LWSD Budget Meetings Drew Hundreds

The last opportunity to share your views on the Budget will be at Juanita High School, Wednesday April 22, 7pm. 10601 N.E. 132nd St., Kirkland, 425 823-7600

Hundreds of parents, community members, staff and students have attended the first two public input meetings on the Lake Washington School District 2009-10 budget. About 120 people packed the first meeting at Lake Washington High School on Tuesday, April 14, for a presentation by Superintendent Chip Kimball followed by an exercise in which each attendee provided input on their choices for items to save from proposed state cuts and what alternative cuts they would choose.

The second input meeting, at Redmond High School, drew about 220 people, completely filling that cafeteria as well. “I’m heartened by the number of people willing to spend their evening helping us determine what priorities we should have as a school system,” noted Dr. Kimball. “A budget really reflects what is important to an organization: we will be able to do a better job of reflecting what is important to our community because of this input.”

One more budget input session is scheduled at Juanita High School in Kirkland at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. Input from LWSD parents unable to attend the previous meetings is encouraged.

For more information contact: LWSD Kathryn Reith, Director of Communications, (425) 702-3342. Shannon Parthemer, Community Relations & Communications Coordinator, (425) 702-3300

Removing "the buggers" - restoring the forest!

Here's a photo of my friend, Doug. He's standing in front of what used to be a huge mound of Himalayan Blackberries. This particular type of blackberry is a nasty plant that is harmful to the forest floor because it takes over the smaller native forest plants. We cleared out this area in just 35 minutes using city supplied tools. Amazing how fast it goes. Once we get these berry bushes removed everyone will be able to look into the forest and enjoy it. In the Fall we'll plant native plants the city gives us.

Doug is an exceptional person committed to restoration and forest management. He has a Masters in Horticulture specializing in invasive plants and really knows how to take these buggers down. In addition, he is a new member to the WATER TENDERS, a grass roots organization dedicated to conserving the Bear Creek Basin.

Doug and his son is a BMX cyclist and they enjoy riding the dirt bike trail nearby. After we stripped these blackberries Doug talked to the BMX youth playing on the trail and gave them a great lesson on tree conservation. Basically, Doug advised the kids not to remove dirt from the root zones of the trees. (Dirt is needed to build the course). My old "lunch buddy" Dallas immediately got a shovel and started covering the exposed roots. Protecting the trees is very important to the city and our "forest stewardship citizen program". Thanks to Doug, the BMXers know.

Speaking of forest stewardship: On Saturday, April 25, 10-2 you and your neighbors are invited to a "restoration" event at this same place to remove lots of these buggers. Come to the corner of NE 100th St and 171st Ave. NE by the LDS (Morman) Church lower parking lot. Make this your personal "Earth Day" event and have some neighborhood cookies, too!

The RHS challenges the Scouts to learn Scout History!

The next Redmond Historical Society (RHS) is Saturday, May 9 at 10:30 a.m when Mary Hammerman King will talk about the "History of the Boy Scouts." Meetings are in the Old Redmond School House Community Center. For more information write to: RHS

ATTENTION Scoutmasters! Don't be shy! We'd love to see you "pack" it into the event. (If you had fun touring City Hall, you'll definitely like this!) Here is our personal scout challenge to you: Every scout and scoutmaster attending will be given a can or two of food to give to the charity of your choice. Please call 425-885-2919 with your count! What do you think? Should I make a run to Costco? :)

Last Saturday, the RHS held a multi-media event on the History of the Saturday Market. Unfortunately, I missed it. The following, is an excerpt from the Redmond Historical Society Newsletter:
The Saturday Market -- 3 Decades On


"It’s been a long row to hoe, but the Redmond Saturday Market is now a fixture rooted in our spring, summer and fall. It dates back to 1976 and the late Georgia Erskine, who started it. Georgia is seen at left on May 22, 1999, when she attended the first meeting of the Redmond Historical Society, where she contributed to our history with artifacts like the article she's holding now".... from "The East Side Journal". Do you remember reading that awesome newspaper? I almost forgot.
-- Redmond Historical Society Newsletter, Miguel Llanos, Editor, 3/09

The Redmond Historical Society website is designed by my next door neighbor Richard Morris.

Explorer Community School students win $1500 grant award

Explorer Community School in Redmond wins a greenhouse, grants and prizes

Five elementary schools in the greater Puget Sound, including Explorer Community School, have been awarded greenhouses, $1,500 in funding and other benefits from an alliance supporting education, nutrition and Washington agriculture.

A partnership of the International Greenhouse Company (IGC), the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) and Seattle television station KING 5 was joined this year by PCC Natural Markets to conduct the Kids Are Growing Contest.

Students at Explorer Community School were informed of their winning efforts at a school assembly on Tuesday, April 14.

“The competition is part of our efforts to educate the public on potatoes—their nutrition, value to the state and what it takes to grow them,” said Karen Bonaudi, Potato Commission Assistant Executive Director.

“PCC is so proud to participate in a contest that strives to improve childhood nutrition and education in our schools, a cause that is right in line with the mission of our Kid Picks program,” said Tom Monahan, Marketing Manager with PCC Natural Markets.

Each school receives a greenhouse from the IGC, a $1,000 grant along with educational materials from the WSPC and a $500 gift from PCC Natural Markets.

PCC Press Release: About PCC Natural Markets: Headquartered in Seattle, WA, PCC Natural Markets is a certified organic retailer, with annual sales of $133 million and an active membership of nearly 45,000. PCC operates nine locations in the Fremont, View Ridge, Greenlake, West Seattle, Seward Park, Kirkland, Issaquah, Redmond and Edmonds neighborhoods. www.pccnaturalmarkets.com

Councilmember nicknames & the new dynamic

Left-to-Right: 'Caring' Carson, 'Marvelous' Margeson ("most likely to succeed"), 'Adaptable' Allen, 'Venerable' Vache', 'Her Majesty' McCormick, 'Wiser' Myers, 'The Statesman' Cole, and 'The Magnificent' Mayor Marchione

Opinion: It just dawned on me how many Readers may not know what our council members look like or even our Mayor. In attempt to match a name and personality with a face I came up with some nicknames. I'm just throwing these out for fun. Do you have any other nickname ideas? They've got to be better than mine!

Council dynamics is picking up lately. With 'Venerable' Pat Vache' (right) and 'Adaptable' Kim Allen (left) both running for re-election later this year it's starting to get fun watching Council on TV. Alliances appear to be forming. 'Adaptable' Allen has been eagerly backing 'Statesman' Cole, especially when 'Wiser' Myers says something irritating to the Statesman. 'Her Majesty' eagerly throws support to the 'Venerable' Vache'. So far, no one has filed to run against Vache' or Allen. Does anyone have a candidate suggestion or idea?

'Her Majesty' Nancy McCormick has decided not to run after 26 years (I think) of continuous service. John Stilin, Arts Commissioner, has stepped up for the City to run for Nancy's seat #6. I saw John getting aquainted with Planning & Development Director Odle in the audiance seats and soaking up his words at the last Council meeting. Hank Margeson is Most-Likely-to-Succeed for many reasons. But, for now, let's just give him the "Most Improved Award". I may be wrong, but it looks like 'Marvelous' Margeson is being groomed for Council President or Council V.P.

You should tune-into RC TV21 on Tuesday's, 7:30p.m. and check the new (ever changing) dyanamic. You can probably come up with a better nickname or "read them" differently. The more nicknames and fun the better! Any suggestions?

"Hyperlocal" news is on a roll at the Redmond Neighborhood Blog

Local interest news is on a roll at the Redmond blog. Press Releases from the City of Redmond, Lake Washington School District and now King County are being sent to the Redmond blog. Local interest stories are presently fed live from the Redmond Library Blog, Kirkland Views, and neighboring blogs. (check the sidebar). The Seattle Times Online is developing a community initiative to publish local stories from various blogs. The Redmond Neighborhood Blog has been invited to contribute to the TIMES. KIRO will glean content, as well. Come back to this page soon for details. And, keep sending in your personal news stories here.

What is this?

Have you seen this mural? Where is it?

Urgent: Do you want to keep class sizes low? Speak up!

Lake Washington School District Needs Your Input!

UPDATE: Now that the state Senate and House draft budgets have been released, Lake Washington School District knows more about the possible effects of state cuts on its budget.

If the district simply cuts the items now paid for with state money that is likely to go away, average class size in kindergarten would rise from an average of 19 students to an average of 26. Fourth grade classes would rise to an average of 28.

Elementary school class size, though, was a high priority among district parents and staff in a survey on budget issues. Lower class sizes could be maintained if other items in the budget are cut and the money used to preserve class size.

The money that is most likely to be cut in the state budget goes for some specific items, including keeping class sizes lower. The question is, do we simply cut those items or are there other items that are lower priority that should be cut instead? Those who attend will be given a list of potential cuts and asked to prioritize where they are made.

Join your neighbors and speak up at your High School to ask the State to maintain class sizes:

April 14 - 7 p.m. Lake Washington High School, Kirkland

April 15 – 7 p.m. Redmond High School, Redmond

April 16 – 7 p.m. Eastlake High School, Sammamish

April 22 – 7 p.m. Juanita High School, Kirkland

Earth Day 2009 - community events

The Official Day for Earth Day celebrations across the country is Wednesday, April 22. The City of Redmond celebrates Earth day on Saturday, April 11.

I will be posting a Feature story on Earth Day , April, 22, about a local high school student who discovered an overlooked opportunity to improve our environment. Her creative solution could have wide impacts to sustainability.

In the meantime, enjoy and learn from Earth Day activities! Click on this Ecology link to Puget Sound Earth Day activities and educational events scheduled for our area.

Why don't they do it in the roads?

I made the following comment in Kevin Harris's Neighbourhoods blog in response to his story "Why don't they do it in the roads". You can find his Blog on my sidebar. Kevin lives in London.

OPINION: Our City Council has been talking for years about occaisionally going out into the neighborhoods and conducting their meetings. Kevin, while this is not as informal as what you are suggesting, it does take our elected out from behind their towering diaz and imposing City Hall and into a less intimidating "gathering place" for community business. 45% of what Council converses in Public is about "process", "outcomes", and regurgition of Staff Powerpoint reports. Informal meetings outside the trappings of government structure could be refreshing and conducive to accelerating creative action. Regards, Bob Yoder, Redmond, WA. "Home of Microsoft", redmondblog.org

If you'd like to make a comment, Kevin will probably see them and may share your viewpoint with others in England.

THE WATER TENDERS

The following was contributed by Water Tenders:

WATER TENDERS is a grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of our aquatic resources with special focus on the Bear Creek Basin. We strive to provide a vehicle by which as many citizens as possible can become active participants in learning about and protecting our aquatic resources. There are many ways to become involved that range from reading our popular newsletter and participating in a few educational and work party events to attending planning and opportunity meetings.

Modest memberships and grants make it possible to continue our work in the Bear Creek Watershed. In 2008 we hosted over 400 people at the "Meet the Salmon" education event. We participate in Redmond Derby Days. We advocated for the state funding for Lower Bear Creek restoration (near Redmond Town Center). Restoration projects kept us busy near the headwaters of Bear Creek. We also presented well received lecture series on watershed topics.

The Water Tenders are leaders in the restoration of NW salmon stream habitat. This year we will partner with GreenRedmond on April 25 to restore critical areas of the Hartman Park Greenbelt. On May 30 we will have plans to partner with Redmond students, scouts and volunteers to continue our restoration of Cold Creek Natural Area in Woodinville.

Mary Marsh's Bio-Chem students learn about stream habitat restoration.

This is a slide show of the "Roberts Creek Restoration" project organized by the Water Tenders of Bear Creek Basin. The Water Tenders worked last year in partnership with Redmond High School teacher Mary Marsh's Bio-Chem class. The students you see Juniors. It was a smashing success. Look for video clips toward the end of the show.

These students are "mulching" to keep the plant roots moist and weed-free. It's one of the final stages of restoration. The first stage of restoration is removal of non-native, invasive vegetation (blackberries, reed canary grasses, and ivy are common). Invasive plants strangle trees and harm salmon habitat. The second stage is Fall planting of native shrubs and sapling trees. Native plants help keep the stream water cold for salmon and stream beds clean for salmon hatching. Mulching, monitoring, and maintenance are the final stages of restoration.




The Marchione Administration has begun a restoration program to keep our City Park greenbelts healthy. If you want to participate, stay tuned or click the link. Visit the Water Tender's site to learn about their 4/30 event.

Do you have a comment?

Redmond High School Fastpitch Softball Team is looking good this year.

Redmond HS Fastpitch Softball sets eyes on a return to State

click pic to enlarge

The Redmond High School Mustangs fastpitch softball team returns six seniors and four juniors from last year’s team which placed 3rd at the 4A State Tournament in 2008. Head Coach is Pat Frable.

Pitcher Erika Hendron, and fielders Baily and Paige Mullins, Maria Reisinger, Emily Squiers and Lauren Nabseth are the seniors back to lead the team this year. Juniors Rylie Flynn, Jenny Eisenmann, Joanna French and Kim Lyle also return to the Mustangs from last year. Talented sophomores Stephanie Gero, Lindsay Cristobal and Christine Ho join the team this year already giving significant contributions in a bid to return to the State Tournament again this year.

The Mustangs have begun their conference regular season with a 2-0 record, in consecutive shutouts against Lake Washington and 2008 state champion Eastlake. Redmond also has a talented JV team this year providing a bright future for the Mustangs!

Our Mustang Team has a winning tradition!
Last 5 years:
2008 21-10 3rd at State.
2007 18-8
2006 19-2
2005 17-5
2004 17-7

The Team Website with bios, pics and news of the players is here. The Redmond Blog will follow our team at State!

Juanita Rebels VS Redmond, 4/10, Issue 4, Volume 5

Othello Huskies VS. Redmond, 4/11, Issue 5, Volume 5

Newport Knights VS. Redmond, 4/15, Issue 6, Volume 5

Do the players, parents or fans have a comment?

-- contributed by Alan Gero
RHS fastpitch webmaster

Prepare for the next storm event - sign up for training

The Puget Sound area has weathered two winter storm events so far this year. Don’t let the better weather fool you – more may still be on the way. The best way to avoid harm during these or other non-weather related disasters is to be prepared.

The City of Redmond Office of Emergency Management is offering Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) training beginning Thursday, April 30 from 6 to 9 pm at Redmond Fire Headquarters, 8450 161st Avenue NE. The program continues on Thursday evenings for eight weeks.

The cost of the class is $35.00 per person. To register, call Redmond Fire at 425-556-2200. For questions, contact Janeen Olson, CERT volunteer, at janeen.olson@verizon.net.

Do you think we need this?

- City of Redmond, Press Release
CONTACT: Marta Gronlund SENT: April 9, 2009 Voice: 425-556-2427

Marchione Administration proposes Winter Storm Event program

This neighborhood sidewalk was cleaned a few days after this story was published. Many thanks go to the Mayor and the Public Works crew for their help. Next storm we'll have NO sand to sweep!

Updated, 4/8: If you happened to be driving on Snoqualamie Pass last Thursday night (Spring season!) you'd have experienced treacherous driving conditions from wet snowfall. A car glanced off mine coming down a ramp; and we were directly behind another car that was sliding like a snake down the road all over the highway for a quarter mile.

Thus, I appreciated, all the more, Public Works Director, Bill Campbell's Winter Storm Event Preparedness talk to Council last week. Many neighbors commented here and to the Mayor during of their troubles in the 2008 winter storm. The Administration, led by Mr. Campbell has come up with the following solutions:

• The City will stop using abrasives (sand) since they are expensive and difficult to clean up. Abrasive suspensions wash into our salmon streams and harm the environment. They are sidewalk slip-hazards.
• The City will replace sand abrasives with an anti-icing agent called "GeoMelt". When GeoMelt is applied in advance of snowfall, it is effective in preventing an ice layer underneath the snow.
• GeoMelt is a sticky sugar beet - brine suspension applied from an 850 gallon tank truck. It will last 3-7 days without rain, but will wash away if it's raining. According to one source, it is 84% less corrosive than salt, (easier on our cars), can be washed off cars, and is more environmentally friendly to streams.
• The Department of Transportation and City of Sammamish use GeoMelt.

The Administration is asking Council for $100,000 to pay for these Winter Storm Event improvements.

• Live traffic camera viewing on the city website to help citizens pick the safest routes.
• Permanent 1650 AM Radio traffic advisory road signs on major routes. Look for them; they are already in place.
• New steel plow edges to use, as needed. The City recently purchased a $220,000+ "reflective button" installing machine to replace scraped off buttons.
• New small plow truck clear the Fire Department, Public Safety building, City Hall and other tight areas.

Mr. Campbell advised that any neighborhoods hiring private plowing services will be required to get a permit from the city to protect the public, for insurance guarantees and to hold the City harmless. Mr. Campbell & Council also recommended citizens buy a shovel and suggested "Drive-by shoveling" services could be organized by Scouts, students, nonprofits, or For-profit organizations. Great idea!

Also, dust off your broom; the city is NOT responsible for sweeping residential sidewalks and Mr. Campbell asks for our help. But, the good news is we won't have any sand to sweep next storm!

To read citizen, police and mayoral comments made on previous blog stories during the frustration of the storm click here and to the Mayor . The Mayor said he'd put a link to citizen storm comments on the city site.

UPDATED: Scoutmaster mom writes about successfull Cub Scout food drive

On March 14th the Sammamish Trails District of the Boy Scouts of America collected over 20,000 items for the Redmond and Kirkland food banks. Annually this event, known as Scouting for Food, makes an important impact for communities across the country. This year with hard economic times upon us the need is even greater. The Sammamish Trails District had over 300 Scouts with the assistance of over 200 adults collect this food in just one day. Most importantly the Scouts would like to thank our friends and neighbors for making these donations that made this event a success.

For more information about Boy Scouts contact the Sammamish Trails District Chair, Lisa Wylie at 425 868-5104. How to Join Scouting!

CUB SCOUT PACKS 591 AND 557 had a busy food drive for Hopelink!


Bob,

The photos above are from our Cub Packs (557 and 591) as we collected our items, sorted and delivered to HopeLink.

The Redmond and Kirkland Cubs and Boy Scouts participated. Cub Scout Packs 591 (Redmond) & 557 (Kirkland) put flyers out the first weekend in March and collected the donated food the 2nd weekend in March. They then sorted the food into bags of 10 items (for ease of counting) and we deliver them to the local food banks (in Redmond's case we deliver to Hopelink across from Jack in the Box). The Boy Scout Troops take shifts and sort out the donated food into the food bank designated areas for local families to use.

Thanks!
Paige
Cub ScoutMaster Pack 591

ATTN: Eastside Cub and Boy Scout troups and prospective scouts.

Meeting places and contacts for all Eastside troops in the Sammamish Trails District are here! And....

Redmond Parks & Recreation has teamed up with the professional naturalist staff Nature Vision Inc., a local nature education non-profit organization, to offer scouting organizations a way to use Redmond parks for scouts to get badge work accomplished. The following is a list of offered programs.

• Animal Science, Farrel-McWhirter Park
• Bird Study, Redmond Watershed Park
• Environmental Science, Redmond Watershed Park
• Fish and Wildlife Management, Idylwood Park
• Forestry, Redmond Watershed Park
• Mammal Study, Redmond Watershed Preserve loot
• Nature, Redmond Watershed Preserve
• Soil and Water Conservation, Farrel-McWhirter Park

Cost: $125
Group Size: Up to 30 children with a minimum of 2 adults
Age: 1st-6th graders. Program Length: 1 hour
Scout groups may register for any of these Scout Link programs by visiting http://www.naturevision.org/ or by calling 425-836-2697.

Politics hits the Council during Stormwater rate debate.

Filthy stormwater in SE Redmond Industrial District is soaking into Evans Creek aquifer protection zone soils ~200 feet from Evans Creek. The city plans a SE Regional Treatment Plant that must be funded in large part by stormwater fees.

Updated 4/7, OPINION: At their last meeting, City Council evaluated and considered adjusting stormwater fees to better account for "impervious surfaces". Impervious surfaces create polluted stormwater which must be treated and cleaned by the City. If the stormwater is not adequately treated our aquifer could become endangered. Our aquifer is an "underground reservoir" that supplies City drinking water.

The bulk of the conversation was about how to hold SE Redmond industries accountable for their "fair share" of the costs in treating stormwater running off of their polluted impervious surfaces. It's possible Cadman Gravel, Watson Asphalt, AWR, Genie Industries and other SE industries have impervious surfaces for which they are not being adequately billed. In addition, impervious surfaces created by new and "unfound" buildings are being identified throughout the city. Even the gravel parking lot in King County's 60 Acres Park South was "found" would by the Administration's new digitalized aerial photography. The county lot be assessed for stormwater treatment if council okays the Administration's current proposal.

The Marchione Administration is looking into all these scenarios and wants to keep rates fair and accountable using the Best Available Science. Same with Council. However, Council's review is politically charged because of "R.I.C.E.", a long-standing and historically entrenched lobby for the Redmond SE industrial district. A R.I.C.E. lobbyist was sitting "front and center" during the Council meeting; so close to Council that certain members could literally read her lips.

The R.I.C.E. associate has seemingly "wrapped her arms" around several of our older councilmembers. Newly elected Councilmember Hank Myers is heavily obligated and Councilmember Pat Vache' doesn't seem too far behind. Much of R.I.C.E success comes from their financial and networking support for councilmembers during elections. Councilmembers Allen and possibly Margeson appear politically untouched by R.I.C.E. Both have won their seat with broad support from the Neighborhoods. Margeson won support from businesses, too.

The SE industrial influence on city government began years ago with the powerful "industrialists" like Cadman Gravel. Cadman has been around longer than the City itself. They and other SE industries have been a large tax base for Redmond over the years - from day one. My guess is "the good old boy" network has thrived for years and has become a tradition. The coming of Microsoft, rapid population growth, and "need for green" could be impacting political alignments.

The City Administration, led by Stormwater Manager Jon Spangler, announced during the meeting, a new and more accurate method of measuring impervious surfaces. Mr. Spangler is highly regarded by Sammamish/Cedar River Regional Watershed community (WRIA 8). Impervious surfaces are undesirable because they increase stormwater run-off and treatment costs. Generally, the more impervious on your property the higher your rate. Examples of impervious surfaces are roads, parking lots, roofs, and vehicles parked on creek banks. The impervious surface getting the most attention last night was gravel -- yes, gravel. City code defines gravel as impervious. (Our city parks consultant Guy Michealson confirmed this during his evaluation of park trail materials.) The Administration is building an expensive SE Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility. The stormwater revenue generated from "fair share" billing will go towards paying for facility.

Councilmember Pat Vache' wanted to delay most of the new charges until after 2010 owing to the Recession. Did Mr. Vache' forget about his vote to raise neighborhood property taxes 1% taxes starting this year while leaving the businesses untaxed? Councilmember Kimberly Allen wanted to qualify "impervious surfaces" using Best Available Science before moving on. Some wanted citizens and businesses to have a chance to appeal the new charges or to phase them in. Another meeting will he held to review the Administration's proposal.

Pat Vache' and Kimberly Allen are running for re-election to Council this year so I will be highlighting their activities and decisions as they come up.

It's not all about Sports at LWSD schools

Redmond Junior High School orchestra missed out by three points to Rose Hill Junior High in getting the “Best Overall” award in the Western Washington University (WWU) orchestra competition, a statewide competition for middle school and junior high school students. Fourteen groups attended this event, including schools from Seattle, Ferndale and Bellevue. Redmond Junior High’s orchestra received a 2nd place silver trophy out of 14 participants.

In addition to the competition, the students participated in break-out clinics and master classes, and were judged by national-level adjudicator, Kathleen Brungard from North Carolina. Receiving the highest marks for technique, style and presentation, members were congratulated on their enthusiasm and their performance of two very different and challenging pieces. At the end of the day, the participants were treated to a performance by the WWU Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Shaw.

The Lake Washington High School Orchestra had an outstanding performance at the Northwest Orchestra Championships, held in Gresham, Ore., March 14-15. They brought home the third place award in the large school string division.

Redmond High School Knowledge Bowl Team from Redmond High School (RHS), comprised of Tejas Renade, Emily Rice, Rishi Goutam, Jonathan Shi, and Evan Nelson, took fifth place in the Puget Sound Regional Knowledge Bowl competition, thus earning them a place at the state championships on March 28 in Camas, Wash

For more information contact: Kathryn Reith, Director of Communications, (425) 702-3342. Shannon Parthemer, Community Relations & Communications Coordinator, (425) 702-3300

Theno's Dairy

Hundreds and hundreds of kids and families have sat on this cow eating their ice cream.

Notice the incongruency of the two buildings.

Brian Lutz, the Redmond author of The Sledgehammer Version 2. blog recently posted an interesting story about Redmond's locally famous and historic Theno's Dairy. I asked Brian for additional information on the family business that is known for it's yummy ice cream and sherbet and fresh milk. I wasn't sure if the new huge Meta Church, Washington Cathedral owned the land or not.

Brian said "from what I've read, [the church] has pedged to allow Theno's to continue to operate for as long as the Bloor family wishes to do so."

In 2005, Washington Cathedral tried to get the site rezoned for commercial use with the possibility of putting in a strip mall shopping development that would have included a new Theno’s on the corner. An informative Seattle Times article on proposed land use can be found here.

I followed the land use Master Plan Application and Annexation proposals and vaguely remember the Planning Commission deciding against the 5 acre (or was it 10 acres?) development. Most decided a strip mall would be incompatible with the surrounding agricultural land. An influencial neighborhood north of Washington Cathedral held several meetings (I attended one) to organize against the church's plans. Their primary complaint was traffic and congestion at the 124th Street & RED-WOOD intersection. I remember the then Mayor Rosemary Ives suggesting that a small "Farmers Market" would be more appropriate. Environmentalists had concern about impacts to the health of a Class 2 stream.

If anyone has more current information about the status of "our" historic and cultural landmark please comment. Probably, the best source of information is from the children who woolf down the ice cream!

Customer reviews of Theno's Dairy (and their location.)

Brian Lutz is author of The Sledgehammer V 2.0

Photos of Washington Cathedral Grand Opening with Mayor John Marchione. (Photos are available for purchase online)

Matching grants can drive counter to Community needs - Something to ponder

This City of Lynnwood neighborhood issue was on the nightly news this week. It is something to ponder. Could you imagine this happening in Redmond?

"Lynnwood Neighborhood Upset Over Bike Lanes"
--Susan West & Q13 Fox News March 18, 2009

Craig Parsons and his neighbors used to be able to park in front of their homes on 208th Street SW in Lynnwood, but not anymore since the city of Lynnwood put up no parking signs.

Parsons says, "We're very frustrated. We've been blind-sided by this project."

It's part of a bigger plan to put in bike lanes on either side of the road and a middle turn lane for cars. But Parsons say bicyclists rarely use 208th and they have the nearby Interurban Trail to bike on. We were even in the area for over four hours and couldn't find any bicyclists.

Meanwhile, neighbors are now having to park on their lawns. Parsons says they've also got another problem on their hands. He spoke to a real estate agent, who told him the value of their homes has dropped because of the lack of parking.

City of Lynnwood Public Works Director Bill Franz says it wasn't an easy decision, but their city growth plan calls for more bike lanes. They also received a 150-thousand dollar federal grant and heard strong support from the bicycle community.

Franz says, "It's about safety. That's what qualified us for the grant. But it's also for the long term, implementing that vision of Lynnwood of having bicycle facilities throughout the city so that people can get around without having to start the car up."

Parsons says they've contacted U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell's office in hopes of getting heard, but Franz says once the weather improves those bike lanes are scheduled to go in.

Franz says this project has been in the works since 2007 and the city held public meetings. Parsons got citizens to sign petitions opposing the plan but the city council approved the project.

cc: Redmond city officials
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What do you think about this? Could it happen in Redmond? Should grant money be the driver of city projects? Will safety ever be an issue on this Lynnwood Street? Where was the city planning here? Did citizens receive adequate public notice and awareness of this 'safety issue'?

Email you comments redmondblog@gmail.com for posting on this page or make a comment below.

Tent City is coming to Redmond - Public Meeting set for Monday, 3/23

Two years ago, St. Jude Parish hosted Redmond's first Tent City(4) for the homeless. Tent City is planning to open again at St. Jude from April 25 for about three months. You can see from the above photo of last month's Informational Meeting on Tent City-4 community turnout was low, very low. The few who did speak up were positive and supportive of Father Dave Rogerson's invitation to host TC-4 at St. Jude Parish. The TC-4 nonprofit "SHAREWHEEL" is a co-applicant with Father Rogerson for the Temporary Use Permit required of the City.

A Public Meeting will be held Monday, March 23, 2009, 7PM at the Redmond Junior High School to announce the application and plans for TC-4 and to seek comment from the public.

Interest may be lower this year for some of the following reasons: 1) St. Jude Parish hosted TC-4 two years ago and the community is familiar with the program. 2) The Planning Commission and Council clarified the code to be able to swiftly deal with any permit appeals, 3) the Recession has opened residents minds and hearts that people DO lose their homes and sometimes need a temporary shelter - whether it be in an apartment, a relative's home, or even in an outdoor shelter.

Interest in TC-4 will be heightened for organizations and individuals who want to help with food, clothing, or blanket donations. Call St. Jude Parish 425-883-7685 to donate or volunteer or contact Father Dave Rogerson. Last time the public was welcome to visit TC-4 without apointment after you checked in first at the gate. I spent a lot of time there two years ago visiting the residents. It was both interesting and enlightening.

The TC-4 Code of Conduct - if these rules are not respected and enforced TC-4 may be permanently closed.

FAQ about TC-4 60 -100 residents are expected. Two years ago TC-4 averaged about 40 residents. The average stay is about 3 weeks.

The Site Plan of TC-4 with diagrams of the parking lots that will be use to pitch which tents. "The Hilton" is where newcomers spend their first few nights. It looks like they moved The Hilton and Community Tents closer to NE 104th. St.

The Vicinity Map of TC-4 shows an aerial view of the church and labels the location of the tents and facilities.

The Land-Use Notice

Neighborhood community cleans out their Neighborhood forest

Ashford Trail adjacent to the Mormon Church

UPDATE, 6/14/09: During my city training to be a Forest Steward for Hartman Park I learned that, at this time, the Parks Operations Manager decided not to install a city garbage container or dog feces bags at the Ashford traihead.  I will continue to leave the metal container at the trailhead and dispose the trash into my personal garbage, for as long as I can...which may not be very much longer. Please call the city if your want these services.

The photo on the left shows Parks new Trailhead signage and the widened, developed Ashford Trail. City pick-ups now ride it and sometime take shortcuts on it from Avondale to Ed. Hill.  Why couldn't they leave a garbage can?  The right photo shows all the trash I picked up in just one full day.  It amounted to 570 pounds of trash, 120 gallons of drinking containers, and rotten construction wood were removed and taken to the dump.

The neighborhhod kids build small "forts" so I didn't take their good lumber, though nails in trees are common. The dirt bikers need the large white buckets to haul dirt for their jumps, so we didn't take the buckets. The dog-walkers want a place to put their poop-bags so I left a trash can on the trail we found it the woods. Two "beer party sites" were left at the trailhead. A computer monitor was removed from the party site and bags were removed from the poop bag throw site.

This forest is a remnant of Perrigo Creek watershed and is located within the Bear Creek Basin. The land is owned by the rate payers of the water utility and managed by the city. Get acquainted with this short clip of the "neighborhood corner forest". (1.2m)

The forest is on the corner of NE 100 St and 171st Ave NE. Two sides of the forest are bordered by homes and the other two sides are bordered by the Church of Latter Day Saints and the Dirt Bike trail jumps. The Perrigo Woods Trail (Ashford Trail) if a favorite hiking and dog-walking trail. The forest is only a 5-10 minute walk from Redmond Junior, Redmond High, and Mann El.

This neighborhood forest is clearly, closely surrounded by mankind and over the years trash and litter has accumulated. A detailed report of the trashing is found here. Several in the neighborhood decided to clean up the trash. I was involved and others helped. A dirt-biker, several youth from Mann, a dog-walker, two hikers and 3 teenagers all helped clean up the forest. Other youth and adults said they would watch the forest and they know who to call if they need help.

Last year, the Parks Department upgraded the network of trails in Hartman Forest and on Ashford Trail. They posted trail head signage and widened Ashford Trail. I hope the Parks Department and commissioners will get more involved with keeping this corner forest clean now that more citizens are using the forest. A couple of simple things the City could do to maintain their improvements are: 1) Place and maintain a Park trash can next to the posted Ashford Trailhead sign 2) Install and maintain a Dog-Poop bag dispenser. The City educates us on the importance on bagging dog poop to help keep our streams and ground water clean. I bag dispenser would seem appropriate. 3) removing the blackberries.

The visiting citizens and youth appreciate getting and keeping the junk and litter out of their forest. Removing the blackberry bushes at the corner would freshen up the place, too. The forest corner was once used by citizen vendors to sell art, photos and native plants for the "Save the Woodlands" fundraiser. I paced off the area then and discovered there was open space for a 'satelite Saturday Market' once the blackberries were removed.

CC: Parks Operations (Attn: Dave), Council Parks Chair, Hank Myers, ParksandTrailsCommission@redmond.gov

Redmond Police Chief Harris retires after 42 years of law enforcement

Redmond Police Chief Steve Harris is retiring March 31, 2009 after 28 years in the position, the third-longest current tenure in Washington State. He has spent the past 42 years in law enforcement including 11 years as Commander with the Arvada, Colorado Police Department and three years as an officer with Seaside Heights PD, New Jersey.

Mayor John Marchione remarked:
"Chief Harris's career is distinguished by his leadership, innovation, and partnership efforts, and his years of service to the City have built a strong public safety foundation for citizens. Under his leadership, the Redmond Police Department has long been an example for its professionalism and best practices both locally and nationally, a legacy for which our community is proud."

Redmond City Council will be honoring him Tuesday, March 17th at its 7:30 p.m. meeting.

City of Redmond entire Press Release
CONTACT:
Jim Bove, 425-556-2545
March 12, 2009
24-hour Media-Line, 425-556-2531

Factoid #1
Approximately 85 commissioned officers & 125 total employees work under Chief Harris.
- Jim Bove, Police Community Laison

Factoid #2
Equipment officers carry - how much does this weigh?
Gun Belt 1 each, Holster 1 each,
Keepers 4 each,
Handcuff case 2 each (or 1 double case)
Magazine pouches 2 each,
Handcuffs 2 each.
Service Weapon 1 each,
Baton 1 each, Baton Holder 1 each,
Protective Vest 1 each
Chemical Weapon and Holder 1 each
Flashlight 1 each, Flashlight Holder 1 each
Taser and holster 1 each
Rain hat 1 each
-- Salary Ordinance document, '09

Is this the City of Redmond's first blog?

I just discovered the Redmond Library blog and added it to my Blog List. The Library blog started up in early June, 2008 and already posts 93 informative, interesting stories. The blog's tag line is: "Community Outreach initiative of the Redmond Library Board of Trustees." The presence of the City LOGO is telling. I wouldn't be surprised if some Friends of Redmond's Library are participating in this master piece. I see many stories authored by Trustee Lorin Catudio, but others write, too.

The Library blog is informative, aesthetically pleasing and garnished with lots of maps, art, photos and is easy to read. My favorite piece so far is the story about the Marymoor Connector Trail. It has encouraged me to jump on my bicycle and check it out!

Will the City of Redmond post or link this blog to their new website once it's built? I think so. Could the Redmond Library one day be the most broadly distributed blog in the City? Possibly. The Library Board of Trustees meets at 7PM the first Wednesday of every other month. I'm going to stop by one time and say thank you for their wonderful new publication. I hope you read it. You'll see.

Basketball and Church draws Mayor John Marchione back to the neighborhoods.

Updated, 3/22: It's refreshing to see Mayor John Marchione getting out into the community and showing interest in the neighborhoods that elected him our city CEO and Representative. John participated with Fire and Police in student Olivia's High School Dodge Ball Fundraiser at the beginning of his term, but then became bogged down with managing the bureaucracy and budget. For a while , I was fearful John would morph into a total bureaucrat. It doesn't look like it now, but we'll know for sure by baseball season.

Currently, tournament basketball and city-church land use activities are pulling John back into the neighborhoods. Yeh! At the last Council meeting John announced high numbers of students busing to Tacoma to root for our H.S. Boys State Basketball players in the State tournament. It must have helped. Redmond took 5th in the State!

(The http://www.redmondboysbasketball.com/ high school site has stories, pics and video clips).

Did you hear, Lenny Wilkens, the winning Sonic coach during the 1979 NBA championship, was the featured guest at the Washington Cathedral's (WC) event last Saturday? John Marchione's council work on WC land-
use Reviews engaged him with the church . Mr. Mayor was part of the Saturday ribbon-cutting ceremony for WC's massive new recreation/sanctuary facility. (Pastor Tim White is on the left). I missed it, but who knows, John could have been asked to start the tip-off in the Redmond-Woodinville basketball game played in the WC gym (played by football players). If John can throw in the ball to start high school dodge ball games why not throw the tip-off for this church basketball game?

Mr. Mayor, council and staff get involved with churches often during land use proposals. In the case of Washington Cathedral (WC) a large and complicated annexation and re-zone was required at the city's sensitive northwestern Gateway. Critical wetland, streams, slopes and severe traffic were mitigated; this project abutted rare valley agricultural land. The city drew the line on WC's 10 acres along 124th. WC wanted to develop this hillside land to build a large grocery store for income. Meta, Mega or Mighty - a church this size needs income. I attended WC many years ago when it was a Nano/Micro-church at Lake Washington H.S.

St. Jude Catholic Church on 166th Av. & 104th St. stands out in it's association with Mayor Marchione. John is a parishioner. Past Mayor Rosemarie Ives attends. Every year, the Parish hosts a "Mayor's Breakfast". Several high-level staff are members. To many neighborhoods, St. Jude is the home of Tent City 4 (TC4). Though TC4 was a success, two years ago the city and citizens underwent a painfully long and troublesome Review and Appeal process. "Temporary Use" was put to the acid test and failed so miserably that this year the Planning Commission re-wrote the code. When TC-4 opens up this spring at St. Jude any appeals will be adequately managed. My wife and I attended this church once, thinking it was Episcopalian! A Public Notice Sign was just posted for a TC4 opening this Spring.

During the Ed. Hill Neighborhood Citizen Advisory Committee, the City and Mayor Ives got involved with the Pastor Robroy Ranger's Redmond Assembly of God (RAG) on 166th Ave., half way up the hill. Robroy spent months, if not years, generously hosting the Advisory Committee and attending Planning Commission meetings. Part of what came of the meetings were the 166 Ave. 3:2 lane improvements and plans to extend 160th Ave. north. The RAG has a basketball court and the church has hosted teams looking for facility. The RAG also hosts a highly regarded day-care service. The church practices speaking in tongues and other charismatic methods of spiritual enlightenment. Pastor Robroy is incredibly passionate and a friendly sole.

A much smaller land use project transpired a few years ago at Redmond Presbyterian Church on NE 100 St. & 166th Ave. Marchione, a councilman at the time, wasn't directly involved but staff was present. Redmond Presbyterian is only 5 minutes from my home so I had some questions about the tree removal to install a parking lot and children's building. Actually, at the project's completion, I found I could enjoy the trees even more because I could see them -- when taking a short-cut through the forested church lot to the Junior High -- and walking the NE 100 St. sidewalk. In addition a lush, green forested greenbelt and a bio-swale is present and best seen inside the sanctuary!

I've attended all the churches listed above but finally found a home at Redmond Presbyterian with Rev. Dr. Larry Grounds and his flock. The church inspires faith in God, celebrates children, and honors community. Larry did his Doctoral dissertation on "Children Stories in Worship". Now I know why we love and learn from his skits for the children every Sunday! Larry's talks are exceptional. This verse about neighbors read last Sunday at Redmond Presbyterian triggered me to post this story. Coincidentally and in theme with this story, Larry Grounds played basketball in High School. He broke his ankle while playing. While in recovery his ministry germinated.

VIDEO UPDATE: Mustang Boys defeat Lake Stevens to take 5th in State!

Fifteen buses carried 750 SuperFans to the Tacoma Dome to root for their District winning Redmond Mustangs game against #1 seed, Federal Way HS. Redmond's SuperFans were perhaps the largest, loudest, and most synchronized H.S. fans in the State, EVER. Coach Larsen thanked the SuperFans repeatedly for their support.

Redmond drew Federal Way H.S. in the first round - the team that went on to defeat the Garfield Bulldogs to win the State tournament. (Factoid: during the regular season Redmond lost to Garfield in double overtime). But, Redmond went on to defeat Beamer, Mariner and Lake Stevens to take 5th Place in State! The Lake Stevens game went into double overtime. Read the Seattle Times (3/7) story here. Mustang Chris Harrington was awarded "2nd Team All-State" honors.

Below are a series of video clips of their first game against tournament winning Federal Way H.S., the second game vs. Beamer and final game vs. Lake Stevens. Redmond's Super Fans, band, and cheer are featured in the first two games. Read the tournament ending Bracket scores here. Find the http://RedmondBoysBasketball.com High School site here.

Redmond vs Lake Stevens H.S. VIDEO CLIPS:

Player Intros a start of Lake Stevens State Tournament game for 5th Place.

Redmond wins tip-off and Harrington drives to basket on opening play.

Harrington on "O", Justin on "D".

Redmond bags 2 baskets, playing well together

Redmond works is slow for a 3 from Phillip

Phillip Leyland again.

Great "D" by the Twin Towers!

Ellis hustles, and then hustles again.

Chris Harrington's famous flop-drive to keep the game alive

Harrington's 2nd clutch foul shot to keep the game alive and help him win bearth to "2nd Team All-State".

Under construction


Federal Way H.S. VIDEO CLIPS featureing SuperFans, Band, Cheer:

SuperFans filing into the Dome while Team warms-up with Band, 38 s

Pre-game warm-up with Band and SuperFans, 56s

Player introductions the game w/ Cheer/Fans, 2m

Mustangs score first vs. Federal Way! 1.33m

DOUBLE TROUBLE !! Jarad Alexander vs. Federal Way 1.12m

SuperFan Roller Coaster with Cheerleader twist

Major Traffic Delays expected on Cleveland & Redmond Way this week and on future projects

Daytime construction of critical utility work at Redmond Way and Cleveland Street beginning Thursday, March 12 to Sunday, March 15 will result in potential traffic delays. Construction will begin at Redmond way and Cleveland Street intersection. The purpose of the work is to install a new water main down Cleveland Street. For more information on this project, contact Lisa Singer, Project Manager at lsinger@redmond.gov or 425-556-2726. -- City Press Release

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The above is one of many city road projects that will cause significant local or widespread traffic delays. Additional downtown road construction projects planned in the near future are, as follows: 1) Redmond Way traffic will be impeded and/or diverted when the city installs a regional stormwater trunk line down the complete length of Redmond Way. 2) Redmond Way and Clevelend Street will be converted from 1-way to 2-way streets causing delays, 3) extensions of 164th St and other grid streets will be constructed. B&B Auto mall will be demolished to build the road grid. 4) The Bear Creek Extension continues to be a mess while citizens and LWSD employees patiently await for tree and shrub plantings in the vicinity of Saturday Market, Heron Rookery, Wetland Pond Facility and the Parkway extention.

On a positive note: The once controversial 166th Ave. lane and signal light conversion adjacent Redmond Junior High is complete and appears a success. Don Cairnes was the Project Manager and led the public outreach. Nice work, Mr. Cairnes!

Hazardous Waste spill east of Marymoor Park is being evaluated.

During council "consent agenda" proceedings tonight the Mayor requested emergency funding to evaluate possible groundwater contamination from hydraulic fluid at Fire Station No. 16 Maintenance Shop.

Fire Station No. 16 is located at 6205 185th Avenue NE just East of Marymoor Park. Redmond has six fire stations and their locations can be found on a city map by clicking Fire Station No. 16. It's interesting to see where the City stations are located relative to our neighborhoods.

The Maintenance Shop provides a full-range of apparatus repair and maintenance services for the City of Redmond and for King County Fire Protection District 34.

A hydraulic hoist is used to conduct maintenance on Fire apparatus. A release of hydraulic fluid, a hazardous material, from the hoist cylinder has been discovered and it is urgent to find out if the release of hydraulic fluid has impacted soil and groundwater beneath the facility. A subsurface investigation of the soil and groundwater beneath the facility is required to discover if a plan for appropriate remedial measures is needed.

The Public Works Department and Fire Department are very cognizant and cautious about protecting our groundwater and this emergency action is proof the city responds quickly to hazardous waste issues.

My only recommendation is the City use biodegradable, vegetable-based hydraulic fluid , whenever possible. The City has been groping with defining what 'green' means as the City builds. A category for biodegradable petroleum supplies seems appropriate.

Any comments?