart:

1.)  The Board is included on the Chart!
2.)  The Director of Business and Support Services is promoted to Assistant Superintendent. 
3.) H.R. and both Associate Superintendent departments are beefed up with additional Directors. Transparency of the Associate Superintendents' roles is enhanced.
4) Links connect the Executive Secretary to the Board, so you can contact them with your questions and feedback.  Call 425-936-1257
5) Silos are eliminated and collaboration is heightened!

Unfortunately, the Chart doesn't fully identify the roles of three key executives vital to passing Bond measures and running the operation.  We don't know who manages and oversees finance, facilities planning and transportation.  With roles not fully transparent, the public loses confidence and respect for the system...deterring bond approval and thus student learning conditions.    

If any of this bothers you, go to the Board meeting this Monday night, 9/19, 7 PM, District HQ and speak to the Directors during the public comment period; and ask Board President Nancy Bernard to delay action on the Chart, for another meeting, until further study.    

And if this doesn't bother you, that's cool too.  

Thanks, 
Bob Yoder

Report by city staff, more construction projects to come

image grabbed from Internet

Last night city staff gave Council an update on public/private construction projects.  Here's a very brief summary of some of the projects you may be interested in:

1.  Willows Preparatory School is planning to build a 48,000 square foot facility on the old Thenos ice cream site just north of the glassed Washington Cathedral building. A dormitory to house 40 students is part of the project. The project will have a capacity for at least 100 students. Traffic will certainly be an issue on Red-Wood Road. Work probably won't begin until 2017.

2. A new water line on Education Hill near Nike Park will be installed in early 2017.  It will be very disruptive to the surrounding neighbors and the city is already noticing the residents. The new pipe line will increase water pressure for the Fire Department.

3. A one mile extension to the downtown Central Connector trail is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

4. Sad to hear,but starting next Spring the Frankie's Pizza mall will be demolished to build Anderson Park Hotel. The  six-story hotel will have 177 rooms with under-ground and surface parking.

5.  In response to a question by Council Member Hank Myers:  peat soil removed from the Downtown Park construction site will be recycled by the contractor to build new soils. (No, it won't be screened for Indian artifacts :)

6.  A three-story, 90,000 SF storage facility will be built just south of our new Costco.

7.  876 dwelling units are under construction in the "Downtown neighborhood" as we speak.

And the beat goes on....

Bob Yoder

UPDATED, 9/30 School Board meeting to review issues of government transparency

Lake Washington School District Board of Directors

Issues of transparency will be addressed which could improve the outcome of future bond measures.

The Board of Directors and Superintendent will be holding a Board meeting this Monday, September 19th that will address the "Administrative Organizational Plan."  Superintendent and CEO Dr. Traci Pierce will be highlighting her "enhanced Plan." The meeting will be held at 7:00PM, District Headquarters.

It's an important meeting.  Issues of government transparency will be addressed which could improve the outcome of future bond measures, transportation services, taxpayer budgeting and other issues. You are encouraged to attend and/or participate! To comment please sign-up before the meeting starts; preferably at 6:45.  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In part, the "Administrative Organizational Plan" is:   

"The administrative organization of the district shall be considered as an orderly means of achieving the district's primary objective, an effective program of instruction for pupils. 

"An organizational chart for the district shall be prepared by the superintendent and approved by the board to designate clearly relationships of all employees within the district organization.

The District's old Organizational Chart under review is here:

Editor's Note:  I'm confused. It was supposed to be here; I may have posted the new one by mistake, or the District removed it.

For your reference, the Bellevue School District's Organizational Chart is here:
http://www.bsd405.org/wp-content/pdf/administration/BSD-org-chart.pdf

I hope this helps and you can make the meeting!

Bob Yoder

Most Northwest residents believe the big one is coming, but many aren't ready

Renters are among the least prepared for a natural disaster

SEATTLE – A majority of Northwest residents believe a major earthquake will rattle the region during their lifetime, but many admit they haven’t taken simple steps to fully prepare for a natural disaster.

The latest PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll reveals that three-quarters (77 percent) of Washington and Oregon residents expect they’ll experience a big-time earthquake here, but despite that fear, only half (52 percent) say they’re at least somewhat prepared, and two out of five (39 percent) admit they aren’t prepared at all.

According to the poll, renters are among the least prepared for an emergency. About half of Northwest renters (55 percent) admit they haven’t taken steps to prepare for a natural disaster, compared to just one-third (30 percent) of homeowners who said the same. Owning an emergency kit is one step in prepping for disasters READ MORE >>

Historic Sammamish Slough Boat Races

Sammamish Slough Boat Races from 4Culture on Vimeo.

1928.....

In the days before the Sammamish Slough was "straight-ditched" for flood control.

Mayor, Council and Human Services Commission to Participate in Food Drive

Image grabbed from Internet

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 17, 2016 and Sunday, September 18, 2016, at the Bella Bottega QFC store located at 8867 161st Avenue NE, Redmond, from10:00 am to 4:00 pm each day. The food drive will be hosted at grocery stores throughout both Redmond and King County to help area food banks in fighting hunger.

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 were donated by Redmond’s generous community members.

Mayor John Marchione encourages all residents to take part in this drive. “A food drive brings the community together to show how much we care for those in need.”

As winter approaches and the resources of those with low incomes must stretch even further to cover increasing fuel, electricity and rental costs, an outpouring of community assistance is crucial to reduce hunger in our community. View the Mayor’s “Day of Concern” proclamation here.