Kenmore Undressed

Bridlepath Neighborhood Garage Sale July 12 & 13 - Kenmore, WA

This coming weekend (July 12th & 13th) our neighborhood is having its 3rd Annual Bridlepath Garage Sale! Many households are participating offering toys, clothes, housewares, books, movies, furniture and much much more.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY FROM 9:00 - 4:00

Bridlepath is located at the intersection of 80th Avenue NE and NE 198th Street in Kenmore, WA. Here’s a map showing where we are:

By the way, Bridlepath is a great neighborhood. We are a community of almost 60 homes constructed by Harbour Homes starting in 2004. We have a very active home owner’s association and many engaged neighbors. We are conveniently located near shopping, restaurants and Bothell’s Country Village. Please come and visit us this weekend.

There are two homes currently for sale in the neighborhood:

19805 82nd Pl NE Kenmore, WA 98028     $469,950

 19914 83rd Pl NE Kenmore, WA 98028     $485,000

 So if you come over, love our neighborhood and would like to move in, please contact me at (206) 713-2102 or jlupori@comcast.net.

Burke-Gilman Trail Celebration: Bicyclists Rejoice

My wife and I rode our tandem bicycle through the new Burke-Gilman Trail underpass at NE Bothell Way and 73rd Ave NE yesterday. I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled we were. Now, you may wonder why this is such a big deal so I’ll tell you: this particular intersection in Kenmore has been a point of irritation between bicyclists and motorists for years. It’s as if the transportation gods got together and said, “Where can we create a focal point for anger, frustration and ill will? Oh, that’s easy, just stick bicyclists and cars together at a dangerous intersection and there you go!”

The official opening of the underpass will be next Saturday, June 28th. My wife (pictured above with our tandem) and I will be there and we hope to see all of you trail enthusiasts.

Washington Business Week: One of the Best Programs for Young Adults in the State!

For many years I was both a volunteer and employee of the Washington Business Week Program. Founded in 1976 at Central Washington University, it remains one of the most engaging and important experiential learning programs available to high school students here in the state of Washington. Since it’s inception the program has spread to numerous other states, Australia, New Zealand and it has even been conducted in Belarus.

So what is Washington Business Week? WBW is a week-long program conducted at four Washington State Universities. The student who attends the program will spend a week in the dormitory, work with a “company” of students he/she has never met on a fairly complicated business simulation, attend seminars, participate in a trade show, and much much more. Each student’s company is mentored by a business professional who volunteers a week of their time to guide the students.

I bump into people who attended WBW 20 years ago who still remember the “magic” of Business Week. For many kids it’s the first time they are away from home. For others, it’s a week that has a long-lasting impact on their lives. The adults who work with the students are so affected by the experience that many return year after year.

I can’t recommend WBW highly enough. Inglemoor High School consistently sends over 20 students to the program every summer. Here’s the good news: the cost to attend WBW is only $295 for the whole week which includes dorm room, food and program materials. Most of the cost is covered by corporate sponsorships by many Washington State Businesses. If you can’t afford the fee, financial help is available. Here’s the schedule for this summer:

Just think about it, your high school student can spend a week at one of four great schools: Gonzaga University, Central Washington University, Pacific Lutheran University or Western Washington University. If you want to send your student to WBW this summer (Freshmen through Seniors are welcome) please  call the WBW office at 1 (800) 686-6442 or info@wbw.org.

A Good Neighbor, A Huge Project: Brightwater

A recent aerial shot of the Kenmore Brightwater Portal.

I live very close to the Kenmore Portal of the Brightwater Treatment System on 80th Avenue NE. After driving past the project for the last two years my curiosity got the best of me and I asked King County if I might visit the site. I don’t know about you , but I’m fascinated with public works projects, especially those that are visionary and necessary. As you may know, Brightwater has been the subject of huge controversy in King County. Most of the criticism has focused on cost, environmental impact and feasibility. I’m going to leave those debates up to others for now. My reason for talking to the county about the Kenmore Portal was to reach out to the site managers, say hello, and find out how things are going. I was pleasantly surprised.

I recently had a chance to speak with David Freed from the county and Derek Dugan, the Project’s Resident Engineer. Frankly, I had no idea how complex the project is, nor was I prepared for the education I received. Both David and Derek were very generous in explaining the various aspects of digging a 14-mile long tunnel. There’s a lot to talk about: from the machinery that actually does the digging, to the way in which the various contractors, governmental agencies and communities have worked together on the project. The next photo shows the location of the actual portal where the tunnel boring machines were launched:

Currently there are 110 laborers and 35 engineers working on the project in three shifts (24 hours a day). When I met with David and Derek they explained that the tunneling machines, named “Helene” (heading east) and “Rainier” (heading west) had tunneled 2000 feet and 300 feet respectively. On a good day the machines can bore about 60 linear feet. When I asked them what goes on “down there” they promised to send me a picture that would explain it all. Here it is:

The tunneling machines are, in fact, long train-like factories which process tons of earth and stone. They also manufacture the concrete sheathing of the tunnel itself. It’s an amazing process.

I would like to thank David and Derek for inviting me to the site trailer for an interview. I will be writing more about our important and interesting neighbors in the near future.

A Local Market and Some Thoughts About Food

Last weekend began the new season of the Lake Forest Park Commons Farmer’s Market. It wasn’t the largest event but it’s nice to know that local producers will soon be providing us with nature’s bounty. Make sure you stop by the market this season and support local growers. Also, I can’t resist recommending a book that relates directly to purchasing local produce:

Michael Pollan has been writing about “nutirtionsim” (the belief that food can be manufactured and designed for our consumption) for many years. He is considered one of the most well respected critics of this notion. In this book he proposes some magic words to live/eat by: Eat Food, Not to Much, Mainly Plants! I’ve heard several recent interviews with Mr. Pollan. He usually has the host bring in a couple of common food items and then examines the “ingredients.” It’s amazing how much of what we eat simply isn’t food. His litmus test is: if you grandma doesn’t recoginze it, it probably isn’t food! In Defense of Food is a thoughtful, provocative study of our relationship to food. One thing’s certain: he would highly recommend our local market.