The year of 2010 was one of closure, grief, fraud and more for Kirkland. From the Schierman trial to the election, the Market neighborhood squatters to Breard and budget cuts and annexation preparation, 2010 had no lack of big stories for the Reporter pages. Here are just some of the stories that made headlines in 2010:
January
One of the most tragic chapters in Kirkland’s history came to an end in 2010 as Connor Shierman finally goes to trial in January for killing Leonid Milkin’s wife, two children and sister-in-law and then burning the family’s Kirkland home to the ground in 2006. Shierman is found guilty of the murders in April and sentenced to death in May. The community rallies in support of Milkin by helping to rebuild his home. The project is nearly completed in November.
The first month also marks the beginning of a rebirth in Houghton. The old Houghton Center is torn down to make way for a new shopping complex that includes the Metropolitan Market. The new grocery store opens during the summer with more than 500 people attending the opening-day ceremonies. The Kirkland City Council unanimously votes to discontinue action against sitting Councilmember Bob Sternoff during the Jan. 19 meeting. The vote also made public the Sherman report, which examined communications that Sternoff wrote on city e-mail of an “inappropriate nature,” by waiving the City of Kirkland’s attorney-client privilege.
The community rallies to help the daughters of Jodi Bardinelli, director of the Kirkland Wednesday Market who died of liver cancer.
February A Kirkland woman, who accused magician David Copperfield of raping her during a trip to his private island, faces charges of prostitution and filing a false report with police. The rape case against Copperfield would eventually be dropped. Snohomish resident Matthew McDonald pleads guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide, two of which were Tom and Hilda Woods, the son and daughter-in-law of former Kirkland Mayor Bill Woods.
LWSD news
The Lake Washington School District (LWSD) goes two-for-three in ballot measures proposed in a special February election. The two levies on the ballot pass, but the biggest of the three measures, a $234 million bond to remodel Juanita High School, fails.
Members of the Lake Washington Educational Support Personnel (LWESP) rally outside the LWSD Resource Center, requesting “a living wage.” The two sides would eventually come to an agreement in March.
A story on bullying in the Kirkland Reporter begins a firestorm of controversy for the LWSD and Lake Washington High School policies. Comments on the Reporter Web site had to be closed due to the number of derogatory comments by students.
March
Ten Juanita neighbors to a new PSE substation continue their fight with the company, this time over the health risks of the new complex.
Former Kirkland-based broker is arrested for fraud after her clients claim that their money is gone. Breard is eventually convicted of defrauding 37 individuals out of at least $9.4 million and sentenced to six years, eight months in prison. Five men attempt to rob Finn Hill resident Steve Sarich, who is also the executive director of CannaCare in Kirkland. The robbery turns into a gun fight and a man hunt. The two men are eventually arrested and charged.
Former American Idol contestant and Federal Way resident Sanjaya Malakar is caught going 50 miles over the posted speed limit on I-405 through Kirkland.
April
A Kirkland woman steals her co-worker’s identity and credit card to pay for a “tummy tuck,” liposuction and attempts to make five separate purchases at an electronics store in Bellevue.
Gov. Christine Gregoire signs legislation that frees tolling revenue for renovations on the east end of SR-520.
John Gilday, publisher of the Eastside Sun newspaper, informs the Kirkland City Council and public of his impending $4 million civil lawsuit and concurrent federal civil rights lawsuit against the city. The suit accuses city staff of threatening local businesses that advertise with the sometimes-controversial monthly publication. The Eastside Sun’s editorial page has been critical of the dealings within the city and council members.
A home-invasion attempt rattles the Holmes Point area and one man is left pistol whipped.
The owners of a string of massage parlors in Washington – including one in Kirkland – and California is arrested after an investigation found a prostitution and money laundering scheme.
May
King County Animal Care and Control executes a search warrant and removes a nearly four-foot long alligator named “Bruiser” from a home in Kirkland.
A 37-year-old man is arrested for a third time for a scam using houses that he does not own and a Craigslist ad to lure unsuspecting would-be renters into giving him money.
A Kirkland man is deported to Iraq May 2 for ties to Al Qaeda after a federal immigration judge deemed him a national security risk.
The community remembers the “first Lady” of Kirkland JoMae Woods at the Kirkland Performance Center. Woods is the wife of former mayor Bill Woods.
A Bellevue couple escapes serious injury when a pickaxe crashes through their windsheild as they drive on I-405 through Kirkland.
Two men are arrested in Issaquah after allegedly beating a Kirkland man who is accused of raping the wife of one of the assailants.
Redmond and Kirkland City leaders met formally for the first time in two years and agree to discuss the possibility of a community pool facility.
June
The Kirkland City Council announces that former Interim King County Executive Kurt Triplett is the new Kirkland City Manager.
The City of Kirkland votes unanimously to authorize city staff to negotiate the purchase of the building that currently houses My Home Wholesale in Kirkland to be used as a new public safety building. The purchase is made official at the end of the summer for $10.5 million. A $3.2 million home in Kirkland’s Market neighborhood is the target of squatters. A woman is eventually arrested for trespass.
A Kirkland man is charged for driving drunk and killing two students from Federal Way.
The Kirkland Police arrest a man minutes after he robs the Bridle Trails neighborhood Wells Fargo Bank.
Major changes take place in the LWSD in Kirkland as LWHS, BEST High School and some others play musical principals.
The Kirkland City Council allows the city to acquire specific land for the $14 million N.E. 85th Street Corridor Improvement project using the eminent domain law, if needed.
July
A fire destroys a home and damages another in the South Rose Hill neighborhood. The fire causes between $500,000-$750,000 worth of damage.
Fireworks are officially banned from the Kirkland annexation area.
August
Two goats died in the Finn Hill neighborhood near 0.0 Denny Park. Despite an investigation, the cause is never fully identified.
More notices signed by a former Bothell real estate agent are found posted Aug. 17 on two brand new Market neighborhood bank-owned homes in relation to the squatters case during the spring.
A Kirkland float-plane pilot returning from a trip to Lake Chelan lands on Lake Washington in Kenmore and is taken into custody by the FBI after violating President Barack Obama’s airspace. The violation caused a sonic boom from the scrambling F-15s.
September
The final building in the proposed Kirkland Parkplace redesign is given provisional approval by the Design Review Board (DRB). The council later votes 5-2 to reaffirm zoning ordinances passed two years ago for the redevelopment of Parkplace.
A 70-year-old man exposes himself to at least three victims at O.O Denny Park and is caught on camera by one of the victims.
The historic Argosy tour boat M.V. Kirkland catches fire while docked at the Kirkland Marina. The boat is later deemed a total loss.
Police search for an armed bus rider who punched a Metro driver in downtown Kirkland and fled into the lobby of the Heathman Hotel. The incident results in a search of the Kirkland Library and Heathman Hotel for the armed suspect. The man is eventually tracked down in Renton.
October
A Redmond resident, who allegedly made threats to Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride and Assistant City Attorney Oskar Rey, is charged with two counts of intimidating a public servant in King County Superior Court. The man learns of the charges when Reporter staff called his home to get his reaction.
November
The Kirkland City Council signs off on a Kirkland dog park to be located in the Totem Lake neighborhood. The fight for a dog park in Kirkland had been ongoing for a decade.
The La Nina winter begins with a very strong snow storm that forces the city to close 12 roads in Kirkland and costs the city $15,000. Election
Andy Hill pulls off the only upset of a Democrat incumbent of Kirkland state representatives, despite high Republican backing nationwide. Two initiatives to privatize liquor sales in Washington State go down to defeat and a strong anti-tax sentiment dominates the election.
December
Two Salvation Army donation buckets are stolen in Kirkland as the holiday season begins.
Gov. Gregoire’s state budget whacks schools, social services. Lawmakers approve $1.7 million in cuts for the Lake Washington School District to help fill the state budget gap. LWSD will use budget reserves to meet the challenge.
