Redmond Reporter, June 29, 2012

Page 1

redmond

˜

.com

Reporter

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

NEWSLINE: 425.867.0353

COMMUNITY | Youth shelter coming to Redmond’s Together Center [12]

FRIDAY, June 29, 2012

LOCAL | Derby Days Festival gears up with plenty of fun, entertainment [6]

SPORTS | Harper swims at U.S. Olympic Trials, calls it ‘a surreal feeling’ [10]

Settlement reached with Group Health development City, Sustainable Redmond, Group Health come to an agreement concerning trees

Jacob Meyers plays on the new playground equipment at Spiritbrook Neighborhood Park. The park officially reopened on Tuesday after seven months of renovations.

Samantha Pak spak@redmond-reporter.com

Project manager Dennis Brunelle said the peat soil naturally found in the area was good at absorbing water, but would not drain it. “It wouldn’t have gone anywhere,” he said about water found on the park’s field after a storm. Marchione grew up in the area and could attest to this.

The City of Redmond and Sustainable Redmond have reached a settlement agreement regarding the 1,000-plus trees on Group Health Cooperative’s (GHC) 28-acre, mixed-use development in the Overlake Village area. The terms of agreement were approved on June 15 and have ended the legal action Sustainable Redmond had taken against the city earlier this year, said City of Redmond planning director Rob Odle. The grassroots organization led a group of appellants who had filed a land-use petition in King County Superior Court to block GHC’s plans to cut down 1,050 “significant” trees on the site located at 2464 152nd Ave. N.E. A court date had been set for this week but with the new agreement, it was canceled, Odle said. “I think it’s wonderful for everybody,” he said about the groups coming to an agreement and ending litigation.

[ more PARK page 2 ]

[ more TREES page 5 ]

Samantha Pak, Redmond Reporter

Park gets $2 million makeover City officials, community residents celebrate revamped Spiritbrook Park Samantha Pak spak@redmond-reporter.com

Tuesday afternoon’s showers were not enough to stop local residents from enjoying the newly reopened Spiritbrook Neighborhood Park. City of Redmond Mayor John Marchione, city officials and dozens of members from the Spiritbrook community gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate

the park’s reopening after being closed for seven months for renovations. The project was a joint effort between the Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments as the remodeling addressed the area’s drainage and storm water system in addition to updating the park itself. The total cost of the project was $2 million. One of the main reasons for the remodel was the park’s longstanding drainage problem.

1st District candidates aim to bring stability back to Congress Samantha Pak spak@redmond-reporter.com

On Wednesday night, residents of the 1st Congressional District filled the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center

auditorium to learn more about some of the individuals who could potentially represent them in Washington, D.C. next year. The five democratic candidates in the race — Darcy Burner, Suzan DelBene, Steve Hobbs, Darshan Rauniyar and Laura Ruder-

man — participated in a debate sponsored by the Democratic Party in the 5th, 45th and 48th Legislative Districts to let voters know why they are running for Congress. The other two candidates in the race are Independent Larry Ishmael and Republican John Koster.

Win a $250 Gift Card by voting for The Best of Redmond at www.redmond-reporter.com between June 1st - June 29th Se of e the to b fo day ack r d ’s p pa eta ap ge ils er

The candidates answered questions provided by political reporters Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times, Jerry Cornfield of the Everett Herald and Enrique Cerna from [ more CANDIDATES page 3 ]

Courtesy of

2012 of Redmond


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.