Archive for the ‘Kenmore Events’ Category
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Jan
12
Posted by James Lupori
A Good Recap of 2009 in Kenmore
Click on this picture to view the whole newsletter
The current City of Kenmore Newsletter contains a number of interesting articles about the various projects and accomplishments of the City this last year. Of particular interest are:
- Improvements to SR522
- City Budget and Property Tax Levy Information
- The City Manager’s 2009 Review
- An Update on the new Kenmore City Hall
- Swamp Creek Park Master Plan
I encourage you to read through this newsletter. The sections regarding the budget and property taxes are quite interesting.
Also, if you want to become more involved in the planning of “our fair city,” check out the section regarding the Planning Commission and Downtown Task Force. I think this would be a good opportunity for residents to help shape the future of Kenmore.
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Jan
06
Posted by James Lupori
Thinking Out Loud about Bastyr University
In a recent press release by Bastyr University, it was announced that the City of Kenmore approved a master-plan which will nurture a greater level of cooperation between this famous University and the city. Click on the link below to read the whole press release:
KENMORE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES BASTYR UNIVERSITY MASTER PLAN
To me, this is really good news. There is no other institution in the City of Kenmore that commands national and, indeed international recognition as Bastyr. I feel it’s time to take the relationship one step further and have the city leadership approach Bastyr with a plan to create a satellite campus in the current Kenmore Village. This is not my idea. I’ve spoken with a number of residents who believe this would be both feasible and beneficial to everyone.
Think of the possibilities: The University could offer classes and also have a “store front” that might offer acupuncture, homoeopathic or herbal medicines and other products/services that are a reflection of Bastyr’s mission!
I would love to hear any other ideas Kenmore residents have about forming a deeper relationship with Bastyr University. Oh, and for some other Bastyr news:
BASTYR UNIVERSITY HOSTS 12TH ANNUAL SPLASH AND DASH
Students, faculty and staff plunge into new year with icy swimming tradition
These are some tough honchos and honchettes!!!!
ATTEND THE INNOVATIVE SERIES: BODY, MIND, SPIRIT, NATURE AND MEDICINE
BASTYR HOSTING SERIES ON SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
Events presented by the Bastyr Center for Spirituality, Science and Medicine
The Bastyr University Center for Spirituality, Science and Medicine is pleased to present “Body, Mind, Spirit, Nature and Medicine: A Series of Conversations.” This innovative series brings together Bastyr experts and leading local authorities on physical, mental and spiritual health to discuss how each focus area is vital to whole-person health and health care. Presented in early 2010, the three talks will focus on “body,” “mind” and “spirit” respectively. They will be moderated by Warren Etheredge, founder of The Warren Report.
The Jan. 11 talk will focus on “Body” and include the perspectives of Seattle physicians Christine Adams, MD; Cathy Rogers, ND; and internationally recognized mind/body expert Joel Levey, PhD. The Feb. 1 event will cover “Mind” and feature Bastyr University faculty member Brad Lichtenstein, ND; Seattle naturopathic physician Sheila Dunn-Merritt; and Robert V. Taylor, author of I’m Spiritual Not Religious: Making Sense of Finding Meaning. The discussion on Feb. 8 will revolve around “Spirit” and include Rabbi Ted Falcon, PhD, co-founder of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue in Seattle; Terrill L. Gibson, PhD, pastoral psychotherapist; and Leanna Standish, ND, PhD, LAc, FABNO, medical director of the Bastyr Integrative Oncology Research Center (BIORC).
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Sep
18
Posted by James Lupori
The Excitement Grows Over the New Firestation
Last December I had a conversation with the Northshore Fire Chief Tom Weathers who, at that time, expressed a great deal of excitement about construction of a new Headquarters Station to be built across the street, on the corner of 73rd Avenue and 181st Street here in Kenmore. Well, on August 26th the long-awaited construction started. What was once a quasi-vacant lot is now being transformed into a 21st Century fire station that will meet the growing needs of the Northshore area for the next 40-50 years.The aging fire station (a 17,000 square foot structure built in the 70’s) ……..
…will be replaced by a 30,000 square foot station that will look like this:
Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting down with Deputy Chief Jim Torpin (a 17-year veteran of the Department) at Fire Station 51 to discuss the need for a new station and how vital a new facility is not only for the purpose of emergency response but also for the community in general. As the Deputy Chief said,
“We designed the new station with the intention of having a facility that won’t need to be remodeled for the next 40 years. The station offers room for expansion, for regional fire training and it will also accommodate the great need for community space which is currently lacking in the City of Kenmore.”
What’s Going on Right Now
I took this picture of the new station’s site back in December. Up until recently it was nothing more than an overgrown lot. Nothing to write home about…..but today:
Since August 26th, when construction began, the lot has been transformed into something that looks quite different:
Deputy Chief Jim Torpin points to the site of the new station!
As Jim and I walked the construction site, it was obvious that he is incredibly excited about having a new facility. During our discussion he confessed that the Fire District’s Board of Commissioners and the Department itself thought carefully about the cost of building a new facility. There is always the concern that tax payers may not understand why a new station is necessary. After all, isn’t the current building sufficient? Well, not really. As the Deputy Chief explained:
“The idea of building a new station started back in 2002. Our studies concluded that it would cost over $6 million to remodel the current station and that simply didn’t make much sense. Today, the staff is crammed into what used to be closets and there are infrastructural issues (such as venting exhaust from the emergency vehicles out of the building, etc.) Essentially, the old station has seen better days. It was determined that building a new station would serve the needs of the community much better especially with projected population growth in the future. A lot of effort went into designing a structure that would accommodate more emergency vehicles, adequate facilities for both firemen and the public, an expanded training area, meeting rooms and office space. At the same time the structure will be as ‘green as possible’ with high tech systems to conserve energy and operate the facility efficiently.”
Deputy Chief Torpin addressed the cost issue this way: The projected cost for the land, design and construction is going to be about $18 Million. The irony is that, because of the current slump in the economy, the total cost will be about 20% lower than the original projections. To illustrate how large a project this is, here’s a schematic of the new station on the lot:
Click on the picture for a larger view!
It was a real treat to talk with Deputy Chief Torpin. He represents what’s so impressive about individuals who choose to work as firemen: They combine a vast array of practical skills from mechanics, chemistry, public relations, medicine and construction. They also work in a world that requires a military efficiency that allows them to deal with life and death situations. Personally, I’m very impressed.
I can’t wait to see the new fire station.
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Aug
03
Posted by James Lupori
CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS ARE COMING SOON!
Click on this picture to visit the City of Kenmore Website
Kenmore Undressed is a blog about Life in Kenmore Washington, our fair city! This weekend I was attending our annual neighborhood barbecue and had an opportunity to speak with a number of the residents. It was pretty clear that we like living here. We like our neighborhood, we like the location of Kenmore and, judging by the number of young children at the picnic, people are optimistic that there’s a future here in Kenmore. We also talked a bit about construction on 522, development on the north end of Lake Washington and the business climate here in the city.
As the author of this blog I have discovered that there’s a lot going on in Kenmore and it’s simply not possible for me to wrap my arms around all of the activities: political, economic, social, etc.. It’s humbling, in this age of information, to realize that one can’t know everything. As a Realtor®, I am able to provide you with a more detailed level of information about the housing market that, I hope, is helpful. After all, understanding the real estate market is a good way to benchmark the general health of a community.
Who Is Running for Office
Another way to judge the health of a community is to know what’s on the minds of our elected officials. We are currently in an election cycle that will determine three seats (positions two, four and six) on the Kenmore City Council. Here are the candidates in the upcoming elections:
Position Two - Diane Brennan, Bob Black and Laurie Sperry
Position Four – Bob Hensel
Position Six – Patrick E. O’Brien, Allan Van Ness
I recently invited all of the candidates to submit statements to KenmoreUndressed.com so that they could present some of their ideas and talk about issues facing the City of Kenmore. In the interest of full-disclosure I wanted to make a few things clear about these election statements:
- The statements are the opinions and positions of the candidates, not mine.
- I have had the opportunity to write about Laurie Sperry and Bob Hensel on this blog with regard to issues unrelated to politics. This forum is non-partisan and my interaction with Laurie and Bob in no way influence the content or format of this forum.
- It is my hope that the candidates receive a higher level of exposure to you, the voting public, in order to strengthen the City of Kenmore through dialogue and discussion.
I have received a statement from one of the candidates and will be publishing it later today. In the interim here is a link to the Position 2 Voter’s Pamphlet provided by King Co.
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May
18
Posted by James Lupori
I Had Fun This Weekend!
My wife’s mom, brother and sister-in-law were in town this weekend, so I spent the last several days entertaining family, cooking, enjoying some libations and soaking in some of the soul-warming sunshine that blessed us over the last couple of days. We also celebrated my brother-in-law’s 60th birthday. The best of times! So I wanted to share a few of our adventures with you:
The 12th Annual UW Research Symposium
Each year the University of Washington hosts an incredibly interesting symposium of undergraduate research projects that exhibit the work done by students under the supervision of faculty mentors. The scale and scope of these projects is truly impressive. This year approximately 700 students participated and literally thousands of visitors had an opportunity to see what college students are up to these days. It’s always a humbling experience as the students discuss chemistry, physics, cultural studies, environmental sciences, linguistics….you name it, they know more than you do!
The Symposium at Mary Gates Hall
Cultural Studies - Women's issues in Iran
Diagnostic tools related to pancreatic cancer
Woodinville Wine Country
Click on the map for a larger view
On Saturday we rented a limousine (Shuttle Express was quite reasonable) and spent the afternoon sampling a few (I won’t say how many) wines from a number of Woodinville, WA wineries. It’s actually quite amazing that we live here in Kenmore, WA which is only a short ride to almost 40 wineries. My brother-in-law and his wife live near the Napa Valley in California and they were impressed with many of the wines we sampled which is quite a compliment to the local producers. If you enjoy wine and want to spend a relaxing day away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle, I highly recommend you head up to Woodinville Wine Country:
Click on the picture to learn more about Woodinville Wine Country
A highlight for me was stopping in at Soft Tail Spirits which is the area’s new craft distillery and producer of a wonderful grappa. If you want to learn more about it, check out my blog post: Celebrating a New Craft Distillery.
The University of Washington Street Fair
The UW Street Fair is always fun
This was the second year in a row that the weather was simply perfect for the UW Street Fair. This year I was really impressed by many of the vendors. There were a lot of high-quality jewelers, leather crafts and a myriad of other artsy/practical items to choose from. One of my favorite characters of the day was the “garbage bag girl.” She must have been dying under all that plastic:
It was nice to take a couple of days off with my family. We often forget that there is a lot going on here in and around Kenmore. The best part of the weekend was enjoying time with loved-ones, conversation at the dinner table and celebrating Coach Terry’s 60th Birthday. I sincerely hope you had a chance to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather.
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May
14
Posted by James Lupori
This Weekend is Full of Fun Events around Kenmore
The weather promises to be nice for the next couple of days and anyone who lives here in the Northwest knows one must seize the “sunny” day! So get out there and have some fun! There are some festive events going on here in Kenmore this weekend. I hope you have an opportunity to attend:
Click on the picture for a larger view
Ostrom’s Drug & Gift Grand Opening
Ostrom’s Grand Opening Celebration begins this Saturday, May 16th.
See details of this event on www.kenmoreblog.net. Laurie Sperry has done a great job describing the grand opening! There will be fun and prizes, so don’t miss it!
Soft Tail Spirits Grand Opening
Click on the picture for more details!
For more information about Soft Tail Spirits & Grapparia, please read my blog post “Celebrating an Exciting New Craft Distillery.”
Also, Don’t forget the UofW Street Fair
For more details go to: The Daily – 38th Annual Street Fair in the U District This Weekend.
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