2011 1/7 A fire in one of the eight buildings at Sammamish Ridge Apartments, 14820 Redmond Way, causes David Thompson, 32, and his four sons, Tristan, 12, David, Jr., 6, Leviticus, 4, and Wyatt, 2, to die of smoke inhalation RReporter
1/13 Two Level II charging stations for electric vehicles are dedicated at City Hall RReporter
1/15 The cities of Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, and Issaquah jointly fund the winter homeless shelter at
1/19 Debra Cobain, owner of Marbella Day Spa and Boutique, located at 16122 NE 87th Street was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Champion of the Year for 2010 for her commitment to the community and the Chamber RReporter
1/31 Fire Chief Tim Fuller ends his six-year stint as Redmond’s fire chief. His firefighting career spanned 40-years RReporter
2/9 Lake Washington School District voters approve the Capital Projects Levy that provides expansion for the district’s growing student population RReporter
2/15 Bob Lovett, Fire Marshal, retires ending a 35-year career. He spent the last 32 years in Redmond as fire marshal whose primary function is fire prevention and includes review of the alarm and sprinkler systems in building plans RReporter
2/19 Zack Alleva breaststrokes his way to the Class 4A state breaststroke swimming championship RReporter
2/20 Redmond Community Center. Through donations from local families and businesses, shelter guests receive a hot meal, sack lunch, and blankets. City elementary students hold a sock drive and donatethe socks to the shelter guests RReporter
2/25 City of Redmond Neighborhood Network provides city officials with continuous knowledge of each of Redmond’s ten neighborhoods. Each neighborhood will meet annually for information updates, a forum for residential issues, and steward selection RReporter
Jillian Roels, Redmond High School junior, opens “Girl Talk”, a mentoring program for middle schoolgirls, that assists the girls in dealing with age related issues. A non profit, the program originated in Atlanta, Georgia in 2002 by the then 15 year-old Hayley Kirkpatrick RReporter
Of the ten schools in the Lake Washington School District recognized for overall excellence in 2010, three are in Redmond: Rockwell Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, and Redmond High School. Rosa Parks Elementary was also honored for achievement in science RReporter
3/4 Since 2000, the city’s minority population has increased by 25.3% RReporter
Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1938, the Picnic Shelter in Anderson Park renovation includes replacement of the roof and rotted logs, and a refurbished stone chimney. Restoration to the 1930’s period was funded by the Rotary Club, City of Redmond Landmark and Heritage Grant, and City of Redmond Parks Department RReporter
Strong institutional policies practiced by the City of Redmond allow the city to retain its “AAA”bond rating by Standard & Poor RReporter
3/5 City of Redmond partners with Cascade Land Conservancy to remove invasive non-native plants at Hartman Park and replace with native trees and shrubs in order to reduce carbon in the atmosphere RReporter
3/21 Evergreen Hospital opens healthcare multi-service facility in Bella Bottega Shopping Center RReporter
4/21 Citizen’s Academy offers Redmond residents the opportunity to learn and understand city government departments; policies; city goals and vision for the future; and methods of creating policies to meet goals and vision RReporter
4/23 St. Jude’s hosts Tent City 4 that will be allowed to remain at St. Jude’s for up to 110 days RReporter
Kevin Donnelly is sworn in as Redmond Fire Chief. Chief Donnelly came to Redmond from Lodi, California, a city of 65,000. He began his firefighting career in Felton, California in 1986 RReporter
5/17 A black bear meanders through Redmond, is captured in Bothell, and then transported to the wild in Snohomish County RReporter
5/18 Friends of Youth celebrates its 60th anniversary of service to community youth ages 15-24 RReporter
5/21 Whiskers, Wings, and Wagging Tails Pet Fair held at Redmond Senior Center features a doggy fashion parade, dog demonstrations in agility and flyball racing, vendor booths, pet services, and candidates for adoption RReporter
First ever Ironheart Classic 4-mile/8-mile Race and Health/Fitness Festival is held at Marymoor to promote healthy lifestyle habits RReporter
5/25 Bear Creek School boy’s golf team members, Gannon McCahill, Will Stansell, Connor Morgan, Jake Imam, and Ricky Olson, win the state 1B/2B title RReporter
5/27 Microsoft acquires Skype RReporter
6/2 Post 2995 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will ship the 10,000th troop support box. Each month 200 boxes are sent to individual personnel on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. The program was co-founded by World War II veteran, John Kenney RReporter
6/3 Old Fire House Teen Center hosts “Laugh On” comedy night RReporter
6/16 A transformer fire at the Puget Sound Energy substation in Redmond causes a major Eastsidepower outage to 25,000 customers RReporter
6/17 PV (Sundar) Balakrishnan receives the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington (UW). Balakrishnan is Professor of Marketing on the faculty of the UW Bothell Business Program RReporter
6/24 Lake Washington School District plans to offset major state budget reductions in teacher and certificated personnel salary and operations by using staff attrition and district levy funds RReporter
New electric vehicle charging station opens at Red 160 apartments at 16015 Cleveland Street. The station is open to residents and the public at the east end of the building RReporter
7/1 Kerwin Higashi is named “Hero for Everyday Life” by the Sodexo Foundation for his work in founding Vertically Integrated Partnership, a coalition of farmers, food processors, food distributors, and other food service companies that gather surplus food and repackage it. The repackaged food is distributed to food banks and other hunger relief organizations in a program that prevents food waste and feeds the hungry RReporter
7/8 Lake Washington School District saves $1.5 million with the establishment of a energy conservation and efficiency program RReporter
7/29 Karen Springs of Redmond partnered with church groups to organize Window to Hope that brought13 Ukrainian orphans to the Puget Sound area. The orphans were paired with families to experience everyday family activities, and special events planned during their 3-week visit RReporter
A capacity crowd attended the 6th Grand Prix at Marymoor Velodrome that attracted 175 racers and a prize pool of $17,500. Seven of the top ten placers from Nationals raced including local favorites Jennie Reed of Kirkland and Tela Crane of Sammamish RReporter
8/5 More than 2,000 people attended 46 different block parties held in the city at the National Night-Out Against Crime. he block parties encourage community building through meal sharing RReporter
8/19 King County Council approves a $20 car tab fee in order to avoid drastic reductions in King CountyMetro bus service RReporter
8/22 Pat Schiermeyer is inducted into the Washington State Department of Transportation Wall of Famefor his dependable, reliable, and unselfish work ethic in managing a $30 million budget RReporter
9/9 The Urban Search and Rescue Task Force members of Redmond Firefighters, Rudy Alvarado, Tom Langton, Stacey Baker, Mike Curtis, and Lafond Baker relive their experiences as rescuers at 9/11 Ground Zero. Alvarado reports that it was an emotional roller coaster with 16 acres of utter destruction. He says, “I really saw what America was about...the red, white, and blue came out strong.” RReporter
9/11 Venues for Artists in the Local Area (VALA) established by Jessica Lambert showcases the works of local artists in a variety of Eastside venues RReporter
9/23 Grand opening of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) at 17550 NE 67th Court is held. The center plans to not only provide a gathering place for members, but the surrounding community also by providing services, interfaith activities and will eventually offer health and fitness programs RReporter
9/29 A 91 year-old man hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, and drove his Cadillac through Sun Shine foot spa. The business is closed until reconstruction of the facility is complete RReporter
10/7 HCL Technologies locates at 14980 NE 31st Street, and will provide 400 jobs in the advancement of of collaborative engineering with emphasis on engineering capabilities and solutions development in such emerging technologies as cloud, mobility, and smart products RReporter
10/21 A talk given at the Hopelink fundraising luncheon by Tom Coliccio, best known for his appearance on “Top Chef”, outlined three main issues to end hunger in America: 1) education on farming and vegetable growing; 2) improvement in the knowledge of what to eat; 3) spread the message about healthy and nutritious foods RReporter
11/8 Milo Wilkes, Redmond High School senior, will play sousaphone in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City RReporter
12/23 Richard Cole retires after serving 24 years as a city council member. He applied financial expertise developed as a CPA at Boeing to city fiscal issues RReporter
12/26 Variable tolling begins on State Route 520 floating bridge RReporter
12/30 John Fleming is selected as artist for the Redmond Central Connector RReporter
2012 1/1 The 6th Annual Polar Bear Plunge held at Idylwood Park attracts 86 participants and raises$11,000 for Special Olympics Washington. The event was sponsored by the Redmond Police Department RReporter
1/3 Pat Vaché is selected President of the City Council, and Hank Margeson is designated Vice President RReporter
City residents implore the City Council to reconsider their decision that approved developer plans to remove all of the 1,100 trees at the site of the former Group Health Hospital at Overlake Village RReporter
1/6 Tennis Outreach Program, a nonprofit founded by Redmond High School tennis coach, Marceil Whitney, will soon open a facility at 10832 – 117th Place NE in the Totem Lake area. The facility offers play time opportunities for all ages and skill levels and on 6- full sized indoor courts and 6-36 foot courts that can accommodate 150-200 youngsters per day. The Eastside has been under-served with only 16 available indoor courts RReporter
1/18-19 Snow closes schools and businesses RReporter
1/20 The Redmond Steelheads, Sammamish Baseball Academy’s select 16-U baseball team, won the championship in the 3-day Martin Luther King Tournament held in Phoenix, Arizona RReporter
“Fleet Foxes”, a band, whose first performance as “Pineapple” was at the Old Fire House Teen Center,receives a Grammy nomination for their second studio album, “Helplessness Blues.” Current band members are Robin Pecknow, Skyler Skjelset, Morgan Henderson, Casey Westcott, and Christian Wargo RReporter
1/23 Citizens Academy is held to instruct citizens about the daily functions of municipal government. The academy helps to foster civic leadership and volunteerism RReporter
3/2 Dr. Traci Pierce becomes Lake Washington School District Superintendent. Previously she was Deputy Superintendent of Instructional Services. She began her career as a teacher at Inglewood Junior High School in 1994 RReporter
Katie Walsh founds A Step Up, a nonprofit to assist low income families achieve self-sufficiency. A Step Up is designed to help parents who make enough money to become ineligible for state programs, but still struggle to support their family RReporter
3/5 Saturday Market opens for the 37th year at Leary Way NE and Bear Creek Parkway with 125 vendors selling produce, plants, flowers, photography, food, jewelry, wine, arts, crafts, and more RReporter
3/30 Evergreen Junior High School students in Kathie Mays’ language arts and social studies classes collect toys, basic school supplies, and personal items for distribution by Helping and Loving Orphans (HALO), a Seattle nonprofit, who works with orphanages in Vietnam, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Mexico RReporter
4/11 Arbor Day is celebrated under the auspices of the Park and Recreation Department at Farrell-McWhirterPark. Arbor Day is a demonstration of the continuing commitment to preserve, protect, and enrich the community by caring for the local forest RReporter
4/20 Corry Lee receives third place in the L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest for her short story,“Shutdown”, written in the military science fiction genre RReporter
As the final project for his Eagle Scout award, Logan John, worked to permanently relocate the Clise Bell to the southwest corner of Walter L Seabloom field on the Redmond High School campus. The bell will ring each time the high school football team scores a touchdown RReporter
4/27 Several hundred native trees and shrubs are planted on a one acre site downtown as a part of a Northwest Adopt A Stream Foundation project to shade Bear Creek and keep the water cool for salmon. The plants hold the soil in place, leaves and twigs in the creek become food formicro-organisms then insects, and then the fish RReporter
Bill Campbell, Director of Public Works, retires after 22 years of service that included projects such as traffic lights and the 36th Street bridge RReporter
Benjamin Keller receives a National Merit Boeing Scholarship. This scholarship is supported by Boeing for children of employees RReporter
5/4 Redmond’s Intergenerational Committee composed of seniors from Redmond Senior Center and teens from the Old Fire House Teen Center establish a vegetable garden. When the produce matures, it will be donated to Redmond’s Hopelink Food Bank RReporter
Redmond Police Department’s Victim Assistance Team (VAT) provides community outreach when crimes of property or fraud are committed. The volunteer VAT team assists victims with the aftermath of the traumatic event by helping victims to navigate the judicial system, meet insurance company requirements, and gives referrals to other local services RReporter
A partial list of community indicators show that Redmond citizens conserve water resources by lowering water consumption for a single family home from 66 pounds in 2006 to 55 in 2011. The number of licensed businesses expanded by 26% in seven years to 5,533 in 2011, and 148,000 citizens participated in Park and Recreation Department programs in 2011 RReporter
Seven Redmond students earn $2,500 National Merit Scholarships. Redmond High School students obtaining a National Merit Scholarship are Maya Balakrishnan, Tala Balakrishnan, and JihoonLee. Redmond residents attending other schools who were also winners are Kaustubh Deo, Kolya Malkin, Katelyn Petrin, and Emily Thacher RReporter
5/10 Mike Town, Redmond High School science teacher, is awarded a Washington State Leadership and Assistance for Science Education and Reform (LASER) grant to be donated to a not-for-profit public education entity. The grant program is co-ed by Pacific Science Center and Battelle,and recognizes five individuals or project teams who have promoted innovation in science education. Town donated his $5,000 grant to the Lake Washington School District ScienceTechnology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) school RReporter
Trevor Guyton, Redmond High School (RHS) 2008 graduate, was selected in the 7th round of the National Football League draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Guyton played defensive end and defensive tackle for the RHS football team, and at University of California, Berkeley, where he was named to the second team All Pacific Athletic Conference (PAC)-12. He graduates from from the University of California, Berkeley, on May 12 RReporter
5/11 Alexei Girsh celebrates his 20th season as Conductor of the Eastside Symphony Orchestra that rehearsesand performs at Redmond High School. Currently Girsh is also Music Director of the Renton Youth Symphony, Conductor of the Boeing Band, and Artistic and Music Director of the Concert Opera of Seattle, which he founded. Girsh settled in Redmond after immigrating from St. Petersburg, Russia, 21-years ago. In Russia Girsh first studied cello and eventually received a BA from Novosibirsk State Conservatoire and an MA from Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire RReporter
5/18 Jeri Rowe-Curtis is hired by the City of Redmond as the new Communications and Marketing DirectorEight hundred attend Whiskers, Wings, and Wagging Tails at the Redmond Senior Center. Amongactivities available were pet services information and samples, mini-classes in obedience and trick training, and a reading of Wendy Wahlman’s new book, A Cat Like That. Pet adoptions were particularly popular RReporter
5/25 Mark Riley is named Acoustic Blues Guitarist of the Year for 2012 by Washington Blues Society’s Best of the Blues. Riley is a guitarist, instructor, and songwriter, and teaches locally at Pacific Music Redmond Wild, founded last year by Rianne BeCraft, 2006 Redmond High School graduate, works to protect local wildlife and their natural habitats. The group focuses on encouraging Redmond residents to provide 5 essentials for wildlife—food, water, shelter, nursery for young, anduse of sustainable practices. If the 5 requirements are met, the location can become a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) RReporter
6/1 Theno’s Dairy, an Eastside institution located at the southeast corner of 124th Street and Redmond- Woodinville Road, closes permanently after 70-years of business RReporter
Overlake School boy’s soccer team wins class 1A state soccer championship RReporter
Maddie Magee, Bear Creek School senior, wins 3rd straight class 2B state high jump championship“A Legacy for Learning” fund raising luncheon held by Lake Washington School District Foundation obtains more than $180,000 in donations RReporter
6/22 Mike Town, Redmond High School science teacher, receives a Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators given by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. The award recognizes and supports urban and rural educators who use experiential environmental opportunities to develop a sense of civic responsibility and stewardship in ecosystems RReporter
6/26 A special re-opening of Spiritbrook Park is held following improvements and renovation by the city Public Works Department and the Park and Recreation Department. Improvements include wetland identification and path installation, installation of a new play structure, and drainage installation to provide a dry playfield RReporter
6/29 Sustainable Redmond settles with Group Health Cooperative when Group Health agrees to pay theCity of Redmond $20,000 to move existing trees or buy replacement trees to plant in the Overlake Village site RReporter
Madelyn Magee, Bear Creek School senior, selected as Female Athlete of the Year for her performances in volleyball, basketball, and track and field RReporter
Sheila Croft wins the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon for the 2nd straight year with a time of 2 hours 41 minutes
7/13 The 71-year old Derby Days Criterium has been won two straight times by David Richter of Seattle
7/20 Among the winners at the Grand Prix racing event held at the Marymoor Velodrome were Tela Crane of 21 Sammamish, who won the Elite Women Bike Central Sprint, and Pennsylvania Olympian,Giddeon Massie, who won the men’s Keirin Final RReporter
7/28 The Post Office moves to 7241 – 185th Ave NE which is also the distribution center for Eastside mail
8/1 Recycling garbage truck drivers reach an agreement with Waste Management to avert a strike RReporter
8/3 Festival of Joy (Festival Anandamela) takes place at the City Hall Campus, and features dance performances, a cooking contest, and children’s games RReporter
Ben Rush Elementary School and Rose Hill/Stella Schola Middle School are two of the four Lake Washington School District schools receiving $14 million in state funds earmarked for building modernization RReporter
Grab a quick bite of lunch from a food truck located at the Food Truck Corral in the parking lot of Redmond Auto Detail at 15904 Bear Creek Parkway or at the Daytona Laguna Food Truck Corral located off of 148th Ave NE and NE 31st Street RReporter
8/6 Students and parents protest the overcrowding at Rosa Parks Elementary School during a Lake Washington School District Board meeting. The school was built for 483 students, but now has 764 students enrolled RReporter
8/10 Tim Fuller, former Fire Chief, becomes City of Redmond Public Works Director RReporter
9/14 Dudley Carter Park is dedicated at 7447 – 159th Place NE RReporter
10/5 Jeanine Hall Gailey becomes Redmond Poet Laureate. Gailey’s goal is to pair the tech world together with poetry as she says, “poetry for geeks—geeks for poetry” RReporter
10/12 Friends of Youth opens The Landing, a daytime drop-in center for homeless youth and young adults 15-24 at 16225 NE 87th Street. The facility also serves ages 18-24 as a nighttime shelter RReporter
11/23 Bear Creek School girl’s soccer team wins state class 1B/1A girl’s soccer championship for the 2nd straight year RReporter
11/30 Redmond High School Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paula C Ferguson prepares to perform at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on March 31, 2013. Expenses are being defrayed by tonight’s benefit concert RReporter
Under the auspices of the City of Redmond and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Division, the Conservation Corp will remove invasive plant species and replace the plants with native vegetation in the heron rookery as part of the 20-year forest management plan developed as part of the Green Redmond Partnership. The project will enhance management of storm water, and improve forest health and tree function RReporter
12/1 Redmond Lights, an event celebrating the diversity within Redmond, holds afternoon entertainment,children’s activities, and dining at City Hall Campus. The after-5 pm festivities continue at Town Center RReporter
12/16 Wreaths to honor fallen veteran’s are laid on grave sites at Cedar Lawn by the Daughters of the Revolution David Douglas Chapter and Wreaths’ Across America RReporter
12/21 Redmond Fireballs, boy’s under-13 District 2 soccer team wins state recreational playoffs RReporter
Redmond Thunder, girl’s under-13 District 2 soccer team wins D-2 Recreational Cup Championship
12/30 Centennial Community Bonfire is held at City Hall Campus that commemorates city incorporation as a 4th class town on December 31, 1912 subsequent to voter’s approval and birth of the 300th town resident, Alexander Adams RReporter
Compiled by Alexa Munoz from The Redmond Reporter. Redmond Washington: Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street, Redmond, Washington 98052.
