Michael Creel

As summer approaches I prepare for the sound of music! My home is fairly close to Lake Boren Park, and each year I get to sit in the back yard and enjoy the sound of live music. Every summer is interesting here in Newcastle's Olympus neighborhood; from the community garage sale, moonlight movie nights, to the Arts & Crafts show.

The 23-acre Lake Boren Park at the base of Olympus is a major asset to the neighborhood and a gathering place for many Newcastle residents. With a large play area, sand volleyball court, tennis courts, walking trails and a fishing dock, it's a very popular destination. The homeowners association, which meets monthly, hosts an annual neighborhood garage sale and Easter egg hunt.

"The upscale Olympus neighborhood in Newcastle lives up to the grandeur its name implies, with sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains, Lake Washington and Mount Rainier, along with well-kept yards and homes," writes Jolene Gensheimer in a special to The Seattle Times Real Estate section on Sunday, October 14th, 2007.

Olympus is served by two school districts: Issaquah and Renton. Both elementary schools have new buildings, with Issaquah's Newcastle Elementary, which opened in 2004, and Renton's Hazelwood Elementary, which opened in 2005. The neighborhood also has wide streets, making it a good place for walkers and bicyclists, as well as walking trails and a large greenbelt.

The well-maintained yards and homes are a trademark of Olympus and are enforced by neighborhood covenants. For example, residents need to submit a paint sample before painting their home, and there are codes requiring residents to keep their yards maintained (believe me, I've been warned before)!

Olympus is also a short walk from the Coal Creek Park Trails; the park trails serve the city as a refuge from the urban sprawl with a trail through a narrow creek ravine leading to two waterfalls and several excellent historical sites. The trail through Coal Creek Park is one of the most fascinating hikes anywhere around Puget Sound.

It features several waterfalls, a small canyon, and an environment typical of the Cascade foothills, the park stretches the boundary between the suburbs of Bellevue and the natural areas of the Issaquah Alps, a green belt pointing from the foot of Cougar Mountain through the rows of houses along Lake Washington's eastern shore.

What makes Coal Creek Park so unique is that in the late 1800s, when forest still reached all the way to the shores of Elliot Bay and today's Eastside was mostly untracked wilderness, the park was the site of the Newcastle coal mine. As you hike the trail, you may get glimps's of remaining vestiges of the mining days, clues to the story of Newcastle coal; hence the name Coal Creek.

So anyone in need of a special place to spend a hot summer day, pack the family into the car and head to Newcastle and visit our park, our trails, and maybe even grab a round of golf at the club. The music is great each Wednesday in June through August, and the BBQ pits are going full blast. We hope to see you there, tell them Mike sent you!

Event Calendar 2008

Concerts in the Park Wednesdays, June 25 - August 20

4th of July at Lake Boren Park Friday, July 4

Moonlight Movies Fridays, August 8, 15 & 22

Newcastle Days Saturday & Sunday, September 6 & 7

Having lived in Bellevue for many years now, I've really come to love the cities vibrant atmosphere and certainly the fine foods offered downtown. Bellevue is a rapidly growing city located in King County, Washington, just a stones throw across Lake Washington from Seattle.

In 2003 the Census Bureau estimated the city had a total population of 112,344, making it the fifth largest city in the state and the largest on the Eastside of King County. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management's April 1, 2006 estimate, the city has a population of 117,000. Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the 15th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington.

Since I've lived here, downtown Bellevue has undergone massive change. Lincoln Square, which opened in 2005, appears to be the leading edge of a development boom, and has the only theater I've ever been in that has leather reclining seats! Recently I've noticed the addition of Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes, an ultra-modern facility with full night-life amenities, and the newest dance club to open is Vertigo, which offers live DJ music and dancing. There is also Joeys, The Twisted Cork Restaurant, Daniels Steak House (all at the Hyatt), and The Parlor Billiards in Lincoln Square for your entertainment.

A Bit of History

Bellevue was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and was officially incorporated on March 21, 1953. Prior to the opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940, Bellevue was a rural area with little development. Following the 1963 opening of a second bridge across the lake, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the city began to grow.

A testament to Bellevue's growth over the years is Bellevue Square, now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. Opened in 1946, Bellevue Square underwent a significant expansion in the 1980s. More recently, an expansion to Bellevue Square along Bellevue Way called "The Lodge" and the new One Lincoln Towerpromise to strengthen downtown Bellevue's role as the largest Seattle Eastside shopping and dining destination.

The Bravern, a large mixed-use project currently under construction, will feature a Neiman Marcus (the first in the Pacific Northwest), along with an assortment of upscale stores.

Other projects in Bellevue's future include Meydenbauer Place, a new Performing Arts Center, a second City Center office tower (which broke ground in July 2006), three more residential towers, and resumption of work on the previously abandoned Tech Tower site, now called Tower.

Bellevue is bordered by the cities of Kirkland to the north and Redmond to the northeast along the Overlake and Crossroads neighborhoods. Across the short East Channel Bridge, I-90 connects Bellevue to Mercer Island to the southwest. Issaquah is to the east, down I-90 at the south end of Lake Sammamish. The city is also bordered to the west by the affluent suburbs of Medina, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point and Yarrow Point. The south end of Bellevue is bordered by the city of Renton, and to the southeast, the relatively recently incorporated city of Newcastle.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $76,757, and the median income for a family was $89,020. Males had a median income of $56,456 versus $37,124 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,905. About 3.8% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over. Bellevue was rated one of the 25 safest cities in America, based on the per-capita incidence of violent crime.

Bellevue is rapidly growing in size and diversity; nearly a third of the city's residents are foreign-born, up from a quarter five years ago. Bellevue has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents among major cities in the state. The largest communities come from China, India, Russia and Mexico.

Bellevue has the largest and most affluent Asian population in the state. As of 2005, 25% of the city's residents identify themselves as Asian, a rise from 17% in 2000. East Indian and Chinese communities have doubled in size since 2000.

Bellevue is home to Bellevue Community College (BCC) and City University. The highly rated BCC is the largest community college in Washington and the third largest institution of higher education in the state^.

The city hosts the Bellevue School District. There are four main public high schools - Bellevue High School, Interlake High School, Newport High School, and Sammamish High School, as well as two alternative high schools, International School and Robinswood High School. At the elementary level, Bellevue is home to the Eastside's only Waldorf Education, at Three Cedars School, and to several Montessori schools.

Overall, I have to say Bellevue is definitely one of the finest city's one could ever hope to live in and raise a family. Over the years I've had the great pleasure of selling many beautiful homes in this area, and making many good friends in the process. It is definitely deserving of the the title Bellevue the Beautiful.

After reading the paper today I was a bit surprised at the high number of foreclosures coming out of some areas around the country. Detroit appears to be in a real crises. Roughly 4.9 percent of the households in the Detroit metro area were in some stage of foreclosure in 2007, which is 4.8 times the national average; according to the study released by mortgage research company RealtyTrac Inc.

Stockton, Calif., ranked second with about 4.8 percent of its households in some stage of foreclosure, while the Las Vegas metro area was third with a 4.2 percent rate. In all, 72,616 filings on 41,273 properties were reported in the Detroit metro area, which includes Livonia and Dearborn. The foreclosure rate represents a 68 percent jump from 2006.

In Stockton, 22,184 foreclosure filings were reported on 10,608 properties last year, up 271 percent from 2006, RealtyTrac said.

The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area east of Los Angeles was ranked fourth, with 102,506 filings on 51,739 homes, a rate of 3.8 percent.

Sacramento was ranked fifth, with 3.1 percent of its households reporting late payments.

The other California metropolitan areas in the top 20 were Bakersfield, ranked seventh; Fresno, ranked 14th; and Oakland at 16th.

The Las Vegas metro area, which also includes Paradise, Nev., reported a total of 59,983 foreclosure filings on 30,375 properties in 2007.

Ohio, which has also been racked by high unemployment, had four metro areas among the top 20, including Akron at 12th, Dayton at 15th and Toledo at 19th.

The metro area comprising Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria and Mentor was ranked sixth, with some 2.9 percent of all households in some stage of foreclosure.

Miami ranked eighth with a 2.7 percent rate, the highest among all metro areas in Florida. Fort Lauderdale was 10th and Orlando was 20th.

The other areas in the top 20 were Denver-Aurora, Colo., at No. 9; Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga., at No. 11; Memphis, Tenn., at No. 13.; and Indianapolis at No. 18.

With all of this happening, I can't say I understand why banks don't simply re-negotiate the loans with their clients instead of following through with converting those ARM loans to a full amortized loan; knowing it will lead to default. Most of these homes will end up in the hands of overseas investors buying them in bulk for 50-70 cents on the dollar from the banks. How sad.

Don't just invest in a home, invest in your child's future. While property in Bellevue doesn't come cheaply, you may get an even greater return for your investment dollar than you realize. Newport Hills (Home to Newport High School) was ranked the #1 Suburban Neighborhood (out of the 98 reviewed) to live in by Seattle Magazine in 2007. Neighborhoods that rank high by the magazine have a lower median price and cost per square foot, a significant increase in median price, low crime rate, high number of students passing the WASL, park acreage nearby, shorter commute times, and higher racial diversity. Newport High School was built in the 1963 and opened in the fall of 1964 to accommodate Bellevue's growing population. Prior to construction, students in the Eastgate, Somerset and Newport Hills neighborhoods went to Sammamish High School and Bellevue High School. The first graduating class was of 1966.

In the summer of 2005, construction began on a major renovation of the entire school campus in order to accommodate the growing student population. The renovation included a new academic building, performing arts center, library, offices, and student commons. Components of the old complex that were retained for renovation included the music wing, gymnasiums, and locker rooms. As of February 26, 2007, all classes have been moved into a new building. The old academic building has since been demolished, and is currently being replaced with a new baseball field. The new academic hall has three floors, with elevators for disabled/handicapped students

Due to its extensive Advanced Placement course offering, Newport High School has consistently been ranked in the Top 50 List of Best High Schools by Newsweek Magazine as measured by the number of AP tests taken divided by the number of seniors in the school, ranking 37th as of 2006. Newport was also selected as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2005 Newport High School's World History program was recognized as exemplary in the College Board's Report To The Nation based on its top-ranking pass rate on the national AP World History exam. Newport is one of the 75 schools selected nationwide as "Promising Schools" as part of a 3 year initiative. Newport is also one of five Bellevue High Schools in the nations top 200.

Listed below is a demographic of the schools ethnic breakdown and other relevent information:

10 year History of Newports Improving WASL Results

Scale: % meeting or exceeding standards

Reading
98% (2007)
98% (2006)
93% (2005)
94% (2004)

The state average for Reading was 81% in 2007.

Science
70% (2007)
63% (2006)

The state average for Science was 36% in 2007.

Writing
95% (2007)
98% (2006)
90% (2005)
95% (2004)

The state average for Writing was 84% in 2007.

Math
81% (2007)
80% (2006)
83% (2005)
82% (2004)

The state average for Math was 50% in 2007.

Source: WA OSPI, 2006-2007

About the tests

• In 2006-2007 Washington used the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) to test students in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and 10, in writing in grades 4, 7 and 10 and in science in grades 5, 8 and 10.
• The WASL is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Washington.
• Beginning with the class of 2008, the grade 10 WASL will be a high school graduation requirement.
• The goal is for all students to score at or above the state standard.

Two other measures of high school performance are SAT scores and numbers of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Enrollment in AP courses and student success on AP exams are leading indicators of academic success in our high schools. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on AP exams may qualify to receive college credits.

Newport High has ambitious improvement plans for 2007-2008, listed below are their primary goals:

Goal: To increase the percentage of students being on standard or higher in reading, mathematics and writing (as measured by the WASL scores).

Actions:

1. Individual student focus:

• By October, identify those students who are below grade level standard in reading, math and writing.

• Share this information with their current teachers of that particular discipline and develop individual plans on how to help each student.

• Use counselors as facilitators to work with the individual students and their teachers to develop individualized plans.

• Enroll students in our WASL remedial coursework.

• Identify individual deficiencies and a plan to address deficiencies.

• Consider use of Saturday sessions, peer tutors, extended-day tutorial and/or VIBES mentors for those students to address deficiency areas.

• Regularly reflect on student progress and revise strategies if progress lacking.

2. Reading, Math and Writing.

• Have each of the disciplines thoroughly evaluate their scores to highlight strengths and specifically identify weaknesses in curriculum.

• Review WASL and PSAT items that had lower scores and work with staff on effective strategies in departmental and staff meetings,

• Continue to encourage meaningful writing in all disciplines.

Goal: To decrease the percentage of targeted students (transfer, Latino, special education, 504, white males, and freshmen entering the system with a 2.0 or below) earning one or more D's or F's on quarter and semester grade reports.

Actions:

1. Individual student focus:

• Have special education staff, counselors, and support develop an individual plan with each student that earned a D or an F on the first progress report.

• Refer students that are making minimal progress to the Student Intervention Team (SIT) for more specific plans and/or modifications to the plans, capitalizing on students' strengths.

• Develop quarter target dates to conduct formal checks and to celebrate successes and revamp plan, if needed.

• Bring regular education staff of these students on board with the plan and involve them in the celebrations of successes.

• Send congratulatory notes to students and parents for incremental improvements.

• Ensure adequate support systems are in place for students in each of their classes.

• Assist the regular education teacher in developing a structured schedule for these students to attend tutorials, if needed.

2. Staff training/structure focus:

• Conduct accommodation training at a staff meeting,

• Review at the department chair meeting grading procedures for special education students and when and how a course and its content might be changed from regular to practical.

• Educate the staff on cultural and special needs' issues.

• Conduct a Latino forum to gain further insights to what works and doesn't work.

• Facilitate staff training on effective instructional strategies for male students.

• Place Special Education Instructional Assistants in the regular education classrooms that are most challenging for our special education students.

• Facilitate meetings with the student and regular education teacher as needed.

So as you can see, there are big things happening at Newport High to provide all children with the finest education experience possible. Newport itself covers a farly large geographic area. Newport High School (NHS) is a public secondary school in Bellevue, WA. It serves students in grades 9-12 in the southern part of the Bellevue School District, including the neighborhoods of Factoria, Newport Shores, Newport Hills, Somerset, Eastgate, and Sunset. The school colors are scarlet and gold.

There are currently over 162 homes listed in the MLS within the boundaries of Newport High; homes vary in price from $395,000 to $2,100,000. Thirty five homes are currently under contract (Pending or Subject To Inspection) to be sold, and 161 homes have been sold in the last six months.

Whether you buy into Newport Hills, Somerset, or any of the communities within the boundaries of Newport High School, you've not only made a great investment in real estate, but a great investment in your childs future!

Having lived in the beautiful city of Newcastle's Olympus neighborhood for several years now, I really have come to understand the pain felt in being denied our own zip code. For years the city has battled with the postal service to issue a new zip code to Newcastle, so that that sharing zip codes 98056 and 98059 are no longer necessary. It has thus far proven to be an exercise in fultility.

Newcastle was originally a coal mining town founded in the 1870s and was an unincorporated area within King County until September 30, 1994. In 2006 the Chief Demographer of the Washington State Office of Financial Management estimated the population was 9,175. Currently the city is a suburban community with a total area of 4.5 sq. miles. Most residents work in nearby Seattle, Bellevue, or Renton, and based on per capita income Newcastle ranks 23rd of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. The most notable attractions of the area are certainly The Golf Club at Newcastle, and Lake Boren Park.

On May 16^th, 2006 the city council passed a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a professional Services Agreement with Doubleday Government Relations for Federal and State lobbying on behalf of the City through June 2007; the battle went all the way to Washington DC, to no avail.

The funny part of it all is that if you visit the website for the US Postal Service, it clearly states:

"While the Postal Service must be guided by concerns for service and efficiency, it does appreciate the identity and addressing concerns of local communities. Therefore, municipal requests to modify authorized last lines of address and/or ZIP Code boundaries in order to provide municipal identity, especially in undeveloped areas, will be considered and every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate them."

In reality, the postal service makes every effort to prevent this from happening. Now some may wonder why we care, why is a zip code important? A zip code gives a city its own identity; it makes each area unique to the world. Just as we all have our own unique genetic code, each area in a city has a unique zip code.

Also, it affects property values; and although Renton is a perfectly nice city, the value of comparable properties is lower than those of Newcastle. We pay higher than usual property taxes in Newcastle due to the lack of any significant commercial development tax contribution. So no homeowner enjoys paying higher taxes to live in a small exclusive community, only to be thrown in the same zip code as a much larger and more urban city. We are independent, and deserve the recognition of being afforded our own zip code; we deserve a little respect!