Legislature must continue funding for proven drop-out prevention program | Guest Column
Under the Washington state constitution, providing an ample education for all students is identified as state government’s “paramount duty.” Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled that the legislature had failed to meet that duty by persistently underfunding our schools. This year, the legislature is responding.
A voice against Redmond’s Agenda 21 vision for 2030 | Guest Column
Shamefully, I need to start by confessing that it’s only been about a year since I started taking an interest in the “smart growth” development of our town. It started with the city’s plans to remove all the trees at the old Group Health Hospital site. It seemed to me that if they could build a hospital around all the trees, they should try a little harder to save some of them during this current redevelopment project. From there, I looked at the proposed light rail coming to Redmond, the high-density housing that we’re seeing in the downtown area, zoning changes and public domain parameters; in short, just about all of the “sustainable” development plans encountered in Redmond’s “Vision For 2030.”
Legislature is focused on state budget issues | Guest Column
Gov. Jay Inslee has called the Legislature back in special session next week to finish work on the budget. In January, most observers agreed we had three main issues to address:
1. Balance the budget over both two and four years complying with our four-year balanced budget requirement.
Adults can help teens who are stressed and depressed | Guest Column
In my last column, I shared with you some of the drug trends in our local neighborhoods. As alarming as drug and alcohol use may be, there are other issues plaguing our kids. Chief among them are stress and depression.
Aligning spending priorities with the people’s priorities | OPINION
As the weeks became months for those of us crafting the Senate operating budget, and the plan itself crept closer to the 400-page mark, it helped to pause and remember that our task was about more than making policies and allocating dollars.
Get to know your neighbors to help stay safe in Redmond | OPINION
On average, how many Redmond Police Department (RPD) officers are on the road at a time? On average, how many calls for service does RPD receive in a week? (A “call for service” being a call generated through our dispatch center requiring an officer response. This can range from an accidental 911 hangup to a murder. It doesn’t matter whether one or five officers respond — it accounts for one “call for service.”)
Bastyr University has something to offer everyone | OPINION
Welcome, neighbor.
You may know much, some or very little about Bastyr University near you in Kenmore.
Court did its job, Legislature should, too | Editorial
We see some conservatives in our state are upset over what they see as “activism” by the state Supreme Court. Specifically, they’re peeved the court has ordered the Legislature to spend more money on education. At the same time, they’re upset the court has ruled that it only takes a simple majority for the Legislature to increase taxes.
It doesn’t take much to make a difference | OPINION
It’s been almost 10 years since I graduated high school and while I have now reached my late 20s, I still feel closer to being a kid than a grown-up.
On the business front, do you like what you see in Redmond? | Editor's Notebook
I think about stuff as I drive. It’s my one-on-one business meeting time.
I make my way to Redmond via State Route 522 from north Seattle each day, and as I drive through Bothell, the wheels in my mind start turning.
Money woes: Legislature’s first job is to help the less fortunate | Editorial
Lawmakers got some good news last week as state revenue was projected to be $40 million higher than anticipated over the next two years.
