Category Archives: Uncategorized

Activities, Books, Shopping, Uncategorized

Summer Reading Into Fall

I’ve talked about it before, but the University Bookstore in Mill Creek is such a good resource for book groups it bears repeating. In fact, if you are looking to join a group there are several options to pick from through the store. Do tell.

The Main Street Book Club which features “The best in contemporary titles” meets the last Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM. You would still have time to read the August (meets Aug 22nd) selection — The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Paperback • Fiction • $11.99*

“The book confounded my expectations, in that it wasn’t strictly about baseball. Baseball is used literally and figuratively in this book, as a focus for multiple story lines, each in its own way dealing with the challenges of learning how to live with one’s imperfections and failures. I loved the characters, the metaphor, the baseball.” — Excerpt from a review/recommendation staff member, Kerry.

@thecreek Book Club is the group for you, if you are looking for “The best in young adult fiction, open to readers 16 and older.” They meet the first Monday of each month at 7PM. You might have to pull some all-nighters to get it read in time, but the August selection for the August 6th meeting is Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. Paperback • Young Adult Fiction • $9.99*

“Charlie Bucktin, a bookish thirteen year old, is startled one summer night by an urgent knocks on his bedroom window. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in their small mining town, and he has come to ask for Charlie’s help. Jasper takes him to his secret glade, where Charlie witnesses Jasper’s horrible discovery, in the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, even harder to hold in this heart.”

If you want to catch up with the next one, the book for September 10th is Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.

The Odd Shelf Book Club offers up History → Memoir → Cultural Criticism discussing the best in new & classic non-fiction. They meet the second Thursday of each month at 6:30PM.  Again, August 9th is just around the corner, so you may have to get going on it, but the selection is Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers by James W. Hall Paperback • Books About Books • $16.00*

What do Michael Corleone, Jack Ryan and Scout Finch have in common? Creative writing professor and thriller writer James W. Hall know. Now, in this entertaining, revelatory book, he reveals how bestsellers work, using twelve twentieth century blockbusters as case studies — including The Godfather, Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird and Jaws. Hit Lit is a must-read for fiction lovers and aspiring writers alike, and makes us think anew about why we love the books we love.”

This is being added to my list for sure. Coming Attractions: September 13th The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Keane Paperback • Chemistry • $14.99* & on October 11th The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin Paperback • Self-help • $14.99*

Creek Classics Book Club is just like it sounds. These are the books that have stood the test of time. One classic title per season & they meet once a season. The Fall meeting is Tuesday, September 4th @ 6:30PM. The next selection is Log From the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck. Paperback • Travel Literature • $16.00*

“In 1940, John Steinbeck and his friend, biologist Ed Ricketts ventured into the Gulf of California to search for marine invertebrates along the beaches. This exciting day-by-day account of their trip drawn from the longer work, Sea of Cortez, is a wonderful combination of science, philosophy, and high speed adventure that provides a fascinating portrait of Steinbeck and Rickets.”

*It should be noted that the prices for the books are the regular list price, but as book club selections you will save 20% when purchased at the Mill Creek store.

Reviews & summaries quoted above are from the University Bookstore materials.

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Activities, Food, Kids, People, Summer Concerts, Uncategorized

Kid’s Concerts Again. Yay!

Library Park Stage ready for Children’s Concert.

The Friends of The Mill Creek Library,  the City of Mill Creek Parks & Recreation & local sponsors are once again presenting a Summer Children’s Concert Series. The concerts are on Wednesdays from 12PM – 1PM at the Library Park adjacent to the Mill Creek Library!

August 1 — Alleyoop AKA Allan “Al” Hirsch is the featured performer. “He is an author, storyteller, historian, poet, riddler, puppeteer, musician, singer, teacher, dad, and now a grandpa!” “An upbeat concert that includes musical games & active playful songs & so much more. The children become the show as they dance & play along. Then there are the puppets.” Excerpt from:  www.alleyoop.us

August 8 — Tia’s Quackertunes  “Tia! is a nationally acclaimed, award-winning children’s song writer and an international recording artist who has been nominated for “Best Female Music Artist” by the American Academy of Children’s Entertainment and has won the Gold Parents’ Choice Award for her audio recording ‘Tia’s DINO-STEW ZOO.’ ” Excerpt from:  www.quackertunes.com

August 15 — Last but not least in the series for the Summer!  Buck & Elizabeth return to the Mill Creek Library Park all ready ” . . . to lasso you for cowboy or cowgirl costume contest. So come ready to strut your stuff and enjoy a fun & exciting show.” “For 20+ years Buck has been pursuing his passion in ‘Education Through Entertainment.’ ” ” ‘Animated personality’ ‘Dynamic vocals’ ‘the best ventriloquist EVER’ are just a few of the many talents Elizabeth brings to the stage.  From character voices to soulful blues she is comfortable with Looney Tunes and Patsy Cline.” Excerpt from: www.beep.8k.com

Technically these are free concerts. However, PLEASE bring a non-perishable food item to support the New Mill Creek Food Bank located at Jackson High School. Do tell.

Note: Parking is available at the Library parking lot on the north side of the street off 156th St SE Mill Creek. Parking is also available near Azteca Restaurant. Please use crosswalks at all times for safety. If you need additional information please call Parks & Recreation at (425) 745 -1891

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Activities, City Government, People, Services, Uncategorized

Green Choices Recycling Challenge

A few weeks ago you should have received a flyer in the mail from Recycle Rewards, Inc.,/Recyclebank.com with information about a recycling challenge for our area. It may have seemed a little confusing. I wondered if it was bona fide. I am happy to report that it is! 

Mill Creek is one of 50 communities across the country chosen to participate in  The SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge.  The goal is to be the community with the highest percentage of their population reporting they recycle each month. The winning community will be rewarded with a $100,000 grant for a project or program that promotes sustainability. Do tell.

I contacted the City of Mill Creek to check on this, and they are in fact serious about this & working to organize the program & get the word out to the residents. Look for information at the City of Mill Booth (spaces 25-26) at the Mill Creek Festival running this weekend July 14th & 15th —11:00AM  on Mill Creek Boulevard. In addition to self-reporting, Waste Management-NW has agreed to help with verification/reporting tonnage weight of recyclables they collect in Mill Creek. For more information and to sign up go to:  recyclebank.com/greenchoices

The Challenge has already begun! It runs from July 2, 2012 until December 31, 2012. To find out more about the collaboration between communities, including Mill Creek, SC Johnson & Recycle Bank visit this great link from:  SC johnson Green Choices   Excerpt from the site: While the challenge aims to increase consumers’ recycling, it will also contribute to the company’s goal of becoming landfill neutral by 2015.

©dotellmillcreek.com All rights reserved

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City Government, People, Services, Uncategorized, Weather and ambience

Invite to Sign Code Open House

Mill Creek residents & businesses place a high value on the community’s appearance. One way the City maintains its beauty is through regulations that minimize visual clutter such as excessive signage. At the same time, Mill Creek residents & businesses desire a thriving business community that provides goods & services to the citizens in close proximity to where they live. To meet both objectives, the City’s sign regulations must balance the need to prevent visual clutter with the need to provide exposure to businesses.

Over the past few years, several City Council members have expressed a desire to consider revisions to the City’s sign regulations to allow larger freestanding signs for commercial properties, which would allow the display of the center name plus one or more tenants. The City has also identified a need to revise the building (wall) sign regulations regarding maximum area calculations to make them uniform throughout the City. Currently, there are two separate calculation methods for building signs, one used in the Mill Creek Town Center and one for the rest of the City. Staff is proposing to apply the Town Center regulations citywide. For these reasons, the Community Development Department is working with the Mill Creek Planning Commission to prepare potential revisions to the sign code for consideration by the City Council. Do tell.

The City would like to hear from both residents and the business community on their ideas for potential code amendments. To provide a forum to receive public comments, the Planning Commission will be hosting an Open House on Thursday July 19, 2012 at 7:00PM in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 15728 Main St., Mill Creek, WA 98012

At the Open House, additional information will be provided about the proposed sign regulation changes, and there will be an opportunity to participate in a Visual Preference Survey to let the City know which types of signs you think are, and just as important —are not, appropriate in the City of Mill Creek.

Over the next months, staff will review with the Planning Commission the public comments received and prepare potential revisions to the sign regulations for Planning Commission review. The goal is to have a Planning Commission recommendation on any revisions to the sign code available for City Council review by late 2012.

There will be additional opportunities for public input, including a formal public hearing before the Planning Commission. Please contact staff at the numbers listed below to be added to a mailing and/oremail list to receive updates on this project, or to share your comments.

Camille Chriest, Senior Planner   (425) 921-5726   (contact with questions & suggested code amendments)

camillec@cityofmillcreek.com

Sherrie Ringstad, Planning Specialist (contact to be added to email and/or mailing list)    (425)921-5717

sherrie@cityofmillcreek.com

Information provided by Office of Tom Rogers, Community Planning Director
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Uncategorized

Want to Rent some Rain?

Have you ever seen one of those big tanks or containers at construction sites & wondered what they were for. Some are a round & look like silos; some look like shipping containers & they often have ladders and walkways around the top. I’ve even seen some marked with the company name Rain for Rent, which I find intriguing. Say what? Who would want to rent rain in the Pacific Northwest?

Well, there just happens to be one of these things on the construction site in Mill Creek Plaza. It is green & is of the “cargo container” variety. It has a ladder up the side & a railing around the top. I’ve wondered if they are for emergency haz-mat decontamination or something. You never know until you ask, right?

Well, I didn’t have it exactly right, but it does turn out they are for environmental purposes. These tanks can be used for a variety of reasons, but in this case it turns out this tank is there to collect surface run-off from construction site. If it rains or if the contractors are using water, incidental construction materials could be washed through & from the site. We wouldn’t want that going into our storm drains to the streams & creeks.

Soooo, in this case the surface run-off water drains into a special collection pond built on the site. It is then pumped into the tank where it is stored and/or filtered until it can be safely removed from the site. Do tell.

Uncategorized

Brick by Brick in MC Plaza

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Brick by brick a new building is going up to replace the recently razed Round Table Pizza Parlor. The multi-tenant commercial structure designed by Donahou Design Group and owned/managed by Panos Properties, will contain 5,250 square feet of retail space. The exterior will have alternating horizontal bands of brick with red & sandstone colored masonry. Grey metal bands will accent the roof line as well as the metal awnings.   

Three individual storefronts with their own entrances will occupy the building. One of the  establishments will sport a drive-through window & a small outdoor patio. Rumor has it that it will be a new Starbuck’s, like we need another one of those. If it is a coffee shop, I would at least like to see another brand for some variety & to give us some choices.

Other features include floor to ceiling windows along the Northeast and West facades. The South side windows — the 164th Street side — will be semi-opaque allowing light in yet screen tenant storage areas from view by passers-by.

The parking lot & landscaping in that area of Mill Creek Plaza will also be reconfigured. New crosswalks & walkways will increase pedestrian access & safety. New landscape plantings will include more drought resistant plant species. Existing trees will be retained.

Just like the updates made to Mill Creek Square last year, across 164th St., it is exciting to see a fresh new look coming to this corner of the Plaza. It is an important step to maintain the vitality of the Mill Creek business district & the entire community. A little more variety would be another step in that direction. Do tell.

Activities, Kids, People, Sports, Uncategorized

Run of the Mill 5K 27.0

The 27th Annual Run of the Mill 5K is Saturday July 7th this year. The Run of the Mill is Mill Creek’s premier community charity event presented by Mill Creek’s premier mortgage lender, Columbia Funding Mortgage.

Columbia Funding is owned and operated by Steve Knox. Steve stepped in to organize and become the presenting sponsor of The Run of the Mill in 2006. After soliciting support from the running community, receiving help from amazing volunteers & amassing a growing list of community sponsors, “The Run” was revitalized as a charitable event. Do tell.

Steve’s wife, Linda is an integral part, volunteering as the Development Director for the Run of the Mill to honor her father, whom she lost to cancer in 1998, and to celebrate & support her brother, Jim & her sister, Shirley — both cancer survivors.

Since the run became a charity event in 2006, over $165,000 has been donated to local charities, and the goal this year is to top $200,000 in charitable donations.

Some of the local & diverse charities supported are: Providence General Foundation-the Linda Baltzell Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, Jackson High School & Archbishop Murphy High School Track & Cross Country Booster Clubs, St. Vincent de Paul -Bothell/Mill Creek Conference, just to name a few.

Register today!  Packet pick-up begins at 7:30AM on Raceday with the race going off at 9:30AM. For complete information on everything you need to know re: registration, costs, deadlines, maps, prizes, what’s included, etc., visit: www.mcrunofthemill.com

Thank you to the many local sponsors of the Run of the Mill 5K. Please support them:

Columbia Funding Mortgage, Mill Creek Family Practice, Waste Management-NW, Central Market, Columbia Athletic Clubs, Mill Creek Running, Sayenko Design, Peoples Bank, La Palmera, Mill Creek Foot and Ankle clinic, Advocare, Swedish-Mill Creek, Yoli, Mill Creek town Center, The ABS Coffee Company, the Y-YMCA, and Inner Athlete.

Credits: Information & above Photo from Columbia Funding Mortgage & Run of the Mill 5k Road Race.
Activities, People, Restaurants, Uncategorized

Second Thursday Art Walk

The Mill Creek Town Center Business Association along with the City of Mill Creek’s Art & Beautification Board is pleased to announce the first Mill Creek Town Center Second Thursday Art Walk. The Art Walk will take place in the evening on the second Thursdays in July, August & September from 5PM to 8PM. So mark your calendars for July 12th, August 9th &  September 13th.

Calling all artists! Those of you who are interested in participating by showing your work in the Art Walk please send an email to the Art & Beautification Board:
artwalk@cityofmillcreek.com   You may also go to the Mill Creek Town Center Business Association website for all the details: http://millcreektowncenterbiz.com/?p=442

Various Town Center merchants will host the artists and some of the restaurants will host musicians during the evenings of the Art Walk.  Maps showing participating merchants & restaurants will be available soon online at  www.millcreektowncenter.biz and on the evening of the Art Walk in Town Center.

“This will be the beginning of what we hope will become an ongoing monthly event. The community can mingle and enjoy the art that will be displayed throughout the Town Center,” said Marcia Beck, co-chair of the Art Walk Planning Committee. Do tell.

Information & image of poster are from the Mill Creek Town Center Business Association.

 

Activities, Kids, People, Summer Concerts, Uncategorized

Concerts at the Forum

The Mill Creek Town Center Business Association is pleased to present Music Mid-Week in Mill Creek, a Summer Concert Series at The Forum. Plan to come out every Wednesday 6-8PM in July & August 2012 beginning on the 4th of July. The Forum is located at 151st and Main Street between Blazing Onion and Ristorante Capri. 

  • Jul 4     Hyah Vision — Reggae
  • Jul 11   Cherry Cherry — Neil Diamond Tribute
  • Jul 18   Ventura Highway — 60’s-70’s Hits
  • Jul 25   Bump Kitchen — Funk/Blues
  • Aug 1   Gold Rush — Pop Classics 50’s, 60’s & 70’s
  • Aug 8   All Mixed Up — 80’s Tribute
  • Aug 15  Sly Mr Y with Time Slip — Classic rock
  • Aug 22  Creme Tangerine — Beatles Tribute
  • Aug 29  3 Miles High — UK/US Rock/Pop 70’s- 90’s

We enjoyed the concerts last year. Plan to eat dinner at Capri or Blazing Onion where you can find a great seat during the concerts (Hint: go early). Another option? Eat at Azul, Kafe Neo, Firestation Deli or one of the other fun restaurants in Mill Creek before or after the concert. Get something “to go”, maybe. There is generous seating in the Forum area and the concerts are all family friendly. Did I mention the concerts are free?! Do tell.

Music Mid-Week in Mill Creek is a highly anticipated annual event thanks to the Mill Creek Town Center and their generous sponsors: North Creek Roofing, Chirobody, The Y-YMCA, Silver Dollar Casino-Mill Creek, City of Mill Creek, ABS Coffee Company & The World’s Tastiest Frozen Yogurt, and Mill Creek Rotary. Please support these local businesses. For more information visit: www.millcreektowncenterbiz.com

Activities, City Government, Uncategorized

In the Know

The City of Mill Creek Planning Commission will host an Open House followed by a Public Hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments on Thursday, June 21, 2012. The Open House will run from 5:30PM – 6:45PM. The Planning Commission Meeting & Public Hearing will follow at 7:00PM. The purpose of the Open House is to provide information on the proposed amendments & to answer questions prior to the hearing. The Planning Commission packet containing the proposed amendments is available on the city’s website:   www.cityofmillcreek.com

Also, please note: The June 21st meeting of the Design Review Board has been cancelled because there is no business. Do tell.