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SEARCH WARRANTS | Police seek evidence at Bellevue home in Kirkland homicide [6]
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2014
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
It’s Blue Friday! See inside for our special
Seahawks Section
Benefit | Kirkland’s Creme Tangerine to play KPC concert [6]
Google takes extra steps to remove contamination on new Kirkland site BY RAECHEL DAWSON
rdawson@kirklandreporter.com
Five acres of dirt is all that’s left of a former Kirkland brownfield site where a chemical mixing and storage facility once pumped toxins into the environment for
nearly 20 years. The contaminated land, set to be the new location for the Google II project, met state standards in 2012 after extensive cleanup by the chemical company. But Google executives want more for the property
that will house 1,000 employees come 2015. For the first time, as far as Ecology officials understand, a business in Washington is taking extra steps to ensure property contamination is as close to zero as possible. “They want it as low as
they could possibly take it,” said Department of Ecology spokesman Larry Altose. “It’s new and we like it. Typically the cleanup law strikes a balance. It protects the environment and public health but it doesn’t require them to take the site down to zero
[contamination levels].” Property owner and developer SRM Development began site excavation in November 2013 after breaking ground on the Google Phase II project that September. They have since removed 11,325 tons of contaminated
soils and have completed about 98 percent of excavation. “The brownfield site offers a unique opportunity to create a healthy environment from the ground up,” said a Google spokeswoman. “We [ more GOOGLE page 3 ]
Walen gives state of the city, ready to take on term The city is stable now but there’s always room for improvement. n her first mayoral In 2022, the city will lose speech, Amy Walen faced an annual $3.5 million in Greater Kirkland Chamsales tax revenue given by the ber of Commerce members state as an incentive to annex at their annual State of the the north neighborhoods of City Address luncheon. Kirkland. Walen wants to see “The state of the city is a plan to close the gap well poised,” she asserted after list- before the loss. ing city improvements imple“Probably our biggest task mented during the last four is to cease worry about the years. “We’re the sixth largest future and start preparing for city in King County and the it,” Walen said. “We will do 13th largest in the state.” this as we update our comBut it wasn’t always that prehensive plan and way. create a vision for the Walen described city in the year 2035.” a time when a previCiting citizens’ vious Kirkland City sion, Kirkland should Council was perbe livable, walkable, ceived as dysfuncgreen and vibrant she tional, a search for a said, explaining the new City Manager Amy Walen need to act on the was underway, and Juanita Pool replacethe annexation of ment and improve 31,000 residents was a “loom- downtown parking. ing unknown.” “My husband and I own “The great recession was Ford Hyundai of Kirkdeepening and city revland,” she said, as the crowd enues plummeted,” she said. anticipated a laugh. “Ford’s “Garbage cans were removed national campaign is that from parks and restrooms at ‘and’ is much better than playgrounds were closed.” ‘or.’ It’s better to get great gas City streets had cracks and mileage and great comfort potholes, while Totem Lake … This ‘and is better than Boulevard was constantly or’ is also true for Kirkland. flooded. Our citizens want a Kirkland The last few years were a that is green and vibrant, not time for healing, Walen said. a Kirkland that is livable or Work on the Cross Kirkland walkable.” Corridor and Public Safety The comprehensive plan Building began, a Totem update is expected to be Lake Park master plan was finished by spring 2015. approved and the city was In an earlier interview able to maintain AAA credit with the Reporter, Walen said rating. [ more CITY page 3 ] BY RAECHEL DAWSON
rdawson@kirklandreporter.com
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12th Man rally
Hundreds of Kirkland residents showed up at Marina Park dressed in blue and green for a Seahawks 12th Man rally produced by the city of Kirkland on Saturday. The team defeated San Francisco on Sunday, 23-17, to advance to the Super Bowl. MARIE JENSEN, City of Kirkland
Kirkland Wells Fargo robber sentenced to 6 years BY RAECHEL DAWSON rdawson@kirklandreporter.com
Prosecutors sentenced an Everett man to six years of prison time for robbing the Totem Lake Wells Fargo Bank in 2012. James Daniel Knupp, 68, faced Judge Ricardo S. Martinez at the Western District of Washington U.S. District Court Jan. 16. Knupp is to pay $2,858 in restitution and will serve three years of probation after his sentence is served. Knupp pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery on Aug. 26, 2013 after
a lengthy psychological examination took place to determine if he was competent to stand trial. On March 7, 2012, Knupp entered the Wells Fargo Bank located at 12560 120th Ave. NE wearing a bright orange shirt, black nylon mask, a hat and gloves, according the Kirkland Police Department report. He walked to the back of the bank and refused to take off the mask when asked by the teller. A bank employee heard Knupp tell the teller he was “here for the money.” The employee saw him move
closer to the teller and state that he robbed banks for a living and not to make a sudden movement. “[The bank employee] stated that he heard the suspect say to the teller if she put a dye pack in the money, something bad would happen,” police documents say, adding that he reached into his pants, as if he were going to pull out a weapon. After the teller handed him a wad of cash totaling $5,560, Knupp walked out of the bank, across the street, and toward the lower mall of Totem Lake Malls and took
off his mask. He was arrested and charged days later. But Knupp had a history of psychological problems and robbing banks, and was ordered to undergo a competency examination. “The defendant was committed to the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac for the purposes of competency examination. However, for the past several weeks the defendant has been admitted in an area hospital due to his acute medical condition and need for ongoing care,” stated Feb. 13, 2013 court [ more ROBBER page 6 ]