Category: Uncategorized

Dancers from Amira’s Renton Community Center Class prepare to perform a cane dance in Burien’s town square park

I meant to post this earlier, but in all the excitement about explosions and libraries I just could not get to it. My wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law continue to enjoy Bellydance classes at Renton Community Center. Their troupe performed several lively and colorful dances at Burien’s Wild Strawberry and Art Festival last Sunday. Here are a couple more pictures from the event.

My wife Cathy (left) and daughter-in-law Anastasia (third from left)

Explosive device found in Downtown Renton
Robert P Onishi
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:40 PM

This press release is approved for immediate release, and provides information about an explosive device found in Downtown Renton this afternoon.

Thank you,

Det. Robert Onishi
Renton Police Department
1055 S Grady Way
__________________________________________
June 22, 2011

For more information contact:
Det. Robert Onishi, Public Information Officer, Renton Police Department, 425-430-7529

Explosive device found in Downtown Renton

At about 12:25 PM on 6/22/11, Renton Police responded to a report of a suspicious object found in Downtown Renton. Responding Officers located a small explosive device near Downtown Renton Library, along the Cedar River. As a precaution, the Library was evacuated, and traffic diverted around the Liberty Park/Library area. An ordinance disposal unit from the Port of Seattle neutralized the device, and normal traffic flow has resumed. Renton Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating this case.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Renton Police at (425) 430-7500, reference case 11-6291.

###

Photo by Ken Burtram, hosted on Renton Patch

Homeschooled students enrolled in Renton School District’s H.O.M.E program are presenting “Pirates of Penzance” at IKEA Performing Arts Center this Friday and Saturday.

My family has participated in the HOME program for many years, so this is a very exciting production for us.

Susan Bressler of the the Renton Patch described the production very nicely in her story here .

This is the most ambitious and complex production by the H.O.M.E program Musical Theater Class so far, following excellent productions of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” last year, “Seussical” in 2009, and many years of musical productions before that.

Once again, parent-teacher (and accomplished dancer) Gina Brichoux is producer and director of this year’s show.

Gina Brichoux

Armondo Pavone at Renton River Days

Add me to the list of those grieving the news that Armondo’s is closing.

I’ve enjoyed countless excellent meals at Armondo’s restaurant over the last twenty-five years, first at the location on 3rd street as the restaurant grew, and then at it’s present expanded location on Wells.

Armondo Pavone is one of Renton’s premier restauranteurs and business leaders, and he will still have a strong presence in our city. As part owner of the Melrose, he is still managing one of our finest restaurants. He’s also very involved in the community in many other ways, so we’ll continue to see him around town. And he’s still young, with a lot of years in front of him to start new ventures. Still, the loss of the Italian restaurant that bears his name in our downtown will keep many of us in the doldrums for a while

I wish him all the best. Part of me wants to beg Armondo to reconsider; at the same time, I respect him so much I don’t wish to lay a guilt trip on him. He’s brightened our downtown for 25 years with his Italian restaurant, and helped us all by doing so– it’s more than we could demand of anybody.

My uncle, who moved to Renton from Wichita twenty years ago, sent me a note last night reminding me that I had taken him to Armondo’s during one of his visits before he moved here. (I knew at the time, when I was in my twenties, that the new Armondo’s restaurant was one of Renton’s best.

Here is my Uncle’s note:

“The news from Armondo is sad. I remember the year before we moved here, you took me to lunch at Armondo’s. Since we’ve been here it has been a favorite place of ours. I hope he does something wonderful with the property (maybe a Melrose II?).”

Armondo’s familiar sign. The business is open through Father’s Day, so be sure to stop in for a farewell dinner and drinks before it closes.

Armondo will keep busy with the popular “Melrose Grill,” across the street from Armondo’s on Wells Ave South.

My son Andy amazed me once again. He has switched my LiveJournal content, including all your reader comments, over to WordPress in just a couple hours. You might enjoy looking back over the last month or two to see your comments that had disappeared on LiveJournal.

My apologies to those of you who have been leaving comments and then finding that they seem to disappear.

The good news is that I am seeing them, and I will plan on posting them. However, since some of them are controversial (my favorite kind), I want to get the problem fixed so that everyone has a fair chance to respond.

I have spent hours trying to fix the problem in Livejournal, my blogging host, and I can not seem to resolve it. All the settings suggest that your comments should be displayed the moment you submit them. Note that I had not changed anything in recent months that would have changed the comment feature. About six months ago I selected the CAPTCHA spam filter for anonymous comments, to slow down the spam, but your comments were still getting posted just fine after making that change.

I made my first posts on Livejournal exactly five years ago today. I was prolific that day, making these three entries on a busy Monday, June 12, 2006.

I’m planning many more years of blogging, but I’m going to switch my blogging host to wordpress. For those of you who get access to my journal via my website www.randycorman.com, the change will be fairly transparent. For those of you who read my blog via livejournal, I want to encourage you to find me at my www.randycorman.com website.

The switchover may take a few days. Fortunately, my son Andy is brilliant at things like this, and he will help me get it set up.

I have several topics I want to blog about, so please keep checking back to my website. This promises to be an interesting election season, and there are lots of interesting things going on in government right now.

I’ll write again soon!

Thanks, Randy

Election filing week just concluded, and three Renton City Council seats are being contested.

Incumbent Greg Taylor is being challenged by Sarah Sanoy-Wright and incumbent Don Persson is being challenged by Phyllis Forrester.

Three candidates are running for the seat vacated by King Parker; Ed Prince, Mark Martinez, and Robin Jones.

Incumbent Councilmember Marcie Palmer and incumbent Mayor Denis Law will be running unopposed.

I’m not running this year, as I was re-elected two years ago for a four year term along with my colleagues Terri Briere and Rich Zwicker. But I will still be very involved in this election, as I am serving as Don Persson’s Campaign Manager (Click here to read more.)

Here is the filing data right from the King County Website:

City of Renton
Mayor
Denis Law

City of Renton
Council Position No. 3
Marcie Palmer

City of Renton
Council Position No. 4
Greg Taylor
Sarah Sanoy-Wright

City of Renton
Council Position No. 5
Ed Prince
Mark Martinez
Robin H. Jones

City of Renton
Council Position No. 7
Don Persson
Phyllis Forister

And Here is the link to the King County Elections website, which has election filings for all the election contests in the County.

My Mom died peacefully today after a three year battle with Alzheimer’s. She has been surrounded by family in her final days, and I got to hold her as she passed. She was a fantastic Mom, Grandma, and Great-grandma and it’s been very difficult to say goodbye to her.

Here is some more information about her, and some recent photos of her.

Mary Ellen Corman May 7, 1936- May 26, 2011

Livermore resident Mary Corman died peacefully 26, 2011, at the age of 75. Mary was born and grew up in rural Kansas. She graduated from University of Kansas, where she met and married her husband Gary Corman in 1957. They moved to Livermore in 1960, and she has lived in Livermore for the past 51 years. Her husband of 38 years, Gary Corman, worked at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
Mary was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Livermore since 1960, and served as a church deacon as well as in many other volunteer roles. She was active in the Livermore arts community during the 1960s and 70s, and her creative works included paintings, illustrations and photography. She worked many years as an illustrator for religious and educational publications.
Mary turned to computers for her artwork beginning in 1983, and was active in online communities for over two decades until she was diagnosed with lewy body dementia in 2008.
While raising her children, her home was always teeming with neighborhood kids and pets.
Mary is survived by four children: Roger Corman, of Santa Rosa, CA; Brenda Gallardo, of Livermore; Randy Corman of Renton, WA; and Sharon McLeod of Livermore. Mary is survived by her two brothers Ken Roger, of Renton, WA and Jerry Roger of Tulsa, OK. She is also survived by her two sons-in-law and two daughters-in-law, 12 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by her husband Gary Corman.

Here is a little more information about my Mom and Dad.

Continue reading →

The Renton Patch just posted a great story about Marcie Palmer, one of my long-time Council Colleagues. As long as I’ve known her, she’s always been quick to volunteer for projects that involve our schools or Renton families. Here is the story.

April 17, 2011

For more information contact:
Renton Police Department Front Counter, 425-430-7500

Suspect vehicle involved in collision after abduction call

At 12:43 PM on April 17, Renton Police were sent to the 600 block of Monster Road SW, in response to a possible abduction. A witness reported that two men had forced a woman into a car, which then drove away. The witness was able to keep sight of the car until Renton Police caught up to it. When the arriving Officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, a silver 1997 Saturn, the driver refused to stop. The driver led Police on a two minute pursuit into Tukwila, where he entered the northbound lanes of I-5. Immediately on entering the highway, the driver turned the vehicle 180 degrees, causing the Officers to terminate their pursuit. Now traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, the suspect driver struck a northbound vehicle head-on. All three occupants of the suspect car, two men and a woman, were transported to Harborview Hospital. Due to their conditions, none have been identified, and their relationship and the circumstances leading up to the apparent abduction are unknown. Washington State Patrol and Renton Police Traffic Division are investigating the collision. Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to call the Renton Police at 425-430-7500, reference case number 11-3802.

Here is an excellent news video about the new “Luther’s Table” family restaurant in downtown Renton, within the beautiful new Compass Center Veterans housing on Second Street. The restaurant has been holding soft openings for a few weeks now. My family and I found time to meet up for lunch here recently, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food and atmosphere. The restaurant will be serving wine and beer during dinner hours, and will feature live bands on some evenings.

Gretchen Mertes, who is one of the pastors featured in the news video below, is an outstanding musician as well as organizer of Luther’s Table.

Several of us Cormans pose with Nazime, owner of the Landing’s new “Mucho Burrito” fresh Mexican food restaurant. The restaurant officially opens on Monday April 4th.

Mucho Burrito is opening tomorrow at the Landing. The new Mexican Food restaurant is a part of a successful Canadian chain, known for using 100 percent fresh ingredients.

I had the opportunity to sample some food on Saturday as the restaurant was training their staff with an informal “soft-opening”. (Some of my kids and I were walking by after shopping at the new Dick’s Sporting Goods which opened Friday) The food at Mucho Burrito was fresh and delicious, and the portions were very filling.

I also enjoyed the restaurant layout and the large number of tables. This will be a popular spot for large groups of hungry diners. And with a mix of meaty dishes to salads, everyone can find something that suits their taste and diet.

My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed checking out the new Dick’s Sporting Goods this weekend at the Landing. The new store provides a great selection of virtually everything one would need for seemingly every sport: biking, hunting, football, boxing, kayaking, paintball…. you name it.

I could hardly believe the rows of rods and reels that stretched on and on… enough choices to meet any fishing situation.

The new store includes a very large golf section, incorporating much of the merchandise that one would have previously found in the Golf Galaxy at the Landing. Golf Galaxy and Dick’s Sporting Goods are owned by the same corporation, so Golf Galaxy was closed when Dick’s signed on at the Landing.

It was great to see such a vibrant new Sporting Good Store occupying the same space that was vacated by Joe’s Sporting Goods just a year or two ago when the “Joe’s” chain went into bankruptcy. Dick’s has a great selection of competitively-priced equipment, and I’m sure it will thrive as a new anchor for the Landing. The chain is a strong up-and-comer nationally.

The West Seattle Herald just published this great story about the success and planned second location of Renton’s “A Terrible Beauty”. This outstanding downtown pub has been drawing larger and larger crowds of diners and minglers, as the venue has become increasingly widely known for their great food, engaging staff, frequent live-music, and entertaining vibe. They are open to people of all ages during dining hours, and they become an over-21 popular nightspot in the evening hours.

For those who have wondered, they take their unusual name “A Terrible Beauty” from that “other person” that can steal your heart away. (As in “a terrible beauty stole my husband”)

Cathy and I dine here often, and it is a favorite among many of our friends. Below is a snap-shot from one of our visits.

Congratulations to owners Jenna Shannon Garvey-O’Brien and Paddy O’Brien for their tremendous success. They deserve our gratitude for bringing additional fun to downtown and stimulation our economy. They also deserve sincere thanks for their strong commitment to the community– they are frequent fundraisers for those in need.