Noticed Kirkland Avenue lately? It's difficult to miss. The crane alone strikes a commanding presence. There's simply no mistaking that within only a two-block area the street is undergoing a major transformation. And while three major projects are in various stages of completion, the work isn't done. Another large-scale development is slated for one of the city's most significant and evolving arterials. Boulevard on KirklandAcross from the Kirkland Performance Center, The Boulevard is getting ready for its close-up. Work is nearing completion on a 119-unit condominium project designed by Seattle's Weber+Thompson Architects.Sitting on property that was at one time a Safeway supermarket, later a Salvation Army location, is an expansive three-story building with several residential courtyards.The building has a brick façade and will provide retail space on the ground floor. The project nears completion, and the building's Web site boasts that only a few homes are left for sale, and states that the building will be ready for occupation this fall.
For years, Renee Kappes was living her dream. Starting with just one coffee cart and selling Seattle's Best Coffee in 1991, she moved her way up in the mid-1990s to the point that she owned two successful SBC franchise coffee shops, one in Bridle Trails and one in downtown Kirkland.But Kappes, whose corner shop on Park Lane and Lake Street is now named realitycoffee.com, is getting out of the business now because, she alleges, there were underhanded franchise dealings - first with SBC and then Starbucks, which bought out SBC almost four years ago."That's when it got really bad," Kappes said.In 2003, Kappes said, she'd found a buyer for both the Bridle Trails and Kirkland coffee shops. "They were sold," she remembers with some bitterness. "The guy was ready to go."But the sale didn't go through. Instead, Kappes got a taste of just how brutal corporate coffee wars can get.
This year I wish summer were a little bit longer. I seem to have too much to do and not enough time to get all those little household projects we plan for our time off. I will say, however, this was the summer of sorting through the family pictures (you know, that huge box that was sitting under the stairs for years and years?).I managed to actually get all the pictures divided into various children (of which at my house there are many), spousal units (two), family events, including Christmas since the year one and all those camping trips. I spent several afternoons with tears rolling down my cheeks both from joy and sorrow. What memories of friends and family. While I will never be one to put things in scrapbooks, I have my boxes of wonderful snapshots to reminisce on the past years of life with the promise of many more.So, all in all, my summer has been great, but fall seems to beckon with activity, work and possibility. There is not much in the way of news this month, so I will simply give you some food for thought and some ideas for the future to chew on.
When Jennifer left for a two-week vacation, leaving me with, "I can't think of anything to write about anyway," I considered canceling this month. But, seldom at a loss for words, I managed to come up with a few items.Buddy moves onSadly, we shall have to have a new photo taken - Buddy, our use-lease horse - has been moved to greener pastures near Arlington by his owner, Fran Bonier. We shall miss them both. Fran, who has been a volunteer for park projects and horse shows for the past three years (even though she resides in Seattle), just received her doctorate in zoology from the University of Washington.Fran and her friend, Paul Martin, received grants to continue research on their project, and will be studying the white crowned sparrow (South American species) in Ecuador. When their studies are complete in about nine months, they will be going to Fort Collins, Colo., where Paul has been offered a professorship at Colorado State (they will take Buddy, too).
It is the third week of August as I write this column. With continuous sun and daytime temperatures in the 80s - what a great place to be!Woodlands Park playground updateOn Aug. 19, neighbors got together for a little housekeeping at Woodlands Park. About 15 helped build an enclosure for the porta-potty, install the engraved fence pickets in the tot area and finish the installation of the kiosk. I am pleased to report that after six weeks of being open, the playground is in good shape and is getting lots of visitors. The chess pieces are all accounted for; alas, one is broken. Future plans are to install some game tables, park benches, plant some trees for shade, complete the walkways and seed the meadow. If you are a visitor to the playground, please be a good steward and help keep the park and playground safe and clean.
Champagne taste"You need to write about my mom," Downtowner Steve Leverett tells me. "My mom has been in business for 20 years in September."So I popped in to see Cheri Callison, Steve's mother. I had stopped on a Sunday and was impressed that she was there. She is obviously a hard worker, and she also has an anklet tattooed on her left ankle. Her pet Tasha sleeps in the door waiting for quitting time."One of the nice things about Kirkland is everybody takes their dogs with them. It's a more homey atmosphere," Cheri tells me.Cheri is so much fun. It was a blazing hot Sunday and her store is full. "We're selling all fall today. We're changing from summer. I don't advertise the change. It's all word of mouth," she said.Cheri started working in consignment after jobs at Frederick and Nelson and Nordstrom's. "My husband said I needed to get a real job because while I was at Nordstrom I never got a check," she said - all her earnings went to the buy the clothes. But when she opened her own store, she took her inventory from her closet and it all sold.Cheri started her first store in Mount Vernon. She sold that to her sister-in-law to move to Oahu. She spent 10 years there "doing fashion shows for all the major hotels, television commercials, fashion shows for big events and restaurants. That was during the Magnum P. I. days and they shot the store several times," she said.But eventually Kirkland drew her back.
Freeway Cup Softball Tournament Sept. 9The annual Highlands vs. North Rose Hill softball game is scheduled for Sept. 9 at noon at Spinney Park (on the Highlands side of the 100th Street pedestrian bridge). Batting practice starts around 10:30 a.m. All ages are welcome. Bring a picnic and meet your Highlands and North Rose Hill neighbors. Let's win back the Freeway Cup trophy! Picnic Sept. 10The Highlands annual picnic is a great way to meet some of the wonderful people who live in this neighborhood! This year's picnic will feature an inflatable bouncer that should keep the kids happy for hours.The picnic is Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Highlands Park, 11210 N.E. 102nd St. There will be games for the kids, and food and beverages will be provided. Bring a side dish or dessert if you'd like.Vision meeting Sept. 21The first Highlands general meeting of the year will be held Sept. 21, 7 p.m. at the Maintenance Center, 915 8th St. This meeting will serve as a planning session for the year. What would we like to accomplish in our neighborhood this year? What is our vision? If you have any ideas or questions, please bring them to the meeting, or e-mail them to me. You can find my e-mail address on our Web site at www.KirklandHighlands.org.
Dan Mayer The new KPC general manager/development director has managed a wide range of arts organizations in the Seattle area, including the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, Spectrum Dance Theater, 911 Media Arts Center, Empty Space Theater, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, Photographic Center NW and On the Boards.Mayer also teaches business and legal concerns for Artist Trust's EDGE professional development program. Prior to moving back to his hometown eight years ago, Mayer was the executive director of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in New York, and in Washington, D.C., directed a first amendment arts censorship task force for a national civil liberties organization. In New York he taught art and entertainment law at New York University and at Columbia University School of Law.
Imagination Theatre: A double feature 'Movie for Your Mind' Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. Adults, $8.50, Seniors $8.50, Youth $8.50, Groups $7.50This is the 34th year of production for Jim French's radio dramas - an unprecedented success story in the world of contemporary commercial radio. Today, French's plays - most of which he writes himself - can be heard any hour of the day or night in almost every part of the world, featuring the nations best radio actors. Imagination Theatre is broadcast from over 130 radio stations in the United States and Canada and is heard on the Internet; his dramas are being beamed from space on the XM Satellite Radio channel, and are heard on CDs, which sell by the tens of thousands. Four times each year, he brings some of his troupe to KPC to record a pair of new plays. The Brothers FourSept. 22-23, 8 p.m.Adults $33, Seniors $29.50, Youth $15, Groups $30Four-part harmony aged to perfection. Come hear "Greenfields," "Yellow Bird" and "Try to Remember" crooned by "Americas Musical Ambassadors to the World," and then join the staff after Friday's show to toast the beginning of another season at KPC. Melissa Manchester Sept. 29, 8 p.m.Adults $39, Seniors $35, Youth $20, Groups $35Grammy-winner Melissa Manchester performs hits such as "Whenever I Call You Friend" and "Midnight Blue" as well as the Academy Award nominated "Ice Castles." The singer/songwriter brings her unique talent for getting to the heart of a song to the KPC stage for a solo piano concert featuring new original classics from her 2004 album, "When I Look Down That Road," as well as the favorites that made her famous: "I'll Never Say Goodbye" and "Don't Cry Out Loud."
Pick a cliché: rags to riches; a dream come true; poor immigrant makes it in America. Whatever you choose, Dorothy Ling Skea clearly is a successful and sought-after fashion clothing designer. She exudes determination and confidence and will exhibit her wares at Lakeshore Gallery this month. As a girl in her late teens and without an escort, Dorothy Ling Skea emigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 1968. Having studied from the age of 13 in a courtier house under a master tailor/designer, she had clear designs on her future. She created and followed her path of fashion design and clothing construction. "I never deviated from that career," she says.She first lived in Lake Stevens with a host family and then rented a room in Everett and went to Everett Community College. She transferred to the University of Washington and majored in Japanese. "Initially, I wanted to study fashion design, but they didn't have that major then. People told me to go to New York, but I say, 'This is scary enough for me." I didn't even know how to use a payphone."
From Aug. 13-19, Everest Park in Kirkland was transformed into a United Nations of softball. For the eighth year, the Junior (13-14) Softball World Series took place on the park's immaculately groomed fields.Championship game was at 4 p.m. on the 19th. Among lengthening shadows, the sun, believe it or not, was almost too brilliant. Nonetheless, with no humidity, temps in the low 80s, the setting was idyllic.
There's this little gem of a competition that practically sneaks in and out of Everest Park in the middle of August. It should be sneaky no more.From the looks of the spilled-over parking lots and jammed stands, the tight camaraderie among the players and the whirring concession (and $2 burgers with grilled onions to die for), all outside appearances point to the fact that this tournament is well-known throughout most Kirkland households.But for some reason, I have yet to find someone - other than a devoted family member or Kirkland official - who knows what the Junior Softball World Series is ... or that for the past eight years our city has expertly hosted 10 world-class fastpitch softball teams from around the world. We're talking Little League world championship ball here. The best softball you will ever see played by 13- and 14-year-old girls.
Do you remember Bill Clinton's campaign slogan, "It's the economy, stupid"? Well, Bruce Lipton says, "It's the environment, stupid".I first heard of Bruce Lipton several years ago. He's a cellular biologist whose research supports the conclusion that our beliefs and feelings define our creative capacity.I highly recommend Lipton's book, "The Biology of Belief," to anyone who wants to understand our potential to create a choice life and to help others-especially our children-to do the same. I recently attended a three-day workshop in Bellevue which featured Lipton and Gregg Braden. Now, I'm thoroughly inspired to share an overview of the message conveyed by Lipton's book and workshop presentation.Although I often encounter scientific research as a tedious endeavor, that is not my experience with Lipton. He has a gift for taking difficult topics, such as quantum physics and cellular processes, and not only simplifying them-but enlivening them!
In celebration of National Recovery Month, Residence XII, a nonprofit treatment center for women in Kirkland, is organizing The Power of Recovery Walk and Health Fair, which will take place Sept. 23 at Marina Park and Carillon Point.The walk provides a platform to celebrate those in recovery while emphasizing that recovery from alcoholism and substance abuse is not only possible but real. Mayor Lauinger to welcome fair-goersThe bright side of recovery is the message and theme of the walk/fair. Kirkland Mayor Jim Lauinger will start the day with a welcome message and a brief presentation on why it is important for communities to support recovery. Neil Scott will speak on secrecy vs. anonymity.
I went on a cruise - to Alaska. It wasn't my first trip up there, but I realized again how deeply in love I am with this part of the world.Of course, the wilderness experience was dramatically tamed by the comfort of being on a cruise ship. These floating cities make you feel like you're staying at an upscale resort or a mall - while you're surrounded by breathtaking wonders of the wild.I like being pampered and spoiled as much as the next vacationer. Knowing that my every need will be catered to at a moment's notice is something I could get used to very quickly. And I can understand why so many people call it an experience of a lifetime. The price of over-pamperingUnfortunately, there's a downside to this as well. Since almost everything you find on board is included in your pre-paid fare, you may want to get the biggest bang for your buck. My advice is: don't!When it comes to food, cruise ships can offer what no land-based eatery can. Imagine a restaurant advertising: "All you can eat - to go!" I say: "Beware of what you wish for - because you will get it." Yes, it's easy to become accustomed to the richly-decorated buffets, the delicious meals served at all hours, the wine tastings and the cocktail parties that take place from morning to night. If that's too bothersome for you, there's always room service. And you have a perfect excuse for this perpetual indulgence: You're on vacation!