Ecology and other agencies respond to oil spill on SR 520

Thin coating - a sheen - of oil on water

Oil spill on SR 520 flows into storm drains that empty into Creek.

Oil is toxic to the environment and the damage starts as soon as the oil hits water. A single quart of oil has the potential to foul more than 100,000 gallons of water.

Washington Department of Ecology news
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Feb. 22, 2012
12-062
   
 Ecology and other agencies responding to oil spill on SR 520
     
      BELLEVUE - The state Department of Ecology is on the scene of a traffic accident on westbound SR 520 west of I-405 in Bellevue to respond to fuel spills from one or more of the vehicles involved.  Ecology is cooperating with other agencies responding at the scene.  Read More >>

Tree Sock Art at Anderson Park

Tree Sock Art in Anderson Park

This Tree Sock Art in Anderson Park adds color and excitement on a dreary day.  The question is, how far will the Arts Commission go?    They started off by yarning small trees behind City Hall and from there it's taken off.  The City of Sammamish stitched sock art around topped, dead trees in the corner of a busy intersection. I'm not sure why they'd want to add attention to topped trees.  This art looks pretty good in live park trees.

What do you think?

By Bob Yoder
IPhone

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Snoqualamie River Channel

Here is an interesting article that is not related to schools, but I wanted to write it while the horse show tents are up at Marymoor Park.  It turns out that the photos don't capture what the eye sees, but once you know what you're looking for, you wonder why you didn't see it sooner. - Susan Wilkins

SNOQUALMIE CHANNEL CUT INTO HILLSIDE ABOVE MARYMOOR PARK
(note the arrow in the sky marking the channel )

 HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: THE SNOQUALMIE RIVER CHANNEL 

The tents for the Cavalia Horse Show at Marymoor Park give us a good reference point for finding the ancient Snoqualmie River Channel. During the last Ice Age when the continental glacier from the north blocked the Snoqualmie Valley and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, water melting off the glaciers and out of the Cascade Mountains flowed over the large hill between the Snoqualmie Valley and Bear Creek Valley east of Redmond. We can see the channel if we look at the horizon to the right of the Cavalia Tents where the hillside appears to have a large bite taken out if it. This is what’s left of the ancient Snoqualmie River Channel.

At the time that the channel was in use, about 15,000 years ago, the downtown Redmond, Bear Creek and Sammamish Valley basins were filled by a great lake called Glacial Lake Russell. Lake Russell filled Puget Sound from the Olympics to the Cascades and all the way south to Olympia near the State Capitol Building. The surface elevation of Lake Russell was at 160 feet above sea level. The bottom of the Snoqualmie Channel that we see cut into the hillside hangs in the air at 160 feet above sea level because that is where the Snoqualmie River flowed into Lake Russell.

J. Harlen Bretz, the famous geologist who discovered the Missoula Floods in eastern Washington, visited Redmond in the early 1900s and recognized that the Snoqualmie River had once flowed across the hillside from the east and into the Sammamish Valley. He wrote about the Glacial Snoqualmie River in his 1913 classic, Glaciation of the Puget Sound Region.

Next time you drive down SR520 into Redmond, look for the Snoqualmie River. It’s up there, hiding in plain sight.

By Susan Wilkins
Redmond resident & frequent contributor
Photo by Wilkins

City road constuction contractors overlook stormwater treatment

This is the first report in a series on road construction, road conditions in the city...

The City of Redmond requires developers and their contractors to install fabric filters in and around project storm drains, to keep silt and pollutants from entering into stormwater lines. Stormwater treatment is important because it all eventually drains into our creeks and rivers and ultimately into Puget Sound.  City  inspectors or the contractor may repair this in the near future.  It's ironic the construction project involves building a stormwater trunk-line under the road.

Unprotected 166th AVE NE storm drain in Redmond covered
 with asphalt spilling from a temporary curb. 2/18/12 

Correct Method:  Storm drain is protected with filter cloth
 and the stormwater is treated.
  (Milwaukee, WI)

Asphalt is a thick brownish or black substance derived from the same crude oil which produces kerosene, gasoline and vinyl. It is literally scraped from the bottom of the barrel after all other petroleum-based products have been refined or processed.  Petroleum products are pollutants.

The city announces in their RCTV-21, website, twitter and AM 1650 storm reports to do your part to keep our storm drains clear of leaves and debris.  For city action on road or drain problems please write council@redmond.gov for help.    

Reported and photographed by Bob Yoder
Photo of fabric grate from Internet (Wisconsin)

LETTER: Education Hill Shooting - What can we do?

The city is hosting a neighborhood meeting on Thursday evening, March 1, 6:30 p.m., Redmond City Hall.  Your questions and needs for public safety funding will be addressed.  425-556-2415

Paige with grandchildren

LETTER:  I live in what used to be a quiet family neighborhood. Kids played in the street, parents walked their kids to school, walked their dogs, chatted on street corners and waved hello as they passed. We knew the cars that belonged and the cars that didn’t. We watched out for neighbors and strangers and each other.

All those things still happen on a daily basis around here: kids and parents slide down a hill during snow storms, neighbors take each other dinner or call to check in, strange cars are noted, unknown faces are searched and memorized. But there’s an edge to all of it now. Our innocence has been lost, thrown away, departed.

Our quiet family street with children and pets and an occasional coyote or raccoon has transformed into an ongoing episode of COPS: Redmond. Car prowls and thefts; speeding cars with loud engines and louder music at all hours of the day and night, Police and aid cars at least once a month, and now, a gunshot and a fatality in our once peaceful neighborhood. Lives and peace and trust and families shattered.

A non-resident owner, underage inhabitants and visitors and questionable activities have taken place months, even years now. Neighbors have called regarding thefts, car break-ins and suspicious activities. What can we do?  Read More >>

Senate votes in favor of a new teacher and principal evaluation system.

House Bill 5895 makes teachers and principals accountable, expected to pass.

• Tenured teachers rated unsatisfactory two years in a row will be fired.
• First time, new teachers rated unsatisfactory will be prevented from getting tenure

Shannon Campion
Executive Director, Stand for Children

Editor:  On Tuesday, we heard the sweet sound of 46 state Senators voting in favor of a new teacher and principal evaluation system that takes into account how much kids are actually learning in the classroom.

For the first time, these meaningful evaluations will be used in assigning and removing teachers and principals.

This landmark legislation is a triumph for the 1,035,000 children in public school in Washington and for all our advocates who know that a dedicated teacher can change a struggling student's life. Only three senators voted against it.  Read More >>

Special Benefit concert for Hopelink

Contact:  Jerry Smith,  425-736-8659
jerrymsmith@microsoft.com

You are invited..

Special Benefit concert for HopeLink 

"The Total Experience Gospel Choir"

Saturday afternoon, 3 p.m. February 25th

Redmond United Methodist Church—right across from

the Old Redmond School House Community Center

Redmond United Methodist Church

16540 NE 80th Street

Our experience in 2009 was truly a "total experience"...uplifitng, inspiring, joyously upbeat!   
  - Pam and Bob 

Community activists take City of Redmond to court to enforce long-standing tree ordinance

UPDATED:  A legal fight over Redmond's Group Health Overlake Village is brewing from the City waiving a long-standing tree retention ordinance.   "Citizens and Neighbors for a Sustainable Redmond" ("Sustainable Redmond") of which Mayor Emeritus Ives is a member, and two neighborhoods, are suing the City and  the Group Health landowner for a 100% clear-cut of the 28-acre site.  Removal of all trees on the site, including 65 extra-large trees over 30.25 inches in diameter are slated to be cleared.  The diameter on one "Landmark Tree" is estimated to be over 50 inches, and 250 years old.  Group Health's arborists claimed the trees were dangerous and will fall over in wind storms.   City associate planner Lisk said the eleven significant trees in the "park" area will be removed and the remaining "parkland" will be hydroseeded.

City council voted 6-1 (Kim Allen) to waive the long-standing 35% tree retention ordinance.  At least four councilmembers justified the tree ordinance Exception by referencing requirements of the Growth Management Act.   Ive's showed council a city map of all the buildings in Overlake that could absorb the City's density requirements.

Several stakeholders were quoted in a February 12, 2012 online Seattle Times article by Keith Irvine, as follows:    Mayor John Marchione justified 100% tree removal saying:  Read More >>

UPDATED: Education Hill shooting update: Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, CSI, Redmond police scouring crime scene

 The crime scene is taped off - CSI agent with crime box resting on sedan -
 police and CSI investigate front door area

This case is closed.  A gun was fired by accident, the bullet went through a wall and hit a person in another room.  9/2012

Photo was taken around 1:50PM this afternoon (2/12).  Redmond Police Lt. Charles Gorman  was fielding questions from about 3-4 TV crews.  Helicopters flying by.   Gorman said " about 10 people were gathering or partying," allegedly last night and into the morning.  A "person of interest" has been interviewed by detectives

Lots of cars are parked on the road with groups of neighbors watching the State Patrol Crime lab, CSI, and Redmond Police comb the site.  The front yard was littered with broken evergreen tree branches from January storm. I'll visit the scene later today to post a video clip and publish additional news.

Neighborhood Map:  http://g.co/maps/w5g3a
Curb address:  16804 NE 97th Street


Read neighbor comment posted below this story...

By Bob Yoder
Photo,  Yoder

King County Library System is the busiest in nation - Redmond Library thanks community, taxpayers

Bob:  Thank you again for publishing and thank you for voting for the last levy! I think it's really important for everyone to understand that King County Library System (KCLS) is funded through property tax revenues, and when needed, capital improvement bonds.

We can't thank our community enough for passing the levy lift in February 2010, despite the economic conditions. It was a vote of support for the valuable services that the library provides. The KCLS Foundation and each library's Friends groups also provide grants and donations for many programs that the library system offers. So, a special thanks goes to everyone that buys donated books from their local Friends as well.

In 2010, KCLS surpassed the busiest library in the U.S. (Queens NY) with 22.4 million items checked out. Libraries from all over the world visit KCLS to see the Preston Distribution Center and learn about their operations. In 2011, King County Library System was honored as the Library of the Year by the Gale/Library Journal.

We are also very proud of the Redmond branch, it's almost always the second busiest library in terms of circulation month over month. The staff and volunteers are amazing and the programming offered every month is phenomenal. Hopefully you are able to attend events held there on occassion!

Regards,

Jaime Weber
Trustee, Redmond Library
The board meets on the first Wednesday every month at 7:00 pm at the Redmond Library. The public is invited to attend.

UPDATED: Councilmember Pat Vache' responds to neighborhood tree hazard

Sidewalk roped off from a tree hanging on wires

UPDATED:  In late January, mothers walked their children down this hill to school, many unaware of the blue spruce leaning over their heads, balanced on utility lines.

Yes, the third wave of our January snow, ice and rain storm was hard on neighborhoods.  It took four days to close this sidewalk on Education Hill and seven days to remove the tree hazard.  Fortunately, neighbors pressed; and no one was hurt.

City and utility companies were slow to respond, despite the imminent danger.   Various distraught neighbors called 911, the mayor's office and utility companies.  Public Works identified the wires as "harmless phone lines" owned by Comcast saying, "it is their responsibility to remove the tree."   Two Pubic Works employees and a police officer looked it over and "walked on," according to an Education Hill resident, John.
 

 Frustrated and upset, John emailed city councilman and Ombudsman Pat Vache' on January 31,   John wrote Pat, "I cannot believe how hard it's been to get Redmond's attention on this."  (John had called 911 twice, PSE and several neighbors on January 27.)  Another neighbor called Comcast and walked them to the site.  The tree was finally removed February 2 after city Ombudsman-of-the-month Pat Vache' stepped in and had the sidewalk barriers installed.  Mr. Vache' went out of his way to help us.  Read More >>

The goose that flew 2,000 miles to Redmond, WA.

Yukon Delta Cackling goose with neck band '@04' grazing
along the Sammamish River by Leary Way

The goose that flew 2,000 miles to Redmond, WA.

By John Reinke
Redmond, WA.

On January 16, I came across a huge flock of Canada and Cackling geese just a few hundred yards southeast of Redmond's Leary Way Bridge over the Sammamish River. It was the day after our snowstorm, and they were all busy munching on grass underneath the snow and making geese small talk.

The different sizes and coloration patterns of the geese confirmed the presence of both species. (Cackling geese are smaller than Canada geese, which they closely resemble.)  Read More >>

Part Two: History of Growth Management in Redmond

The Lake Washington School District's proposed STEM School is currently being held up by two Appeals.  One of the Appeals is related to the Growth Management Act  and the location of the STEM School outside of the Urban Growth Boundary.  Click to enlarge Susan's map. B.Y.

History of Growth Management in Redmond, WA. 

By Susan Wilkins
Redmond Resident, Parent, and PTSA volunteer

In response to widespread growth and sprawl in the state, especially in Western Washington, the legislature passed the Growth Management Act in 1990 that created areas where significant urban growth would be concentrated, leaving large areas of rural and forestland undeveloped.

Urban Growth Boundary lines were drawn around cities and parts of the county that were already developed and populated. Urban services were to be concentrated inside the urban growth area in order to provide the most benefit to the majority of the population at the lowest possible cost. Housing developments that could be built anywhere in King County were suddenly only allowed inside the urban growth boundary. Read More >>

Naomi "Nao" Hardy

Our Founder & Guiding Light:
Naomi Jean Hardy

July 3, 1945 ~ January 16, 2012

The Historical Society lost its founder and Redmond lost its most passionate citizen. Below are words written by Nao’s family, followed on other pages by reflections from board members and a proclamation issued by the City. 

Naomi “Nao” Hardy passed away on January 16th, 2012, after a short battle with lung cancer. Nao is survived by her husband of 45 years, Jerry, her children Natalie and Jeffrey, and her grandchildren Benjamin and Elizabeth.

Naomi was an accomplished writer. She published a mystery novel, wrote humorous editorials for several newspapers and had her poetry recognized in contests and magazines.

In 1999 she founded The Redmond Historical Society, and for more than a decade she worked tirelessly to preserve, document and share the history of Redmond. Since its inception, the organization has grown to become one of the largest and most active civic organizations in the city. Nao wrote the book “Redmond Reflections: From Settlers to Software.”

Nao will also be remembered for her wit, smarts, and collections. She collected rocks, bears, tins, green glass, hats and much more. She was an old soul who died too young.

Love you Mom ~ Natalie

Read Mayor John Marchione's Proclamation. Read More >>

"Pump House", by Sigmunde Potgieter

a Maple falls for Sigmunde's Pump House

Sigmunde Potgieter lives on Northeast Education Hill on a parcel filled with trees, deer, bobcat and critters.  She loves to photograph nature and took this picture during our January storm.  

Lake Washington Institute of Technology Receives Over $135,000 to jump start ESL students

Kirkland campus borders Redmond

Lake Washington Institute of Technology Receives Over $135,000

To Give ESL Students a Jump Start to the Workforce

Kirkland, Wash.:  Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWIT) recently received more than $135,000 in grants toward its Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program. Designed to give English as a second language (ESL) students a jump start into their technical and professional education...  Read More >>

Evergreen Hospital wins "Distinguished Hospital Award" fourth year in a row.

Evergreen Community Hospital

2012 Distinguished Hospital Award

HealthGrades, the nation's leading provider of independent hospital ratings, has named Evergreen Hospital a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence for 2012.

Evergreen is the only hospital in Washington State to be recognized with the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for the past four consecutive years - 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Read More >>

LWSD awarded $400,000 grant for STEM School curriculum development

Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District (LWSD) has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. This grant will support the development of curriculum for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School that is scheduled to open in fall 2012. STEM school will draw students from throughout the district, as one of its Choice schools.  Read More >>

School Resource Officer Chapin loss mourned by Police, Eastlake High and Inglewood JH

Sammamish Police and the students and staff at both Eastlake High School and Inglewood Junior HIgh are mourning the loss of Stan Chapin, the school resource officer for both schools. The Sammamish Police Department announced that Chapin, 61, died in his sleep last night. Chapin had been the resource officer at Eastlake and Inglewood Junior High for the last 12 years and had been with the King County Sheriff’s Office for more than 40 years. Just last month, the city named Chapin the Sammamish Police Department’s “Officer of the Year” for 2011.  Read More >>

Local author presents at "Friends of Redmond Library" Annual Meeting

Hello Bob,

Louise Marley, local author

I'm a member of the City of Redmond's Library Board of Trustees. I'm also the liaison between that Board and the "Friends of the Redmond Library."  Plus, I live on Education Hill and peruse your blog to stay on top of local happenings in my area!

The Friends Annual Meeting is coming up on February 16, 7:00 p.m. we would be grateful if you were able to post a notice about it on your blog.  At the meeting, local author, Louise Marley will share her story and evolution from the world of opera to award winning Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has written fifteen books. Her latest, The Brahms Deception, was released in August 2011.

You can find the Board of Trustees blog post with all the details here: http://redmondlibrary.blogspot.com/2012/01/friends-of-redmond-library-annual.html

Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you in advance if you are also able to publish.

Regards,
 
Jaime Weber
City of Redmond's Library Board of Trustees
 
The Redmond Library Board of Trustees meets on the first Wednesday every month at 7:00 pm at the Redmond Library. The public is invited to attend.

LETTER: Charter Public Schools focus on the student, House Bill pending

Nine states without charter school laws are:  Kentucky, Alabama, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.

 from the desk of State Senator Rodney Tom...

LETTER:  Thank you so much for writing with regards to your support of charter schools. As the prime sponsor of the legislation, I couldn't agree with you more with regards to the need for charter schools. In its essence it's a pretty simple bill, and we've been very clear from the onset that it's not meant to solve all the problems in our education system. It's simply another option to allow families, especially those in persistently failing schools, to ensure that their children receive a world-class education here in Washington State.

The veracity of the debate is more a sign of how those who have an interest in the status quo will fight to the bitter end to maintain their monopoly on an education system under the premise that one size fits all. This is totally counter to the societal direction of product customization around the needs of each individual customer - in this case, the student. I think it is also a tale tell sign that our education system here in Olympia is still centered completely around the adults in the system instead of being a student centric model where the needs of the students are our paramount concerns.

To me this is much more than...Read More >>

Redmond High School PTSA

School year 2011-2012

Please Take the Transition Survey (http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e5c9rb70gva1wps6/start)

Dear 8th and 9th grade parents,

Redmond High School PTSA would like to welcome you to the Redmond High School community. We have prepared a survey to help us learn the concerns and questions you have about your student moving up to the high school. We plan to publish responses to questions posed in a FAQ format on the Transition page of our website (http://www.redmondhsptsa.org/) . Additionally, RHS PTSA is planning a parent forum in March to follow up on the survey and to help answers other questions that you may have.

Sincerely,

RHS PTSA Board of Directors

'LWSD's First Assignment for 2012' - Conduct a facilities inventory and audit of classroom space, with Superintendent oversight

Is this is a classroom?  Can it be a classroom?   (LWSD photo)

OPINION:  LWSD’S FIRST ASSIGNMENT FOR 2012 – Do a facilties inventory and find out how much classroom space the school district really has. 

By Susan Wilkins
Redmond, WA.

UPDATED:  How much space does the Lake Washington School District have at its 31 elementary, 12 junior high and 8 high schools? How many classrooms are there and how many students can each school hold? How many students can all of the district’s schools hold? These are important questions considering we were just asked to spend $65,000,000 to build additional space for high school students.  Superintendent oversight is required.

The answers to these questions about classroom space can be found on page 24 in the district’s “Six-Year Capital Facilities Plan 2011-2016.” (This document can be found at http://www.lwsd.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/For-The-Community/Construction/Capital-Facility-Plan.pdf ) On a single page, the district counts all the classrooms in all the schools and then multiplies by the number of students each classroom can hold and then figures out the total capacity of the district’s facilities.
The trouble with this accounting system is that it is too simple. It assumes that if a classroom is used for an activity other than regular classroom teaching, it should not be counted in the inventory. If a classroom is used for Music, Computers, Art, ELL, preschool or even storage, it is not included in the total number of classrooms in a school.

Let’s look at Rockwell Elementary... Read More >>

McKenna, Facebook and spam; $90K tech salaries

 

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna is putting the resources and expertise of his office behind a problem that is plaguing social media giant Facebook: spam that is targeting Facebook members.


This week: McKenna, Facebook and spam; $90K tech salaries:

Feisty fights over online spam, rising tech salaries, Apple earnings and a few major deals dominated the news this week.

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna has teamed up with Facebook to fight spam that targets Facebook uses -- a.k.a. clickjacking -- by lobbing suits against Adscend Media LLC, a Delaware-based online ad network.  Read More >>

Source: TechFlash.com
Photo:  PSBJ photo/Anthony Bolante

Redmond and Kirkland councilmembers volunteer to count unsheltered homeless

(l-r) John Stilin (red), David Carson, Penny Sweet, Hank Margeson, Pat Vache' (red), Hank Myers, Toby Nixon (back)

"Last night was the "One Night Count" where the community goes out and counts how many homeless people we have in our cities so that we can raise awareness of the problem of homelessness. Hank and others went out in the middle of the night to do this, so proud of all of them."
   -- Patti Margeson

These Redmond/Kirkland volunteers are all city councilmembers.  Penny Sweet and Toby Nixon are from Kirkland.  John Stilin, David Carson, Hank Margeson (V.P.)  Pat Vache' (Pres.), Hank Myers are from Redmond.  Thank you for your service to our community councilmembers!!

2012 Results for the Eastside:  138 unsheltered homeless.  Of those, 52 were found inside cars and trucks.