Kirkland Reporter, September 27, 2013

Page 1

KIRKLAND .com

REPORTER

NEWSLINE: 425.822.9166

SENTENCING | Bothell man, shot by Kirkland police, sentenced for assaulting prostitute, theft [6]

Felony | Kirkland woman accused of illegally FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 moving child to Japan, charged with felony [2]

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

Trial | Vehicular homicide trial, jury selection set to begin next week [11]

Internet connectivity slow in Totem Lake; city seeks solution during event BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@kirklandreporter.com

A

Rockin’ the runway

A model walks the runway during the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever fall fashion show on Sept. 19. The event featured fall fashion from nearly a dozen downtown Kirkland boutiques. For more photos, see page 9. COURTESY OF BOB GASSEN, Humanature Photography

pparently, Totem Lake businesses get the short end of the stick when it comes to Internet connectivity. After a few business people approached Kirkland City Council members about the problem, city staff researched for two months and confirmed, despite Kirkland’s overall excellence in this arena, the problem areas were concentrated more so in the Totem Lake business district. “We’re in a better position than many other cities in the area - statewide and throughout the country,” said Kirkland’s Chief Information Officer Brenda Cooper. “However, we also found that we still have holes. We have places where people can’t get easy connectivity.” Cooper added broadband is a catalyst for attracting business - something the Totem Lake Conversation events have focused on for quite some time. City officials met with business people from EvergreenHealth, Studio East, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, and Comcast, among others, at the most recent Totem Lake Conversation event at Cafe Veloce Monday to discuss

Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride speaks to business people at Cafe Veloce during a Totem Lake event on Monday. RAECHEL DAWSON, Kirkland Reporter ideas for a solution. Cooper, Mayor Joan McBride, Councilwoman Amy Walen and Economic Development Manager Ellen Miller-Wolfe presented the discussion, which was based on recent business Internet survey results. Comcast, Frontier, Wave Broadband, TW Telecom, and Integra were interviewed, along with 120 businesses surveyed on broadband speed, reliable connection and general service. While 69 percent of the businesses were satisfied with their Internet connectivity, 30 percent stated they are not. “This should be considered a serious problem when considered against how important businesses indicated that they consider

broadband very important in a follow-up question,” said city documents that were presented at the event. Sixty-three percent of businesses surveyed said Internet bandwidth was critical and that their business depends on it, while 25 percent said it was important, indicating reliable Internet is necessary and important for 89 percent of Kirkland businesses surveyed. But Totem Lake businesses had the highest Internet unsatisfactory rate of 12 out of the 22 that were surveyed, according to the survey results. “It’s not as simple as one or two reasons why they can’t get the connectivity,” Cooper said. The cost of putting fiber into an older building is [ more TOTEM page 3 ]

Kirkland woman charged with arson after allegedly attempting to kill self and son BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@kirklandreporter.com

A Kirkland woman was charged with first-degree

arson on Sept. 19 after she is believed to have knowingly and maliciously set fire to her Juanita apartment in November 2011.

Timmie Winston, 64, allegedly set fire to her second-story apartment in Kirkland nearly two years ago in an attempt to kill

herself and her mentally disabled 41-year-old son, investigators contend. Kirkland police officers and firefighters were dis-

patched to a structure fire at the Hunter’s Run Apartments on Nov. 1, 2011. Kirkland firefighters saved Winston, who was uncon-

scious, and her son, who had minor head injuries and the two were taken to EvergreenHealth Medical [ more ARSON page 3 ]

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