Author: Randy Corman

My wife Cathy (top photo below) bought me a new camera for Christmas. I’ve been practicing with it. Below are some of my photos from the holidays. I’m experimenting with the settings and with different lenses. I really appreciate that this camera can take pictures with just 2 to 5 percent of the light (depending on the lens) required by my 4-year-old Panasonic camera. This allows the camera to shoot pictures indoors without a flash, even at night. The light in the room often produces much nicer photos than a flash. I’m looking forward to bringing it to blog-worthy events. The new camera is a Nikon D3100.

see more photos by clicking here

Having been born in the colorful sixties, I’m nostalgic today as the world says goodbye to Kodachrome. Today is officially the last day that any lab will process this film, after its 75-year run. As a kid I often shot lesser quality print film with my “instamatic” camera (remember film cartridges and flash cubes?), but during this time my father-in-law had smartly gravitated towards shooting slides with Kodachrome film.

Thanks to his good film choice and excellent camera skills, we’ve enjoyed some wonderful slide shows over the years. Many of his slides still have excellent color.

Below are a few samples of his work, featuring my wife Cathy as a youngster.

And at the bottom of this entry I embedded a youtube link to the Paul Simon tune Kodachrome, which is accompanied by a nicely done fan video.

Friend Jim Nissen’s 1916 Curtis Jenny, in Livermore California.

Six-year-old Cathy (in red) and her sister Laura catch dinner at a trout farm

Cathy and her sister Laura, on their move across the country from Delaware to California at age six.

Cathy and Laura stop by a lake near Yellowstone.

Cathy explores the hills of Livermore California, at age seven.

Cathy (in pink) with her sister Laura (in yellow), and her mother, grandmother, and baby brother Billy.

Cathy and her sister Laura in Yellowstone

Christmas when Cathy was six.

Cathy, her sister, and her brother, on picture day at school (Cathy was in second grade).

Eleven-year-old Cathy, already a good rider.

A trip to Half Moon Bay, South of San Francisco, when Cathy and I were seventeen.

My wife Cathy and daughter Susie enjoying crepes on opening day of the 2010 farmers market

Renton is seeking a Farmers Market Coordinator to nurture and improve on our already-well-established farmers market. The position is a part-time position which requires a very broad skill-set, including technical understanding of agriculture and markets, promotional skills, event planning, ability to recruit and inspire volunteers, and tact and patience. For the right person, the job could be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Apply at www.rentonwa.gov if you are interested.

Here is the listing:

City of Renton invites applications for the position of:
Farmers Market
Coordinator – Limited Term
An Equal Opportunity Employer
SALARY: $25.37 – $30.87 Hourly

OPENING DATE: 12/22/10
CLOSING DATE: 01/14/11 05:00 PM
UNION AFFILIATION: Non-Represented
DEPARTMENT: Community and Economic Development – Economic Development

BASIC FUNCTION:
PLEASE NOTE: This position is pending Council Approval. The position is currently a part-time
position with a limited term of one (1) year.
Under direction of an assigned supervisor, provide leadership, direction, organization, and
coordination of activities for the Renton Farmers Market in collaboration with volunteers.

REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES, KNOWLEDGE, AND ABILITIES:

*Act as the Coordinator for the Renton Farmers Market, coordinating with volunteers,
vendors and City staff to ensure ongoing and long-term health of the Farmers
Market. Specifically, these duties include coordinating pre-market planning and postmarket
wrap up efforts and supervising all market functions including soliciting new
vendors, coordinating with local and regional farmers market organizations, managing
market logistics, internal and external communications, managing the market budget,
bookkeeping, volunteer recruitment and support, and maintaining and analyzing weekly
market statistics.

*Work with market stakeholders (vendors, customers, volunteers, Farmers Market
working group, sponsors, Chamber and City) to enhance existing market activities and to
resolve problems effectively.

*Develop and prepare program budgets with volunteer participation; monitor and
manage budgets including approval of expenditures; prepare and submit periodic budget
updates as requested.

*Help secure sponsorships and additional external financial support and coordinate
related agreements and relationships.

*Attend a variety of meetings and serve on City committees as requested; prepare and
deliver formal and informal presentations at City Council meetings and community
gatherings; provide staff support to the City Council, and boards and commissions as
assigned.

*Maintain communication and effective working relationships with City employees,
government agencies, community organizations and groups, and the general public;
coordinate operations with other departments.

*Develop and approve City and Farmers Market website content, features, and
information for areas of responsibility.

*Prepare publicity materials, including newspaper articles, brochures and flyers;
perform other program promotion as needed.

*Attend conferences and training.

*Remain current with relevant technological advancements as it relates to field.

*Maintain regular, reliable, and punctual attendance; work flexible evening and/or
weekend hours as required; ability to travel as required.
Perform related duties as assigned.

*Denotes an essential function.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES:

Continue reading →

Wishing you all peace and joy during the holidays.

Renton has just gained an additional professional news source. The Renton Patch www.renton.patch.com went live yesterday, and the online newspaper promises new professionally-written stories about Renton everyday. In addition, the Renton Patch will incorporate contributions from a cadre of paid columnists and free-lance writers, who will submit stories on a variety of topics related to living in Renton.

The Renton Patch is one cell of a national “Patch” system, which creates online newspapers in communities throughout the US using a common format. Each individual community cell has a professional journalist overseeing the website, and contributing his or her own stories on a daily basis.

The Renton Patch is being edited and managed by professional journalist Jenny Manning (photo from www.renton.patch.com)

Renton’s Patch page is being managed/edited by a professional journalist named Jenny Manning. Ms. Manning has already become a fixture at city events, and she can be found all over town investigating stories and taking pictures. She has met with city council members and the mayor, and is catching up to many other local decision makers as she gets oriented in her new role. Ms. Manning’s bio can be found here . She resides in an apartment at the Landing, and she’ll work from her computer on-site where news is happening, and in local coffee shops, restaurants, libraries and other locations where people get together. (As a virtual newspaper, there is no brick-and-mortar office.)

The Renton Patch joins Renton Reporter and Renton Magazine as professional news sources dedicated entirely to our city. We also get coverage as part of the region from Seattle Times and Seattle PI, KOMO, KIRO KING5, and other specialty journals like The Business Report.

And thanks to the internet, there are a variety of blogs (like this one), facebook pages, and other internet sites that also cover Renton events.

Citizens of a community benefit when the number of information sources increase. It’s healthy to have more reporters looking for news, and more perspectives on big events when they occur.

Be sure you visit the Renton Patch and leave your comments. And if you run across Jenny Manning please welcome her into our community and thank her for her contribution to the flow of information.

The Sunset Terrace Redevelopment Concept Master Plan is one of several projects that could improve Renton Highlands. This concept and other projects were discussed at Renton City Council Committee of the Whole on Monday night

On Monday night our Senior Planner Erica Conkling gave us an update on Renton Highlands Revitalization Planning efforts. She and her colleagues have been working on a district-wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Sunset Corridor in the vicinity of Harrington Avenue, which will facilitate some attractive and much-desired redevelopment. There are some promising projects already being sketched-out by property owners in this area, and others are more likely to come forward once the EIS is complete. Furthermore, the competed EIS will make it easier for us to obtain grants for public infrastructure improvement in the area and/or make the area eligible for other state-sponsored economic incentives. Ms. Conkling and the team have done excellent work, and the presentation was great. Her Department Director, Alex Pietsch, also assisted in the discussion Monday night. It’s clear that Highlands revitalization remains an Economic Development/Planning Department priority in sync with the City Council.

Here is Ms. Conkling’s presentation from our Monday Committee of the Whole meeting. (It’s a large file, so it may take 30 to 60 seconds to load on your computer)

Today we received the following email from Deborah Needham, our Emergency Preparedness Manager. While a “Pineapple Express” is predicted to hit this weekend, experts are currently not predicting flooding of the Cedar River or the lower Green River near Renton. However, the mid-section of the Green may experience minor flooding in rural areas. (Note that any torrential downpour can cause local flooding on streets if storm drains get plugged or overwhelmed, so small pockets of local flooding are always a risk during a “Pineapple Express.”)

___________________________________

Subject: Pineapple Express according to the National Weather Service (2 pm briefing)
Importance: High

You may have heard the media describe the incoming weekend storm as a pineapple express. This is indeed the wettest storm system the National Weather Service has seen in two years. However, for those who have been anxiously watching the Green River due to the problems with the Howard Hanson dam, this is NOT our big one.

Here’s what to expect from the heavy rainfall that will begin Saturday:

Cedar River: NO flooding.

Green River: NO flooding in the “Lower Green” (where we are); minor flooding in the “Middle Green” (the rural areas)

Urban and small streams: Localized flooding possible due to heavy and rapid precipitation beginning Saturday.

Landslides: Steep slopes with saturated soils are more at risk of landslides with this storm event.

The EOC Duty Officer will continue to monitor conditions through the weekend. EOC activation is not anticipated, but to reach the EOC Duty Officer if field conditions suddenly require activation, call 425-766-2720 (24/7 number). If the call rolls to voicemail, please leave a message and we will return the call immediately. For email contact, please email eoc@rentonwa.gov. The EOC email is always forwarded to all three EOC Duty Officers in the rotation.

If conditions change there will be another update. Otherwise, silence is golden. Here’s hoping for a quiet weekend.

deb

My daughter Katie and her husband Brandon are expecting their baby in April. (Photo by Katie’s life-long friend Jacqui Sandor)

Cathy and I received some joyful news earlier this autumn. We are going to become grandparents in April, thanks to our oldest daughter Katie and her husband Brandon. At this point they don’t know the baby’s gender, but we expect to find out soon.

The new baby will be the first grandchild on Brandon’s side of the family as well, so baby’s cup will be overflowing with love and attention. (Brandon’s parents have had a busy fall, as they have just opened “Eyes on the Landing” with their partner Evie Lawson.)

The soon-to-be grandmothers, Donna Jones and my wife Cathy. Grandfathers will be me and Bob Jones. The spoiling will begin in April. 🙂

Following a countdown, Renton children help Mayor Law throw the switch to illuminate this year’s “Clam Lights” at Coulon Park.

Last night’s clear skies were perfect for enjoying the official kick-off of “Clam Lights” at Renton’s Coulon Park on Lake Washington. In addition to the glorious display of lights, bundled-up crowds enjoyed carols sung by the Lindbergh High Choir, a lighted parade of boats, horse-drawn wagon rides, dancing clams, a fire-side sing-along, and of course great food at Ivars and Kidd Valley.

There was a large turn-out for the celebration this year, and Cathy and I enjoyed catching up with many friends that we don’t get to see often enough.

Our parks department has introduced more LED lights this year, which will save power and be more durable year after year. As always, this event is largely funded by donations from Ivars. In addition, Puget Sound Energy donated to this event.

My thanks to Ivars, Puget Sound Energy, Renton Parks Department, our Parks Board, the Lindbergh Choir, the Rainier Yacht Club, and the many volunteers who make this beautiful annual event possible.

Here are some additional photos from the event.

Lindbergh High Carolers entertained the crowd before the official lighting

Mayor Law visits with Amy and Rachel Thibadeau.

I posted this journal entry on Thursday about the work going on at “Eyes on the Landing” in preparation for their Friday opening. After all the effort that Donna Jones and Dr. Evie Lawson put into the new optometry, I felt I should show a few images of the finished product. Here they are:

Son Danny (left) and friend Derek Benigno (right) getting ready to head off to Seattle’s Steam Con.

My son Danny was one of the thousands of attendees at Seattle’s second annual “Steam Con” today. The Seattle PI described this event in an article today here. This year Danny appears to be some kind of Steam-Punk warrior that Jules Verne would have been proud of. (There are pieces of metal, cardboard, and steel hoses all over my garage floor at the moment.)

Cathy and I had fun attending the first one of these conventions with Danny last year, and I covered it with photos and a story here.