The Redmond Bike Park for mountain bikes and BMX'ers is open! Check out a new and exciting video on it here! http://www.redmond.gov/cms/one.aspx?objectId=1502
News and Opinion on Neighborhoods, Schools and Local Governments of Redmond, WA.
Friday, September 26, 2014
LWSD continues to grow; develops short-term housing plan
School neighborhood boundary change process to take
place this fall
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Lake
Washington School District was the fastest-growing district in King County over
the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. This fall, the district matched its
projected growth. There were 716 more students in the district in September than
at the same time last year. Current enrollment now stands at 26,615.
“To make sure we have room for our rapidly growing student numbers, we need to have two things in place,” noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. “First, we need to make sure we have enough classrooms overall to house the expected numbers. Then we can determine how to distribute the student population through a boundary adjustment process.”
To ensure enough classrooms overall, district staff analyzed five options to address short-term capacity needs, including:
The solutions had to be affordable within the limited available funds for additional classrooms since two proposed bond measures did not pass in 2014. These available funds come from a mixture of past bonds that have been sold but unallocated; state construction assistance funds received and expected; and school impact fees. These sources total about $21.5 million to address district capacity needs through 2017-18. Read More >>
“To make sure we have room for our rapidly growing student numbers, we need to have two things in place,” noted Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent. “First, we need to make sure we have enough classrooms overall to house the expected numbers. Then we can determine how to distribute the student population through a boundary adjustment process.”
To ensure enough classrooms overall, district staff analyzed five options to address short-term capacity needs, including:
- Changing the Capital Facility Plan standard of service temporarily
- Making interior building modifications
- Adding portable classrooms, either traditional or “green”*
- Constructing permanent additions
- Leasing commercial space
The solutions had to be affordable within the limited available funds for additional classrooms since two proposed bond measures did not pass in 2014. These available funds come from a mixture of past bonds that have been sold but unallocated; state construction assistance funds received and expected; and school impact fees. These sources total about $21.5 million to address district capacity needs through 2017-18. Read More >>
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Downtown Redmond Frontier Service Outage
Full 911 voice service was restored on Sunday morning. Frontier Communications reports that all FiOS services were restored by the end of the day yesterday.
Unfortunately customers on copper service line may have to wait as long as September 30th for restored service.
"This has been demoralizing for our small businesses in downtown Redmond," said Mayor John Marchione. "The severed line prevents businesses and ATMs from effective debit and credit card transactions. The disruption is particularly devastating for companies that rely on phone service to conduct business," continued Mayor Marchione.
The City is working with all parties to establish a claims process. More information will follow next week.
To track the progress of restoration or for questions regarding this outage, you can call Frontier Customer Service at 800-922-1492 or read updates at http://outage.frontier.com/
Black Bear spotted in Redmond Ridge residential community
Redmond Ridge neighbor reports a Black Bear foraging in his back yard, as follows:
"Yes, the black bear was in my backyard. My house is on Elliston way NE Redmond. We live in the Redmond ridge east community. I called 911 too. My neighbor told me that they have spotted the black bear before in their backyard too. It was standing near our apple tree for few minutes. Then, it ran towards the wet land."
"Yes, the black bear was in my backyard. My house is on Elliston way NE Redmond. We live in the Redmond ridge east community. I called 911 too. My neighbor told me that they have spotted the black bear before in their backyard too. It was standing near our apple tree for few minutes. Then, it ran towards the wet land."
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Redmond Way Closed for Construction on Weekend
Redmond, WA - A portion of Redmond Way will be closed to traffic the next two weekends with significant weekday impacts through Sep. 29. Construction of the Redmond Way Stormwater Treatment Facility project is underway with pipe installation and pavement repair scheduled to close traffic between Bear Creek Parkway and the QFC entrance. Visit www.redmond.gov and register to receive traffic alerts.
• Weekend closures
o Friday, Sep. 19 at 10 pm – Monday, Sep. 22 at 5 am
o Friday, Sep. 26 at 10 pm – Monday, Sep. 29 at 5 am
Detour signage is in place directing motorist to alternate routes. Access to local businesses and residents will be maintained. Construction is weather dependent and closures or evening work may extend beyond current closure notices. Public notifications will be updated if changes occur.
For more information regarding the Redmond Way Stormwater Treatment facility project visit www.redmond.gov/downtown or contact the Public Works Construction Division at 425-556-2723.
• Weekend closures
o Friday, Sep. 19 at 10 pm – Monday, Sep. 22 at 5 am
o Friday, Sep. 26 at 10 pm – Monday, Sep. 29 at 5 am
Detour signage is in place directing motorist to alternate routes. Access to local businesses and residents will be maintained. Construction is weather dependent and closures or evening work may extend beyond current closure notices. Public notifications will be updated if changes occur.
For more information regarding the Redmond Way Stormwater Treatment facility project visit www.redmond.gov/downtown or contact the Public Works Construction Division at 425-556-2723.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Boy Scout Troop Turns 50
Boy Scout Troop 550, sponsored by Redmond United Methodist Church, turned 50 years old earlier this year. In commemoration of that event there will be an Anniversary Celebration and Reunion Saturday October 11th at 5:00 PM at Galley Hall in the Church basement.
Troop 550 has been continuously sponsored by Redmond United Methodist Church for all of its 50 years. In those 50 years Troop 550 has awarded the rank of Eagle to over 100 Scouts as well as building young men who are good citizens and leaders in their community.
All former and current members are invited to join us for this truly momentous occasion.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Redmond man complains about safety issues at Redmond Skate Park
A concerned Redmond man, Chris Wallman, spoke up at City Council during Items from the Audience last Tuesday about the dangers at the Redmond Skate Park. This was his second presentation on the subject. He complained of drug sales, a fight, loitering by the homeless and drug abusers within the park.
He said he had to risk his life by breaking up fight where he encountered at-risk youth using brass knuckles fighting a man. When he reported the incident to the City of Redmond the only response he got was from officer Bret Cambell but he said the city came up with no answers.
He acknowledged Redmond Police Chief Ron Gibson's earlier concerns from his first presentation to Council but the Park remains susceptible "to tragedies that can be prevented." A council member also responded to his earlier presentation.
Mr. Wallman said he would continue to address his concerns about safety within the Redmond Skate Park if nothing is done. He left a paper for the record that addresses how other cities around the country address safety at similar parks.
He said he had to risk his life by breaking up fight where he encountered at-risk youth using brass knuckles fighting a man. When he reported the incident to the City of Redmond the only response he got was from officer Bret Cambell but he said the city came up with no answers.
He acknowledged Redmond Police Chief Ron Gibson's earlier concerns from his first presentation to Council but the Park remains susceptible "to tragedies that can be prevented." A council member also responded to his earlier presentation.
Mr. Wallman said he would continue to address his concerns about safety within the Redmond Skate Park if nothing is done. He left a paper for the record that addresses how other cities around the country address safety at similar parks.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Candidates Forum On Mental Health Issues
Brightwater Center Meeting Room
22505 State Route 9 SE,
Woodinville, WA 98072
Thursday, September 25, 7 –8:30PM
Moderator – Jonathan Martin,
editorial writer, Seattle Times
All candidates for the state legislature from districts 41, 45 and 48 have been invited to participate.
Public participation is strongly encouraged.
Topics for Discussion at the Forum:
- The costs of NOT providing care.
- Changing language in the Involuntary Treatment Act.
- Funding for housing for homeless/mentally ill.
- Funding for more psychiatric beds/psychiatric units.
- Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs and facilities.
- Alternatives to incarceration for people living with a mental illness and have broken the law.
- Others - - - - -
For more information: Contact the NAMI Eastside Public Policy Committee at carolkoepp@comcast.net or call (612) 281-6701
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Redmond Bike Park Now Open
The park covers about 2-acres of forested property and riders can easily spend a few hours riding the various trails that include the following features: · "Easy A" Beginner Jump Line - 8 table top & 3 roller jumps with an average 4 foot height and several berm turns. · "Shredmond" Intermediate Jump Line - 9 table top & 1 roller jump with an average 6 foot height. · "A-Line South" Advanced Line - 5 table top, 1 roller jump, 1 1/4 pipe jump with an average 6 foot height. · "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" Pump Track - 350 feet long, 13 rollers with an average 2.5 foot height and 7 berm turns. · "Walk it Off" Skills Loop - 200 feet long, 6 log rides and 16 berm turns. · "Outer Space" Perimeter Loop Trail - pedestrian and bike trail around three sides of the park that bi-passes the jump trails. A special THANK YOU to all the volunteers that dedicated many of their weekends this summer to help build the bike trails – a 176 in total putting in 1,670 hours! On average, each volunteer committed 7.5 hours of their time – a day's worth of work! And boy did they work! These bike enthusiasts performed hard labor by clearing the trails of vegetation and shaping the soil into large jumps. Using hand tools, rakes, shovels, and tampers to pack the soil; this was a very physical and difficult assignment. If you're interested in volunteering as a "Trail Steward" to help with ongoing trail maintenance, please sign up at www.redmond.gov/bikepark to register as a volunteer. For additional questions please contact David Shaw, project manager, at 425-556-2378 or dashaw@redmond.gov. | Office of Communications Anne Marie Peacock 425-556-2165 ampeacock@redmond.gov |
Friday, September 5, 2014
Become a volunteer naturalist - Training starts September 11
Become a volunteer naturalist on the Cedar River and learn about one of the world's amazing wildlife migrations that runs through the heart of Seattle, Renton and on up into Maple Valley! Naturalists will receive 20 hours of training from fish and watershed experts in September. Then they'll spend three weekend days along the river, talking to the public about the spawning salmon and the natural and human history of the Cedar River Watershed.
Sponsors of the program, now entering its 17th year, include Friends of the Cedar River Watershed, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Public Utilities, King County Flood Control District, City of Renton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the WRIA8 Salmon Recovery Council.
Contact Dani Kendall at 206.792-5851 or at dani@cedarriver.org to sign up. Training starts September 11, 2014. For more info or to complete the volunteer application, visit www.cedarriver.org/salmon- journey.
Sponsors of the program, now entering its 17th year, include Friends of the Cedar River Watershed, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Public Utilities, King County Flood Control District, City of Renton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the WRIA8 Salmon Recovery Council.
Contact Dani Kendall at 206.792-5851 or at dani@cedarriver.org to sign up. Training starts September 11, 2014. For more info or to complete the volunteer application, visit www.cedarriver.org/salmon-
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Lake Washington Student Scores Improving on Standardized Tests
11 Schools meet federal standards
Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District students improved their average scores on state standardized tests in many grades in reading, writing, math and science. Scores rose in close to two thirds of the grade/content area, continuing general upward trends. Read More >>
Friday, August 29, 2014
Redmond Historical Society Speaker Series, September 13
Behind the Scenes: Hidden Treasures
of Washington’s Museums
Ready for some well-kept secrets from Washington state
museums? Journalist and author Harriet Baskas, who researches the
closeted collections of museums, will share some of her favorite finds at the
Redmond Historical Society’s Saturday Speaker Series at 10:30am on September
13th. Sponsored by Humanities Washington, the fast-paced, photo-filled
and, at times, offbeat tour through Washington will be told through the stories
of museum artifacts that are rarely – or never – shown to the public. Read More >>
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Lake Washington Schools Foundation Awards $220,000 to School District
When Lake Washington students return to school this fall, they
will be able to build robots, use a 3-D printer and learn how to prevent
bullying because of extra funding provided to the school district by Lake
Washington Schools Foundation. For the 2014-2015 school year, the Foundation granted
the district nearly $220,000 to support district-wide initiatives and provide classroom
tools that will help students succeed. Read More >>
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Parents/Community Members Needed for LWSD Curriculum Adoption Committees
Science, math, visual arts under review
Each year, Lake Washington School District forms committees to determine new curriculum adoptions. Committees are made up of teachers, administrators and parents. They review standards, teaching practices and materials for specific courses and content areas. Committees take two years to develop a recommendation.
This year, four different adoption committees will review the following curricula:
· 9-12th grade science
· 6th-8th grade science
· 6th-8th grade math
· Kindergarten – 5th grade visual arts
The district seeks parents/community members for each of these committees. If you are interested in serving, Read More >>
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tragic Loss of Retired Chief of Police Steven R. Harris
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Redmond Bike Park Grand Opening is September 6
After months of work by city staff and hundreds of volunteer hours the Redmond Bike Park is complete and ready to ride! A Grand Opening is planned for Saturday, September 6 and will include the following events:
10-11:30 Dirt Jump Skills Workshop
11:30-12 Site Tour
12-1:00 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mayor/Volunteer Awards/BBQ
1-2:00 Jump Jam
The BMX bike park includes the following jump tracks: beginning, intermediate, advanced, skills track, and pump track. Parking is available at Hartman Park at the corner of NE 104th Street and 171 Ave NE.
10-11:30 Dirt Jump Skills Workshop
11:30-12 Site Tour
12-1:00 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mayor/Volunteer Awards/BBQ
1-2:00 Jump Jam
The BMX bike park includes the following jump tracks: beginning, intermediate, advanced, skills track, and pump track. Parking is available at Hartman Park at the corner of NE 104th Street and 171 Ave NE.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Lake Washington students above state average on ACT scores
Redmond,
Wash. –
Lake Washington students who take the ACT, a standardized test used in college
admissions, continue to show they are more likely to meet college readiness
standards than other students in Washington state or in the U.S.
Compared nationally and statewide, far more district students
score high enough on each of the four ACT tests to meet the college readiness
benchmark that ACT has set for all four subjects – English, math, reading and
science. While nationally only 26 percent of students met this standard for all
four subjects and 41 percent met it statewide, 59 percent of the students in
LWSD who took the ACT qualified, two percent more than in 2013.
Read More >>
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
City of Redmond Selects New Farrel-McWhirter Park Preschool Partner
Monday, August 11, 2014
Redmond Historical Society Announces Speaker Schedule
The Redmond Historical Society announced the schedule for
its 2014-15 Saturday Speaker Series that begins
on September 13th at 10:30am at the Old
Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center. The series features eight
speakers addressing topics of local, state and Pacific Northwest historical interest.
Read More about the speakers >>
Friday, August 8, 2014
LWTech holds Redmond Campus open house for students and local business
Afternoon event boasts tours, free massages and free wine seminars
Redmond, WA – The Lake Washington Institute of Technology will hold an open house at the Redmond Campus on Aug. 13 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. to introduce students to Redmond Campus classes and local business to Redmond Campus partnership possibilities.
“Our campus is a great resource for students and the community,” said Christian Bruhn, LWTech’s Redmond Campus director. “It’s a beautiful, spacious facility with free parking and well-equipped classrooms.” Read More >>
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Help Finish the Redmond Bike Park
Help us finish the
REDMOND BIKE PARK
Redmond Parks & Recreation is seeking volunteers for our final push to finish the Redmond Bike Park.
Our volunteers have made great progress in building Redmond’s first official dirt jump park but there is still more to do. With the project at just over 60% complete and a Grand Opening goal of September 6th, we are reaching out to let people know about this volunteer opportunity.
Weekend Work Parties:
· August 9 & 10
· August 16 & 17
Work Parties are from 9am to 4pm.
Parking is available at Hartman Park off NE 104th St, in Redmond.
All the tools, training, lunch and beverages you’ll need will be provided during the Work Parties. Come build with us for a whole day, half-day or a whole weekend if you can. All help is welcome.
Visit the project website www.redmond.gov/bikepark and take a look at the plans. To sign up, click on the Shiftboard button and register to be a Trail Builder or other volunteer. Check out the Photo Gallery to see some great pics of the work that’s been done so far.
There are a lot of jumps yet to build so come help us finish the Redmond Bike Park.
Please contact me for more information.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
LWTech's popular funeral parlor showcased in new "Mummies" show
Top embalming historian on site to deconstruct Seattle’s famous mummy “Sylvester”
An international film crew is coming to Kirkland’s Lake Washington Institute of Technology’s funeral service lab on August 6 to complete interviews for “Mummies Alive!,” a new international television series scheduled to debut in 2015.
In this episode, embalming historian Jon Austin will demonstrate preservation techniques used to embalm Sylvester, Seattle’s own Ye Olde Curiosity Shop mummy. Legend has it that Sylvester was preserved by dry desert sands, but scientists have found evidence that he was actually embalmed with arsenic. He has been on display in Seattle since 1955 and is a key attraction at the Seattle landmark. Read More >>
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Redmond Neighborhood Blog re-joins Seattle Times Local News Partnership
I am pleased to report the Redmond Neighborhood Blog has been invited to join the Seattle Times Local News Partnership. Below is the Seattle Times announcement.
Bob Yoder, Editor
Monday, August 4, 2014
Redfin Real Estate Report: Competition for Redmond Homes Slows Down
Competition for Redmond Homes Slows Down
By KC Brants
Redfin Real Estate Agent
Competition for homes was fierce in the spring, with intense bidding wars driving up home sale prices all over Redmond. Homebuyers were willing to do whatever it took to win the house of their dreams. But as we headed into the summer, we began noticing a shift in the local housing market: Many buyers were either scaling back or stopping their home searches.
Tired of the spring bidding wars and escalating prices, many buyers are now being more selective about writing an offer on a home. A few months ago, it was common for a home on the market to receive 10 or more offers. But now, we’re seeing homes for sale receive about three to four offers instead.
Unfazed by the drop in competition, some Redmond sellers are continuing to price their homes above market value. They saw homes in their neighborhood selling quickly in the spring and want to get the maximum price for their properties, too.
What’s happening in Redmond is part of the disconnect between buyers and sellers happening in hot real estate markets across the country. The slowdown in competition means the market is shifting toward the buyer’s favor.
Here is a snapshot of the market in Redmond in June compared with the same time last year:
• Home prices were up 3.2%, and the median home price was $568,000.
· The median price for single-family homes was $673,500; for condos it was $314,000.
· Sales were up 4.9%, with 148 homes sold.
• Homes spent a median 7 days on the market.
Forum: Proven Strategies for Overcoming Depression
PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING DEPRESSION
Guests Speakers:
Graeme Cowan, International author, survivor of depression and mental health advocate
&
Lora Inman, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, mental health advocate and renowned author
Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2014, 7 PM - 9 PM
Location: Brightwater Center
22505 State Route 9 SE, Woodinville, WA 98072
Graeme Cowan is Australia’s leading speaker and author in the area of mental health at work. He has worked with elite level athletes, the armed forces and business professionals of all levels. He is best known for his award-winning Back From The Brink book series. Graeme has interviewed hundreds of people including Lora Inman, who contributed to his book. To find out more information about Graeme and his book visit http://www. iambackfromthebrink.com/ Read More >>
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