Construction of downtown mixed-use box building

This is a 1 minute clip.

Will the trees in the background one day be leveled?  I think so.  In the least, they won't be visible from 166th.

Messy Redmond Way conversion spills over to side streets

I think this mess is on 168th.  Anderson Park is to the right.  A real estate appraiser Mr. Pope has an office nearby in a 90+ year-old Craftsman house; said Sleep Train was once a Chevron station.

Bob Yoder
photo by 

Iconic Frankies on it's death bed

Pam in front of iconic Frankies restaurant on 166th and Redmond Way last month.  This place is the heart-throb of our city...right up there with REI.  It rests on a strip mall which will be removed to build the "Anderson Park Hotel."  The hotel will create a "cave effect" on 166th once two 6-story apartment box buildings are built across the street.

Bob Yoder
photo by

Kindergarten Registration begins February 2

Register at your neighborhood school

Redmond, Wash. – If you live in Lake Washington School District (LWSD) and your child will be five years old on or before August 31, 2017, it is time to register them for Kindergarten. Registration takes place at your neighborhood school.

Registration details

"Redmond Way/Cleveland Street Two-Way Conversion" Public Notice

Total taxpayer cost:  $5,715,224

Purpose:  To install water, sewer, stormwater and transportation infrastructure to service the new downtown mixed- use box buildings and hotels. 

Expected Completion:  4th Quarter 2017.

Visit www.Redmond.gov/Downtown for more information.

As of January 6th, Redmond Radio 1650 AM for continuous construction and community advisories is not broadcasting

Updated: The Redmond Rotary Picnic Area -- believe it or not

Greg Woods standing in front of the Redmond Rotary Picnic Area

I put some "Fitbit" steps in yesterday walking off Education Hill to the downtown and then along the Sammamish River Trail.  I ran into Greg Woods (in the picture.) Greg's a "tree collector" and talked on and on about all the fruit and nut trees he's planted on his lot. He pollinates them with Mason Bees. Greg lives in a mobile home on a one acre plot near Redmond Ridge. He's a retired sheet rock worker and inherited the land. He lives next to million dollar homes; a 1-acre lot recently sold for $450,000.

Interesting, but my reason for this story is the patch of grass you see on the knoll across from Bear Creek.  Luke McRedmond Park is adjacent to us.   If you enlarge the photo you'll see a sign that says "Redmond Rotary Picnic Area."  Noisy West Lake Sammamish Blvd. runs behind it.

Have you ever seen anyone picnicking here?  The only way to get to it is from the north on a very long, wet, rutty trail.  If you can believe it, the trail head is near apartments close to Bella Bottega a couple miles away!

Yet, the grass is always cut; there's no evidence of use.  How on earth does the Rotary Club cut the grass?  Well, they don't.  I went to a the Rotary meeting at noon today.  A respected member said the city takes care of it.  A picnic area that no one can get to.   Huh?

The Parks Dept. should install native shrubs to enhance the riparian or develop the trail, not throw tax dollars on something nobody uses.

Bob Yoder
photo by

UPDATED 2/2: City to reach out to Faith-based groups

On December 7th, the new Deputy Parks Directer Rachel VanWinkle,addressed the Planning Commission on specifics of the proposed community/recreation center.  Commissioner Phillip Miller wanted to know why the 25-year old Senior Center had $1.5 M in observed deficiencies, indicating he thought the number was high.

Of interest, Ms. VanWinckle said the city will be reaching out to "all the faith-based groups" and other groups to build awareness, seek their needs/wants and gain acceptance of the proposed community/recreation center.

Some of Redmond's faith-based groups are:  Hindu Temple (there are 3 Temples within 5 miles of my house.)  Washington Cathedral, Buddhist Temple, Redmond United Methodist, Redmond Assembly of God, Timberlake, Revive, Armenian Apostolic, First Baptist, Egyptian Coptic, Faith Lutheran,  Mormon Stake, Redmond Presbyterian, Muslim Assoc. of Puget Sound (MAPS,) Meadowbrook Baptist, St. Jude Parish, Evangelical Chinese, Overlake Christian, United Pentecostal, Episcopal Church  Holy Cross Redmond.

The city will have their work cut out for them.  Focusing on the Hindu Temples would be a good start.

Bob Yoder

A Year-end Salute And History Of Blog Development

With the year-end upon us, I want to thank a few of my friends for helping me start my blog:

Paul Dillon - 11 years ago blogs were "new" and facebook wasn't even in the picture.  Paul told me about them and their many different uses, when we were watching our daughters play soccer at 60 acres.  He was using the first version of the I-Phone. Wow! Was that ever cool!


Korby Parnell, City planning commissioner advised me to write a blog to daylight the pollution of Evans Creek by All Wood Recycling.  He appreciated the value of linking.  At the time he had his own blog.

Doug Pratt - Doug came up with the name "Redmond Neighborhood Blog" when we were watching our daughters play Select basketball.

Inslee's Budget Proposal Seeks $300M for Mental Health

Governor Inslee's budget proposal calls for $300 million in the next two years to improve mental health capacity and add staffing. The plan also seeks to move people hospitalized on civil commitments out of the state's two psychiatric hospitals and into beds at facilities in the community. Western State Hospital — an 800-bed facility in Lakewood — has been plagued with problems, including staffing and bed shortages and is currently under scrutiny by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over concerns involving patient safety.

The budget also moves to implement recommendations from outside consultants, including adding three mobile crisis teams and two new community crisis walk-in centers where people suffering a mental health crisis can stay for up to 23 hours.

Write or call your State representatives and Committee Chairs and ask them to support Inslee's proposal!  Be personal.  Thank you!

***Timm Ormsby, Chair, House Appropriations Committee

http://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/APP/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx 
Eileen Cody, Chair, House Healthcare and Wellness Committee
http://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/HCW/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx 
Frank Chop, Chair, House Rules Committee
http://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/RUL/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx
Randi Becker (R) Chair, Senate Health Care Committee
http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/HLTH/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx  

EvergreenHealth Announces Open Enrollment for Alzheimer Research Study

Alzheimer’s impacts more than 3 million Americans and their families each year; its impact still looms largely over many local families.

EvergreenHealth Medical Center

Kirkland, Wash. – EvergreenHealth today announced the health system is accepting patient enrollment for a national clinical research study on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Through the study, researchers track the progress of enrolled patients for 12 months to determine if PET scans can effectively assist in identifying the causes and symptoms of these diseases, and help facilitate better treatment decisions. There are no invasive procedures involved, and after an initial PET scan, study participants continue to receive their normal course of care from their existing providers. The nationwide study is led by the Alzheimer’s Association and managed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN).

“As a health system we continually strive to be at the forefront of innovation and research. We are honored to offer our first Alzheimer’s disease research study, which alongside specialists and physicians across the country, will help provide important insights into ways we can improve treatments for those suffering from cognitive impairment and dementia,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “We encourage all who are eligible to consider participating, as our clinical research is another way to advance our purpose of enriching the health and well-being of those we serve.”

New Redmond blog "About Us" page

Bob, Lexie and Pam Yoder

Hello!  I'm Bob Yoder, the Editor and Scribbler of Redmond Neighborhood Blog.  I've lived 38 years in Redmond and started blogging about 10 years ago.  When I first moved here from the mid-west to sell medical supplies, Redmond was a rural one-stoplight town. We loved visiting the downtown feed store to play with the chicks; golf the downtown course; drive through the horse farms, line up at for ice cream and milk at Thenos and generally just enjoy a peaceful lifestyle away from the big city. 

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

Since local print media doesn't cover all the community news and opinion. I do a lot of general-interest reporting.  Our rapid pace of growth, the environment, student education, mental health and City of Redmond elections are popular topics. You'll see more posts on the city council elections, Redmond's creeks and riparian habitat, fine schools and soon advocacy for mental health.  

One of my favorite activities is watching the City Council and Mayor on RC-TV.  Yes,I'm a government wonk. My interest in the city extends into governance reporting of our school district and local public hospital district. I now advocate much more, than from my earlier days of "open government" activism.  

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

So now you know something about "About Us" and the year ahead!

Cheers, 

Bob Yoder

Disclaimer:  I'm a Seattle Times News Partner, but by far nowhere close to a journalist. Errors. omissions and miss-representations occur on a regular basis; and my posts aren't always sourced. 

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

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

Christmas Eve pistol whipping crime

Man Arrested for Assault 1st Degree/Harassment/Threats to Kill

On December 24th, 2016 at 11:03 pm, officers responded to an apartment residence at 16600 NE 80th Street for the report of an altercation involving a pistol.  Just prior to our arrival, a 27 year old male visiting a female friend became combative and struck her several times in the head with a pistol. The man threatened to kill her and her 3 year old daughter, while collecting up a rifle, handgun, ammunition, and stun gun from inside the unit. 

Home Ownership and Government - interview with John Marchione

In 2016, two joyful John L. Scott agents interview John Marchione about local real estate.

Little did they know, their office will be torn down to build another 6-story apartment box.

3:25  "Quality of life" - "Gorgeous changes in Redmond since you've been Mayor." - "Quality of life attracts big business and high tech businesses to the area....oh, and families."  "27% of households have kids."

3:30  "Housing market is hot because 59,000 people live here while there are 83000 jobs and people want to live close to their jobs.  Redmond is zoned for 10,000 additional housing units in the next 10 years.  25,000 units now."

8:22 - "Making Redmond a place to live you're entire life."  hmm

"Many housing choices for empty nesters looking to downsize to condos (but right now they're all apartments,) Young adults needing an affordable place to live."  hmm.  (The Cleveland building is the only box building in the Downtown devoted to condos.)

4:25 Developers are required to allocate 10% of their units as affordable but they get a "density bonus so they can build more"  "Create a market for people of all income ranges."  hmm

13:30 - "buy a house and walk to your office"  Really?

Bob Yoder, opinion

UPDATED 1/7/17: Steve Fields to run for City Council

Steve Fields

Steve Fields intends to run for one of two Redmond city council seats opening next year.  Councilmembers Byron Shutz's, John Stilin's terms end December 31, 2017. When I saw Steve last Friday at his coffee shop, he didn't say who he'd be challenging.
  
As you know, Steve ran for mayor last year; he lost by 871 votes after only six months of campaigning.  One of my blog readers was disgusted that out of Redmond's 28,000 registered voters less than 10,000 bothered to vote.  

You can find Steve at his coffee bar at noon most days. Down pour is located at 13200 Old Redmond Road.

Winter Coyote on Education Hill

Credit, Kim Cashon-Smith

Kim lives on the south side of Education Hill and took this picture in her yard a few years ago.  No, this coyote is not mouthing a cat!

Letter: Why I plan on leaving Redmond

This comment was made under one of my posts:  

This (the loss of REI) is mostly why I plan on leaving Redmond, and Washington for that matter. I've been out here for 10 years, back in 2008 I was paying $1400 for a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment with a nice size kitchen. That same apartment is now $3300 a month. With the loss of so many stores including REI from Redmond I don't understand why we must pay downtown Manhattan and San Francisco rent prices and not get the perks from living in those cities. What do I get for my $3300 a month? There are no major retailers left in Redmond, no 24hr or open late legitimate restaurants, no beach that's down the street. All I see going up in Redmond is more apartment buildings with $1600 rents for 400sq/ft studios. The loss of REI to Redmond I think was really the last straw for me. I'm a big Seahawks fan and was one of the things that kept me in Washington but I can't justify living in retail hell here in Redmond while paying astronomical rent that provides nothing besides 4 walls and a roof. Redmond needs to get its act together, once the apartment gold rush ends and people finally say no were not paying for this unless the city has something to offer us Redmond is going to be screwed because they simply wont have the space to build anything else. It will be all hotels and apartments, with crappy stores nobody wants.

-- anonymous 

Editor's Note:  According to "Rent Jungle.com" the average rent in Redmond is $2,047 for one and two bedroom apartments. 

UPDATED 12/28: Moving forward

Bob, Lexie and Pam

I'm a 36-year resident of Redmond and, like some, have seen drastic changes in our "town" during the 11 years I've been writing this blog. Early on, I devoted much of my time as an activist, scrutinizing and reporting to make our local governments more transaprent- this, at great expense to my family and work life.  For years I forced myself into the mold of a citizen-journalist - much due to a news partnership with the Seattle Times. I was directed not to advocate, sucking out my passion. It wasn't until last year when I advocated for the school bond that I took real ownership of "Bob's Blog" -- and felt the liberation and joy of being a greater part of our community.

With the advent of facebook groups my blog is pivoting to find a new niche, or it may just fade away. I'm using 8 facebook groups to distribute my stories. Starting this New Year I'll still be pasting local news releases but spending more energy on fewer general interest stories and reports.  I'm still watching city council meetings on a regular basis and ill be attending their meetings. With the exception of Mr. Myers, Ms. Birney, Mr. Carson, and Mr. Shutz I find council of little interest to our neighborhoods.

I've got some fun and challenging, investigative reports planned for the New Year. They will take quite some time to write and I'm in no rush.  A few topics percolating right now are:

1)  an historical  accounting and report on the development of  "Hawks Glenn," the last significant agricultural land remaining in Redmond.
2)  a story on recent, inadvertent loss of two magnificent Landmark trees on a small parcel.
3)  a report on tree removal procedures from large parcels.
4)  a report and opinion on the Chinese nationals impact to our community.
5)  a report on access to psychiatric beds at EvergreenHealth and other eastside health facilities.  .
6)  video reporting of the downtown construction chaos.
7)  my opinion of .the city council

Redmond Neighborhood Blog is all fun and good but my family, friends, and outside activities take precedence. That includes finding part-time work of interest, managing my health and of course, hiking Redmond's network of trails!

Bob