Many big stories graced the pages of the Bothell/Kenmore Reporter this year. Here is a list of the most read stories of 2015 from bothell-reporter.com.
1. PCC Natural Markets to open new store in Bothell
Seattle-based PCC Natural Markets announced in July they would be opening a Bothell branch in 2016, which is expected to create some 130 jobs. It’s expected to be located south of the Interstate 405 and Bothell-Everett Highway intersection in the Canyon Park Shopping Center. The new Bothell location would be the 10th PCC store.
2. Storm update: All Northshore schools closed today, could stay closed tomorrow
A crippling windstorm swept through the state Nov. 18, devastating the power grids in Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore and Woodinville, among others. Although Puget Sound Energy claims to have restored power within 24 hours, many residents reported extended power outages, and forced the issue of patchy area power service to the forefront of heated Kenmore City Council meetings.
The Kenmore blotters provided by the King County Sheriff’s Office hit a particularly bizarre note on Aug. 18, after deputies, whom Kenmore contracts with to provide police services, reported a man fell out of the men’s bathroom ceiling in Safeway and ran off.
4. Chase and crash complicates traffic along Highway 405 and 527
A robbery suspect led police on a high-speed pursuit from Shoreline to Bothell on April 8, ending when he crashed, resulting in a hip injury.
5. Bell tolls as guilty verdict announced in Alan Smith murder trial
Bothell resident Alan Smith was convicted of murdering his estranged wife, Susann Smith, by beating her with blunt objects and drowning her in a tub in 2013. As the judge was reading the guilty verdict, the 2 p.m. bells rang outside, creating an eerie cosmic coincidence of which Poe would have approved.
6. Child struck by car, killed at Redmond Town Center, driver from Kenmore
A two-year-old girl was struck and killed by a 25-year-old Kenmore man after she darted out in front of his car. Police ruled the driver was sober and had no chance to see the girl or stop.
7. Bothell business hopes to put a dent in modern slavery
Kristina Valiani opened a hand-crafted cosmetics store in Country Village with a percentage of her revenue going to Real Escape from the Sex Trade, a Seattle-based non-profit combatting human trafficking.
8. Identity of Bothell house fire victim released
Diana Nottingham-Johnson, 53, died in a June 3 housefire from smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Neighbors battled the flames with garden hoses until the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire.
9. Bothell mayor triggers conflict of interest investigation
Bothell mayor Joshua Freed has been in the spotlight for the past few years after his membership in a development group which bought the back nine holes of the Wayne Golf Course came to light. The course was originally slated to be sold to the City of Bothell to be preserved as open space before they passed on the offer. Freed helped purchase the property after the city turned down the offer, sparking cries of corruption and conflict of interest. An investigation carried out by an insurance group cleared Freed of any potential charges, but public perception still remains that the mayor and Fred Lamb, also a sitting council member and also involved with the golf course, may not have the city’s best interest at heart. Freed later agreed to sell the property to a conservancy group called Forterra.
10. Bothell police respond to a DUI crash and welfare check turned suicide
Nov. 24 was a long one for Bothell PD after an 8:30 a.m. DUI driver smashed his Toyota 4-Runner head-on into a Cadillac SUV. Later in the day, police responded to a welfare check in the 19300 block of State Route 527. Upon arrival, police heard a gunshot and set up a perimeter. A robot with a camera was sent in, and found a man who appeared to have shot himself.
11. Forterra forges agreement to purchase Wayne Golf Course back-nine in Bothell
Forterra and Mayor Joshua Freed’s development group came to a purchase agreement for the back nine holes of the Wayne Golf Course in Bothell.
12. Cancer survivor, sci-fi junkie opens used book store in downtown Bothell
Bothell resident Annie Carl decided to follow her dream this year and set up her own bookstore in downtown Bothell called The Neverending Bookshop. The 31-year-old battled and beat non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and is currently cancer free. Her store is located in the Logsdon Building.
13. SR 522 closure to severely impact Northshore drivers this weekend
A salmon-friendly culvert being constructed between Ballinger Way and Brookside Boulevard NE west of Kenmore in Lake Forest Park diverted traffic in July.
14. Fatal crash in Bothell blocks 101st Avenue Northeast
Two people were killed after their vehicle was speeding, lost control and struck a tree in the 18500 block of 101 Avenue Northeast on Nov. 11.
15. Chef John Howie’s Beardslee Public House brewery and restaurant opens today in Bothell
Beardslee Public House opened in August after well-known area chef John Howie took an interest at a location at The Village at Beardslee Crossing. Distiller and business partner Erik Leidholm later opened a distillery in the storefront underneath Beardslee Public House called Wildwood Spirits.
Bothell continues to urge developers to (finally) start developing the old Safeway plot along State Route 522 downtown after years of watching them drag their feet. Two new hotels will also be coming to downtown Bothell soon, hopefully putting an end to an area lodging shortage.
17. Bothell resident Alan Smith sentenced for killing his wife
Alan Smith, 39, was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison for murdering his wife in 2013.
18. Local resident sights black bear at Big Finn Hill Park
A black bear was reportedly seen on June 25 at Big Finn Hill Park in Kirkland near the Kenmore boundary.
19. Former Bothell footballers coach next generation on hometown turf
Six former Bothell High School graduates returned after college to coach junior football in their hometown.
20. North Creek neighbors feel disenfranchised, worried about area development
Recent development at the North Creek High School and areas surrounding 43 Avenue Southeast have prompted neighbors to rally against what they view as an unresponsive county government and the changing characteristics of their once-rural neighborhood.
Late-breaking story:
Higher property taxes forcing train and pony rides to leave Bothell’s Country Village
After 13 years operating a hand-made train ride at Country Village, Kent Manchester is closing down after the owners of Country Village sold the land he was using to real estate developers. Manchester said he’d continue to look for alternative sites for his train and pony rides, but hasn’t found any yet.
