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May 17, 2013
I want to start this by telling you two events you should attend this weekend. First there is an event with the biggest heart ever. Come join everyone. Do you know a family member or friend that has dealt with cancer? Come join Auburn for the Relay for Life Friday,
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May 10, 2013
Saturday was a gift, By 7:15 am hundreds of people were gathering at City Plaza and I must share that the Auburn Kiwanis were there at least two hours before as they prepared and served a Pancake Breakfast for all that came to Clean Sweep. We gathered and talked and
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May 3, 2013
My last Clean Sweep will be Saturday. Please come and join me, especially those that were there for the first one. There have been so many changes. Sometimes it's hard to remember. I started Clean Sweep after my first year because downtown was in such a state of disrepair and
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April 26, 2013
Learn from the past or repeat it Every few months I pick up one of the books written by C.H. Malesis or Connie as I knew him. He was a man with an edge to him who always told you how he felt and backed it up like it
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April 19, 2013
There are some weeks in the city that is hard for me to describe and this has been one of them. Winding its way all through the week is the constant of the State Legislature meeting and the need for me and for others in our city to go back
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April 12, 2013
Red Light/No One Dying I had some comments about the Red Light cameras from some people new to the community so I thought I'd give a little history. For decades Auburn had two or three T-bone collision accidents each year. Horrific accidents where lives were lost, men, women and children
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April 5, 2013
Can you feel everything coming to life? The trees are blooming, the days are a little warmer and there are more smiles all around. Over in our Parks Department there are 49 employees. Fourteen people care for our more than 30 parks have been busy indeed. They've already planted over
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March 29, 2013
Sometimes I need to start at the end. I was called by Olympia Thursday night to be there Friday morning for the signing of a very special bill by the Governor. I stood there as Governor Inslee signed into law HB 1319. This bill dedicates March 30 as Welcome Home
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March 22, 2013
Saturday we honored the passing of a good friend to many of us and a family that has always been active and involved in the Auburn community. Cam Cutler passed away and Auburn gathered at the Golf Course Clubhouse in the banquet room to honor him and he was honored
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March 15, 2013
I know I missed something. Let me know what else is going on in town next weekend if I missed you. An email came in saying it really wasn't a long list of events in town so I did a little checking around. If there isn't a thing on this
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March 8, 2013
There are some exciting things coming to Auburn. One of them is a favorite of mine and this year it is going to be even more special. I just got this email in that explained it. Please check out this "Eric's Little Heroes" segment on one of my sport stacking
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March 1, 2013
Monday is Council in the city. Your Department Directors worked with me during the day to prepare for the Council's committee meetings. But before the first meeting I met with Superintendent of Schools Kip Herren. We meet once a month to work together for the future of our children and
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February 22, 2013
It was a short week but jam packed. At lunch I gave the State of the City at the meeting of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce with the blessings of the Auburn Noon Lions that meet at the same time. You can read or watch the speech and it
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February 15, 2013
Did you have fun this weekend? It was a good time to get outside and work in the yard. Many of our folks were at the events this weekend but there was so many. It started with the Auburn Valley Creative Arts Gallery Lunar New Year and Rainier Chorale presents,
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February 8, 2013
I got a really long letter with a list of concerns I thought I’d share with you. It covered a whole bunch of things that people probably want to know anyway. The person started off the letter saying they had been told by a reliable source that the Fire Authority
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February 1, 2013
The 1,100 seat Performing Arts Center was sold out on Saturday night as we all watched the Miss Auburn Scholarship Program, largest local program of Miss America in the United States. That night Victoria Knight, a junior at the University of Washington-Tacoma, was crowned Miss Auburn. Her platform is
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January 25, 2013
Those of you who follow my Updates probably realized I didn't talk a great deal about local events last week. That's because I was in the 'other' Washington, DC. The City Council and I have been adamant that Auburn be at every place where there is money and value that
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January 18, 2013
Between weekend events I needed to stop by a bookstore so of course I headed to downtown Auburn for Comstock's Books. It's one of our treasures. Comstock's opened their doors in 1984 and they have been an Auburn feature ever since. Comstock is a used and rare bookstore the likes
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January 11, 2013
A long time ago now the City of Auburn was working with a large community group, the YMCA of Seattle and Boeing. You see the old Y used to be in Les Gove Park. It had been built in the sixties when the business community was very active and it
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January 4, 2013
I'd like to start out my first Update in 2013 with part of my first Update in 2003, ten years ago. It started off with: For those who try to tell you we're spending more money – they are flat wrong. We are spending less than even two years ago.
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December 28, 2012
Sometimes to go forward you need to look back so I thought I'd take you to my last Update in December of 2002, the year these Updates began. You'll see a few comments from me bolded. Update December 20, 2002 It seems odd that the year is ending while we
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December 21, 2012
Every once in a while an individual stands out and needs to be recognized. Diane Rupert got involved a few years ago helping with the Giving Trees. She saw so much need and her heart went out to all of them. She contacted WalMart and the Giving Tree expanded resulting
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December 14, 2012
Saturday Breakfast with Santa at the Senior Center was a big hit with a lot of smiling faces. I didn't get to serve pancakes this year - just too many things going on at the same time. Some of that had to do with our neighboring city of Pacific. While
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December 7, 2012
I know the list of weekend events in my last Update was long. There were some that stood out and had personal meaning for me. Saturday's Santa Parade was one of the best ever. Some other places have very organized parades. I love the fact that ours is not. It's
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November 30, 2012
Monday night after the Council's committee meetings I went to The Ave Theater to talk about art. We have a new Sculpture Gallery that I called a Sculpture Garden. There are seven pedestals in downtown. There is a sculpture donated by an artist on each one of them. They will
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November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving is upon us. For those you in need or those that need to help: Free community meals for Thanksgiving in Auburn: Athens Restaurant on Thursday, November 22nd – 11am-3pm: 959 East Main Street, Auburn Spirit Fest at Pyung An (Korean) Presbyterian Church : 526 12th St. SE, Auburn (360)
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November 16, 2012
I started these Updates 11 years ago to give our citizens an inside view of what takes place at city hall, what your Council and your employees do for and with you and to allow you to see some of the events that take place in our city. As time
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November 9, 2012
Mondays are all about Council and that is especially true when Council comes together for committee meetings and the formal Council meeting. Your Public Works Committee met at 3:30 PM Monday afternoon. One of the items of discussion was the financing options left to your Council for preserving the arterial
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November 2, 2012
There was a lot going on last weekend in Auburn! Willy Wonka at The Ave Theater kept selling out and so much fun. The Halloween Parties (still sounds better than PC ‘harvest’) went really well with some safe trick or treating for our kids downtown. Saturday night it looked like
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October 26, 2012
Sunday there was a concert at the Auburn Performing Arts Center (PAC). That might not seem all that exciting for some but there is a reason you should know and care. This was a concert that all the musicians donated their time for free so it could be a successful
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October 19, 2012
Well, the season has certainly turned. We have all had a taste of that over the weekend and into the week. Please remember that leaves swept into the street and the drains can mean it is your storm drain that could back up. If you want the street sweepers to
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October 12, 2012
Monday morning after meeting with the directors of the city I went to the King County Housing Authority Green River Housing project. That's the one you see being remodeled on M Street South. It is an $11 million remodel of structures originally built in 1956. Those structures in turn replaced
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October 5, 2012
Saturday I met up with the Boy Scouts of Troop 401 again this time at Game Farm Wilderness Park. You might remember me talking about them at a recent Council meeting. This outstanding troop was there for the ceremony dedicating a new flagpole to the city. The troop had chosen
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September 28, 2012
Working in community Saturday the fine people at Grace Community Church hosted the South King County Latino Health & Safety Fair. That event and the name itself have certainly grown since we started it a few years back as the Latino Health Fair. It was very well attended and a
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September 21, 2012
Saturday was sure a busy day in Auburn. I’d been asked to come down to the LDS Church is south Auburn at 8:00 am to say a few words as almost a thousand people gathered to work around the city of Auburn in commemoration of the events of 9/11. The
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September 14, 2012
I missed several meetings on Saturday and I had promised the Verona neighborhood I would stop by for their yearly celebration and I missed that as well. The reason was our oldest grandson Sam Thompson turned two years old. I have to mention his twin younger brothers have turned one
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September 7, 2012
Labor Day weekend has passed and now schools are beginning to open all across town. We"ve seen the traffic increase as it does each year because of school and there will be another adjustment as we all have to leave a little earlier or in some cases a little later.
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August 31, 2012
I saw two of the Letters to the Editor in this week’s Reporter. They both are indicative of things going on in Auburn. One suggested that people be responsible for their yards and take care of them rather than let them get overgrown with weeds. The other suggests the city
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August 24, 2012
Last Saturday out at the Muckleshoot Inter-Tribal Warrior Society building veterans from around the area were invited to an annual summer barbecue. We had the opportunity to talk and work on planning of new facilities and services for our veterans and have some great salmon as well. Do you have
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August 17, 2012
What a weekend for Auburn! With a combination of great weather, Auburn Days and the city’s International Festival we all had a ball! The parade this year was terrific. Does anyone know how many times I went through the parade this year? Sure was fun. :) It all started on
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August 10, 2012
You have to know the past to plan for the future I thought I’d go back and take a look at this time in 2002 the first year I started doing these updates. So here is part of Update August 12, 2002 It’s not how you start but how you
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August 3, 2012
Waste Management We started off the week with a garbage strike and we ended it with the strike over! Normal pick- up on your regularly scheduled days and you can have a double load. Whew! But there's more so I decided to send this Update early. Saturday route will include
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July 27, 2012
Auburn’s International Farmer’s Market sets a record! Remember Sunday when it was overcast and a little windy? Well everyone went down to the Farmer’s Market. I thought it looked packed and the report said: It was a record day, to say the least. The market made $755.00. The vendors
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July 20, 2012
SCAM ALERT : The City of Auburn has received reports that certain persons are approaching houses in Auburn claiming to be contractors of the City of Auburn to paint house numbers on their curbs for easy recognition by emergency responders and are asking for payment - these persons are NOT
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July 13, 2012
4 th of July Success Our 4 th of July event at Les Gove was extremely popular from an attendance, revenue and community pride perspective. Below are a few figures and statements from vendors. Record attendance (13,000-15,000) Record wristband sales ($10,400+), Record number in the car show
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July 6, 2012
Sunday I was at a picnic for veterans. One of the issues that face us as veterans is asking for the benefits due us. I know it is hard. I ask that all of you veterans who see my message to put your pride and your angst in your back
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