I’m putting myself out on a limb here.

Just like the Cougars have rivaled the Huskies (of which I am one), I’ve heard that Kirklandites are longtime rivals with Bellevueites.

So here’s the full disclosure. I started with Sound Publishing newspapers in 2006 and up until recently, I wrote for the Bellevue Reporter.

And since taking my post a few exits northbound up I-405 as the new editor of the Kirkland Reporter, I can see there certainly are differences between the two edge cities.

Take development.

Bellevue is booming every day with new construction. This past summer, I counted nearly 20 cranes in the skyline, which is, coincidentally, known as the city’s unofficial bird.

Kirkland also strives to make its side of the lake the place to be. But it takes a different approach.

The Kirkland City Council recently approved a moratorium on most downtown development. Citizen activist groups like CIVIK (Citizens for a Vibrant Kirkland) strive to keep the city economically viable without sacrificing their lakeside community.

Between the cities, no one approach seems to be better than the other. I can walk to the fast pulse of the city along Southeast Eighth Street in Bellevue and enjoy all that Bellevue Square and Lincoln Center has to offer. In Kirkland, I can walk to the water front and feel like a part of the city, which moves at a pace that allows its citizens to take in breath taking Lake Washington views.

As I sit in my new surroundings and make grimaces at my publisher’s Cougar memorabilia around the office, I can honestly say there are no hard feelings being a part of Kirkland. I look forward to the new challenges of the city and have also found there’s much that still crosses over.

I still get my regular calls from Bernie Krane, a volunteer with the Bellevue Police Department who has kept me up to date with everything in Bellevue. Did I mention he lives in Kirkland? Now we can talk Kirkland.

And, of course, there’s still phone numbers that will stay on speed dial, including Craig Groshart, editor of the Bellevue Reporter who has been, and I’m sure will continue to be, one heck of a mentor.

So to all you Kirkland folks, all this is just to say I’m glad – and proud – to be a part of your city. For those of you who haven’t already been by bearing plants and business cards, I invite you to stop over and chat. Tell me what you think about the city, the Seahawks now that their ball is in another court, the Huskies (or Cougars), or what you’d like to see more, or less of, in your community paper.

I look forward to meeting you.