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HALL OF FAME | Kirkland Councilman Toby Nixon selected for induction into State Open Government Hall of Fame [11]
Zero One | New Kirkland winery brings highFRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012 tech to thousand-year-old industry [6]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Alexander the great | Kangs beat Juanita in cross-town rivalry game; Alexander hits grand slam [10]
New Kirkland Costco gas station to open in May Site is last in state to build fuel station, will ultimately have more parking stalls BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
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The new Costco gas station is slated to open on May 24 and Costco executives said there will be more parking stalls as well. CARRIE WOOD, Kirkland Reporter
he construction in the Kirkland Costco parking lot can be seen from the freeway. Big machines tearing up the asphalt to make way for a parking lot expansion is not generally a very interesting topic. But when it is part of a project that has to do with discount gas – that is a story. The business that was
once headquartered in Kirkland is finally building a gas station to the delight of customers. “I’ll use it,” said Redmond resident Iola Stetson, who shops at the Kirkland Costco. “We use the Woodinville (Costco gas station) and it is 30 cents cheaper.” But it has been a long time coming as the Kirkland location was the last in Washington State to get a gas station, said John McKay, executive vice
BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
Many families flock to downtown Kirkland for the Fourth of July parade. During the summer, Kirkland Uncorked brings wine enthusiasts and food connoisseurs to downtown Kirkland, while car collectors visit for the Kirkland Classic Car Show. Music lovers have the Kirkland Summer Concert Series. But a group of Kirkland residents is preparing to bring a new and more inclusive event to downtown Kirkland SummerFest. The event is expected to draw more than 10,000 people. “This was the brainchild of dozens of highly involved Kirkland citizens to celebrate all the good things about Kirkland,” said local blogger Rob Butcher, who is the co-chair of the event along with Market Neighborhood chair Michelle Sailor. “All the volunteers are trying to put Kirkland’s best foot forward.”
Kirkland SummerFest will be free to the public and will take place in downtown Kirkland on August 10-11. The event is currently looking for volunteers, entertainers, vendors and business sponsors. “The presenting sponsors are the Kirkland auto dealers and it benefits the Lake Washington Schools Foundation,” said Butcher. One staple of Kirkland’s summer events, the Rotary Duck Dash, will move to SummerFest. “The Rotarians have a wonderful history with the Fourth of July Parade,” said Butcher. “But they wanted an opportunity to spend the Fourth of July with their families. Plus, this gives them an extra month to raise donations. It is an honor to be working with them.” Organizers have an ambitious event schedule that includes: Shakespeare in the Park, a SummerFest Regatta, various kids’ events, live music, 15 gourmet food trucks, Art in the Park and a baseball game at Peter [ more SUMMER page 5 ]
open date of May 24. “Most Costco gas stations are six or eight pumps – this will be a 10-pump gas station. This is a fairly large one,” said Wayne Bowman of Ferguson Construction. Ferguson Construction broke ground on the project on March 26 and recently installed the three gigantic gas tanks, two for unleaded and one for premium gas. A fourth tank will be placed soon for additives that go [ more GAS page 3 ]
Cross walk
First Kirkland SummerFest slated for Aug. 10-11 New summer event looking for volunteers, entertainment
president COO of Costco’s Northern Division and mid-west region. “The city was pretty good to work with,” noted McKay. “(There was) the lake and a number of other mitigating circumstances. There was some hesitancy on our part.” Costco is in the process of building the new discount gas station in the parking lot directly north of the main building. Costco management confirmed an
Photos and story online… kirklandreporter.com
Nearly 200 members of the Eastside Foursquare Church walked a large wooden cross more than 2 miles from Juanita Beach Park in Kirkland to the Bothell church on Friday afternoon, to commemorate Good Friday. CARRIE WOOD, Kirkland Reporter
Kirkland’s Ramos ends campaign for 48th District seat BY CARRIE WOOD cwood@kirklandreporter.com
Mexican-born small business owner Santiago Ramos announced Tuesday he is ending his bid for state representative, Pos. 2 in the 48th Legislative District. “My business has been
picking up in the last couple months to the point where I would not have the time I believe it will take to run a competitive legislative campaign,” said Ramos in a press release. “I will continue to look at public service because I want to give back to
a community that has been such a big part of my life. However, I have decided now is not that time.” The Kirkland resident and Democrat launched his campaign in March and was set to challenge Bellevue resident Cyrus Habib, also a Democrat.
That leaves Habib as the only candidate so far who is running for Pos. 2, which was held by Kirkland resident Rep. Deb Eddy. Eddy announced in March that she will not run for another term in the state Legislature.