This news is now a day old, but here is the email I recieved from our 41st District Representative Fred Jarrett. About 1/3 of Rentonites live in the 41st district (Some of Renton Highlands, upper Kennydale).
Missed it by that much. Renton business came SO close to becoming billion dollar enterprise
Dec14
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
“Missed it by that much!”
This Renton business was, in my view, and the view of many others, the first social networking site.
I had signed-up on Classmates.com in it’s early years, nearly a decade before I had heard about Myspace or Facebook. I posted a simple but accurate profile, and read some facts about some old and dear high school friends.
Looking back, I think the only flaw in Classmates.com’s plan, that ultimately prevented them growing into a top-visited, billion-dollar enterprise like Facebook or Myspace, was that they charged you a couple bucks a month if you wanted to actually contact all the high-school chums that you found on their site. I chose not to pay it. I didn’t trust online credit-card transactions very much at the time, and I decided my friends could find me through other public channels…I thought, “why sign up for another recurring cost?”
Thus, when MySpace, Facebook, and Livejournal came on the scene, and offered to link you for free so long as you did not mind ads scrolling around on the side bars, the critical mass flocked to these other sites.
This one business detail, which is much easier seen with 20/20 hindsight, possibly stopped Renton from hatching a huge Social Networking empire to accompany our jet aircraft empire and truck-making empire. Bummer.
Maybe it’s not too late. After all, Classmates.com has shown some staying power…it is one of the few companies that survived the internet bubble burst six years ago. And it sounds like finance experts are still valuing it above $100 million dollars, something anyone could be very proud of.
What do you web-savvy readers think… if Classmates.com revamped their business strategy right now, could they still be a contender for a significant position in the social networking world? Could a Renton start-up still scrap and fight its way to the top of the social networking charts? Or is it simply too late?
Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse
Dec14
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse, which started in Renton and then spawned a new Federal Way restaurant, was just reviewed by the Tacoma News Tribune. While the Federal Way restaurant was the one critiqued, my personal observations are that the write-up and recommendation seems equally valid for the original restaurant here in Renton (On SW 7th Stree, near Walmart.) If you have not tried it yet, you should go for a visit. While we have many excellent restaurants in Renton, Jimmy Mac’s remains one of my favorites.
Helicopter’s are visiting our skies from Fort Lewis
Dec13
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Several people have noticed an abundance of helicopters in Renton skies recently…yes, I can anticipate the sarcastic question, …are they “black helicopters” :-). Appearantly, Fort Lewis is conducting helicopter and fixed wing exercises in Renton area.
I don’t know the nature of the exercise…I would guess some sort of training, but I don’t really know.
Procedure for filling the council vacancy; also, one-year city residency required
Dec13
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Several citizens have recently asked about about the expected process we will use for filling the newly-identified council vacancy. These emails, from our Chief administrative officer and city attorney, will answer most of your questions. Read the emails by clicking here!
Senior Housing saved! King County’s Wonderland Estates purchase is finalized for $8.4 million
Dec12
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
New contibuter Rose McMayhem: “me and my little army of proud Rentonites would like to talk to you.”
Dec11
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
I’m enthusiastically introducing a new contributer tonight. Rose McMayhem grew up in our city, attended out local schools, graduated from University of Washington, and she writes some of the most creative, funniest journal entries I have read. She has generously agreed to share her writing talent with readers of this blog. Her perspective is younger than mine, which is a good thing, and far less city hall oriented…which is also a good thing. Please let her know what you think about her writing…help me encourage Rose and Keri Kopnick to keep sharing their talents with us by leaving them some comments.
Thanks!
Randy
_________________________________________________
Welcome to the South shore of Lake Washington. It’s maligned by many, is home to tens of thousands, and relatively speaking, has a pretty impressive history. In my 3rd grade class at Maplewood Heights, we did a unit on the history of the city, and I, for one, was impressed with how far back we’d been around and what a stake we had in driving the industrialization of the area- between mining, Paccar and Boeing, we were contributing quite a bit to the region as far as jobs and products at the beginning of the 20th century.
All history aside, though, the place is clearly not the pinnacle of white-trash-dom that John Keister would have the greater Seattle Metropolitan area believe (no disrespect, John- I know you have to make a living). Time and time again, when asked where I live, my response is met with a grimace and look of pity- much like the reaction one gets when they own up to a lifestyle so foreign to others that they assume couldn’t possibly have been a conscious choice, but must have happened by accident or coersion. To wit: I’m an atheist (cringe!). I have 10 stepchildren (gasp!). I bought a Ford (you poor thing!).
I had a city-dwelling friend who always made a point to tell others in my presence, apologetically: “She lives in Renton.” And so on; you all know what I mean. They assume there’s something wrong with us.
Don’t feel sorry for me; your pity is unnecessary. In fact, it’s insulting- while some extraneous circumstances may be assumed to exist, in general it’s safe to say that if I hated the place, I wouldn’t live here. On the contrary, 25 of my 27 ½ years have been spent in the little city that’s “ahead of the curve,” and let’s be clear on one thing: it hasn’t been against my will. Yeah, I got out for a little while. Left home after college and spread my wings all the way up in the Central District. Turned out that city life wasn’t for me, though- despite the crowding, everyone kept to themselves a little too much, and everyone had something to prove. So when I was looking to get out, I looked back from where I’d come and bought a little place not far from where I’d grown up- on familiar terrain, and near my dad’s shop (critical to those of us who drive older vehicles).
Did I find it to be a concession; the only feasible location for someone who had to keep her mortgage payments low? Nah, it was exactly what I wanted, and in the 3 years I’ve spent in my chosen neighborhood, I haven’t regretted it.
Well, save for the hoodlum neighbors on one side of me…but every town’s got those; there are jerks everywhere. Same as there are pleasant people everywhere, and we’ve got a surplus of those as well.
No…really. You just have to shake off the patina of prejudice you’ve been burdened with to see that Renton is just another suburb: in reality, it’s no more of a ghetto than the older parts of Bellevue, although people tend to miss that detail because we’re not all upper-middle-class whites here. But yes, it is a suburb, so if that’s the issue people have with it, I can’t defend it. However, if it’s a matter of it being any more or less livable than the surrounding environs, well then, me and my little army of proud Rentonites would like to talk to you.
Suffice it to say it annoys me when people put Renton down: I’ve chosen to live here, I like living here, no amount of good-natured chiding is going to change my mind about that- so take your pity and shove it. Myself and an army of perfectly normal people are happy with this place.
Rose McMayhem
Email compliment to Renton’s finest, care of Police Chief Kevin Milosevich
Dec11
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Mr. Milosevich,
I have lived in Renton for only two years. In that time however, I have developed an appreciation for the department you run. READ MORE »
Laundry day in King County, by guest columnist Kari Kopnick
Dec11
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
(Kari Kopnick is doing a series of articles about life on Benson Hill, and how things are changing with annexation to Renton)
I was thinking about laundry on a trip through my neighborhood the other day. I mean, laundry, boring, drudgery, right? Yep. I mean, OK, it’s not like my great grandmother’s day when you really had to DO the laundry with a fire to heat the water, and the lye soap you made yourself, and the scrubbing done by hand. That’s true. But it’s still a pain. My laundry room isn’t one of those cute ones like you’d see on the TV network. It’s a dark little space with, well, lots of laundry in it!
Over the years of raising kids I’ve had different systems to get our clothes from yucky and dirty to clean and organized. There was a period of denial that there even was laundry. That led to monstrous piles of laundry—I used to even joke we’d become a new religion that involved worshipping the laundry gods and those piles were our offerings.
Well, then when the babies were a little older and I could breathe every other day I decided to do laundry once a week. Wednesday was laundry day. I had to go out and buy more socks and underwear for everyone, and by Tuesday we all were dressed a little oddly, but it worked.
Then when I worked the swing shift for a few years my husband came up with the ultimate system for laundry. He’s an engineer, and I’d highly recommend an engineering degree for anyone planning to run a house; either that or a brain that works like his.
This is what he did: the laundry gets washed and dried all day. Our laundry room is off the kitchen so you always know when the washer and dryer aren’t running because it’s quiet. So in the morning you can get thru two loads. Add one before dinner and one after and even my soccer-playing-dirt-collecting family gets through it all. Then, here’s the brilliance: everyone takes a laundry basket of clean clothes to the biggest bed in the house. You dump it all in the middle of the bed and then sort it as fast as you can—by throwing every sock and shirt and every last thing at the person it belongs to. I have three boys, so it works great. Well, unless one of them lays down in the middle of the bed, then the other kids just pile laundry on top of them!
So this system has worked for a couple of years, but now everyone is busy with, teams, clubs, plays and friends. All that fun is taking up our evenings. So heading through my neighborhood I came up with a new idea. These brilliant folks, neighbors of mine, have their washer and dryer OUTSIDE! Right in the yard! Hey, maybe they even use rainwater, and wind power to run them. I can get behind this. I’d take a nice nature walk, pass through some bushes and trees, walk along next to the other appliances (not sure why they’re out there yet…..I’ll let you know if I figure that one out). And then with June Cleaver-like pep, I could cheerfully wash my family’s clothes. I would be almost like my ancestor women. It would combine fresh air, exercise and clean clothes. Perfect.
But wait? What about when we really, legally, officially become a part of Renton over here on Benson Hill? I wonder what our new city is going to say about a washer and dryer (and freezer and stove) outside in the front yard?
Hmmm, I’ll have to think on this one.
Renton I-405 could get swollowed by a sink-hole; repairs causing traffic delays
Dec11
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Transitions at tonight’s meeting; Kathy and Toni say good-bye, Dan Clawson resigns effective Jan 1.
Dec10
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
There were some warm good-bye messages for our departing mayor and retiring council president tonight, as citizen remembered their combined 44 years of public service (24 for Kathy Keolker, 20 for Toni Nelson). Then, near the end of the evening, Dan Clawson surprised everyone in attendance by announcing he was retiring from council as well, so that he could devote more time to his family and his business. Dan has given 12 years of service as a council member. His resignation is effective as of January 1.
All three retiring officials received standing ovations for their years of service, and they all received kind words from the public for their commitment to the city.
I wish them all the best.
We won’t meet as a council again until January 7. At that time, we will lay out the procedure we will follow for choosing a replacement council member to fill the remaining two years of Dan’s term.
,
Latest Duvall email….
Dec10
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
Received today….
Can’t make the council meeting tonite but wanted to put in my two cents worth.
We live just off 95th Way west of Coal Creek Parkway and will be impacted by the
widening re access to Sunset and Coal Creek but closing Duval for one year and
getting the job sooner sure sounds like the right idea. Traffic will be
disrupted no matter what you do but one year vs two years is a no brainer. I
would almost bet the contractor would come in ahead of schedule if there were no
traffic control to worry about. Plus the project will probably dovetail better
with the Newcastle effort.
Duvall Closure Website is on-line!!! Get the latest news!
Dec10
2007
Written by Randy Corman
2007
Written by Randy Corman
City staff have created a website just for keeping people notified of the Duvall Closure options and planning.
Click here to see this website.
Click here to see that latest options matrix, which provides a study of each option proposed by he public at the December 3rd meeting.
After thoroughly reviewing all options, including the option of using two one-way streets (sometimes called a one-way couplet), the Transportation Committee is still recommending an option very similar to that discussed at the December 3 hearing, but with even more mitigation. (The one-way streets don’t work for local circulation and they cause pass-through traffic to overwhelm Summerwind), and the working-only-on-certain-days-or-hours causes the impacts to stretch out to two years again.)
In terms of added mitigation, we are adding traffic counting before and after the closure to make sure our modeling is correct. And we are investigating speed bumps on Union….probably not required on the peak hours, when traffic is backed up, but may be very important on the off-peak hours when drivers have an open road. Also, we are looking at increased signage for Summerwind, to try to shut-out any pass-though traffic.
For business owners, we are going to post signs on Sunset directing drivers to impacted Renton Businesses, complete with business names and logos. This should give them some good exposure on highway 900, to hopefully off-set some of the impact of the Duvall closure.
The website linked above has more info, and we will give the public a complete report at tonight’s meeting.
Thanks,
Randy
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