Letter: Reject Proposition 3

By Paul Hall


Letter:   It's pretty clear that this 3/4 billion dollar bond issue is not intended to solve the housing problem, Bob. Only 238 million is earmarked to address growth with 6 new schools and small additions to 2 others. The district's Six Year Facilities Plan relies on portables to handle the thousands of remaining unhoused students for years to come.

The other 517 million is to tear down and rebuild 6 more relatively new schools (leaving 12 more substandard for years more) and build two more small boutique schools. Almost 160 million (2/3 as much as the total amount planned for growth) is budgeted just for a new Juanita HS. The district's planning policies are obviously still skewed toward replacing schools rather than providing permanent housing and modernized facilities for all our kids and teachers.

By piggybacking the growth and replacement issues, the district's using the overcrowded housing conditions to force voters who want to address this problem to also approve the continued replacement (rather than modernizing) of a part of our relatively new remaining building inventory. We should reject Proposition 3 and give them a chance to come up with a more rational facilities plan or resubmit this as two separate issues.

Opinion: LWSD Bond Measure Inadequate, By Susan Wilkins

LWSD Bond Measure Inadequate - Elementary Classroom Space Shortage & Overcrowding Reaching Crisis Levels in District

 

Let me say that I have had children at Mann, Rockwell and Einstein so I know these schools and the surrounding neighborhoods well. I reviewed and/or commented on plans for most of the new developments that have been built over the past decade or that are in the process of being built.  I often wondered, "How will all the children who will move into these houses fit into our already overcrowded schools?"  Read More >>

Fifth-annual King County Park's Big Backyard 5K, June 1, features live music, kids dash, more

Presented by Group Health, this fun family event benefits King County Parks

Join with friends, family and fellow outdoors enthusiasts in a fun event that supports King County Parks – the Big Backyard 5K presented by Group Health, June 1 at Marymoor Park.
The Big Backyard 5K starts at 9 a.m. and takes participants through beautiful Marymoor Park at the northern end of Lake Sammamish. The course follows the Marymoor Connector Trail and a portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. Strollers and leashed dogs are welcome.
A free kids’ dash featuring King County’s environmental mascot Bert the Salmon follows the fun run at 10 a.m., and then it’s time for the awards ceremony at 10:15 a.m.
“Our fifth-annual Big Backyard 5K is a tradition that hundreds of people look forward to every year, and it’s a great opportunity to spend some time with friends and family in our most-popular park,” said King County Parks Director Kevin Brown.
“Group Health is excited to continue as a long-time sponsor of the Big Backyard 5K. We believe that participating in fun events like these motivate people to get and stay healthy,” said Theresa Tamura, community engagement strategist for Group Health.
For just $25, entrants will receive an event t-shirt, plus food, drinks and more on race day. Registration for the 2014 run is easy – sign up online at www.bby5k.com. Funds raised by the 5K help leverage King County taxpayers’ investment in parks, trails and open space by keeping these features open and safe for all to enjoy.
Everyone who signs up to participate by Feb. 7 can purchase a hoody for just $5, courtesy of Harborstone Credit Union. Entry fees for the remainder of February are $25 and include a t-shirt; fees increase by $5 for each month up until race day, when day-of-race registration will cost $40 and won’t include a shirt. Entry fees include a timing chip, food and drinks.
Looking for more incentive to sign up? How about cash? Break the course record (16:18 for men, 20:15 for women), and you’ll win $100.
The Big Backyard 5K promotes fitness and community involvement, and has raised more than $125,000 for King County Parks.

Possession of Stolen Property

                         

Redmond, WA – At 10:30 am, the Redmond Police Department served a search warrant on a residence in North Seattle.  Two adults were taken into custody on multiple charges of Possession of Stolen Property, Identity theft, Motor Vehicle Prowling and other Fraud related charges.

The search warrant service was a culmination of an extensive several month investigation conducted by the Redmond Police Department Pro-Act Unit that covered crimes in King and Snohomish County.  The investigation is on-going as there are numerous previously identified victims and more victims are expected to be discovered due to the substantial amount of property found at the residence.

Redmond Police chief Ron Gibson stated “This case is a great example of the type of thorough investigations conducted by members of our Pro-Act Unit on behalf of property crime victims both in Redmond and the greater King and Snohomish County region”.

Follow up press releases will be sent as the investigation continues.

Opinion: Vote No on LWSD Bond, By Paige Norman

Lake Washington School District Levy and Bond vote – OPINION 

I have posted four detailed blog entries regarding the upcoming LWSD Levy and Bond issues for vote on February 11th, 2014.  They can be found here.

 This chart gives just a few examples of how poorly the district has managed and planned for student capacity and growth over the last few years.  8 Elementary schools are “Over permanent capacity” and all but one school (Mann Elementary) has portables to house over-population of students.  Read More >> 

New developments in Redmond move to Mann Elementary

Temporary change to prevent overcrowding at Rockwell, Einstein

Redmond, Wash. – At its January 27 meeting, the Lake Washington School District Board of Directors approved a temporary boundary change that assigns new housing developments currently within the attendance boundaries of Rockwell and Einstein Elementary Schools to Mann Elementary School. All three schools are located in Redmond, Wash.  Read More >>

Speaker to cover Eastside Aviation History: Air Defense, Airports, and Wishful Thinking

The Seattle area’s “Eastside” is known more for suburbs and traffic jams than airports and air defense, but not too long ago some of those neighborhoods had more planes than homes. Some even had NIKE missiles. Small air parks operated in Bellevue and in Kirkland’s Juanita area as well as in Issaquah and Kent. In the early 1970s, Redmond even contemplated building a commercial airport where today’s Watershed Park lies.

 “If you find Eastside traffic challenging during the daily commute, consider what it could have been like if SeaTac Airport had been built here,” notes Sherry Grindeland, editor of the SnoValley Star newspaper in Snoqualmie and a former Seattle Times and Bellevue American reporter.  She will examine that aviation history on Saturday, February 8^th at 10:30am at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center in Redmond. She is speaking as part of the Redmond Historical Society Saturday Speaker Series.   Read More >>

Setting Seller's Expectations

By Sinead Fennell

Redfin Real Estate Agent

It is much easier to sell a home than it is to buy one in Redmond, thanks to low inventory that has caused some heated bidding wars. But that doesn’t mean sellers have an advantage all of the time. Sellers’ expectations can determine if a house sells at all.   Read More >>

Puget Sound Energy to hold open house for their Energize Eastside Project

Redmond, WA - Puget Sound Energy (PSE) will hold the first open house for the Energize Eastside Project on Wednesday, January 29, from 6-8 pm at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center (ORSCC) at 16600 NE 80th St Redmond, WA 98052. At the event, attendees can learn more about why the project is needed and community involvement opportunities, and will have an opportunity to speak with PSE project staff.

PSE’s Energize Eastside project proposes to build new, higher capacity electric transmission lines on the Eastside to upgrade the existing transmission system and provide more dependable, long-term power. The project would build about 18 miles of new transmission lines between Renton and Redmond. PSE has narrowed the potential route options to 16 segments, and the next step is for communities to provide input on which segments best serve community needs.  Read More >>

Redmond High senior named semifinalist in Intel Science Talent Search competition

Cameron Akker, a senior from Redmond High School, has been selected as a national semifinalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) Competition. The Intel STS Competition, which began in 1942, is the nation's oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school seniors. Alumni of Intel STS have made extraordinary contributions to science and several of them have won Nobel Prizes.

Cameron’s research was entitled, “Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide Coated Nafion Membranes For Enhanced Performance In Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells.” It involved the development of a procedure to coat emerging, carbon-based catalysts such as graphene oxide on the membrane inside hydrogen fuel cells to optimize fuel cell efficiencies.

Cameron is one of just two students from Washington state to be recognized as a semifinalist this year. Redmond High School will also receive an award of $1,000 in recognition of its excellence in science education. Read more about the Intel STS Competition.

$850,000 Rechannelization project of 166th Avenue moves forward

Redmond City Council approved $80,600 in supplemental spending with David Evans and Associates for final design and construction services for 166th Rechannelization.  Total estimated project costs are $850,000 with completion expected by year-end.

Background:  In August 2013, David Evans and Associates was selected to provide analysis and conceptual design of the 166th Avenue NE Rechannelization project.  In a Decemeber 10, 2013 Council study session Council directed staff to move forward with the final design and construction of the baseline project.  The baseline project consists primarily of restriping the corridor to a 3-lane roadway, minor intersection modifications at NE 85th Street, and adding pedestrian beacons at NE 91st Street and NE 95th Street. 

Environmentalist Of The Year Award Goes to Local Man

Tim McGruder’s Track Record Shows Hands-on Work and Behind-the-Scenes Influence

KIRKLAND — Tim McGruder will be honored this Thursday evening as the Eastside Audubon Society’s 2013 Environmentalist of the Year for his many years of activism on issues ranging from local land use to global population growth.

A residential remodeling contractor who resides in Redmond, Mr. McGruder has been directly responsible for many of the most visible improvements enjoyed by the public on the Audubon BirdLoop interpretive trail at Marymoor Park in Redmond.

Through a combination of hands-on work and advocacy during nearly 30 years, he has exemplified the Audubon chapter’s commitment to enhancing bird and wildlife habitat and taking action in support of conservation.   Read More >>

An Educational Forum on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Child Abuse and Neglect

Thomas Carter, M.D.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014  7 PM - 9 PM

Evergreen Hospital, Suite Tan 100,

12303 NE 130th Lane,

Kirkland, WA  98034

 

Dr. Thomas Carter is a psychiatrist who works with children, adolescents, and adults.  He moved here recently from Minnesota and was a former Board member here at NAMI.  He trained at the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and did a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry.  Dr. Carter also was in the United States Army Flight Surgeon Training Program.

 

Dr. Thomas Carter will focus on various aspects of PTSD in childhood and families including cause, recognition and response.  He will discuss myths and facts, risk factors and developmental perspective.  Also covered will be symptoms in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and the impact on child suicides.

 

Nominations sought for King County's "Earth Heroes at School" awards program

Honoring outstanding efforts to educate youth, protect environment; program nominations are due March 10 for the 2014 awards 

King County wants to honor the very best students, teachers, staff, school volunteers, programs and even entire schools that contribute to student environmental education and environmental protection, through the County’s Earth Heroes at School awards program.
Nominations for the 2014 Earth Heroes at School are due March 10, and winners will be honored at an event this spring. Earth Heroes can be nominated by colleagues, classmates and the public. Self-nominations are also encouraged.  Read More >>

Brandi Carlile Headlines 2014 "Invest in Youth" Annual Breakfast

Youth Eastside Services Annual Breakfast • March 12, 2014
Bellevue, Wash. (January 7, 2014)—You should have taken a long break instead of a long drop from a high place. Ten years I never spoke your name and now it feels good to say it, "You’re my friend again."


With these lyrics, internationally-acclaimed and Seattle-based singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile came to accept and understand a high school friend’s suicide. As the song goes, it took 10 years before she could be at peace and once again enjoy the memories they shared.
Carlile will headline the Youth Eastside Services Invest in Youth Breakfast on Wednesday, March 12, at 7:30-8:45 am at The Hyatt in Bellevue. Her keynote remarks will resonate with the audience and Eastside community, where in the most recent Healthy Youth Survey, one in four Eastside teens reported feeling depressed, and more than one in six high school seniors said they had seriously considered suicide in the previous year. In many of the schools where YES has counselors, these statistics have been revealed in an increased number of suicides in the past two years.  Read More >>

Imagine Overlake, by Tom Hinman

Imagine Overlake –

Did you know that the Overlake Village Park being discussed at City Hall on January 15th is only the first of three parks to be developed in Overlake over the next 20 years?  More than 9 acres of parkland will eventually be built to provide the level of service needed as that neighborhood grows.  How these three community resources complement each other to create a “place” in Overlake should be considered as the first park planned for Overlake Village.  Read More >>

January is National Blood Donor Month

There are over 56,000 people living in the City of Redmond. One thing we all have in common is that blood is continuously circulating through our bodies, keeping us going every day.

 

There is no shortage of blood. Actually, there is a shortage of blood donors.

 

·         Subtract everyone under the age of 16- they can’t donate.
·         Subtract all the patients in our hospitals and clinics who are receiving blood transfusions, undergoing cancer treatment or recovering from surgery.
·         Subtract a chunk of our ever growing population of jet-setters and globe-trotters because visits to some countries or regions can render a potential donor temporarily ineligible
·         Subtract everyone with cold or flu symptoms
 
You are left with 35% of the population who are eligible to give at any given time. This is our potential. These are the people we reach out to, to say, “you are healthy, and we need you. Will you donate blood?”
 
Of those 35%, only 5% say yes.
 
JANUARY is National Blood Donor Month- a chance to celebrate the 5% of our population who ensure that blood is there for the 100% of us who may need it someday.  To you we say, Thank You!
 

Open House scheduled for Capstone's Overlake Village Park concept.

By Tom Hinman

 

In about a half a month, (January 15th at 6pm), there will be a second Open House in Redmond City Hall on Capstone's Overlake Village Park concept.  The graphics from the December 4th Open House were posted Monday at

http://www.redmond.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=67285.  This gives time for the community to review and digest some of the information provided earlier.  Public comments are still desired as design proceeds.

 

Besides recent photos of the site (see in particular views of the park parcel on Capstone pages 8-10) there are City infrastructure/context sketches of Overlake.  Note that nine acres of parks, 11 miles of trails and a community center will eventually be needed to provide the level of service to Overlake prescribed in City planning documents.  (These community amenities will occur in phases -- 3.5 park acres by 2020 inclusive of the 2.6 acre Capstone development and 5.5 acres more by 2030 as the neighborhood grows.)  Some of the newer parkland will be built over the stormwater vault currently being constructed west of 151st at Bel-Red Road as shown in a City concept sketch at the link above.  The Northern Stormwater Vault/Park west of 152nd between 26th and 27th will be built sometime in the future and contribute to the additional 5.5 acres of park space required.  

Nancy Pfaff Wins Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching

Redmond, Wash. – Elementary teacher Nancy Pfaff was named the Washington recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) for mathematics. The PAEMST is the nation's highest honor for teachers of mathematics and science (including computer science).  Read More >>

Public meeting to discuss plans for new Eastside aquatics center

 

• by REPORTER STAFF,  Kirkland Reporter Staff 
• Dec 31, 2013 at 12:54PM

WAVE Aquatics runs the Juanita High School pool.

— image credit: Contributed Art

The public is invited to attend a presentation at the Lake Washington High School auditorium addressing the looming closure of Juanita Pool and the decreasing access to aquatics facilities, in general, on the Eastside at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 7.
Hosted by Wave Aquatics, this meeting is an opportunity for the public to hear the facts about this issue, see the vision of potential solutions that benefit the community, and ask questions or provide feedback.

At this meeting, the public will see an assessment of the current facilities which are increasingly falling short of the demand by the growing Eastside community for programs that provide:
· Water safety instruction
· Swim lessons for youth and adults
· Health and fitness programs
· Physical rehabilitation
· Competitive venues for multiple school districts and swim & dive clubs
· Open/unstructured time for all users  Read More >>

Redmond Home Prices Make Small Gains in November; Sales Decline

By Paul Siemering

Redfin Real Estate Agent

 

Redmond home prices slightly increased in November, but sales volume dropped, according to a recent Redfin analysis. Home prices were up 0.5 percent compared to the same time last year and the median home price was $502,500. Sales were down 13.1 percent with 113 homes sold. However, homes sold 26.5 percent faster than they did in November 2012, spending an average of 25 days on the market.

 

The drop in sales volume is partly due to a lack of inventory in Redmond. In popular neighborhoods such as Education Hill, there are currently only three houses for sale under $600,000.

 

Another cause for decreased sales is that there were fewer buyers shopping in November. There was no significant shortage of buyers because we were still seeing multiple offers on homes. But some buyers chose to pause their home search in November, many of them worn out from the spring and summer housing frenzy. These buyers were unable to get into a home in Redmond because of the lack of inventory and the intense competition during the spring and summer months.

 

If you’re in the market to buy a home in Redmond, do not be discouraged by the competition. Instead, strategize a way to set yourself apart from other buyers. Take advantage of the fact that there are fewer buyers in the market for a home right now, such as those who are reluctant to move during the holidays and those who do not want to move while their children are in school.

 

Another way to edge out the competition is to start looking at homes that are less expensive than the maximum you can afford. If you are in the market for a $500,000 house, start looking at comparable homes in the $450,000 range. That way you can compete against multiple offers on the home by submitting an offer above the list price.

 

For more information, visit Redfin.com