Once again, just when I think Tim Eyman has said the stupidest thing ever, he keeps talking. I guess I’m not surprised that Mr. Eyman is against red-light cameras as it makes money for the city (government making money being something he’s almost always against). His big bone of contention? He “claims” it’s unsafe and unjust. He points out that a majority of the people fined are, as he says, “Turning right at a red light without stopping before making their turn.” Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you supposed to stop at a red light before making a right turn? How is this a bad thing? If you ask me, it’s another reason why we should be putting up more of these cameras. And what’s wrong with the city, county or state making money off people who run red lights? He acts like the city gets some kind of kickback (like Time Eyman does every time he writes one of these ridicules bills) for every ticket written. The extra incomes the cities, counties and the state get from these helps keep other costs down. In a time where we have a $3 billion deficit in the state, you’d think finding ways other than raising taxes to generate funds would be a good thing. Looking back, I guess I’m not surprised Time Eyman feels this law is unjust to lawbreakers.
Thank you for your article on the refurbishment of the Kenmore Elementary playground. Stacy Denuski and Gretchen Nixon and her crew have taken on a huge project so that our kids will continue to have a safe place to play. Every single child in our Kenmore community deserves that. It’s incredibly sad that the school district can’t fund the playground project, but I’m heartened to know that there are dedicated parents (and scouts!) who are committed to seeing this project through. We have a huge fund-raising challenge ahead of us, so if members of the community would like to help, they can visit our playground homepage at http://projects.kaboom.org/Default.aspx?alias=projects.kaboom.org/kenmore.
The other day, I noticed that the laptop computer I use for writing this column was behaving differently. The words were repetitive and repetitive; the writing had occasional mizpelings — and many of the paragraphs ended in mid-senten.
When the flood waters rose last December, Kelley Jones received a phone call. As a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer in Thurston County, she was asked to assist the relief effort in rural communities west of Centralia. Kelley and another volunteer went door to door asking residents if they needed help. The flood survivors she met were trying to meet their most basic needs while they grappled with the loss of livestock, homes and treasured possessions.
Longtime Northshore resident John Irby refers to himself as a know-nothing country kid.
Recently, I returned home from a journey to South Africa and I have been absolutely gloriously ruined, deeply inspired and profoundly challenged. The purpose of the trip was to spend time in one of the most impoverished townships of Cape Town where resources are scarce and the threat of AIDS is rampant. Our days were spent in partnership with local organizations offering free medical testing and services to township citizens, as well as providing an afternoon camp for local children.
In response to your article about the breast-cancer fight of local women and their heroic three-day walk, I wanted to congratulate them and let your healthy readers know that losing a breast is a very small price to pay for the gift of being alive for your children and your loved ones.
Have you ever considered yourself a “Mover & Shaker”? Or perhaps you are a “Beltway Boomer” or a “Young Influential”? Maybe your neighbor has the “Beltway Blues” or “Gray Power”?
Cascadia Community College received a grant recently that is designed to promote and expand “service learning” on campus. Cascadia could certainly do well to look to the service-learning model of professor Martha Groom next door at the co-located University of Washington, Bothell.
I am nearly 17 years old. I can drive legally without a parent present and I am also critically thinking about college. What comes as a surprise to most everyone I know is that I am, in fact, a Girl Scout. Yes, you can laugh; by this point I’m used to that. And no, I am not going to shamelessly plug Girl Scout cookies.
I am pretty organized as far as high-school students go. I don’t procrastinate and hopefully never will, although I have heard I have some “senior-itis” to look forward to.
about Medicare
Pop Keeney Field — the place where magic happens, where dreams come true.
Do you know who your neighbors are?
How about the neighbors who inhabit Bothell’s bunker, located at 130 228th St. S.W.? That’s right. Bothell has an underground bunker, built in the cold-war era of the 1960s that measures 120 by 140 feet, contains 450 tons of steel reinforcement and the walls and roof range from 12 to 36 inches thick. The bunker now serves as permanent headquarters for Region 10’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Almost 12 months since I began writing for the Reporter, I am sitting in a hotel room in an uncharacteristically rainy Baltimore with more luggage than I will need for college beside me, feeling full of what I can’t wait to nostalgically describe as something like “pre-college naivete” or “oblivious innocence.”
Marine Corps lieutenant Meagan Reed, Bothell High grad of 2002, received the Bothell High Alumni Association scholarship that year with plans to enter Whitman College. What followed makes me dizzy just trying to absorb all of her many accomplishments over such a few years. Meagan “can’t wait until our first reunion,” she wrote to association president Chuck Kaysner, class of 1963.
This morning, I drove to Redmond Town Center to meet a friend for lunch. On my way there, I had listened to musicians like Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, Chris Brown and Coldplay on the radio, all the while thinking that I really ought to be listening to NPR and catching up on political news instead. When finally I mustered the willpower to leave Mraz behind, I found that NPR was also playing music; and what’s the point of listening to music on NPR when I can listen to whichever music I want? Goodbye NPR jazz, hello Mraz.
Bothell Way (State Route 522) is a critical transportation corridor for north King County residents. However, it is congested, demand for park-and-ride spaces exceeds capacity and buses are crowded. With the state considering tolling the State Route 520 bridge, the transportation situation along Bothell Way might get worse. If tolled, many commuters will bypass the bridge and use alternate routes, particularly Bothell Way, to avoid paying the toll.
Revisiting Reporter’s accident article
Ah, perfection. We’d all like to achieve it, but — let’s get serious — none of us ever will.
