Kirkland Reporter, December 18, 2015

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KIRKLAND .com

REPORTER

NEWSLINE: 425.822.9166

CHRISTMAS SHIPS | Bonfire event to be held at O.O. Denny Park [2]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015

A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

I-405 | New online petition against tolling has 22,000 signatures [3]

Dec. 21 | Event brings all faiths together [6]

Houghton Community Council opposes bus rapid transit on corridor Eastside Rail Corridor Regional Advisory Council member confirms transit on corridor “almost a certainty” BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

T

he fate of the Eastside Rail Corridor and specifically that of the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC) has drawn out numerous competing interests as to what should, or shouldn’t, be placed on it. At a packed meeting on Monday night, the Houghton Community Council joined

opponents of bus rapid transit (BRT) on the CKC by approving a measure to have it instead placed on Interstate 405, in opposition to the city’s planned recommendations to Sound Transit. Sound Transit, which has an easement on the corridor, is currently looking at possible projects to include on their ST3 ballot measure. The Sound Transit Board held its first workshop for ST3 a

few weeks ago, examining proposals that would extend light rail and rapid bus transit in Seattle, Everett, Tacoma and the Eastside. They have estimated the costsof a potential light rail route connecting Issaquah and Totem Lake via Bellevue at up to $3.379 billion, while another light rail project would have the East Link line extend to downtown Redmond, with a cost of $1.1 billion and up to 5,000

riders a day in 2040. Meanwhile, the city of Kirkland is preparing to lobby Sound Transit in the hopes of getting them to instead opt for a BRT line on the ERC and consequently the CKC, which they believe would be comparably inexpensive, take less time to construct, and be more adaptable to changes as the region grows. Earlier this year the City Council approved a

$250,000 conceptual design for BRT planning, pre-design and cost-estimating that will later either be presented to Sound Transit or used by the city itself when looking at other related transportation options. The city has said it doesn’t know for sure how much the BRT would cost at this point, which doesn’t include the construction of a transit center at Totem Lake, but their

Comprehensive Plan Update approved by city following 200 meetings BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

The Kirkland City Council approved its Comprehensive Plan Update that included zoning changes in Totem Lake and near Parkplace in downtown. Following 200 open meetings on the matter, the council approved nine separate ordinances pertaining to policy changes and amendment requests for properties looking to redevelop at their Dec. 8 meeting.

Kirklander enters Super Bowl ad competition

“It has been a hell of an effort, pardon my French, but it’s been an enormous body of work,” Councilmember Penny Sweet said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done… I cannot think of a body of work that has involved so much community involvement. It really feels like a product of Kirkland.” Councilmember Jay Arnold described the update as conveying their vision of a “walkable livable Kirkland” and “reflects not [ more PLAN page 7 ]

BY ALLISON DEANGELIS Reporter Newspapers

Kirkland resident wins prestigious national illustrator competition BY TJ MARTINELL tmartinell@kirklandreporter.com

Kirkland resident Paul Otteni has been officially announced as a winner in the 27th annual Illustrators of the Future Contest for his science fiction artwork. As part of the award, Otteni will be flown to Los Angles to attend the 32nd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Event in April, along with a weeklong workshop. His art will

also be published in the bestselling science fiction anthology series, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XXXII. Otteni received the award for several pieces of impressionistic background art he submitted. A Lake Washington High School graduate, Otteni said he started drawing as a kid while attending school, but at first wasn’t something [ more ART page 5 ]

very rough estimate is around $300 million, though it is expected to be significantly higher when more details come out. City officials have stated that Sound Transit transportation is needed in Kirkland to solve traffic congestion that can’t be rectified through internal improvements such as add new roads or widening existing ones. At the same time, many Kirkland residents have [ more TRANSIT page 3 ]

“Santa” returns for holiday charity event Fred Herzberg, a local “Santa” returned to Marina Park on Sunday, joining with the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce and the Kirkland Downtown Association (KDA) for a toy and food drive for charity. Herzberg and representatives from the two organizations met last week to discuss miscommunication stemming from an incident at Kirkland Winterfest. All involved decided to turn the issue into a benefit for the community. “We took care of all the wish lists at the Ryther house for foster kids, and received lots of donations for Girls Giving Back,” said Barbie Collins Young of the KDA. They also received 129 toys and 329 pounds of food for Hopelink. The real Santa will visit Kirkland on his normal Christmas Eve run on Dec. 24. To see Herzberg’s letter to the editor on the event see page 4. MATT PHELPS, Kirkland Reporter

Local senior thespians went wild with a male stripper in a Kirkland filmmaker’s submission for Doritos’ 2016 Super Bowl commercial contest. Doug Stapleton came up with the idea for the commercial’s plot after his parent’s retired and he started hearing more of their and their friends’ crazy stories. Stapleton said his wife encouraged him to “go for it” after batting around the concept for a few years. While he originally envisioned it with women in their mid-30s and 40s, he said he realized it would be funnier if it involved a young man and older women. After searching for the perfect location, Stapleton and his producer Lois Greenberg decided to film the commercial at Pacific Regent in Bellevue over a weekend in October. The scene takes place inside a retirement community and shatters stereotypes by revealing seniors’ wild and crazy side – while eating Doritos, of course. The ladies are shown whooping and cheering-on a muscular male [ more DORITOS page 2 ]


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