Saturday, January 23, 2010

Letter to the Editor, from Darren Motamedy:

Dear Editor,

I love my community of Kent Washington.  I have lived in Kent for over 40 years, and attest to the strength of our schools, not only because I attended Panther Lake Elementary, Meeker Junior High School, and Kentridge High School, but because today I am an educator in the Kent School District.  On February 9^th, we are going to vote on two critical propositions, proposition one and two.  http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/ksd/cr/2010levy/web/index.html The purpose of these levies will be to “maintain” the current status of education for our children at our current tax rate!  By voting yes, we will continue to ensure that our students are technologically savvy in the 21^st century.  By voting yes, we will ensure that our students will continue to have “clean and well maintained classrooms”, after school sports programs, music programs, safety officers, and a highly trained teaching staff that is preparing our students to become our future leaders!

I appreciate what the Kent School District offered me when I was a student.  My teachers taught me the importance of hard work, knowledge, dedication, and the high ideals of contributing back to the society that raised me.  Today, I am a band director in the Kent School District because of the ideals that my teachers instilled upon me.  I see those ideals being met every day in the classroom by observing my colleagues.

I see teachers tirelessly and lovingly instructing students every day.  I see teachers continuing their personal education by taking college classes, master classes, professional certification classes, and national board class to ensure that they are acquainted with the newest teaching techniques available to help their students.  I see teachers helping disadvantaged students by opening their checkbooks to pay for clothing, food, school supplies, and school camps.  Why?  Because they care about the future of our community!

By voting yes on February 9^th, we are adopting the district motto to “Successfully Prepare All Students For Their Future”. Voting yes on February 9^th will ensure our teachers have the tools necessary to “Prepare All Students For Their Future”.  The School Administration, Teachers, and School Board in Kent are united in our quest to build our community, student by student, classroom by classroom, school by school.  Yes means quality education for our children of Kent!  Yes means a positive future for Kent!

Sincerely,

Darren Motamedy

Darren Motamedy teaches 5^th and 6^th Grade Band in Kent and was the 2008 teacher of the year in Kent, as well as  the KCTS Golden Apple Recipient for 2009.

Every year my family drives throughout Kent to eye all of the beautiful Christmas lights and holiday decorations. Last year was a tough year – and we didn’t see much – because the roads were icy. This year, however, the weather is cooperating but, unfortunately, there aren’t many holiday lights to see. I’m not sure what’s different this year – perhaps people aren’t as festive or maybe rising prices and the economy have had an impact. Our drive, though fun as always, was disappointing. Most neighborhoods had at least one house with lights, and some were dramatically decked out, but for the most part, the usual displays were nonexistent.

My vote for best neighborhood in Kent:  Chancellor Crest off of 132nd, between 240th and 248th Streets. Starting with Kensington High, these neighborhoods are very colorful and festive. If you plan on going on your own holiday lights tour, don’t miss this neighborhood.

Also, check out the lights at Town Square Plaza (2nd and Harrison) in downtown Kent and “Alpaca Road” (aka 240th St. between 132nd and 160th).

Does your neighborhood have a particularly interesting display? Post the neighborhood or address here, and we’ll check them out!

Happy Holidays!

~ From the iLoveKent.net family to yours

This report as provided by Jim McGinnis, president of the Kent Community Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and grants for arts and education programs benefiting the Kent School District and the Kent & Covington communities.

DECEMBER, 2009 KCF PRESIDENT’S REPORT

This month I would like to talk about a program coming up on December 8 & 9 at the Kent Commons. This is the “Game of Life: Attitudes and Choices,” a set of workshops under the auspices of the Kent Police Youth Board which partnered with the Foundation earlier this year for fund raising.

The workshops for the youth include nutrition, underage drinking, relationships, sexual harassment, marijuana use, crisis intervention, financial responsibility, prescription drug abuse, leadership, diversity, relationships with the police, domestic violance, gangs, teen parenting and stress management

Interested Chamber members are invited to monitor any of these sessions during the mornings of December 8 or 9 or the closing celebration from 12:45 to 2:00.

If you or your business would be interested in contributing to future programs like this, you can send those contributions to the Foundation at the Chamber office. They should be made out to the Kent Community Foundation and marked for the “Game of Life/Youth Board.” Monies collected will be used to award grants to these programs

A very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year to all from the Foundation board members.

Jim McGinnis

Yesterday The Seattle Times endorsed Mayor Suzette Cooke in the Cooke vs. Berrios mayor’s race in the upcoming election, citing her experience and track record as just two of the reasons Kent residents should give her their vote next month.

The editorial column begins, “Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke has earned the Times endorsement with her leadership during her tenure, including reducing crime and empowering neighborhoods. As mayor and former state lawmaker, she is best position her to respond to the risk of flooding caused by the damaged Howard Hanson dam…”

Click here to read the complete column as published on The Seattle Times’ website.

Call me naive but I was taught that candidates in any election should stand on their own merits and not rely on underhanded tactics, mudslinging or smear campaigns to win votes.

Because I work in a home office and I am sheltered from what’s going on in terms of water cooler talk and local gossip, I am always surprised to hear when candidates – or their volunteers – are behaving badly. Last week, for example, word was sent to me that the upcoming mayoral election between incumbent Mayor Suzette Cooke and opponent Jim Berrios is heating up.There are also two contested city council races that could turn contentious.

One side claims the other has started a phone calling campaign to bash the opposition. I’ve also heard that candidates are posturing and otherwise behaving differently than they would in a non-election year, and I’ve seen campaign signs from both signs vandalized, pulled out of the ground or removed altogether.

Regardless of who is behind this behavior, I find it appalling. We are all adults and capable of standing behind our record of achievements, our promises for the future and our commitment to the community. Why, then, must we resort to childish tactics to get noticed or to smear an opponent? Rather than getting me to dislike a smeared opponent, I am more likely to rally against the one who is having the public temper tantrum. That’s not the type of candidate I want to see in office. How about you?

~ Dana Neuts, publisher, iLoveKent.net

Last Saturday my husband and I attended the pre-season opener between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips (that’s hockey for those who don’t follow the sport). I was disappointed in the small community turnout (maybe 300 attendees), but we had a great time watching the game and cheering on our TBirds. The venue was beautiful and our seats were great (Thanks, Libby!), so we had fun.

After hearing the buzz about the TBirds and Silvertips season opener last night, I knew I had to go to the game. Jim was working, so I took my teen daughter to the game after she announced, “I love hockey!” Despite my disbelief, I took her to the game and we were thrilled to see the great turnout. The house wasn’t packed, but the majority of the seats were filled and the community spirit was in the air. We participated in the chuck-a-puck contest and the 50/50 drawing. We didn’t win either, but had a good time trying.

It helped the mood, of course, that the TBirds won 4 to 3, but it was the atmosphere and camaraderie we most enjoyed. It was fun to cheer on our team and, quite frankly, to watch the fans…the disinterested, the die-hards, the Tweeters among us and more. Read the full run down of the game here.

There are 36 home games this season. If you have the chance, I hope you’ll go out to the ShoWare Center to support the team. It is a fun, affordable night out for the whole family…and so close to home!

Go TBirds – you rock!!!

As a parent of a new freshman at Kentwood High School, I am frustrated at the continued teachers’ strike for many reasons, but mostly because I want my daughter back in school. She’s had a great summer, has grown and matured in many ways, and she’s ready to get back to the business of learning, growing and changing. That includes returning to school. Alas, it isn’t that easy if you have kids in the Kent School District. The teachers voted to strike on August 26, delaying the first day of school indefinitely.

Originally scheduled to go back on August 31, we finished our back-to-school clothes and supplies shopping in mid-August. We did haircuts, room cleaning and laundry catch-up; my daughter even practiced waking up early to ensure she wouldn’t miss her 6:55 am bus. We even had a going-back-to-school lunch with another mom and her teen daughters to celebrate the start of school! It is now September 8, and we have no teachers, no school, and no bus. Parents are anxious to return to work or at least to their regular schedules, and kids want to go back to school but it is out of our hands.

Based on what I’ve read and heard, I support the Kent teachers and their arguments and reasons for going on strike. Classroom size and time with students are critical components to a good education, and I admire the teachers for standing up for their personal beliefs at all costs. The KSD, on the other hand, is trying to force the teachers back without an agreement, essentially stripping the teachers of their bargaining power.

At the same time, I see people all around me without jobs and I wonder why we can’t find some sort of compromise. Since that hasn’t yet occurred, I’m asking myself and fellow parents why this negotiation process is so difficult. Is it the mediation team who can’t iron out the details or the parties involved? Is KSD digging in its heels and throwing its weight around, or are the teachers making negotiations difficult? It feels like there other issues that haven’t been publicly disclosed, but if that’s the case, what are they? What are we missing? Did some union rep push for a controversial strike this year, or perhaps the KSD decided that its new administration had to take a hard line?

Without a dedicated media source or unbiased third party involved to focus on and investigate the inside story, it is hard to identify ALL of the REAL issues in this Kent teachers’ strike. Instead, we only hear what each of the two sides chooses to disseminate, and we are left to wonder what’s really going on and when a resolution will be reached. In the meantime, the students are the ones suffering.

Let’s get this strike resolved and get our kids back in school. That’s who we’re fighting for, isn’t it?

For frequent visitors to iLoveKent.net, I apologize for not having more coverage here about the KSD teachers’ strike.  I am at a journalism conference and learned of the news via text message fr0m my teenage daughter. Since then, I’ve been trying to learn ab0ut this issues and, honestly, I don’t think the media is giving the strike – or the items at stake – much play. I’ve been hard pressed to see any unbiased online forum or site which discusses the issues candidly and fairly.

As we all know there are at least two sides to every story and, in this case, there are likely to be as many perspectives as there are items 0n the negotiation table. Parents, students, teachers, the city of Kent, and KSD will all view things differently. The bottom line, however, is that we all want the same things….teachers to feel valued and to be compensated fairly and for students to get back t0 class. There are, of course,  many other issues to consider (class size, prep time, days off, budget c0nstraints), but the goal remains the same.

If you have an update 0r an 0pinion on the subject, post your comments or news here. Let’s start a dialogue to see how we as a c0mmunity can work together to make the m0st of this situation.

In the meantime, here are some links to other places you can go for info. (NOTE:  a number 0f the Google video links I clicked on after a search if the Kent School District strike were bogus, so d0n’t click on any links from sources you don’t know or trust.)

Kent School District

KSD Budget and Negotiation Info

Kent Education Assoc. Blog

Kent Education Assoc

Associated Content

August 18 is King County’s primary and special election date. If you are a registered voter, you should have already received your ballot by mail along with your explanatory booklet. Your ballot will include only those elections pertinent to you, based on where you are registered to vote. For example, if you live in Seattle, you’ll have the opportunity to choose which of your favorite candidates should move onto the November mayoral election. If you live in Kent, you’ll have the opportunity to choose which of the King County Executive and Kent City Council candidates should advance.

As for 8 p.m. on 8/11/09, fewer than 10% of King County voters and fewer than 10% of Kent voters had returned their ballots. Since this is our first mail-only election, those figures are pretty grim. If you haven’t already, make sure to get your vote counted. Fill out your ballot and mail it in or drop it off (for free) at your local library. Nearby locations are the downtown Kent library, Covington library and Black Diamond.

For more information, visit King County Elections online.

Call me naive but it never ceases to amaze me what some people are capable of doing when faced with a little healthy competition. Through a client who I prefer not to name, I’ve learned that another local business is trying to sabotage my client’s good name and reputation. The other business has “shopped” my client, causing an unnecessary scene during the visit and raving about the competitor’s business instead, reporting my client to the state for violations that didn’t exist, and posting a series of bad reviews online. The other business is doing everything possible to make my client look bad.

My client asked me how she could counter bad press, albeit false. Sadly, in a situation like this, there is little a business owner can do except to hold herself to the highest standards and to “play nice” even when others refuse to do so. I know this is frustrating for my client, and she doesn’t deserve this kind of negative attention. Getting into the mud with this other business owner won’t help the situation though, so we’ll hold our heads high and let them give us all they’ve got. We will continue to “play nice” and, at the end of the day, we’ll rest peacefully knowing we put in an honest day’s work.

Dana Neuts

Though I don’t consider myself a diehard coffee drinker – I prefer the “foo-foo” coffee drinks like mochas, lattes and frappucinos – I’ve always loved Starbucks. I was in the Covington Starbucks on Tuesday to meet a client, and I discovered I had left my wallet at home. I brought my laptop, but no cash. Unable to order, I sat down to wait for my client. I didn’t want to tell her what I’d done, so we just started our meeting.

When the barista brought over my client’s drink, she also brought me a full-sized strawberry Vivano “as a sample” on the house. It was such a nice surprise and I really appreciated it, especially on such a hot summer day. Afterward, I went over to thank the baristas behind the counter, and they just smiled and said they were happy to do it. It is hard to find service like that these days, so thank you, Covington Starbucks. I hope to pay it forward soon!

Located on First Avenue South in downtown Kent, Cypriana has added an online store to its offerings. Now you can shop for the same great products – organic bedding & bath products; organic baby clothing, bedding and diaper bags; and brands like DreamSacks, Area and Nandina – at your convenience. Shop at Cypriana 24-7.

Enjoy the great selection of organic and all-natural products that owner Susan Thomas has to offer without leaving home. You’ll be thrilled with your purchases! I’ve bought several items – baby gifts, a bamboo throw and bath products – and every one of them has met or exceeded my expectations. My favorite – my DreamSacks bamboo throw in chocolate brown – luxuriously soft!

Cypriana makes it easy to go green!

I recently returned from a vacation to Maine where my husband’s family lives. Though they have visited us numerous times, it was my first trip to Maine. Despite the lousy weather when we visited, Maine was beautiful and has much to brag about — blueberries, lobster, wide open spaces, wildlife, lighthouses and more. I missed home though. Here are 7 reasons I missed Kent, Washington – HOME SWEET HOME:

1.  Starbucks: Dunkin’ Donuts is to the East Coast what Starbucks is to the West Coast. There was a DD on every street corner and, despite their delicious donuts, their service and mochas left something to be desired. On the last day, I caved in and drove 10 miles to the nearest Starbucks…mmmm, love the tuxedo mocha!

2.  Dungeness crab: Sure, Maine has its lobster and we had our fill of that, but it can’t hold a candle to our Dungeness crab which is in its peak season right now. It is lighter, sweeter and more pleasing to the palate than any Maine lobster.

3.  Pacific time: The three-hour time difference doesn’t seem like a big deal, but now that I’m home I realize just how much my body had adjusted to it. I am waking up at 5 am and going to bed at 8 pm. I can’t wait until my body acclimates itself to PST.

4.  Seattle summers: It was just a fluke that the weather was bad while we visited, but it made me long for our Seattle summers:  dry, warm-but-not-beastly-hot, and relatively bug-free. Maine was rainy, muggy and full of mosquitoes.

5.  Daylight: In Maine, it was typically dark by 9 pm, almost a full hour earlier than it is here. I missed our long summer nights.

6.  LA Fitness: I joined the new LA Fitness in Covington in February 2009 and have enjoyed going regularly to try out the classes, do cardio, work out with weights, and to pal around with friends Dena and Robin. Aside from a Curves here or there, I didn’t see a single gym in my Maine travels. I walked instead, but it wasn’t the same.

7.  The People of Kent: Maine was great and the people were friendly. Everyone knew everyone including my husband, but no one knew me. The town we stayed in – Falmouth – had a population of about 15,000 and was a very close-knit community. Kent is about 90,000 and is just as close-knit…in a liberal, we-love-everybody kind of way. I like shopping downtown or visiting Kona Kai Coffee Co. or Cypriana and having folks know my name. While gone, I realized how much I value that.

It is with great sadness that the community said good-bye to one of its own this week, David Cooke, the husband of Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke, who passed away last week. News reports state that his death was caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Regardless of how or why, it is a loss to the community and we should respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time. Our hearts and prayers go out to Mayor Cooke and her family. May they know that the community loves and supports them.

For those who wish to remember David Cooke more formally, the Cooke family has asked that donations be made to:

The Pediatric Interim Care Center
The Budkis Fund, in care of the Renton Community Foundation
The Jamie Moyer Foundation

For the last three years, I’ve been involved in the planning and hosting of Wine, Women, WOW, a nonprofit event benefiting the Kent Downtown Partnership and a local charity (YWCA’s Domestic Violence program for the last three years). This year, while I assisted with the marketing, I was not an “on site” volunteer the day of the event, compliments of Seattle traffic. Instead, I was finally able to enjoy the event for what it was – a night of fun, conversation, wine and laughter with some of my favorite local women and men, of course (I can’t forget Mychal, Steve, Greg, Roger or the others).

Event chair Libby Seidel did an amazing job of growing the event, coordinating the details, attracting new vendors and more! She undoubtedly spent hundreds of hours dotting her Is and crossing her Ts. It was well worth it! As always, the event was fun, but this year it was at the ShoWare Center which I really enjoyed. There was more space for new vendors which gave us a great variety of booths to shop at and visit. In fact, there were so many that I didn’t even see them all!

The event wasn’t perfect, but no event ever is. I waited in line for 45 minutes to get in, and had Libby not offered to get my first glass of wine for me, I would have waited for that too. I also didn’t get any of the food, but that’s OK. It looked yummy and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Some evening highlights included:

- Emcee Diana Albertson who is always beautiful, not to mention FUN!
- Mayor Suzette Cooke and her adorable mom
- Dena Brandt’s Cookie Lee jewelry demonstration
- Mary Kay Kissology – very fun! (I am “so you-nique.”)
- Yummy cupcakes and, of course, the wine in red, white and pink!
- Goodie bags featuring Wine, Women, Wow wine glasses – love ‘em, Lib!

It was a fun night out, and I hope KDP will continue to host this annual event. It is a great way to share some of the many things Kent has to offer with the region. Thanks, Libby, KDP and all of the volunteers who made the evening possible. Well done!

~ Dana

I get a lot of questions about why I started iLoveKent.net and what I get out of it. I started it as a simple blog last summer, but moved it to a larger, friendlier format a couple of months ago because it was getting more attention and I saw the need for information in our community growing. I wanted to provide a venue to talk about some of the businesses, events and people in Kent that I think are great but aren’t getting the exposure they deserve. Some that I’ve written about are clients, but many are not.

I’m not sure where the site is headed or what I eventually want to accomplish with it, but for now…

- The site is a free, community-based website.

- I do not receive any money from advertisers or others to maintain the site.

- I post content on the site as I have time. I do it on a voluntary basis as a community service.

- Readers and members of the community occasionally send me items and events to post. I do so as I have time and at my discretion. I am the sole editor and publisher of the site.

- Readers comments are moderated the first time they submit a comment. After they have had a comment approved, future comments are automatically posted. I reserve the right to delete to inappropriate or offensive remarks.

- I have hired several people to assist with the site because there aren’t enough hours in the day, but I do so at my expense. As a result, at some point, I anticipate having to generate some revenue from the site to cover my costs. I don’t know what that looks like yet.

- Any errors or omissions are strictly my own. If you find something that is inaccurate, please contact me at info@ilovekent.net, and I will make the corrections as soon as possible.

I welcome your input, feedback, content suggestions and ideas. I want this site to show some of the great things that Kent, Washington has to offer. Your input will help to make the site more useful, so keep those ideas coming! Send them to info@ilovekent.net.

Thanks,
Dana Neuts, publisher
iLoveKent.net

It must have been a slow news day. I went to LA Fitness in Covington to work out this morning and, unfortunately, my iPod wasn’t working so I watched TV while doing my 30 minutes on the treadmill. I usually position myself between two TVs so I have some variety to watch. This morning’s choices:  CNN and ESPN, usually chock-full of interesting content. Today? Not so much. ESPN, which I normally enjoy watching, was all about college basketball, a sport I dare say I can’t keep up with. At least in the NBA, there are a limited number of teams I have to remember. The NCAA, on the other hand, has more schools and teams than I can count. But I digress…my point is that I settled on CNN for my dose of morning news.

As I’m rounding the second lap, I see a clip of First Lady Michelle Obama shaking the hand of the Queen Mum herself, Queen Elizabeth. Then for the next few minutes (it felt like hours), the commentators debated about whether or not First Lady Obama had broken protocol. No, we have been assured by the (media) powers that be at Buckingham Palace that they are certain it was a mutually respectful gesture and no one acted out of turn. Well, thank goodness for that…the world economy might screech to a halt if the almighty protocol weren’t followed. Then, of course, we learned of the gifts that were exchanged between the world leaders:  a video iPod loaded with showtunes and a rare songbook signed by Richard Rodgers from the Obamas, and a framed, an autographed picture from the Queen. Are you kidding me? Do we care? Forgive my sarcasm. I’m sure these things are truly important to someone somewhere, but not necessarily to me on this particular morning. Isn’t there some CEO raiding his corporate piggy bank this morning, or a flooding river we could check on?

If that wasn’t enough breaking news to get you to put down your coffee cup and reach for the remote control, then you’ll love the next news byte on CNN – Guiding Light is being taken off the air after, like 358 years. OK, that’s an exaggeration. It’s actually 72 years which, of course, predates television. The steamy soap opera started on the radio in 1937 and moved to CBS television in 1952, according to Soaps.com. OK, I’ll admit that I used to watch GL as a teen. I remember Josh, Reva and the gang, but I’m in my 40s now. I am over that phase of needing the daily cliff-hanging suspense in my life. I want predictability. So what will we do with our afternoons now? We’ll have to watch Oprah and Dr. Oz, an ABC after-school TV special about drugs or teen pregnancy (do they still make those?), or *gasp* Judge Judy reruns.

As I finished up my hike, I realized that there is a reason I don’t watch TV very often. I guess I’d better charge my iPod.

Following its March 14 article on an all-girl Lingerie Football team coming to the  ShoWare Center on Sept. 11, Kent Reporter readers are in an uproar. Angry locals wrote to the paper, filling the entire Opinion page of the March 18, 2009 edition. Men and women alike protested the ShoWare Center’s decision to host appropriately-padded-but-skantily-clad female footballers in Kent’s newest community event venue.

I respect the opinions of those who wrote in, including those whose letters weren’t printed, pro or con. Each reader/writer is within his or her rights to publicly speak about their distaste toward Lingerie Football and to tell others it is unwelcome in Kent. Personally, I don’t care if we have Lingerie Football here or not. However, I do feel strongly enough about this issue to make a few key points:

• Opponents to Lingerie Football and their families are not required to buy tickets, attend the event or support it in any way.
• The ShoWare Center is a fully-enclosed arena, so events are typically closed to those without tickets.
• Proponents of the sport are welcome to buy tickets, attend and cheer on their favorite teams.
• The players have on more clothing than many other widely-televised TV programs including some Olympic sports.
• The lingerie-wearing female footballers are playing voluntarily. They tried out for the team to play football.
• Some argue that this activity demeans women. I see it differently; I see empowered women who found a way to play football. If they don’t want to play in their underwear, they don’t have to.
• We all have a right to our own opinions and to participate in and attend events that we enjoy. If you don’t like Lingerie Football, hockey or home and garden shows, stay home and be glad that you live in a country that does not dictate what you can and cannot enjoy as a leisure activity.

With that said, I don’t expect my rant here to be popular, nor do I expect to sway anyone who feels strongly about this issue. Rather, I hope you’ll consider and respect each other’s opposing views. In other words, live and let live…with lingerie or without.

~ Dana Neuts