where we actually stayed...

This is where we actually stayed in Ireland this summer--not the photo a few posts back. Apologies and profuse thanks to Paul and T!!

Knock Puffball

Found this wonderful arrangement of giant puffballs guarding the stations of the cross at the pilgrimage site of Knock in western Ireland.

Click in the middle of the photo for a closer view.

Back from England and Ireland

We've been back about 36 hours.
It's been an amazing two weeks:

Oxford for a day and a night
Liverpool for a day and a night
A week on a bay in westernmost Ireland
Three nights in Barnsley (South Yorkshire)

I drew and walked and looked and never blogged once. Laughed and played with a variety of wonderful friends. My camera recharger stayed home, so I brought back only 29 photos. Click on the following to see more beautiful images and get an idea of what the weather has been like on the west coast of Ireland.

citizen k
who took the gorgeous pic of his home (where we stayed on Clew Bay) you see above
Sean
tireless fellow traveller and photogger extraordinaire
T
friend, hostess and fritatta girl without whom I wouldn't be writing this

Many many thanks to you and besties Mel and Mags and the kids--Jai, Robin and Piper, for some great times.

It's good to be home, but what a shock to come back to the stagnant air and record-setting heat that has enveloped Puget Sound in its brown cocoon.

One thing that was undeniably similar between the two places, both home and away, is the closure of small shops, with whole traditional "high streets" emptying and my beloved "corner shops" disappearing. From my rather brief visit I could see ominous signs for the future in a number of villages I visited but also some hope for regeneration which could apply to our little village here in Newport Hills. More to come!

Rally for Public Option in Healthcare

Between making an appointment for son Nick's driving test at the Lake Hills Licensing office and lunch at Orexi in downtown Bellevue we took some time to drop by the healthcare rally outside Patty Murray's office on 116th. All the pictures are by Nick, except the one of him, which his proud mother snapped.



The author


It looks a bit like we're all going to a wedding. This office park had nice little gardens and trellised arbors everywhere. Leave it to me to notice that kind of thing!

Nick, holding the sign which reads "Public Option Increases Choice and Reduces Cost"




Passions were flying high at the rally. I like the way Nick caught such a variety of faces.



Girum Woldegebriel, host of the event (with his back to camera) delivered over 250 pages of petition signatures

Rubbery Nerdlets

As I went to publish my last post on the park an ad came up for "Used Synthetic Grass". This makes me wonder what this stuff looks like after five years? Does it become old and raggedy? Does it have to be patched?

Another thing are the rubbery nerdlets that litter the car and washing machine after a practice or game. They cling to everything. Before it was just mud--now it's this rubbery stuff.


The dark green is synthetic turf; the lighter green is the baseball outfield which will be natural grass. Currently the park is all natural grass. The usefully flexible but frequently muddy nature of natural grass is what has the organized soccer community in Bellevue circling our neighborhood park like bald eagles above Lake Washington.

What most concerns me are the recent health concerns raised at the neighborhood meeting described in my last post. A casual survey reveals there is a lot to be concerned about:
Center for Environmental Healthhere
and LATimeshere
and SF Gatehere
and USA Todayhere
and NPRhere
and here
and Consumer Reportshere
and NYTimes here

Astroturf is not the Answer

The view across the softball outfield at Newport Hills Park



So here's the source of my 4th of July "blog block" which I define as a loss of heart and sense of joy in blogging about our community. It all started in June with this flyer in my mailbox from the City Parks Department:

"Join us as we share sportsfield improvements plans for Newport Hills Community Park as part of the voter approved Parks levy."

A chance, it seemed to learn about and weigh in on the city's proposed 1.8 million dollar installation of synthetic turf at Newport Hills Park

At the Newport Hills Swim and Tennis Club two Bellevue Parks officials and a synthetic turf/landscape designer from DA Hogan Assoc. addressed a rather sparse audience of community members--the majority of which live adjacent to Newport Hills park--and present their version of what soon became clear was a done deal.

When public money becomes available for a neighborhood park, wouldn't you think that the neighborhood would have a say in how it's spent? But the only option given was: here's the parks levy--vote for it or against it and in any case we're not giving you an opportunity to make suggestions for alternative improvements.



It turns out you can't do any of this stuff on synthetic turf.

That's the first thing I noticed on the invitation from the City: the words "synthetic turf" were nowhere to be seen. The thing is that the City, with 1.8 million dollars in their pocket to spend on Newport Hills park improvements, chose to spend it on the installation of synthetic turf. This was presented as a "done deal" because the City has no other options for siting a community soccer field in existing neighborhoods. Guess why not. People don't want them in their neighborhood.

Another thing about the invitation/flyer: the word "community" doesn't mean what you might think. Seems innocuous, but the important words here are Community Park. Not a neighborhood park but a community park. By anyone's definition, this is a neighborhood park. It's our only green space where a family can picnic, throw balls for the dog, play frisbee, fly kites and enjoy our annual fourth of July bbq. This has grown over the years to be an important way for the community to re-connect, with a parade, performances by local artists and athletes and it's a whole lot of fun. (See my earlier post Blog Block 1)
A community park, on the other hand, serves the needs of the entire community at large; in this case, the eastside soccer community.

This park is tiny at 7.82 acres. It's not the behemoth that Robinswood is, yet that is the very park that the City officials kept comparing it to. It's just big enough for a kids sportfield, softball field and a well-loved, very busy little playground with four swings and a climbing structure. Were the neighborhood allowed to vote, my guess would be they'd like to see a bigger playground.


So what's not to like about improvements? Except that this is how it was presented: astroturf or nothin'. No alternatives, no public process.

I wasn't aware this new status upgrade (from a neighborhood to a community park--they've actually changed the name on the City website) and astroturf was something we had requested, but it was voted on by Bellevue and approved by a 67% margin, along with a number of other city-wide park improvements, some of which I'll list here. The whole thing feels very "top down" to me.

Newport Hills Park improvements--synthetic turf in dark green--price tag: $1.8 million

At Surrey Downs and Eastgate neighborhoods, when this levy was approved, expansions at Surrey Downs include open lawns, picnic spots and a skateboarding area. The park will be gorgeous and the process will take about 18 months. For a peak, look
hereA community center is also planned.

Over at Eastgate, an off-leash dog area, picnic facilities and trails will be on offer in addition to the possibility of lighted sportsfields and an indoor recreation building. The City purchased properties from the Boeing Co and the BSD, which is interesting because when a resident suggested that the City purchase a lot available across the street he was told that The City isn't in the business of land acquisition:

However, the City states on its own website:
"The Eastgate Area Properties are made up of three parcels consisting of 27.5 acres, strategically located largely in the I-90 Business Park, near the Lake to Lake Trail and major transportation corridors. This is the only remaining undeveloped site in Bellevue large and flat enough to be developed into a park with lit, active recreation.

The smallest (2.47 acres) of the three parcels is a storm water management pond operated by the Bellevue Utilities Department.
The 10.53-acre parcel was purchased from the Bellevue School District in 2004 and is an undeveloped, sloped woodland, surrounded on two sides by single family homes.
The largest of the three parcels was purchased in 2003 with the intent of developing active sports facilities and is a relatively flat, 14.55 acre open space that was operated as a municipal landfill from 1951 to 1964 and an airfield until 1983." (From City of Bellevue website)


The "vision" for a new waterfront park "comes into focus" at Meydenbauer Bay according to the same source:

"over the past two years, the city has been working with a citizen steering committee to develop a plan not only for the creation of a new park, but also for the addition of walkways and terraces linking the neighborhood and the park. Over the last 15 years, the city has acquired 12 properties in the area, totaling nearly 10 acres."


Hmmmm. Now I realize that the fact that the shoreline is involved triggers the EIS process, but still. Where were our choices? Where was our planning process?When did Newport Hills' only park become a community sportsfield? Here's the answer: no other neighborhood will allow new lighting to be installed. Since our park has lighting already, this is a choice location for improvements. The lights flood the surrounding neighbors with a the brightness of day until well past most children's bedtimes. They've been tolerant because it's just in the summertime. Now it will be year-round. And the only community truly served by these improvements will be the eastside soccer community.

Understandably, the meeting was heated. After all, Newport Hills is practically dying on the vine and all the City can offer for their $1.8 mil is some phoney grass and a guarantee of late bedtimes for the neighborhood kids who can't get to sleep because of the year-round usage of the park til 10:30 at night, fully lit and noisy.

When will the City Parks Department involve neighbors in a meaningful way? When will the Park Department talk to the Bellevue City Manager and Neighborhood Planner as well as the Economic Development Director and/or Bellevue School District, not to mention retail property owners sitting on empty buildings to come up with a plan for Newport Hills' survival? Astroturf is not the answer.

Blog Block 2

Sadly, another victim of the Red Apple's closing was the sponsorship of this year's annual King of the Hill classic car show in the Red Apple parking lot. These photos are from last year's July 4 event.

Fab 4th, our street, 2007

Blog Block 1

I've had a terrible case of blog block for the last month.

It began when I attended an information meeting regarding synthetic turf in Newport Hills Park.

You just never know.

We have a little park with a tiny playground and a lot of grassy space. In the summer that grassy space is filled with kids doing soccer camp. Dogs are walked, kites are flown and frisbees are thrown. Families picnic and babies take their first wobbly steps.

Everyone's well-behaved here. When Eastside Catholic was active across the street and it became a parking spot for students I never knew it to become a major hang-out. The littler kids were always in the majority. It's what you call a "pocket park" with a baseball diamond. Definitely a neighborhood attraction. Always immaculately clean and wholesome. The neighbors love it and have never thought it needed changing, as far as I know.

Especially on the 4th of July.

What started out as a pet parade on 121st Ave SE morphed into the number one summer event in Southwest Bellevue. To be continued...