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CHALLENGE | Kirkland city and Puget Sound Energy challenge residents, businesses to become greenest town around [6]
Earth Day | Turtles, ducks and other wildlife FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 sunbathe at Juanita Bay Park [10]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Comedy | Northwest comedians to perform gut-busting show [7]
Meet the new Kirkland City Councilwoman: Shelley Kloba BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ crodriguez@kirklandreporter.com
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helley Kloba says she feels like she has been drinking out of a fire hose since the Kirkland Council appointed her to fill the vacant No. 2 seat on April 16. With less than two weeks to go before her first official council meeting on May 7,
she is gearing up to learn the city’s ropes quickly, while moving full speed to become informed on all the big issues facing the city. But the new councilwoman says she is up for the challenge. “I’m meeting with [City Manager] Kurt Triplett at 11:30, so that will kick things off and I’m hoping there’ll be a big old binder of back-
ground information,” said was one of 17 candidates who Kloba during an invied for the empty terview on April 18. seat. “I need to have my Before the council game on right out unanimously apof the chute because pointed her to the there’s not a whole lot council during its of time to ramp up.” meeting on April 16, After former she was on the edge Councilman Bob of her seat that night, Shelley Kloba Sternoff abruptly she says. When the announced his rescouncil initially ignation on March 25, Kloba voted, they were evenly di-
vided between candidates Jon Pascal and Jay Arnold. “I thought, well that’s about right. They’re very well qualified and there are some excellent reasons why they would be the choice,” said Kloba, 46. Moving past their “deadlock,” the council finally voted to appoint her. “It was a bit of a roller coaster ride and I think it’s
just indicative of how tough a decision it was and how there’s very little to separate the top tier candidates, so whatever they would’ve decided would’ve been a win for Kirkland,” she said. A Midwest gal who was raised in Illinois, Kloba moved to Kirkland with her husband just after she received her Bachelor’s of [ more KLOBA page 3 ]
Kirkland SWAT teams arrest 3, recover narcotics from ‘problem house’ BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ crodriguez@kirklandreporter.com
SWAT teams arrested three adults and recovered narcotics on April 15 after they raided a Kirkland home that police and neighbors have known as a “problem house.” Kirkland detectives were prompted to search the home after they linked a cell phone dropped in a residential burglary in the area to someone who lived at the house, said Kirkland Lt. Mike Murray. Murray said the house in the 8000 block of N.E. 142nd St. in the Finn Hill neighborhood has been a problem for police over at least the past year. “Our patrol officers were getting complaints from neighbors about a lot of foot and vehicular traffic coming in and out of the house all day and especially at night,” he said, noting neighbors thought there might have been narcotics transactions going on. “So we’ve been watching the house for quite a while and made 10 or 13 arrests of known criminals coming
in and out of the house over the last year or so.” He said officers tried to do what they could to respond to suspicious activity through normal patrol tactics, “but we were limited on what we could do.” The North Sound Metro SWAT Team, which includes the Kirkland SWAT Team, was able to obtain a search warrant after police recovered the phone that was dropped during a burglary. Murray said he didn’t know if the search on April 15 turned up any evidence of that burglary, but police did find evidence to other criminal activity, including some marijuana, heroin, forged documents and stolen mail. During the raid, police also detained seven subjects and arrested three adults living at the house on outstanding warrants, identity theft and forgery charges. Murray said the homeowner doesn’t live at the house, but his son does and wasn’t one of the suspects arrested. Kirkland detectives are handling the follow-up investigation of this case.
Totem Lake Park set for revitalization
City seeks to provide ‘sense of place’ BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@kirklandreporter.com
Upon arriving in the Totem Lake neighborhood, Kirkland’s urban business district, very few know of the 17 acres of wetland nestled between buildings and the busy Totem Lake Boulevard. The tall grassy marsh is intercepted by a wooden boardwalk that extends on the northwest side of the property. The boardwalk begins at a parking lot and ends at a lake. Even fewer realize Totem Lake’s presence. But the city plans to
change that this year. “This piece of property is a hidden jewel,” said Michael Cogle, deputy director of Kirkland’s Parks and Community Services. “A lot of people don’t even know it exists. When you say ‘Totem Lake,’ people think of the mall.” The city has already begun the master planning process of studying the site, collecting data and learning about its potential so that, come June, the city will begin public outreach to understand what the community wants. [ more PARK page 11 ]
(Above) Lincoln Brigham frequents the boardwalk at Totem Lake Park to take photos of wildlife. Brigham says he would like to see a looping trail there. (Below) The boardwalk on the northwest side of the lake was built in the 1980s. The city is working with the community on how to improve the park this year. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, Kirkland Reporter