Bellevue

Bellevue is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area. Its population was 122,363 at the 2010 census and 151,854 in the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the French term belle vue ("beautiful view"). It is home to some of the world's largest technology companies. In 2008, Bellevue was number one in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch a business. In 2010, it was again ranked as the fourth-best place to live in America. The technology company Amazon was founded in Bellevue by Jeff Bezos. It is currently the second- largest city center in Washington state, with 1,300 businesses, 45,000 employees, and 10,200 residents. In a 2018 estimate, the city's median household income was among the top five cities in the state of Washington. It was first settled by European Americans in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and Aaron Mercer, who claimed homestead tracts several miles apart. The Duwamish, whose main settlements were located in present-day Renton and Seattle, maintained a small outpost settlement called Satskal (SAH-tsah-kahl) along the Mercer Slough, south ofpresent-day downtown Bellevue. In 1879, a community, consisting mostly of logging homesteaders, had established itself. In the 1920s, James S. Ditty predicted that it would become a city with a population of 200,000. He envisioned plans that included the bridging of Lake Washington.

History

Bellevue is the primary city name, but also Beaux Arts, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Yarrow Point are acceptable city names or spellings, Beaux Arts Village on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is City of Bellevue. Bellevue was first settled by European Americans in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and Aaron Mercer, who claimed homestead tracts several miles apart. By 1882, a community, consisting mostly of logging homesteaders, had established itself. By the early part of the 20th century, Bellevue had acquired a reputation as a weekend getaway destination for Seattle residents. In 1942, the Bellevue Strawberry Festival was cancelled. The primary reason was that some 90 percent of the agricultural workforce in the area was of Japanese ancestry, and all of these farmers and their families had been forcibly interned in camps following the start of World War II. Bellevue was incorporated as a third-class city on the March 31, 1953. Following the 1963 opening of a second bridge across the lake, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the city began to grow more rapidly. The Crossroads community was annexed in 1964. Lake Hills was annexation in 1969, and Bellevue became the fourth most populous city in the state of Washington, behind only Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. The city experienced a building boom during the mid-2000s, with the building of developments such as Lincoln Square and the Bravern. Bellevue Square is located in downtown Bellevue and is now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. Opened in 1946, the mall has undergone several significant phases of expansion since the 1980s.The city's plans include the Bel-Red Corridor Project, a large-scale planning effort to encourage the redevelopment of the large Bel- red section of the city bordering the adjacent town of Redmond.

Geography

Bellevue lies between Lake Washington to the west and the smaller Lake Sammamish to the east. Much of Bellevue is drained by the Kelsey Creek watershed, whose source is located in the Larsen Lake and Phantom Lake green belt. The city is bisected by Interstate 405 running northsouth, and the southern portion is crossed from west to east by Interstate 90. Under favorable weather conditions, scenic vistas of the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains can be viewed from hilltops (and strategically positioned high-rise buildings) within the incorporated city. The 2 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system is planned to run from Seattle through Mercer Island and Bellevue before ending in Redmond. It was approved by voters on November 4, 2008, as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. It construction in 2015 began and is scheduled to begin service in 2023. The hottest month is July, while January is the coldest. Bellevue gets an average of 32.02 inches (813 mm) of rain per year, based on data from 1981 to 2013. It also has frequent rain showers from October to May, with precipitation levels typically being over 2 inches (51 mm) The city's name is derived from a French term for "beautiful view", which is also the name of a former Bellevue city council member. It is the main Eastside hub for both the local transit authority, King County Metro, and Sound Transit, the regional transit system. Local buses run into Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Renton and the University District; regional buses go to Bothell, Lynnwood, Everett, Seattle and Renton.

Government and politics

Bellevue has a council-manager form of government with seven non-partisan council members elected at large for staggered four-year terms. The City Council selects a Mayor from among its members (not by popular vote), who serves as council chair for two years but has no veto power. As of 2022, the mayor is Lynne Robinson and the deputy mayor is Jared Nieuwenhuis.Politically, the city leans strongly Democratic, much like the Seattle/King County area as a whole. Of the 61,742 residents who cast ballots in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, 66.11% voted for Hillary Clinton, compared to 24.58% for Donald Trump. The mayor administrates council meetings, helps set the issues on the council's meeting agendas, and serves as the city's most visible spokesperson. Operational authority is held by the city manager, who administers theCity of Bellevue. The city manager is also elected by the seven members of the council instead of bypopular vote. The council has no power to impeach the mayor, but can vote to remove him or her from office if he or she is found to be in breach of his or her duties. The president of the city council has the power to remove the mayor from office, but only if he/she is found guilty of violating the city charter or other city laws that limit the power of the mayor or city manager. The chief of police has the authority to issue subpoenas, which can lead to the mayor's removal.

Education

The vast majority of the city is served by the Bellevue School District. The city is home to Bellevue College, part of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. The Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle is located in Bellevue, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. Bellevue is also home to several Montessori schools, the Eastside's only Waldorf education at Three Cedars School, as well as Bellevue Christian School. The Seattle Japanese School, a Japanese weekend supplementary school, holds its classes at Bellevue. The Bellevue High School District has four main public high schools, Interlake, Newport, and Sammamish High School. Newsweek's 2015 ranking of U.S. publichigh schools placed Interlake at #359 and Newport at #391, with both schools noted for equitably helping low-income students meet average scores on standardized tests. Portions of Bellevue also lie within the boundaries of Lake Washington School District, Renton School District and Issaquah School District; Bellevue has two choice lottery high schools: International School and Big Picture School. At the higher education level the city has Open Window School, an independent school serving gifted students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The school is located on the city's Eastside, near the University of Washington campus, and serves students from pre-K to eighth grade in the Seattle area. It is the only school in the city to offer a Waldorf-style education at the elementary level.

Economy

Bellevue is an economic hub of the Seattle region's Eastside. Since 2005, the city has become a hub for software engineering and other technology development centers. Expedia, PACCAR Inc, T-Mobile US, Eddie Bauer, SAP Concur, and Symetra are among the companies based in Bellevue. Amazon and Facebook announced plans to open large engineering centers in the city in 2019. Google also opened a major engineering facility in downtown Bellevue in 2018. Several high-rise residential buildings are also planned in downtown, spurred in part by future light rail service, on former retail and low-rise commercial lots. The city has numerous thriving commercial districts, with four major shopping centers: Bellevue Square in the downtown area, Factoria Mall to the south, Crossroads Mall in the east, and the Overlake Shopping District in the north. Microsoft was at one point headquartered in BellevUE but has since moved to the neighboring community of Redmond, Washington. Celebrated video game companies Valve, Bungie, Sucker Punch Productions, and The Pokémon Company are also based here. In 2018, there are several high-rises office buildings in Downtown Bellevue that are under construction or in active planning and design phases, including Bellevue 600, part of a major Amazon campus. As of 2020, there will be more than 10,000 people living in the Bellevue area, with the majority of them in the Eastside neighborhood of Bellevue and the Westside of Seattle. The Bellevue Area Chamber of Commerce estimates that Bellevue will have a population of 1.2 million by 2020.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 122,363 people, 50,355 households, and 32,145 families residing in the city. In a 2020 survey of Centers for Disease Control data, Bellevue was ranked first among small U.S. cities with the highest percentage of physically active adults. One in three Bellevue residents was born outside the United States. About half of residents identify as a person of color or ethnic minority. In 2006, BellevUE was rated one of the 25 safest cities in America, based on the per-capita incidence of violent crime. According to a 2018 estimate, the median income for a household in theCity was $113,698. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females, there are 98.4 males. The city has a population density of 3,827.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,477.8/km²). There were 55,551 housing units at an average density of 1,737.6 per squaremile (670.9/ km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.6 percent White, 2.2% African American, 0.4%. Native American, 27.6%. Asian, 0,2% Pacific Islander, 3.1%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.32% of the population.

Arts and culture

Bellevue is the site of the annual Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair, held since 1947 during the last weekend in July. The biennial Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition draws thousands of visitors to the Downtown Park to view up to 46 three-dimensional artworks from artists around the country. In celebration of its strawberry farming history, Bellevue holds an annual Strawberry Festival on the fourth weekend in June at Crossroads Park. The city government has planned to build a performing arts center, tentatively named the Tateuchi Center (named for philanthropist Ina Tateuchi), since the 1980s. Bellevue was home to the American Basketball Association team, the Bellevue Blackhawks. The Blackhawks in 2005, despite being ranked 13th in the league, made it to the championship game in front of 15,000 fans in Little Rock, Arkansas. The team has been inactive since 2006. More than 5,500 Bellevue residents participate in volunteer activities through this department annually. The Bellevue Parks and Community Services Department manages more than 2,500 acres (10 km²) of parks and open spaces, as well as several playgrounds, beach parks, and trails. In 2005, the city was ranked No. 13 in the NBA's Western Division, but has since fallen to No. 14. The U.S. Open tennis tournament is held in Bellevue every year. It is the only major tennis tournament in the United States that does not take place in New York City or Los Angeles.

Sister cities

Bellevue has the following sister cities: Hualien, Taiwan, Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, Kladno, Czech Republic, Liepja, Latvia. Bellevue is also sister city to the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The city also has sister cities in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. It also has a sister city in Japan, which is known as Osaka City. The town's sister city is Yao, a city in the Osaka prefecture of Japan, with a population of over 100,000. It has sister city ties to the cities of Klad no, Latvia, and Liepaja, Latvia as well as Hualen, Taiwan. The U.S. city of Bellevue has two sister cities, which are called Hulien and Yao, both in Taiwan. It is sister to the town of Yao, in Japan's Osaka Prefect, and to KladNo, in the Czech republic. It's also sister to LJubljan, a town in the Czech Republic, with more sister cities than any other city in the czech republic and a sister town in Latvia. It has sister cities with the cities of Ljublinj, Latvia and Liepja and Yao, in Lithuania. It was also sister city to Kladno in the Czech repudiation of Latvia, as well as Hualien and Yao.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Bellevue, King County, Washington = 36. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Bellevue = 2.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 151,854 individuals with a median age of 41.5 age the population grows by 9.31% in Bellevue, King County, Washington population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,000 residents per square mile of area (1,600/km²). There are average 2.31 people per household in the 51,466 households with an average household income of $74,503 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.20% of the available work force and has dropped -0.89% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 31.02%. The number of physicians in Bellevue per 100,000 population = 334.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Bellevue = 35.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 3.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 152. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 155. 75 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 37 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 71, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Bellevue, King County, Washington which are owned by the occupant = 54.52%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 30 years with median home cost = $471,830 and home appreciation of -5.84%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.66 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,932 per student. There are 19.3 students for each teacher in the school, 552 students for each Librarian and 470 students for each Counselor. 6.91% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 34.40% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 19.43% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).