Come to King County Council’s meeting on April 28th at 9:30 AM on the 10th floor of The King County Courthouse building, 516 3rd Avenue, Seattle.  Listen, learn, speak about the trail opportunities on the existing rail line.  

For more about the meeting and the issues, check out this post on my Kirkland blog and this article in this morning’s Seattle Times.There will be several meetings coming up on the eastside in the next week in which you can learn more about the issues.  I’ll let you know about these upcoming meetings.

I just received the April email newsletter from  Bellevue Towers, The LEED certified high rise condos in Bellevue. The newsletter announced the restaurants coming to the complex. 

(Photo taken a few months ago)

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar’sowners will open 3 different restaurants in the complex.  The Bellevue Towers will be the home to the  4th Purple Cafe and Wine Bar, after Kirkland, Seattle, and Woodinville.  Two other new concept restaurants will also open at the Towers,  a coffee/dessert cafe, and a Latin/Mexican restaurant.

(Original Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Woodinville.)

From the April Bellevue Towers email newsletter:

This just in my inbox today:  Dwell Magazine’s Green Award, is a contest sponsored by Dwell magazine and the American Institute of Architects.  Through June 20th, the sponsors are looking for  the best “green” or sustainable projects.  According to Dwell’s criteria, projects will be judged on the basis of functionality, originality, sustainability, and cost effectiveness.  The prize?  $2000 towards a future “green” project.

I’ve been subscribing to Dwell magazine for a few years now and find them to be on the cutting edge in many of their articles on sustainable, affordable home design, materials, and styles.  The magazine also has articles about small homes, remodels, furniture, and  modular housing.  All interesting stuff.

The Seattle Times had an editorial in the newspaper yesterday summing up some of the latest news on the King County animal shelter welfare debate.

 Here is a summary of some of the immediate fixes planned and some of the issues discussed in the above link to The Seattle Times:

“New cat cages, dog runs, more staff and stronger efforts to decrease the number of animals euthanized relieve problems of overcrowding and lax animal care. This is only a down payment. Longer term, lawmakers ought to ponder what it would take to run a model animal-care facility and whether that is a task best left to vendors — for example, the Humane Society.Comparisons between the county’s animal-shelter program and the Humane Society set up a false dichotomy. The county takes in several times as many animals. The Humane Society largely gets animals from families who can no longer care for them. The county gets stray dogs and feral cats. Also, the county is responsible for humans and animals, creating a constant tension for funds.

 Strengthened partnerships with the Humane Society and advocacy organizations such as PAWS can help. A set of long-range proposals is expected to be presented to the council by late summer.

With the initial urgency abated, the Council ought to examine successful models around the country, including San Francisco and Charlottesville, Va. There is time to get this right.”

The Seattle PI’s latest article cited a study completed by The Veterinary School at University of California at Davis commissioned by the Council.  The study also deplored conditions at the shelter.

Ironically, the attempts to cut back on euthanasia rates, may have also contributed to the problems.

“In 2007, the council approved a directive to reduce the euthanasia rate to 20 percent in 2008 as part of a policy to avoid putting animals to death for reasons other than incurable illness or intractable behavior problems. But that comes with a down side, the report suggests.”

  This continues from the PI article:

“Eliminating euthanasia for space (lack of capacity) has caused a substitution of euthanasia or death for health and behavior reasons that are often shelter-acquired problems related to stress, crowding and increased exposure to infectious diseases,” the report says. “This systematic policy has led to significant animal welfare issues, individual animal suffering and has likely caused increased shelter death.”

 The UC Davis report had this to say about the previous allegations from Nathan Winograd  reported  in a previous post and on many media outlets:

“As for the Winograd report, the agency says it includes “many helpful suggestions” for improving care, but adds, “The most disturbing accusations … are simply not true.” The response defends Sims, saying he is “particularly known for his commitment to animal care.”

By the way, The King County Animal Fund referenced above has been building up for about 20 years.  The fund has about $570,000, raised from donations given when people license their pets.  Let’s hope the county uses the money judiciously and wisely for the welfare of these dogs and cats.  It’s about time!

The comments were hot and heavy from many people at last night’s town hall meeting in Burien between the Metropolitan King County Council and King County residents regarding the conditions at King County Animal Shelters.  Volunteers at the shelters came out to support shelter workers who work in less than desirable conditions and others came out to demand changes to the system and the facilities.  The Seattle Times reported on last night’s contentious meeting.   It appears last night’s meeting was an opportunity for public input, without much resolution.  KOMO Radio also had the story today.

However, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer had a story that mirrored much of the information I’d received from Al Dams of  King County Animal Control. If you read the comments in the Soundoff section after the article in the Seattle PI, Mud Baby’s comments about the situation identify all the important points.

I posted an article a few days ago with comments from the email I’d received from Al Dams in response to my earlier articles on the dire straits of the animal shelters.  Al Dams outlined a three pronged plan for improving the shelters. 

Regardless of what’s happened in the past, we need to move forward in this county to insure animals are protected, well cared for, and adopted into good homes.

I must have hit a nerve last week. I found a message from Al Dams from King County in my inbox. Al must have read the article I wrote last week about the deplorable conditions at the King County Animal Shelters.  It’s been all over the news. Blogs were atwitter about the terrible conditions in our county animal shelters.  I’ve excerpted the key points from Al Dam’s email message below. The Council’s next steps and future plans are outlined as follows:

“In the short term, the County will replace all of the cat cages and add dog runs in a separate area on the Kent shelter’s property or nearby. A shortage of space at the current facility has resulted in overcrowding, increased stress and risk of disease among shelter cats and dogs. Separate facilities for dogs and cats will greatly reduce stress on cats at the shelter. The funding would come from existing public donations in the Animal Benefit Fund, new Capital funds, and money redirected from the County’s capital improvement funds.

Sims is proposing new staff especially during peak animal population months and new training for staff. The new positions include another veterinarian and a veterinarian technician as well as additional veterinary contract services to provide on-going medical care as well as spay/neuter services. The number of new animal control officers at the shelter would vary depending on demand for shelter services.

The proposal calls for creation of a King County inter-branch animal services work group that will work over the next four months. It will consist of members from the offices of the Executive, County Council, Public Health, Sheriff and Prosecutor. The work group will develop an animal services Strategic plan, an Operational Master Plan, and a Facilities Master plan for the three-year period from 2009 through 2011:

• The Strategic Plan will develop a framework for determining how services are provided and who is best able to provide them, prioritize short and long-term goals, and create performance measures for each goal and specifying which County department will be accountable in achieving them.

• The Operational Master Plan will determine how we move forward in providing shelter and animal care services in King County and develop at least three options, including:
  • A status quo option of continuing to provide animal services as currently organized, or
  • A reorganization of animal services within the departments of county government, or
  • A reorganization of animal services in partnership with other providers
• The Facilities Master Plan will inventory existing animal services facilities throughout the county, forecast the future needs for shelter facilities, including where they should be located and, if a new shelter is called for, propose a six-year plan for financing construction.

This process will include an investigation into whether or not the county can create a model animal welfare program and should continue in the sheltering business. The three pieces of this policy framework will be reviewed by a group of community stakeholders before the Executive transmits the three plans to the Council by August 15, for Council review and potential adoption.”

The joint proposal will be the subject of public comment at the Council’s Committee of the Whole Town Hall meeting on animal care and shelter services on Monday, April 14 at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien at 6:30 p.m.

Keith Ervin from the Seattle Times wrote a story about the latest King County Animal Shelter news and KOMO-TV did a spot highlighting the story.

Bellevue is the best place to “Live and Launch” in the entire United States, according to Fortune Magazine.  Bellevue has a terrific economic climate, natural beauty, a steady supply of hi-tech workers, and traffic!  The Seattle/Eastside area is a great place to live, but the traffic wars must be fought everyday.  The commute into downtown Bellevue is always interesting.  Below are photos showing some of the progress for the new overpass going in at NE 10th.  This will provide another access route into downtown Bellevue and make getting to work just a little bit easier. Right now it’s the perfect spot for Evel Kneivel.

Construction on the NE 10th overpass is moving right along.  It was just about a month ago that I did a piece showing the beginning of the overpass.  These photos show the progress to date. 

Photo taken in February looking west from NE 116th over 405 towards downtown.

New and improved view looking west in March, 2008.  Construction of the overpass is getting closer to crossing over 405.

Looking east from 112th Ave NE over what was the Paragon Hotel across 405. (405 is below camera range)  Looks like a parking garage? The big concrete structure just above the fence is the overpass perched at the edge of 405.  Right now, it’s a road to nowhere.   Where is Evel Kneivel when you need him!

Here’s the side view of the ramp as it hangs just before 405, the perfect jumping point for Evel Kneivel.  Could he have made the jump over 405 to the other side?

By the way,The Paragon Hotel on NE 112th Ave NE was just knocked down.  This is last section standing of the hotel.  Someone ought to tell the hotel they are no longer there, since the hotel is still advertising on the internet.  It may be a little chilly if you book a room there!

  Let’s face it, yards look awful in November, no matter where you live. When I list a home in the dark of November, I say a prayer to the landscape gods, hoping the home owners have taken photos of their spring and summer flowers.  These photos can be used anytime to advertise a home, whether it’s the darkest day in November or the middle of summer.  So plan ahead, get your camera rolling, and take some great photos.  You never know when you may need them.