Author: Randy Corman

Renton’s newest optometry, Eyes on the Landing , celebrated it’s grand opening yesterday with a ribbon cutting, live music by one of the two singers in “Bomshel”, and a great party that went on for hours. The store has actually been open for business since the day after Thanksgiving, so yesterday’s events were partly to officially recognize the opening, and partly to simply celebrate the successful first months of the fun, new business.

Co-owners Donna Jones (center)and Dr. Evie Lawson (in yellow) and I officially cut the ribbon on “Eyes on the Landing”

Dr. Lawson’s Sister Kristy, who is half of the band “Bomshel”, with one of her newest fans.

Customer Rebecca smiles in her new specs from Eyes on the Landing

Dr. Lawson’s sister Kristy commemorates the occasion with a toast

My daughter Susie cringes as she pop’s a balloon to win a prize coupon– prizes included free frames or lenses, and other discounts on glasses.

My friend Scott helps his family try on some of the business’s colorful frames

My daughter Katie with her husband Brandon. Brandon’s glasses are from the new store.
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Jenny Manning, from the Renton Patch, interviews Dr. Lawson about the new business.

Meagan Christie serving snacks. Meagan helped her mother Debbie cater the event.

In addition to prescription frames and lenses, the store carries great sunglasses. Here, Cathy is trying some on (while I take our picture in the mirror.)

My son Andy enjoying the great snacks

Renton Councilwomman Marcie Palmer joined in the activities.

Renton and nearby cities are working with Metro and the federal government to improve our bus connections to rail transit. New “Bus Rapid Transit” could begin in 2013 subject to congressional approval of the federal contribution. Improvements on Rainier Avenue (being funded in part by Sound Transit dollars) would help the new buses get in and out of downtown Renton more quickly.

Click here for more details on this specific proposal.

Click here for more information on Metro’s “Rapid Ride” program.

Suzette Cook, Mayor of Kent and honorary chair of last night’s event (center), with RTC student speakers Annmarie Champness (left) and Anastasia Corman (right).

Four hundred community members completely filled Renton Technical College’s Campus Center last night to enjoy an “Evening in the Caribbean,” a fun-filled fundraiser for RTC’s scholarship foundation. The Foundation had to actually cut off ticket sales last week, as they were bumping into the Fire-Marshall’s capacity of the main building… a nice demonstration of the community support for the college.

This was a particularly special event for Cathy and me, as our daughter-in-law Anastasia was one of the two student speakers at the event. Both Anastasia and fellow-student-speaker Annmarie Champness shared captivating stories about the strong positive effect RTC has had on their lives.

The event was emceed by RTC’s trustee Kirby Unti, who has been a strong advocate for the college during his more than thirty years in Renton. College President Steve Hanson and Foundation President Terry Higashiyama also participated in the evening program.

Public officials were present representing Renton, Kent and Newcastle, along with State Legislator (and devoted education advocate) Marcie Maxwell. Many RTC trustees and former trustees (such as my council colleague Rich Zwicker) were also enjoying the evening. The Boeing Company was the Premier Event sponsor.

The evening was a great fund-raising success. In addition to proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction, donors pledged many thousands of dollars to help fund student scholarships and support the foundation.

Dozens of volunteers helped put the event together, gather donations for the auction, sponsor tables, etc and I can’t name them without running the risk of leaving someone important out. But I do want to give a shout-out to RTC foundation chair Terry Higashiyama. Terry does an expert, super-energetic job of heading our City of Renton Community Services Department (covering all parks, trails, community classes, and community support services), and she still finds time to volunteer all over town including leading the RTC Foundation– which involved directly overseeing this fund-raising event this year. She makes amazing contributions to our community– it’s no wonder she was named one of Renton’s 2010 Outstanding Citizens.

I wish to express my gratitude to the members of the RTC foundation who dedicate so much time to helping students reach their potential, and to all of the volunteers who made this years fundraiser so fun and successful. My family had a wonderful time.

Here are some more photos from the event:

Left to Right, Master of Ceremonies Kirby Unti, speaker Anastasia Corman, Kenny Corman (my son and Anastasia’s husband), and RTC College President Steve Hanson.

RTC Student Annmarie Champness shares her touching story about RTC

Cathy and me

Click here to see more photos from the event

From: Denis Law
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 8:53 AM
To: Councilmembers

Council,
Commander Cline notified me that our detectives are responding to a possible homicide just inside the city limits on the West Hill. A man was found dead in an automobile. The incident was first thought to belong to the county but was determined to be inside the city. We’ll let you know more details as they become available.

Denis

Your comments are still arriving on the Quendall Terminals proposal, and I expect to keep seeing new comments up until the deadline of 5:00 PM on February 9th. Port Quendall is a proposed large mixed-use project that would occupy the shore of Lake Washington, between the Seahawks Headquarters and the Conner Homes neighborhood.

The most effective comments are those that focus on the accuracy and thoroughness of the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), including comments related to whether the project meets the zoning, the comprehensive plan, and the Shoreline Management criteria. (Note that with this and other projects, if the developer meets all the zoning and shorelines criteria and satisfies the requirements of the EIS, then the project will generally be approved as a matter of law)

The Renton Reporter recently ran a story on this proposal with links to the details, including the official documents and where you can submit your letters and email comments. Here is the link to the Renton Reporter story.

The Reporter also links to two blogs maintained by citizens with additional information resources and opinions. These blogs are http://quendallaction.blogspot.com/ and http://www.quendall.info/.

The majority of the comments so far are related to concerns about the bulk and density of the project, including the corresponding traffic issues. In addition, the city of Mercer Island made official comment asking that Renton take positive steps to ensure that lights at Port Quendall are aimed down and not out toward the water, and that glare is minimized. All of these comments are valuable, and I would encourage anyone with concerns, ideas, or support for this project to voice it in a letter or an email prior to February 9th.

I am neutral about this project. I remember discussing the site’s COR (Commercial/Office/Residential) zoning very extensively ten years ago when Paul Allen’s Vulcan Company was considering a 60-acre urban village at this location; Paul Allen’s project would have been built on the Seahawks property, the Conner property, and the Port Quendall Property. We briefly placed a moratorium on the COR zone at that time (ten years ago) to ensure we had a transportation concept that would work.

In general, Paul Allen’s proposal seemed fairly well supported by the community at the time– however, I think it was not quite as dense as the Port Quendall proposal (it had more buildings but it covered three times the area). Paul Allen’s proposal also offered a very desirable publicly-owned lakefront trail, as well as movie theater, and restaurants that gained it support from many in the area. I believe Port Quendall should provide some public access to the waterfront, but it won’t be the same long public trail (over three property sites) we would have enjoyed with the Paul Allen proposal, and the Landing now offers restaurants and movies in the area.

While I am neutral about this specific proposal, I will add that I would like to see this site cleaned up and at least partially open to the public at some point. The property is a polluted super-fund site, and a construction plan will help the owners get financing to clean the place up. And gaining additional public access to waterfront is highly desirable (at this point, this is something I want to study more about the current proposal). And of course the region needs a return of construction to reverse unemployment and help boost the economy. Lastly, since our property taxes are limited to one-percent growth, we need either new sales tax or new property tax each year to keep up with increases in the cost of salary and health benefits for our workforce.

Keep your comments coming in. And remember the deadline is 5:00 PM February 9.

Comments can be submitted to Venessa Dolbee at:

vdolbee@rentonwa.gov
(you must include your full name and mailing address with your comments)

or get them to her before 5PM on Februuary 9th at:
Vanessa Dolbee, Senior Planner, Planning Division, 6th Floor
Renton City Hall, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057

Renton’s Public Works Administrator Greg Zimmerman recently wrote to King County expressing concern about chained-together piles of large woody debris upstream of Renton that threaten our bridges during flood events. I agree with Mr. Zimmerman’s assessment that these woody masses, or at least the chains binding them together, should be removed at once. The text of Mr. Zimmerman’s letter is below the first photo:

Cedar River upstream of Renton; Chained logs, placed in the river by the department of fisheries, are visible in the foreground of this photo (photo furnished to city by a citizen).

To: Mark Isaacson and Steve Bleifuhs at kingcounty.gov
Cc:Denis Law; Terri Briere; King Parker; Rich Zwicker; Don Persson; Greg Taylor; Marcie Palmer; Randy Corman; Jay B Covington; Terry Higashiyama; Todd Black; Ronald Straka; Lys L. Hornsby; Linda Moschetti

Mark and Steve:

You may be aware that we have evidence that the recent large log jam at Renton’s Riverview Park Pedestrian Bridge was caused once again by a chained large woody debris (LWD) mass placed into the Cedar river by King County. In the process of clearing the logjam that developed during the recent Phase 4 flooding of the Cedar River, our contractor found chained LWD wrapped around the bridge support toward the bottom of the logjam. It appears that this mass caused the logjam to accumulate. Of course we had a similar situation in 2009 when a chained LWD mass got lodged under our Williams Street Bridge. I have attached a letter in this regard, and also two photographs showing our contractor removing the LWD from the Riverview Bridge. I have attached three more photographs taken by citizens showing other chained LWD masses lying along the river between mileposts 6.5 and 7.5 that could be swept into the river during the next high flow event. These masses pose serious risks to both Renton’s bridges and the two bridges that the Boeing Company uses to move all of their 737 aircraft across the river to take their maiden flight from Renton Municipal Airport. We are urgently requesting that King County identify all chained LWD in or alongside the Cedar River and remove these masses, or at least remove the chains that link the logs together and present a greater hazard. This work should be done before the next high flow event in the river. Please see my attached letter and the photos for more information.

I can be reached at (425) 430-7311… I am requesting a timely response to this pressing issue. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gregg Zimmerman, P.E.
Public Works Administrator
City of Renton

Above: Removal of the most recent log-jam last week at our Riverview Park Bridge. In a major flood event these log-jams can be very dangerous, as they will tend collect more and more logs and ultimately threaten the bridge and property downstream.

Above: The removed logs from the Riverview Park Bridge.

Above: In the above photo is from 2009, county workers cut the chain holding a logjam together under our Williams Street Bridge. Photo from this city newsletter.

The two photos below are other piles of “Large Woody Debris” chained together to form fish habitat by the Department of Fisheries. Renton worries that piles like these could be the next material to break loose in a flood and threaten one or more Renton bridges.

Doctor Evie Lawson performs an eye exam on Renton resident Amy Mitchell begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting at the popular new “Eyes on the Landing.”

“Eyes on the Landing”, the stylish new optometry at the Landing, has been delighting its customers. One local reviewer on yelp, who has lived in the area two months, calls the shop “far and away THE BEST find of all since my move here”.

As a disclaimer, some could say that I am biased. My son-in-law mother, Donna Jones is co-owner of “Eyes on the Landing.” I was one of many who encouraged Donna and her Partner Evie to open their new shop at the Landing. I knew Donna had a great eye for fashion, a way with people, and excellent business skills, and I had heard that Evie was very popular with her patients.

The chemistry of the staff, location, and their product has blended perfectly. Their week-by-week growth in customer base has exceeded their most optimistic business plan projections, and they are getting wonderful feedback and community support.

They will be celebrating their grand opening on February 19. If you have not seen the store, I would encourage you to drop in on the 19th to look around, enjoy some entertainment and refreshments, and discover the beauty in corrective lenses. Click here to go to their website and get more information.

The following is a recent review on Yelp by one of their newest customers. I’m sharing it here because it is so vivid, and I feel the author’s observations are spot-on.

After the second photo, I’ve also posted the other review I found on Yelp. Again, I agree whole-halfheartedly with it.

____________________________________________
WOW.

Since moving to Seattle 2 months ago, I’ve been extremely fortunate to find some great local businesses (many through Yelp). Although this place wasn’t a Yelp discovery, it’s far and away THE BEST find of all since my move here.

First impressions: incredibly up-to-date, plentiful selection of frames; beautiful, light, roomy store layout; and the most knowledgeable, personable, genuinely helpful staff I’ve ever encountered in an optometrist’s office.

This place is heavy on attention to detail – from the display of frames to signage to the beverage offerings for patients to the spotless, modern restroom to the exam itself. The moment you approach from the outside, it’s obvious that nothing has been overlooked in the layouts or displays. Abundant natural light makes the place absolutely ideal to try on frames, and the staff honestly knows all of their products inside and out. This is the Apple Store of optometry.

Dr. Lawson is simultaneously warm, engaging, professional, fun, erudite, practical, empathetic, thorough, and sentient of patient needs. Donna and Christian were completely focused on taking care of every aspect of my first visit. Christian was not just versed on the vast frame collection, he had a natural eye for suggesting which frames would look just right on me. Had I been left unattended, I would have spent 30 minutes narrowing down to the 2 perfect frames he produced for me in less than 5. Donna spent a great deal of time ensuring my paperwork for my vision insurance was exactly as I needed it, and did so while making me feel like a long-time neighbor who’d stopped in to borrow a cup of flour. From the greeting-sans-pressure on entrance through the huge smile on my face as I left, seamless interactions with all of the staff demonstrated impeccable team service all around.

Getting an eye exam and contact lens fitting felt more like a spa appointment. Hit the mall for get-what-you-pay-for, quickly processed, mediocre optical errands. Eyes on the Landing is for those of us who seriously care about our vision, want to spend the time to examine every option available today, and be well cared for by a staff who cater to our kind.

I’ve been to more optometry boutiques, stores, mall locations, kiosks, and offices than I care to admit, but for the first time ever, I feel as if I’ve ARRIVED. If I ever leave Seattle, I will fly here just to get my exams, contacts, and glasses. Period.

Erik K. (38 Friends, 25 Reviews)

Renton, WA
5 star rating

Read a second review here

We received the following email at City Hall through our City Clerk’s office. We’ve been trained on most of the information before, but it is nice to have it all in one place on the web. Citizens may find it interesting to see how broadly public records are defined, and how much access you have to them. Page 6 of the website also provides a good reminder that “Public records include both records that an agency creates and records that an agency may receive or collect.” This is why we often remind people emailing city hall that their comments are part of the public record, and can be seen by others. (As an example, if you are a developer emailing a council member asking for support of a project, your email is a public record. Likewise, if you email a council member asking for a project application to be denied, this email is a public record.)

As a matter of courtesy, I’ve tried to use discretion over the years when sharing these records, often dropping citizens’ names unless they have told me using their name did not bother them. I’ve also passed on posting many items that have come across our email that did not have public policy value, or were just too personal (such as a thank-you to our emergency services for handling a family crisis).

I suspect that as more and more public controversies get played out on the internet, more of these public records will get posted in their entirety on “Pro” and “Con” websites. So, every citizen (including me) should: (1) strive to be really thoughtful about what we write to each other, (2) have a friend proof-read our writings whenever possible, (3) sleep on anything that we write that we feel emotional about, and (4) most importantly, remember that anything we write having to do with public policy could end up on the front page of the Seattle Times.

Here is the info on the new website:
___________________________________________

On Behalf Of Koziara, Leslie
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:47 PM
Subject: New online – “Public Records and Public Officials”

The Office of the Secretary of State and Washington State Archives are pleased to announce the addition of an interactive online resource titled “Public Officials and Public Records.” This new module is intended to introduce newly elected and newly appointed public officials to the new world of public records and their new responsibilities. It will be updated from time to time.

Secretary of State Sam Reed welcomes each participant and emphasizes his connection to public records and stresses the importance of public records in our democracy. State Archivist Jerry Handfield encouraged the development of this online resource to provide information on the ever changing world of electronic records and to provide easy access to the many resources available for the preservation of public records in Washington.

Also, this module reminds everyone of the importance of records management and that “All public records shall be and remain the property of the state of Washington. They shall be delivered by outgoing officials and employees to their successors….” (40.14.020 RCW)

Seasoned public officials may also find it useful as a reference guide.

Here is the link: http://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement/PublicOfficialsandPublicRecords/index.html

Thank you,

Washington State Archives

From Denis Law
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 9:20 PM
To: Council

I’m out at Safeway on S. Third St., where two people have been shot. The shooting took place on 3rd near the entrance to the parking lot. A young man and a female were both taken to Harborview with what is believed to be non-life threatening Injuries. Media is here and detectives are on their way. Multiple shots were fired by a group of youth that fled on foot. k-9 track was unsuccessful.

(Photo credit– State of Washington)

Renton officials have been coordinating with King County, Washington State, and the Federal Government to install charging stations in preparation for the newest chapter in personal transportation; mainstream all-electric automobiles. While the vehicles are expected to have a range of over 100 miles on one charge, enough for most commuters to make it to work and back, there will still be a need for public charging stations for motorists traveling across the state. Ultimately, as more and more drivers opt for all-electric vehicles, we would expect to see private filling stations springing up to help address this need. Note that there are generally three types of charging stations; 110 volt trickle charge, 220-volt faster charge, and high-speed charging. The high-speed charging will be part of a second phase of this plan, and will require public/private partnering.

Our County Executive issued a press-release on the County-wide plan back in September. You can read the press-release here. The press release includes county-wide details on where all of the charging stations are planned.

Thirteen public charging stations have been proposed for Renton:

Two in the Renton Landing Parking Garage

Three at Renton City Hall

Two at Valley Medical Center

Two in the Renton City Center Parking Garage

Two at the Renton School District Headquarters

Two at Renton Technical College

The county-wide project is part of a state-level “Electric Highways” plan that is being managed jointly by the Washington State Department of Commerce and the State Department of Transportation. They are getting their initial funding from federal stimulus dollars. Here is a website with more information in the state-wide program.

The project has been enabled by new legislation enacted in Olympia. You can read the new law on this topic here

Ford CEO Alan Mulally, who worked many years here in Renton as Boeing’s Commercial Airplane Chief, introduced the automaker’s first-ever zero-emissions vehicle earlier this month in his keynote address at the 2011 CES convention in Las Vegas. (Photo owned/hosted by CNET )

Susie made Panda cupcakes today. She got the idea from a library book titled “Hello Cupcake.” Susie is extremely talented at cooking, and has made some very elegant recepies in the past. While she is the youngest in our family, in the last two years she had been in charge of our Thanksgiving dinner.

After seeing Susie’s creation today, I sent my son Andy down to the Landing to get us all lunch from Panda Express. Funny how the mind works.

My daughter Susie (number 10) watches intently as her shot swirls around the rim before falling into the basket for her team’s second score of the game.

The City of Renton offers a wonderful selection of classes, team sports, outings, and other activities to enrich our lives and keep us at maximum health. For instance, yesterday my wife and oldest daughter were attending city-organized belly dancing class tonight, my youngest was at basketball practice in a city-hosted league.

My daughter’s team played its first game on Saturday. (The Seahawks were stomping the Saints at the same time, so we were glad the Community Center had televisions during the breaks in the basketball action.)

Here are a few photos showing Susie’s first game, as well as the apparent transformation of our Main Community Center into a second Seahawks headquarters.

Susie off the court with my wife Cathy

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are trouncing the Saints!…

Click here for more photos

Fluoride has been in the national news lately. Last week the federal government lowered the recommended levels for fluoride in municipal water systems. Then yesterday the EPA announced that it was proposing banning certain pesticides that leave fluoride as a residual product on treated fruits, nuts, and beans and such products as coffee and tea. These actions were taken primarily because when fluoride concentrations are too high, it actually harms teeth instead of helping them–excessive fluoride can cause dental fluorosis, which produces spotting and weakening of the teeth.

In my opinion, these revised federal policies are positive, and they will help achieve a desirable compromise in the persistent debate regarding fluoride in our water systems.

Last year I published this blog entry giving background on the pros and cons of water fluoridation, and asking readers to share their view on water fluoridation– at the time, the debate was once again raging in Issaquah, a city which does not fluoridate its water. I received twenty reader comments on the topic.

I also shared that a close family member has a sensitivity to fluoride and therefore must try to avoid fluoride as much as possible. When she consumes too much fluoride she experiences stomach cramps. She has a reverse osmosis filter to remove fluoride in her home and we have installed one in our home (where she often drinks and dines) just to reduce her total fluoride consumption. She also must currently be careful with tea, nuts and fruits (seeking organic whenever possible) because of fluoride-containing pesticides. Fortunately the EPA ban on these pesticides should resolve this issue.

She got a break from monitoring her fluoride consumption during a year she lived near Tokyo. Japanese municipalities do not fluoridate their water, and they use fewer pesticides that would leave fluoride residues. She was symptom-free all the months she lived there.

In summary, the reduced fluoride levels will help reduce the cases of dental fluorosis in children; and for my daughter and others who must manage their fluoride consumption, the lower federal-recommended levels will be a tremendous advantage.

At our Monday council meeting I referred the subject of Renton’s Water Fluoridation program into our Utility Committee. I’m hoping we can lower our Fluoride levels consistent with the new Federal standards– thus improving our health (fluorosis and otherwise), bringing some compromise to the fluoride debate, and perhaps even saving Renton ten or twenty thousand dollars a year.

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, pictured here with her husband Mark, was shot in the head by a gunman today. (photo from her campaign website)

It’s a sad day for Arizona and our nation, as one of our members of congress battles for her life after being attacked by a gunman. While information is still coming in, it is known that Gabrielle Giffords and her aides and bystanders were attacked today at a public event with constituents.

The gunman is alive and in custody, but his history, motivations and mental condition are not publicly known at this time.

In my lifetime I can only remember one congressional assassination, and that was of Leo Ryan at Jonestown when I was in high school. That attack was initiated by Jim Jones, one of the craziest people of all time. If there were other assassination attempts on members of congress, I can’t remember them as if this writing. These types of attacks are very rare in our country, which is obviously a very good thing because they are an immediate threat to our democracy.

My prayers to all of those directly affected by today’s tragedy, and for the continuing freedom and security of Arizona and our Nation.

UPDATE at 1:25:

The news is getting more tragic… according to an update on MSNBC a federal judge and child were killed in this attack. Here is the developing story.

Renton gained 28 businesses and 161 full-time jobs in 2010. This is not bad performance considering the brutal national economy of 2010.

Our city’s economic development staff worked hard in 2010 to nurture a climate for 423 new businesses to open, exceeding the 395 closures that were primarily victims of the tough financial climate.

The growth in jobs and business is obviously important for helping more of our residents find work. This growth also plays a big role in maintaining our property values and reducing the number of citizens that get “underwater” in their homes– owing more than their home is worth.

In addition to admiration to our city’s economic development team, I greatly appreciate those business owners who have found the courage and capital to invest in our city when the economy is so rough nationally. I also with to extend a parting thank-you and best wishes to the owners and employees of the 395 businesses we lost in 2010– these are businesses that sustained our city and employed 1367 people in 2009, as well as building our city in prior years; I’m hoping you all find new opportunity, and that Renton is at the top of your list.

_________________________________________

From: Linda Weldon
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 9:32 AM
To: Adriana Johnson; Alexander Pietsch; Bill Taylor; Iwen Wang; Jennifer Davis Hayes; Jennifer T. Henning; Kristi Rowland; Mark Santos-Johnson; Neil R. Watts; Patrick Roduin; Sabrine – Chamber; Steven Burke; Suzanne Dale Estey; Tina Hemphill; Vivienne Lietz; Zong Her
Subject: December – 2010

Attached are the new and closed businesses for December 2010.

For the year, we had 423 new businesses and 395 closed – with a difference of +28

For FTE’s, we had 1528.45 new and 1367.07 closed – with a difference of +161.38 FTE’s

Linda L Weldon
City of Renton
Business Licenses/Passports