As Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, said, “All politics is local.”

So why is the Seattle Times the only newspaper in which the City of Kirkland places notifications for public hearings?

Historically it has served as the city’s official newspaper. Well, we’re not Seattle, and we need an update.

I think it’s high time that the Kirkland Reporter be included as an official newspaper of record, to broaden the city’s reach in informing the community about important public hearings, such as the upcoming EIS hearing and the one to be held by the Planning Commission with regard to the 143-apartment Potala Village project proposed to be built on the corner of Lake Street South/10th Avenue South.

Residents have named the Kirkland Reporter their No. 1 source for news about local government, according to the “2012 Community Survey,” a biannual citizen survey commissioned by the City of Kirkland, which was conducted by Elway Research this year.

The report states: “The Kirkland Reporter is the top source (31 percent mention) for news about city government.” As long as we’re paying for the survey, I think it would be prudent for the city to take advantage of the results and include the Reporter in its notification process.

I’m sure city officials would want to inform as many interested residents as possible about their right and opportunity to participate in local government. Consequences of decisions made by city council members have a major impact on the quality of life for all who live in and love Kirkland.

The more people know about what’s going on, the more they will want to participate with their neighbors and have a hand in guiding the future of their city. To that end, I hope that the City of Kirkland will include Kirkland’s No. 1 newspaper as an official newspaper of record.

Robin Herberger, Kirkland