According to the latest agenda, the city just found another $20 million that was unaccounted for in their adopted budget, a surplus now that could be used to fund the proposed Property Tax increase by King County for an upgrade of “regional” emergency radio network.
It’s not too late for the members of the Kirkland City Council to undo the well-intended but totally unsupportable ban on so-called single-use disposable plastic shopping bags.
The Kirkland City Update Newsletter first quarter 2015 contained this: “Retailers may continue to provide plastic bags for such items as bulk and frozen foods, meat and fish, take-out foods, and newspaper, dry cleaning, and pet waste.”
Having keenly followed transit development in the area for some time, I found Sen. Andy Hill’s inability to properly represent his constituents with the ST3 funding measure (SB 5987) to be rather disappointing.
This is in response to Don Kaufman’s letter in the March 20 issue of the Reporter. I am with you 100 percent. I am an employee of a major grocery chain with two locations in the city of Kirkland. Not only is a food borne illness a risk for consumers, it is also a risk for employees, along with other factors.
After reading all of the articles on the “one-time use plastic bag,” it is apparent that the official of Kirkland, and other cities that voted for the ban, do not realize that almost everything we purchase is contained in plastic; a loaf of bread, prepackaged lettuce, some egg cartons, roses usually are wrapped with plastic, greeting card are made with plastic, nuts, bolts and washers are in plastic boxes, yard care products are in plastic bags, etc. These are also not biodegradable. Also, when we purchase fresh produce we use a plastic bag.
Our third year of support for needy elementary school children during school breaks has one, last challenge to meet this year.
As I understand it, the Rose Hill Fire Station is made up of three fireman and serves the area from Bridle Trails to Kingsgate (now labeled by the Kirkland City Council as Evergreen Hill). It also happens that it is the only Kirkland Fire station east of 405.
Recently, a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy rated Washington State’s tax system as the most regressive in the nation.
When I first started using reusable bags there were occasions when I would forget my bags. A study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found it could take between 18 and 254 days for a habit to form. The plastic bag ban goes into effect on March 1, 2016; this allows time to form the reusable bag habit.
Whenever I told people that I was interested in studying communications and broadcast journalism, I was always met with confused looks followed by the statement “isn’t that a dying field?” It is true that many well-known forms of professional journalism have fallen on hard times, but they aren’t dying. It is just a transitional period.
Two weeks ago, my wife and I were riding Sound Transit home from Benaroya Hall to Redmond at 9:30 p.m. This was far outside of regular commuting hours, and yet nearly every seat on the bus was occupied.
Plastic bag ban? Not a problem.
Short term solution: Do your shopping outside of Kirkland. As far as I know, Redmond and Bellevue do not have such ordinances. Shop there. Let the Kirkland businesses go downhill.
Evidently the mayor and city council have ignored the constituency and voted to ban shopping bags. I understand them ignoring their constituency; they are elitist.
Thomas Cox wrote in his letter to the Kirkland Reporter published on March 13, “Open space is a rare and scarce commodity…”.
Female genital mutilation is a barbaric practice that should be banned throughout the world. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of girls at risk of FGM – roughly 500,000 – has more than doubled in the United States since 2000.
Mr. Phillip Skoog’s letter published in the March 6 edition of the Kirkland Reporter presents a very comprehensive and compelling argument for recognition by the motoring public that visibility is severely diminished when driving at night, putting pedestrians at increased risk.
Eye contact?
[On March 2] I attended the Lake Washington School District board meeting to support members of my community recently impacted by the board’s decision to relocate a group of special education students because of capacity issues.
The 69 percent vote on doing away with plastic bags was revealing. The Kirkland City Council is supposed to represent us, the people who elected them.
The proposed ARC community center will draw users from well outside Kirkland. I do not believe the new Snohomish aquatic recreation center, with similar services and easy egress, is anywhere near financially self supporting. Nor do they have proximity of users from Bothell, Woodinville and Redmond.