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HASH OIL | Men sentenced for explosion at Kirkland apartment complex [7]
Bowl | Pajama Bowl celebrates 10th year at FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 TechCity Bowl in Kirkland [2]
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Boats | City of Kirkland seeks to increase tourism from Lake Washington [8]
Baldwin talks Lynch, trade for Graham and leadership during luncheon BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
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eattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin was the special guest speaker for the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday at the Woodmark Hotel. The Super Bowl winning wide receiver discussed his background, leadership and answered questions from local kids from Lake Washington and Juanita high schools in the audience. However, he also answered some questions
about recent Seahawk news, including the trade of center Max Unger to New Orleans for tight end Jimmy Graham and Marshawn Lynch’s new contract extension. “I think both sides were in shock,” Baldwin said about the trade. “I actually had a long conversation with Jimmy Graham last night … He is excited to come to the Seahawks but obviously he is leaving a fan base and a situation he has created in New Orleans. I think a lot of people forget that these tradable
commodities that we tend to look at as players are also human beings with families, situations and lives they have built in those cities.” He also said that he is happy Lynch, one of the biggest leaders on the team, will be back. “Marshawn is probably one of the best teammates I have ever been around,” Baldwin said. “It was difficult on all of us when he was contemplating retirement … his body is so beat up. He wants to be able to run around with his kids,
when he has kids, and so obviously all of us wanted the best for him. But at the same time, selfishly, we all wanted him back on the team.” Baldwin talked about his life growing up and the decisions he has had to make throughout the academic part of his life and possibly continuing his academic career. He grew up in Pensacola, Fla. playing football and basketball, wanting to be the next Michael Jordan. He started playing sports at the age of 6 in the Southern [ more BALDWIN page 3 ]
Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin was the guest speaker during the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week where he spoke about Marshawn Lynch’s return and the trade of center Max Unger to the Saints for Jimmy Graham. He also spoke to local high school students about leadership. FELICE LINEBERRY, Kirkland Reporter
Council removes Juanita beach, community center sites for ARC consideration BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com
The Kirkland City Council has removed Juanita Beach Park and North Kirkland Community Center (NKCC) from consideration as possible sites for the Aquatic Recreational Center (ARC). The vote, during their March 17 meeting, came after the Kirkland Parks Board recommended the action during their March 11 meeting due to what a city memo describes as a “lack of widespread public support and concerns about loss of outdoor park space.” The memo follows a scientific telephone survey of 400 registered voters in Kirkland by EMC Research found they were divided initially on support for Juanita Beach Park as an ARC site. Opposition increased, however, as concerns of traffic and potential loss of open space and trees were introduced, the survey found. This overall cold reception Juanita Beach Park
received led city staff to conclude that it is “unlikely to garner widespread community support,” according to the city memo. “Potential loss of historic park open space and increased vehicular traffic that many believe could be adequately mitigated are the prime reasons that have been expressed.” As for the NKCC site, the city staff deemed it unsuitable for the desired size of the ARC, as the site could not accommodate all the desired amenities. The recommendations will be considered by the City Council during a study session at its upcoming March 17 meeting. In October, the council authorized the parks board to look at other possible sites for the ARC after proposals to have it sited at the northern section of Juanita Beach Park were met with criticism. The parks board was also tasked with conducting further public outreach. Their search for poten[ more ARC page 5 ]
U.S. Congresswoman Susan DelBene and INRIX President Bryan Mistele listen to another participants comments during a roundtable at INRIX’s Kirkland office intended to address concerns over digital privacy and federal laws. TJ MARTINELL, Reporter
DelBene, business leaders discuss impact of privacy laws in tech industry BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com
Big Brother is watching, and it has somber implications for digital privacy and tech start-ups trying to do business overseas. That was the takeaway from a roundtable discussion at INRIX’s Kirkland office between U.S. Congresswoman Susan
DelBene and various representatives of tech startups concerning privacy within the wider conversation on technological innovation and disclosure policies. DelBene, a former Microsoft executive, said concerns over privacy have grown to the point where many people may not adopt new technology or devices because they don’t
know how the information will be used, and more importantly, who will have access to it. Recent stories about massive credit card databases being hacked have also added to concerns about privacy protection. One solution DelBene proposed is updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986,
which she described as “incredibly old.” “It has a lot of implications for people’s privacy,” she said. Yet, a solution may not be easily determined, as some of the participants said revising laws concerning or adding new ones may damper innovation and/or interfere with some of the benefits of aggregating information. Additionally, laying more requirements for information use disclosure may not be a practical way to improve [ more TECH page 5 ]